The sky in April was clear and gentle, and spring was in the air. Yining got up early in the morning and directed the maid to plant black bamboo in the yard.
The original wintersweet in the yard could not survive the winter, so the remaining roots were dug up and black bamboo was planted. Yining drank some water and asked Qingqu to add more soil.
Qingqu asked, "Miss Qi, can the bamboo festival survive if we plant it like this?"
Yi Ning smiled, and seeing that she was sweating, she handed her a handkerchief and said, "Why not? Just see if it can grow back."
Qingqu took her handkerchief with some hesitation. Miss Seven's handkerchiefs were all made of Hangzhou silk or Shu brocade. If they were Hangzhou silk, there would be exquisite patterns embroidered on them by a maid with excellent needlework skills. Or maybe Miss Seven embroidered them herself. Although she was young, the patterns she embroidered were very delicate and beautiful. Did she wipe her own sweat?
After thinking about it, Qingqu put the handkerchief into his arms.
Yi Ning had already walked into the house. Lin Hairu had been too busy recently, so she had excused the others from their morning and evening visits. She had practiced calligraphy every morning. After Xuezhi brought her back from her third brother's place last night, she had slept very soundly and had risen early this morning.
Yi Ning seemed to remember what Luo Shenyuan had said to her, but she couldn't tell whether it was a dream or reality. She only heard that Luo Shenyuan had gotten up early in the morning, paid his respects to his father, and then went out to do some business.
She was sitting under the window in the study today. She had just calmed down and written a few words when someone suddenly knocked on her desk.
Yi Ning looked up and saw Lin Mao, hands behind his back, looking at her study and nodding. "Your place is quite elegant."
Yi Ning put down her pen and asked him, "Cousin Mao, are you free today?"
Yi Ning felt that she was being quite tactful. Lin Mao not only had nothing to do today, but he seemed to have nothing to do all day long.
Lin Mao narrowed his narrow eyes. He was still wearing his Taoist robes, looking like an immortal, graceful and otherworldly. He said firmly, "I have something to do."
Yining looked at him with an expression of listening attentively.
His tone was a little slower: "Cousin Yining, is she twelve years old this year?"
Yi Ning was a little puzzled. Why did he ask this? She shook her head: "There are still five months left. If cousin Mao is free, I heard that big brother's place is very lively. Do you want to go and see it?"
Lin Mao looked at her deeply, and said with a smile: "No need, but I'll take my leave too."
After saying this, he said goodbye and left her room. Yi Ning was completely baffled by him. She resolutely refused to speculate on what these people were thinking: Luo Shenyuan, Lin Mao. The former was too deep-minded, and the latter...his thoughts were too different from those of ordinary people.
Yi Ning called Xue Zhi in and asked her to send a maid to follow Lin Mao, so that he wouldn't wander around the Luo family without realizing he was in the wrong place. Xue Zhi returned a short while later and told Yi Ning, "...My cousin doesn't allow anyone to follow him."
Lin Mao went to Lin Hairu's place. Lin Hairu had just met with a maid to confirm the gift list for the second house. Seeing Lin Mao coming in, she took a sip of tea and said, "You've come at the right time. My sister-in-law wrote to ask if you've arrived. Why don't you write her a letter? Don't be impatient with her all the time. She cares about you. I heard she just wanted to find you a marriage, and the woman is the daughter of the Vice Magistrate of Yangzhou Xuanwei Division. You're not happy about it and you're going off to make elixirs. You're not young anymore. We won't care about you no matter what you do. Can you spare your family some worry?"
Lin Mao sat down and drank a sip of tea. After listening to Lin Hairu for a long time, he finally said, "Aunt, I want to marry my cousin Yining."
When Lin Hairu heard him say he wanted to get married, she finally smiled at her nephew: "That's great! Your sixth brother from the next room is busy looking for a marriage partner. If you don't marry him, how can he get ahead of you? If you don't get anxious, he will be anxious. I will write to my eldest sister-in-law right away and tell her who you want to marry."
"Cousin Yining." Lin Mao said again.
Lin Hairu's eyes widened.
As if she had heard something terrible, she was a little overwhelmed. She was stunned and said, "Are you...joking?"
But she saw that her usually smiling nephew had a solemn expression, no playful smile at all. Instead, he looked up at her seriously and said, "Marriage is a serious matter. I want to marry my cousin Yining. But she is too young now, so I have to wait another three or four years. But that's okay. How about exchanging an engagement token first? If you agree, I will go back and ask mother to propose marriage."
Lin Hairu felt like she wanted to slap him.
"Lin Mao, it's okay for you to be unconventional, but you can't make such a joke. How old is Yining! If this gets out, how will others see you? Besides, Yining's marriage is not something I can decide—"
Lin Hairu didn't say anything else. Luo Yihui would definitely not stand by and watch Yi Ning's marriage, and Luo Shenyuan would also intervene. Although the Luo family was far from being as wealthy as the Lin family, their official status was still higher than the Lin family's... In a word, she would definitely not agree!
Lin Mao finally regained a hint of a smile: "Aunt, don't be scared by me. I know that cousin Yining is still young, and I will eventually get married. It's not that I have any feelings for cousin Yining now, but I don't hate cousin Yining. She is quite entertaining."
Lin Hairu had always hoped that Lin Mao would behave more properly, but she was really shocked by his seriousness just now. But he was still smiling so happily, which was a relief. She breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Did you come up with this idea to postpone your marriage for a few years?"
Lin Mao shook his head and took a drink from the teacup on the table: "If she is already of marriageable age, why not marry her right away?"
Then I can pinch her face every day and really keep her for fun.
Seeing his aunt's uncertain expression, Lin Mao leaned closer to persuade her: "Aunt, when Yi Ning grows up, it doesn't matter who she marries. You know her background well, and marrying into the Lin family won't be unfair to her. Although our Lin family is larger and more lively, everyone has a good personality. My mother has been eager for me to find a wife for her. I know you love cousin Yi Ning, wouldn't it be best if she were to live with us?"
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