"Don't go, cousin! If there are no jade stones or precious pearls, a jade pendant will do. I won't mind!"
As Lu Wanning spoke, she clapped her hands and burst into laughter. Then she took her books and stepped out of the door. Seeing He Wenbo scurrying away in a hurry like a man with his pants on fire, she laughed even harder, holding her belly.
Once she got into the carriage and saw Jiang Shishi's still pale face, Lu Wanning quickly composed herself and asked with concern, "Sister Jiang, are you all right?"
Jiang Shishi shook her head. "Why did you offend him for my sake, Ning'er?"
Lu Wanning shrugged indifferently. "I've disliked him for a long time. It's no big deal."
Jiang Shishi sighed helplessly. She took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off Lu Wanning's forehead. Seeing the books in her arms, she asked, "What books did you buy?"
Lu Wanning's eyes sparkled with excitement. She took out three storybooks and handed them to her. "These are all the latest storybooks. They've just been adapted for the opera troupe, and not many people have read them yet. You can take a look."
Jiang Shishi wasn't interested in storybooks. She picked up the ancient guqin score and flipped through it. "Hey, this is an incomplete copy. How did you manage to buy this?"
Lu Wanning asked curiously, "An incomplete copy? Is it a good thing? It cost me ten taels of silver!"
"It's not expensive," Jiang Shishi said as she flipped through the score with interest. She stroked the old paper, her fingers dancing as if she were playing the guqin.
Lu Wanning quickly said, "Do you like it? Then I'll give it to you."
Jiang Shishi shook her head. "I don't play the guqin very often, and it takes a lot of effort to study an incomplete score. My health doesn't allow it. It would be a waste to give it to me."
Lu Wanning understood. Incomplete scores were used to decipher the remaining music, which was not suitable for someone as frail as Jiang Shishi. Oh well, she'd give it to someone who was fated to have it in the future.
Then she remembered He Wenbo's words. He said he was here to pick a guqin piece for Shi Aohan. Fortunately, she had bought it first. Whether it was a good thing or not, she didn't want Shi Aohan to get it.
After sending Jiang Shishi home, Lu Wanning returned to her own residence.
Jiyue had been out for a long time. She didn't return to the courtyard until after dinner. After dismissing the other maids, she whispered what she had heard to Lu Wanning.
"The engagement between the He and Jiang families has been finalized today."
Lu Wanning was in a bad mood. She just murmured, "Since Sister Jiang has made her decision, Lord Jiang doesn't have to be caught in the middle."
Jiyue shook her head. "I heard that Lord Jiang was heartbroken and refused to give his consent at first. When Uncle He was about to send someone to invite the Duke, the third young master of the He family showed up."
Lu Wanning was stunned. "The third young master? Who?"
"He Nanfeng, the third young master of the He family," Jiyue explained. "I heard that he went there with generous gifts and said that his elder brother was inconvenient, so he would propose on his behalf. He showed enough respect to the Jiang family, and that's how the engagement was finally settled."
Lu Wanning pouted. "Why did he have to butt in? It's not him who's getting married. Maybe he was forced by the Duke?"
It was true that in some cases, if the groom was ill, his brother could take his place for the engagement and wedding ceremonies. But He Wenbo wasn't ill. He was just trying to humiliate Jiang Shishi. Why was He Nanfeng being so nice?
Jiyue didn't understand either. She just shook her head and said, "Anyway, Miss Jiang's engagement can't be called off. The Jiang family has saved face, so it's not too bad. It's better than the Jiang family marrying off their daughter in humiliation without any face-saving measures."
Lu Wanning was unhappy. She took the new scimitar and practiced in the courtyard for a while. Then she threw the scimitar down and stomped off to the storeroom to look for a gift.
She didn't have a good impression of anyone in the He family. They were all a bunch of scoundrels. Shi Aohan was the worst of them all. She was a flirt, always having her eye on someone else while in a relationship. She had a whole pond full of fish, but she was so good at it that no one could do anything about it.
Oh well, there was nothing she could do about it.
She searched for a long time but couldn't find anything suitable.
Granny Gu came in and saw Lu Wanning looking worried. She smiled and said, "When I was still in the palace and the noble consort was still alive, I heard that the noble consort was very good at playing the guqin. Prince Yu was a very intelligent child and could play the guqin and compose music. If the princess doesn't mind, I remember that a few years ago, the eldest young master sent someone to give the princess a guqin made of high-quality nanmu. It's stored in the innermost part. Would the princess like to take it as a gift?"
Lu Wanning's eyes lit up. "A guqin?"
Granny Gu nodded. She went to the innermost part of the storeroom and took out the dusty guqin. But she said disappointedly, "Looking at it now, it's just an ordinary one. Especially the strings. If they could be replaced..."
"No need! I've got something good!"
Lu Wanning was excited. She went back to her room, ground the ink, and wrote a letter to Prince Yu, inviting him to meet her in the private room on the second floor of the Linglong Pavilion two days later.
The Linglong Pavilion was the largest restaurant in the capital. It was very expensive, so only the rich and noble could dine there, and they had to make a reservation in advance. The second floor had private rooms for the most distinguished guests. As for the third floor, it was said to be closed to the public. No one knew what it was used for.
These things had nothing to do with Lu Wanning. After she finished writing the letter, she sent someone to deliver it to Prince Yu's mansion. Then she asked Jiyue to send someone to reserve a table at the Linglong Pavilion. Only then did she go to bed peacefully.
On the day of the appointment, Lu Wanning hummed a tune and took the carefully wrapped book. She left the house with Jiyue.
Jiyue hesitated. "But princess, the letter has been delivered, but we haven't received a reply. Prince Yu may not show up."
Lu Wanning paused for a moment and asked hesitantly, "If he doesn't come, he should at least send me a letter to explain the reason, right?"
Jiyue scratched her head. She thought the princess was right, but there was something that didn't feel right.
When they arrived at the Linglong Pavilion, Lu Wanning had a big appetite. She ordered a whole bunch of food. Then she thought for a moment and said, "Don't serve it now. It'll get cold later. I've invited a guest. Serve it when the guest arrives."
The waiter served a pot of tea and then left.
Lu Wanning stroked the scimitar in her hand and said cheerfully to Jiyue, "Second brother gave me this scimitar, and big brother gave me a precious gem. Hehe, I'm so happy. When the gem is polished tomorrow, I'll inlay it on the scimitar. My scimitar will definitely be the most beautiful one. Oh, by the way, sister-in-law is very good at making tassels. I'll hang a short tassel here. On it... Hmm, I'll embroider my name on it so that everyone will know that this is the weapon of Princess Zhaoyang!"
The door was ajar, leaving a small gap. When Lu Wanning was practicing with the scimitar, she happened to glance through the gap and saw a man and a woman coming up the stairs. The woman was Shi Aohan, and the man wasn't Fu Rongxuan. It was actually the fourth prince!
Lu Wanning walked to the door and peeked out secretly.
She saw Shi Aohan smiling sweetly at the fourth prince, her eyes full of admiration. "Your Highness, have you really seen it?"
The fourth prince said proudly, "Is there anything in this world that I haven't seen? Not only have I seen it, but if you like it, I'll have them perform it for you on your birthday."
Shi Aohan's eyes sparkled even more. She clapped her hands and said with a smile, "Your Highness, will I really have such an opportunity?"