Shi Ning'an had no idea what the elders were talking about in the main hall. When she woke up, it was already evening, and she felt a splitting headache. In both her past and present lives, it was the first time she had drunk so much and gotten so drunk. Strangely enough, she felt a bit exhilarated.
However, after waking up, she couldn't remember anything that had happened while she was drunk.
Lu'er came in with warm water. She served Shi Ning'an to drink some water, then had someone carry in water for her to take a bath and change clothes. After all the tidying up, Shi Ning'an finally felt much more comfortable.
"How did I get back to the mansion today?"
Shan Dai held a comb and helped Shi Ning'an comb through her semi-dry hair. Then she applied some sweet osmanthus hair oil.
Lu'er replied, "It was the Third Master who sent the young lady back."
Shi Ning'an frowned. "Rong Sui? What about Miss Tang? Didn't he send Miss Tang back?"
Lu'er thought for a moment and nodded. "No. Miss Tang was as drunk as a lord, just like the young lady. Since the Third Master had to send the young lady back, how could he take care of Miss Tang?"
Shi Ning'an felt even more uneasy. Could it be that Rong Sui was trying to avoid suspicion? Didn't Auntie explain everything to him clearly yesterday? Come to think of it, it was all her fault. Why did she agree to drink with Tang Chutong? If she hadn't drunk, they could have had a good talk, and maybe this knot in their hearts would have been untied.
Maybe Rong Sui had realized how important Tang Chutong was to him and didn't want to let her go. Then the two lovers could be together, couldn't they?
Shi Ning'an stood up. Shan Dai was caught off guard and almost spilled all the hair oil on her head.
Lu'er quickly supported Shi Ning'an. "Young lady, your hair isn't dry yet. You can't go out and catch a cold."
Shi Ning'an patiently sat down. After the maids had tidied her up, she finally went out. Just then, she met the maid of Princess Zhaoming, who came to invite her to dinner.
Shi Ning'an had no appetite for dinner. She waved her hand. "Go and tell Auntie that I'm not feeling well after drinking today and don't want to eat."
She walked all the way to Rong Sui's courtyard in the outer compound. When she reached the courtyard gate, she hesitated a bit. By now, it was getting dark, and the lights were lit everywhere. Was it inappropriate for her to come to her cousin's courtyard without saying hello?
However, the guard at the gate saw her and immediately bowed and made a gesture of invitation. "Miss, the Third Master and the Fourth Master are practicing martial arts in the side courtyard. This servant will take you there."
Shi Ning'an nodded and followed the guard all the way to the side courtyard.
Even though she had lived two lives and wasn't an inexperienced young girl, Shi Ning'an still blushed involuntarily when she saw the scene in the courtyard.
Rong Sui and Rong Heng were facing each other bare-chested, exchanging blows and locked in a fierce fight.
Rong Heng laughed out loud. "Brother! I haven't had such a great fight for a long time. I didn't expect that even though you've been in the capital, you haven't neglected your martial arts skills."
Rong Sui rarely smiled. Just as he was about to speak, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the young girl who had just come under the corridor. She was so flustered that she didn't even know how to dodge and just stood there blushing.
Rong Sui picked up a long spear from the weapon rack and hooked a piece of clothing on the rack. Then he covered Rong Heng from head to toe with the clothing.
Only then did Shi Ning'an come to her senses. She quickly stepped back behind the pillar and turned around. Her face was as red as a boiled crab.
At this moment, the bare-chested scenes of the two men even appeared in Shi Ning'an's mind. It seemed that Rong Sui was a bit thinner, while Rong Heng was more muscular. His shoulders and arms were all very strong. Just by looking at them, she felt that Rong Sui's body proportion was more pleasing to the eye, while Rong Heng was a bit too broad and strong.
After Rong Sui had tidied his clothes, he coughed. "Ning'an, why didn't you let someone announce your arrival when you came?"
Shi Ning'an was puzzled. When she looked for the guard who had brought her here again, she found that he had disappeared.
Rong Heng walked over with a short sword and handed it to Shi Ning'an. "Cousin, why do you have the mood to come here? Come on, come on. This sword is suitable for a woman. You can have a try."
Rong Sui pressed his hand on the sword and frowned. "Ning'an isn't a girl from Wuyun. She hasn't practiced martial arts and doesn't know how to wield a sword."
Rong Heng pushed Rong Sui. "Brother, why are you so rigid? Everything has a beginning. Anyway, I still have more than a month before I leave. Cousin, when you're free these days, come to my courtyard. I'll teach you martial arts."
Shi Ning'an shook her head with a soft smile. "Thank you, Fourth Cousin, but I'm really not good at it, and I don't really like playing with swords and guns. So, forget it."
Hearing her refusal, Rong Heng shrugged. "I think cousin doesn't look very well. You're also a bit too thin. I think it's because you usually neglect exercise. If you exercise regularly, it will be very beneficial to your health."
Shi Ning'an nodded repeatedly. "I've been fond of quietness since I was a child, and my health isn't very good. Granduncle Zeng and my uncles have also said that it's best to strengthen my body. However, it may be too difficult for me to learn swordplay and other martial arts."
Rong Heng laughed. He was about to reach out and put his arm around Shi Ning'an's shoulder, but Rong Sui blocked him with a cold face. So, he had to say awkwardly, "Cousin, since you can think like this, all you need is action. Well, starting tomorrow, cousin, get up a bit earlier in the morning. I'll take you to stretch your muscles. After your muscles are loosened, then..."
