Chapter 128
The weather in early September has already entered autumn.
Because Wei Ting was employed by the Wucheng Military Command and Wei Ying was away in Shandong, Xu had been temporarily residing at the Duke of Ying's mansion. Later, Old Madam Wei had the steward clear out the Fangxia Pavilion to her left, intending to keep it as Xu's permanent residence. Since their encounter at the temple, Xu's mother-in-law, Song, had also been a guest at the Duke of Ying's mansion. When Yi Ning paid her respects to Old Madam Wei, they were discussing interesting stories about the capital's families, and Wei Ting's marriage was mentioned.
Xu fell in love with the eldest daughter of the Liaoning governor's family. The two families seemed to be interested in each other and had even reached the stage of matching their horoscopes.
Yi Ning thought Wei Ting was interested in Zhao Mingzhu because she often saw them interacting. She never expected that Xu had already arranged Wei Ting's marriage.
Yining and Xu had clashed last time, and Xu had always been indifferent to her. Yining, however, had no desire to be too eager to please someone who hadn't shown her affection. She sat on Old Lady Wei's bed, peeling grapes. These were the last of the harvest, and the juice was as sweet as honey, truly delicious. Old Lady Wei's bed had just been replaced with a sandalwood-colored velvet backrest for autumn, and she found it incredibly comfortable.
Yi Ning narrowed her eyes slightly, and suddenly heard Xu Shi mention her: "...Have you promised to be in-laws with Yi Ning?"
Old Mrs. Wei smiled and replied, "She promised it." Then she didn't continue talking. After all, Yining's marriage was fake in the first place.
Xu found it a bit strange. If ordinary people asked about this, they would tell the family the marriage was promised to and the date. She had never heard that Yi Ning was engaged before. Just as she was about to ask, Song tugged at her daughter-in-law's sleeve and told her not to ask any more questions.
Xu thought that the family that Yining had chosen was not a good one, so Mrs. Wei was unwilling to mention it.
She glanced at Yi Ning. She was beautiful, a young girl with a pure and innocent appearance, yet there was a hint of seduction between her features. Her methods were anything but gentle; they were decisive and intelligent. It was a shame she wasn't born into a good family, otherwise she would have been considered one of the best among the noble ladies.
Yi Ning noticed that Xu was constantly looking at her with a strange look in her eyes, and she didn't know what she was thinking. She felt that the incense burning in the room was a bit stuffy, so she excused herself from Old Madam Wei's place and left with her maid, only to find Zhao Mingzhu standing at the door.
Was she listening to the conversation inside just now?
Seeing that she was holding a cloth package and her face was not looking good, Yi Ning thought she was here to deliver something to Old Madam Wei, so she asked, "Why don't you go in?"
Zhao Mingzhu shook her head and pursed her lips.
She looked at Yining and suddenly said, "...It's rare that I have some free time today. Sister Yining, come with me to the pavilion. It seems the begonias there are in bloom."
It's strange today, she usually avoids me.
Zhao Mingzhu turned and headed straight for the pavilion. Yi Ning thought for a moment and followed her. She opened the silk cloth package in her hand, revealing several carved red lacquer boxes filled with various candies. Zhao Mingzhu picked up a box of pine nut candies and gave it to Yi Ning, saying, "My mother came to visit me today and brought me some candies and fruits. Give some to you."
Yining saw that the box was carved with a pattern of five bats offering longevity, so he accepted it and said thank you.
Zhao Mingzhu continued, "My mother heard that my grandmother was going to arrange a marriage for me, so she insisted on coming to visit her in person. I told her to go back because she still had to take care of my father. Last time, my gambling father owed money to the gambling house and couldn't pay it back, and I didn't see them, so the gambling house beat him up. Now he needs someone to take care of him every day..."
Luo Yining saw that her expression showed no sadness at all, and was unsure of her reason for saying this. Zhao Mingzhu glanced at her and chuckled, "I don't want you to comfort me—I wish he'd been beaten to death so he wouldn't be a burden to my useless mother." Her expression became indifferent. "I don't like them. But my mother is very good to me. She makes clothes for me every holiday, even though I never wear them. Now that my father has been crippled, she cries all day long. It's really annoying. What's there to cry about? He's not much better now than when he was healthy!"
"I'm telling this to Sister Yining, but there's really no one else I can talk to." Zhao Mingzhu asked, "Sister Yining, I know you've been talking about marriage lately, but are you talking about Cousin Cheng Lang?"
It's not surprising that she knew this. Old Mrs. Wei was very close to her, so it was possible that she told her.
Zhao Mingzhu continued, "My marriage isn't a good one, but you should be more careful about yours too. Sister Yining, please be careful with him. He may appear gentle and modest, but he's actually the coldest and most ruthless person. He won't fall in love easily."
"Thank you, Sister Mingzhu. I understand." Yining thanked her. Of course she understood. How could she not know Cheng Lang's personality?
It’s just that Cheng Lang’s personality has nothing to do with her.
As they were talking about this, someone came from the front yard and said that Cheng Lang and his men had brought some gifts to the door. When Yi Ning asked carefully, he found out that they were wild geese, wine, and gift cakes.
After hearing what Cheng Lang brought, Yining stood up suddenly and lowered his voice: "How did we get to Naji?"
After the six rites of marriage, the marriage was basically settled when it came to Naji. Yi Ning had always felt that there were many problems with this marriage and wanted to talk to Wei Ling about it, but he had been busy with court affairs in recent days. Now, Cheng Lang was already Naji the moment he arrived. Wouldn't that tell everyone that she was going to marry him?
Yi Ning didn't delay, said goodbye to Zhao Mingzhu and went to the front yard.
As a result, when she arrived at Zhigao Hall in the East Garden, the lattice doors were closed, Wei Ling was talking to Cheng Lang in the room, and bursts of laughter could be heard from time to time.
When Shen Lian, who was guarding the door, saw her, he immediately clasped his fists and asked, "Miss, do you think we should carry these things to the kitchen?"
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