Author: Su Zhiyi

Duke Ning's mansion occupies a very large area. Feng Ling followed the mother-in-law in from the west gate. Along the way, she saw many pavilions, pavilions, lakes and water, and countless long corridors connecting the courtyards. It looked very grand. She was silent at first.

I kept track of the route in my mind, but after going around a few long corridors, I no longer knew where I was.

It was also the first time for Xu's mother and Guan Gui to walk in such a large courtyard. They were both as silent as a cicada and did not dare to speak, for fear of showing their timidity and making people laugh.

After the group walked a few more steps, they heard bursts of footsteps not far away. The woman who was leading the way had a happy face and said, "It must be Madam here."

Before they finished speaking, they saw a Cihe woman wearing a dark green coat and a blue and white skirt striding towards them, smiling and saying: "But the banquet bell is coming?"

The banquet bell hurriedly stopped and curtsied to her. Mrs. Li, Ning Guogong's wife, supported her, took her hand and looked at her carefully, and then breathed a sigh of relief, "It was a tiring journey all the way, I was afraid

You were tired and sick, but now that I see you are in good health, I feel relieved."

He added: "Your mother and I are biological sisters. We often slept in the same room before leaving the court, and we have a good relationship. Now that you have come to my place, you don't want to be separated from each other and just treat her as your own home."

She was warm and kind, and showed her kindness in her words. Her words calmed Ling's heart, which was a little unfamiliar and nervous at the feast. She nodded with a smile, "Thank you, aunt."

Mrs. Li smiled and took her hand and walked forward, while Mrs. Xu and other servants followed behind.

The two of them were reminiscing about old times along the way, and Mrs. Li asked, "How are your father and mother?"

Feast Bell: "Okay, they are all healthy.", and then replied along the lines of the words, "I heard that my third cousin is sick, how are you now?"

Mrs. Li sighed after hearing this, "The fever has gone away, but my body is weak. The doctor said I should rest."

She patted Feast Bell's hand and said, "I was going to take you to see him today, but he is sick now, and I'm afraid he'll pass on his illness to you, so I'll wait until he recovers and see you again. But you won't be able to see him later."

You want to follow me to Shoukang Hall where the old lady lives to meet the other brothers and sisters."

Feast Bell nodded lightly. Before coming to Kyoto, Aniang told her about the situation in the house.

The number of people in Duke Ning Guo's mansion was very thin. Old Duke Ning Guo was a single descendant of three generations, and his wife only gave birth to the current Duke Ning. It wasn't until her aunt got married and gave birth to the eldest daughter, the second young master, and the third young master that the situation was broken.

There are signs of a single transmission from Duke Ningguo.

Two years later, two more aunts gave birth to the fourth young master and the fifth girl respectively, and then the Ningguo Duke's palace had no more children.

Therefore, after all calculations, there are only two girls and three young masters of the same generation as her. Among them, the eldest girl is married to the fourth prince, the second young master is already married, and the remaining third young master, fourth young master, and fifth young lady are all of the same age as her.

Not married yet.

When she was approaching Kyoto yesterday, she sorted out all these people and was not afraid that she would not be able to remember them later.

After bypassing an arch bridge and three hand-cooked verandahs, we arrived at Shoukang Hall. Seeing them coming, the old woman raised the curtain to greet them with a smile, "The old lady is waiting."

The banquet bell followed her aunt as she walked in and found that there were only a few people sitting in the bright hall inside. It was really sparse. Sitting at the top was Mrs. Ning Guogong. She was wearing a sapphire blue woven gold top and a gold hairpin.

, reflecting the fair face, looking very young.

She smiled and said: "I have been looking forward to it for three months, but it is finally here."

Feast Bell hurriedly came forward to salute and got an jadeite bracelet from her.

Mrs. Li then pointed to a young couple and said, "Your eldest sister is already married. Your second brother and second sister-in-law are the oldest in your generation."

The banquet bell then went up to receive the gift again. The second young master was cold and handsome, so he just nodded towards her and gave her a piece of good ink. The second young lady was very gentle and smiled and gave her a gold hairpin.

The third young master is still ill, and the fourth young master and the fifth girl are the same age as her. According to Kyoto's rules, there is no need for the three of them to give gifts. In terms of age, they are all older than her.

