An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

"It's a big basket." Sang Ling replied, "Fourth Aunt sent it over." He turned his head to look at Zhang and said, "Thank you, Fourth Aunt."

Zhang then raised the corner of her mouth and smiled again, "There are still many in the room. If Xuanwen likes it, I will send someone to bring a few more boxes later." After saying that, she quickly continued, "Oh, I've been sitting for so long that I forgot that I still have to go to Madam Cheng's place."

This meant that they were leaving, so Nie Ce and Sang Ling stood up to see them off. It was inevitable that they would exchange a few words. Although Zhang was a little embarrassed, she still bit the bullet and said a few polite words, "You don't have to see me off. We are all family. Why should we be so polite?"

Nie Ce was really rude. He stood up and signaled. When he saw Zhang coming to the door, he sat down again. Sang Ling still insisted on sending her to the courtyard. Later, he arranged for Cheng Nu to send her out of Wuyuan before returning leisurely. "Fourth Aunt is afraid of you. Did you see that?"

The man sitting there sneered and shook his head without saying anything.

It was hard to say if there was some hidden secret behind this. She waited for a while, and seeing that he was not going to say anything, she sat back down with a little doubt.

It was already very hot in the mornings in summer. The wind blowing in from the inner courtyard corridor brought heat with it. The cool and thirst-quenching melons solved this problem very well. The young general had just come back from outside and there was still sweat on his forehead, so he picked up another piece of melon.

After a while, Sang Ling asked him again, "How did you talk to Second Aunt?"

Looking at this time, it doesn't seem like they have been negotiating for too long, and looking at his expression when he came back, it doesn't seem like the matter has fallen through. But judging by the way the Shen family's aunt and nephew usually deal with things, how could it be so easy to reach an agreement?

"Second Aunt is always easy to talk to in front of others." He opened his collar a little, absorbing some of the sweat on his forehead, and explained in detail, "I told mother to go and see Shen Huajun, and she just said 'OK'. Later, Shen Huajun was called over and asked me to eat some dried meat. I thought the matter was going well, so I chatted with her for a while. Later, she asked me to go to the garden to take a look at the newly blooming trumpet creepers. How could I have the time to care about that? So I came back first, and I will have dinner later, and then go to mother's place."

As he said this, he glanced at the corridor and signaled the waiting servant to come up and pour water.

Sang Ling was still thinking about the whole thing. Shen's verbal agreement did not necessarily mean that she really agreed. However, Nie Ce's attitude of getting it done as soon as possible... was probably related to the conversation with her classmate Le. She couldn't help but look sideways, "This matter is bound to be entangled."

"how?"

The servants were clearing away the empty plates on the low table. The water was served by Aunt Cheng. Sang Ling glanced over and saw that she had no intention of coming here, so he turned his head and continued, "Second Aunt had this idea a long time ago, wanting to strengthen the relationship. Now you just mentioned it to her and she agreed immediately. Don't you find it suspicious?"

"So what if she's suspicious?" Nie Ce didn't care much. "Do you think they'll force me into this even if I don't want her? She's old enough now, so I should marry her off quickly to avoid making a fuss about this matter."

A man who is not trapped in the inner courtyard has a different mindset than a woman. He just thought that it would be better to end it sooner rather than later. He did not think that he, the Marquis, had only been back for two days and he was already eyeing the marriage of his aunt's niece and was eager to send her off to marry. Since Shen was able to kill the maid, she would definitely connect the two events and guess what Sang Ling said. She might suffer a loss later.

But if he did, who knows, the people behind him might take the opportunity to target Nie Ce again...

Sang Ling didn't mention the matter any further and wanted to pick up a piece of melon to quench his thirst.

The daughter's arm, as white as a lotus, stretched out, and the unique fragrance from the gauze sleeves inadvertently brushed against the sturdy arm of the person next to her. At the end of the Si hour, the incense on the fire bell burned out, and the small copper ball inside fell, making a loud falling sound. Nie Ce glanced at the jade-like arm, and then raised his eyes again. It was the quiet profile of the Sang family girl. When the breeze blew from the corridor, the smell that penetrated into his nose became even stronger.

This is the scent of hibiscus.

He suddenly felt his whole body stiffen and he subconsciously moved to the side, widening the distance between them.

Although he looked normal and his movements were subtle and quick, since the two of them were sitting together, it would be difficult for the people around him not to notice it. Sang Ling just glanced away and pretended not to know.

After he got the melon and sat back up, he rolled his eyes slightly away - even though she hadn't meant to flirt with him, why was he hiding?

The two of them had lunch together at noon. Nie Ce went to Yunyue Pavilion not long after, while Sang Ling took a leisurely nap in the bedroom.

Aunt Cheng asked someone to bring up two ice bricks to cool down the body, then glanced at her daughter's family in the tent. She waited until the servants in the front hall had left before she followed him in and sat at the end of the couch.

"It seems that the Marquis still can't get used to being close to you."

The interaction between the two people in the morning was witnessed by Old Madam Cheng, who was by their side. As the saying goes, those involved are often confused, but those who are on the sidelines can see things more clearly. There has never been a maidservant in the Wu Garden, and the Marquis was in the northwest before, so he might not have thought about it. But if you say that he is a man who likes men and is not interested in women, his behavior in the morning does not seem to be the case.

There are only two reasons: one, he really has not gotten the point, and two, he still has a grudge about the young master.

Sang Ling also understood what he said, and immediately thought about how he had avoided her in the morning. Now it seemed that the marriage consummation must be completed within half a year. Otherwise, if it was dragged on, by the time he went south to Jiaozhou again, the matter of Ya Nu would be completely unresolved. She thought to herself that since it was something she had to face sooner or later, it would be better to do it sooner rather than later.

But now Nie Ce even refused to get close to her.

"Maybe he doesn't like me?" Sang Ling lay on Cheng's legs and spoke calmly.

She did not think that she could seduce people just because of her slightly better appearance. She did not have a good appearance naturally, and when she first came here, she was repeatedly laughed at for her appearance. Therefore, in her current state of mind, the good or bad appearance was not the key.

Moreover, Nie Ce was different from others from the beginning. When he first met Sang Ling, he was not surprised at all, and his eyes did not linger for a moment. Later, she lost weight and her skin became better, and he did not treat her much differently.

It is obvious that this person does not judge people by their appearance.

"Otherwise." Aunt Cheng took a comb from the drawer beside her and gave it to her to clean her head. She analyzed it carefully and said, "It's still about the young master."

"I've talked it over with him." She raised one eyebrow and said as a matter of course, "He's not a petty person either."

The conversation about divorce was brought up that night, and Nie Ce looked fine, as if he hadn't gotten over it yet.

"Then you..." Cheng Lao thought, "you should get closer to him?"

These words immediately made Sang Ling shudder. He hurriedly shook his head, "No, no." He crossed his arms and closed his eyes, "Forget it, let him go. Just don't mention divorce anymore."

"What do you mean by divorce?" Old Mother Cheng didn't know about this yet. When she heard these two words out of the blue, the meaning of the words seemed to be what the Marquis had mentioned. She paused and almost jumped up. "What do you mean by divorce?" she asked again.

Sang Ling then opened his eyes and was also shocked by the noise, but he could only sigh softly and recalled the conversation with Ban Le in Qingshan Temple.