Chapter 69: 069. A thief broke into the house? (Second update)
Translator: 549690339
Perhaps due to exhaustion, Su Liang fell asleep on Ning Jing’s back.
When she was woken up, she landed drowsily and looked around, they were already back in the city, just two alleys away from home.
Mai Fei must have assigned someone to watch them, and Ning Jing did not remove his mask. The two of them quickly walked through the deserted alley in the morning mist, arrived at the back door of the house, Su Liang took out the key to open the door, and they went in together.
Mai Fei’s men had watched all night but did not see Ning Jing leave.
When they heard the noise and saw Su Liang returning home with Nian Jincheng behind her, someone immediately went back to report.
Nian Jincheng had initially planned to spend the night resting his head on the table, but because of his left arm injury, it was difficult for him to find a comfortable position. After washing up, he slept on the bed in Ning Jing’s room.
He had traveled day and night to reach Bei’an County, where he was injured on the first day. Since then, Mai Fei had arranged some tasks he did not want to perform, and he had not relaxed and rested since.
Having witnessed Su Liang’s strength yesterday, and knowing that Ning Jing accompanied her last night, Nian Jincheng was not worried about Su Liang’s safety.
In this completely unfamiliar place, he slept heavily and did not wake up until the sky was almost bright. This broke his biological clock of many years; he did not even hear the sounds of Su Liang and Ning Jing returning from the backyard.
Ning Jing stood beside the bed holding a small wooden hairpin, his expression indifferent. “You should go now.” As he finished speaking, he threw the hairpin onto Nian Jincheng and turned to leave.
Nian Jincheng had a lot to say, but he didn’t know where to start, watching Ning Jing’s figure disappear at the door.
Ning Jing had changed clothes, and Nian Jincheng’s outerwear with some grass debris on it was placed next to the bed, along with his waist sword.
Nian Jincheng quickly got out of bed, put on his own clothes, put on the sword, stuffed the wooden hairpin into his chest, and went out of the room.
Su Liang’s room door was closed, and Ning Jing was boiling water in the kitchen.
The quiet and elegant courtyard in the early morning was filled with damp, cold mist. Nian Jincheng took a deep breath, finally feeling awake.
He walked to the kitchen door, watching Ning Jing add firewood to the stove and asked, “Miss Su isn’t injured, is she?”
“A minor injury on her left arm,” Ning Jing replied. “She has wounded four people and already treated their injuries. The two men arranged by the Fourth Prince took Gai Yun and Gai Huai’an away.”
Nian Jincheng knew that Mai Fei would probably ask, so this was information he needed to know.
Taking note, Nian Jincheng sighed softly, “I should go.”
Ning Jing did not respond, and as Nian Jincheng turned around, he saw Su Liang coming out of her room.
Having changed into clean clothes and looking decent, she said when she saw him, “You can go, and come back for lunch.”
Nian Jincheng was stunned, “Didn’t you say…?” To stay away from them…
“That’s a different matter. If Mai Fei asks, you can say that you lost your jade pendant here,” Su Liang said.
“Alright.” Nian Jincheng immediately took off his jade pendant and casually threw it into the corner of the passage between the backyard and the front yard, perfectly demonstrating the idea of “accidentally dropping it”…
Just as Nian Jincheng was about to leave through the backyard, he heard Su Liang’s voice, “He doesn’t even know how to wash a dish?”
Nian Jincheng: …As expected, I knew it would be like this.
As a result, Su Liang hadn’t finished speaking when she added, “Just like you.”
Nian Jincheng paused for a moment. Like Ning Jing? Did Ning Jing also break a lot of dishes when he first started washing them? He suddenly felt less embarrassed.
Bathed in the morning light, Nian Jincheng returned to Mai Fei’s residence behind the County government office and went directly to see him.
Mai Fei was having breakfast, and he asked Chang’an to add a pair of chopsticks and a bowl, and invited Nian Jincheng to sit down and eat together.
His mood was obviously good.
“Was Su Liang injured?” Mai Fei asked as soon as he began the conversation.
Nian Jincheng replied, “She only suffered a minor injury to her left arm, and it’s not a big problem.”
“Indeed, she is outstanding, as I thought. She will not disappoint me.” Mai Fei chuckled, “The four heavily injured by her will need more time to recover, but they won’t die.”
“That’s great,” Nian Jincheng said earnestly. “I wonder how things are with Gai
Yun?”
However, Mai Fei was vague, “There is no progress for the time being.”
Nian Jincheng sensed that there was progress, but since Mai Fei did not mention it, he did not ask further.
Nian Jincheng knew that Mai Fei pulled him into this matter to let him contribute and solve the trouble, not to cooperate and share the credit.
So far. Nian Tincheng felt that he had not made any significant contribution: it
was Su Liang who truly helped Mai Fei break the deadlock.
“How is your injury?” Mai Fei asked.
