The Night Before the Divorce, She Was Reborn to Before Her Marriage - Chapter 52

Since Liangzhou was nearby, it was within Zong Si’s expectations that Lu Xingzhi and Ning Fu would meet frequently.

“Was it you who wrote that letter?” Zong Si asked indifferently.

Jing Cheng smiled but remained silent.

“Where is she?” he asked, maintaining an air of calm.

“Since you rejected the marriage proposal with Ning Fu, Grandmother naturally won’t let her appear before you again,” Jing Cheng replied. “But rest assured, Prince; she is perfectly fine.”

Jing Cheng was banking on the fact that Zong Si harbored some feelings for Ning Fu; otherwise, he wouldn’t have agreed to meet today.

“Did she choose to avoid me of her own volition?” Zong Si countered coldly.

Jing Cheng had no intention of revealing Ning Fu’s true thoughts. “You should ask her that yourself, Prince.” Having provided him with enough information, she decided it was time to make her own demand. “I simply wish to ask the Prince for news regarding the Third Prince.”

Zong Si showed no surprise, yet he had no intention of disclosing imperial secrets to anyone in the Grand Princess’s household. “The Third Prince and I rarely meet. I know nothing of his private affairs.”

“Tell me, and I will take you to see Ning Fu,” Jing Cheng said, her voice tinged with urgency.

“I have no intention of seeing the Fourth Lady,” Zong Si replied, defying her expectations. His tone was chillingly detached as he turned to leave.

This stunned Jing Cheng. She couldn’t believe he truly didn’t care to see her. She felt he was cold-hearted; though he had sent the Jade-Skin Ointment, perhaps it was merely to clean up the “mess” of the marks he had left behind, out of a sense of duty rather than affection.

The Encounter at the Fabric Shop

Later that day, Zong Si traveled through the city with Yue Niang. While he appeared to be a tourist, he was actually scouting the city gates for any tactical weaknesses.

They entered a garment shop, as Yue Niang was a skilled needlewoman. There, they spotted a familiar figure picking out fabrics. It was Ning Fu, dressed in a simple, practical gown, her face free of makeup. By her side was a tall, handsome young man.

“Xie Heng, help me test this color,” Ning Fu said, holding a pale cyan fabric against the youth’s chest.

“Fourth Lady, these clothes aren’t for me; they are for Master Lu. Why must I be the one to test them?” Xie Heng grumbled, though his body complied perfectly.

“If there is leftover fabric, I’ll make something for you as well,” Ning Fu promised.

“I like white,” Xie Heng noted, before adding with a charming smile, “And I like the Fourth Lady.”

At only sixteen, the youth was adept at acting cute and flirtatious. Ning Fu, however, treated him like a child. “I don’t like ‘little’ ones,” she said, dismissively.

Xie Heng’s ears turned beet red. “Fourth Lady… I am not ‘little.’ You’ll find that out in the future.”

“Keep talking and you’ll get a beating,” Ning Fu warned.

As Ning Fu reached for a bolt of dark crow-blue fabric that was just out of her reach, a hand with well-defined knuckles reached over her head and pulled it down for her.

“Thank you,” she said, turning around. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Zong Si’s face, then she paused to look at Yue Niang. She is truly breathtaking, Ning Fu thought.

“Greetings, Prince,” she bowed, realizing he was indeed the envoy from the capital.

Instantly, Xie Heng stepped forward, pulling Ning Fu behind him like a protective pup. He knew well the friction between the Prince of Xuan’s mansion and the Grand Princess. “Prince, I am Xie Heng, son of Xie Kangwei.”

“I thought you were ill?” Zong Si asked, his gaze fixed on Ning Fu behind the boy.

Xie Heng quickly interjected, “The Fourth Lady caught a cold recently, which is why she couldn’t greet you yesterday. Please forgive her.”

“Ill, yet well enough to make clothes for another man?” Zong Si countered. There was a subtle, sharp edge of displeasure in his voice.

Ning Fu, sensing the tension, gently pushed Xie Heng aside. “I am feeling better today. I’m merely passing the time. It is time for my medicine, so I shall leave you and Lady Yue Niang to your shopping.”

Shadows of the Past

After Ning Fu departed, Zong Si’s aide, Qu Yang, noticed the dark glint in the Prince’s eyes. Qu Yang knew that Zong Si was possessive by nature; even if he didn’t particularly “want” something, he hated the idea of others touching what he considered his.

“Why is that young man with the Fourth Lady?” Yue Niang asked, confused by their lack of chaperones.

“The Grand Princess has always kept male consorts,” Qu Yang explained. “She doesn’t care for the strict social boundaries of the capital. I fear that Master Xie is merely a ‘plaything’ prepared for the Fourth Lady.”

He added with a sigh, “I pity her future husband. He’ll be wearing quite a few ‘green hats’ (cuckolded) before he even weds her.”

Zong Si’s lip curled into a cold, expressionless sneer.

Meanwhile, back at the palace, Ning Fu warned her grandmother. “Grandmother, the Emperor sent Zong Si specifically to investigate you. You must be careful.”

Grand Princess Kanyang was dismissive. “I have my defenses. If you don’t want to see him, stay at the villa. He looked down on you before; you needn’t give him the time of day now.”

Ning Fu frowned, thinking of the “Record of Crimes” left by the deceased official Li Fang. In her previous life, the loss of that document led to the downfall of her family. She had to find it before someone else used it to frame her grandmother for everything.

“Grand Princess,” a servant announced, bowing low. “Prince Zong Si requests an audience.”

Kanyang raised an eyebrow. “For the Third Son of Xuan to visit me voluntarily… how strange indeed.”