Chapter 124: Not Even the Xiao Family

Zhao Huiying’s attitude at the palace banquet made many people re-evaluate Shen Ninghua’s importance. At the end of the banquet, the Prefectural Princess Mansion was already filled with various gifts of congratulations.

Shen Ninghua sized up the room that was full of exquisite gift boxes. She casually took out a box and opened it. A smile immediately flashed in her eyes. The gift she opened was given by the Governor of Capital Guards. This person really understood her preferences. Instead of giving her silk or jewelry, he sent her a box of silver notes.

Last time, when the Second Princess died, he started his investigation from the Zhou family. Although he did not confirm the cause of the Second Princess’ death, he accidentally found the evidence of the Zhou family accepting bribes. His Majesty seemingly punished him, but soon after, he found an excuse to increase his salary. How could he not know the reason? Therefore, in order to thank Shen Ninghua for her guidance, his gift was exceptionally generous. He sent over 6,000 taels of silver.

Shen Ninghua put down the box and instructed Bi Zhu who was waiting at the side. “Open all these gift packages, register the gifts and put them in the warehouse. Also, pick a pot of gladiolus from the greenhouse and send it to the Governor of Capital Guards. I heard that his wife likes orchids very much.”

“Yes, Miss.”

After giving the order, Shen Ninghua returned to Ruixi Courtyard.

Bai Ruo sent over a stack of invitations with an indescribable odd expression. “Miss, these invitations were sent by the madams of various families, and some of them were from matchmakers. Hong Ling secretly investigated them, and found that there were young men of your age in almost all of those families…”

Shen Ninghua smiled and said, “You could directly say that these ladies wanted to propose a marriage for me.”

“Miss, you already figured it out? I selected a few of them who looked quite impressive. Do you want to choose one to meet?”

Shen Ninghua smiled and glanced at her. “What, are you worried that I won’t be able to get married?”

“No!” The maids who served her knew how beautiful their Miss was better than anyone else. Even though they saw her face every day, they would still stare blankly at her from time to time. Her beauty already surpassed the boundary of gender, and was deeply engraved in people’s hearts with a single glance. They couldn’t forget it even if they wanted to.

Shen Ninghua smiled quietly and reached out for a copy of the Veluriyam Scripture. “Since you’re not worried, then take those invitations away and burn them.”

“Burn them all?”

“Yes.”

“…Yes, Miss.”

Chu Junyi pushed open the door and entered. Seeing the stack of invitations in Bai Ruo’s hands, his eyelids twitched. It seemed that he needed to marry his beautiful sweetheart as soon as possible. Otherwise, his mood would be filled with all sorts of violence when he thought of someone who was prying his sweetheart and he wished to slice all of them into pieces.

“Ninghua, what are you reading?”

Shen Ninghua raised her head and said, “Why are you here? Didn’t His Majesty summon you to the Imperial Study to discuss something?”

“Of course I’ve come here after the discussion. His Majesty only praised me. There’s nothing else. You, on the other hand, are different. I saw Bai Ruo carrying a pile of invitations out. If you are willing, the matchmakers who come to introduce men for you would probably break your threshold.”

Shen Ninghua did not even raise her head and continued reading the scroll in her hand. “Yes.”

Chu Junyi choked. What did this “yes” mean? Was she willing or not?

“Ninghua, let me tell you. The young masters of the aristocratic families looked handsome and upright on the surface, but you don’t know how corrupt they actually are. Take the Minister of Revenue’s eldest son for example. He ranked third in the imperial examination last year and is not married yet. Many young ladies like him. But in fact, his father and mother are about to die of worry for him. He fell in love with his maid and insists on marrying such a lowly servant.”

“Is that so?” Shen Ninghua flipped through the pages in her hand, and showed no concern at all.

Chu Junyi continued. “There is also the Second Young Master of the time-honored Clan of Wang. His eldest brother has many concubines. He is only twenty but he has already slept with many of his maids. I heard that his grandmother treats him as a treasure and allows him to hang out in the backyard all day.”

“Ok.”

Seeing that Shen Ninghua wasn’t impressed by his information yet, Chu Junyi grabbed the book from her hand and said, “There is also the Left Censor Zhang’s family, the Vice Minister of Rites Qi’s family. None of the young masters in the families is a man of moral integrity. They are just people with false reputations. You should take care not to be misled by others.”

Shen Ninghua forcefully suppressed the smile in her heart. She raised her head and took back the scripture that he had snatched over.

Only then did Chu Junyi see that the book in her hand was actually the Veluriyam Scripture, a Buddhist Sutra, and his heart trembled. Did he exaggerate too much and frighten her? If his beautiful sweetheart was disillusioned with the mortal world, he would have to live alone all his life!

“Ninghua, there are still a few good young masters in aristocratic families. Don’t go to extremes.”

Shen Ninghua raised her eyebrows. “I heard you said that the overall situation is very serious. Is there any good man?”

“Of course,” Chu Junyi raised his head. “He is far away in the horizon and right in front of you. Now I am standing right here.”

“You don’t have a bedroom maid?”

