Je vends des vêtements et j'achète du vin à boire avec toi

Chapitre 12

Long San was startled and quickly reached out to help her: "What's wrong with you?" Feng Ning kept her head down for a long time before finally managing to lean back onto the table, deliberately choosing a spot with her back to the window: "I can't stand looking at water, it makes me dizzy."

Long San understood. He remembered that when he walked with her to the Liang River, she had looked down at the river and then suddenly squatted down. He figured it was because of this habit.

Just then, the waiter came in, poured hot tea, and offered a hot towel to wipe his hands. He looked at Feng Ning, then smiled and gossiped with Long San, "Third Master, who is this young lady?"

Long San took the menu from him and naturally changed the subject: "It's been a while since I've been here. Do you have any new dishes?"

The waiter was perceptive; as if he hadn't asked that question, he quickly rattled off the menu. Feng Ning naturally understood that she was the lowly "Third Madam Long." Annoyed, she interrupted the waiter, saying, "Stop listing. Just pick ten of the freshest and most expensive dishes, six meat and four vegetable, a good mix. Don't bring the cheap ones."

The waiter was taken aback. He glanced at Long San, and Feng Ning said again, "What are you looking at? Are you afraid that Third Master can't afford the money?"

"No, no, I'll go right now, I'll go right now." Seeing that this girl was not to be trifled with, and that Long San seemed to have no objections, the waiter quickly withdrew.

Feng Ning snorted and scratched the table unhappily. Long San sighed: "We haven't announced our marriage to anyone. I have many friends in this city. If we talk about it today, people will inevitably ask questions, and then we'll have to explain. You don't remember things, and it'll cause a lot of trouble. So it's better not to say anything than to say anything."

Feng Ning turned her head away and snorted again. She was unhappy; what kind of nonsense was this? Seeing this, Long San ignored her. Fortunately, the appetizers were served quickly, and Feng Ning's expression softened. After a few bites, she began to smile.

Long San was happy to see that she had food, so he brought the second dish to her and teased her, "You're a reincarnation of a starving ghost."

Feng Ning didn't even look at him, just hummed again, and continued to stuff food into her mouth. Long San glanced at her and said, "If you hum again, you don't want any of the rest of the food."

"No, I promised to bring them here for dinner." Feng Ning finally reacted upon hearing this.

"How much money did this meal cost me? And you still dare to 'humph' at me?"

"Then I won't 'humph' then." Feng Ning emphasized the "humph" sound, essentially humming at him twice more. She then felt she had gotten the better deal and secretly gloated. Suddenly, she remembered something and quickly started making fun of him: "You've definitely never taken me out to eat before, so this is a good meal to make up for it. Why are you fussing over money? You're so stingy!"

He had already said that he had never gone out with her before, so naturally he had never taken her out to eat. Even though she had lost her memory, he could still find something to use against her. So she was smug, and her raised eyebrows and pouting expressions were so rich that Long San couldn't help but reach out and tap her on the head.

Feng Ning covered her head, glared at him, and continued eating. Actually, the food at Wei Zhen Lou was indeed delicious, and the service was fast. Feng Ning ate one bite after another, becoming happier and happier.

After tasting all the dishes, she got down to business: "Long San, you're genuinely trying to help me find the truth, aren't you?"

"Long San?"

“You don’t even acknowledge me as your wife anymore, so it would be a loss for me to call you ‘husband’. Besides, aren’t you trying to hide it? Calling me ‘husband’ would just give you away. I’m not your servant, so I won’t call you ‘master’.”

Long San was speechless and could only reply, "Fine, call me whatever you want."

Feng Ning pressed further, "Is it because you genuinely want to help me, or do you have some ulterior motive?"

"What kind of conspiracy is behind this?"

"I don't remember anything, how would I know what kind of schemes you're plotting? You're the only person in the Long family who has ever been kind to me. Although you're my husband, everyone says our relationship isn't harmonious, so it's normal for me to be a little suspicious when you suddenly become kind to me, right?"

"That's true, just like when we suspected you."

Feng Ning stared intently into his eyes, and Long San met her gaze calmly. Feng Ning asked, "You say I stole something, what is it?"

