Eldest Master Ning had a look of sorrow and anger.
He watched the crowd outside waiting to enjoy the spectacle.
He and his son were actually accustomed to being watched and the noise, but the sight that greeted them was coupled with a feeling of sorrow and anger for the first time.
Eldest Master Ning felt this was very unfair.
His son liked a girl, which should have been an extremely honorable thing for the girl, and it was normal for the public to feel envy, jealousy, and hatred.
But these emotions should not be directed at his son, but at the girl his son fancied.
Why was everyone mocking his son now, even saying he wasn't worthy of the girl?
Just because this girl is Miss Jun?
Just because Miss Jun initially chased after Noble Son Ning and was despised, now that Noble Son Ning is chasing after her, he should also be despised?
That seemed rather bullying.
Eldest Master Ning looked at Shunde Building, and then saw an old lady dressed in fancy clothes come out and stand in the doorway, her face wearing a smug smile.
He knew it was this old hag playing tricks.
Eldest Master Ning could not suppress his anger anymore; he knew he should have come today. His son, this humble gentleman, was no match for this ruthless old hag.
She simply wanted to take the opportunity to humiliate his son, then coax Miss Jun to call off the marriage engagement, turning the Ning Family into a complete joke.
Humph, dream on.
"Now that Old Lady Fang has arrived, as the elder, I naturally should meet her too," he said, pressing Ning Yunzhao into the car, "You wait here."
With that said, he lifted the curtain and stepped off the carriage.
Ning Yunzhao tried to hold him back without success, and had to let him go ahead.
"Eldest Master Ning has arrived!"
The appearance of Eldest Master Ning immediately caught everyone's attention, accompanied by this shout, everyone turned their heads.
"It really is Eldest Master Ning!"
The scene was lively, with all eyes focused on Eldest Master Ning, and then they turned to look behind him.
But there was only a thin and small servant boy behind him.
"Where is Noble Son Ning?"
Chaotic inquiries arose from the crowd.
Eldest Master Ning had already walked through the crowd without changing his expression, and stood in front of Shunde Building, beaming a smile towards Old Lady Fang.
"My dear in-law," he greeted warmly, clasping his hands high in a bow, "I'm truly overjoyed that you could come as agreed."
Old Lady Fang's expression froze, and the surrounding spectators were also stunned.
As agreed?
Was it Eldest Master Ning who had invited Old Lady Fang?
It wasn't Tenth Noble Son Ning who made the appointment with Miss Jun?
Watching the two elders in front of the restaurant, the crowd felt a bit disappointed.
Of course, this wasn't a problem, in matters of children's marriage, a matchmaker's words and the commands of parents, it was normal and reasonable for the heads of Ning Family and Fang Family to meet, only lacking some charm compared to the deep love of young people.
Old Lady Fang coldly smirked.
She had said that the Ning Family was cunning and shameless, wanting both benefits and face; it was good that she had insisted on accompanying her, otherwise Jun Zhenzhen would have been deceived by the Ning father and son.
"No matter what, since Tenth Noble Son Ning personally made the appointment, we had to come to meet," she emphasized.
Tenth Noble Son Ning personally made the appointment?
The crowd, hearing this, became a bit confused; who made the appointment in the end? Who was supposed to meet whom?
Eldest Master Ning laughed heartily.
"A family doesn't speak of two houses," he said, stepping towards Shunde Building, "My dear in-law, let's go inside and sit to talk."
Scholars truly are shameless, Old Lady Fang thought as she looked at the quiet carriage stopped outside the crowd.
Just to meet Miss Jun alone, he even let his father come to restrain her.
Old Lady Fang coldly sneered.
"Yes, I didn't expect Eldest Master Ning to come personally, seeing you is indeed not easy," she said.
When Jun Zhenzhen first came to Yangcheng to discuss the marriage, it was not only hard to see Eldest Master Ning, but even seeing Eldest Madam Ning was difficult.
Talking about old matters, eh? Eldest Master Ning laughed.
"Mutual feelings, I've never met Old Lady Fang before either," he said.
We were indeed wrong for initially refusing the marriage arrangement, but your Fang Family neglected Miss Jun's marriage as well, mocking us for being arrogant at first then deferential later, you were no different.
Let's not have the eldest brother criticize the second brother; no one should look down on anyone, everyone knows what each other is plotting.
This atmosphere isn't right, the onlooking crowd stared wide-eyed and on their toes, why does it seem like both are fuming?
In this bizarre atmosphere, the crowd suddenly split open like a knife had cut through, making way.
A man staggered through the crowd, followed by four men.
As they moved, the noisy crowd quieted down as if doused with cold water.
"So many people?" Eighteenth Jin feigned surprise, "Is business at Deshun Building this good today?"
The Imperial Guard has shown up again.
They appeared last time at Luomei Pavilion, and now here again, this couldn't just be a coincidence, right?
Silence fell in front of Deshun Building.
"Lord Jin," Eldest Master Ning smiled and greeted with a bow, "How unfortunate, we've booked this place for affairs today."
He glanced at Old Lady Fang after speaking.
If it had been in the past, he absolutely wouldn't have dared to be so discourteous to the Imperial Guards, but there was no choice now, since they were enemies of Miss Jun, and any enemy of hers was an enemy of the Ning Family.
That's how he protects his own people.
Old Lady Fang didn't even look at him.
"There's an event here today, you all should go elsewhere," she said.
The literati are all pleasantries.
What's the need for pleasantries? After being bullied by the Imperial Guards in the capital, do we still need to be polite? If they dare come forward, I dare to slap them with the imperial decree.
Eighteenth Jin raised an eyebrow, truly as the saying goes, view with a new eye after three days apart, both families who seek harmony and profit were suddenly this discourteous to him.
This must be because of Miss Jun.
Miss Jun is Lord Lu's person, these two families acting cozy and talking about marrying this close would be dreaming.
Eighteenth Jin looked inward.
"Could Miss Jun be here?" he said with a chuckle, not minding their discourtesy, "What a coincidence, I just happen to be feeling unwell, maybe Miss Jun could take a look."
With that, he stepped inside.
"You..." both Old Lady Fang and Eldest Master Ning moved to obstruct him.
But the four men had already moved forward, easily pushing them aside and heading straight for a room in Shunde Building, clearly knowing where Miss Jun was.
Old Lady Fang stomped her feet and followed, only to see the men exiting the room.
"Where is Miss Jun?" Eighteenth Jin asked, frowning.
Old Lady Fang also paused, seeing through the open door that the room was empty.
Where was Miss Jun? She was just inside drinking tea, wasn't she?
Meanwhile, the carriage outside that belonged to Eldest Master Ning was also searched by the Imperial Guards.
"Noble Son Ning is not here either," they said.
Witnessing the empty carriage, the expression on Eldest Master Ning's face also faltered.
What is going on?
Could it be...
"Young people nowadays," Eighteenth Jin pinched his hand, shaking his head with a bit of lament, "Really declaiming the decline of societal norms, becoming more and more improper."
....................
"It wasn't my intention for grandmother to follow," Miss Jun said to Ning Yunzhao.
They were in a small teahouse at the entrance of a narrow alley, where several bamboo mats hung down to block the sunlight, also effectively concealing the faces of the patrons inside.
As the wind blew the bamboo mats, it intermittently revealed half of Ning Yunzhao's face.
"It was just too gracious to decline," he said with a slight smile, passing a cup of tea with a sleeve flick, "Me too."