Xingyun had clearly been looking forward to it, but now she suddenly said she wasn't going. Nian Jiaojiao couldn't help but ask,
“Yun'er, you don't want to eat delicious food anymore?”
Xingyun repeatedly shook her head and replied affirmatively,
“I won't eat. I'm going home to paint.”
Of her four husbands, three had now said they couldn't go.
Nian Jiaojiao was a little worried that she wouldn't have anyone to accompany her out.
So, she turned her gaze to Nan Qing.
“If you say you're not going again, this spot will be wasted.”
Nan Qing slightly raised his eyes and said,
“A poetry gathering? I'll go.”
Nian Jiaojiao breathed a sigh of relief, and the matter was settled.
...
That evening, as they were about to sleep, Nan Qing beside her suddenly said,
“Wife, do you know why third brother didn't want to go?”
Nian Jiaojiao turned to the side, looking at his handsome profile, and asked,
“He wanted to paint?”
Nan Qing was silent for a moment and said,
“Third brother has a limp.”
Nian Jiaojiao immediately understood, and her heart ached, blaming herself for her carelessness.
“Then, Yun'er he...”
As if sensing what Nian Jiaojiao was about to say, Nan Qing interjected,
“Don't mention it. Third brother usually seems carefree, but sometimes he's more sensitive than ordinary people. It's better if you don't bring it up.”
Nian Jiaojiao nodded after hearing this and said,
“It was my oversight.”
There was a moment of silence in the room.
Just then, Nian Jiaojiao hesitated for a long time before saying,
“Actually, I had an idea about Yun'er's leg before.”
At this moment, Nan Qing also turned his head, and their eyes met.
Because they were too close, Nian Jiaojiao could feel his breath, so she instinctively moved back.
Nan Qing, however, suddenly grabbed her arm.
Nian Jiaojiao looked at him in confusion.
Nan Qing said expressionlessly,
“If you move back any further, you'll fall off.”
“Oh!”
Nian Jiaojiao moved back a little, but still maintained a slight distance.
Nan Qing stared at Nian Jiaojiao's face for two seconds before slowly saying,
“Do you have a way to heal third brother's leg?”
Nian Jiaojiao replied,
“I have an idea, but until I'm sure, I don't plan to tell you all, lest we get our hopes up for nothing.”
Nan Qing said,
“Are you going to use that extraordinary power?”
Nian Jiaojiao nodded.
“I thought before that the zither music could relieve fatigue and had healing effects. So, this power might be able to heal Yun'er's leg.”
The reason Nian Jiaojiao hadn't asked Senior Sister Lei for help was that after stepping into cultivation, she knew the preciousness of this power.
It was all accumulated slowly by everyone.
Moreover, Nian Jiaojiao was confident that once she mastered the object manipulation realm, healing Xingyun's leg would not be far off.
Nan Qing turned his head back again.
He looked towards the ceiling and said,
“In that case, I'll have to trouble you, Wife, to put in the effort.”
“Mhm.”
At this moment, Nian Jiaojiao felt that the two of them were exceptionally harmonious, with no more estrangement.
...
Two days later.
Early morning.
At the entrance of the Chrysanthemum Garden.
Nian Jiaojiao and Nan Qing walked over, stunning everyone.
The woman was incredibly beautiful, her skin as white as snow, clad in a spotlessly white dress.
The man was equally striking in a white gauze dress that matched the woman. As they walked, the white gauze fluttered freely in the wind, his dark hair falling loosely, his eyebrows as if painted, his eyes like ink dots, and his lips like jade flowers.
After Nian Jiaojiao presented the invitation, she successfully brought Nan Qing inside.
Shortly after Nian Jiaojiao and Nan Qing entered, the crowd behind them was still discussing, seemingly too astonished by the scene they had just witnessed.
Not long after Nian Jiaojiao and Nan Qing entered, Nian Zhenzhen arrived at the entrance.
At this moment, her eyes held disappointment and anger...
Because she couldn't find Nian Jiaojiao, she had to shamelessly ask Chen Jie and Qi Qinghe for money, but both of them found excuses to refuse her.
This completely cut off her path to "buying an invitation with money."
However, she still held a sliver of hope in coming here today.
She decided to stake out at the main entrance.
If she encountered Scholar Nian, or even Young Master Huang, perhaps she...
Thinking of this, Nian Zhenzhen clenched her fists and widened her eyes, staring intently at the people entering and exiting the gate.
For an hour, fewer and fewer people entered and exited the gate.
Nian Zhenzhen couldn't help but guess in her heart:
“Could it be that Scholar Nian isn't attending the poetry gathering at the Chrysanthemum Garden?”
Just then, a carriage stopped at the entrance of the Chrysanthemum Garden. First, a servant jumped out, and then, with the servant's assistance, a man of beautiful appearance also alighted from the carriage.
“Young Master Huang!”
Nian Zhenzhen's eyes widened as she called out in disbelief in the direction of the handsome man.
She never expected to truly meet Young Master Huang.
Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, Nian Zhenzhen strode up to Young Master Huang.
“Young Master Huang, it's me, Nian Zhenzhen.”
The guards at the entrance of the Chrysanthemum Garden quickly stepped forward to shield their young master, preventing Nian Zhenzhen from getting any closer to the handsome man.
The handsome man heard Nian Zhenzhen's words and said to the guards,
“It’s alright.”
He and the guards moved aside slightly, allowing Young Master Huang and Nian Zhenzhen to speak face to face, but they still watched Nian Zhenzhen warily.
The handsome man said,
“Why are you here?”
Hearing the person she had longed for speak to her, Nian Zhenzhen was overjoyed.
She looked at the man before her with a touch of greed.
The man wore a sapphire blue gauze robe with delicate ruffled edges on the cuffs. His three thousand strands of dark hair were tied up with a jade lotus hairpin, exuding an air of nobility.
Huang Mingxuan disliked Nian Zhenzhen's gaze.
She seemed no different from his other admirers.
No, except that she was poorer than all of them...
Nian Zhenzhen, unaware of his thoughts, said emotionally,
“Young Master Huang, no matter how difficult it is, I must see you. Indeed, heaven rewards the persistent, and I have finally waited for you!”
Unexpectedly, Huang Mingxuan replied indifferently,
“Oh, you’ve waited, then. I have matters to attend to, so I’ll be going now.”
Seeing the man turn to leave, Nian Zhenzhen urgently called out,
“Wait! Young Master Huang!”
Huang Mingxuan looked at her in confusion.
At this moment, Nian Zhenzhen said somewhat shyly,
“Are you also going to the Chrysanthemum Garden, Young Master Huang? I... I don't have an invitation. Can you take me in?”
Huang Mingxuan replied politely,
“I'm sorry, I cannot make decisions on this matter.”
After speaking, he entered the garden without waiting for Nian Zhenzhen to say anything more.
Nian Zhenzhen still wanted to chase after him, but she was blocked by several burly guards.
On the path within the Chrysanthemum Garden.
The servant indignantly said for his young master,
“What kind of person is she? She can't get into the garden herself and then tries to use our young master. What a thick skin!”
Huang Mingxuan felt a wave of nausea when he thought of Nian Zhenzhen's demeanor earlier.
How could he have been so blind before?
He had thought she was simple, kind, and talented, destined for great things in the future?
The servant continued to advise,
“Young master, you should stay away from that person in the future.”
Huang Mingxuan immediately replied,
“That person? Who is that person? Did someone approach me just now?”
Upon hearing this, the servant understood immediately and said no more.