"Come with me." He took Yi Ning's hand and sat her down in front of the mirror. He removed the ruby crabapple hairpin from her hair. His slender fingers slid across Yi Ning's dressing table. From it, he selected a lotus-shaped gold hairpin, a pair of red corals the size of lotus seeds. They made her earlobes appear even whiter. His fingers lifted her face again.
Yining froze, not daring to move, her fingertips warm and rough. They were clearly far away, yet the feeling was intense.
He stared at her for a long time, their eyes meeting, and Yi Ning couldn't look away. Then she heard him say, "Hmm... the makeup looks good."
After he stepped aside, Yi Ning looked at herself in the mirror. She was indeed much prettier than before, elegant yet simple.
It was already late when the two finally got on the carriage, as the carriages going back home were moving fast. Yi Ning saw him reading another document and didn't know what to say. The two of them sat in silence. The carriage swayed, and she almost fell down. Luo Shenyuan reached out to steady her. She said, "Thank you, Third Brother."
Luo Shenyuan nodded and said you're welcome. Silence fell on the carriage again, and Yi Ning began to make small talk, "I played dominoes with Madam Cheng yesterday and lost over a hundred taels of silver..."
He finally raised his head, closed the book and looked at her: "You lost a lot, is it fun?"
"Losing money is no fun. It was my mother who dragged me into the game. She lost more than I did, and she was so upset that she sent Ruixiang back home to get another two hundred taels of silver to continue playing."
Both of them are spendthrifts. Most people can't afford to lose as much as they do. Fortunately, he can still make money.
Luo Shenyuan nodded and said, "You guys have nothing to do in your spare time, so playing Pai Gow wouldn't be bad. Oh, and I've even had someone make a set of white marble chess pieces. You can continue learning how to play chess with me."
Yi Ning thought to herself, "Playing Pai Gow isn't bad, after all." The tone clearly showed disdain for such folk activities as playing cards. She wanted her to continue to be influenced by the fine arts with him.
The carriage creaked to a stop, and the maid outside said with a smile, "Third Young Master, Young Madam, we have arrived at the Duke of Ying's mansion."
Yining smiled and said, "Third brother, it's time for us to get off the bus."
Today, the Duke of Ying's residence was preparing early for the return visit. The kitchen in the outer courtyard was already preparing lunch at noon. The residence was bustling with activity, as the relatives from the Wei family's maternal side had also arrived.
The servant announced that the young lady and the new son-in-law had returned, and Wei Ling quickly changed into a brand new silk robe with a right lapel and went to the front hall.
From a distance, he saw Yi Ning, who was only as tall as her husband's shoulders, standing next to Luo Shenyuan. She was wearing a bright red jacket, with a rosy complexion and a bright look. Yi Ning came forward and knelt down to kowtow to him. When the girl returned home, she would bring her new husband to visit her parents, worship the ancestral temple, and recognize relatives. Wei Ling felt sorry for the girl and quickly helped her up. He missed her very much after not seeing her for a few days and was worried that she would not be used to the food and accommodation. But seeing that she seemed to be living well in the Luo family, he smiled a little reluctantly and said, "I'm glad you're back!"
Come to think of it, Yining has lived with the Luo family for more than ten years, so how could she not be used to it?
Wei Ling looked at Luo Shenyuan. Yi Ning had just walked him in with her arm around him. Luo Shenyuan wasn't wearing his official robes today, just his everyday clothes.
Wei Ling was still thinking. He was in contact with Zeng Heng. What was the purpose of this contact?
No matter what he did with Zeng Heng, once it became known, he would inevitably be suspected of treason.
Why would he betray Zeng Heng and help him? Is it really because he is Yining's father?
Wei Ling had his doubts, but they were all politicians after all, though he lacked the orthodoxy of civil servants like Luo Shenyuan. He asked Yi Ning to go and pay her respects to Old Madam Wei first, then raised his hand and asked Luo Shenyuan to sit down beside him. He smiled and said, "Yining is young, and she's a bit adept at managing household affairs, but not at other things. I hope you'll be more tolerant of her. How has she been doing these past few days?"
"Don't worry, father-in-law. She is as good as her name suggests." Luo Shenyuan smiled slowly. "She is young, and I feel very sorry for her."
"You're her third brother, so it's hard for you to marry her," Wei Ling continued. "By the way, there's something I don't understand about the incident at Pingyuan Fort that day. The Oirat tribe was planning to ambush me at Pingyuan Fort, something even my scouts didn't know about... How did you know that?"
Luo Shenyuan smiled silently and put down his teacup. Wei Ling finally asked him. No matter how capable he was, he couldn't possibly have his spies everywhere. In fact, more often than not, his spies were targeting court officials, especially important departments and hubs. Borders controlled by generals for long periods of time were difficult to remove. Zeng Heng was an exception; he did have some kind of collaboration with Zeng Heng.
Back in Baoding, Zeng Heng was Zeng Yingkun's son, a dandy who rode horses and fed hawks. Luo Shenyuan met him and found him quite intelligent. Later, they gambled together in Baoding, becoming acquaintances. Zeng Heng was unknown in Baoding, but it was only after he took up his father's post that he flourished, his influence growing. Luo Shenyuan suggested a partnership with Zeng Heng.
But the matter between him and Zeng Heng was neither big nor small. It would still cause trouble if he spoke about it. Especially since he was the new Minister of Works, right at the center of the storm.
"It's not that I don't want to tell you, but knowing it would be disadvantageous to you," Luo Shenyuan said. "My spies aren't that powerful. Otherwise, the world would be in my hands, and no one else could do that. In short, the military achievements belong to you, and that's what matters most."
Luo Shenyuan's words actually made Wei Ling feel more relieved. This proved that Luo Shenyuan had no intention of hiding anything from him.
He laughed loudly and said, "Forget it! Just know your limits. Don't overdo anything." Then he let Luo Shenyuan follow him to the front hall to meet with the prominent in-laws of the Wei family.
The women were drinking tea and chatting with Old Lady Wei in the backyard's flower hall. Yi Ning then realized that besides the Wei family's maternal relatives, several aunts, and cousins, there were also the mistresses and elderly ladies of the lord's family with whom she interacted daily. She didn't have time to greet each of the elders before asking Fang Song, "...Why are there so many people?"
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