Chapter 123

When we arrived at Liushui Pavilion, we could already hear laughter and joyful chatter.

Xie Wan Ning went to the women's side and chatted with the sisters she was familiar with. Pei Yuqing couldn't follow her, so she also went to the men's side.

Thanks to the letter, Xie Wan Ning was able to gain insight into the secret. This time, when she met several noble ladies whom she often met in the past, she felt very uncomfortable.

Several of them were victims of rape by the second prince.

Even after being succeeded, in order to prevent the matter from being exposed, she had to be controlled by others, and could only regain her freedom after the Second Prince got tired of her.

Xie Wan Ning was so upset that she lost the mood to socialize, so she simply made up an excuse to leave.

When she came here just now, she saw a field of blood plums in full bloom from afar, and she wanted to go and see them.

When she left, she glanced in the direction of the male guest, who seemed to be talking about something. Pei Yuqing was holding a teacup and listening casually, looking relaxed and low-key. Xie Wan Ning thought about it and did not disturb them, but walked out by herself.

In the deep courtyard, the red plum blossoms are well cared for by the gardener and are not covered by snow. The red color is particularly eye-catching among the white snow scene.

This is probably what the so-called proud red plum blossom means.

Xie Wan Ning was even more delighted. She couldn't help but bend down and get closer to sniff. The cool and light fragrance entered her nose. The corners of her lips curled up slightly. After thinking for a while, she reached out her hand and plucked a few branches of plum blossoms, intending to take them back and put them in a jade vase to admire for a few more days.

When she returned along the same route, holding the plum branch in her hand and got off the bridge, she saw a man in blue standing on the corridor not far from Liushui Pavilion.

Looking closely, who else could it be but Ji Chengfeng?

Xie Wan Ning was slightly stunned. How could this person come out alone in the snow? She thought to herself, but did not stop and stepped onto the steps of the corridor.

Ji Chengfeng obviously saw her as well and looked over. He waited until she came closer before bowing and greeting her.

He looked at the plum blossoms in her hand and said with a smile, "My cousin is so elegant."

"..." Xie Wan Ning was silent for a moment at this address, and then she smiled and said, "I came out to enjoy the flowers. Why is my cousin here alone?"

"Come out for some fresh air," Ji Chengfeng said, "There are too many people inside, and the noise is giving me a headache."

The tone sounded quite intimate, and Xie Wan Ning hesitated again.

This was her aunt's eldest son, her cousin, the new top scholar, and a pillar of the country, but she knew that he would die in the spring after the New Year...

She wanted to save him, but it was a short time and she didn't know how to tell others that disaster was imminent.

While she was hesitating, the person in front of her spoke first.

"You... want to know what kind of person Duan Cheng is?" he said.

Xie Wan Ning's eyes lit up, "Cousin is familiar with Duan Cheng?"

After saying this, she remembered that this man and Duan Cheng were both Jinshi in the same class, and they were also two of the top three who were personally named by His Majesty in the Golden Palace.

It would be strange if you are not familiar with it.

Sure enough, Ji Chengfeng smiled and said, "Whatever you want to know, ask first and I'll see if I can help you solve it."

"... him," Xie Wan Ning paused, not knowing what to ask for a moment, so she simply said, "Tell me about him in general."

"He is the legitimate son of the Duan family in Liangzhou. He lost his father when he was young and his mother when he was young. He passed the examination for a student at the age of twelve, a scholar at the age of fifteen, a juren at the age of nineteen, and was selected by the emperor as the third place at the age of twenty," Ji Chengfeng said. "He has a strong character, is good at both civil and military affairs, and is an extremely outstanding man."

Xie Wan Ning listened quietly, and it was not difficult to hear the admiration for Duan Cheng in his words.

She was not surprised at all. After all, the marriage between Xie Ruyu and Duan Cheng was decided by her second uncle himself for her daughter, so he certainly would not choose a mere concubine for her daughter.

It’s just that what men and women care about is definitely different…

Xie Wan Ning thought for a moment and then asked, "He is already 20 years old. Has he ever been engaged? Is he still alone?"

Xie Ruyu has an even stronger temper than her and absolutely cannot tolerate any grain of sand in her eyes.

I only regret that the dream scenes were so fleeting that most of the memories left were about the entanglement with Lu Ziyan. As for other people, I rarely had any impression.

She didn't know whether her cousin was satisfied with the marriage.

When Ji Chengfeng heard her question, his brows finally furrowed and his eyes fell on her face.

Talking about other people's private affairs behind their back is not what a gentleman does.

He hesitated for a while before slowly saying, "I heard that when Madam Duan was alive, she had chosen a girl for her son, but she passed away before the marriage was finalized. The girl's family didn't want to delay their daughter for three years, so the marriage was dropped."

