The gates of the Prime Minister's residence were wide open, and the Prime Minister, who had just returned from the palace, led everyone in the residence to greet him at the gate.
A huge crowd stood in neat rows; anyone who didn't know better would have thought her father, the emperor, had come in person.
Tsk... This Prime Minister's residence is really giving her too much face.
As soon as Rong Ning stepped off the carriage, the Prime Minister was at the very front, leading everyone to kneel down, "Welcome Your Highness the Crown Prince, welcome Princess Ningding."
The Crown Prince led Rong Ning inside, looked around for a while, and then said calmly, "Get up, all of you..."
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
The Prime Minister stood up shakily, walked up to her, smiled, and gestured for her to come forward. He slowly said, "It is rather sudden that Your Highness is coming to stay at my residence. So please forgive me if there are any shortcomings in the preparations."
Yo…
How did her coming to the Prime Minister's residence to learn etiquette suddenly turn into her staying there for a while?
This prime minister certainly knows how to characterize things.
It seems that everyone knows what both sides are after in this farce; they're just playing along.
However, appearances still need to be maintained.
If you're talking about learning the rules, then you have to act according to the rules.
Rong Ning glanced at everyone in the Prime Minister's residence and said calmly, "What are you saying, Prime Minister... Father Emperor said in front of the ministers that I came to the residence to learn etiquette, not to enjoy myself, so there is no need to make such a grand show. Let all the irrelevant people go. Everyone should go do what they need to do. There is no need for everyone to wait here."
Upon hearing this, the Prime Minister did not react immediately, but instead looked at the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince gently raised his hand and instructed, "Do whatever A-Ning says..."
"Yes...Your Highness!"
The Prime Minister turned around, waved to dismiss the servants in the mansion, and then led the two of them toward the flower hall. The Prime Minister's wife and a group of young masters and ladies from the mansion followed behind.
Upon arriving at the flower hall, Rong Ning and the Crown Prince sat down, and only then did the Prime Minister begin to introduce the people in the mansion one by one.
The Prime Minister's wife was a graceful and elegant noblewoman with a round face and a smile that resembled that of Maitreya Buddha, exuding kindness.
The Prime Minister's residence has many people and a large number of offspring, but not just anyone can be introduced to Rong Ning and the Crown Prince. Those who can stand here today should be the most outstanding among the younger generation in the residence in all aspects.
After the age of ten, Rong Ning was not often in Nanyang City, and before the age of ten, she did not participate in various banquets held by different families. Therefore, Rong Ning had no impression of these girls, but she felt that those young masters looked somewhat familiar.
The one standing at the very front, Xie Chong, was someone Rong Ning had dealt with before.
Xie Chong was the eldest grandson of the Prime Minister. Among the young masters of Nanyang City, he was considered to be both literate and martial, and was quite outstanding.
With a powerful family background and excellent personal qualities, he was always fawned over by others and was very arrogant. Rong Ning was not often in Nanyang City, so the two should not have had any interaction.
However, when she was twelve years old, her beloved grandmother fell seriously ill. Upon receiving the news, Rong Ning rushed back to Nanyang City and stayed in the palace for two months, accompanying her grandmother through her final days.
During those two months, Rong Ning spent her time serving medicine to her grandmother and practicing riding and archery at the palace training grounds.
At that time, the late emperor's princes and their companions would spend two hours a day practicing martial arts in the training ground. Rong Ning would try to avoid them, but sometimes it was unavoidable and they would run into each other.
They saw Rong Ning, a young girl, often lingering in the training ground. When she had nothing to do, she would gossip about it. Some busybody said, "Everyone says that Xie Chong's martial arts are the best among us, but compared to the little princess of Yuwang Mansion, he is completely no match."
Xie Chong was considered a prodigy, so how could he tolerate being compared to a young girl? If he was going to be compared, then he was not to be told that he was inferior.
That won't do.
Xie Chong immediately lost his temper and challenged Rong Ning to a match. Rong Ning was initially too lazy to pay attention, but he persisted and shamelessly said that he would let her have ten moves first. He said that not competing would be disrespectful and that he was being rude.
Rong Ning ignored him, treating him like air, and prepared to leave, but Xie Chong suddenly attacked.
At this point, Rong Ning had no choice but to take action.
Before Rong Ning went to Linghua Temple to follow Lü Yuanfei, she had no rivals in Nanyang City. Moreover, after being beaten by Lü Yuanfei for two years, her martial arts skills had improved even more. Xie Chong was no match for her at all, and was defeated by Rong Ning in less than ten moves.
Thirteen-year-old Xie Chong had never suffered such humiliation. He got up and continued to beat Rong Ning, who then knocked him down again. He got up again and continued to beat her.
This cycle continues, and their perseverance is truly admirable.
In the end, it was the eldest brother who rushed over after hearing the news and ended the farce.
Xie Chong was carried back.
The injury was quite serious.
Although Xie Chong started the incident, Rong Ning was ruthless and beat the young master so badly that he couldn't get off the ground. Later, her father, who was still the Prince of Yu, brought her elder brother to the Prime Minister's residence to apologize.
But Rong Ning didn't care about any of that. She just stayed quietly in the palace, keeping her grandmother company.
However, after that, Xie Chong would avoid her whenever he saw her, and the two never met again.
More than two years later, Xie Chong had grown much taller and seemed more composed than before. He didn't change his expression when he saw her, as if he had forgotten all those things. He even pretended not to know Rong Ning.
“Your Highness… This is my eldest granddaughter, Xie Xizhu. She is about the same age as you. If Your Highness needs anything during this time, just tell Xizhu and she will take care of it.”
A graceful and pretty young woman stepped forward. "Xi Zhu greets Your Highnesses. May Your Highnesses be well."
"No need to be so polite!" Rong Ning personally helped him up. "From now on, I will probably be following you to learn the rules. If I do anything wrong, please be sure to tell me. Please forgive me if it causes any trouble."
Upon hearing this, Xie Xizhu quickly replied, "Your Highness is too kind. It is my honor to be able to share Your Highness's burdens. If Your Highness needs anything from me, please just give the order!"
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