The two of them walked towards Star Picking Pavilion while talking.
When they were approaching the Star Picking Pavilion, Uncle Lu hurried over and said, "My lord, it's not good. The second young lady from the residence of Wai Lang, Ning Yuan of the Ministry of Industry, fell into the lake."
Shi Jingyang and Duke Chengguo were both shocked.
Shi Jingyang frowned slightly. Wu Mingxuan investigated the matter of Ning He falling into the water in his previous life.
Before he went to the border, Wu Mingxuan asked him to have a drink and put it into practice for him. Wu Mingxuan told him about it after he was drunk.
Ning He fell into the water because of Yi Jie'er. Yi Jie'er's target was Ning Wei, but by some mistake, it was Ning He who fell into the water.
In this life, the engagement between the two houses was cancelled, and Ning Wei came to the Duke's house for a banquet today.
If there is no engagement, Sister Yi will not anger the young lady of Ning Mansion.
He thought that Ning He would not fall into the water today.
Okay, how could Ning He fall into the water?
Duke Chengguo asked: "How is it? Has anyone been rescued? Is there anything serious?"
Uncle Lu leaned forward and said, "He has been rescued. His Royal Highness, Prince Chen, rescued him."
Shi Jingyang repeated: "His Royal Highness King Chen rescued him?"
Uncle Lu leaned forward and said, "Yes, at that time, His Highness Prince Chen came out of the flower hall to congratulate him and happened to pass by the lake."
Shi Jingyang frowned slightly. Could it be that the fate between Ning He and Prince Chen was destined by God?
Duke Chengguo noticed something strange about Shi Jingyang and asked, "Brother Le, are you confused?"
The matter is still unclear and we cannot make any hasty conclusions.
Shi Jingyang shook his head and said, "I just feel a little strange."
Duke Chengguo nodded and told Uncle Lu: "Let someone check what's going on."
Uncle Lu leaned forward and said, "Yes, I understand."
On the other side, Wu Mingxuan was careful and took Prince Chen to Zizhuyuan to change clothes. "Fourth Master, please come inside."
King Chen's attendant Lu Ming said: "Uncle Wu, I have you here, go and do your work."
Wu Mingxuan leaned forward and said: "Hot water has been prepared in the bathroom. Please ask Manager Lu to wait for the prince to wash up first. I'll wait at the entrance of the courtyard. If anything happens, just call me Manager Lu."
Lu Ming nodded, took the clothes from the servant and followed King Chen into the house.
"The bathroom is over here, please wash up first."
King Chen turned around and entered the bathroom, and Lu Ming followed him to wait on him.
After King Chen took a shower and changed clothes, he returned to the room where he was just now.
Lu Ming used a handkerchief to wring King Chen's hair dry, and then tied it up for him.
King Chen did not utter a word during the whole process, and the room was so quiet that he could hear his breathing.
After cleaning up, King Chen asked: "Didn't we agree to let Miss Wu fall into the water? Why did she change the person?"
The voice suddenly sounded, Lu Ming's hand shook, and he carefully replied: "Sir, calm down, I will send someone to investigate immediately."
King Chen stopped talking. Lu Ming carefully arranged King Chen's clothes, bowed and asked, "Do you want to rest here for a while or..."
King Chen did not reply immediately, but walked to the window and looked at the green lotus leaves in front of him.
Lu Ming stood by the side with his hands down.
After a while, King Chen turned around and walked out the door. As he walked, he said, "Go back first and let someone check on what happened today. By the way, check on Ning Yuanwailang's house."
Lu Ming bowed and responded: "Yes, I understand."
King Chen walked out of the courtyard.
At this time, Duke Chengguo and his eldest son were waiting at the door with the male members of the Wu family.
Seeing King Chen come out, Duke Chengguo hurriedly stepped forward to greet him and said, "It's because of my poor arrangements that things like this happened in the mansion.
I have disturbed the prince, please forgive me."
King Chen stepped forward to help Duke Cheng up and said, "My lord, your words are serious. What happened today was just an accident. I don't need to take it to heart."
I originally thought that King Chen would use the topic to his advantage and cause trouble.
Unexpectedly, King Chen was so easy to talk to, which surprised Duke Chengguo.
Duke Chengguo leaned forward and said, "Your Majesty is so generous, and I am deeply grateful. Your Majesty, please come to my study for a chat."
Prince Chen is passing through the palace today. He only wants to meet Wu Mingyi, and does not want to talk about life with the old fox like Duke Chengguo.
He declined politely and said: "Thank you, Lord Duke, for your kindness. However, I have something to do, so I won't stay any longer today. I hope the King of Japan will come to bother you again."
Duke Chengguo said some polite words and led his family to send Prince Chen out of the palace.
After King Chen left, Duke Cheng and his entourage turned around and returned to the palace.
Prince Chengguo and Duke Chengguo went to the study together.
As soon as he stepped through the door, Prince Chengguo asked: "Father, what do you think King Chen means?
Could it be that King Chen has fallen in love with the young lady from Ning Yuanwailang's house?