Losing one’s mother is a serious form of mourning and one must observe three years of mourning.

This may also be the reason why he passed the examination for a scholar at the age of fifteen and then passed the examination for a juren at the age of nineteen.

only……

Xie Wan Ning was unhappy because he almost had a fiancée. He didn't know whether it was his mother who chose her or Duan Cheng himself was interested in her.

If it is the latter, then missing out on the other person because of such twists and turns would make one feel somewhat unsatisfied, right?

She has some understanding of human nature. The more you can't get something, the more you will miss it.

She is like this herself. In her previous life, the colder Lu Ziyan was to her, the more obsessed she was with wanting to marry him.

If she did not get what she wanted, but listened to her parents' advice and broke off the engagement and married another man, no matter how good the other man was, she would still feel resentful for the rest of her life.

The reason she can let it go now is simply because she has tried it once and is no longer unwilling to give up.

There are many things that you won’t be satisfied with unless you try them yourself.

Therefore, she absolutely did not want her cousin to marry a man who had other girls in his heart.

Xie Wan Ning looked a little ugly.

Ji Chengfeng noticed her expression and finally couldn't help asking, "My cousin has never met Duan Cheng, why do you care so much about him?"

"..." Xie Wan Ning was silent for a moment, thought of a random reason, and said: "After reading a few poems he wrote, I became curious about the life experiences of the author of those poems."

"Really?" Ji Chengfeng asked curiously, "I have read quite a few of Brother Duan's poetry collections. Which one does my cousin like best?"

……

"Xie Wan Ning choked and looked up to see if he was deliberately trying to sabotage her, but she saw that his eyes were full of sincerity, as if he really wanted to discuss poetry and books with her.

She said unhappily, "I can't remember it all at once."

Compared to Duan Cheng, she actually remembered a few of his poems.

After all, after this man died in his previous life, the emperor loved his talent so much that he burst into tears in the hall. The whole capital was shocked. His posthumous works were once widely praised, and she followed the trend and bought a few copies to read.

Thinking of this, Xie Wan Ning also began to admire his talent and was really reluctant to see this man die.

Perhaps she was quick-witted, a light bulb suddenly lit up her head, and she looked up and said, "My cousin has told me so much, it would be rude if I don't return the favor, so I'll help you too."

Hearing this, Ji Chengfeng was stunned and asked, "Help me with what?"

"I can read faces!" Xie Wan Ning said nonsense in a serious tone, "I've read several books on palmistry and have helped several people read it. It's very accurate. Do you want me to take a look?"

Her eyes looked straight at his left hand.

Ji Chengfeng was really stunned by this kind of "help". After hesitating for several breaths, he actually stretched out his hand from his long sleeves. His hands were very white, and his fingers were very long, with distinct joints. His nails were neatly trimmed, and there was a small protrusion on the wrist bone covered by the sleeves.

…These are the beautiful articles written by these hands.

Xie Wan Ning thought to herself, but said, "Turn over. Palmistry depends on the lines on your palm."

Ji Chengfeng glanced at her and turned his hand as he was told.

Xie Wan Ning didn't know how to read palms, but she still pretended to look at it for a while, with a thoughtful expression on her face.

Soon, his expression became difficult again.

It looks quite similar.

Ji Chengfeng moved his lips, "Can you see anything?"

“Ahem…” Xie Wan Ning coughed twice and raised her chin modestly: “Of course I can see it. Take your hand back.”

Ji Chengfeng withdrew his hand, chuckled, and said, "I'd like to hear the details."

"..." Xie Wan Ning felt a little guilty because of his laughter. She always felt like she was watching a charlatan performing acrobatics.

A young man like this, who is involved in officialdom, probably has more than eight hundred schemes on his mind, so how could he believe that she knows anything about palmistry?

But she didn't intend to lie to him, everything she said was true!
Thinking of this, Xie Wan Ning's heart instantly felt relieved.

"I think you have good luck in official career and a bright future. It won't be long before..." She paused and said, "probably in the early spring of next year, the emperor will give you an important task and you will leave Beijing and go to the south. With your ability, it will not be difficult for you to complete the task and get promoted."

Ji Chengfeng listened quietly, a faint smile brewing in his eyes. Just as he was about to say something, he saw the girl in front of him change the subject and said, "However, your trip is not going well. Disaster is imminent, and you may even lose your life."

"Oh?" Ji Chengfeng's eyebrows jumped, obviously he didn't expect her to say that. He paused for a moment before saying, "Cousin, do you have any solution?"

Xie Wan Ning choked again, but he was very cooperative with her words, as if he believed them 100%.

