In Tianxiang city, Zhao Dafei just walked out of a gambling house, passed by a stall. Two men unfolded a scroll and showed to the stall owner, asking, "You ever saw this man?" The owner took a glance.
Since the Zhaos were driven out of the Wang village, he had stolen all the money in his house and went to the city. At the beginning, he had been a waiter at Yingkexuan, but soon it was closed, so, with no other better choices, he began to gang up with several homeless men to swindle around.
The stall owner shook his head, saying no, and went back to his own business. Zhao Dafei became complacent. Just now he had lost all his money in the gambling house and worried how to win back, when cash came to him.
Wasn't the man on the scroll Mr. Ning? He would be rich!
He walked faster to catch up with the two men and whispered to them, "I've seen the man on the scroll."
The two men exchanged a look, stopped and looked back, asking in a cold voice, "Where is he?"
Zhao Dafei made a gesture suggesting that money was required, "Why should I tell you?"
One of the men reached into his pocket and threw ten taels of silver to him, "Now tell us."
Catching the silver piece and taking a bite to make sure it was real, Zhao Dafei spread a grin at once, "This man is surnamed Ning; he is a village school teacher at a village not far from the city…"
The two men were eager, "Take us to find him."
The two men seemed stupid but generous since they had easily given him so much money, so certainly Zhao Dafei intended to take the opportunity and ask for more. He put the silver into his pocket and repeated the same movement.
The man sneered and threw another piece of silver at him, "Take it, and lead the way."
On the way, Zhao Dafei told them everything he knew word by word.
In a short while, the three of them reached the periphery of the Wang village. The two men looked at each other, nodded, drew out the sword they carried and ended Zhao Dafei's life in a blink. With a sneer, they took out the silver in his pocket and threw his corpse in the mountain right away, which even saved the money for holding a funeral.
Afterwards, the two men hid themselves in the forest and released a pigeon.
Soon, a woman on a steed galloped over, got off at the entrance of the Wang village and walked the horse, asked the way from a village who passed by, and directly reached the Ning's.
*
Tomorrow it would be the wedding between Jian Qingyou and Xin Yiming. There was a reason why the dates of their engagement and wedding were so near.
On the engagement party of Jian Qingyou, the seventh lady Jian Qingzhen committed adultery with a servant boy. This incident was handled personally by old madam Jian. The second madam and the seventh young lady were instantly sent out of the mansion to a temple on that day, claiming to let them pray in the temple for the Jian family. In fact, they were driven out of the family and prisoned in the temple forever.
Although other witnesses were offered with benefits to keep the secret, there were still people discussing the incident on the back.
Unexpectedly, a few days later, the fifth young lady Jian were found to secretly date in the peach forest with the most notorious dandy in the city.
That dude was notorious in the city for having taken numerous sexual partners before getting married, including young boys. No nice lady from a moral family would like to marry him.
However, when the fifth young lady Jian was caught by others, she was disheveled in clothes and hair. Her fame spoiled and being a daughter of a concubine, there was no other choice but to send her in a small sedan to the man's house. It was said that she quickly became half crazy several days later.
It hadn't been many peaceful days when the second young lord Jian, lying in bed waiting for his wound to heal, should kick the bucket all of a sudden.
The successive incidents created a total mess in the Jian mansion. Immediately, old madam Jian decided on a date, earlier than the original plan, for Jian Qingyou's wedding ceremony. They needed a huge happy event to break the bad luck that had haunted the family as well as the after-dinner gossip among people.
Mo Qianxue was in the study room, writing Jian Qingyou a letter, when Chuyi pushed the door open and walked in with a joyful face, "Lady, nanny comes here."
Mo Qianxue looked up and saw Shiwu supporting with her arm a nimble woman around thirty years old and walking in. The woman had delicate features but carried toughness between her slim eyebrows, looking excited when seeing Mo Qianxue.
As Mo Qianxue looked to her, tears instantly brimmed the eyes of the woman.
Although excited, she didn't forget due courtesy, bowing, "Lady, I'm so glad to see you again."
After the greeting, she then kneeled down, voice trembling, "Please punish me for coming late."
Mo Qianxue hurriedly got up from the chair, "Please take a seat, nanny." Then she suggested Chuyi and Shiwu to help her get up.
