The room fell silent for a moment, with neither Jiang Ning nor Nangong Muyan speaking.
Jiang Ning felt somewhat emotional, realizing that ultimately, it was the real Nangong Muyan who had sown the seeds of evil, causing the Nangong Muyan before her, who had taken her place, to reap the bitter fruits.
In this whole story, Zhou Yi was the most innocent.
But given the current situation, Jiang Ning didn't know what she could do for Zhou Yi.
"Zhou Yi..." Nangong Muyan looked at Jiang Ning at this moment, tugging at the corner of her mouth, and asked, "Did he call me a bastard?"
Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow but didn't speak, though the answer was obvious.
"He kept cursing me in bed, repeating that one word over and over," Nangong Muyan pressed her temples and continued, "I've truly wronged him..."
"You've given him psychological trauma," Jiang Ning remembered Zhou Yi's thin frame and that pile of wine jars, frowning, "He was once a sunny, cheerful young man, and you've made him depressed and gloomy. You're truly heinous!"
"Sigh..." Nangong Muyan sighed, not knowing what to say.
"What about Zhou Yi? How can I help him?" Jiang Ning asked again.
"When did you become a neighborhood busybody? Men and women are different, you can't help. You might as well let that husband of yours comfort him. He'll get better with time..." Nangong Muyan fell back on the bed powerlessly, staring at the canopy with lifeless eyes, her mood too complex to describe.
"I guess that's all we can do," Jiang Ning said after pondering for a moment.
When Liu Ming'an returns, she'd ask him to spend more time with Zhou Yi, helping him emerge from the gloom as soon as possible.
Now that everything had been clarified, staying any longer would serve no purpose. Jiang Ning bent down to pick up the dagger from the ground and tossed it next to Nangong Muyan, "Keep the knife safe. I'm heading home now."
There was no response. Jiang Ning took a couple of steps, then turned back to offer a suggestion, "Don't get physical like you did today, and don't climb walls anymore. Your body is quite delicate now, be careful not to affect the baby."
"Get lost!"
Another pillow came flying, which Jiang Ning dodged with a sidestep. She smiled, took a step out of the room, and walked towards the exit of the mansion.
Jiang Ning returned to the small courtyard on Late Winter Road.
The imperial examination was organized by the Ministry of Rites, similar to the provincial exam, lasting nine days in total. This meant Liu Ming'an would only return home on the twentieth day of the third month.
Thinking about spending these days alone in an empty house, and possibly being disturbed by people from the Prime Minister's mansion, Jiang Ning immediately decided to pack a few clothes and go to Fuling Temple, returning on the nineteenth day of the third month.
Lan Xu and the other nuns were delighted to see Jiang Ning, affectionately calling her "Little Ling'er" repeatedly, and upon her arrival, they eagerly held her hands asking, "Are you tired?", "Are you hungry?", "Are you thirsty?"...
Jiang Ning obediently answered each question, and Pu Xuan waved her hand at the crowd, "Alright, disperse, disperse, let Little Ling'er have a private chat with her mother."
After her cheeks were gently pinched by several aged hands, Jiang Ning smiled as she watched the nuns scatter before following Lan Xu into a room.
"Ling'er, what made you come here?" Lan Xu asked with a beaming smile, her eyes soft with warmth as she looked at Jiang Ning.
"Liu Ming'an went to take the exam, and I was bored being alone, so I came to see you. I'll go back in a few days."
Lan Xu's side room wasn't large, and the furnishings were simple. Apart from a bed, table, cabinet, and a few stools, there was nothing else.
Jiang Ning noticed a bamboo basket on the table filled with various threads and needles. Upon closer inspection, she saw a piece of red fabric with its edges already locked with golden thread, but no pattern on it yet.
"Mom, are you embroidering a bridal veil for me?" Jiang Ning was somewhat surprised.
"Yes," Lan Xu smiled and asked, "What pattern does Ling'er like? Mandarin ducks playing in water? Flowers and a full moon? Flying birds wing to wing? Dragons and phoenixes in auspicious union? Or something else? I was just pondering which one would look best, and hadn't started stitching yet. It's perfect that you're here, you can choose one yourself."
For some reason, Jiang Ning felt her cheeks burning as she heard these words.
Although she and Liu Ming'an had already consummated their marriage, the thought of wearing a wedding dress to marry him still brought out that subtle shyness unique to brides from the bottom of her heart.
