Chapter Forty-Nine: Older Male Cousin

  On that day, if it wasn't for the fact that Ruiqin Wangfu had taken a liking to her later on, listening to her mother's words, it seemed like she was intentionally trying to arrange a marriage between herself and this cousin. Ning Fenbi thought about this and couldn't help but blush slightly, thinking to herself that now her aunt and cousin didn't seem to be living separately outside anymore, but were instead living in this estate. Could the change in fate have started from this moment? This time I won't marry into Ruiqin Wangfu, could it be that I'll really end up marrying this cousin? Oh, if that's indeed the case, then it doesn't seem so bad after all. The cousin is definitely capable of doing business, but he's unwilling to cling to the powerful and also has to support his aunt, so in this city where the powerful reign supreme, he can't spread his wings. If we were to leave this place in the future, relying on my pharmaceutical skills combined with my cousin's business acumen, wouldn't we be able to make a fortune?

  Thinking of this, Ning Feng couldn't help but feel a little excited, but suddenly remembered another crucial issue. Ning Feng couldn't help but punch herself in the head, thinking to herself: "Ning Feng, have you become money-obsessed? Don't forget, your current body and this cousin are close relatives, close relatives! Even with the best medicine, it's not guaranteed that the offspring will be problem-free."

  At the thought of this, she couldn't help but dismiss all the ideas that had previously occurred to her. Not only that, but in the future, she would also have to think of a way to dispel her mother and aunt's idea of arranging a marriage for her. She sighed, looked at the boy with his head bowed and eyes cast down, and felt a twinge of regret: Alas! Perhaps it could have been... maybe they could have developed feelings for each other after all.

  The adults were talking, and Old Lady Jiang invited Aunt Yu to stay, which made Aunt Yu extremely happy. They had not dared to hold such hopes before, so when Ning Shibiao mentioned it earlier, she had declined, fearing that this younger brother-in-law was acting on his own accord again and would anger the elderly at home. However, now that Old Lady Jiang also said so, and Madam Yu added that the courtyard had already been prepared, why wouldn't Aunt Yu be delighted?

  At the moment, they were busy thanking each other again and again. Then, when Old Lady Jiang said that they could make up a small table of cards, Yu's aunt smiled and said: "Speaking of which, Old Lady just mentioned the scenery on the south side of the river, and now she mentions playing cards, it just so happens that I brought something from the south, I'm afraid it will meet Old Lady's eyes." After finishing speaking, she ordered Jiang Jing to take it out.

  Xuan Ge'er also wanted to follow, Ning Fenbi had no choice but to bring him along with Jiang Jing out of the door. Only then did they see that there were already over a dozen boxes placed in the courtyard, which were gifts purchased by Yu Niang from Jiangnan. She knew that the Bo Jue Fu's family status was high, and she was just a businesswoman, so she was afraid of being looked down upon and also implicating her sister. Therefore, these gifts were indeed made with great care and thoughtfulness.

  Jiang Jing came to a box, ordered it opened, and took out two boxes from inside. After opening them for a look, he smiled at Ning Fengbi and said: "It's just these two things..." Before he finished speaking, Xuan Ge'er sniffed his little nose, then clapped his hands and laughed: "Food... delicious food, sweet and fragrant..."

  Ning Feng's face turned red, secretly regretting that she shouldn't have told this little foodie that her aunt and cousin would bring delicious pastries. Seeing Jiang Jing's stunned expression, she found it amusing and quickly said: "Don't blame me, Cousin... cough... he just likes to eat a lot."

  Jiang Jing smiled gently, and even Ning Fengbi was stunned. She thought to herself that he would only be handsome in the future, but now it seems that this cousin has a bit of the soft beauty of Jiangnan's water town, and will definitely become a warm and elegant man like Pan An or Song Yu. My god, I wonder what method I can use to be his neighbor in the future, even just being able to glance at such a handsome man would be great.

  Not to mention Ning Xianbi's infatuation with him, but among all the men she had seen in her two lifetimes, Shen Qianshan was the most handsome. However, his strong and elegant demeanor was completely different from Jiang Jing's gentle and quiet beauty. If one were to describe it seriously, after growing up, Jiang Jing should be slender and refined like jade, similar to that kind of androgynous beauty. The teacher who taught them music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, Tan Cheng, also possessed this quality, but perhaps due to her biased heart, Ning Xianbi always felt that Jiang Jing would surpass Tan Cheng after growing up.

  Not to mention that she was infatuated with him, but Jiang Jing heard Ning Che's and Ning Xianbi's words, smiled gently and nodded: "Yes, I know you don't have many southern dim sum here. This time when we came to the capital, my mother brought a lot of them. Later, even if it's not much, they will also be taken to Auntie's room."

  A stream of sparkling saliva flowed down the corner of Ning's mouth, his favorite dessert. Ning Xi covered her forehead, thoroughly defeated by this little foodie. Fortunately, Jiang Jing had already turned around and walked into the house, so she quickly wiped away the saliva from the corner of Xuan's mouth and pulled him along to follow her into the house.

  What Aunt Yu said was indeed something that had caught Old Lady Jiang's eye, but it turned out to be ten sets of paper cards, five in each box. Each set of cards depicted scenes of mountains and rivers in Jiangnan: either ancient temples with peach blossoms, small bridges over flowing water, solitary mountains with broken bridges, or Leifeng Pagoda at sunset. Old Lady Jiang looked at them with admiration.

  "Aunt Yu smiled and said, 'It's not something good, just thinking that the old lady and the ladies in Beijing may not have seen it before, so I brought a few pairs over. Later, I'll give two pairs to each room, at least this has some meaning of Jiangnan.'"

  "Ha! What's the point of giving them anything? Nowadays, only my old wife has nothing better to do and likes to gather a few people to play some small cards. These things are useless to them. Don't laugh at me for being greedy in my old age, but when they come over, I can also keep an eye on them. Besides, during the Chinese New Year, there will be several elderly relatives coming and going, so let me show off a bit too." She actually took both boxes of paper cards for herself.

  So, Yu's aunt was also stunned, but after all, she was a clever person and quickly smiled in response. She then chatted for a while before hearing Yu say: "Old lady has been sitting for half a day, you must be tired, why not take a good rest? I'll take my sister back to tidy up first. In the future, when living in this mansion, whenever old lady wants to talk, just call out and it's fine."

  Old Lady Jiang smiled and said, "But I'm getting old and muddled, only thinking about my own pleasure in talking, and forgot that the mother and daughter have been traveling by boat and horseback all day. In that case, you two quickly go down and rest well, come back here at noon to eat a welcoming banquet, and when you're free later, I'll take you to your sisters-in-law's room to chat, it won't be too late."

  Yu Shi agreed, and Yu Niang and Jiang Jingning also came out. Returning to the house, Yu Shi smiled and said: "Really didn't expect, sister actually knows how to choose gifts, that paper card really caught the old lady's eye."

  "My aunt smiled and said, 'How could I have expected this? Originally, I thought you had always yearned for Jiangnan since childhood, always wanting to go out and gain some experience. In the end, there was no opportunity, so that paper card was actually prepared for you. I didn't take it seriously, just thinking of putting two in each room as a gift. Now I know that we bought too few."