Nanny Mo wasn't pretentious and sat down, with sorrow on her face, "I failed madam's expectation to escort you back to the capital. Please give me punishment after we return."
By one glance, she discovered heartfelt love and distress in nanny Mo's eyes, which was similar to the way how her mother looked at her.
At that moment, two figures overlapped, and she almost mistook the woman as her mother in modern time. She fought back her impulse to burst into crying and smiled gently, "Nanny you've done your best. If she knew, my mother won't blame you at all." These words made nanny Mo rest assured and also helped Mo Qianxue collect herself, setting a merciful tone for the vanishing past.
The past couldn't be traced back, but she would use her own way to find herself a position in this world. Even if she was going back to the capital, in the identity of Xue, she would live a life for others. As long as she was alive, she was Mo Qianxue forever instead of any other person.
Mo Qianxue had heard Chuyi and Shiwu mentioned this woman for many times. It was said that she was a dowry girl entering the Mo family together with her mother, as well as a friend who had grown up with her mother, beautiful and clever, excelling in both scholarly learning and martial art. Originally, madam Mo had planned to marry her to a four-level general as wife, yet she had sworn not to marry for a lifetime.
Hence, nanny Mo had stayed around madam Mo all the time as a person she heavily replied on.
Later, madam Mo had followed master Mo to the frontline. Fearing Xue might be bullied living alone as a guest in the Feng mansion, so nanny Mo was assigned to Xue.
Chuyi added, "Right, nanny. At that time, you were severely injured too. Madam won't blame you."
Shiwu said, "Yes, nanny. It's been a long time; I miss you so much."
The four of them chatted, and Mo Qianxue asked more questions about the situation in the capital, when Ning Shaoqing came back.
Chuyi and Shiwu obediently stood on the sides, "Lord."
Nanny Mo examined Ning Shaoqing with her eyes and, in a while, bowed to greet him but in a different addressing term, "Mr. Ning."
Before she entered the room, Chuyi had told her that lady was married now.
Entrusted by madam Mo to attend to lady, of course nanny Mo knew that madam had intended to marry lady to lord Chen. Although there wasn't an official proposal letter, the two families had agreed upon the marriage verbally.
Now the situation had changed, and lady married another man. If their lady was an ordinary person, she would compromise to the reality. But as an heir of a noble title, how could lady marry someone so casually?
If this husband was an excellent man, she wouldn't place obstacles in between; otherwise, she would try every means to cancel the marriage in order to pledge loyalty to madam.
Lord Chen had true enduring love towards lady. As long as this marriage wasn't known to the public, there was a way to win him back.
Contemplating slightly, nanny Mo found this young man dressed in dark-blue, pacing like wind, internal strength deep and steady.
Then she regarded his features. The blade-shaped eyebrows carried pride and loftiness. The narrow pretty eyes, the perfect lips and erected figure altogether formed a very outstanding appearance.
The coarse clothes on his body couldn't conceal the nobility emanating from inside, suggesting that he mustn't be an ordinary man.
Nanny Mo slightly nodded. This man, in terms of appearance, was on a par with lord Chen. But judging from the bearing, he produced more pressure than lord Chen.
However, she needed a final judgment.
As the saying goes, older is wiser. Nanny Mo squinted her eyes and asked politely, "Could I know the relationship between Mr. Ning and the master of the Ning family in the capital?"
She didn't call him lord but directly asked this question instead of asking his name, birthplace and the sort. Evidently, she was making a vital decision.
Ning Shaoqing wasn't annoyed and answered calmly, "He's my respected father." Until now, there was no need to hide it. And he had never intended to hide it.
These people never dared to make such an association or to ask him directly.
Chuiy and Shiwu's mouths hung open. They had guessed that Ning Shaoqing must come from a huge noble family, but they never expected it so noble.
The eldest legal son of the master of a super-noble family? Then he was the heir and the next master! A noble identity that didn't have to kneel before the Emperor.
Then, he was poles different from lord Chen.
The difference between super and first-class was equal to the difference between an emperor and a duke.
Nanny Mo stepped forward and presented a most respectful kneeling salute, "Greeting to my lord."
