The bright moon was hanging high in the sky. Tang Ning led Hua Wu back to the backyard with a red face. After walking in the night breeze for a while, the heat on her face gradually dissipated.
She patted her cheek and asked Hua Wu beside her, "Auntie, are you okay today? Can we have dinner tonight?"
Hua Wu whispered, "The head of the Gu family took the princess out of the house."
Tang Ning was stunned: "When did it happen?"
Hua Wu said, "When it was almost dark, the girl went to the governor's house. The head of the Gu family brought food to the princess, but when he saw that she refused to eat or drink, he drove all the servants out of the room. Then he said something to the princess, and she started crying. Later, the head of the Gu family ordered people to carry the princess out of the house in a sedan chair."
"Why didn't anyone tell me? Is anyone going with my aunt?" Tang Ning turned his head and asked.
Hua Wu said, "It was the princess who forbade me to tell the girl, and she also forbade anyone to follow her when she went out. However, when Patriarch Gu went out, he took Mu Feng and the others with him."
"Master Gu also said that he would send the princess back later and also send Doctor Sun back home, so the girl doesn't have to worry."
Tang Ning relaxed a little after hearing this. Gu Helian would not harm her aunt. And since they were just sending Doctor Sun back home "on the way", her aunt's body would probably be able to withstand it.
She had originally planned to go see Princess Cheng, but when she knew that she had been taken out of the mansion by Gu Helian, she turned around and walked towards her own yard.
"When Doctor Sun left, did you give him the medical fee I prepared?" Tang Ning asked.
Hua Wu nodded: "I gave it to you. Doctor Sun was very happy after seeing it."
Tang Ning laughed when he heard this: "Of course he is happy."
The silver and money were fine, as Imperial Doctor Sun came from a good family and he had no shortage of money for his regular medical treatments. Anyone could give him those valuable things, but the three medical books compiled by Madam Qin were priceless.
Moreover, in the past few days, whenever Madam Qin came over, he would ask about medical matters and Madam Qin would never be stingy, and would teach him all she knew about acupuncture and Chinese medicine.
Imperial Physician Sun was initially forced to stay in the mansion unwillingly, but later he wished he could never leave. Even when Princess Cheng's health no longer required the imperial physician's constant care, he still did not mention leaving.
During the day, he went to the Imperial Medical Bureau to work as usual, and went straight to Jiyun Lane as soon as he was done. Every time he saw her, he smiled as if he had picked up a gold ingot. If you didn't know him, you would think he treated this place as his home.
The master and servant were talking about interesting stories about Imperial Physician Sun. When they returned to the courtyard, they saw Song Ru sitting in the room reading a book.
"Sister." Seeing Tang Ning coming back, Song Ru immediately smiled.
"Why are you still reading so late?"
Tang Ning had just said that when the word "read" suddenly reminded her of the teasing that Xiao Yan had done to her before. The heat that had already subsided came back to her, making her feel quite uncomfortable and she spat inwardly, cursing inwardly that it was all her brother's fault for being so dishonest.
Looking up at Song Ru's puzzled expression, Tang Ning coughed and cleared his throat: "If you want to read, ask someone to turn on the light. Be careful not to hurt your eyes."
Song Ru said obediently: "I didn't watch it for long. I wanted to review what my sister taught me before, so as not to forget it after a long time."
Tang Ning naturally wouldn't stop her from making progress, he just sat beside her and said, "Is there anything you don't understand?"
"have."
The little girl quickly put the book aside and pointed to a page and said, "Sister, I turned to this page and saw that it says that a gentleman should always reflect on himself with nine thoughts and understand himself three times. Which nine thoughts are they referring to?"
Tang Ning came over, saw where she was pointing, and explained to her softly: "A gentleman has nine thoughts: look to see clearly, listen to hear carefully, look warm, look respectful, speak loyally, do things with respect, ask questions when in doubt, think about difficulties when angry, and think about righteousness when seeing things. In simple terms, it means being gentle, kind, respectful, frugal, modest, loyal, filial, benevolent, righteous, and polite."
