Chapter 119 : Goodbye, Madam

Ning Que sat calmly in the reception room, quietly listening as the other party spoke about the recent important events in the capital.

Sitting opposite him was the second eldest of the Xu family, Xu Jiawei.

After a long pause, Xu Jiawei sighed, “Now that you’ve returned to the capital, you should move around more.”

Ning Que shook his head, “Given the current situation of the Xu family, it would be inappropriate for me to associate too closely with my former classmates.”

Xu Jiawei frowned, unable to agree with this. He had no choice but to stand up, saying, “If the Xu family loses power, it will undoubtedly affect your position in the officialdom. Right now, those who are relying on the Xu family are uneasy, and only you can reassure them. Yet you hesitate…”

Ning Que advised, “Now is the time to remain calm.”

“Fine, I can’t convince you. Another day, my elder brother will surely invite you to his house for a chat,” Xu Jiawei shook his head.

He was twenty or so years older than Ning Que.

But Ning Que had been taken in as a student by Xu Jiawei’s father when the latter was old, and Xu Old had shown a special affection for him, so Ning Que’s status was raised, and he was treated as an equal.

Xu Jiawei didn’t like Ning Que.

First, the man was too talented, and in his youth, he had outshone Xu Old’s three sons; second, despite being younger, Ning Que was treated as an equal to them.

Look, now, he couldn’t even command Ning Que!

Instead, he was being lectured by him!

Xu Jiawei coldly said, “You should be at home tomorrow, right? It’s not easy to see you now.”

Before Ning Que could respond, a servant arrived outside the door, quietly reporting, “Master, Master Lin has arrived outside in his carriage and would like to invite you to have tea at the outskirts of the city.”

Xu Jiawei frowned and asked, “Which Master Lin?”

The servant replied, “Master Lin Bo.”

Xu Jiawei’s frown deepened. “I’ve heard of him… he’s a merchant, right? I’m not criticizing you, but associating with such people really damages your reputation.”

“He is not a merchant,” Ning Que replied, his eyes flickering slightly with light. “Lin Bo’s ancestors were also scholars. He passed the imperial exam in the first year of the Shun Yuan era and served as a county magistrate. Later, he resigned his official position and took over his family’s business. He even held a poetry event in Dengzhou and earned some fame.”

“Passing the exam doesn’t mean much. Without an official position, it’s nothing. Furthermore, there are ranks among officials.” Xu Jiawei was clearly dissatisfied. “You always like to associate with such insignificant people, neglecting those truly virtuous and respected.”

Ning Que, however, did not wish to continue the conversation. “I’ll see you out, brother.”

Xu Jiawei’s expression darkened, but he could only watch as Ning Que boarded Master Lin’s carriage.

He turned and strode away, his expression growing even darker. “In the end, it was my Xu family that supported him. Now that he’s growing stronger, he’s turning his back on his benefactor!”

The servant walking beside him shuddered but didn’t dare to reply.

Meanwhile, Ning Que sat in the carriage, unsure of how to start the conversation.

He had actually sent someone to Lin’s house earlier, hoping to encounter the lady from that day, but even after meeting her, he didn’t know what to do next.

It was just a fleeting encounter, after all, what could he do?

Never mind.

Ning Que ultimately said nothing.

Until they arrived at the manor.

Finally, Ning Que asked, “What is so special about this place?”

Master Lin smiled, “The environment is elegant.”

Ning Que thought to himself, what difference did it make whether he said that or not?

There were many elegant places.

At this moment, Master Lin was secretly sweating. He hadn’t expected Ning Que to agree to come right away! He had prepared to enter and speak at length to persuade Ning Que, but before he could even ask, Ning Que had already boarded the carriage.

Now, when Ning Que asked about the manor’s special features, Master Lin felt both ashamed and awkward.

Master Lin thought to himself that he had never been there before and was completely ignorant about the place!

As they stepped off the carriage, the servants at the door immediately approached them, and it was a stark contrast to the first time Xue Qingyin had arrived at the manor.

The servant wore light blue clothing, which was simple yet pleasing to the eye. At his waist hung a sign with a symbol on it.

The symbol resembled a character but wasn’t exactly one.

The design was clever, looking quite exquisite.

The servant’s sign read: “A Sip and a Bite.”

“Other manors usually just write the owner’s surname, like Liu Family Manor or Li Family Manor. This plaque is interesting,” Master Lin remarked.

“Yes, ‘A Sip and a Bite’ comes from the Zhuangzi’s Nourishing Life Master,” Ning Que paused, then asked, “Besides tea, can you also have meals here?”

Master Lin nodded, “It should be.”

“This writing looks familiar… is it by Liu Xiuyuan?” Master Lin then noticed another detail.

