Liu Ming'an and Jiang Ning departed from the capital a month after their wedding.
Lan Xu, who knew of their plans beforehand, thoughtfully reminded them to "be careful on the journey" and mentioned that she would stay at Fuling Temple since it would be lonely in such a large mansion by herself. She said she would wait for them to pick her up upon their return.
Jiang Ning sent a guard to escort her to Fuling Temple, and then went with Liu Ming'an to visit the Zhou family and inform Zhou Yi.
Before marrying Zhou Yi, Nangong Muyan had toured all of his residences in the capital with him, but ultimately chose to live in the old mansion on Xichun Road because flower beds could be seen everywhere, and there was even a specially designed garden at the back of the residence. This greatly appealed to Nangong Muyan, a flower enthusiast who couldn't even keep a cactus alive.
When the couple arrived in the courtyard after being announced by the doorkeeper, they heard the sound of a zither playing "Evening Song of the Fisherman." However, the melody was quite messy, like that of a beginner.
From a distance, Jiang Ning wondered why Nangong Muyan's playing skills had deteriorated so much - was it pregnancy affecting her mind? Or perhaps it was Zhou Yi playing?
Only after passing through the archway into the inner courtyard did Jiang Ning understand why the playing was so poor.
Indeed, Nangong Muyan was playing the zither, but her attention was clearly elsewhere. Zhou Yi sat beside her, resting his chin on his hand, watching her with a smile and occasionally feeding her grapes from a fruit plate.
True to her teasing nature, Nangong Muyan would playfully bite Zhou Yi's fingertips each time he offered her a grape, then mischievously wink at him, prompting him to lean in and plant a kiss on her alluring face.
Amid giggles and laughter, the zither music became completely chaotic...
Jiang Ning quickly averted her eyes - no wonder the playing was so terrible.
Noticing their arrival, Nangong Muyan removed her hands from the strings and pushed away Zhou Yi, who was still trying to kiss her. She turned her head to see Jiang Ning and Liu Ming'an.
"Young Master Liu and sister-in-law are here," Nangong Muyan said quickly, pointing outside the pavilion. She then traced her finger along Zhou Yi's palm suggestively, saying in an intimate tone, "Let's attend to our guests first, we can kiss more later."
Zhou Yi looked in the direction she pointed, where Liu Ming'an and Jiang Ning stood side by side, though their gazes were fixed on a cluster of chrysanthemums by the path, deliberately avoiding looking their way.
Zhou Yi's ears turned red with embarrassment as he looked at Nangong Muyan with a slightly reproachful expression. She just grinned and gave him another quick peck on the lips before turning to their guests with complete composure, saying, "Brother Liu, sister-in-law, please come sit with us."
The couple moved at her invitation, maintaining neutral expressions as they entered the pavilion and sat at the table.
"Brother Zhou, sister-in-law," Liu Ming'an nodded in greeting to the couple.
Zhou Yi got up and moved the zither to the railing, then returned to pour tea for both guests and pushed the fruit plate toward them.
"Brother Liu, are you not busy these days?" Zhou Yi asked casually.
After achieving the top score in the imperial examinations, Liu Ming'an had been granted marriage into the royal family and given a position in the Hanlin Academy, where he worked with historical texts and classics. The role kept him away from court politics and power struggles, which suited his personality well.
"No, it's quite relaxed," Liu Ming'an replied, then explained their purpose: "We came today to bid farewell to you both, as we're heading to Lotus Flower Village."
"What? So soon?"
Zhou Yi was quite surprised. He knew Liu Ming'an would eventually return to Lotus Flower Village, where he was born and raised, to pay respects at his parents' graves now that he was married and established in his career.
He just hadn't expected it to be so soon.
"Zhang Shun sent me a message a few days ago saying he was returning to the capital. With you leaving, us three brothers won't be able to gather together again," Zhou Yi remarked with regret. "I was hoping we could all go fishing together... ah, what a shame!"
Liu Ming'an smiled when he heard about fishing, knowing his friend had moved past his old troubles: "When Brother Zhang returns, he won't leave easily. Since we're all in the capital, there will be plenty of time in the future."
