Zhou Yi hurried towards Late Winter Road without stopping, his heart filled with worry the entire way.
He remembered that back in Lingshan Town, Liu Ming'an had told him and Zhang Shun that he had bought Jiang Ning.
At the time, Zhou Yi didn't think much of it, assuming Jiang Ning was probably a maid from some wealthy family who had made a mistake and been sold off. If Liu Ming'an liked her, so be it, it wasn't a problem.
But now someone was actually going around asking questions with Jiang Ning's portrait!
What did this mean?
It meant that Jiang Ning's past wasn't completely severed!
This could very likely bring trouble to Liu Ming'an!
"Sigh~"
Zhou Yi let out a deep breath, wondering how he should tell Liu Ming'an. He seemed to like Jiang Ning so much that he probably wouldn't let her go even if disaster struck.
But he couldn't stay silent either. Zhou Yi truly regarded Liu Ming'an as a brother, and he couldn't stand by and watch calamity approach without saying a word.
At the very least, he should give him a heads up, Zhou Yi told himself.
As for what decision Liu Ming'an would make after knowing, that would be his own business.
After dinner, Liu Ming'an was reading a book scroll as usual, with Jiang Ning sitting beside him grinding ink. They would occasionally exchange glances, their eyes intertwining, both filled with deep affection.
"Brother Liu! Brother Liu!"
The sound of knocking and shouting from outside the courtyard shattered the intimate atmosphere.
Liu Ming'an smiled helplessly: "Brother Zhou always makes such a commotion when he arrives." He was about to get up.
Jiang Ning had already stood up before him, pressing her hand on his shoulder: "I'll go open the door."
Jiang Ning walked out of the study and into the courtyard, immediately noticing the red plum blossoms scattered by the wall.
After a night of wind and rain, the vibrant red petals had wilted somewhat, falling to the ground and mixing with mud and sand, inexplicably evoking a sense of pity.
What a pity, Jiang Ning thought, it was the first time in all these years she had given flowers to someone, yet Liu Ming'an hadn't even glanced at them.
But in the next moment, thinking of the reason why Liu Ming'an hadn't had time to look at the flowers, a flush of embarrassment surged through Jiang Ning's heart.
"Brother Liu! Are you home?"
Zhou Yi's shout brought Jiang Ning back to her senses. She walked to the door and opened it, revealing Zhou Yi's face full of anxiety outside.
"Sister-in-law?"
Zhou Yi was visibly startled to see Jiang Ning, his eyes showing a hint of panic.
Zhou Yi had originally planned that if Liu Ming'an came to open the door, he wouldn't enter the courtyard, but would secretly pull him aside to explain the situation clearly, letting Liu Ming'an make his own decision.
Who knew it would be Jiang Ning!
"Sister-in-law, I... I'm looking for Brother Liu..." Zhou Yi said evasively, not daring to look at Jiang Ning.
Jiang Ning looked at Zhou Yi's behavior with suspicion, wondering if these two brothers had some secret they couldn't let her know.
"Haha..." Zhou Yi laughed awkwardly, "Is Brother Liu at home?"
Just as Jiang Ning was about to answer, she suddenly caught sight of two people peeking around the corner of the alley not far away. When they saw her looking, they quickly hid themselves completely behind the wall.
Jiang Ning's eyes instantly turned cold.
Although the two had hidden quickly, she still recognized one of the faces.
Jin Hui!
"Brother Zhou, Liu Ming'an is in the study. You go find him. I'm going out to buy something."
After saying this, Jiang Ning grabbed Zhou Yi's sleeve and pulled him inside the door, while she herself stepped out of the courtyard.
Jin Hui and Li Jiu, who had followed Zhou Yi, exchanged smiles at the corner of the alley, feeling incredibly pleased.
"Brother Hui, it really is the Third Young Lady! I can't believe we found her so quickly! This is great!" Li Jiu opened the portrait in his hand, grinning from ear to ear, amazed at how smoothly things were going.
Jin Hui also let out a long sigh of relief, his expression very relaxed: "Yes, our luck is not bad! We can go back and report to the master now."
