"Good sister, what are you looking at?" As soon as A-Shu pushed the door open, she saw Jiang Ling looking a little dazed.
Jiang Ling quickly looked away, pretending to be unsophisticated, and said to A Shu, "No...it's nothing, I've never seen anything so nice before! This chair even has a faint fragrance!"
Ah Shu was very pleased with the compliment. She patted the sandalwood chair generously and said to Jiang Ling, "Sister, where do you live? If you live nearby, I'll give you this chair set!"
Jiang Ling waved her hand repeatedly, and then the two sat down and chatted for a long time.
Judging from the chat, Jiang Ling found that A Shu in front of her was really naive. She had only known Jiang Ling for a few hours, but A Shu had told Jiang Ling almost everything about her family.
"Oh, dear sister, you have no idea how bored I've been here. I was thinking of going out for a meal today, but you ended up seeing me do something so embarrassing!" Ashu said, propping her chin up and pouting with a helpless expression.
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and a respectful voice came in: "Miss, your osmanthus rice cake is ready! Shall I bring it in now?"
Jiang Ling felt the voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she had heard it. Before she could figure it out, A-Shu looked up at the door and said, "Come in!"
The door creaked open, and the person who entered was not Chun Chan, who was beside Ah Shu, but someone else.
Her gaze fell on Jiang Ling, and she showed a brief moment of surprise, but this surprise lasted for less than a second, and Jiang Ling naturally did not notice.
She placed the osmanthus rice cake on the table without making a sound, seemingly trying to buy herself some time. After thinking for a moment, she said to Ah Shu, "Miss, do you need anything else?"
After thinking for a moment, Ah Shu pointed to her chin and said, "Then brew a pot of Biluochun tea and send it over!"
She nodded and quietly left A-Shu's room, but her sharp gaze lingered on Jiang Ling for a long time.
The moment she closed the door, her expression turned wary, and she jogged off to another spot.
Soon she arrived at a room, pushed open the door, picked up a piece of Xuan paper, wrote a few words on it, then carefully put it in her bosom and walked towards the pigeon coop in the courtyard.
The pigeons in the coop were cooing. She quickly grabbed something she had written earlier, tied it to the pigeon's leg, and tossed it away. The pigeon flapped its wings and flew out of the mansion.
After she finished all these things, she casually went to the kitchen, brewed a pot of Biluochun tea, and delivered it to A-Shu's room.
This time, she didn't rush to leave. Instead, she hid in an inconspicuous corner and eavesdropped on the conversation inside.
After listening for a while, she realized that the conversation seemed pointless, so she left dejectedly.
On the other side, inside the Pingxi County Government Office.
Magistrate Duan paced back and forth anxiously. Zhao Liu, covering his eyes, said to Magistrate Duan, "My lord, can't you just sit down for a while? You're making my eyes dizzy!"
"Liu Zi, if you don't like watching, then go away. Don't you know I'm annoyed right now?!" Magistrate Duan scolded Zhao Liu beside him with a stern face.
Zhao Liu shrugged helplessly. How could he not know the troubles that Magistrate Duan was going through right now?
Earlier, when Jiang Ling brought Nianci over, he felt something was off, but since it happened so suddenly, he didn't think much of it.
During the time Jiang Ling was away, even if Magistrate Duan was stupid, he would have noticed that something was wrong. Magistrate Duan finally managed to get information out of Nianci.
It turned out that the Third Prince had actually obtained an imperial decree from the Emperor, wanting Jiang Ling to marry Yuan Zhiming, the governor of Zhongzhou. When the news came out, Magistrate Duan almost fainted.
If Zhao Liu hadn't remained sober and kept stopping Magistrate Duan, Magistrate Duan would probably have already taken off his official robes and gone to Shengjing to ask the Emperor to rescind his decree.
Magistrate Duan was furious at the sight of Zhao Liu. He pointed at Zhao Liu, seemingly wanting to say something but then hesitated. Zhao Liu, however, nonchalantly picked his nose and said, "Hey, Old Duan, you're supposed to be a seventh-rank magistrate. Can't you be a little more composed in your work?"
"Sixth Prince, how can you expect me to remain calm about this? Would you be happy if your wife were betrothed to someone else by imperial decree?" Magistrate Duan said, his nostrils flaring up several times over with a taut face.
"My wife?" Zhao Liu picked his nose and flicked it away, answering slowly, "My wife would never have this problem. I pursued her as soon as I set my sights on her! I'm a warrior, unlike you, so hesitant and indecisive! I told you about that Jiang family member a long time ago, but you didn't listen, so who can I blame?"
"You!" Magistrate Duan was speechless, choked by Zhao Liu's words, and could only glare fiercely at Zhao Liu.
Zhao Liu glanced at Magistrate Duan indifferently and said, "Going now won't change anything. You yourself said that Jiang is no ordinary woman. If you ask me, you should just stay here and wait for news! If you two are truly destined, even the heavens can't separate you. If you're not, even if you give up this official hat, it won't matter!"
Zhao Liu's words gradually calmed Magistrate Duan down. He rubbed his aching temples and sat in his chair, panting heavily. He was clearly very angry, but Zhao Liu was right. At this moment, he really had no other choice but to wait patiently.
Jiang Ling, far away in Shengjing, is currently eating her own osmanthus rice cake. Although it is not as delicious as the one she made that day, she did not expect it to retain this texture.
"How is it? Dear sister, is it delicious?" A-Shu asked Jiang Ling with wide eyes.
Jiang Ling chuckled. How could something she made not taste good? But she still deliberately put on a surprised expression and nodded vigorously.
A-Shu was very satisfied with Jiang Ling's expression at this moment. Then, as if she had thought of something, A-Shu patted her head and said to Jiang Ling, "Good sister, are you brave or not?"
Jiang Ling was taken aback, turned to look at A Shu, not understanding what he was up to. She blinked curiously and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
A-Shu poked her chin and watched as Jiang Ling leaned closer to her and lowered her voice, saying, "The day after tomorrow, the Empress Dowager is holding a flower-viewing banquet in the palace, and all of us women are invited to attend. But I've never gotten along with those girls, so I'm so bored by myself. I was just thinking about how to decline when you, my dear sister, showed up. If you're brave enough, would you dare to come into the palace with me?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ling showed a surprised expression. She stared at A Shu with an incredulous look. Her surprise was not entirely feigned; part of it was genuine astonishment. Mainly, she had never expected her plan to go so smoothly, so smoothly that she could hardly believe it herself.
"Good sister, come with me, or I'll be bored to death!" When A-Shu saw that Jiang Ling didn't answer, she immediately started to whine and plead.
Jiang Ling curled her lips slightly and looked coldly at A-Shu, asking in a teasing tone, "A-Shu, aren't you...aren't you afraid that I'll cause some trouble in the palace and implicate you?"
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