517 In the Future and Ours (2/2)

Where there were women, there was noise. However, this ship was extremely quiet today. The beautiful women sat in their chairs and looked solemn. However, they could all barely repress their curiosity, glancing at the two girls speaking from the corner of their eyes.

Xiaocao pulled on Sangsang's hand. She stuck her lips out so far that she looked like a duck in the reeds of the Great Lake looking for fish. She said in an aggrieved manner, ”This is my first time to come out of Chang'an. But you didn't even come to keep me company. Are you my friend or not?”

Sangsang only had three friends in Chang'an. They were the Princess of Tang Li Yu, the girl from the Devil's Doctrine – Tang Xiaotang, and the other was Xiaocao. The difference in status between the three girls was huge, but Sangsang had never thought about it. She treated everyone truly. She felt bad when she heard Xiaocao's complaint and explained helplessly, ”Young master likes the quiet, there's nothing I can do about that.”

”You guys are already engaged, how is he still your young master?”

Xiaocao looked at her and said heatedly, ”You have to be aware of your current status. If you keep calling him young master, that fellow might keep treating you as his handmaiden.”

Sangsang thought to herself that even though they were engaged, the way they lived had not changed. She was used to calling Ning Que young master and found it difficult to call him by his name.

The girls in the cabin had finally received confirmation of their speculations. They finally ascertained who Sangsang was and had managed to guess which fellow Xiaocao was talking about. They were very shocked and could barely repress their excitement.

As the saying goes, each rising generation excels the last and each generation had its own talent. The ladies of the House of Red Sleeves received a high income and found it easy to leave the brothel. As such, the turnover rate was fast. Lu Xue's batch had already married or gone into business. The girls headed to the Lanke Temple were all very young.

They had only heard of the legendary stories of the House of Red Sleeves, but never witnessed it for themselves. They were surprised to see that those rumors were real when they saw how close Xiaocao and the tanned girl were.

Sangsang was no longer that unassuming handmaiden from the Old Brush Pen Shop. Even if the people in Chang'an did not know that she was the successor of the God of Light, they all knew that she was close to the princess. They also knew that she was the long-lost daughter of the Imperial Library Grand Secretary, Zeng Jing. Of course, Sangsang was most well known for her relationship with Ning Que.

The engagement between Ning Que and Sangsang was definitely the most sensational event in Chang'an in the past six months. One of them was a student of the Second floor of the Academy, the core disciple of the Headmaster and a great calligrapher doted upon by the emperor. The other was the daughter of the Grand Secretary, Zeng Jing, a good friend of the princess and the successor of a Great Divine Priest. Even though it was a simple engagement, it created a huge wave in their community.

The emperor himself gifted them with precious gold and jewelry. Several officials turned up in person on that day. To those who did not know of the finer details, what had truly surprised them was that the West-Hill Divine Palace had sent several high ranking priests to congratulate them. They had also sent them several boxes of makeup just like Sangsang's family would.

The Senior Brothers and Sisters from the back of the mountain had also prepared gifts. However, Ning Que thought that they might as well not have bothered since they all sent paltry, cheap gifts. However, he did not expect the Headmaster's gift to be the cheapest. He had not even bothered to even write anything, but had sent a box of pastries!

”That fellow? Which fellow?”

Ning Que walked into the cabin and said to Xiaocao, ”Aunt Jian does treat you well. She even let you be the leader. However, don't think you can talk bad about me just because she has got your back.”

Xiaocao harrumphed and ignored him, clutching Sangsang's hand tightly.

All the girls in the cabin guessed who he was. They stood up and bowed politely. The room was filled with flowing skirts and the scent of perfume. The girls thought of the young man's status and his fame as a great calligrapher. Their eyes danced as they tried to get close to him.

Xiaocao looked at the chaotic scene and frowned slightly. ”Don't even think about it. Go back to the brothel and ask the elder sisters. Who had managed to really get close to Ning Que? Everyone in Chang'an knows that you girls are not allowed to receive him. This is Mistress Jian's rule.”

This rule had long become the joke of the House of Red Sleeves and other brothels in Chang'an. The girls all knew about it. However, they thought that since they were out of Chang'an and were going to spend many days with Ning Que on the same ship sailing over the Great Lake, they could not bear to miss the opportunity. Their gazes remained heated.

Xiaocao looked at Ning Que and said helplessly, ”You are already married, can't you keep a low profile?”

”That's why I have to ask you to release my wife's hand.”

Ning Que smiled and went up to snatch Sangsang's hand away. He brought her out of the cabin.

The sounds of the waves grew urgent and the lights in the cabin flickered before brightening again. The ink on the inkstone shook a little as the ship left the port, heading into the Great Lake slowly.

Ning Que looked at the thin letter on the table, thinking about something.

Sangsang looked at the letter in his hand and said seriously, ”This is ours.”

The letter was left behind in the inn in Yangguan City by Cui Shi before he left them.

The letter was thin, there were only two sheets of paper.

There were only several sentences on one sheet of the paper. The other paper was a banknote worth 500,000 taels of silver.