The servant smiled and said, “You have a sharp eye, it is indeed written by Liu Xiuyuan.”

The servant continued proudly, “If you go further in, you’ll see some more calligraphy by Liu Xiuyuan hanging on the walls. Further inside, you can also see paintings by Ping Nanzi and Cen Yuan.”

The place did indeed sound refined.

Ning Que thought.

But he wasn’t particularly interested in pursuing elegance, so his expression remained neutral.

After discussing the calligraphy and paintings, the servant asked, “Do you have a reservation?”

Master Lin was taken aback. “Reservation?”

The servant nodded, “Yes, if you wish to have tea or a meal at our manor, you need to send someone three days in advance to book a spot. If there’s availability, the manor will personally send an invitation to your residence. Only with the invitation can you enter the manor. Since the manor is not officially open yet, if you have a special token from our master, you can enter ahead of time.”

Master Lin was shocked. “More troublesome than the Furong  Garden!”

The servant shook his head, “Not at all. Only princes and nobles can enter Lotus Garden. Here, any respectable family can be our guests.”

Ning Que remarked, “When it officially opens, I’m sure everyone with some status in the capital will be scrambling to come.”

Master Lin nodded, “Exactly! Although it’s troublesome, it’s exactly what they like.”

If people could just easily get a meal here, where would that be special?

Only by having some threshold can the high from the low, the rich from the poor, be distinguished.

Naturally, people will vie to be those high and noble guests.

Ning Que shook his head helplessly. “I don’t think it’s to my taste.”

He didn’t like these exaggerated, complicated matters, nor did he care to compete for empty fame.

Master Lin was in a hurry. “Mr. Ning, please don’t leave. To be honest, the master of this place is a friend of mine. Let’s go in first.”

Master Lin quickly looked at the servant. “Is the master here? Go report that Master Lin has come with a friend. The two painters here are ones I introduced.”

The servant was surprised. “Coincidentally, the master arrived just before you. He’s inside having tea now. I’ll go report immediately.”

Inside, Xue Qingyin was having tea with Liu Xiuyuan, discussing the food in front of them.

The two painters were diligently painting beside them.

Hearing the servant’s announcement, Xue Qingyin was also surprised.

“Master Lin is here? And brought a friend?”

She quickly guessed that Master Lin probably wanted to support her.

But the goal of this manor was to cater to high-ranking officials.

If Master Lin brought ordinary merchants, it might not look good. This would undermine the “high-class” appeal they were trying to build.

Xue Qingyin stood up. “I’ll go greet him personally.”

The servant was puzzled. “Why would the master personally greet him? Your status is so high.”

Xue Qingyin waved her hand. “It’s the proper thing to do between friends.”

Liu Xiuyuan nodded in agreement.

The two painters silently approved as well, thinking that although the manor had a bit of a commercial air, Xue Qingyin was truly a graceful person. However, rumors outside painted her as a very tough and domineering character.

Meanwhile, Ning Que had lost much interest in the manor. He sighed, thinking it might have been better to stay home and play chess.

Just as this thought passed through his mind, footsteps approached.

A young woman walked over, holding a fan, her figure graceful.

As she came closer, Ning Que saw her face—charming and striking.

Wait, wasn’t this… the lady’s daughter from that day?

“Why has Master Lin come?” Xue Qingyin looked at Ning Que and asked, “Who is this?”

She thought the person looked somewhat familiar.

Master Lin smiled and began to speak, “This is—”

“Ning Que. You can call me Mr. Ning,” Ning Que interrupted, speaking first.

It wasn’t that Ning Que had too high an opinion of himself, but his status was indeed quite high. He came from a scholarly family, had a good background, and was a regional governor with a famous reputation among intellectuals. He was also a student of Xu Qin.

Once he became an official in the capital, his former compatriots or classmates would quickly become part of his faction.

After considering it, he decided not to reveal his identity directly, as it was better for making connections this way.

Xue Qingyin genuinely didn’t know who Ning Que was or what his status was. She vaguely felt he was somewhat familiar, nodded, and invited them in.

“If I had known Master Lin was coming, I would’ve sent you a token in advance,” Xue Qingyin said.

Master Lin smiled and asked, “What kind of token?”

Xue Qingyin pointed to the token hanging at the waist of one of the servants and said, “Here, it’s this one.”

Master Lin, curious, asked again, “When I was young, I traveled far and wide, and I considered myself quite knowledgeable. Yet, I cannot recognize the symbol drawn on it. Could it be Persian script?”

Xue Qingyin shook her head. “It’s money.”

Master Lin was taken aback. “What?”

Xue Qingyin pointed again. “This is the symbol for money.”

If a modern person saw it, they’d recognize it instantly as the “￥” symbol.

Master Lin laughed awkwardly. “Ah, I see… it seems my knowledge isn’t enough.”

