An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

In July, Ma, the mistress of the Sang family, held a full-month banquet for her child. Two days before the celebration, she sent someone to deliver invitations to Marquis Nie and his wife.

It is natural for a mother to invite her married daughter out for a drink. This banquet seemed like nothing special, so she should go anyway.

When Nie Ce came back at night, he asked about this matter again, and the first thing he asked Sang Ling was, "Do you want to go?"

Of course she didn't want to go. She had just figured out the wedding wine issue and was still thinking about what to do next. Now she had to go back and face that vicious woman Ma. She knew without even thinking that it would be another scene of comparison and ridicule. Although all the women in the inner house might have to go through this, she didn't like it from the bottom of her heart and didn't want to bother dealing with it unless it was necessary.

Before she could even utter her thoughts, Young Marquis Nie had already read them from her expression and continued, "Then I won't go."

"What reason can I have for refusing?" She sighed, feeling upset.

"Just make up any excuse. She's not being polite to you, so why are you being polite to her?"

Nie Ce's words really woke her up. Since the day of her wedding, she had indeed thought about severing ties with her natal family, so she did not disguise herself at all during the two days when she returned to her parents' home. Why did she have to think of a reason for such a full-month banquet? It was just a waste of time - for Ma, it was not worth it.

She finally breathed a sigh of relief, but was still unhappy, so she lowered her eyes and started picking at her fingernails again.

"What's wrong with you?" Such a distracted look could not help but attract Nie Ce's attention.

The two of them have become much closer in recent days. Once they are physically close, they get along even more closely. Although it seems that they have not yet reached the stage of joy and love, it seems that they have directly crossed that step and automatically become one in body and soul. Occasionally, the two of them will care about each other and ask a question or two.

She has even learned how to help him change his clothes.

I turned my eyes back to him, and even I couldn't help but put on an expression that was both aggrieved and helpless, "I'm a little annoyed."

"What's bothering you?"

Now that things have come to this, Nie Ce will naturally continue asking questions.

The young general put down the ear cup in his hand, moved forward, and looked at the girl opposite with his chin in his hand.

They had done all kinds of intimate things before, so Sang Ling didn't hide from him for long and just rested his head on the low table.

The girl's pair of peach blossom eyes flickered, indicating that she was upset. There was infinite brilliance in her watery pupils. The naturally upturned corners of her mouth flattened. Although not as bright as before, it was like a spring drizzle, containing infinite tenderness. The young man's heart was like a beating drum, and the rhythm of his breathing became uneven.

However, the two people's minds were completely in two different places.

Sang Ling's annoyance was again choking him. He didn't know whether to ask Nie Ce directly. Since Madam Zhaoyu had kept it secret so tightly, if she told Nie Ce about this and told him about the three suspects she had guessed out of thin air...

Either he simply won't believe it; or if he does, he can't do anything about it right now, and it's very likely that he will have a rift with his uncles and brothers. Among these three people, Nie Zhongxu is a senior official with an annual salary of 1,000 stones. The uncle and nephew are in the same officialdom, so there must be some mutually beneficial relationship. These details are invisible to her, the new bride in the inner house. She is not sure if she will cause any big accidents after she throws it all away.

Therefore, she did hesitate, and suddenly understood Madam Zhaoyu's difficulties.

But even so, she just didn't give Nie Ce a complete explanation, and she hadn't given up on pursuing the matter herself.

She could only shake her head at the person opposite her, with the only expression on her face still showing depression - even if she was asked to laugh, she couldn't anyway.

"Did Second Aunt ask Shen Huajun to come again?" Nie Ce simply started to guess.

"No."

"Is Aunt San here to embarrass you?"

"No." She retracted her head and knocked it on her arm, then stared at the fire clock opposite. In a short while, the next copper ball would fall, and when the time came, it would be time to take a bath.

Unexpectedly, Nie Ce continued to insist, "What did Fourth Aunt say?"

He has to guess the whole family.

"What did she say that could upset me?" She asked back. Speaking of Zhang, she had another question. Why was Fourth Aunt so scared of her nephew? She said it was because Nie Ce was too serious and she was afraid of offending him. Sang Ling didn't believe that.

Is it possible that there wasn't something going on between the two of them in the past?

Zhang was only three years older than Nie Ce.

"How should I know? Don't you women love to quarrel with each other?" General Nie also sat up straight and leaned back on the table, looking like a casual dandy in Beijing again.

She was about to fight back when Ying Buzhi came outside the door and said something like "Yang Sili wants to see you."

The wind was rustling in the corridor, and Sang Ling could see a few vague figures near the courtyard gate from afar. The shadows of the trees were dense and it was difficult to see clearly.

Nie Ce turned around and responded, then immediately stood up. Before putting on his clothes, he glanced at her again and said with a smile, "Don't bother me. I'll take you out to play later." Before she had the time to ask where they were going, she saw him hurriedly going to the corridor to put on his shoes.

……

Nie Ce came back very late at night, and Sang Ling went to bed without waiting for him.

She didn't know what time it was, but she could vaguely hear him getting on the bed. Later, she fell into sleep again. When she woke up in the morning, she didn't see him around. When Cheng was helping her change her clothes, she said, "The Marquis is practicing boxing in the yard, waiting for you to go and pay your respects."

She didn't delay any longer, and after washing and combing her hair, she went to the courtyard to look for him, "Let's go."

"In fact, I didn't...you went to bed so late yesterday."

This fellow's words are becoming more and more frivolous. It's broad daylight, in the open air, with the servants still in the yard. He talks about these things in front of everyone. Zong Xiang, Wei Chu, Ying Bushi and several servants all lowered their heads and tried to restrain their expressions as much as possible. Only Cheng Auntie smiled silently.

Sang Ling rolled his eyes at him and said, "I was thinking a lot last night. I was exhausted and slept for a long time."

"Then what are you worried about?" After leaving Wuyuan, Lord Nie was still asking this question.

She glanced at him and said, "I will tell you when the time comes."

Then he hummed, and turned his head to look at her as he walked. His eyes stayed on her face until they reached the backyard of Jingsi Residence. He had lived here since he was a child, so he was very familiar with the path. He could walk all the way here safely without looking ahead. She couldn't help herself any more, "Why are you looking at me? Is there something on my face?"

"No." Unexpectedly, he looked very serious, and didn't seem like he was trying to tease me.

She gave him a curious look.

"I think that the day your mother brought you into the palace, your outfit was fresh and new. You can get another one when you have time."

It's quite fresh - what kind of evaluation is this? If you say it's good-looking, then it's good-looking, and if it's not good-looking, then it's not good-looking. Why do you want to make another one, just for him to see? She just raised her head and turned away, rejecting it very simply, "I don't want it."

"why?"

"I don't like it." Without waiting for a reply, they heard footsteps behind them. They turned around at the same time and saw Madam Zhaoyu walking towards them through the corridor.

They stopped walking, greeted their mother and said hello.

Madam Zhaoyu did not stop to talk to the two of them. As she walked, she nodded to Nie Ce and said, "Let's go together." Then she smiled indifferently at Sang Ling.

The woman showed no emotion on her face, as if the conversation between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law yesterday afternoon had never happened.

Sang Ling had no choice but to lower his head and follow behind.