“It’s fine, thank you for your concern, Fourth Prince.” Nian Jincheng replied.
Mai Fei smiled, “I won’t forget the arrow you took for me. You should recuperate properly and not be careless. In a few days, you will go to the mine to take charge of the soldiers there. At that time, I will also go to the mine to take a look. By then, we can call Su Liang, and there should be no more assassins.”
“Yes,” Nian Jincheng nodded.
If it weren’t for Su Liang saying that he could come for lunch, he would have asked Mai Fei for permission to leave the county town for the mine immediately.
“You can rest after your meal. As for the contract with Su Liang, I will fulfill it,” Mai Fei said.
This made Nian Jincheng believe even more that Gai Yun must have made significant progress; otherwise, Mai Fei would not have mentioned fulfilling the contract at this time, which suggested a sense of having the winning ticket in hand.
It was good news. Nian Jincheng also hoped that the iron mine smuggling case could be resolved as soon as possible.
After a while, Ning Jing left the house and bought some fresh ingredients.
Now, he was not only making fire, but also preparing ingredients. By cleaning and cutting the meat and vegetables needed for the dishes, he could greatly save time for Su Liang when she cooked.
He made bone broth, cooked the dishes, and when Su Liang heard the knock on the door, she put the prepared noodles into the pot with the bone broth.
Ning Jing opened the door, and Nian Jincheng stood outside, holding two boxes of Mingxiang Building’s desserts, “Mr. Ning, I apologize for the intrusion. I lost my jade pendant, perhaps when I sent Miss Su home this morning, it fell here, may I come in and look for it?”
Without a word, Ning Jing turned around.
Nian Jincheng followed him in and closed the door behind him, immediately smelling the aroma from the kitchen.
“Serve the dishes!” Su Liang called out.
Nian Jincheng put down the desserts and joined Ning Jing in carrying the cooked dishes to the living room and setting them on the table.
The dishes were hot, and the noodles were almost ready.
Su Liang fried four fried eggs, served three bowls of noodles, poured the fragrant bone broth on top, and added thin slices of meat and crisp, tender greens.
Nian Jincheng and Ning Jing went to serve, and Su Liang reminded them, “Be careful, it’s hot. If you drop it, there will be nothing to eat.”
Nian Jincheng immediately slowed down, carefully carrying the bowl of noodles to the living room.
Su Liang removed her apron, washed her hands, and sat down, only to hear Nian Jincheng ask, “Miss Su’s injury is not serious, is it?”
“Ask again later, and it will be healed, ” Su Liang replied.
There was a pot and two cups on the table, Su Liang said she didn’t drink and let Ning Jing and Nian Jincheng enjoy themselves. The wine was good, given by Mai Fei yesterday through Chang’an.
Coincidentally, all three of them wore wooden hairpins on their heads, all made by the same person, though Su Liang did not notice.
Nian Jincheng poured two cups of wine, placing one in front of Ning Jing, intending to clink glasses and drink together, but Ning Jing started picking up dishes instead.
Nian Jincheng took a drink by himself, “Thank you, Miss Su, for your hospitality.”
“Someone told me that today is your 20th birthday, so I wish you success in everything and happiness and peace,” Su Liang said solemnly.
Nian Jincheng was still wondering why Su Liang, who couldn’t possibly know about his birthday, had suddenly invited him over for a meal. So, it turned out to be Ning Jing’s idea.
“Thank you, Miss Su.” Nian Jincheng raised his glass, drained it in one gulp, “I had a misunderstanding about you before, I hope you won’t take it to heart.” Su Liang shook her head, “Longevity noodles, eat them while they’re hot.”
This wasn’t the first time Nian Jincheng was celebrating his birthday, but it was the first time someone had made longevity noodles especially for him. He took a bite and felt that this was the most delicious and warmest thing he had ever tasted.
Discovering that there were two fried eggs underneath was an even bigger surprise.
Seeing this, Ning Jing asked, “Why do I only have one?”
Su Liang was speechless, “The birthday boy gets more. When it’s your birthday, I’ll make ten for you!”
However, Ning Jing directly took one of the fried eggs from Su Liang’s bowl…
It wasn’t worth making a fuss over a fried egg. Ning Jing had once even fought with Yang Yu over a brown sugar stewed egg. In any case, he never let his guests have better food than him…
Nian Jincheng thought Su Liang would be annoyed, but he saw her continue to eat without even furrowing her brows, as if she was already used to it.
This made Nian Jincheng feel a bit surprised.
Ning Jing shouldn’t have been so childish. He had once said something like, “Eating is just for not starving to death.” And Su Liang was not the kind of person who would put up with anything.
Yet the way the two interacted with each other showed a side of them that they didn’t show in front of others, and it seemed very natural.
“We’ll go back to the village this afternoon,” Su Liang said. “We’ll set off for the provincial city on the eighth day. He has to take an exam.” Nian Jincheng nodded, “Thank you, Miss Su, for taking care of him.”