At this point, Master Lin became somewhat concerned.

He was someone who was comfortable with both vulgar and elegant things, but he feared Mr. Ning might not appreciate such blunt displays of the desire for wealth.

Master Lin turned to look at Ning Que, but Ning Que spoke up: “Did the young lady design this?”

Xue Qingyin thought to herself, What young lady?

Was he really not going to recognize my identity?

She looked at Master Lin, deciding it was probably something he was deliberately hiding, so she didn’t correct Ning Que. Instead, she gave a slight nod.

The design of that symbol was indeed her idea!

“Truly a brilliant idea,” Ning Que remarked.

Master Lin was still confused.

Xue Qingyin led the way as they walked ahead through the corridor.

Suddenly, Xue Qingyin stopped and said, “I feel like there’s something missing here in the landscape design. When I went to Master Lin’s house, the garden design was excellent. My mother really liked it…”

Before Xue Qingyin could finish her sentence, Master Lin quickly responded, “This is easy. Had I known your mother liked it, I would’ve sent the craftsman who designed the landscape long ago…”

Ning Que hesitated for a moment and then interjected, “If you placed a Tai Mountain stone here and asked Pingnanzi to paint on it, it could serve as a stone screen, and it would be very elegant.”

The ancients not only admired flowers and the moon but also enjoyed viewing stones.

Tai Mountain stone was considered the finest of all stones.

Xue Qingyin said, “Mr. Ning, your idea is quite profound. I’ll make a note of it.”

Ning Que, as if answering his own question, added, “But Tai Mountain stones are hard to find…”

Xue Qingyin didn’t know much about such things, so she asked, “Are they really hard to find?”

That problem could be left for He Songning to worry about.

Ning Que nodded and said as though he were speaking to himself, “However, I have one in my residence.”

Master Lin slowly realized something was off.

Something was wrong!

Mr. Ning was acting very strangely today!

While Xue Qingyin was still speaking, “How could I ask Mr. Ning to part with it?”

Ning Que responded, “It’s not about parting with it. I’m rather unrefined and not good at appreciating such things. It would be better to give it to someone who needs it.”

Xue Qingyin froze.

She thought he was going to sell it to her.

But in the end, he was offering to give it to her?

She couldn’t accept that!

As the side consort of Prince Xuan, she feared that it might be an attempt to bribe Prince Xuan through her.

Xue Qingyin smiled faintly and said, “Then I will have someone bring money to your residence to collect it.”

Ning Que replied, “No need to trouble yourself. I’ll have someone send it to the manor.”

Master Lin was starting to feel uneasy.

What was going on here?

Just then, Madam Xue hurried in from another direction with people in tow.

She was walking briskly, her beautiful eyes narrowed, and her face filled with anger. But beautiful women, even when angry, managed to look graceful.

She said, “Qingyin, something’s happened up ahead.”

Although she called it a small matter, Madam Xue was clearly quite upset. “Someone placed iron nails in the stable! All the horses suffered. I’ve had the person who did it caught…”

Xue Qingyin asked in confusion, “Isn’t it good that they were caught?” Then she paused and quickly realized, “Could it be from someone at the Liu family manor?”

The Xue family and the Liu family had long had a feud.

The Liu family… Liu family… Xue Qingyin hadn’t known Liu Yuerong before, but now she naturally thought of her.

Was this related to the Liu Yuerong family’s property? What a coincidence?

Madam Xue waved her hand.

Two strong servants brought over a suspicious-looking person with a swollen face.

The person’s eyes were fierce. “Let me tell you, our family is not someone you can offend! Our master is the Princess of Wei!”

Madam Xue’s face darkened even further upon hearing this.

She whispered, “I acted quickly and grabbed a stick and beat him. This matter…”

Madam Xue feared it might escalate into a conflict between Prince Xuan’s and Prince Wei’s households.

Xue Qingyin sneered.

So, it was someone from Liu Yuerong ’s side.

It reminded her of the time when Liu Yuerong had tried to push her into the river, but ended up pushing Xue Qinghe instead. That matter hadn’t been settled yet.

Xue Qingyin asked, “Where is the stick?”

A servant quickly handed it over.

Xue Qingyin took the stick and said to Madam Xue, “If you haven’t vented enough yet, feel free to keep hitting.”

Madam Xue hesitated for a moment.

But then, she chose to trust her daughter. She grabbed the stick again and swung it hard at the man, saying coldly, “This man dared to call me a vicious woman!”

With that, Madam Xue struck again, and the man immediately screamed and fell to the ground.

Master Lin watched in stunned silence.

Ning Que was equally surprised.

She was so… heroic!

Even when angry, she carried herself with grace.

Ning Que had never seen such a fiery woman before.