If this man was the eldest young lord Ning, then madam wouldn't disagree. Everybody knew that lord Ning was unparalleled in both appearance and bearing.
But was such an identity a bless or curse for lady?
Besides, would the Ning family accept lady? Could they return to the capital safely?
The series of question were all thought over by nanny Mo when she greeted him. But since she had made up her mind, she wouldn't fear what was waiting ahead. Now that lady had married him, then she would try her best to make her happy in the marriage. Ning Shaoqing looked at her, the corner of his lips slightly arching, "Please get up, nanny."
Although he didn't care about nanny Mo's views, the 'lord' sounded really nice. In addition, this nanny Mo's way of doing things suggested that she was a sophisticated and reliable person. It would be a relief for him with such a person serving around Qianxue.
At night, the village was in silence, but the Ning's house was still brightly lit.
Today was the seventh day after the removal of Ning Shaoqing's poison, and he had told Mo Qianxue officially the date to leave for the capital. After Mo Qianxue attended Jian Qingyou's wedding tomorrow, they would set off in the morning on the day after tomorrow.
Mingyue and Caixia would temporarily stayed in the Wang village and wait until the couple reached the capital to decide whether to fetch them to the capital.
The route was also worked out, a land route bypassing Yunqi town, which probably had been surrounded by layers of enemies due to its position as a place that must be passed through to reach the capital. Mo Qianxue were packing and preparing loads of solid food.
Nanny Mo stayed in the room of Chuyi and Shiwu and inquired in detail how Mo Qianxue was recently.
Every of Mo Qianxue's movement and expression made her feel both familiar and unfamiliar. In the past, madam was busy in receiving guests and dealing with external affairs, leaving no time to take care of lady. Therefore, the domestic affairs, trivial or significant, were tackled by her and the butler, among which, lady was the top priority.
It was fair to say that lady was brought up by her, especially during the five years in the Feng mansion, she stayed around lady without leaving her for any moment. To her, lady was also her child. Lady's habits and expression were deeply carved in her mind and on her heart.
The face remained the same, but the melancholy, fragility and weakness all disappeared, replaced by high spirits, intelligence and decisiveness.
How nice it would be if madam saw such a lady!
Yet, although she was happy, she still worked meticulously down to every detail.
During their talk, Chuyi told her everything they knew about lady and everything they had witnessed, while Shiwu nodded and added more from time to time.
They told her that lady had lost her memory, that lady had married as a luck wife, that Feng Yuchen had visited, that she had blocked sword for him. They also told her the thrilling twisty process of poison removal as well as the toughing and solid love between Mo Qianxue and Ning Shaoqing…
The stories made nanny Mo shed tears again.
She sighed and stayed in silence for a while. Looking at Chiyi and Shiwu, who were immersed in the joy of figuring out Mr. Ning's noble identity, she warned, "Don't be happy too soon. Be prepared for the storm ahead."
One was the legal lady with a noble title as her dowry, and the other was the future master of a super-noble family that lasted centuries.
Since ancient times, a marriage valued a good match. Usually a noble lord only married a noble lady, especially for a young lord special like Ning Shaoqing. She was afraid that his marriage wasn't controlled merely by himself.
His marriage wasn't merely his own business, but a matter of the Ning family and even a matter of Tianqi dynasty.
Therefore, she was afraid that for lady to become a member of the Ning family, there were at least one major difficulty to go through. She couldn't go back with lord Ning like this.
Tomorrow she would find an opportunity to talk with lady on this. "No match-maker and no betrothal presents" sounded really bad.
A luck wife that married to a huge family would usually become a concubine.
It was fair to be a concubine of someone like lord Ning.
People of the super-noble families had always looked down upon everyone except their own kinds. Although lady boasted a duke title, the Mo family wasn't a huge one. But for master Mo's military contribution to the country, there wouldn't have been a position in the capital saved for the Mo family.
Also because of this reason, the Mos valued the title more important than anything else.
Yet, although probably a first-class family respected the title, the master of the Ning family wouldn't.
Being reminded, Chuyi and Shiwu immediately realized the seriousness too and kneeled down, "Nanny, please tell us what we should do. We can sacrifice our lives for the sake of lady."
"You're brought up by me. Of course I know you're loyal."