Chapter 222: Unexpected Guests! (Part 2)
It was the first time for the old lady to see such a rare treasure. She played with it in her palm and smiled. "My child, you are so thoughtful! I like your gift very much! However, I am over 70 years old, so I will give this diamond to Shuang'er! Shuang'er, you must keep it well and don't let Brother Jiang down!"
Jiang Chengfeng was covered in cold sweat and secretly glanced at Miss Shen. Sure enough, he saw that the latter was staring at him viciously. He cried out in his heart, "Old lady, aren't you trying to trick me?"
Ye Lingshuang also understood the deep meaning of her grandmother's words, half shy and half angry, but she also liked diamonds. So, she took it from her grandmother's hand very obediently and couldn't let it go.
At this moment, the master of ceremonies outside the door sang loudly: "The Prince of Liang has arrived——"
The hall was in an uproar, with officials talking among themselves, while Long Fengyang and his son, who had always had gloomy faces, now showed joy on their faces.
Jiang Chengfeng looked at him with disdain. This so-called Prince of Liang was, to put it bluntly, just a prodigal son who relied on the influence of his family to act cool everywhere. What was there to be proud of?
Ye Duo did not dare to neglect and had already led his men to the outside of the hall. He saw a young man in his twenties, wearing a purple gold crown and a bright yellow suit with dragon patterns embroidered on it, walking towards him with a smile.
This young man has sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, a handsome face and noble temperament. He indeed has some of the arrogance and elegance of Huang Zilong's grandson.
Jiang Chengfeng glanced at the prince of Liang and snorted disdainfully. He suddenly thought, could this guy be the backer behind Fang Zhi and the others?
The Prince of Liang behaved very properly, greeting everyone as he walked along. Apart from other things, his etiquette was well-prepared and could easily win the favor of others.
Jiang Chengfeng remembered what Xiao Ye had said before, that Prince Liang was respectful to the wise and humble, and had extensive connections. It seemed that the Prince of Liang had indeed inherited his father 's fine traditions.
Ye Duo respectfully invited the prince of Liang to take the seat, but the prince smiled and declined, saying, "The elder is here, so how can a junior like me take the seat? I came here today to celebrate the birthday of the old man!"
As he said that, he quickly walked to Old Madam Ye, bowed and said, "Li Anning, the crown prince of Liang, greets Old Madam Ye. I wish you eternal happiness and a long life!"
Old Madam Ye stood up and smiled as she invited Li An Ning to take a seat.
After Li An Ning sat down, a servant came up with a brocade box. Li An Ning took the box and said that there was a 500-year-old ginseng in it, which was specially sent as a birthday gift for Old Madam Ye.
Jiang Chengfeng stretched his neck to take a look, and found that the ginseng looked quite good, but it looked very much like the big radish that was used in later generations to impersonate thousand-year-old ginseng. He didn't know if this so-called five-hundred-year-old ginseng was also impersonated by a radish?
The prince of Liang took out such a valuable gift right away. Anyone with a discerning eye knew that this was an attempt by the prince of Liang to win over Ye Duo. Although the prince of Liang had many disciples and former officials, Ye Duo was not one of them. Jianghuai was located in the hinterland of Jiangnan and could be regarded as the granary and treasury of the Northern Tang State. Naturally, the prince of Liang would do his best to win over Ye Duo.
The servant of the Ye Mansion accepted the gift. Li An Ning's eyes passed over Ye Lingshuang who was standing beside Old Madam Ye. His eyes suddenly lit up and he asked with a smile, "May I ask if this lady is Miss Ye, the most talented lady in Huayang?"
Ye Lingshuang bowed and said with a shy smile: "I am a woman of limited talent and knowledge, so how can I dare to call myself the most talented woman? My Lord, thank you for your praise!"
Li An Ning smiled, beckoned his attendant to bring a box, opened the box and took out the scroll, and said with a smile: "Miss Ye, take a look at this painting, and you will know that Xiao Wang is not lying!"
As he said this, he opened the scroll. On the scroll was a young woman wearing a goose yellow embroidered skirt, with a graceful figure, holding a book in her left hand, wandering under the willow tree.
At first glance, there is nothing special about this painting, but if you appreciate it carefully, you can find that the woman in the painting is elegant and charming, with eyes like stars and moons, which are intoxicating.
Ye Lingshuang covered her mouth and exclaimed: "Could it be that the person in the painting is me?"
Li Anning smiled and nodded, saying, "That's right! This painting was created by Xiao Wang two years ago! I'm giving it to Miss Ye today as a token of my appreciation!"
Ye Lingshuang frowned slightly and said, "The young prince said that you had seen me two years ago! But why don't I have any impression of it?"
Li An Ning smiled and said, "Two years ago, Xiao Wang once saw Miss Ye from afar at Jiankang Academy! I thought it was just a chance encounter, but I didn't expect that I couldn't sleep at night after returning home, so I got up and painted to comfort myself!"
Ye Duo, who had been standing aside without saying a word, looked at the young prince in confusion, always feeling that the young prince was a little abnormal today.
As a gift to someone's grandmother, he gave her a painting from two years ago. This young prince is really scheming! Jiang Chengfeng couldn't help but sigh that this young prince must be a master at picking up girls. He did this today and expressed his admiration in a tactful way. If it were any other woman, she would probably be in tears by now, right?
Ye Lingshuang did not move, so Li Anning had no choice but to hold up the scroll and said with a smile: "Anning has no other intentions, I just hope that Miss Ye will accept this painting, which will also be regarded as the fulfillment of my wish for two years!"
She said that she had no other intention, but her actions were meaningful! Shen Ruoyan tried to poke Jiang Chengfeng's waist again, but Jiang Chengfeng dodged.
Shen Ruoyan glared at Jiang Chengfeng and whispered, "Humph! Did you see that? Miss Ye is the one favored by the young prince, so just give up on this idea!"
So what if he's a little prince? I'll still knock him down! Besides, do you think you can impress the talented lady Ye with just a shabby painting? The talented lady Ye has very high standards for choosing a husband. She wants someone who can be both civil and military. I'm afraid this prince of Liang is not suitable!
Ye Lingshuang glanced at Jiang Chengfeng with her shining eyes and smiled, "Lingshuang thanks the little prince for the gift! However, this painting is the little prince's hard work, Lingshuang thinks it is better to put it next to the little prince as a souvenir!"
Hearing this, Li An Ning was stunned for a moment, then sighed and said, "What a pity! What a pity!"
Jiang Chengfeng narrowed his eyes and carefully observed every move of the Prince of Liang. Now he was 80% sure that this Prince of Liang was the guy who used the Red Immortal Sect to kidnap him that day and threatened him to hand over the secret recipe of perfume!
At this moment, someone suddenly tugged at Jiang Chengfeng's sleeve. Jiang Chengfeng turned around and saw Ye Shengxian whispering, "Boss, come here! My sister said she has something to talk to you about!"
Jiang Chengfeng glanced around the hall and found that the talented lady Ye was missing. He also didn't know why the talented lady Ye was looking for him.
When Ye Shengxian brought Jiang Chengfeng to the archway of the back garden of the Ye Mansion, he stopped and said, "Boss, my sister is inside!"
