Just as towering waves of shock surged through Prime Minister Pei's heart, Minister Li interrupted his thoughts. Seeing Minister Li and several other court officials greeting him, Prime Minister Pei steadied himself, forcibly suppressed his astonishment, and nodded politely to them.
"Duke Ning, who is this?" Minister Li looked at Ning Sang-sang with open curiosity.
Ning Xiaotian proudly introduced Ning Sang-sang. "This is my daughter, Sang-sang."
Then Ning Xiaotian introduced him to Ning Sang-sang. "Sang-sang, this is Minister Li."
Ning Sang-sang raised an eyebrow at this and began feasting on Minister Li's gossip in her mind:
[So this is Minister Li, the one who loves sniffing his concubine's three-inch golden lotuses. Every day after work, he has to go home, take off her shoes, and sniff them. If he goes a day without a sniff, he can't eat. He looks so perfectly respectable. Who would've thought he had such a peculiar hobby?]
[I really want to see his concubine's three-inch golden lotuses and find out just what those feet look like, to leave Minister Li unable to eat without sniffing them.]
These words that suddenly sprang out stunned everyone.
Huh? Minister Li actually had a hobby like that?
You couldn't tell. You really couldn't tell.
Hearing this, everyone involuntarily looked at Minister Li with very peculiar expressions.
Minister Li was so furious that his face and neck flushed red. He wanted to find a hole in the ground and crawl into it.
Seeing the expressions on Minister Li's and everyone else's faces, Ning Xiaotian realized they could all hear his daughter's thoughts.
His daughter knew a great deal about other people's families, and she loved chattering away in her head. Everyone could hear her thoughts, too.
She was bound to offend countless people without even realizing it. Ning Xiaotian silently resolved that once they returned home today, he would arrange for several highly skilled guards to protect his daughter, lest someone try to harm her.
"Sang-sang, come. Mother will take you to look at the flowers in the back garden." Seeing the rather strange atmosphere, Madam Jiang hurried to smooth things over and led Ning Sang-sang away. If her daughter stayed here, she truly feared she would spill all these officials' gossip and make it impossible for the flower-viewing banquet to proceed normally.
The brothers Ning Chengxiao and Ning Hui wanted to hear more gossip, so they followed Ning Sang-sang.
Pei Xingjian wanted to hear more gossip too, so he told Prime Minister Pei, "Father, I'll go keep Second Young Master Ning and Fourth Young Master Ning company."
With that, he walked straight off without waiting for Prime Minister Pei to speak.
Prime Minister Pei: "..."
He really had never imagined that his cold-tempered son, who only took an interest in investigating cases, also enjoyed listening to gossip.
Truth be told, he wanted to go listen too, but he was the host today and had to welcome the guests.
Even after Ning Sang-sang was led away, the strange atmosphere did not dissipate. Everyone who had just heard her thoughts looked at Minister Li with peculiar expressions.
Feeling everyone's meaningful gazes on him, Minister Li grew so furious that his face turned the color of pig liver.
Madam Jiang led Ning Sang-sang to a less crowded spot and earnestly told her, "Sang-sang, Princess Yongle attaches great importance to today's flower-viewing banquet. Try not to say anything careless and ruin it."
"Don't worry, Mother. I won't say anything careless. I'll keep my mouth shut." Ning Sang-sang readily agreed. She did not intend to speak today anyway; she would just feast on gossip in her mind. So many people had come to today's flower-viewing banquet that she could savor their gossip one by one, immerse herself in it, and fulfill in this life the dream she had never managed to achieve in her last: carrying the spirit of gossip to ever greater heights.
Madam Jiang: "..."
Alas, her daughter did not seem to understand what she meant. How was she supposed to tell her that everyone could hear her thoughts, and that she must stop muttering away in her head and revealing everyone's secrets?
Madam Jiang's lips moved, and she was just about to say something when she caught sight of her youngest son, her second son, and Pei Xingjian approaching out of the corner of her eye. She swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue.
"Mother, what are you and Sister talking about here?" Ning Hui walked up beside Madam Jiang and asked curiously.
Before Madam Jiang could speak, Ning Sang-sang answered first. "Mother told me not to say anything careless at the flower-viewing banquet and to keep my mouth shut."
Hearing this, Ning Hui immediately understood that his mother did not want everyone hearing his sister's thoughts and was trying to stop her from muttering in her head.
Ning Hui loved listening to gossip, and he loved it when Ning Sang-sang gossiped in her mind. So he leaned closer to her and whispered, "Sister, Mother told you to keep your mouth shut and not say anything careless. You can say it in your head."
[Little brother, that's exactly what I had in mind.] Ning Sang-sang replied inwardly. If she had to keep her mouth shut, she would talk in her head.
Madam Jiang did not hear what Ning Hui said to Ning Sang-sang. Seeing how well they got along filled her with relief. She had once worried that after Sang-sang returned and discovered that she had given birth to Hui after losing her, Sang-sang might resent him. Thinking about it now, she had simply worried too much.
"Sang-sang, come. Mother will introduce you to everyone." Madam Jiang smiled and stepped forward to take Ning Sang-sang's hand. She wanted everyone to know that her daughter had been found.
Ning Sang-sang obediently let Madam Jiang lead her along. Seeing that Pei Xingjian was here too, she raised an eyebrow and muttered inwardly:
[Pei Xingjian is acting a little strange today. Why is he following us around instead of attending to his proper business?]
[Could he really have fallen for me? No, that's not right. Pei Xingjian keeps away from women. There isn't a single woman around him-even all the servants in his courtyard are men. He probably doesn't like women. He might very well like men. Could he have his eye on my little brother?]
Pei Xingjian: "..."
Ning Hui: "..."
Hearing this, Ning Chengxiao could not help glancing at Pei Xingjian, then at his younger brother. Honestly, his brother really was quite pretty. If he walked down the street in women's clothing, people might not even realize he was a man.
Hearing her daughter say this, Madam Jiang blanched in alarm.
"Sang-sang, you-" She simply could not get the words "don't talk nonsense" out.
"Mother, what did I do?" Ning Sang-sang looked at Madam Jiang in utter bewilderment.
Madam Jiang did not know how to tell her not to spout nonsense in her head.
Pei Xingjian was Princess Yongle's precious son, and Princess Yongle would not tolerate anyone saying anything bad about him.
Someone had once carelessly claimed that Pei Xingjian preferred men. When Princess Yongle learned of it, she had that person's mouth beaten to a pulp. That showed just how fiercely she protected her young.
Fortunately, Princess Yongle had not been present when Sang-sang thought those words. Otherwise, wouldn't she have flown into a thunderous rage upon hearing them?
But although Princess Yongle was absent, Pei Xingjian was here. Madam Jiang glanced at his expression and found his face perfectly calm, without the slightest flicker of emotion. She breathed a sigh of relief.
By now, Pei Xingjian was utterly speechless at Ning Sang-sang. What was this about liking men, or having his eye on her little brother? It was complete nonsense. He did not like men!
Before you continue