But now that the conversation had come to this, she was too lazy to think about whether he was teasing her for fun, and said directly: "You have to be careful about your followers betraying their master. The closer they are, the more careful you have to be."

Ji Chengfeng's eyes narrowed.

"Also," Xie Wan Ning continued, "it's best to stay away from the water. Even if you have to take a detour and walk for an extra day or two, you should stay away from it."

In his previous life, he contracted an illness in Shangyang Lake and died in Shangganling due to an epidemic.

But what Lu Ziyan found out was that his entourage leaked the information of his whereabouts.

It so happened that an epidemic broke out near Shangyang Lake, and someone behind the scenes deliberately drove the victims of the epidemic in that direction.

He died from a series of coincidences.

If Your Majesty had not investigated the matter thoroughly, the death of this brilliant and talented top scholar would have been concluded as a short life with little fortune and a talent that was envied by heaven.

Thinking of this, Xie Wan Ning raised her eyes and looked at him, saying seriously: "Don't disbelieve me, I really calculated it very accurately."

Ji Chengfeng also lowered his eyes to look at her, the smile on his lips gradually faded, and there was an indescribable look in his eyes.

He originally thought that the girl was just bored and was teasing him.

But her words were too serious.

It's so serious that it doesn't seem like fabrication.

After a long while, he nodded gently and said, "I understand."

Xie Wan Ning was still a little worried and gave a few more earnest instructions.

It was not until he caught a glimpse of a tall figure out of the corner of his eye that he suddenly stopped talking and turned his head sharply.

Pei Yuqing had come out at some point and was standing under the eaves of Liushui Pavilion, looking at this side quietly with an unclear expression on his face.

Xie Wan Ning's eyes slowly widened, and without saying anything, she quickly walked towards him.

Ji Chengfeng beside her paused, then followed.

Usually, whenever she walked towards him, this man would come to meet her before she got in front of him, but at this moment, he stood there, motionless.

No matter how slow Xie Wan Ning was, she could sense that something was wrong. She blinked and smiled, "Why did you come out too?"

also……

Pei Yuqing savored the word carefully, then suddenly grasped her shoulders and brought her into his arms.

"Are you cold?" He said in a steady voice, "Why didn't you call me when you came out?"

He hugged her suddenly, and Xie Wan Ning was glad that she reacted quickly enough and did not crush the plum blossom in her hand.

"I just saw a patch of red plum blossoms over there and wanted to go take a look, but you were chatting happily with your friends, so I went by myself."

She pushed his shoulder and said, "On the way back, I ran into cousin Ji and we chatted for a while."

Pei Yuqing didn't move at all, just hummed softly, his eyes fell on Ji Chengfeng, and he smiled slightly and said, "What a coincidence, what did you two talk about that made you so happy."

When Pei Yuqing found out that Xie Wan Ning was not at the female table, he looked for her everywhere and found her all the way out of Liushui Pavilion.

When he looked up, he saw her looking into the eyes of her best friend, who was still chattering about something. And he, her usually taciturn friend, was actually listening patiently and replying a few words from time to time.

The two were chatting so excitedly that they didn't even notice that he was standing not far away.

These suggestive words made Ji Chengfeng's smile pause slightly, and Xie Wan Ning also felt uncomfortable listening to them.

She couldn't say that she was reading palms, so she hesitated for a while and couldn't think of any reason to explain. She could only say dryly, "Nothing to talk about."

"We really didn't talk about anything," Ji Chengfeng smiled and said, "I saw the red plum blossoms were blooming so I just asked a few questions."

As he spoke, he bowed and said, "You two can chat slowly. I won't disturb you."

His eyes passed over the girl who was embraced by her husband, and he turned away.

After the person left, Pei Yuqing slowly let go of him.

Xie Wan Ning came out of his arms and saw his expressionless face. She smiled and said, "What are you doing? Are you jealous?"

There was nothing strange on her face, nor was there any guilt in her eyes; she looked very open and honest.

Pei Yuqing looked at it for a while and said calmly: "I am indeed not very tolerant."

He admitted it frankly, and Xie Wan Ning smiled even more. She coaxed him softly, "Don't be jealous. He and I really just met by chance."

"We just happened to meet, do we need to chat for so long?" He was unusually persistent, "Wanwan, you are my wife, I really mind you showing interest in others..."

He couldn't even stand seeing her own brother getting close to him, let alone others.

Xie Wan Ning had no idea what he was thinking, and said with great injustice, "How could I be interested in others?"

It makes her sound like she is fickle.

But Pei Yuqing said nothing, just stared at her, which made her feel uneasy and guilty.

Combine two into one~~~ Ask for a monthly ticket~~