Song Ru took note of it carefully, and whispered, "What about this?"
"This sentence comes from Mencius's Li Lou's wisdom and Gong Shuzi's ingenuity. Without rules, nothing can be done..."
After she finished explaining in a low voice, she realized that the book was a little strange. She took it and looked at it and immediately laughed: "Have you finished reading the books I gave you before? You are reading the notes first?"
Song Ru had never received any enlightenment since childhood. She started learning to read after moving to Tang Mansion. She was extremely intelligent and learned to read quickly. In just a short period of time, she could learn as much as others in one or two years. But even so, it was not yet time for her to read these letters.
Those notes were part of the "collection of books" brought back from the Lu family. They contained the insights left by some ancient sages after reading and "enlightenment". For example, the first half of this book of notes almost entirely discusses the similarities and differences between the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, while the second half extends it to the people's livelihood, the court, and the way of governing the country.
Tang Ning would read it when he had nothing to do these days and found it very helpful, but it was obviously not suitable for Song Ru at the moment.
Song Ru was a little embarrassed: "I have already read all the books that my sister gave me. I saw this book on the table, so I took it and read it."
Tang Ning closed the notebook and put it aside: "Don't rush to read this one. I'll get you a few other books tomorrow."
Song Ru nodded: "Okay."
After the two sisters had made their decision, Tang Ning motioned for Song Ru to get up from the small table, followed her to the couch and sat down before saying, "Do you know about my visit to the Song family?"
Song Ru said "hmm": "Sister Nianxia told me."
Tang Ning did not tell her that Song Tan did not include her in the family tree. She just said, "I have crossed out your name from the Song family tree. From now on, you are no longer a daughter of the Song family. You said before that you wanted to change your surname to your mother's. Do you still think so now? Have you changed your mind?"
Song Ru quickly said, "No, I want to be named Xue."
Tang Ning looked at her seriously: "You have to think it over clearly. I originally planned to let you take the surname Rong, which will be good for your future..."
"I know, sister is thinking about me."
Song Ru smiled softly, "I betrayed my biological father before so that I could break away from the Song family, and let Governor Xiao use this as an excuse to protect me. Many people outside have said that I am cruel. Now that I have lost my clan, there will be no shortage of slander and ridicule. I know that sister wants to use the Rong family's surname to protect me, but sister, I don't care about that."
"Aru..."
"Sister, listen to me first."
Song Ru held Tang Ning's hand. Her wrist was very thin, and her fingertips were not round at all, but her smile was full of vitality, and her large black and white eyes were particularly serious.
"I never thought I would have such a good life now, and I never thought I would be able to leave the Song family one day. I am very content with what I have now."
"I can't be a girl from a noble family, and I don't want to marry into a rich family. Even if we get married one day, I hope to meet someone who doesn't mind my background and who likes me because I'm Xue Ru, not because I changed my surname to Rong."
When she showed her little fangs, her thin little face revealed a maturity that was inconsistent with her age.
"My sister let me have the surname Rong just because she was afraid that I would be wronged in the future. But if someone would let me feel wronged just because I don't have the surname Rong, why would I want to wrong myself and be with him?"
"I have a sister. Even if my last name is not Rong, my sister won't let anyone bully me, right?"
Tang Ning was stunned by her words. After a moment, a smile spread in her eyes. She reached out and pinched Song Ru's face: "Sister will naturally protect you."
Seeing the little girl's dimples showing when she grinned, she chuckled.
"Since you have decided, from now on you will be called Xue Ru."
Song Ru... No, it should be Xue Ru. The little girl with a new name smiled particularly brightly. She rubbed Tang Ning's shoulder and said, "Thank you, sister."
Tang Ning stroked her hair and said, "In a few days, I will go to Jingzhao Prefecture to change your registration book."
Xue Ru nodded: "Okay."