Liu Ming'an and Jiang Ning departed from the capital a month after their wedding.
Lan Xu, who knew of their plans beforehand, thoughtfully reminded them to "be careful on the journey" and mentioned that she would stay at Fuling Temple since it would be lonely in such a large mansion by herself. She said she would wait for them to pick her up upon their return.
Jiang Ning sent a guard to escort her to Fuling Temple, and then went with Liu Ming'an to visit the Zhou family and inform Zhou Yi.
Before marrying Zhou Yi, Nangong Muyan had toured all of his residences in the capital with him, but ultimately chose to live in the old mansion on Xichun Road because flower beds could be seen everywhere, and there was even a specially designed garden at the back of the residence. This greatly appealed to Nangong Muyan, a flower enthusiast who couldn't even keep a cactus alive.
When the couple arrived in the courtyard after being announced by the doorkeeper, they heard the sound of a zither playing "Evening Song of the Fisherman." However, the melody was quite messy, like that of a beginner.
From a distance, Jiang Ning wondered why Nangong Muyan's playing skills had deteriorated so much - was it pregnancy affecting her mind? Or perhaps it was Zhou Yi playing?
Only after passing through the archway into the inner courtyard did Jiang Ning understand why the playing was so poor.
Indeed, Nangong Muyan was playing the zither, but her attention was clearly elsewhere. Zhou Yi sat beside her, resting his chin on his hand, watching her with a smile and occasionally feeding her grapes from a fruit plate.
True to her teasing nature, Nangong Muyan would playfully bite Zhou Yi's fingertips each time he offered her a grape, then mischievously wink at him, prompting him to lean in and plant a kiss on her alluring face.
Amid giggles and laughter, the zither music became completely chaotic...
Jiang Ning quickly averted her eyes - no wonder the playing was so terrible.
Noticing their arrival, Nangong Muyan removed her hands from the strings and pushed away Zhou Yi, who was still trying to kiss her. She turned her head to see Jiang Ning and Liu Ming'an.
"Young Master Liu and sister-in-law are here," Nangong Muyan said quickly, pointing outside the pavilion. She then traced her finger along Zhou Yi's palm suggestively, saying in an intimate tone, "Let's attend to our guests first, we can kiss more later."
Zhou Yi looked in the direction she pointed, where Liu Ming'an and Jiang Ning stood side by side, though their gazes were fixed on a cluster of chrysanthemums by the path, deliberately avoiding looking their way.
Zhou Yi's ears turned red with embarrassment as he looked at Nangong Muyan with a slightly reproachful expression. She just grinned and gave him another quick peck on the lips before turning to their guests with complete composure, saying, "Brother Liu, sister-in-law, please come sit with us."
The couple moved at her invitation, maintaining neutral expressions as they entered the pavilion and sat at the table.
"Brother Zhou, sister-in-law," Liu Ming'an nodded in greeting to the couple.
Zhou Yi got up and moved the zither to the railing, then returned to pour tea for both guests and pushed the fruit plate toward them.
Zhou Yi continued: "Do you remember when she climbed over the wall into your courtyard? Actually, when I was heading home that time, she knocked me out and kidnapped me."
"This happened? Did she hurt you?" Liu Ming'an asked anxiously.
Zhou Yi recalled the incident where Nangong Muyan had threatened to tie him to a tree and let him freeze to death - that should count as harm, right? It had certainly frightened him badly.
But now that Nangong Muyan was his wife, he chose to avoid that detail and only answered: "Her main purpose wasn't to hurt me, but to ask me some questions."
"What did she ask? About Ning?" Liu Ming'an naturally assumed.
But Zhou Yi shook his head: "She asked about you."
"Me?" Liu Ming'an frowned, not understanding why Nangong Muyan would ask Zhou Yi about him.
"Yes, she asked how old you were, what you did for a living, about your family situation, whether your parents were easy to get along with, if they were harsh people, if they had many rules, whether they would make life difficult for a daughter-in-law, and also..."
Aliali: 6743211ac4f3f33ac42e7315
Zhou Yi paused before revealing the final question: "She also asked if you had ever visited brothels."
"This..." Liu Ming'an was at a loss for words.
"Brother Liu, do you think these are questions an enemy would ask?" Zhou Yi gazed at him meaningfully.
"No, these are questions that only family or close friends would ask."
Liu Ming'an's eyes grew dark, finding the relationship between the two women increasingly unclear.
Zhou Yi patted his shoulder and sighed: "Brother Liu, I initially thought she was a venomous woman and tried to stay as far away from her as possible. But after spending more time with her, something inside kept telling me she wasn't that kind of person. Though I still don't understand why she would do those things to your wife..."
"If you think I'm lying to defend her, to absolve her of guilt, you don't have to believe me. Brother Liu, I'm sincere-"
Liu Ming'an interrupted Zhou Yi's unfinished words: "Brother Zhou, I believe you!"
Liu Ming'an sat back down at the table and took a sip of tea. Seeing Zhou Yi still looking troubled, he offered comfort: "Brother Zhou, I don't believe this just because of you - I also trust Ning and her decisions. I only know that you are my brother and Nangong Muyan is my sister-in-law. As for past events, whatever secrets they may hold, if they don't wish to speak of them, we shouldn't ask. Let's just let it go."
"Brother Liu!" Zhou Yi was moved once again.