The next day, Rong Xuan and Rong Sui didn't go out. Instead, they went fishing at the fish pond in the manor. Rong Han bounced along with his father and two uncles.
A Xi wanted to follow Rong Zhuo, but then thought that in a noble family with so many rules, if she always stuck to her husband, others might gossip. She wanted to invite her eldest sister - in - law, but seeing her sister - in - law's pregnant belly, she really couldn't bring herself to ask. So she came to Shi Ning'an's courtyard to invite her.
Shi Ning'an hadn't had a good rest for many days and finally managed to sleep in. But Ying Tao pulled her up, saying that the second young mistress was here.
She was groggily washed and dressed by the maids and taken out. She felt like she was sleepwalking. She managed to greet her, "Second sister - in - law, it's so early..."
A Xi explained her intention.
Hearing this, Shi Ning'an actually liked fishing and would have been willing to go. But Rong Sui would be there. No, no, no. She wouldn't go.
A Xi asked, "Ning'an, don't you like fishing? I... really want to go."
Shi Ning'an replied, "If you like it, just go. Where are your maids? Didn't your mother - in - law prepare maids for you?"
A Xi blushed. Her mother - in - law had given her an old maid and two maidservants. She had also explained that they didn't bring many servants to the manor and asked her to bear with it for the time being. They would add more servants later.
But she was used to doing things on her own and didn't like to rely on others. This morning, she thought the old maid and maidservants were in the way, so she didn't allow them to follow.
"I'm afraid... it might not be appropriate for me to go alone?"
Shi Ning'an waved her hand, "No, no. Don't worry. No one will say anything. If you want to fish, just ask someone to arrange everything for you. If you don't want to fish, someone will arrange a reclining chair, a table, food and so on for you. It's a clear and crisp autumn day. It rained yesterday, so it's very comfortable. Second sister - in - law, go quickly."
She wanted to go back to bed and sleep some more.
Seeing that she was about to leave, A Xi quickly grabbed her and said shyly, "That... Ning'an, I'm new here and not familiar with the place. I'm a bit embarrassed. I'd like you to accompany me..."
Shi Ning'an originally wanted to say that her eldest sister - in - law could accompany her, but then thought about her sister - in - law's pregnant belly. It really wasn't suitable for her to run around. She wanted to refuse again, saying that this was the second sister - in - law's own home and she didn't need to be so restrained. But looking at her pleading eyes, her heart softened.
Just as Shi Ning'an had said, when the two of them got to the pond, there was a pavilion that had been built long ago. Servants had already set up the reclining chairs, and there were snacks, fruits and tea on the table.
Next to Rong Xuan and the others, two fishing spots had also been set up, just waiting for Shi Ning'an and A Xi to come.
Shi Ning'an took a look. Rong Xuan and Rong Sui were sitting on either side of Rong Zhuo. Zeng Haomiao was on Rong Sui's side. Their positions were on Rong Xuan's left, far away from Rong Sui.
She breathed a sigh of relief. After yesterday, on the surface, she was angry and didn't want to talk to Rong Sui. In fact, she was just embarrassed and didn't know how to face him.
Shi Ning'an pulled A Xi to the spots. Afraid that A Xi would be拘束, she sat in the position closer to Rong Xuan and let A Xi sit on the outermost side.
Then she greeted Rong Xuan casually, "Cousin."
Rong Xuan frowned and said, "You're so playful. Your second sister - in - law is pregnant. How could you take her so far away?"
A Xi quickly explained, "No, it's me... I've been so bored in the room that I asked Ning'an to accompany me out for a walk."
As they were talking, Rong Sui walked over, nodded to A Xi and said, "Second sister - in - law, you're in a delicate condition. I'll switch places with you. It'll be more convenient for second brother to take care of you. And Dr. Zeng is here too."
Shi Ning'an's round eyes widened. She watched as Rong Zhuo came over and helped A Xi over. Then she watched as Rong Sui acted as if nothing had happened. He even moved his chair closer to Shi Ning'an and sat down after lifting his long gown.
Feeling Shi Ning'an's gaze, Rong Sui turned his head and smiled at her, "Cousin."
Shi Ning'an immediately averted her gaze and picked up the fishing rod to fish in a huff.
Rong Xuan looked at the two of them in confusion, then turned back to continue talking to Rong Zhuo, "It's probably like this. How about General Zhou?"
Rong Zhuo replied, "Without General Zhou, the Third Prince is nothing. Now the Zhou family's army is guarding Hankun to prevent conflicts when the Rong family's army comes back."
He looked up and took a deep breath, "Brother, if the Xia family controls the Rong family's army, General Zhou may not be a match."
Rong Sui sneered, "The Xia family?"
The Xia family was Rong Sui's maternal family. Rong Xuan and Rong Zhuo looked at each other but didn't say anything.
Rong Sui said, "Don't worry. The soldiers in the Rong family's army are all tough guys. Even if there are some who betray us, there won't be many. As for the Xia family, without the support of the Rong family, with the little manpower they have, they won't amount to much."
Rong Xuan and Rong Zhuo thought so too.
Rong Sui added, "The most important thing to worry about now is how we can minimize the casualties of the common people if their people act recklessly."
Shi Ning'an lowered her head and didn't say a word. She just felt like a big stone in her heart had finally fallen. They were concerned about the safety of the common people, which meant they were confident in the struggle for the throne.
Actually, she could be sure of this yesterday. If the situation was extremely critical, how could Rong Sui just scold her a little? He would probably have tried to send her away immediately. How could he...
Shi Ning'an took a deep breath, concentrated on the fishing rod and stopped daydreaming.
