Lake Cruise

At the dinner table, Lord Chongde put down his chopsticks, his face as solemn as the frost in winter, but he still said respectfully: "Mother, I think this is really not in accordance with the rules."

He just found out that his eldest daughter and third daughter had both attended some blind date event.

In his opinion, it is not only against etiquette but also inappropriate for a girl to go out and show her face in public.

Madam Mu chuckled, and with her eyes that had seen the years, she stared at her son, who was already over 40 years old, and shook her head, saying, "You are just too old-fashioned."

She took a sip of tea, and through the tea, she continued to stare at her son, and asked, "Other young masters and young ladies can participate, so why can't the daughter of our Marquis's family participate?"

She sighed inwardly, thinking that her son's ideas were too conservative, even more conservative than her, who already had one foot in the grave.

Especially when it comes to matters that affect the reputation of the Marquisate, he seems particularly stubborn.

In today's complex world, it is no longer appropriate to stick to the old ways.

Lord Chongde took a sip of tea. Although he still disagreed with his mother's opinion, he slowly suppressed the anger in his heart and sighed heavily.

He never dared to say anything wrong to his mother who had raised him with all the hardship.

Seeing her son remained silent, Madam Mu narrowed her eyes and said in a flat voice, "I heard that you have been resting in Yunniang's room these days?"

She didn't want such a foolish thing as favoring a concubine and destroying a wife to happen in their mansion.

Marquis Chongde's expression was slightly grim. Hearing the hidden meaning of his mother's words, he felt annoyed and tacitly agreed with her statement.

Today, Xu is no longer the gentle and gracious girl she used to be. Instead, she has become insane. It is impossible for him to sleep in the same room with her anymore.

Madam Mu raised her eyes slightly, trying to see a clue from her son's expression with her deep eyes: "Come to think of it, before Xu fell ill, I asked her to look for young men in the capital for Prime Minister An Ning. Do you know how she did?"

Although my granddaughter went to meet the young master of the Xie family today, I cannot be sure that the marriage will be successful. After all, I have already broken off the engagement once.

A woman's marriage not only means a major turning point in her life, but also concerns the honor and disgrace, prosperity and decline of her mother's family.

When he heard his mother mention the Xu family, Lord Chongde's face became even gloomier, as if shrouded by dark clouds.

He said in a deep voice, "Mother, Xu has never mentioned this to me." He stroked his long beard, thinking of the woman's madness, and suddenly said thoughtfully, "Her condition has become more serious in the past few days. I was thinking that maybe I could ask someone to come to the house to exorcise the evil spirits in a few days."

*

"Sir, please follow me."

"Hey, sir, this is boat number 18, and boat number 17 is next to it."

Mu An Ning heard the voices on the shore, raised her eyebrows slightly, turned her head to look at the shore, but only had time to catch a glimpse of a crimson corner of clothes.

It seems that the young man who just passed by should be the future husband chosen by her grandmother for her.

She quickly retracted her gaze, with a barely perceptible curve at the corner of her mouth.

If her half-sister could get along well with him and be attracted to him, she would save herself a lot of trouble.

When her grandmother asked about it, she wouldn't have to think of other excuses to decline the marriage.

"Sir, this is Shiba."

There was another sound, but this time, the footsteps were coming towards her ship.

Mu An Ning pursed her lips and slowly stood up. For some reason, she felt a little nervous.

Although she has no intention of getting married right now, if she can find a good match on her own, it is not something she would not consider.

She turned her head slowly, her hair fluttering in the breeze, shining like soft silk in the sunlight.

The moment her eyes met that man's, she unconsciously revealed a trace of absent-mindedness.

She boasted that she rarely showed such an inappropriate expression towards a man.

If Gu Huaizhi at that time was the first, then the young man in front of him was the second.

The young man was wearing a simple white robe, with a jade crown on his hair. His face was as white as jade, his features were soft, his eyes were like stars, and his clear pupils could penetrate into one's heart like the spring sunshine.

He looked slightly similar to Gu Huaizhi, but the feeling he gave her was completely opposite.

Gu Huaizhi was arrogant and rude, and had a high opinion of himself, while this young man looked innocent and harmless, and had no experience in worldly affairs.

When the old boatman saw that both of them had boarded the boat, he shook his white beard, slapped the board hard, and shouted loudly and forcefully, "Let's go!"

He was in a particularly good mood today. Not only was the task easy, but he could also see young people dating.

The wooden boat shook violently, and ripples appeared on the water.

Mu An Ning's body swayed and she fell to the left. She was about to fall into the water, so she could only close her eyes subconsciously.

However, at this critical moment, a pair of hands reached out in time and held her arms steadily.

Mu An Ning breathed a sigh of relief and slowly opened his eyes. It was that young man.

His palms were warm and strong, but they were trembling slightly, and his voice was also trembling slightly: "Girl...Girl, are you okay?"

Mu An Ning raised her eyes slightly. From this distance, she could see that his fair face was even more delicate than the girl's. His long and thick eyelashes kept trembling, which made people suddenly feel a desire to protect him.

Mu An Ning suddenly retracted his gaze, gently pulled back his hand, and said with a smile: "No problem, thank you, sir."

The young man saw her lips curled up slightly, and his voice trembled unconsciously: "Girl... I'm glad you're okay."

Having said that, he suddenly lowered his eyes, trying to hide his helplessness.

This was the first time he had seen such a beautiful, gentle girl who looked like a fairy from heaven.

At that moment just now, he felt that his heartbeat almost stopped and he was isolated from the world, leaving only that gentle smile lingering in his heart.

He seems to have come to the right place today.

Before the boat lost control for the second time, Mu An Ning called him back to his senses in time: "Sir, why don't we sit down first."

