Alcohol Strength
These days, Mu Wan'er was told by Xu to stay in her room and practice her embroidery skills.
There was a custom in the State of Chu: the more beautifully a girl who was about to get married embroidered her wedding veil, the happier she would be when she got married, and she would love her husband deeply and never give up.
Although it is not mandatory to embroider by hand, most women still believe this and embroider voluntarily.
Xu was a first-rate needlework expert, and she embroidered her own headband with her own hands.
Although Lord Chongde now has a concubine, they have been married for twenty years and treat each other with respect.
She felt that it was better to believe it than not, not to mention that Mu Wan'er was going to marry the prince, and she would inevitably share a husband with other women in the future.
Therefore, although Mu An Ning and Mu Wan'er have been living under the same roof these days, they have not seen each other since Mu Wan'er's coming-of-age banquet.
In fact, it was not only Mu Wan'er who had things to do. Mu An Ning had also been feeling quite depressed these days.
Not only because of the articles her adoptive father had ordered her to copy, but also because her monthly salary was tacitly cut off by Xu.
Even though she stayed at home every day, never leaving the house, and had almost no expenses, she had already spent more money than she earned during the month she had lived in Wutong City (...she had no income at all), and now she was almost penniless, and she couldn't help feeling worried.
Today, Lord Chongde was unable to return home due to important matters. In addition to Mu Wan'er's upcoming marriage, Xu also had to take care of Yunniang and her son, so she had no time to take care of her adopted daughter.
Therefore, she found an opportunity to go out with Baoqin, planning to find a pawnshop and exchange her jewelry for some small change.
*
"Miss An Ning, are you okay?"
Hearing the man's clear and slightly concerned voice, Mu An Ning suddenly realized that she was surrounded by a strong scent of sandalwood.
She met those pale grey eyes, was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly got out of his arms. But after she stood still, she still felt a little scared.
The carriage just now was from someone unknown family, but it came straight towards her without paying any attention to the people walking on the street.
It is said that when a person is overly frightened, his whole body will feel numb and unable to move. After this incident, she truly experienced it.
But...why is this person also in Beijing?
Mu An Ning's eyes shifted from the carriage that had already disappeared to the man in front of him, and he blinked slightly hesitantly: "Mr. Shi...Mr. Shi?"
Shi Jiangli looked at the girl who was moving away from him, smiled and bowed, "It's Shi." He turned the jade ring in his hand, his eyes flickered, and he said meaningfully, "Shi and the girl are really destined to be together."
Mu An Ning looked at the man's smiling face, and her body trembled slightly, but she still pulled the corner of her mouth slightly, deliberately ignoring the words "it's fate" in the man's mouth, and said sincerely: "Thank you, Mr. Shi, for saving me."
If he hadn't intervened, she would have probably died on the street just now.
But remembering that Mu Wan'er had said before that he was the culprit who killed dozens of people, she felt something was wrong in her heart.
How could they meet by chance in such a huge city like Shangjing?
At this moment, Baoqin, holding a bag of snacks in her hand, walked towards her young lady from a small shop not far away.
When she saw the man in blue robe, she couldn't help but look surprised.
At this time, the boss inexplicably appeared in Shangjing. Could it be that... he really has feelings for the lady?
Suddenly, the window upstairs was slammed shut with a bang, causing the three people downstairs to look up at the same time.
Mu An Ning looked at the closed window and frowned subconsciously. Then she heard Shi Jiangli smile and said, "Miss An Ning, why don't we go to this restaurant and sit down. I have something I want to ask you."
*
Gu Huaizhi, who was standing by the window, frowned. Gu Yihan, who suddenly heard the loud noise, couldn't help but shook his head and asked, "Huaizhi, what happened?"
Gu Huaizhi sat down silently, poured himself a glass of wine, and suddenly put the glass down. Before he could think about it, he blurted out: "Cousin, you said...are all these women so fond of novelty and dislike the old?"
For some reason, the scene of the hero saving the beauty just now kept flashing through his mind, and he felt it was particularly glaring.
Gu Yihan seemed to be stumped by the question and did not answer for a long time.
Gu Huaizhi pursed his thin lips, feeling a little ridiculous. He snorted coldly from his nose and secretly regretted why he asked such a strange question.
He knew clearly that his cousin, who had not yet married, was not very famous.
"Dear guests, please come this way——"
The waiter's voice was quite high-pitched, and he might have led many people there before. But at this moment, Gu Huaizhi seemed to sense something, and he glanced sideways inadvertently, his eyes suddenly tightened.
The woman he was staring at didn't notice his gaze at all. After sitting down, she kept looking at the man sitting in front of her.
After the tea and snacks were served, Shi Jiangli spoke suddenly and looked at Mu An Ning with a smile on his face: "Miss An Ning, if I am not mistaken, you are not from Wutong City, but from Shangjing."
There was no trace of doubt in his tone, and it seemed that he was quite confident in his judgment.
Mu An Ning took a sip of tea and nodded after a while, not understanding what he meant.
Shi Jiangli smiled brightly and said directly without beating around the bush: "I am new to the capital and don't know much about this place. I would like to ask you, young lady, if I want to open a shop here, where would be more suitable?"
Mu An Ning looked at the sincere businessman with a little surprise.
