As the Empress Dowager's birthday was approaching, the palace and the outside world were in a flurry of activity. Rong Sui was temporarily ordered to enter the palace to deploy the imperial guards and the feather forest guards. He was so busy that he often couldn't even return to his mansion.
Shi Ning'an had been staying quietly in the courtyard these days, enjoying an unusual peace.
Madam Xia was overjoyed because the Xia family had arranged for Xia Anhai to come to the capital to offer birthday greetings to the Empress Dowager. Xia Anhai was the husband that Madam Xia intended to match with Shi Ning'an.
Rong Jian perhaps also worried that his requirements were too high and that Ning'an might really fail to find a suitable husband in the future. So he relented and agreed to give Xia Anhai a chance. If the young man's character was truly good and Rong Jian approved, then he would let Ning'an make the final decision.
Madam Xia pulled the Princess Zhaoming and sighed, "Speaking of which, my nephew is much sought - after by young ladies in Wuyun. It's just a pity that father - in - law treasures Ning'an like the apple of his eye. No matter who it is, they seem to be a step below in his eyes."
The Princess Zhaoming couldn't help laughing out loud, "Since the day father - in - law thought even his own Sui'er and Heng'er were not good enough, I've thought that no matter how good a young man is in the world, he won't meet father - in - law's standards. Oh well, all we can do is try our best."
Madam Xia still had some confidence, "My nephew Xia Anhai also has the character 'An' in his name, just like Ning'an. I think this marriage has a good chance. Sister - in - law, I'm not boasting. A Hai is a smart and clever boy since childhood. He's a well - known prodigy in the northwest, and his appearance is by no means inferior. Ning'an will surely be satisfied when she sees him."
The Princess Zhaoming didn't comment. Although she had never met Madam Xia's nephew, she thought that the most handsome young men in the world should be in the capital. Among the young men in the capital, the most handsome was her own Rong Sui. If there was someone even more outstanding, it would be Rong Heng who had just returned to the capital after growing up. With two such handsome and other - worldly brothers, how could Ning'an fall for someone else just because of their appearance?
Just as the two sisters - in - law were chatting, they heard the urgent report from the gatekeeper, saying that the Grand Princess and Miss Zheng had come.
Shi Ning'an led Zheng Chi into the courtyard. After dismissing the maids, she asked, "Come on, what happened?"
Zheng Chi was taken aback and quickly asked, "How did you know I had something to tell you?"
Shi Ning'an looked at her helplessly, "Your mother looks extremely anxious, while there's even excitement in your eyes. Obviously, something extraordinary has happened. I guess your mother is here to ask my eldest aunt for help, and you... probably can't hold back what's on your mind and are looking for someone to confide in?"
Zheng Chi nodded repeatedly, "Ning'an, I didn't expect you to be so smart. You can even guess this. I really admire you."
Shi Ning'an knew she was deliberately keeping her in suspense, so she gave her an opening. She hugged Zheng Chi's arm and said, "My dear sister, I'm so eager to know. Please tell me, tell me, okay?"
Zheng Chi nodded contentedly. Even though there was no one around, she still leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "Do you know about the matter between the Heir of the Prince Huai and Sister Tang?"
Shi Ning'an was stunned. Tang Chutong and Yin Taiping? Not Rong Sui?
That day, she and Rong Sui had talked about it. Rong Sui had said that he didn't like Tang Chutong. She had thought it was just Tang Chutong's unrequited love... But later, probably because she hadn't completely sobered up from the wine, she had grabbed his sleeve and asked him what kind of girl he liked.
Fortunately, Rong Heng had gone back to get his dagger. Otherwise, she didn't know how much more embarrassed she would have been.
Zheng Chi looked at her friend in surprise, "I'm asking you if you know about them. Why are you blushing?"
Shi Ning'an stammered and quickly changed the topic, "It's nothing... I was... What's going on between them?"
Zheng Chi didn't dwell on it. She poured out all the information she knew like a bean - pouring out, "It's said that one day, for some unknown reason, the Heir was stimulated and ran in front of the Prince Huai and the Princess Huai, asking them to propose marriage to the Tang family. The Princess Huai was scared out of her wits. Sister Tang is supposed to enter the Eastern Palace. At this critical moment, that Yin Taiping must have gone crazy!"
Shi Ning'an ignored her muttering and nudged her elbow, "And then? Did this matter become public? Otherwise, how did you even know about it?"
Zheng Chi shook her head, "No. The Princess Huai has been getting closer to my mother recently because of Yin Taiping's marriage. After this happened, she comes to our house every day, wishing that my mother could immediately choose a suitable young lady for him to marry. Strangely enough, she, who wasn't so picky before, now thinks this one is not dignified enough, that one's appearance is not good enough, and the other one's family background is inappropriate. My mother sensed something was wrong. After repeated questioning, the Princess Huai finally told her about this matter on her own initiative, hoping that my mother could help come up with some ideas and find someone even more outstanding than Sister Tang. Do you think that's possible?"
Shi Ning'an fell silent. It turned out that she had been wrong. The person Tang Chutong liked was Yin Taiping. In her previous life, Shi Ning'an had felt inferior because she was from Nanling and had had little contact with noble ladies like Tang Chutong. Naturally, she didn't understand the key points. However, this explained why Tang Chutong was so sad.
Among the people the Crown Prince regarded as his elder brothers, besides Rong Sui, there was also his own cousin Yin Taiping. So neither Rong Sui nor Yin Taiping would compete with the Crown Prince for a woman, especially not an ordinary woman but one who had been favored by the Emperor for a long time.
But perhaps because of her rebirth, she had stimulated Tang Chutong, and somehow, she had also influenced Yin Taiping. As a result, in this life, the two of them had come into contact again.
