Chapter 295 – Let’s keep a memento (2)
“Is she asleep?”
“She should be sleeping, but her room is locked.”
“She really has a strong sense vigilance.”
Ji Man’s nerves stretched taut. She couldn’t resist the urge to sit up. She stuck to the wall like a gecko.
A slick, unfamiliar voice said, “The reason for Shaoan’s visit this time is to remind the marquis of camaraderie ties. If Sir Ning is willing to take the position of Zhenyuan General, it would naturally be a beneficial decision that wouldn’t harm the marquis. After all, the two of you are related by blood. Even if the bones are broken, the tendons will still be connected.
“Sir Qin, you think too highly of Yuxuan. Yuxuan is merely a powerless marquis. Such an important imperial court matter can’t be determined by Yuxuan.”
“Marquis, why act so modest? Who doesn’t know that the emperor is increasingly relying on you? Everyone had originally expected Sir Ning to take that position, but there were people in the imperial court that used his lack of experience and seniority to disagree, so the emperor has remained hesitant. If the marquis would be willing to say a few words…”
Ning Yuxuan interrupted him, “Second Young Master recently got married. Are his days going well?”
Qin Shaoan paused before saying, “Second Young Master married a good woman. She’s very helpful.”
“That’s good. Then, send my regards to Second Young Master. It’s not early anymore. Yuxuan understands Sir Qin’s intentions. How about giving Yuxuan time to think things over?”
“Alright.” The unfamiliar voice sounded a bit hesitant as he added, “Shaoan will boldly say a few words to remind the marquis that if your goal is to stay out of the political turmoil, then your honorable wife can’t be allowed to remain.”
Ning Yuxuan’s voice was a bit deeper as he said, “Thank you for your concern. The night air is cold. Sir Qin, be careful as you leave.”
Ji Man took a deep breath, slowly fell back down on the bed, and quietly covered herself with the quilt.
She had truly thought that Ning Yuxuan was stupid enough to accompany her in such a long walk, but in actually, it was just an excuse to meet up with someone.
Their conversation was also a bit funny. An outsider had come to persuade Ning Yuxuan to help Ning Mingjie into the position of Zhenyuan General. Ning Yuxuan’s voice sound as if he was trying to avoid responsibility, and that person had also tried to convince him to abandon Nie Sangyu.
What was going on?
From the other side, Ning Yuxuan asked, “The door was locked?”
Guibai’s answer of yes was followed by the sound of a window opening. Her heart tightened. They were on the third floor, so she had forgotten to lock her window!
It was only to be expected that people with martial art skills could jump over walls and enter rooms through windows by scaling buildings. Ning Yuxuan’s movements were also very efficient as he entered through her window. He groped around until he found the bed, then he very naturally lied down as if she was dead asleep.
Wrapping his arm around her waist and straddling his leg over hers, Ning Yuxuan hugged her like she was a doll. After letting out a very long sigh, he started to drift off into sleep.
Ji Man couldn’t move and had to keep her body from tensing. She had to keep her breathing smooth and regular while mixing in a little bit of teeth grinding that would normally happen when she was sleeping.
The person hugging her let out a m.u.f.fled laugh and gently kissed her forehead.
Gooseb.u.mps rose up on her entire body, and Ji Man pretended that she was fidgeting in her sleep. She pushed him away and turned over to face the wall to sleep. Ning Yuxuan lightly clicked his tongue and finally lied down next to her without trying anything again.
The emperor had removed Nie Sangyu’s old father from his position because the army had lost a battle due to problems with the military equipment. The commander of the troops had died during that battle, and Ning Mingjie was temporarily in charge. And now, someone had come over and said that he wanted Ning Mingjie to take up the position of Zhenyuan General. Plagued by these thoughts, Ji Man couldn’t sleep.
Still, she couldn’t figure out what was going on.
—
Early next morning, before the sun was up, Ning Yuxuan sneakily left the bed and returned to his room.
Ji Man had black circles under her eyes like a panda. Supporting her chin in her hand, she continued to think.
—
After eating breakfast, Marquis Moyu overtly came over and knocked on her door. “Let’s go back. There’s probably going to be an important guest coming to the estate.”
Ji Man instinctively moved her body to block his sight of the untouched food on the table. “What important guest?”
Ning Yuxuan lightly said, “Princess Pengyue heard that something unfortunate happened in our family, so she wants to see for herself. The two of you talked before, so there’s some familiarity between the two of you. Do a good job with entertaining our guest, okay?”
Thinking of that young woman, who had a commanding presence as she held her whip up and stood by that wheelchair, Ji Man nodded. “Let’s go back by carriage then.”
Before Ning Yuxuan could fully enter the room, she pushed him out and hurriedly pulled him towards the stairs to go down.
After Guibai paid the inn, they rented a carriage and rushed back the marquis’s estate. Because an important guest was coming over, Ning Yuxuan untied the concentric knots accessory from his waist and replaced it with his formal jade accessory.
Ji Man took off the concentric knots waist accessory that she was wearing too. Pinching the low-quality ring in her fingers, she asked, “Why aren’t you taking off the ring made of concentric knots too?”
Marquis Moyu straightened his clothes. In a tone that was as light as drifting clouds, he said, “Let’s just treat it as a memento. It’s rare for us to take trips together.”
Ji Man twitched her lips and tossed the ring into a small bag. He was acting as if in the next second, he was going to valiantly sacrifice himself for a righteous cause.
Qi Siling was standing at the entrance of the marquis’s estate. Seeing that they had returned, she came over and very properly greeted them. “My lord, Madam, the visiting card from the second prince’s household has already arrived. The second princess consort is probably on her way here too. This servant has already prepared Princess Pengyue’s favorite snacks and incense.”
“Very good.” Ning Yuxuan slightly smiled and nodded. “You saved me from having to worry about this.”
Qi Siling glanced at Nie Sangyu, then she welcomed them inside while smiling.
—
There was still one more day to the vigil, but Wen Wan had cried herself out and was just kneeling in the mourning hall with reddened eyes.