Chapter 36: The Hypocritical Ex-Husband

Fu Minglang was reluctant to go in.

A woman’s reputation is not something to be taken lightly.

He had received an invitation from Grand Preceptor Wen and accepted it gladly.

Grand Preceptor Wen truly admired Fu Minglang—he had foresight, was willing to work hard, and genuinely served the people.

Of all the young men he had called, Fu Minglang was the one he valued most.

The future, after all, belonged to these young people.

While he still had time, the Grand Preceptor wanted to cultivate more talent for the Qi Kingdom.

Mingxi, too, had once been able to serve the kingdom, but sadly, his mind was no longer intact.

Princess Ning’an was kind-hearted—who knew if she could heal him?

As for that rascal Wen Di, the Grand Preceptor had arranged for him to befriend Fu Minglang and learn from him.

But what did Wen Di do? Upon seeing Princess Ning’an, he took everyone and left with her.

After all, she was an unmarried princess.

How could she be so casual with these young men?

And they had gone to some hot spring villa, of all places.

Naturally, the rumors had reached him as well.

The Grand Preceptor was so angry he wanted to drag Wen Di back and give him a good beating.

It was all because his wife spoiled him too much—he had become utterly undisciplined.

While rumors ran rampant outside, inside the hot spring villa, Li Ning’an had already led the group in.

Fu Minglang had initially wanted to refuse, but just as he was about to speak, he saw Wen Di grinning mischievously, and he swallowed his words.

What harm could there be in going in?

A gentleman is always open and upright.

The steward led the way, with Li Ning’an pulling Li Ningzhao and Wen Di ahead of the group.

Fu Minglang and the others followed behind in a single line.

Someone among them commented, “This hot spring villa is really large.”

Though they had some real talent, not all of them were paragons of integrity.

If one of them could become Princess Ning’an’s consort, wouldn’t that be easier than currying favor at the Grand Preceptor’s mansion?

The emperor doted on Princess Ning’an; they wouldn’t have to work as hard.

She had even brought pastries to the Ministry of Revenue for Fu Minglang every day, gifting estates and shops to the Fu family.

Winning her love wholeheartedly came with many advantages.

A few of them wanted to impress her, but with Wen Di around, they couldn’t get a word in.

Li Ning’an had once cared for Fu Minglang deeply and had paid a heavy price for it.

She knew Fu Minglang didn’t want to be there, yet he followed silently behind.

“Wen Di, you brought them here—if something happens later, there might be no explaining it,” she said.

Wen Di glanced back. Aside from Fu Minglang’s calm demeanor, the others seemed rather pleased.

“If they say they’re my kept men, how will I explain that to Yan Lang? He already doubts that I love him—what would I do then?”

Li Ning’an looked at Wen Di with a mixture of concern and resentment. Wen Di rolled his eyes.

As two of the most notorious troublemakers at the Imperial Academy, how could he not know Li Ning’an well?

Though he didn’t understand her as well as Yan Ziqi did, he had certainly figured her out by now.

She was definitely putting on an act for him.

But, the two of them had indeed become closer.

Wen Di glanced at Fu Minglang again, noting that he showed no reaction, and clicked his tongue twice.

“You might as well accept them, but you have to let me be in charge. I need to put Yan Ziqi in his place.”

“Give me a break. Just because he caught you pulling the teacher’s beard, you’re still holding a grudge,” Li Ning’an retorted.

Though the hot spring villa was royal property, it still required management. The steward had known that Princess Ning’an would take over but hadn’t seen her in a while.

Upon hearing of her arrival today, he had made ample preparations, though he hadn’t expected such a large group to show up.

Luckily, he had been through his fair share of ups and downs.

“Princess, would you like to separate from the gentlemen?”

They had reached the bathhouse entrance, where the path split—men to the left, women to the right.

There were five hot springs in total, warm and comfortable. The largest one was reserved for the emperor, enclosed by brick walls and luxuriously appointed.

The remaining springs were divided into pairs, with a refined and elegant design.

Li Ning’an had originally planned to take her brother to the central spring since they would still be clothed.

But with so many people present, she had no choice but to leave her brother in Wen Di’s care and enjoy the central spring on her own.

Wen Di chose a spring with the ninth prince, while Fu Minglang and the others took another.

The steward went to arrange the meal, and when Li Ning’an came out, she saw Li Ningzhao looking upset in the flower hall.