Otherwise, with so many people present, would it be necessary for him, a prince, to jump down and save them?"
Duke Chengguo put his left hand on the armrest and rubbed his forehead with his right hand. He did not directly reply to his son's words, but asked: "Which girls were by the lake at that time?"
Prince Chengguo thought for a while and replied: "Mingyi, Mingyao, Jingxing, Jingchen, Xingyu, the third young lady from the Yang family, several young ladies from the Li family... more than half of the young ladies who came to the banquet are here.
.My father asked me what we were doing."
Duke Chengguo said: "Ning Yuanwai Lang is a sixth-rank official. The distance between his home and the palace is like the clouds and the mud, with a gap of thousands of miles.
There is no intersection between the two mansions. Before today, Prince Chen may have never met this young lady from the Ning mansion, so why did he come to see her?"
Prince Chengguo blurted out: "What if Prince Chen falls in love with the Ning family's young lady at first sight? With Prince Chen's stupidity and youthfulness, anything can happen."
Duke Chengguo shook his head, "If King Chen really fell in love with the Ning family at first sight, King Chen wouldn't have been so good-tempered to talk to us in Zizhuyuan just now.
King Chen will definitely blame us for our poor hospitality, and he will also care about the condition of the young lady of the Ning family. However, King Chen did not."
The Crown Prince of Chengguo thought for a while, nodded and said, "Father is right. But why is Prince Chen doing this today? To gain a good reputation?"
Duke Chengguo waved his hand, "If you don't understand, let's let it go for a while. Have you checked clearly? It's so good, how could a person fall?"
Prince Chengguo replied: "After checking, it was just an accident. It was said that the second lady of the Ning Mansion liked lotus flowers and wanted to pick one and play with it, but she stepped on it and fell into the lake.
"
After hearing this, Duke Chengguo was silent for a moment and said: "The problem happened in our house, and it was ultimately our fault for not taking good care of it.
Go back and let Mrs. Li choose some gifts and go to the door to apologize. Tomorrow you will also go to the Ministry of Punishments to apologize to Yuan Ning."
The Crown Prince Chengguo bowed and said, "Yes, my son understands."
Duke Chengguo waved his hand, "Go down."
After Prince Chengguo left, Uncle Lu opened the door and came in.
Duke Chengguo told him about the discovery of the "nail" in the Marquis Weiyuan Mansion, and finally confessed: "We will take advantage of today's incident to conduct a thorough investigation."
Uncle Lu leaned forward and said, "Yes, I understand."
On the Ning Mansion's carriage, Ning He leaned in the arms of Mrs. Xiao Zhao and said aggrievedly: "Auntie, it's not like my daughter stepped on her weak foot and fell down.
My daughter felt someone pushed her hard from behind, and her daughter was pushed down, but why didn’t Aniang let her tell the truth just now?”
Mrs. Zhao's eyes darkened, she lowered her head to look at Ning He in her arms, and whispered: "He'er, that's the Duke's Mansion, the Queen's natal home.
We are able to attend the banquet at the Duke's Mansion today only because of the favor of Shilang Liu's Mansion.
The water in a wealthy family is deep. If we are not careful, we may offend someone.
A Niang tells you that if you encounter something like this in the future, if you don’t know who the other person is and what their purpose is, it will always be your own fault.
Only by taking responsibility for yourself can you pick yourself out. Do you understand?"
Ning He didn't understand, but looking at Mrs. Zhao's solemn expression, she nodded in understanding, "Yes, my daughter understands."
Mrs. Xiao Zhao continued: "This matter today is not simple."
Ning He looked at Mrs. Zhao with confusion, "Mom, can you tell your daughter? Why is it not simple?"
Mrs. Xiao Zhao lowered her head and looked at Ning He and said: "The Chengguo Palace is the queen's natal family, but it was King Chen who rescued you from the lake.
Prince Chen is the son of a noble concubine. It is already very strange for Prince Chen to appear in the Duke Chengguo’s mansion today, and it is even more strange for him to save you."
Speaking of this, Mrs. Zhao suddenly thought of something, "He'er, have you met Prince Chen before?"
Ning He thought for a while, shook his head and said: "My daughter has no impression, she probably doesn't."
Mrs. Zhao frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and asked: "He'er, who was around you when you fell into the water?"
Ning He thought for a while and listed the people around him when the incident happened. Finally, he said: "At that time, my daughter's attention was on the banquet hall on the other side of the lake, and she didn't pay much attention to the people around her."
After hearing this, Mrs. Zhao couldn't say what was wrong.
When Ning He saw that Mrs. Zhao was silent, she asked in fear: "Auntie, the daughter who was rescued by His Highness Prince Chen today, what is her reputation..."
Mrs. Xiao Zhao sighed and said: "If His Highness King Chen is interested in you, he will carry you into the palace. If His Highness King Chen is not interested in you, he will not mention this matter.
Alas, we can only swallow this loss. Fortunately, the other party is His Highness King Chen, and others do not dare to bite the tongue. After a while, everyone will forget about this matter.