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“Of course not. My servants are all men. There are no women in my servants at all.” Chu Junyi vowed solemnly. He already had someone he cared about the most in his heart. No other women could attract the slightest bit of attention from him.

“I heard that there were gays in the previous dynasty. You don’t have a single woman beside you. This doesn’t seem normal.”

“Ninghua, don’t talk nonsense. I only like you.” Men…even if he thought about loving a man, he could not go on.

Shen Ninghua faintly swept her gaze across his serious face, and revealed a half-smile. “Well, in that case, you are a good choice.”

Chu Junyi nodded his head repeatedly. “Of course. Don’t read such scriptures anymore. What’s there to read? You’ve made a big name for yourself today. I didn’t know you are good at dancing.”

Seeing him throw the scripture far away, Shen Ninghua did not care. “I just studied dancing with someone for a few days. I didn’t learn even one third of that person’s real charm. Besides, the reason why the dancing looked so stunning was that you were tricked.”

“Mm, tricked? Someone did something special?”

Shen Ninghua frowned slightly. “The dancers brought by Bu Jinglan all had enchanting figures and a faint fragrance in their bodies, which got especially obvious when they were sweating. I heard that there is a secret technique in Great Yue that nurtures virgins from childhood and does not give them proper food. Instead, they are fed with all sorts of plants of enchantment. Once these girls grow up, they will have a natural body scent. This scent has a fascinating effect and can make people fall into a daze.”

“Is there actually such a miraculous method?” Chu Junyi was shocked.

“Yes.” She had not heard of it before. She read it from the manuscripts left behind by Granny Poison. “Every woman raised in this way is a rare beauty. They are usually sent to various high-ranking officials as a secret means to snatch power.”

Chu Junyi’s expression became serious. “Is there a way to deal with this kind of women?”

“The nature follows the principle of mutual promotion and restraint. There is naturally a way. If there is no way, how did I get rid of these women at the banquet?”

“Are you saying that the empress was so angry at the banquet because you played some trick?”

“Not exactly a trick. You should have noticed that the sound of the golden bells in my hand is extremely clear and can refresh your mind.”

“Yes, when the bell rang, many people restored their senses.”

Shen Ninghua smiled. “But for some people with keen hearing, that bell sound was too sharp. It will make them irritated, and their rage will be uncontrollable.”

“You mean you irritated the empress through the sound of the ring? But there are so many people present, and the empress was not the closest to you. How can you control her?”

“Do you remember the Icy Soul Fragrance that I gave Princess Anning a while ago? That kind of spice can help you sleep well, but when used with seafood, it can enhance your five senses. And the empress was the biggest fan of seafood in the Palace. Other imperial concubines or princesses don’t have that much ration.”

Chu Junyi’s eyes were filled with astonishment. “Ninghua, you even calculated that.” His sweetheart was not only beautiful, but also exceptionally intelligent. Thinking about it, a sense of pride arose from his heart, and he laughed involuntarily.

Seeing Chu Junyi suddenly laugh, Shen Ninghua was somewhat puzzled. “Don’t just talk about me. Why did you suddenly expose your martial arts skills that you had hidden for so long? If anyone noticed something was wrong, they would probably cause trouble for you.”

“I’m already in quite a bit of trouble now. The empress is beginning to suspect the Xiao family and I am naturally an object of her suspicion. So I might as well just stand in front of everyone so that she will have some misgivings. Most importantly, I’m going to marry you. Just the identity as the adopted son of the Xiao family is far from enough.”

Shen Ninghua paused for a moment. She didn’t expect that she was part of the reason. She felt touched. However, seeing his complacent expression, she immediately opened her mouth and mocked. “Even if you are appreciated by the emperor now, you are only a Sub-prefect of Capital Guards. Although the fourth rank isn’t low, it’s still not enough to marry me.”

“Ninghua, if my rank is high enough, are you willing to marry me?”

Shen Ninghua coldly said, “Have you forgotten the bet? You still have a good sister, Xiao Huanxi. If she doesn’t listen to your advice and marry out of the capital but comes looking for trouble with me, then I am free to deal with her in my own way. You should know that I have always been ruthless. It is already rare for me to let her live. When the Xiao family and I become mortal enemies, as the adopted son of the Xiao family, can you marry an enemy as your wife?”

Chu Junyi’s gaze was firm, and the smile on his lips was confident. “Ninghua, you only need to consider the time of our marriage. There is no need to think of anything else. Since I am the one who begs to marry you, I will naturally take care of all these matters.”

Shen Ninghua turned her eyes away and snorted coldly. “Whatever.”

Chu Junyi smiled indulgently. This black-hearted girl rarely felt shy. If he hadn’t put all of his attention on her, he would have definitely missed the reddish tip of her ear. It seemed that Ninghua also had some feelings for him, didn’t she? Since that was the case, no one could stop him from marrying his beautiful sweetheart, not even the Xiao family!

“Ninghua, that Bu Jinglan seems unusual. Be more careful.”

“Yes, I know.”

Bai Ruo knocked on the door and came in with a very odd expression. “Miss, Master is here.”

Shen Dong? Why did he come here?

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