“What’s wrong? Did he bully you?”
Li Ning’an raised her fist, ready to hit Wen Di, but Li Ningzhao shook his head.

“I just wanted to spend time with my sister.”

He had the day off, but his time with his sister was already limited, and half of it had been taken up by Brother Wen Di.

Even though Li Ningzhao was a prince, he couldn’t stay outside the palace for long.

Seeing her brother’s puffed-up cheeks, Li Ning’an couldn’t resist and reached out to pinch them.

Li Ningzhao tried to stop her, but since it was his sister, he gave up.

If it had been anyone else, he definitely wouldn’t have let them.

But since it was his sister, he would just endure it for now.

After three pinches, Li Ning’an let go. Wen Di sat down casually, and Fu Minglang and the others arrived.

One couldn’t stay in the hot springs for too short a time, but now they were all a bit hungry and couldn’t dine together with Princess Ning’an.

After exchanging greetings with Princess Ning’an, they went to the adjacent hall.

Fu Minglang noticed that Wen Di hadn’t moved a bit and finally spoke up, “Young Lord Wen, please join us for the meal.”

Wen Di waved his hand, “I’ll eat with her. After all, the Ninth Prince is here too.”

He wasn’t going to do anything to Ning’an anyway.

The real concern should be about the others.

As a court official, Fu Minglang felt it was his duty to offer some advice.

“Princess Ning’an, men and women shouldn’t dine together after the age of seven. As a princess, you should set an example and not act inappropriately.”

Li Ning’an replied, “If Minister Fu finds it so bothersome, then just send him out. Out of sight, out of mind.”

Since they were all Li Ning’an’s people, they obediently escorted Fu Minglang out.

Seeing this, the others also excused themselves.

Li Ning’an snorted, “The steward has already prepared the meal. If you don’t eat, it’ll be wasted. Go have your meal.”

Only then did the group dare to go to the side hall.

One of them whispered, “Looks like Princess Ning’an really doesn’t care about Minister Fu anymore.”

Another replied, “She’s genuinely set on Yan Shizi. She’s even planning to send him to the border. But that’s a battlefield, and they’ll be fighting the Bei Yue army.”

Since they had been invited by Grand Preceptor Wen, they were somewhat aware of the situation at the border.

The Tong family had deep roots—there was Consort Tong Xian, the Fourth Princess, and the Fifth Prince in the palace, and General Tong and his sons outside the palace.

Yan Shizi was all alone. If he wanted to seize military power, it wouldn’t be easy.

Moreover, that Second Prince of Bei Yue wasn’t someone to be taken lightly.

There were rumors that he was the son of a favored palace maid, or even an illegitimate child the Bei Yue emperor brought back after fooling around outside.

Regardless, no one had heard of the Second Prince of Bei Yue before.

The competition for the throne over there was just as fierce.

The Qi Kingdom had lost Duke Xiang, but Bei Yue had its own sacrifices.

The Crown Prince of Bei Yue, the Second Prince’s older brother, had died in the previous battle.

While the Qi Kingdom had emerged victorious, Bei Yue had been pushed to the brink and had no choice but to withdraw.

No one expected them to come back so soon, breaking their word.

Back in the flower hall, Wen Di spoke seriously to Li Ning’an, “Could you just keep liking him for a few more days? Just a few days.”

He had placed a bet in the gambling hall.

Li Ning’an had no idea it was because of a bet. “Is it because Grand Preceptor Wen appreciates him, and you approve of him too?”

Li Ning’an knew Wen Di hated people who lectured him.

At the top of his list was his own father, Grand Preceptor Wen.

Wen Di had heard enough about duty and righteousness to last a lifetime.

“Can Shui Mingxi really recover? If he could, no one would stand in his way.”

Li Ning’an hadn’t expected that Fu Minglang had won the Grand Preceptor’s favor.

How could she sabotage this?

She didn’t really want to meet with Grand Preceptor Wen.

Because of her visit to the hot spring villa, Li Ning’an had missed the opening of a new cosmetics shop next to Manxuan Pavilion.

However, Nie Rou had seen many noble ladies and wives buying things from the shop.

They were leaving with large bags of purchases.

Even Nie Rou couldn’t resist and bought a box of rouge.

When she opened it, a jasmine fragrance wafted out—it smelled wonderful.