These days, it’s best for you to stay at home and live in seclusion, do you understand?”
Ning He's face turned pale and he said anxiously: "Aniang, my daughter does not want to marry into Prince Chen's palace. My daughter wants to marry Prince Shi. Aniang, please help my daughter."
Ning He wiped her tears as she spoke. She was really anxious.
Mrs. Zhao felt extremely uncomfortable when she saw her daughter crying, but the other party was a prince and a prince, how could she afford to offend her?
"He'er, those are His Highness Prince Chen's eyes, and they are the eyes of the imperial concubine. There's nothing I can do about it."
Ning He was so sad that she leaned on Mrs. Zhao, her tears falling like broken beads.
Mrs. Zhao held Ning He in her arms and comforted her: "His Royal Highness, Prince Chen, is a prince and a prince.
If you can marry into Prince Chen's Mansion, that will be a blessing, a better fate than marrying into the Marquis of Weiyuan's Mansion.
Silly girl, why are you crying?"
After hearing this, Ning He shed more tears. "Auntie, my daughter just wants to marry Shi Shizi."
Mrs. Zhao asked while wiping Ning He's tears: "Why?"
Ning He blurted out: "Many years ago, Shi Shizi entered my daughter's heart."
"Many years ago?" Mrs. Zhao asked.
Ning He responded with a cry, "Yes, many years ago."
Mrs. Xiao Zhao helped Ning He sit up and said, "Tell me, what's going on?"
Ning He wiped away her tears and said: "When my daughter was seven years old, when apricots were ripe, she was under the apricot tree in our yard, looking at the apricots all over the tree. She was so greedy that she thought about how to pick apricots.
Just when his daughter was in trouble, Shi Shizi stood next to his daughter, looked up at the apricots on the tree, and then looked at his daughter and asked, "Want to eat?"
The daughter nodded. After hearing this, Shi Shizi kicked off his legs and soared up into the air, stood on the branch, picked a large handful of apricots and brought them to me.
That was the first time that her daughter met Prince Shi. Later, whenever Prince Shi came to look for his second brother, her daughter would go to his courtyard.
I don’t know when, but it may have been Prince Shi who picked apricots for his daughter, and Prince Shi took root in his daughter’s heart.
If he doesn't come to the house, my daughter wants to see him.
As a result, my daughter often went shopping and went to places where he often went, hoping to run into him.
Auntie, my daughter only has Shizi in her heart, and she only wants to marry him."
Mrs. Zhao looked at her daughter who was begging her so hard that she couldn't say a word.
She was afraid of seeing her daughter's disappointed eyes.
After a while, Mrs. Zhao said: "I understand, He'er, please don't be impatient. Wait a few days and see how His Highness King Chen reacts.
If His Highness King Chen has a plan today, your father is only a sixth-rank official and our family has no power. His Highness King Chen’s target must not be you.
As long as His Highness Prince Chen doesn't mention this matter, it will be easy for us, do you understand?"
Ning He understood and nodded: "Okay!"
On the other side, Ning Guangyan originally wanted to talk to Marquis Weiyuan, but after searching around, he could not find Marquis Weiyuan. After asking, he found out that Marquis Weiyuan had official business and could not come today.
After receiving the exact information, Ning Yang looked at the circles of dignitaries chatting, then looked at himself who was out of place, and said to Ning Guangyan: "Dad, let's go back first."
Ning Guangyan wouldn't have come if Zhao hadn't forced him to do so. He didn't like asking for help with a shy face.
His son's words played right into Ning Guangyan's wish, and he immediately nodded and said: "Let's go to Baoping Lane to pick up your grandmother and the others back home.
Ning Yang nodded, "Okay! Let's go."
So, Ning Guangyan took Ning Yang and left early.
However, when Ning Guangyan and Ning Yang went to Baoping Lane, they were stopped outside.
Ning Guangyan looked at the servant of Xu Mansion's concierge in disbelief, "I am Ning Guangyan, I came to visit my mother, you won't let me in?"
Zhao Tian, the steward of the Xu Mansion's concierge, said expressionlessly: "Madam has instructed that visitors must hold a post before they can enter. Those who do not hand over a post can only enter the mansion with Madam's permission."
Ning Yang felt that there was no need to argue with a servant, so he turned to Ning Guangyan and asked, "Does father have any posts?"
Ning Guangyan said angrily: "I decided to come here on the spur of the moment, where is the post?"
Ning Yang turned to the concierge and said, "We decided to come here at the last minute. There is no notice. Could you please go in and inform us that the master and uncle of the Ning Mansion are here to visit."
The concierges stood in a row without moving.
Ning Guangyan was very angry at being slighted and said, "Are you going to be deaf?"
Zhao Tian said: "Our master has gone to the government office, and my wife has gone out for a banquet. There is no master in the house at this time. If you want to enter the house, you need to wait for our master to come back. Or you two, please go back and come back another day."
Ning Guangyan asked: "Where are my mother and son? They are not in the house either?"