It took a quarter of an hour to complete the ceremony like this. The old lady said with a smile: "Let's take the banquet bell back to rest first, and we can ask the sisters to play together tomorrow."

Mrs. Li stood up and left respectfully with the feast bell.

Then after walking for a while, he whispered to her: "Has your mother-in-law ever told me about my relationship with the old lady?"

Feast Bell nodded sheepishly, "I told you."

Auntie said that the old lady was a smiling Buddha. Her aunt and her were not on good terms in private, but they were only in harmony on the surface.

This started with the third-generation single legend of Ningguo Gong’s family. Because the single inheritance had been passed down for a long time, Ningguo Gong’s family regarded the first child as extremely important, but the aunt only gave birth to a daughter in her first child.

The old lady was furious and scolded her aunt for cutting off the incense in Ning Guo Gong's mansion. Her aunt had not yet given birth, so the old lady asked her to kneel in front of the Buddhist hall and pray to the gods and Buddhas every day so that Ning Guo Gong's mansion would have a son to carry on the family line.

But I prayed to God and worshiped Buddha every day, and when my aunt became pregnant again the next year, I started to be suspicious again - the previous three or four generations were passed by a singleton, so why are you pregnant with the second child?

She suspected that the child in her aunt's belly was not her biological grandson.

If Ning Guogong hadn't been able to take care of his aunt and tried his best to protect his aunt, he might not have protected the child. The relationship between the two was thus forged, and they have never reconciled after so many years. They only appeared to be friendly and friendly.

Ms. Li shook her head when she remembered what she had done before, "She is always a good person on the surface, but she is selfish in her heart. You are my niece, she will definitely not like you, and you don't have to go out of your way to please her."

"I'll tell you these words first, lest you don't know and if you get close to her later, you will be wronged by her. I don't want you to be wronged by her."

Feast Bell nodded, "I understand, I will listen to my aunt."

Mr. Li: "I can't say enough about what I have done in this day. I will tell you about the people and things in this house later."

Then he said: "I have prepared a small courtyard for you. You will live there from now on. Everything is already prepared. You go and stay today. Don't rush to pack up the boxes and cages you brought. We will wait until you have rested tomorrow."

.”

The banquet bell nodded again and again.

Mrs. Li liked her cuteness very much. After arranging for her to stay, she went to see her third son non-stop.

The third young master, Ning Shuo, was drinking medicine. He looked about seventeen or eighteen years old, tall and good-looking. When he saw Mrs. Li, he called her "Aniang".

Mrs. Li went over to sit on the edge of the bed and reached out to touch his forehead, but she saw that his body stiffened, his head tilted, and he naturally avoided her hand. She asked in surprise: "What?"

Ning Shuo lowered his eyes: "My son is older."

Mr. Li laughed loudly.

"No matter how old you are, you are still my mother's son. What's the point of checking your forehead? I just want to know if your fever has gone away."

Ning Shuo's voice was low, "The fever has subsided. I'm fine. Mom, don't worry."

Mrs. Li is very sad. Her son has been ill since three months ago and seems to be not so close to her. But this is what happened when the children got older. The second child has been cold and cold since he was a child and doesn't like to be close to her. Now the third child

In this way, she can still accept it.

She sighed and changed the topic, "You have a fever today and I didn't know your cousin was here. When you get better, I will take you to see her."

Ning Shuo nodded lightly. Seeing that he looked a little tired, Mrs. Li stood up and said, "You can go to sleep, I have to go to the account."

Ning Shuo: "Yes."

When she left, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He has a secret.

He is not the son of this family, he is just a lonely soul.

Three months ago, he was supposed to die in Lingnan, but when he woke up, he found that he was possessed by this body and became the third young master of Duke Ning's mansion.

For the next three months, he felt groggy. Sometimes he woke up with the memory of Master Ning San in his mind. Sometimes he woke up with his own memory. He was confused and didn't know where he was. Was this a dream in his previous life or a dream in this life?

It wasn't until I suddenly got sick again today that my soul was truly awake and my seven souls and six orifices were stabilized. Only then did I realize that I was living in someone else's body again.

Lived again... He raised his eyes and looked out the window. The sun was scorching outside, the bamboo shadows were swaying on the red wall, the wind was blowing, and there was peace.

——I just wonder, can the old people in Kyoto still be as peaceful as this bamboo shadow on the red wall?
Chapter completed!