"Mom, I'd be happy with just this piece of red cloth, as long as it's from you," Jiang Ning said sincerely.
"What nonsense..."
Lan Xu looked at Jiang Ning disapprovingly, stroking the red cloth with a hint of emotion in her eyes.
"Marriage is the biggest event in a woman's life, it only happens once, and not a single detail can be overlooked."
Jiang Ning looked at the faint smile in Lan Xu's eyes and suddenly realized that the person before her had never been married in this life. She had become a mother before she was even prepared to be a wife.
Jiang Ning sighed inwardly, perhaps for Lan Xu, making her daughter's wedding perfect could make up for some regrets.
With this in mind, Jiang Ning put aside other thoughts and held the red cloth, pondering seriously, "Mom, I don't really like any of those you mentioned. I want to come up with my own idea."
"Alright, take your time thinking about it. Let me know when you've decided," Lan Xu looked at Jiang Ning with eyes full of love, then pointed to the open space outside the window and said with a smile, "I'm going to weed the eggplant patch first."
"Oh, I'll come with you. I can think while we work," Jiang Ning quickly said.
It was Jiang Ning's first time doing farm work. She couldn't tell the difference between eggplant seedlings and weeds, but fortunately, Lan Xu explained it to her in detail.
The plot behind the house was neither too big nor too small. The mother and daughter pair bent over, working efficiently, and in less than half an hour, they had cleared all the weeds, leaving only sparse eggplant seedlings swaying in the wind on the brownish-yellow soil.
After washing their hands, they returned to the room. Lan Xu reached out to Jiang Ning's head, "Your hairpin is almost askew." She adjusted it slightly.
Upon hearing the word "hairpin," Jiang Ning suddenly had a flash of inspiration. She had it!
"Mom, let's embroider camellias on the veil, camellias intertwined with willow branches."
Jiang Ning's voice was jubilant, her eyes filled with deep smiles, making Lan Xu smile along with her.
"I understand the willow branches, that's for Liu the scholar, but what's the meaning of the camellias?" Lan Xu asked.
Jiang Ning raised her hand to touch the hairpin in her hair, somewhat shyly lowering her eyes, her voice becoming softer, "The hairpin he gave me is in the shape of a camellia. It's... it's like our token of love, I suppose."
"Wonderful, let's embroider that!" Lan Xu immediately decided.
Having made the decision, Lan Xu immediately started to walk out of the room, "Ling'er, it's been a long time since I've done embroidery. I'm afraid I might not do it well. I need to go learn some stitching techniques from my senior sister. You amuse yourself..."
Like a parent instructing a child before leaving home, Lan Xu said these words and only left contentedly for another side room after seeing Jiang Ning nod.
Over the next few days, Jiang Ning spent a pleasant and fulfilling time at Fuling Temple.
Spring was approaching, and the nuns were busy turning the soil, weeding, planting vegetables, watering, and fertilizing...
As the youngest in the temple, Jiang Ning volunteered to become the strongest laborer here, earnestly experiencing agricultural culture for once.
Originally, the nuns thought that as a pampered young lady with delicate skin, she wouldn't be able to handle such rough work and was just playing around.
But to everyone's surprise, Jiang Ning worked competently and enthusiastically, never complaining of hardship or fatigue, and even worked efficiently, astonishing everyone.
The venerable nuns grew even fonder of her, constantly calling out "Little Ling'er" at every opportunity. Upon learning of her upcoming marriage, they all agreed to help make her wedding dress and embroidered shoes.
"Little Ling'er, what pattern would you like on your wedding dress?" Venerable Nun Mingchen, known for her excellent embroidery skills, asked Jiang Ning with a smile.
"Hmm... lily of the valley flowers," Jiang Ning said, thinking of the patch of lily of the valley that Lan Xu had planted in Qushui City.
Lily of the valley, Lan Ling, this was her name.
"Good, lily of the valley is beautiful. We'll embroider lily of the valley for Little Ling'er."
As Venerable Nun Mingchen spoke, she reached out and pinched Jiang Ning's cheek, "Time flies so fast, our Little Ling'er is getting married..."
Jiang Ning smiled silently, her heart filled with warmth.
Except for Liu Ming'an not being by her side, everything about this place was perfect.