“It’s a treasure left to me by my grandfather. It’s a map in a small box. He instructed me on his deathbed that it should be passed down from generation to generation and never be lost.”

"A map?" Feng Ning's eyes lit up. "Does that hide a very valuable treasure?"

"Actually, there are all sorts of rumors outside. Some say it's a treasure, some say it's a weapon, and some say it's a secret manual."

"What exactly is that treasure?"

“We don’t know, and we don’t intend to dig it out. It’s just that somehow the news got out and attracted the covetous eyes of some people.”

"Does this timeline correspond to the time I married into the family? I mean, did I marry into the family to steal your treasures?"

"The rumors were circulating about a year ago, after you had already married into the family."

Feng Ning asked, "When did I show any interest in the treasure? Or did you not notice anything, which allowed me to get my hands on it?"

"From the day you married into this family, you have been very interested in the wealth and power of the Long family, or rather, your Feng family is very interested in these things."

Although Feng Ning was somewhat prepared, she still sighed, "So you've never liked me." Long San remained silent, because it was indeed the case.

Feng Ning thought for a moment and said, "Long San, maybe I have accomplices. The day I was injured during my escape, I woke up briefly on the riverbank. A man ran over and asked me where my things were. He even searched my body. Later, the Long family arrived, and he ran away."

“We’ve always thought you should have help.”

"But I didn't see his face clearly, and what I can't understand is, if he was my helper, why didn't he save me? The Tianlong family hadn't arrived yet, he could have taken me away. But he didn't, he ran away on his own."

Long San frowned; this was indeed strange. After Feng Ning was found, they searched her body and the area around the river, but couldn't find the stolen goods. They assumed the items had fallen into the river and been washed away. But they couldn't rest easy until the culprit was found.

Feng Ning then added, "There's one more thing. Whether my family asked me to steal this or an outsider asked me to steal it, now that they haven't gotten the item, they must have something to do next, right?" She suddenly seemed a little expectant: "Perhaps they don't know I've lost my memory and will still contact me. Wouldn't that be a perfect opportunity to catch them red-handed?"

“But what if they’ve already gotten what they wanted, or they know you have amnesia?” Long San was reminded: “Wouldn’t they want to silence you?” That’s not impossible. The man by the river abandoned Feng Ning back then, so he could certainly be ruthless enough to poison her now.

Seeing Feng Ning's wide-eyed surprise, Long San was about to speak when he suddenly heard footsteps outside, heading towards the private room. Long San quickly said, "Let's go back and talk."

He had barely finished speaking when someone pushed open the door and entered. A man said loudly, "Long San, you're really not being fair. You didn't even say goodbye before returning to the capital." As he spoke, a young couple walked in.

Feng Ning glanced at them; they were dressed in brocade robes and adorned with jewels, clearly from wealthy families. The woman entered, and upon seeing Long San, her eyes were glued to him. She called out sweetly, "Third Young Master." Her voice was soft and her tone shy, and with her blushing face, even a fool would understand what she meant.

Feng Ning immediately felt uncomfortable. No matter how distant the rumors were, he was still her husband. When did it become the turn of other women to look at him like that?

Feng Ning glared at Long San, cursing the fickle man in her heart. Long San nudged her hand under the table to calm her down, then stood up and clasped his hands in a fist salute to the two men: "Brother Qin, Miss Qin, what a coincidence."

"What a coincidence! My sister misses someone and insisted on coming here to eat. She even heard from the waiter that the person is here today. Isn't that a coincidence? It seems we are truly destined to meet." The young man finished speaking and laughed heartily, which made the woman stomp her foot and pout.

Long San smiled slightly, not taking the bait, and instead introduced the two sides present: "Qin Chang, Qin Yayin, and this is Feng Ning."

The Qin siblings sat down and exchanged a few pleasantries with Long San. It seemed they knew each other well, so Feng Ning naturally couldn't get a word in edgewise and continued eating. Unexpectedly, after a while, Qin Yayin brought up the topic with her: "Miss Feng looks unfamiliar; I've never seen you before."

Before Long San could answer, Feng Ning interrupted him, saying, "Miss, you must not have seen me before. I just arrived at the Long residence."