How did he think of discussing these things with her, a woman who was not yet married?
She raised her eyes to answer, but suddenly saw that extremely familiar person staring at her closely, and she was stunned for a moment.
Shi Jiangli raised his eyebrows slightly, followed her gaze, and met the eyes of the man who was glaring at them. He raised the corners of his lips and smiled provocatively: "Who is that?" He turned to look at Mu An Ning, and said sympathetically: "Miss An Ning, do you know that young man? Do you want to say hello to him?"
Mu An Ning retracted his gaze, lowered his eyes and smiled softly, "Master Shi, you have misunderstood. I don't know that person...
In the past, it was extremely difficult to meet him. Even if I went to visit the palace, I often couldn't run into him.
Now, this was her first time out of the house since returning to Beijing, and she happened to run into him.
Shi Jiangli smiled slightly and did not comment.
*
People who practice martial arts all have excellent hearing. Even though Mu An Ning's voice was not loud, he was heard completely by the two cousins sitting not far away.
Gu Yihan, who was leaving with his back to Mu An Ning, did not look back, but he had already guessed Mu An Ning's identity.
He looked at Gu Huaizhi who was holding the wine glass tightly, and said helplessly: "If you keep squeezing it like this, I'm afraid this glass of wine will break."
Gu Huaizhi still said nothing, but the strength in his hands was slightly reduced.
He pursed his thin lips and turned his gaze to the swaying wine in the glass, his heart churning.
How could she say so calmly that she didn't know him? It was clear that they were an engaged couple just a few days ago!
I vaguely remember that if someone asked about their relationship, she would always look at him shyly and wait for his answer.
And he...seems to have said so before.
Gu Yihan raised his eyebrows: "What's on your mind? Why don't you tell me?"
First, she asked him to leave the palace to drink, and then she was inexplicably angry. If she said that Gu Huaizhi had no worries, it would be too fake.
Gu Huaizhi's mouth twitched slightly, and he blurted out two words quickly and hastily: "No!"
He must have been drunk yet, which was why he felt upset and wanted to fight with someone right away.
Gu Yihan had a gentle smile on his face and said no more.
This conceited and stubborn cousin of his will eventually fall.
*
It was already the end of the afternoon, and Baoqin couldn't help feeling a little worried.
Ever since the day that the young lady broke off the engagement with the prince without permission, she has been having her meals at Xiangningxuan, which can be said to be a disguised form of house arrest by the marquis' wife.
She didn't know who the servants in the mansion were obeying as they changed their attitude according to the situation. Whenever she went to the kitchen to get food, she was only given some rough rice and flour buns. She didn't know who she was trying to annoy.
Therefore, when she was leaving the house earlier, she couldn't help but suggest to the young lady that they buy some snacks to bring back.
However, the lady was not interested and only gave her some change from the pawnshop and let her go alone.
Just as Baoqin collected her thoughts and prepared to go get dinner, someone suddenly knocked on the door.
Before she could open the door, she heard the servant say with a hint of impatience, "Miss, Madam has ordered you to go to the dining room for dinner. Please don't keep Madam waiting for too long."
He finished speaking, and without caring whether anyone in the house heard him or not, he left without stopping.
Mu An Ning frowned slightly, but when she noticed that Baoqin was angry, she stood up and gently pulled Baoqin, signaling her not to take it seriously.
Baoqin couldn't help but complain, "Miss, these servants are so rude and disrespectful!" But they were helpless.
*
When the master and servant arrived at the dining room, except for Marquis Chongde and Mu Guiling who lived outside the mansion, all members of the Mu family had already taken their seats, including Mu Jingyue and Mu Jingrui.
Only Yunniang, a concubine, stood aside with her head lowered and her eyes submissive, standing in the same line as the other maids.
Mu An Ning was slightly stunned, and almost immediately saw his grandmother sitting in the main seat. She looked much older, with a few more wrinkles on her forehead.
She had just learned from Mu Wan'er a few days ago that her grandmother was not absent from the house on the day they returned home from Wutong City because she had gone to bed early.
It was because a few days after she left Beijing, her grandmother often felt uneasy and went to live in a Buddhist temple for half a month.
When hearing these words, Mu An Ning's heart was filled with mixed emotions, including guilt and heartache.
If she had not been forced to fall into the water twice in succession, causing unrest in the mansion, my grandmother would not have felt unwell.
After she calmed down and greeted him and sat down, Madam Mu suddenly said calmly, "An Ning, have you broken off your engagement with that kid from the Gu family?"
Mu An Ning lowered her eyes and answered softly, "Yes."
No one noticed the fleeting smile in Mu Jingyue's eyes.
Old Madam Mu sighed as she looked at her granddaughter, who had obviously lost a lot of weight after not seeing her for a month.
Seeing her granddaughter, whom she had personally raised, trapped in love all these years, how could she not feel any turmoil in her heart?
What's more, Mu Wan'er had explained to them that the two falls into the water were accidents when Mu An Ning left the house.
Marquis Chongde and Mrs. Xu never believed it, but as a grandmother, she believed it 90% in her heart.
Madam Mu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Don't worry. Since you are a girl from my mansion, there is no way you can't find a good husband."
She thinks the boy from the Xie family is quite good.
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