It turned out that the person singing in the pavilion was none other than Zhao Luoning. After seeing those actresses practicing their voices, she had an itch in her heart. Taking advantage of everyone being asleep, she climbed out of bed in the middle of the night to while away the time in the pavilion.
Zhao Luoning got so carried away with her singing that she didn't notice Ji Shisu, who had been watching from afar for a long time.
Fortunately, she had a smart maid.
Caixue thought that since Zhao Luoning had been singing for so long, she might be hungry, so she heated up a bowl of bird's nest soup for her.
When she walked over with the soup in her hand, she saw a person standing at the door from afar.
Her heart skipped a beat at that moment.
As she got closer, her heart almost jumped out of her chest.
It was Ji Shisu!
Seeing that Ji Shisu had noticed Zhao Luoning, she quickly took the opportunity of greeting Ji Shisu to loudly remind her young mistress.
Caixue's cry made Zhao Luoning notice Ji Shisu standing in the dark. In a panic, she quickly jumped off the pavilion. But the opera costume restricted her movements, so she had no choice but to hide in the grass.
Just as Zhao Luoning had finished washing up, Caixue entered the room with the bird's nest soup.
"Miss, luckily you ran fast just now. Otherwise, the young master would have recognized you."
Zhao Luoning took the soup from Caixue's hand and wiped the sweat off her forehead with a handkerchief. Only then did she calm down.
"It would be a disaster if Ji Shisu recognized me."
Zhao Luoning didn't dare to imagine what would happen if Ji Shisu recognized her as the one singing in the opera costume. He would surely not let it go easily. As the mistress of the household, if such a rumor spread, it would surely cause a lot of disputes.
It seemed that she had to be more careful in the future.
"Miss, I think the young master looked very infatuated. Maybe..."
How could Zhao Luoning not understand what Caixue meant? She got into the quilt and sneered.
"After the visit back to my natal family, Ji Shisu wishes to never have anything to do with me for the rest of our lives."
Although Caixue thought Zhao Luoning's words were a bit too harsh, she also knew that Zhao Luoning was still angry with Ji Shisu at this time, so it was not a good time to persuade her. She had to hold back and serve Zhao Luoning to sleep.
The next day, as usual, Zhao Luoning took Caixue to Cihua Courtyard to pay respects to the old matriarch.
Two maids were walking by, carrying snacks and chatting.
"Do you know what the second young master is up to? He didn't go to the shop this early morning but kept asking if there were any new people in Pingle Garden."
"Yeah, the stewardess had already clearly told him that there were no new performers. But the second young master didn't believe it and even questioned everyone in Pingle Garden one by one..."
"Wait a minute!"
Zhao Luoning stopped the maid who was speaking.
"Good morning, Second Young Mistress."
The maid quickly recognized Zhao Luoning and immediately greeted her.
"What were you just talking about?"
"Ah, we don't know what's wrong with the second young master today. He went to Pingle Garden early in the morning and asked if there were any new people there. He also asked if anyone had sung in the Xiangxie Pavilion in Pingle Garden last night."
"You may go."
The maid curtsied and withdrew.
"Miss, what should we do now?"
Zhao Luoning thought for a while and ordered, "Caixue, do me a favor."
After saying that, she whispered a few words in Caixue's ear.
Caixue understood. The mistress and the maid looked at each other and smiled. Everything was understood without words.
In the end, Ji Shisu still couldn't find the woman who had amazed him at first sight that night.
The reason was that the whole mansion was spreading the story of him meeting an actress in the middle of the night. Everyone said he had been haunted.
For this reason, the old matriarch specially invited someone to hold a religious ceremony. Because of his matter, the whole mansion was in a panic, and it was in chaos for a long time. This also made Ji Shisu dare not mention that night anymore.
Not mentioning it didn't mean he had forgotten. The woman with fluttering long sleeves had become an angel in his heart.
And the beautiful scenery of that night had become a dream he could never forget.
Although the matter had been suppressed, both Zhao Luoning and Caixue knew clearly that Ji Shisu hadn't forgotten what had happened that night.
Caixue couldn't help but persuade again, "Miss, the second young master has gone to Pingle Garden again. It seems that he is serious this time."
Zhao Luoning didn't respond. Caixue tentatively asked, "Miss, won't you really consider... getting along with the second young master?"
Zhao Luoning felt irritated and put down the whisk in her hand. "Caixue, I've only told you my plans. Remember, never tell anyone else."
Zhao Luoning looked serious, and Caixue also became serious and nodded repeatedly.
"I lost my innocence for no reason. I only have two wishes in this life. First, I want those who harmed me to get the punishment they deserve!"
Regardless of whether the young lady from the Zhao family knew about what Nurse Xu had done, Zhao Luoning would never forget how the young lady had stabbed her in the back in front of her father.
Nurse Xu and the young lady were in the same boat. But now her mother and elder brother were still in the Zhao Mansion. If she took action against the young lady, it would surely affect her relatives.
Now that Nurse Xu was half - crazy, it wouldn't be too late to deal with the young lady after she managed to persuade her mother and elder brother to leave the Zhao Mansion.
"Second, leave the Ji family and never marry again!"
"Miss... Miss." Caixue didn't expect Zhao Luoning to be so determined.
The result for a woman being divorced was very tragic.
Caixue was very worried.
"Caixue, it's not that I don't want to live in harmony with the second young master of the Ji family. But since that night, it has been a luxury for me. The reality is so cruel. I didn't do anything wrong, but no one would tolerate a woman who has lost her virginity as their wife."
Zhao Luoning had already thought it through before getting married. Even if the second young master of the Ji family was a playboy, she believed that he didn't have the tolerance to accept a wife who was not a virgin.
It was such a ridiculous society.
Moreover, in Zhao Luoning's opinion, getting married, having children, and living in harmony with one's husband was a rather boring thing.
It would be better to retire to the mountains with her mother and elder brother and live a carefree life.
Only then did Caixue realize how naive her previous thoughts were. "If you don't want to get married, why did you come to the Ji family and suffer this?"
The Ji family was a mess. Originally, she thought that the playboy second young master of the Ji family was the biggest obstacle in the young mistress's marriage. But after coming here, she found that the second young master was actually a relatively normal person.
So Caixue thought that since they were already here, the young mistress might as well get along well with the second young master. After all, the second young master had helped the young mistress before and had some influence in the Ji family, so he could be relied on.
But Caixue didn't expect that the young mistress never intended to stay in the Ji Mansion for long.
Zhao Luoning gave Caixue a deep look.
She had her reasons for having to marry into the Ji family, but she couldn't tell Caixue for the time being.
After dealing with this matter, she would find a way to get a divorce from Ji Shisu.
But for now, the time was not yet ripe. She still had to first play the role of the mistress of the Ji family well and establish a firm foothold in the Ji family.
After all, Zhao Luoning had experienced a lot in the Zhao family. She knew very well that only when one was strong enough would one be qualified to negotiate with others.