Soon, Rong Sui stood up and pulled up Shi Ning'an's fishing rod. A palm - long crucian carp was pulled out and was still flapping and struggling.
Rong Xuan clapped his hands and laughed, "Oh, I didn't expect that cousin would be the first one to catch a fish today. But cousin, didn't you even notice that your fish was on the hook?"
Shi Ning'an blushed. She hadn't noticed. More importantly, they had been talking all the time. In such a noisy environment, how could the fish dare to come? She never thought that there would be such a stupid fish that would come and get hooked.
Rong Zhuo also laughed, "We can have crucian carp soup with tofu for lunch. Come to think of it, I haven't had crucian carp soup for a long time. When I was outside, even if I caught a fish, I would just roast it casually and eat it. Looking at that lively crucian carp cousin caught, I'm really hungry now."
Rong Xuan nodded, "Cousin, your second brother wants to drink crucian carp soup. One fish is definitely not enough. You have to work hard."
Shi Ning'an frowned, "If you want to drink the soup, go and catch the fish yourself. Do you expect me to catch all the fish for you? Humph."
Shi Ning'an put down the fishing rod, picked up her small bucket and walked into the pavilion. She sat on the reclining chair and asked the attendant maid to get a goose feather to tease the fish in the bucket.
It wasn't that she wanted to avoid Rong Sui. She was just too tired and hadn't slept well.
Shi Ning'an thought to herself. She felt a bit guilty and stole a glance at Rong Sui. Just as their eyes met, she quickly looked away and focused on teasing the fish.
When she secretly looked up again, Rong Sui had already turned back to fish.
Shi Ning'an breathed a sigh of relief.
Autumn was a great time for sleeping. Leaning on the reclining chair, she felt drowsy and finally fell asleep.
She didn't know how much time had passed when she woke up. What came into view was Rong Sui sitting upright on the chair next to her, reading a book.
Hearing the noise, Rong Sui turned his head and looked at her, "Are you awake?"
Shi Ning'an was startled and quickly sat up. The outer robe on her body fell off. It was Rong Sui's outer robe. She looked around. There was no one. Where had they all gone? She lowered her head. Where was the bucket?
Rong Sui chuckled, "Ning'an?"
Shi Ning'an panicked, "Where... are my fish?"
Rong Sui laughed, "They've probably been cooked in the pot."
Shi Ning'an's eyes widened and she asked again, "What... time is it?"
Rong Sui pointed to the sky, "It's almost lunchtime. Ning'an, what did you do last night? You slept for so long."
Shi Ning'an blushed again and stammered an explanation, "No, I haven't had a good rest these days."
Rong Sui bent down, hooked her neck, which startled her. She didn't know whether to lie down or struggle to get up.
"Didn't you rest well? Was... yesterday not tiring enough?"
Shi Ning'an pushed him, "Cousin, this is... outside."
Rong Sui pecked her on the forehead and then helped her up, "Ning'an means that if it weren't outside, it would be more convenient?"
Shi Ning'an got up and returned the outer robe to him. She took two steps back to keep a distance from him and said angrily, "We haven't gotten married yet. If cousin does this again, I..."
She took a step back, and he took a step forward, "What will you do?"
Shi Ning'an stamped her foot and walked down the steps towards the yard, muttering, "Who's like you? You don't care about my reputation at all."
Rong Sui reached out and pulled her into his arms. He hugged her from behind and gently kissed her ear, "It's because we haven't gotten married that I've been restraining myself. Ning'an, I miss you so much. I wish I could be with you every day."
Shi Ning'an didn't dare to move, or rather, she didn't want to move. Just like him, she also wanted to be with him every day.
After a while, Rong Sui let go. He finally put away his hungry - wolf - like appearance and returned to his previous gentle and refined self.
Shi Ning'an walked forward angrily. As if thinking of something, she stamped her foot and said, "I don't care. Anyway... until we get married, you're not allowed to act recklessly again."
Rong Sui chuckled, "What counts as acting recklessly?"
Shi Ning'an was tongue - tied, "Just like yesterday..."
"Like what yesterday?"
Shi Ning'an stamped her foot again. Angrily, she threw the handkerchief in her hand on the ground, "I was worried about you and rushed back in a hurry. But you... you... only had those things on your mind. I won't talk to you anymore."
She ran away angrily, but Rong Sui didn't chase after her.
At lunchtime, Shi Ning'an accompanied Rong Jian for lunch as usual. Rong Zhuo came over with a pot of crucian carp soup with tofu. He filled a bowl and served it in front of Rong Jian.
"Grandfather, this is the soup A Xi made for you. Try it?"
When Rong Jian saw this grandson, his face darkened. When he heard that it was made by A Xi, his face became even more gloomy. He almost roared, "She's pregnant, and you still let her cook in the kitchen? Is there no cook in the family? Even if there isn't, you should cook for her! Do you know how to be considerate of your wife?"
Rong Zhuo was scolded and didn't say a word. His hand trembled. Fortunately, Shi Ning'an was quick - witted and took the bowl of fish soup from his hand. Otherwise, it would have spilled.
Shi Ning'an stroked her grandfather's back and comforted him, "We caught these fish this morning. I was the one who caught the first fish. Grandfather, try it quickly."
Rong Jian obediently took a sip of the soup and ate a piece of the fish belly. He nodded, "Well, your wife's cooking skills are quite good."
Rong Zhuo breathed a sigh of relief and was about to back out.
"Where are the eldest and the third?"
Rong Zhuo turned back and replied, "Something happened in the city. Big brother and third brother have already gone there."