An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

Today was not a date for the couple alone. As such a famous general like Nie Ce was coming, someone in Xiankelai had already prepared seats for him, and the two of them took a nearby wooden ladder.

Sang Ling looked back at the first two floors from the side, where the food was even more lively. Seven or eight diners sat at one table, and twelve tables formed a big circle surrounding the high platform in the middle of the building. Dancers and singers took turns on the stage. Three rounds would be an acrobatic show, and half an hour would be a funny and rap show.

The seventh dance was just in progress and there was thunderous applause. The man on the steps kept his gaze on it for a long time before reluctantly looking away.

A son of a noble family like Nie Ce naturally didn't have to squeeze in with the crowd on the lower floors to watch the show - they were in a private room on the fourth floor, where the outer wall partitions allowed a view of the city's night view, and the wooden steps inside allowed a single floor of singing and dancing, but they were not completely separated from their neighbors. There were four or five people at a table, and no more than six people at most, and there were only five or six seats around the hall.

Sang Ling followed behind Nie Ce and saw from a distance two burly men sitting on the futon. When they saw Nie Ce coming, they stood up early and bowed respectfully.

Nie Ce was calm, acting like a superior, and raised his hand to signal them to sit down. Sang Ling was sure that she had never seen these two people before, and she had not heard Nie Ce mention them when she came, but the two people seemed to have known her for a long time and had also greeted her - even though she didn't know who they were, she had a rough idea in her mind: most of them were Nie Ce's subordinates.

Then he nodded and returned the greetings one by one.

"Yang Huan and Chen Feng." Lord Nie sat down and introduced them to Sang Ling first. He turned his head and gestured with his hand, but he did not introduce her properly.

The two of them were quite tactful and called her "Madam" first.

Since they were already seated, it would be tedious to return the greetings again and again. Sang Ling then put on a social smile.

The two had heard about this before from the conversation between Nie Ce and Ying Bushi - this Yang Huan was the Yang Sili mentioned earlier; as for Chen Feng, it was said that Nie Ce brought him back from the northwest. Although he did not receive a salary from the court at present, he was a deputy general beside Nie Ce, and his money was allocated by the General of Chariots and Cavalry himself.

It was not so much that Nie Ce took Sang Ling out for fun that night, but more that he and his subordinates drank a lot and did not have much interaction with her.

Then I looked at the neighboring tables - those who brought their female relatives with them, basically the women sat behind their husbands, and did not participate in the socializing at all. At most, they smiled, ate, and watched the performance.

She could only let out a long sigh of relief. Even though Nie Ce was a loyal husband, he was still a product of this era. He still had the idea of ​​male superiority and female inferiority in his bones. How could he bring his wife here alone? She was just his attendant. Although she didn't serve tea, she smiled when she heard them chatting. She didn't know how to say it even if she wanted to interrupt. After all, the two people opposite were strangers to her.

If she really wanted to talk about court affairs, even if she could continue, she really didn't want to interrupt abruptly to show off her talent.

And judging from their postures, expressions and words when they were talking, it seemed that they didn't think she would participate.

Why should she force herself to fit in?

A new group of dancers were brought in, music and singing gradually started to rise, and then three beautiful maids came forward and followed the three men, and actually started to serve tea and water, and later they even massaged their shoulders and legs.

The girl at the side caught a glimpse of Sang Ling and exclaimed, "What a beautiful sister."

Just as he finished speaking, Yang Huan called back, "Hey, it's Madam."

Sang Ling paused for a moment, but didn't take it seriously. He continued to smile stiffly, poured himself a cup of mare's milk, and turned his head to watch a drum performance on the stage.

Through the dancers walking back and forth, they unexpectedly saw a familiar figure on the opposite side. It was too vague to distinguish, so they looked at it intently. When they saw that person looking at them, he seemed to realize that they were looking back, so he turned around in panic - obviously afraid of being exposed.

"Who is it?" Young Marquis Nie's voice came from behind. Sang Ling withdrew his gaze and sipped the mare's milk, "Cao Xin."

"Oh, I have seen him a few times." Nie Ce said, "Cao Wulang likes to come here often."

Having said that, he plunged into a "reminiscing about the past" conversation with his subordinates.

The girl beside him lowered her eyes slightly, calming down her sudden emotions.

This outing that didn't seem like "fun" ended at 11 p.m. Even though Xiankeliao was still open for business, the soldiers who still had military duties to attend to did not dare to indulge in music and many of them lingered. After they dispersed at the end of Maquan Street, Sang Ling and Nie Ce got on the carriage back to the marquis' mansion.

