Madam Ning chatted with Ning Wanwan until the sky turned dark before she left. Ning Wanwan had been scared to death, thinking she was here to persuade her to vie for favor, but unexpectedly, she had just come to keep her company and chat.
Speaking of which, she never realized her relationship with Ning Luoshi was this good. Seeing Ning Luoshi turn her nose up at her during the last banquet, she had thought the girl looked down on her.
And then there was someone named Xiao Shixue. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them the three best friends of ancient times. Crucially, from what Madam Ning said, Xiao Shixue also seemed to be a devastatingly beautiful existence who apparently had a crush on her brother, Ning Yuanzhou. Wasn’t this just too perfect a ship?
She hadn’t seen her at the last banquet. Ning Wanwan suddenly felt a wave of sorrow. Why was it that when other people transmigrated, they either got memories or a script, but she got nothing at all?
Moreover, she always had a strange feeling in her heart. All of this was too good to be normal. Could it be that she hadn’t actually transmigrated and this was just a fantasy after death?
The mere thought sent a chill down her spine. She always felt that Pei Jinxu’s affection for her was all an act, yet the moment he appeared, she couldn’t help but draw near. When he wasn’t around, she would return to normal. I’m telling you, original owner, don’t be so hopelessly in love.
That night, Ning Wanwan had a dream. In the dream, her elder brother was to follow Pei Jinxu, who was a prince, to the border to quell a rebellion. She wanted to go too, so she dressed in men’s clothes, disguised herself as a boy, and slipped out of the Prime Minister’s Manor.
After galloping on horseback for two days and two nights, she was nearing the northwest border when she encountered several mountain bandits.
The leader was tall and burly, and on his shoulder, he carried a petite young maiden. From her expensive goose-yellow gold-threaded skirt, it was not difficult to tell that she was the child of a wealthy family.
They were likely bandits after money. In the dream, Ning Wanwan, with courage from who knows where, charged forward with a long spear.
Having such a cool dream was thrilling for Ning Wanwan. The key was that in the dream, she won the fight and saved the girl.
The girl had bright eyes and pearly teeth, her skin fair and her form graceful. She was so frightened her eyes were red-rimmed, like a delicate flower or shattered jade.
Ning Wanwan pulled her onto the horse and asked who she was and where her home was.
“Xiao Shixue, from the Xiao Family of Huaiyang City.”
“That’s on the way. Call me good big brother, and I’ll take you home?” Ning Wanwan teased with a smile. Fortunately, she was good-looking, with red lips and white teeth, and her smile was like a spring breeze.
The girl’s cheeks flushed slightly, but she bit her lip, refusing to speak.
“It’s fine if you don’t. How will you repay this life-saving grace?” Ning Wanwan gripped the reins, the petite girl encircled in her arms as the horse carried them slowly away.
“How about you repay me with your body?” Ning Wanwan roared with laughter.
The girl looked at her indignantly. Her delicate appearance was truly endearing. She asked, “Which family’s young master are you, to dare be so insolent? You’re simply a rogue.”
“My surname is Ning, my name is Yuanzhou, from the Ning Family of Jing City. You’d better remember it well.”
Dreaming up to this point, Ning Wanwan abruptly woke up.
She finally understood what had happened. It turned out that many years ago, Ning Wanwan had foolishly disguised herself as a man and teased the girl, all under her own brother’s name. She heard that the Xiao Family later sent people to sound out the Ning Family’s intentions. Although her brother denied the incident, the adults just assumed he was being shy and secretly considered it an engagement.
The Xiao Family of Huaiyang City had a long line of loyal and heroic members. Xiao Shicheng was the Grand General overseeing all military and political affairs in the northwest region. His daughter, Xiao Shixue, was more than a worthy match for the eldest legitimate son of the Prime Minister’s Manor, the young general of the northwest, Ning Yuanzhou. What’s more, Xiao Shicheng had only this one cherished daughter.
Thus, Xiao Shixue came to live in Jing City alone. She first became acquainted with Ning Luoshi, and only later did she meet Ning Wanwan, who had been caught and forced back into women’s clothing.
The three of them became close friends and visited each other often.
The trio was also very famous in Jing City, due to their noble status and, even more so, their outstanding looks.
Being the same age, they could talk about anything and everything—except for that one incident, which Ning Wanwan dared not bring up.
Xiao Shixue was delicate and frail. Despite being the same age, she was thinner than them, a sickly beauty. It wouldn’t matter if their friendship ended, but she couldn’t risk angering the girl to death.