Lu Wanning ignored Zhen Yan, whose train of thought was rather off - track. She only asked Sheng Songyan, "How's it going on your side? Is everything arranged?"
Sheng Songyan made a reassuring gesture. Holding the drowsy He Nanfeng with one hand, he mimicked the action of moving a chess piece on the chessboard with the other and said, "I knocked He Wenbo out and sent him in directly. I even watched that woman go into the room on purpose. Don't worry. I added extra stuff to the sleeping incense. Even if that woman realizes it's He Wenbo, she won't be able to escape."
Lu Wanning nodded thoughtfully and then asked, "Which woman is it?"
She had thought it over carefully during this long period. Nine times out of ten, this was the doing of Shi Aohan. Why? Most of the well - known young men in the capital were fond of Shi Aohan. Although He Nanfeng wasn't very famous, his looks and disposition were truly top - notch. Even if Shi Aohan didn't like him, having a young man living under the same roof who was always cold and aloof towards her must have made her quite unhappy.
So she simply decided to ruin him. As for the woman she found to ruin him, it must be someone with poor looks, disposition, and family background. That was just like Shi Aohan. Since he didn't like her, she would make sure he ended up with the worst girl.
Lu Wanning had long recognized Shi Aohan's character.
However, the original owner wasn't interested in the women in the capital. Except for those from noble families and a few she was familiar with, she didn't care about other young ladies at all. So she couldn't figure out what kind of young lady would target He Nanfeng at this moment.
Before Sheng Songyan could speak, Zhen Yan had already stared wide - eyed and asked, "You... Why do you carry sleeping incense with you? Did you plan to do something bad today?"
Sheng Songyan looked at her speechlessly. "Do you think I'm that stupid?"
Zhen Yan thought for a while but couldn't figure it out. She just asked again, "Why exactly? If you don't want to harm anyone, why do you carry this stuff?"
Sheng Songyan didn't even want to bother with her. He said to Lu Wanning, "Lu Yingshuang."
Lu Wanning asked in surprise, "Lu Yingshuang? With her personality, how could she take a fancy to my cousin?"
Sheng Songyan looked a bit displeased. "What? Is your cousin so unappealing?"
Lu Wanning rubbed her chin and shook her head. "My cousin is handsome and gentle - tempered. Although he can be a bit vindictive sometimes, overall, he's an outstanding young man. But someone like Lu Yingshuang only has her eyes on high - ranking people. How could she take a fancy to my cousin? This is really strange."
Sheng Songyan spread his hands. "It's not strange. Lu Yingshuang's face won't heal."
Lu Wanning was rather skeptical. Of course, she knew that Lu Yingshuang's face couldn't be cured, but it wasn't easy for the Lu family to raise this daughter. It was impossible for them to just give up on her like this. She originally thought that Lu Yingshuang would be depressed for a while and then find a way to cover up the scars and make a comeback. She didn't expect that Lu Yingshuang had found a different approach? Had she discovered He Nanfeng's merits?
But she thought it was more likely that Shi Aohan was behind this.
As they were talking, He Nanfeng had completely woken up. Remembering what had just happened, he blushed. He got up and bowed to Lu Wanning and Zhen Yan. "Just now, I was rude. Please forgive me, ladies."
Zhen Yan's eyes sparkled with excitement. She waved him closer and asked, "Do you really like Sister Jiang?"
He Nanfeng's face turned even redder. He quickly denied it. "Please don't talk nonsense, Miss Zhen. Miss Jiang and I are just on good terms as gentlemen. Our grandfathers have a deep friendship, so we got to know each other when we were young. But there's absolutely no romantic relationship between us. Miss Zhen, Miss Jiang is going to marry into the He family and will be my sister - in - law. Please don't say such things again. You'll only tarnish Miss Jiang's reputation for no reason."
The look of gossip in Zhen Yan's eyes faded a lot. She waved her hand irritably. "You're so boring. I was just joking. It's only because you were shouting Shishi at us just now that I asked."
He Nanfeng sat down restlessly.
The group continued to play chess. Lu Wanning asked Sheng Songyan, "What do you think will happen to those people later?"
Sheng Songyan stroked his palms proudly. "What else? With such a scandal, He Wenbo is already engaged. Tsk, tsk, tsk... The Lu family isn't a low - ranking family. How could they let this go easily?"
Just thinking about the expression on Shi Aohan's face when she found out made Lu Wanning extremely excited.
He Nanfeng spoke up. "Miss Zhen, just now I was talking nonsense while I was unconscious. I wasn't calling for Miss Jiang. It's just that... Well, when I was traveling for study... I met a..."
He was wracking his brains to think when Zhen Yan interrupted, "A courtesan with the same name as Sister Jiang?"
He Nanfeng shut his mouth and looked at Zhen Yan speechlessly. He wouldn't be happy to describe the girl in his heart as a courtesan.
Zhen Yan laughed heartily. She reached out and patted He Nanfeng on the shoulder, raising her eyebrows. "Don't worry. We understand."
Lu Wanning picked up the pastries brought by the maid beside her and put them into her mouth. She shook her head regretfully. "After today's incident, the engagement between Sister Jiang and He Wenbo will surely be called off. Have you thought it over, cousin? Are you really not going to do anything?"
He Nanfeng argued on his own. "There's really no romantic relationship between Miss Jiang and me. It's just that..."
"Alright, alright." Lu Wanning interrupted him. She didn't want to listen. She then gossiped with Zhen Yan. "Do you think Sister Jiang will have a harder time in the future after this engagement falls through?"
Zhen Yan nodded. "I think so. Scholar Jiang is extremely pedantic. Sister Jiang has so many younger sisters who are old enough to get married. They can't all stay unmarried, can they? Sister Jiang is in a difficult situation now. I'm afraid she'll either marry a random man or... Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Lu Wanning chimed in. "You're right. Sister Jiang is in poor health. Ordinary families won't be willing to marry her. She can only look for a husband from a low - ranking family. But since she's so frail and can't endure hardships, it'll be hard to find a suitable match even among low - ranking families. She might have to look for a husband from a poor family."
"Alas, Sister Jiang is so pitiful. She'll have a hard life. As her good sisters, we can only take better care of her in the future and make sure she won't be bullied by her husband's family."
"Beautiful women often have bitter fates. How come a wonderful person like Sister Jiang has such a bumpy road in terms of marriage?"
Sheng Songyan watched the two women singing in harmony leisurely. Seeing his friend's face getting more and more gloomy, he could hardly hold back his laughter.
Just then, there was a commotion by the waterside pavilion. It seemed very chaotic. At the front was Lady Lu. She was talking to Lady He, and there was a great deal of noise.
Everyone on the waterside pavilion stood up and looked curiously across the river. Only He Nanfeng was pulled behind Sheng Songyan so that he wouldn't be seen.
Soon, an old maid came over to inquire. "My lords and ladies, have you seen Miss Lu of the Lu family?"
Zhen Yan shook her head indifferently. "Lu Yingshuang? Haven't seen her. Didn't she refuse to go out because of her injured face? Last time, she even tried to frame our Ning'er. How come? It hasn't been long. Has her face healed already?"