Zhen Yan angrily waved away his hand and said coldly, "Yes. Is that okay? Your friend was injured so badly because of you, but you didn't even care. You're really a cold - hearted person. Leave. I don't want to see you."
Sheng Songyan pursed his lips, nodded and said, "I understand. I came today to thank you for going back to the capital with me last time. I won't bother you anymore."
Without looking back or at anyone, he turned around and left.
Zhen Yan looked up at his back. There was a strange feeling in her heart, but she didn't think much about it. She quickly called a servant and asked someone to invite a doctor.
Lu Wanning disagreed, "Sister Zhen, what you said this time was too much."
Zhen Yan pouted, "I've already said it. What can I do? Do you want me to apologize? I just hope he won't bother me in the future."
Jiang Shishi asked, "Do you really think so, A Yan? I think he really likes you. Otherwise, he wouldn't have left the capital regardless of the ban just to pursue you."
Zhen Yan didn't say a word. She sat in front of the table, propping her face up.
It was He Nanfeng who explained, "It's not like that. Songyan... actually had something to do when he left the capital. It wasn't for Miss Zhen."
Jiang Shishi was stunned. She wanted to ask further, but seeing that both He Nanfeng and Zhen Yan didn't want to talk about it anymore, she also shut up. Sometimes, it's better to know less.
Lu Wanning stared blankly at them. If Sheng Songyan didn't leave the capital for Zhen Yan, then why did he? Could it be that he was doing something for Sheng Jinyu?
It didn't seem so. Sheng Jinyu was a prince anyway, and a powerful one at that. He shouldn't have to rely on his friend for everything.
A thought flashed through Lu Wanning's mind. Was it the idea of the King of Qishan? If so, it would be easy to understand. The King of Qishan had the gold seal bestowed by the founding emperor. Over the years, his power had grown stronger and stronger, and he had become more and more feared by the emperor. Moreover, Qishan was very famous in the Great Zhou. Besides the capital, Qishan was the most magnificent place. Even in the past few years when there were natural disasters, many people were willing to go to Qishan to seek refuge with the King of Qishan.
As the saying goes, one mountain can't accommodate two tigers. With the emperor in the Great Zhou, how could another king who was more respected by the people be tolerated? Moreover, that king had his own fief and his own garrison.
The King of Qishan knew the principle of "prosperity must be followed by decline", but he couldn't find a solution. So he conspired with his son Sheng Songyan to come up with such a plan. Sheng Songyan already had a reputation as a dissolute playboy. Now that he was willing to do anything for a beauty, no one would find it strange.
In this way, the King of Qishan successfully handed over all his power, and the Qishan Prince's Mansion was successfully preserved. Although his power was not as great as before, his title was still there. The royal family and the emperor would not treat such a meritorious and self - aware prince badly.
After Lu Wanning analyzed this, she looked at Zhen Yan again and understood her anger. Maybe Zhen Yan was not unmoved. It's just that after being touched, she found that everything was just a deception.
If it were her, she couldn't stand being used and deceived either. Moreover, everyone else was a beneficiary in this matter: the emperor, the King of Qishan, and even Sheng Songyan. Only Zhen Yan, an outsider, got nothing. Whether the feelings she had given were real or not, she had given them, but what was ruined was her reputation.
Lu Wanning walked over and held Zhen Yan's hand.
Zhen Yan's eyes were a bit red, but she quickly smiled, "I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me. It's too hot now. I'll go back to Daihe in autumn."
The doctor came and examined He Nanfeng. He said that there were no bone or tendon injuries, just skin wounds.
Jiang Shishi carefully applied medicine to He Nanfeng. She spoke softly and asked from time to time if it hurt. Although He Nanfeng was a scholar, he had traveled alone for many years. Logically speaking, he was not an inexperienced child. But today, for some reason, he was extremely delicate and cried out in pain several times.
Lu Wanning found it funny but didn't expose him. When she looked at Zhen Yan again, she saw that Zhen Yan's eyes looking at them were full of envy. For a moment, Lu Wanning felt a bit uncomfortable.
The relationships of their three sisters had all been bumpy. Jiang Shishi was fine now. She just had to wait until the mourning period was over to be with He Nanfeng. Lu Wanning didn't know what would happen to her. The current situation was completely different from what was written in the book. She didn't know what would happen to Sheng Jinyu or if he would die in the future.
As for Zhen Yan's future, there was no clue at all.
However, Lu Wanning wasn't from this world and didn't think that a woman must get married. But in the Great Zhou, there was a law that if a woman was over twenty - two years old and still unmarried, she had to pay a large amount of silver every year until she got married. Of course, the Zhen family could afford this money.
If Sheng Jinyu hadn't appeared, Lu Wanning thought that she might have to pay this so - called "unmarried tax" too.
Zhen Yan was in a bad mood. She told them and left first. He Nanfeng was a man and he was injured. Even though he was reluctant to leave, it was not appropriate for him to stay with the girls for too long, so he also left. Only Jiang Shishi and Lu Wanning were left in the elegant pavilion of the bookstore.
Jiang Shishi looked out of the window. She kept looking until He Nanfeng's carriage was out of sight and still didn't want to turn back.
Lu Wanning covered her mouth and laughed, "Come on, Sister Jiang. My cousin is not that fragile. Just because his hand is injured, he's not so weak that he can't take care of himself."
Jiang Shishi blushed and glared at her. She flipped through the books on the table but couldn't read anything. She just chatted with Lu Wanning, "Have you heard about Princess Qingnian?"
Lu Wanning hadn't been out for a month, so she naturally hadn't heard of it.
Jiang Shishi said, "Concubine Qi wanted to introduce her nephew from her natal family to Princess Qingnian, which made the emperor angry."
Concubine Qi's natal family was just a sixth - rank official family. They were indeed not qualified to marry the princess. But even if Concubine Qi was selfish, she shouldn't have been so blatant.
Jiang Shishi continued, "Later, it was the emperor who personally chose a family for the princess. It's the eldest son of the Cheng family, the governor of Huai'an. Although his background is not prominent and he's from a foreign place, he has passed two imperial examinations. He's a hot candidate for the top scorer in this autumn's imperial examination."
Lu Wanning was quite surprised, "So, is he the right age?"
"Because he's young and talented, that's why the emperor chose him. He's only twenty - one years old now. It's said that his family originally wanted to arrange a marriage for him, but he refused, saying that he wanted to establish his career first and then get married."
Lu Wanning clapped her hands, "If he's really that good, then we should congratulate Princess Qingnian."
Jiang Shishi made a "shh" sound, "These are just rumors. Don't spread them. After all, it won't be officially decided until after the mourning period."
Lu Wanning nodded, "I know. Don't worry."
Jiang Shishi reached out and tapped her forehead, "I'm not worried about other things. I'm just worried about you, Ning'er. You're not young anymore. Did your father really ask the emperor for an order and doesn't plan to arrange a marriage for you?"
Lu Wanning was stunned, "What order? What order did my father ask for?"