Chapter 13: The Past Like Smoke

After bathing in the orchid-scented water last night, Ning Junruo slept soundly and beautifully.

The color of the bedding and the incense burning in the room were exactly the same as those in her maiden chamber back at her natal home. In a haze, she seemed to have returned to the capital, back to the Ning family estate...

She hadn’t slept so peacefully in a long time. When she woke to the piercing sunlight filtering through the window lattice, her mood inexplicably brightened.

Although the Dowager Princess insisted that divorce was impossible, she had ultimately yielded.

She recalled the first year she arrived in Liangzhou. She had wanted to stay here overnight, but the Dowager Princess coldly refused, saying, “How can the noble Princess of Liang stay out at night? Those who do not know might think the Wangfu has mistreated her.”

Since then, she had abandoned the thought.

“Miss, you’re awake?” a gentle voice from an unfamiliar maid spoke softly. “I am Nianfang, here to assist you in getting up.”

“Nianfang?”

Ning Junruo instantly liked this spirited girl.

“Yes. Sister Huaixi and Sister Zisu are having breakfast, so I’ll attend to you.”

Nianfang’s voice was sweet, and her rosy cheeks made her look endearing.

Supporting Ning Junruo to rise, she said, “I’ve been waiting here for four years. Today, at last, the Miss has returned.”

“Four years?” Ning Junruo was startled. “Did you arrange this room?”

Nianfang smiled faintly. “I arranged it according to the style of your chamber. I wonder if you still like it?”

“Of course I do.”

While dressing, Ning Junruo asked, “Did you come from the capital? I don’t recall ever meeting you.”

“I came from the village; you surely wouldn’t know it. The year after you left, I was selected to serve in the mansion. Not long after Sister Jin Xiu became pregnant, I took over your duties in the chamber…”

It had been a long time since anyone had so thoroughly recounted the affairs of the Ning family. Hearing these familiar names warmed Ning Junruo’s heart.

“By the way, the shop in the capital was sold. Is life in the mansion difficult now?” she asked with concern.

“I don’t know,” Nianfang thought for a moment. “I joined the household late and didn’t notice any major changes.”

Amid light chatter, after washing up, Zisu and Huaixi also assisted her with breakfast.

The spring day was splendid, and Ning Junruo planned to take a stroll and visit those shops.

This time, they disguised themselves as ordinary townsfolk. Under Zisu’s cover, they quietly slipped out the back gate of the small courtyard.

Just as they turned onto the path behind Liangzhou Academy, they spotted a familiar figure skulking outside a window of the academy.

“Truly, I’ve searched high and low with no luck!”

Like an arrow from a bow, Zisu darted behind him and seized his collar like twisting a chick.

“You little thief, what are you sneaking around here for?”

Her neat red outfit made her look exceptionally valiant and spirited with her delicate features.

Unexpectedly, it was her.

The boy’s dirty cheeks were full of terror. Blinking, he stammered, “I... I didn’t steal anything, just... just eavesdropping.”

“Eavesdropping is stealing too!”

Zisu tightened her grip and dragged him before Ning Junruo.

“Our mistress generously gave you silver, yet you repay her by stealing her purse!”

Glaring at him, Zisu gritted her teeth. “Where is the purse? Hand it over now!”

The boy bit his lip, seemingly deaf to her threats, stubbornly staring back.

“What are you looking at?”

Infuriated by his gaze, Zisu raised her other hand threateningly. “If you don’t speak, I’ll gouge out your eyeballs!”

Her two fingers curled as if ready to poke out his eyes.

Frightened by her fierce demeanor, the boy hurriedly said, “I threw it away! Without silver, I threw it away!”

“Damn you!”

Zisu’s fingers came down, just about to dig into his eyes, when Ning Junruo hurriedly intervened, “Let him go!”

How could they lay hands on a defenseless child?

Zisu reluctantly released him, nearly causing a disaster. But the boy’s gaze had truly provoked her.

The boy clutched his neck and coughed several times, gasping for breath before looking at Ning Junruo.

“What’s your name?” she asked.

“Yu Xiaonu.”

His eyes were less guarded than before.

“Why are you eavesdropping here?”

Ning Junruo’s gaze softened; she admired children who loved to read.

“I… I just want to learn to read and write,” Yu Xiaonu said shamefully, lowering his head as if he had done something wrong.

In the capital, many wealthy families spared no effort to educate their offspring.

Unexpectedly, this ragged child still harbored a thirst for knowledge.

Ning Junruo looked at the red swelling on his arm and gently asked, “Why didn’t you use the silver I gave you yesterday to buy medicine?”

“I bought medicine for my mother,” the boy murmured, scratching his head.

Ning Junruo sighed. “If you truly want to study, come to Ning Inn at dawn tomorrow and ask for Miss Ning.”

“Are you...?”

Yu Xiaonu looked up abruptly, disbelief in his eyes.

“That’s right, I am!”

Ning Junruo smiled lightly and then departed with her companions.

She had originally promised Madam Chang to stay overnight at Yunmeng Pavilion, but after a harsh scolding from her mother, Zhao Shenxing’s previously muddled mind finally cleared.

Today, Chen Qinghe in Tingyuxuan had been deeply angered by Madam Xiao and had cried bitterly after throwing a tantrum, her eyes swollen like walnuts.

She had thought the prince would not come, so after dinner, she went to bed early.

Unexpectedly, while half-asleep, she was told the prince had arrived!

Zhao Shenxing, having been scolded by the Dowager Consort, was distressed to see Qinghe’s tear-streaked, swollen eyes, worried she might fall out of favor.

A brief separation made their reunion all the more enchanting; the night was naturally passionate.

Because the prince was at Tingyuxuan, breakfast was lavish, featuring peach blossom cakes, bird’s nest soup, and sea cucumber porridge—nourishing delicacies.

Yesterday, Chen Qinghe looked as wilted as rain-beaten pear blossoms, but today she was radiant, like glowing mist at dawn.

Seated before her dressing table, the dragonfly was inserting hairpins into her coiffure.

Dragonfly and Yuzhu were close friends. Seeing her so happy, she couldn’t help but say, “The prince still dotes on the lady. I heard Madam Chang hasn’t seen any meat dishes for two days and hasn’t eaten well.”

“Really? But she’s pregnant,” Chen Qinghe questioned.

“Madam Chang not only snatched the coveted Yunmeng Pavilion but also tried to steal the headpiece the princess gave her,” Dragonfly said as she carefully combed Chen Qinghe’s long hair with an antelope horn comb.

“Madam Xiao never lets matters drop when she’s in the right, and now that she’s in charge of the household, with her temperament, Madam Chang won’t have a good time.”

“Good, very good!”

Chen Qinghe took out the hairpin and placed it back in the jewelry box. “The prince loves watching me pin flowers. Come, let’s pick some flowers in Yunmeng Pavilion.”