Chapter 105 (2/2)
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Ji Man felt there was something strange going on. She had been summoned to the garden to recite to the poem and had been sent away right afterwards. That night, Marquis Moyu didn't return to her room to sleep. She didn't know where he had gone. However, instead of wondering about his whereabouts, she slept even more peacefully.
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As their visit to Li Province concluded and the court ladies and eunuchs returned, they were much better behaved and conscientious. Even Gancao and Dengxin became especially hardworking and busy, as if they were afraid their master would send them back to Li Province.
Looking at them, Ji Man didn't know whether she should laugh or cry. She suddenly thought of that time when she had shared a roasted chicken with Muxu and her heart felt slightly melancholy. Before they boarded the boat, she made Beggar's chicken and ate it together with the two young servant girls.
”There's no one that will stay loyal for a lifetime.” As Ji Man gnawed on the chicken's neck, she said, ”But I'm willing to treat you well until you betray me.”
Hearing her words, the two young servant girl's eyes were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with tears. They ate the chicken and firmly nodded.
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Ning Yuxuan seemed to be increasingly busy and frequently didn't share a bed with her. However, Ji Man didn't care. You couldn't expect a man to always be thinking about you, much less a man, whose attentions were largely occupied by the world.
In contrast, when Ji Man was by the railing to look at the river water during the daytime, she would frequently meet Ning Mingjie. He wasn't a talkative person and he stood a distance away from her. When she occasionally said a few words, he would only utter a short reply. But, it was the silence of mutual understanding as if they were connected at a deep level.
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There was a heaven and earth difference between the next province and Li Province. It was the rich and populous Xiang Province that was famous for having fertile land. The lean and hungry expressions on the gloomy group finally faded away and were replaced with smiles of jubilation.
Right after they disembarked, the crown prince suggested that they go to Tian Xiang and even suggested for n.o.ble Consort Nie to come along.
(T/N: Tian Xiang means divine fragrance.)
Just hearing the name would be enough for people to know that it was a low-grade brothel. The emperor was going to visit prost.i.tutes and bring along n.o.ble Consort Nie. Ji Man thought; there really wasn't anything that could be more preposterous than this! Fine, they would just be preposterous. Since the emperor had already agreed, no one else would say anything in disagreement. However, why was n.o.ble Consort Nie the only female that was going? Even Ning Yuxuan and Nie Qingyun, who were men that already had someone, were also going. Why was she and Ning Errong being left behind?
Ning Errong was pouting as she sat in Nie Sangyu's room and unhappily said, ”I've never heard of people going to brothels during the southern visits!”
Ji Man sighed and comforted her, ”Don't worry, my older brother has always disliked going to see prost.i.tutes.”
Ning Errong was still worried as she asked, ”Really? What if there's a vixen that's especially good at seducing people?”
”There won't be. You have to believe in my older brother. He has very high standards,” As Ji Man said this, she though that she couldn't say the same for Ning Yuxuan.
During the past several days, she figured out that Ning Yuxuan was deliberately giving her the cold shoulder. As for the reason behind this, Ji Man was too lazy to think about it. If he wanted to give her the cold shoulder, she didn't care. She wasn't Wen Wan, who couldn't bear to suffer a few days of being snubbed. If he didn't pay attention to her, it would actually let her feel more relaxed.