"Huh?" Li Jiu looked at Jin Hui in surprise: "We're just going back like this?"
Jin Hui nodded: "The master only told us to find the Third Young Lady, not to bring her back. Now that we've found where the Third Young Lady lives, we need to wait for further orders from the master—"
"Thinking of leaving so soon?"
A cold female voice suddenly sounded beside them. Jin Hui and Li Jiu whirled around to see the Third Young Lady they had been discussing, standing with her arms crossed and an expressionless face, looking at the two of them. They had no idea when she had arrived, as she hadn't made a sound.
"Th-Third Young Lady?" Li Jiu's eyes widened in shock.
Jiang Ning hadn't met Li Jiu before. Seeing him holding a piece of paper with what looked like a portrait on it, she walked over and snatched it to take a look. Sure enough, it was a drawing of her.
"Who drew this?" Jiang Ning asked coolly.
It was so ugly, her mouth was drawn crooked. It couldn't even compare to half a finger of Liu Ming'an's work.
Li Jiu quietly replied "I drew it," only to see Jiang Ning tear the paper to shreds.
Ignoring Li Jiu, Jiang Ning stared directly at Jin Hui and asked: "Planning to go back and report? And then send people to capture me?"
Jin Hui quickly composed himself and bowed to Jiang Ning: "Third Young Lady, the master is just concerned about you. You left without a word, and he was worried you might be in danger. That's why he sent us to find you."
"Hah! Concerned..." Jiang Ning sneered. Although she knew this was the truth, she found it strangely ironic.
"Then you go back and tell him to forget he has this daughter. I'm doing very well now and don't want to have any more entanglements with the Prime Minister's Mansion. Moreover..."
Jiang Ning paused, then continued: "I've already changed my name. From now on, there's no such person as Nangong Ling in this world. If he wishes, he can build a grave for Nangong Ling."
Hearing this, Jin Hui and Li Jiu raised their heads in disbelief, shocked to the point where they couldn't close their mouths as they looked at Jiang Ning speaking these words so calmly.
Jiang Ning turned to leave after speaking, but after a few steps, she heard Jin Hui's voice from behind: "Third Young Lady, wait!"
Jin Hui pulled Li Jiu and walked up to stand in front of Jiang Ning: "I can't relay these words for you. Severing ties with the master isn't as simple as you think."
Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow, looking at Jin Hui without speaking.
"Third Young Lady, blood is thicker than water. How could a father truly abandon his child just because of a few harsh words?"
Jin Hui felt Jiang Ning was being too naive and tried to persuade her gently: "Besides, if I were to tell the master these hurtful words, he definitely wouldn't believe them. When you went missing before, your maid Dongmei used the same tactic to deceive the master."
"You mean, you want me to go and say it to his face?" Jiang Ning pondered, thinking it made sense.
Jin Hui nodded. He didn't really understand why there was such a complicated father-daughter relationship, but getting the Third Young Lady to return home was always a good thing.
"Tch, how troublesome!" Jiang Ning pressed her brow, suddenly feeling that being an orphan in her previous life wasn't so bad.
Jin Hui stood patiently waiting. After a good while, he heard the Third Young Lady slowly speak: "Then you two wait here for a moment. I'll go tell my husband."
Jin Hui and Li Jiu were once again dumbfounded.
After Jiang Ning went inside, Li Jiu nudged Jin Hui's arm, stuttering so badly he couldn't form a complete sentence: "Hui-Hui-Hui-Hui..."
"Stop with the 'Hui'! Straighten out your tongue!" Jin Hui was getting a headache.
Li Jiu swallowed hard several times before whispering: "Brother Hui, I think the Third Young Lady is going to anger the master to death!"
Jin Hui frowned but didn't respond, because he was thinking the same thing.
"How did the Third Young Lady become like this?" Li Jiu continued talking to himself: "She used to be so shy and timid, afraid to look at people. Now when she speaks, I feel like I'm standing in front of the master himself. Her aura is so strong..."
Jin Hui's frown deepened: "Not just that, she was able to grab my clothes and throw me out!"
"What?"
Li Jiu was completely stunned.