Rong Sui interrupted Rong Heng. "All right. Do you want to train another recruit? Cousin came to look for me. I think she has something to do. You can go back first."
Seeing his elder brother's displeased look, Rong Heng had no choice but to spread out his hands and say goodbye to Shi Ning'an. Then he叮嘱 her, "It's the first day tomorrow. You don't need to get up too early. At the end of the Mao hour, come to my courtyard."
Shi Ning'an was completely confused. She was dazed and had her schedule for tomorrow set by her Fourth Cousin.
After getting rid of Rong Heng, Rong Sui led Shi Ning'an into the room. He asked the servant to serve tea and then asked, "Are you sober now?"
Shi Ning'an smiled awkwardly. She covered her embarrassment by drinking some tea for a while and then said, "Thank you, cousin, for today. Otherwise, Sister Tang and I might have made a big fool of ourselves."
Rong Sui smiled faintly. "It's not that serious. Yingtao is quite reliable. She knew how to guard your private room tightly."
Shi Ning'an blushed even more.
Rong Sui asked again, "Why did you come to look for me now?"
Shi Ning'an put down the teacup. She was a bit nervous and asked, "Um, cousin, you sent me back today, right? What about Sister Tang... What happened to Sister Tang?"
Rong Sui squinted his eyes. "What do you mean, what happened?"
Shi Ning'an was a bit flustered. She took a deep breath and simply pursed her lips and said directly, "Auntie asked you to comfort Sister Tang yesterday. Don't you know what she meant?"
Rong Sui was a bit puzzled. Remembering what the young girl in front of him had said while she was drunk today, he suddenly understood. He even raised his eyebrows and laughed. "So, you misunderstood that there's something between me and Tang Chutong?"
I don't know if this rare smile dazzled Shi Ning'an's eyes. She only felt her heart pounding. She subconsciously stood up from the chair and stammered, "She... She told me everything. I... I understand."
Rong Sui also stood up. He took a step forward and asked, "Tang Chutong? What did she tell you?"
Shi Ning'an felt that he was too close. She subconsciously took a step back and covered her chest. "Naturally... She told me about your past, about... How you met and got to know each other..."
"How did you meet and get to know each other?"
Seeing Rong Sui getting closer and closer, Shi Ning'an was so scared that she kept taking steps back. When she had nowhere to retreat and was leaning against the curio cabinet, she could only weakly defend herself. "Yes, that's right. She told me... How you met and got to know each other... You should know it clearly. Why do you act like this..."
Rong Sui stopped and sighed helplessly. "I've known her since childhood, but we've only met at the gatherings of the elders. You also know that I don't like to talk to girls. How could I have gotten to know her well?
Shi Ning'an retorted, "What were you doing on the pilgrimage day five years ago?"
Rong Sui thought for a long time in confusion and then said, "I've been the Crown Prince's companion since I was a child. For such an important event as the pilgrimage, I should have been with the Crown Prince, accompanying the royal family up the mountain to offer sacrifices to the Buddha."
Shi Ning'an nodded. "That's right. It started to rain on your way up the mountain. You met a young girl who had sprained her foot. You saved her and... And..."
As she was talking, Shi Ning'an felt sad in her heart. She felt so pitiful. She clearly knew that she had feelings for the man in front of her, but she still tried every means to make him remember the past with Sister Tang.
Shi Ning'an's hair wasn't fully tied up. It was half-draped, and the few hairpins weren't very eye-catching. As she moved her head while talking, the tassels on one of the hairpins got tangled up.
Rong Sui reached out his hand to straighten the tassels on the hairpin for her. However, no matter how he tried, he couldn't seem to untangle them.
The two of them were standing so close together that there was an extra sense of ambiguity.
Shi Ning'an felt that this kind of ambiguity made her even more uncomfortable. She reached out her hand and pushed him away forcefully. The hairpin then slipped off and fell into Rong Sui's hand. The tassels were still not untangled and were hanging down from between his fingers, swaying.
Shi Ning'an's eyes turned red.
Rong Sui's voice was low, like a whisper and more like a temptation. "I was only fourteen five years ago. I didn't understand anything about men and women at all. Moreover, on the day of the pilgrimage, even if someone got separated from the group, it was easy to find someone to help. I'm not a playboy. Why would I have something with a young girl just because I saw her? Ning'an, I've saved a lot of people since I was a child, but I've always been afraid of trouble and won't have any special contact with them, except for... you."
Shi Ning'an felt her heart pounding. She opened her eyes wide.
Rong Sui lowered his head. Finally, he managed to untangle the tassels on the hairpin. He tidied them up, smiled slightly, and gently inserted the hairpin into Shi Ning'an's hair.
"Ning'an, I don't know what Auntie meant, but Tang Chutong has nothing to do with me. I accompanied you out for fun today only because of Auntie's and Mother's orders."
Accompany me...?
Shi Ning'an thought to herself that Rong Sui held an important position and couldn't take a leave of absence casually without a special reason. However, since she came to the Rong family, whenever it was time to go out, Rong Sui always seemed to be free and could accompany her.
Was it because she was special?
But was this specialness because she was his younger sister or something else?
Shi Ning'an only felt that when she was first reborn, she thought that Rong Sui loved her very much. But now, she was becoming less and less confident.
Rong Sui stepped back and regained his usual cold and calm look. "Today's matter has nothing to do with me. I'll also explain it clearly to Auntie tomorrow. That Tang Chutong... has nothing to do with me at all. I can't like her either."
Shi Ning'an pursed her lips and asked, "Then... What kind of girl do you like?"