When the whole household was in a flurry, Zeng Ruoyun was helped into the side hall. Uncle Zeng quickly put Zeng Ruoyun's dislocated arm back into place. Even so, Zeng Ruoyun was still in so much pain that her eyes were teary. She glared fiercely at the culprit in front of her.
Rong Heng was at a loss. He whispered in explanation, "I really didn't see... I only saw her push cousin into the water... I never thought she was a guest in the house."
Shi Ning'an quickly said, "No, I just didn't stand firmly. Cousin didn't push me."
Rong Heng argued again, "I was afraid there was a villain in the house. I acted too quickly..."
Rong Feichi slapped him on the head and said, "A villain? This is the capital, the Mansion of the Duke of Rong. Not just anyone can get in. Are you so stupid that you don't think before you act?"
Just then, Rong Heng felt something was wrong with his whole body. His hands and neck were itching terribly. Unable to bear it, he reached out to scratch.
This scene fell into Rong Feichi's eyes. He thought his son was really stubborn and unruly. He slapped him again and said, "I told you to admit your mistake. What are you doing? A general? You don't look like a soldier at all!"
Uncle Zeng looked back at Rong Heng, then at Zeng Ruoyun, and shook his head helplessly. He stood up, bowed his hands, and said with a smile, "General, this is not the young general's fault. It's my daughter who is naughty. She sprinkled some powder on him."
With that, he took out a packet of medicine and handed it over. "This is the antidote. Sprinkle it in the bathtub and take a bath every two hours, then the effect will wear off."
Rong Heng stared wide - eyed and said, "Do you want me to shed a layer of skin? Last time it made me grow pustules for three days. This time..."
Zeng Ruoyun interrupted him, "You should feel lucky. I only brought this itching powder this time. Otherwise, it wouldn't be solved by just taking a few baths!"
Rong Heng was about to say something else when Rong Feichi shouted, "You still think you're right? Go take a bath!"
Rong Heng looked aggrieved. He pouted and turned to leave.
Rong Feichi shouted again, "Come back! Apologize to your cousin from the Zeng family first!"
Rong Heng was extremely annoyed. He moved his lips and reluctantly said, "Sorry..."
Uncle Zeng quickly stepped forward to smooth things over. "Alright, alright. Let the young general go take a bath first. The feeling of this powder is really unpleasant."
With that, he gave Zeng Ruoyun a fierce glare.
Zeng Ruoyun shouted on her own, "I'm two months older than you. You should call me cousin, cousin!"
Uncle Zeng flicked Zeng Ruoyun on the forehead, bowed to the Rong family, and apologized, "My daughter is too naughty. I hope you will forgive her."
Mrs. Xia shook her head generously and said with a smile, "Where is that? Miss Zeng is really smart. At such a critical moment, she knew how to use powder to repel the enemy. She is really clever."
Zeng Ruoyun felt a little embarrassed when she heard the praise.
After the elders exchanged a lot of polite words and left, Shi Ning'an pulled Zeng Ruoyun and asked, "Do you know my fourth cousin before?"
Zeng Ruoyun nodded. "Yes. When we went to Huaian for disaster relief, we met the Rong family's army. But I didn't know it was the Rong family's army before. I saw him acting furtively. He didn't look like a good person. He was secretly following the Zhao family. So I gave him a little lesson..."
Shi Ning'an rubbed her forehead and said, "My fourth cousin has the simplest personality. How could he act furtively?"
Zeng Ruoyun put her hands on her hips. When she felt the pain in her hand, she quickly put them down. "Simple? Him? Humph, Shi Ning'an, your heart grows faster than your body. I've said that your heart is so big that you'll be cheated without even knowing it. Where does he look simple?"
Shi Ning'an couldn't argue with her, so she had to keep silent. She stroked Zeng Ruoyun's arm and asked, "Does it still hurt?"
Zeng Ruoyun glared at her impatiently. "This arm is not injured. How could it hurt? The painful one is this one."
Shi Ning'an withdrew her hand awkwardly. She didn't dare to touch Zeng Ruoyun's other arm and just said, "Can you get up? I'll take you to my yard to play."
Zeng Ruoyun glared at her again. "I hurt my hand, not my leg. Of course I can get up. By the way, what kind of cousin do you have? He was so heavy - handed. It really hurt me. I thought I was going to die at that moment!"
Shi Ning'an quickly covered her mouth and said, "Don't talk nonsense! My cousin is just like this. He grew up in the military camp since childhood. He practices martial arts every day and is highly skilled. He will inherit his father's career and become a great general in the future. Naturally, his strength is extraordinary. But he is not usually like this. He must have misunderstood today."
Zeng Ruoyun took a stroll in Shi Ning'an's yard and then nodded. "Seeing how nervous your two cousins are about you and how exquisite your yard is, it can be seen that the Rong family treats you well. I'm relieved."
Shi Ning'an poured her a cup of tea. "Yes. Cousin, you can rest assured. I'm doing well here. I said I wanted to go back to Nanling. I really wanted to visit Grand - aunt. I... miss her very much."
Zeng Ruoyun nodded. She looked around, leaned close to Shi Ning'an's ear, and whispered, "Do you know the real purpose of our visit this time?"
Shi Ning'an looked at her in confusion. "What real purpose?"
Zeng Ruoyun smiled mysteriously. She took Shi Ning'an's hand and said, "If you want to go back with us, it's really easy. Just become my sister - in - law, and then you can go back with me."