Even at this hour, there was still a lot of traffic on the road. She rested her chin on the window, gazing at the street scene all the way to the flag pavilion. After entering the noon garden of the marquis's mansion, the two of them took a bath and lay down on the couch, ready to sleep.

Although Young Marquis Nie did not have much time to talk on the way back, he did not forget the evening etiquette and performed it as soon as he entered the tent.

Ever since the successful marriage consummation, Sang Ling has never refused him whenever he asked for it, and almost gave him whatever he wanted. This kind of thing is actually also enjoyable for the man. It’s no shame to say that she is also curious and wants to go deeper. She is indeed fascinated by this young and beautiful body and the touch.

But today was different, she clasped her hands in front of her.

Nie Cexian was startled, "What's wrong?"

"Let me ask you, why did you take me there today?" She looked serious.

"I said I would take you out to play." Nie Ce replied very seriously, without noticing anything wrong today.

"So what do you think I played?"

This question really hit him. The young man frowned and asked tentatively, "Is the show not good today?"

"It doesn't look good." She bit her lower lip and wanted to kick him.

"Well." Nie Ce took it seriously and said with a sigh of relief, "Then I'll send someone to ask first next time, and then go if there's one you like."

She finally couldn't bear it anymore and kicked him angrily, and then she heard the man on her body hiss, "Why are you kicking me?"

"You knew that Cao Wulang often went there, but you still took me there—" She took a breath and continued speaking in one go, "Don't you know what happened between me and him in the past? People in the capital laughed at me for this, but you still took me there, Nie Ce, do you want to laugh at me too?"

People in Jingzhao said that the eldest daughter of the Sang family was ugly, but in fact, how many people had really seen her? This rumor has been passed down to this day, and most of it originated from the fact that the Sang family had been rejected by the Cao family when they asked for her hand in marriage. Even though she had married into the Nie family, the rumor was still floating around - she had been pretending to be deaf and dumb and avoiding contact with Cao Xin, because this incident was the final fuse that caused Yuan Sang Ling to commit suicide.

Unexpectedly, I was brought there by Nie Ce today.

Even if they haven't reached the point of being in love with each other, they are at least a couple who treat each other with respect.

How could he do this to her?

This question obviously stunned the young general.

He was slightly stunned, and his deep pupils showed a hint of bewilderment in the dark night, "I really didn't expect this."

"It's my fault." After saying that, he knelt down at the end of the bed.

There was no light in the room that night, but the moonlight was so bright that it shone through the window, clearly depicting the expressions and postures of the two people. Sang Ling did not continue to lie down, but stood up and stared over, "Another thing, what do those three girls who are dressed up so gorgeously do?"

Even though she knew that Xiankelai was a tavern, she only knew the positive side of the place. It was unknown whether a tavern could provide places for pleasure, sleep with willows and flowers. If Nie Ce wanted to go, he could go by himself. Why would he take her with him?

He never refused the girl who was massaging his shoulders and sitting next to him. Although this might be normal in this era, or even in her era?

She didn't know whether she should be angry or not.

But the root of everything is that he brought her with him, isn't it?

"Maid." Nie Ce answered this question very frankly.

"Do you go there often?" She couldn't help but shrug.

Nie Ce nodded in remembrance, "Well, if there is nothing important the next day, talk with people there more. We made an appointment early today, and I thought I had made an appointment with you as well. Yang Huan and Chen Feng are not outsiders, so let's go together."

There was no trace of weakness or guilt in his tone.

But then again, what can you expect him to feel guilty about? Do you think he is cheating on his wife? But he didn't tell anyone about his feelings or complain to them, and he didn't sleep with them, not mentally or physically, so how can it be considered cheating? He was just being pinched on the shoulders and legs by another woman in front of his wife.

Otherwise, just leave her aside and use her as a foil.

The saddest thing is that even if she wants to say something about these things, it seems that nothing she says is right. This era is like this. Even though the status of women is not low and there is still some reproductive worship, it is not completely equal after all.

I could only pull the quilt and lie down again, "I won't go there next time, and don't ask me to go out to play again."

The tent suddenly became quiet. A breeze blew in front of the window frame, and the thin gauze curtain was lifted into the air. The young general frowned and paused for a moment, and then he just said, "Okay."

Even though he apologized, it seemed that the Sang family girl was still angry. Even if Nie Ce wanted to say a few words to ease the situation, he didn't know how to start.

I had no choice but to lie down on the outside.

In the autumn night, the faint chirping of insects came from the corner outside the window, and the chirping was quite cheerful. The person inside had his back to it, but he was reluctant to close his eyes.