Zheng Chi asked, "Aren't you curious about why my mother told me?"
"Your mother always tells you everything. What's there to be curious about?"
Zheng Chi paused for a moment and nodded, "That's true. But this time, it wasn't my mother who told me on her own initiative. The Tang family is going to send Sister Tang away on the pretext of her being seriously ill. Chu Yao loves Sister Tang so much that he came to ask me to comfort her."
Tang Chuyao and Zheng Chi were engaged, so he thought there was nothing to hide from her. It was normal for him to tell her.
Zheng Chi sighed, "I've gone to see Tang Chutong. She's lost a lot of weight, but her spirit is good. When I went there, she was playing the zither and told me that no matter what happened in the future, she wouldn't regret it."
If you've worked hard, you naturally won't regret it. She just didn't know if Tang Chutong would be accompanied by a green lamp and an ancient Buddha in the future.
Shi Ning'an asked again, "Then what does your mother come to my eldest aunt for? How can my eldest aunt help?"
Zheng Chi whispered, "Now the Prince Huai has decided to ask for an official position for Yin Taiping and send him to a local area. Nominally, it's for training, but actually, it's to prevent the matter from being exposed and making the Emperor unhappy."
This was even worse than not insisting. If this was really the case, wouldn't the two of them be separated from each other? But thinking about it, perhaps only in this way could the two of them give up their thoughts, and only in this way could the royal family's anger be appeased after the incident.
It was really a pity that lovers couldn't be together.
After Rong Sui got off duty and learned about what had happened today, he immediately got up and went into the palace to the Eastern Palace. And he didn't come back.
Shi Ning'an was a little anxious. Early in the morning, she went to the outer courtyard eagerly, hoping to see if Rong Sui had come back.
But as soon as she got there, she saw Rong Heng walking out of the courtyard next to Rong Sui's.
Rong Heng was dressed in short and powerful clothes. He waved and greeted, "Cousin? Have you finally figured it out? Do you want to practice martial arts with me?"
Shi Ning'an turned around and wanted to leave, but she wasn't as fast as Rong Heng. Rong Heng grabbed her and she had to stop.
"Um, Fourth Cousin, I haven't been feeling well these days..."
Rong Heng didn't let go, "You always use the excuse of not feeling well. If you keep procrastinating like this, by the time I leave, you still won't be able to practice martial arts."
Shi Ning'an thought silently in her heart that she just wanted to procrastinate until he left.
Rong Heng said, "Hurry up, come in with me. Tomorrow after tomorrow, how many tomorrows are there? Martial arts practice should start right now. Today I'll teach you some simple moves. Let's go."
He was very strong. Even though he didn't use much strength, when he held Shi Ning'an's wrist and pulled her, Shi Ning'an was still dragged by Rong Heng to the door of his courtyard.
Lu'er quickly came to help and shouted repeatedly, "Fourth Young Master, no, no. The young lady came here today just to see Third Young Master, not to practice martial arts. Fourth Young Master..."
Rong Heng didn't care about this at all, "My third brother hasn't come back yet. Ning'an, you can't be so lazy. Look at your wrist. I don't even dare to use much strength for fear of accidentally breaking it. Don't you need to exercise?"
Shi Ning'an was in so much pain that tears welled up in her eyes. She almost sobbed, "Cousin, don't... Cousin, please torture someone else. Spare me, cousin..."
Just as Rong Heng was about to say something else, he felt a sense of danger approaching from behind. He immediately let go of Shi Ning'an, flipped and kicked out. But he was caught off guard. The person coming from the opposite side was menacing, and his martial arts were no less than Rong Heng's. In an instant, he was kicked to the wall. He spat out a mouthful of blood before he could recover.
Looking up, he said, "Brother?"
Rong Sui's eyes were gloomy. Because he hadn't rested last night, he looked even more terrifying. At this moment, his arm was pressing against Rong Heng's neck, as if he was going to break Rong Heng's neck in an instant.
Shi Ning'an came to her senses and was shocked. She quickly stepped forward and tried to break Rong Sui's hand, shouting, "Cousin, what are you doing? Why are you using so much strength? Fourth Cousin is spitting blood. Let go of him, let him go!"
Rong Sui looked at her with a slightly puzzled expression, "You're helping him?"
Shi Ning'an was a little confused and quickly nodded, "Third Cousin, what's wrong with you? He's Rong Heng, your younger brother."
Rong Sui's face turned cold. He let go of his hand, sized up Rong Heng, and snorted, "What were you doing just now?"
Rong Heng had been kicked too hard by him and couldn't recover for a long time.
Shi Ning'an went to pat Rong Heng on the back. Because of the shock, there were still tears in her eyes. Seeing the blood at the corner of Rong Heng's mouth, she felt even more distressed. She looked back and glared at Rong Sui discontentedly, "Are you crazy? You hit so hard. You've hurt him like this."
Rong Sui stood one step away from them, his lips tightly pursed, and the veins on his forehead throbbing.
Rong Heng finally recovered. He coughed a few times and waved his hand, "I'm fine... Brother, even if it's a sparring match, you don't have to go all out like this! Just now, I only had one thought: my life was over!"
Rong Sui said coldly, "If I had gone all out, you wouldn't be standing here unharmed now."
He flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.
Rong Heng shouted, "Brother, what's wrong with you today? You come back and beat me up as soon as you arrive?"
Rong Sui stopped in his tracks, turned back to look at the two of them, and found the sight of them standing together quite unpleasant.
Rong Heng ignored him. He turned back to Shi Ning'an and said, "Okay, you've got your wish. We can't practice martial arts today. My brother hit me too hard. I need to recover. Tomorrow, come and find me..."
Rong Sui squinted his eyes, "What? Practice martial arts?"