Shi Ning'an stared wide - eyed and stammered, "Wh... what?"
Zeng Ruoyun said, "Grand - aunt is worried that you won't be able to find a good marriage in the capital. After all, the people here are very snobbish. They may look down on your background. So this time we came here to let my brother meet the Rong family. If it's suitable, you can just marry my brother. Then you can go back to Nanling, right?"
Marry Zeng Haomiao? No, whose idea is this?
Shi Ning'an quickly realized that in her previous life, she was engaged to Wei Hongmiao very early. Grand - aunt was far away in Nanling and didn't know the Wei family. Moreover, she was a daughter of the Shi family, and it was inconvenient for Grand - aunt to interfere in her marriage.
It's different in this life. Although her name is on the Rong family's genealogy, the Rong family is just her maternal grandparents' family, not her own family. She has left the Shi family. After all, the Zeng family can be regarded as half of her family. Grand - aunt raised her, so it's natural for her to worry about her marriage.
Zeng Ruoyun clapped her hands and laughed. "I really hope you can marry into our family. Then we can be together forever."
Shi Ning'an said impatiently, "If I marry into your family and you marry out, how can we be together forever?"
Zeng Ruoyun blinked her eyes. After thinking for a long time, she nodded. "Oh, right. I'm going to marry out. If I marry out, we still can't be together."
She sat in front of the table, propped up her arms, and thought hard. "If we want to be together, we may have to marry brothers and become sisters - in - law. It's a pity that our family backgrounds are different. How can we become sisters - in - law?"
Shi Ning'an pinched her face and said, "Alright, stop thinking. Later I'll talk to Aunt. I regard cousin Zeng as my own brother. I'll tell them not to act recklessly."
Zeng Ruoyun pouted. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and asked, "By the way, in the Rong family, don't you have two other cousins? Your little cousin is a bit strange. Let's not mention him. But your third cousin has a handsome appearance and a valiant figure. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Has the Rong family never considered marrying you to your cousin?"
Shi Ning'an blushed, and then quickly turned pale. Yes, why have grandfather and Aunt never thought of marrying her to her third cousin when they are so worried about her marriage?
Even Zheng Chi joked that Aunt was making such a big deal that she wanted to marry her to the sky. But isn't Rong Sui the most famous young man in the capital? Didn't Aunt consider it? Maybe it's because Rong Sui himself is not willing.
Shi Ning'an wrinkled her whole little face. When Rong Sui saved her by the pond before, her heart almost jumped out. Looking into Rong Sui's anxious eyes, she almost thought that Rong Sui also cared about her.
But all the signs showed that Rong Sui treated her like a younger sister. He cared about her, but didn't want to marry her. If he wanted to marry her, why didn't he take the initiative?
Zeng Ruoyun didn't notice her cousin's strangeness. She stood up and continued to wander around Shi Ning'an's room. She touched this and that, sighing in admiration. "The things on your treasure pavilion look very valuable at first glance. Oh, there's also a jade bird. It's so lifelike. It's really beautiful."
Shi Ning'an was listless. She looked up at the bird. It was bought by her eldest cousin and third cousin when they went out together. They remembered that she liked birds, so they bought this little thing for her.
Yes, if the third cousin liked her, why did the eldest cousin come to give the bird instead of the third cousin?
Shi Ning'an picked up the jade bird and stuffed it into Zeng Ruoyun's arms. "If you like it, it's yours."
Zeng Ruoyun grinned and gave her a thumbs - up. "Generous! I never thought my stingy sister would be so generous one day!"
Shi Ning'an was in a bad mood and didn't want to joke. She pulled Zeng Ruoyun and said, "Alright, it's time for lunch. Let's go."
There were many people today, so they ate at separate tables. Rong Jian, the head of the family, led the men to have lunch at the main table, while Princess Zhaoming led the women to have lunch in the cubicle.
Zeng Ruoyun was in a great mood when she saw three - year - old Rong Han. She made Rong Han laugh heartily.
"What do you want to be when you grow up, Han'er?"
Rong Han answered without hesitation, "I want to be a general and fight on the battlefield, just like my great - grandfather."
Zeng Ruoyun clapped her hands and laughed. "You have ambition! Han'er is really amazing. Cousin - aunt wishes you will make progress step by step in the future and become a great marshal like your great - grandfather, respected by everyone. How about that?"
The two of them held juice and pretended to drink like adults.
After drinking, Rong Han smacked his lips and said with a smile, "I'm already three years old now. When I'm five, I can go to Second Grand - uncle Wuyun's place and train with my little uncle. I want to be a great little general like my little uncle!"
Zeng Ruoyun curled her lips and said coolly, "I don't think you should be like your little uncle. He's not that great."
Rong Heng over there was so angry that he was on the verge of rushing over to argue with Zeng Ruoyun. Unfortunately, the elders were present. They all thought Zeng Ruoyun was just joking. How could they allow Rong Heng to be presumptuous?
Rong Han shook his head seriously and said, "Cousin - aunt is wrong. My little uncle is a heroic man. Among all the young men under twenty in the world, the one I admire most is my little uncle!"
Rong Heng felt a little more satisfied and decided to reward his little nephew later.
Zeng Ruoyun giggled and said, "Your most admired little uncle can't resist the powder in aunt's hand. Just sprinkle it like this, and your little uncle will have to stay in the bathtub for a whole day!"