Seeing the men chatting happily and finding no opportunity to join the conversation with Jiang Ning, Nangong Muyan stood up, holding her belly: "You two brothers can continue talking here. I'm feeling a bit tired - sister-in-law, would you escort me back to my room?"
Jiang Ning responded with a "mm" and went to support Nangong Muyan's arm.
"Muyan, should I have a maid escort you instead?" Zhou Yi stood up, always worried when these two were alone together.
"Brother Zhou, it's fine. You two can continue chatting, just call us when it's time for dinner," Jiang Ning said as she led Nangong Muyan toward her chambers. While Zhou Yi continued to watch anxiously, Liu Ming'an walked to his side, looking thoughtfully at the two women's retreating figures.
"Brother Zhou, don't you think they're actually very similar?" Liu Ming'an asked softly after a moment.
That day beneath Taiji Hall, one had killed Yuwen Jin and the other had killed Chang Jian. When Liu Ming'an had watched them from among the crowd of scholars, seeing the identical murderous intent in both women, he felt as though they were the same person.
Although Jiang Ning had never explained anything to him, based on his understanding of her, it was strange that Nangong Muyan remained unharmed after Jiang Ning's visit to the Chancellor's mansion, despite how cruelly she had tortured Jiang Ning. Even the gentle concern in her eyes when supporting Nangong Muyan just now seemed genuine.
There was a connection between these two women that he couldn't comprehend, and it ran very deep.
Liu Ming'an always chose to trust Jiang Ning - if she didn't want to explain, he wouldn't ask.
Zhou Yi was also stunned by this question. After the women disappeared from view, he turned to Liu Ming'an and shared his thoughts: "Brother Liu, I've always felt that Muyan isn't the type of person who would harm your wife."
Liu Ming'an didn't know how to respond, given what he knew about Jiang Ning's past situation.
Zhou Yi continued: "Do you remember when she climbed over the wall into your courtyard? Actually, when I was heading home that time, she knocked me out and kidnapped me."
"This happened? Did she hurt you?" Liu Ming'an asked anxiously.
Zhou Yi recalled the incident where Nangong Muyan had threatened to tie him to a tree and let him freeze to death - that should count as harm, right? It had certainly frightened him badly.
But now that Nangong Muyan was his wife, he chose to avoid that detail and only answered: "Her main purpose wasn't to hurt me, but to ask me some questions."
"What did she ask? About Ning?" Liu Ming'an naturally assumed.
But Zhou Yi shook his head: "She asked about you."
"Me?" Liu Ming'an frowned, not understanding why Nangong Muyan would ask Zhou Yi about him.
"Yes, she asked how old you were, what you did for a living, about your family situation, whether your parents were easy to get along with, if they were harsh people, if they had many rules, whether they would make life difficult for a daughter-in-law, and also..."
Zhou Yi paused before revealing the final question: "She also asked if you had ever visited brothels."
"This..." Liu Ming'an was at a loss for words.
"Brother Liu, do you think these are questions an enemy would ask?" Zhou Yi gazed at him meaningfully.
"No, these are questions that only family or close friends would ask."
Liu Ming'an's eyes grew dark, finding the relationship between the two women increasingly unclear.
Zhou Yi patted his shoulder and sighed: "Brother Liu, I initially thought she was a venomous woman and tried to stay as far away from her as possible. But after spending more time with her, something inside kept telling me she wasn't that kind of person. Though I still don't understand why she would do those things to your wife..."
"If you think I'm lying to defend her, to absolve her of guilt, you don't have to believe me. Brother Liu, I'm sincere-"
Liu Ming'an interrupted Zhou Yi's unfinished words: "Brother Zhou, I believe you!"
Liu Ming'an sat back down at the table and took a sip of tea. Seeing Zhou Yi still looking troubled, he offered comfort: "Brother Zhou, I don't believe this just because of you - I also trust Ning and her decisions. I only know that you are my brother and Nangong Muyan is my sister-in-law. As for past events, whatever secrets they may hold, if they don't wish to speak of them, we shouldn't ask. Let's just let it go."
"Brother Liu!" Zhou Yi was moved once again.