Youqing: "Miss, are you alright? I'm sorry, I didn't see the road clearly just now."
Upon hearing this, Yang Ni quickly waved her hand and said, "No...it's nothing."
After saying that, Yang Ni felt a little awkward, unsure of what to do with her hands and feet.
"It's good that you're alright. By the way, do you have any water here? I'd like to wash up."
Before Yang Ni could speak, Liang Jiugong said, "Madam, you can just let me know if you need water. You should rest now. If the master sees us idling while you're moving around, he'll punish us."
Youqing smiled and said, "You're so good at talking. Alright, since you're so kind, go fetch some water."
She didn't particularly want to do anything, so she just let Liang Jiugong be attentive.
Yang Ni, standing to the side, looked somewhat dazed. She had never known before that ladies of wealthy families would have their toiletries brought to them.
Just then, Kangxi pushed open the door and came out. After Youxing woke up, Kangxi realized that the person in his arms was gone, so he woke up as well. Liang Jiugong was still there at this time and hurriedly said, "Master, you are awake. This servant will go and prepare water right away."
Kangxi: "Hmm"
Yang Ni heard the door open and looked over, then saw Kangxi. She blushed and lowered her head. She had never seen such a beautiful girl before, and now she had never seen such a handsome man before.
Her vocabulary was rather limited, and she could only use the word "handsome" to describe him. In fact, Kangxi's appearance was only slightly better than Zhou Zheng's. It was his overall demeanor that made him look extraordinary, which gave Yang Ni the illusion that he was handsome.
Youqing: "I'm awake."
Kangxi smiled and said, "Well, now that you're up, I can't sleep anymore."
It was at this moment that Kangxi noticed a gaze upon him. Following the gaze, he saw Yang Ni standing to the side.
Yang Ni was a pretty girl, but Emperor Kangxi had seen all sorts of beauties before, from alluring and stunning to pure and innocent. In his eyes, Yang Ni was just a palace maid.
After all, the palace maids who served Emperor Kangxi were also subject to requirements regarding their appearance and demeanor.
Kangxi frowned in displeasure at being stared at so directly by a girl. What was wrong with this person? Although the separation between men and women in the village was not so strict, he had never heard of a girl staring directly at a man.
Noticing Kangxi's displeased expression and frown, Yang Ni was startled. She then hurriedly lowered her head, not daring to look up again, and ran away without a word.
Youqing, not having seen Yang Ni's behavior, was somewhat puzzled: "Look at you, you've scared that girl away."
Kangxi said, "It's good that they ran away. I don't like people staring at me."
Youqing chuckled softly: "I guess they were intimidated by your aura."
Kangxi did not speak again.
Although he has now "turned over a new leaf" and is devoted to only one person, he has been through a lot in the past and is quite adept at understanding women's thoughts. He didn't like the girl's eyes.
Yang Ni ran back to her room, then clutched her pounding heart, unable to calm down for a moment.
She's fifteen now, and it's time for her to get married.
As the village beauty, she was extremely popular with the men in the village. She was easygoing and had no airs, but deep down she was proud of her looks. However, she was smart and didn't show it.
Now that she's reached marriageable age, her mother is making plans for her, and she also wants to make plans for herself. She's visited her uncle's family in town and seen how life there is, which is much better than in the village. She most wants to marry into a wealthy family so that she can live a life free from financial worries.
She originally thought that the youngest son of the wealthy man in town was quite good, as he was pampered at home. She had already "bumped into" him twice, and she felt that with a little more effort, things should be settled.
But today she met Emperor Kangxi, and now Master Cheng's youngest son naturally became insignificant. The reason she had so much interaction with Master Cheng's youngest son was because she wanted to live a good life, not because she liked him.
Now that she has a man in her household who is a thousand times better in temperament and manners than the youngest son of Master Cheng, she naturally has no desire to "make do".
Before dinner, when no one else was around, Yang Ni asked Mo Chunhua, "Mother, did those people say when they would leave today?"
Mo Chunhua didn't think much of it and simply said, "It should be tomorrow morning."
"Just staying one night?!"
Upon hearing this, Mo Chunhua frowned and looked at her: "They're on their way, do they intend to stay in the village for a long time? By the way, why are you asking this?"
"Mother, I was just asking casually. I saw that lady earlier, and she was so beautiful."
Mo Chunhua had met Youqing once before, when she got off the carriage.
She agrees with this.
"Yes, the master and mistress of that family are both good-looking and look like they are not ordinary people. I heard they are merchants and moved their whole family to Jiangnan. I don't know what kind of business they do, but I imagine it must be quite large. They have about ten servants by their side, which is more than the number of servants around the county magistrate's wife."
Mo Chunhua had heard her younger siblings mention the county magistrate's wife; it was said that she always had two maids with her when she went out.
Mo Chunhua's words stirred up even more emotions in Yang Ni's heart.
"Mother, what do you think of Jiangnan?"
“I’ve heard your father talk about it. He says it’s very beautiful, and the people there are indeed richer than those here.”
Yang Ni was even more tempted after hearing this.
"Is Jiangnan really that good?"
Mo Chunhua: "I've never been there either. If you want to know, ask your father. He has been there, so he can tell you."
Yang Ni lowered her head, said "Oh," and then left with the vegetable bowl.
It was getting dark, and Youqing wanted to take a bath. Inside the house, Kangxi was holding his little daughter and playing with her. Anle was very well-behaved, giggling and looking very happy.
Liang Jiugong was away doing other things at this time, and there were only his secret guards and personal guards in the room, so there was no one around Kangxi.
Yang Ni felt her chance had come, so she took a step smaller than usual and slowly walked up to Kangxi.
"This is your daughter, she's really beautiful."
Emperor Kangxi frowned. Why was this girl so casually approaching people to chat? Even in the capital, he had never seen such an open and uninhibited girl.
"Um."
Kangxi was thinking of staying at her house and hadn't lost his temper yet. If he were to scold the girl now, she would definitely not have a comfortable night's stay.
Yang Ni was taken aback by his cold attitude, and then said, "I heard you're going to Jiangnan. I've never traveled far from home before, and I don't know what it's like outside. I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to go to Jiangnan in my lifetime."
She looked somewhat forlorn as she said this, and to be honest, it was rather captivating.
Kangxi felt uncomfortable upon hearing this; the level of understanding was too low.
“Your village is quite nice. If you don’t have the chance to go to Jiangnan, then don’t go. This place is more suitable for you.”
He didn't want to say anything too harsh, so he phrased it rather subtly.
Whether Yang Ni genuinely didn't understand or was pretending not to, she said shyly, "Our village is indeed quite nice, but it would be great if we could go to Jiangnan to see it."
Kangxi didn't know how to respond to this. He felt that sometimes it was quite difficult to talk when people were not on the same wavelength.
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