The terrifying gloom that had been hanging over us for days vanished in an instant. "This is my good daughter! My dear Shu'er, if Gao Tanhua knew about this, he would be overjoyed!"
[Thank goodness, Jiang Shuke has finally figured it out!]
[The Prince of Ning can finally breathe a sigh of relief; it seems he no longer needs to worry about offending Ulan.]
At that moment, the butler hurried over, bowed with a smile, and reported the news with a cheerful expression.
"Your Highness, Your Highness, the top scholar from the Hanlin Academy has come to pay his respects to you. He is now waiting at the door."
"Oh? Speak of the devil, and he appears!" Prince Ning was naturally in a good mood. He stood up, smiled, and stroked his beard: "Tell him to go to the flower hall. By the way, prepare the best tea to entertain my beloved son-in-law."
"Yes, yes." The butler hurriedly left.
Looking at Princess Ning, she was also all smiles, and gently took Jiang Shu's hand: "Isn't this a match made in heaven? You treat him well, and the third-ranked scholar naturally knows your heart and couldn't wait to come."
Prince Ning laughed heartily and said to the maid, "Please ask Scholar Gao to wait for me in the flower hall and serve me the best tea and snacks. Shu'er, you can go with your mother, that's perfect..."
“You young people should speak up more.” It was clear that Prince Ning and Princess Ning greatly admired Gao Dekai, this hypocrite.
Princess Ning's purpose was all too clear. In the past, Jiang Shu would have preferred death to submission, but today was different. She did not resist at all, and even nodded obediently and followed behind her mother.
She was like a walking corpse, going through a predetermined script.
In the flower hall.
Gao Dekai was a little anxious. Although he had received a gift from Jiang Shu yesterday, it didn't necessarily prove that Jiang Shu liked him. He waited anxiously at the moment.
Seeing the guards approaching with smiles, Gao Dekai quickly straightened his clothes, and he appeared as a refined and elegant gentleman.
Princess Ning and Jiang Shu walked in one after the other. Gao Dekai stood up with a smile and quickly greeted them.
"Dekai greets the Princess and the County Princess."
"No need for such formalities, Scholar Gao."
Princess Ning smiled and gazed at him, just like a mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law—the more she looked, the more satisfied she became.
"I was just talking about you with the Prince. Now I've come to meet you, Shu'er. Shu'er hasn't been doing well lately. You young people can probably chat together. I'll be going now."
After saying that, he turned around and gently squeezed Jiang Shu's hand, and gave Jiang Shu a meaningful look before leaving with his nanny and maid.
At this moment, there were only two people in the flower hall. After Princess Ning and her entourage left, the air seemed to quiet down in an instant.
Jiang Shu didn't look at Gao Dekai. Instead, Gao Dekai gazed at her with deep affection, his eyes filled with tenderness, and he smiled obsequiously.
"The gift the county princess sent yesterday truly flattered Dekai. I just wonder if the gift I presented to her some time ago still meets her standards?!"
Jiang Shu raised her eyes and looked at him calmly. Gao Dekai was scrutinizing her, and his eyes didn't reveal much emotion.
Jiang Shu decided to take a closer look at this man, and upon closer inspection, she found that Gao Dekai was indeed quite handsome. If it weren't for He Yi's warning that day, and if He Yi hadn't witnessed his affair with Chunqin at Tianxiangfang, she might have genuinely thought Gao Dekai was a good husband.
He Yi! Jiang Shu murmured to herself.
Why did she say those things about Gao Dekai? Yes, it must be because of Zheng Yu! Zheng Yu clearly rejected her during that period and chose He Yi.
He Yi was afraid that Jiang Shu would marry someone better than her, and that her status would rise after marrying Gao Dekai. That's why she went to great lengths to slander Gao Dekai and ruin her wise words!
[Gao Dekai's acting is truly superb; he perfectly embodies the character of a deeply affectionate scholar.]
[Could it be true?]
[Of course it's true. After all, Ulan is a godforsaken place. Ulan Ulan is modern-day Ukraine, hahaha.]
Thinking of this, Jiang Shu looked at Gao Dekai with a hint of understanding. Suppressing the strange emotions in her heart, Jiang Shu tried to keep her voice calm: "Gao Tanhua, you're too kind. The gift is naturally very nice."
Gao Dekai's face lit up with joy: "It is my great honor to be regarded with such favor by the County Princess. The weather is fine today. Would you be so kind as to invite the County Princess to go out of the manor for a stroll?" Gao Dekai then cast his bait and carefully observed Jiang Shu's condition.
This is a further test. If the two of them can go out together, it will naturally appear to outsiders that Gao Dekai and Jiang Shu are in love. With this scene, wouldn't it be easy for them to get married in the future?
Jiang Shu remained silent and did not respond immediately.
Leaving the manor? Naturally, Jiang Shuxin instinctively resisted leaving with Gao Dekai. But at this moment, she unconsciously recalled Zheng Yu's icy words when he rejected her, and He Yi's attempts to sow discord.
Jiang Shu closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, she smiled faintly. But when she looked at Gao Dekai again, her expression had completely changed.
"Alright."
Jiang Shu softly uttered a word of permission. Gao Dekai was incredulous upon hearing this, and a smile instantly appeared on his face.
Meanwhile, Heyi is preparing to open for business.
The long street was slightly chilly in the early morning. Zheng Heyi felt tired, but she had to keep an eye on the shop, so she had to hold on no matter what.
Moreover, her Tianxiangfang business was indeed doing quite well. She rubbed her throbbing temples and went to the kitchen to arrange everyone's work.
Last night, Liu Yun went to investigate that damned adulterous couple. The recent situation of the Minister made He Yi unable to stop thinking wildly, so she couldn't sleep well at all.
Just as He Yi reached the doorway, she yawned and suddenly heard a faint sob coming from the corner of the wall. This immediately caught her attention, and He Yi looked towards the corner in the direction of the sound.
There, a mother and daughter were huddled together.
My mother was about twenty-one or twenty-two years old. She was dressed in rags and her face was covered in dust. She looked pitiful, but even though her face was dirty, you could tell that she was a pretty woman.
In the poor woman's arms was a five- or six-year-old, emaciated little girl who was probably starving and was crying softly.
He Yi looked down at the two of them. The mother slowly sat up, preparing to leave. When she saw He Yi, she hurriedly apologized, "Miss, I'm starving and can't walk anymore. I collapsed here. I'll leave right away. Please don't punish me and my poor daughter."
The little girl in his arms was looking at He Yi with a pair of beautiful big eyes, clearly both of them had been disciplined often and were therefore very frightened.
Looking at these two pitiful people, He Yi suddenly thought of herself.
Wasn't she just like those two, having only recently ended her life as a homeless person?
"Qingju, hurry!" Heyi turned around and immediately instructed Qingju, "Bring out a steamer of the freshly steamed buns from this morning, and also give each of them a bowl of hot red bean porridge. Go now!"
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