He suddenly came to his senses and said stiffly in a low voice, "Miss, please go first."

Mu An Ning nodded, turned around and sat down, and the man followed and sat opposite her.

His eyes flickered, and he suddenly said, "Miss, I am... Tan Wenhuai."

Tan?

Mu An Ning was a little puzzled and couldn't figure out which family the young man was from. But seeing his flushed face, she couldn't help but chuckle and told him her name.

This young man is really interesting. He is so handsome, but speaks slowly and looks even younger than her.

Mu An Ning's gaze only stayed on his face for a few moments, but during these few moments, his cheeks became visibly redder.

Tan Wenhuai stammered again, "Ms. Mu...Ms. Mu, can you please stop staring at me?"

Mu An Ning was stunned, as if she didn't expect him to say such a thing, and quickly looked away.

After a while, Tan Wenhuai saw that the girl didn't say anything, and thought she was angry, so he hurriedly said awkwardly: "Miss, don't misunderstand...I don't...I don't have any other intentions."

Mu An Ning cast her gaze on his face again, shook her head and smiled, "Mr. Tan, there is no need to be so nervous. It was my daughter who lost her composure just now."

Tan Wenhuai was a little absent-minded and said subconsciously: "Girl, you look so beautiful when you smile." After saying that, he realized that he had said something wrong and stammered to apologize.

It was the first time that Mu An Ning had seen such an awkward and shy man. She was about to open her lips to comfort him, but she heard the boatman humming a little tune and saying, "It seems that I will witness a good relationship with my own eyes today."

*

"Sir, Shiqi is here."

Gu Huaizhi, who was following behind the servant, nodded slightly. Although he was somewhat disgusted with this simple boat, he still strode forward.

Helping Xie Yunting this time can be considered as accumulating merit for yourself.

But I really don’t know what the point of this lake cruise is. Is it really fun for a man and a woman to sit on a boat and enjoy the breeze?

Hearing the noise behind him, Mu Jingyue in the boat stood up with bated breath.

She was somewhat looking forward to discovering who the man Mu An Ning wanted to meet in secret was.

As she turned around and raised her eyes, a scarlet figure instantly invaded her sight.

The boy is tall and slender, with a handsome face and sharp features, but he still has a youthful look.

Although his expression was indifferent, his face looked much softer due to the upturned peach blossom eyes under his slightly furrowed brows.

Mu Jingyue came back to his senses and found that his cheeks were burning as if they were burned by fire.

She felt an indescribable shame rising in her heart, and she couldn't help but lower her head, her voice as soft as a nightingale: "Sir."

It was indeed a pleasant surprise that the young man Mu An Ning met was so handsome.

Gu Huaizhi glanced at her, then sat down on the stool with a calm expression, but he had no idea where to put his long legs.

This strange posture made him sigh in disgust again.

Hearing the girl introducing her identity in a gentle voice, he just said "Oh" faintly, and it was unclear whether he heard it or not.

Anyway, Xie Yunting just asked him to come over, and didn't tell him what to do or how to treat this woman.

He stared at the lake, wondering when to let Gu Ji spread the news of his meeting with other women and let Mu An Ning hear it.

He really wanted to see how she would look after hearing this.

If she felt sad and jealous because of this, then he might consider forgiving her for what she said on the day she broke off her engagement with him.

The lake was sparkling with boats passing by continuously, but he just glanced at them a few times and didn't pay much attention.

Suddenly, a gentle and pleasant voice came, like a light cloud passing by.

His forehead jumped suddenly and he looked sideways suddenly, only to see two very close figures gradually moving away.

Mu Anning!

She is here too?

His face gradually darkened, and his dark eyes were hard to see through.

He couldn't explain his feelings at the moment. He clearly wanted to make Mu An Ning jealous, but in the end he felt an indescribable feeling in his heart.

It is really like a dumb person eating Coptis chinensis, the pain is indescribable.

Seeing that he was staring outside, Mu Jingyue shyly called him a few times: "Young Master, Young Master?"

Gu Huaizhi suddenly came back to his senses, but ignored her. Instead, he stared at the boat that was getting farther and farther away in the distance with a sharp gaze, and said calmly to the boatman: "Catch up with that boat."

He wanted to see which boy she was talking to so happily.

As the speed of the boat increased, Mu Jingyue held the hem of her skirt tightly, feeling a little uneasy in her heart.

She looked in the direction Gu Huaizhi was staring at and recognized the moon-white dress.

Is that...Mu Anning?

She turned her eyes in disbelief back to the man sitting in front of her, pursed her lips tightly, and felt endless resentment in her heart.

Why did everyone ignore her but pay special attention to Mu An Ning?

What makes her inferior to that adopted daughter?

Gu Huaizhi watched the boat go farther and farther away. He stood up, walked to the boatman, and scolded him unhappily, "Are you rowing or taking a nap? Go faster!"

The boatman's forehead was covered with beads of sweat, but despite this, he still did not dare to slack off and tried his best to speed up and row the boat.

He originally thought that today's job was easy, but he never expected that he would have to participate in a rowing competition.

Mu Jingyue's face turned pale, and she said softly, "Sir, can you go slower?"

Gu Huaizhi frowned and glanced at her pitiful expression, then said coldly and impatiently, "Catch up with her first."

The distance suddenly shortened and their boat finally approached the small boat in front.

The figures of a man and a woman on the boat became increasingly clear in his eyes.

Finally, the two boats were side by side, but the two people on the boat didn't seem to notice anything unusual and continued to talk as if no one was around.

Gu Huaizhi sneered and glanced at the pale-faced man: "Are you attracted to this pretty boy?"