Su Liang raised an eyebrow, ‘You make it sound like he’s your son.” Nian Jincheng: .
Ning Jing frowned and took the dish Su Liang liked to eat in front of him, showing his displeasure.
Su Liang put down her chopsticks, “I’m done eating.” She then went back to her room.
She thought they might want to catch up, and it wouldn’t be convenient for her to be there.
Nian Jincheng asked, “Why don’t you two make it real and become husband and wife?”
Ning Jing replied, “I don’t want to.”
Nian Jincheng said seriously, “But I think you two are very suitable.”
Ning Jing shook his head, “Suitable as friends.”
“I thought you liked her, and I heard she likes you too.” That’s why Nian Jincheng said those words to Ning Jing last night. He thought they looked like a pair and assumed that they were now siblings, planning to find another opportunity to get married formally since their previous wedding was too hasty.
“That’s not the case,” Ning Jing denied again.
Nian Jincheng sighed, “I once thought no woman could catch your eye and live with you. When I met Su Liang, I felt she was the most suitable person for you. You’re both alone in the world, so there’s no need to worry about anything.”
“I never thought that one has to get married and have children in life. Having one or two confidants is enough,” Ning Jing said indifferently.
Nian Jincneng snorted, “Contldantsg ‘That’s only because you haven’t married her yet. You can control yourself not to marry, but can you control her not to marry someone else? Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed that the Fourth Prince has feelings for her. Once she marries someone else, she won’t have time to care about you, let alone cook for you. What confidants will you have then?” “You’re not dead, ” Ning Jing said.
Nian Jincheng was speechless, “I’m also going to get married! Once I’m married, I won’t have time for you either!”
Ning Jing gave a slight nod, “Alright, I wish you success in fulfilling your wishes soon.”
It was as if Nian Jincheng had punched a cotton cushion. He earnestly told Ning Jing, “Don’t close yourself off because of those things. Life is short, and now that you’re free from the constraints of your identity, live as you please.” “You take care of yourself,” Ning Jing said.
Nian Jincheng frowned at Ning Jing, “If you really don’t like Miss Su, I’ll pursue her, and you won’t mind?”
Ning Jing shook his head, “She’s my sworn sister and my disciple. I’ll have a say in her marriage. I won’t let her marry into the Nian Family, with your crazy grandmother, crazy father, crazy stepmother, and crazy siblings. You don’t deserve her, so give up early.”
Nian Jincheng’s face turned a bit dark, “What about Xing Yusheng?”
“He’s too weak,” Ning Jing evaluated, and added, “So are you.”
Nian Jincheng felt a stab in his heart, “Yes, she is your disciple, who could be worthy of her in your eyes?”
“Do you have someone you like?” Ning Jing asked in return.
Nian Jincheng shook his head, “No.”
He had no intention of pursuing Su Liang because he thought she should marry Ning Jing. Just now, he had said that just to provoke Ning Jing, but it didn’t work.
“You can have one,” Ning Jing said indifferently, “If you don’t choose for yourself, you’ll be arranged by someone else.”
Nian Jincheng’s face darkened slightly, and he brought up another matter, “My sister is obsessed with you. In order to find you, she hired an assassin from
Yanyun Building. Have you encountered any trouble here?”
Ning Jing nodded, “It was hired by Ning Yao.”
“Get rid of the Ning family as soon as possible,” Nian Jincheng said, “My sister has already canceled her contract with the assassin, and I’ve scolded her. You two won’t have any relationship in the future.” Ning Jing’s expression was calm, “There never was.”
Nian Jincheng let out a long sigh.
The door was knocked, and he immediately stood up, picked up the jade pendant on the table, and said, “I’m leaving.”
The door opened, and Gai Huai’an saw Nian Jincheng standing inside, looking very surprised, “Why is General Nian here?”
Nian Jincheng raised the jade pendant in his hand, “I escorted Miss Su home this morning, and my jade pendant fell here. I came back to look for it. Miss Su invited me for a meal.”
“Did she charge you money?” Gai Huai’an asked with a smile.
Nian Jincheng shook his head, “No. She said that thanks to the generosity of the Fourth Prince, they are not short of money now.”
Gai Huai’an felt the blow for his master…
Gai Huai’an had come to invite Su Liang and Ning Jing to attend a banquet tonight, as Mai Fei wanted to treat them.
Su Liang declined, saying they would be going back to the village soon. She had two patients scheduled for follow-up visits tomorrow morning.
Gai Huai’an went back and told Mai Fei, who didn’t say anything more.
At dusk, the carriage entered the Su family village.
It stopped at the entrance, and Su Liang lifted the carriage curtain. Seeing the door ajar, she frowned, “Has a thief entered our house?”
The next moment, a familiar voice came from the courtyard, “Liang Meimei, you’re finally back! I’ve missed you so much!”
