God's Gift

"How could it be?!" Fang Ling looked at Ning Yue with suspicion when she heard this.

"Ning Du did not take the initiative to pick up the little girl. He just glanced at the little girl while walking on the road. She followed him like a dog's tail, and Ning Du couldn't get rid of her. Ning Du was already annoyed with her."

Fang Ling heard Ning Yue belittling Ning Du like this, and said in a somewhat unhappy tone for Ning Du: "Even so, Ning Du still kept the girl. He was just being hard-mouthed but soft-hearted."

Ning Yue was originally rubbing his lips, but when he heard Fang Ling say this, he suddenly laughed out loud, his eyes were far away and indescribable:

"He didn't want to keep that girl."

"He lost that girl countless times." Ning Yue raised his hand and pressed his forehead, and then said: "But who knew that the girl's nose was sharper than a dog's. No matter where Ning Du lost her, she would find her back."

Ning Yue leaned back on the chair and continued:

"Ning Du said it himself, that little girl looked like an ugly monkey, with limp legs and feet, a weak and sickly body, and only a pair of black and bright eyes. Every time Ning Du lost the girl, he would wander around outside and return to his shabby alley, and the little girl would be waiting inside again."

"Normally, when she's hungry, she cries and makes a fuss, but now she's like a mute person, not saying a word, just looking at Ning Du with her bright eyes."

"Ning Du couldn't get rid of her anyway, so he reluctantly kept her."

After listening to what Ning Yue said, Fang Ling thought for a few seconds and said hesitantly:

"But even so, Ning Du finally kept the girl."

Ning Yue leaned back in the armchair and remained silent for a long time after hearing what Fang Ling said. After a while, he raised his hand and stroked his eyes, then said:

"That girl is really good. When Ning Yuedu first picked her up as a child, Ning Yuedu didn't know anything about raising children. He fed her everything, and she ate it all."

"Except when she was extremely hungry and cried, she followed him obediently at other times. Ning Du scolded her and threw her away, but she never got angry. She was like a quiet and well-behaved white dough, following Ning Du step by step."

"With such a good personality, if it were someone else, they would definitely be able to live a better life than following Ning Yue. It's a pity that she chose Ning Du, a man with no money and a hard heart."

Having said that, Ning Yue stroked the rim of the teacup and was silent for a while before continuing:

"Ning Du finally lost the little girl."

"That girl didn't get any of the wealth and honor that Ning Du enjoyed because of his promotion. While Ning Du was enjoying great success and fame, that girl was tortured and eventually died."

"But Ajin clearly said..." Before Fang Ling finished speaking, Ning Yue seemed to know what he wanted to say and said:

"Ajin said that the girl became the daughter of the general's mansion." Ning Yue looked at Fang Ling and asked, "Have you ever heard from other places that General Ning Du has a younger sister?"

"This Gusu City troupe has performed The Beggar General thousands of times, but has anyone ever mentioned that girl?"

Fang Ling's mouth gradually closed, and the words that had just been unspoken were stuck in his throat.

Before Ajin mentioned this, he had indeed never heard of such a young lady in the general's mansion.

Whether in official history or in popular rumors, no one has ever known this young lady. It is as if she has disappeared and never existed.

Fang Ling looked at Ning Yue, with no disguising the doubt in his eyes. Ning Yue looked at his eyes, stood up, and slowly paced in the hall.

"You want to ask me who she is, right?"

Fang Ling nodded when he heard what Ning Yue said, "General Ning Du has a great reputation, and the people in Gusu City have dug up his past. How come no one has ever mentioned this girl?"

"Actually, I mentioned it." Ning Yue stopped in his tracks, took out a paper fan from his sleeve, and opened the fan with a 'shua' sound to block it in front of him, laughing a few times from his lips.

"It's just that she exists under another name that is taboo in the world."

Fang Ling asked subconsciously: "What's the name?"

"Su Jinlan." Ning Yue's gaze shifted to Fang Ling. Looking at the shock in Fang Ling's eyes, the corners of his mouth kept rising, and his laughter gradually became sad and weird.

"It seems that you know Su Jinlan's story." Ning Yue held the paper fan in his hand in front of his eyes, and his laughter gradually subsided.

"Then you should also know how she died?"

Fang Ling never thought that the child Ning Du picked up was Su Jinlan. She looked somewhat enlightened: "Ajin said that was a storyteller's fabrication."

"But Su Jinlan is indeed dead." Ning Yue put away his smile, let out a long sigh, and continued to pace in the hall.

"Ning Du had always wanted to get rid of Su Jinlan, but unfortunately she kept pestering him. Later, the Su family took the initiative to look for him, and Ning Du took the opportunity to send her back to the Su family in exchange for a large sum of money."

"But he was afraid that the girl would come back as he had done before. At that time, there was a war, so he followed the army to the border and abandoned the girl far away in Gusu City."

Ning Yue walked under the eaves and looked up at the lush loquat tree in the yard. There were several bird nests on the branches, and sparrows were singing back and forth among the treetops, giving the yard a lively feel.

The dazzling sunlight at noon shone through the sparse leaves and fell into Ning Yue's eyes, like the sparkling spring water. He stared at the loquat tree for a long time, then slowly retracted his gaze and looked at Fang Ling who was sitting there in a daze.

"What happened next was just as described in the play."

"Ningdu will rise to the top and have a bright future. He will enjoy wealth and glory from now on and be praised by future generations."

"Su Jinlan died with broken bones, and his hatred will not dissipate. He will not be able to be reborn until he enters the underworld."

Ning Yue sat back on the armchair, waving a paper fan in his hand, with an unclear expression in his eyes, and asked:

"Do you still think Ning Du is a hero now?"

Fang Ling fell silent. He had never thought that the things he had seen and heard during this period would be tangled together like a spider web. He could not tell the truth from the false.

"Why did the General tell me these things?"

Ning Yue's mouth corners slowly lifted up, and he held the folding fan against his chin, but he did not answer Fang Ling's question, and said:

"Ah Jin is waiting for you, go see her."

Seeing that Ning Yue did not answer, Fang Ling did not continue to ask. He stood up, bowed to Ning Yue, and said, "Then I will take my leave first."

After saying that, Fang Ling straightened his robe, thought about Ning Jin who was still waiting for him, a smile appeared on his face, and he quickened his pace.

Ning Yue watched Fang Ling walk away quickly, picked up the teacup and took a sip of hot tea, then as if he just remembered something, he called Fang Ling.

"Fang Ling, there is one more thing I forgot to tell you."

"General, is there anything else?" Fang Ling immediately turned around and looked at Ning Yue seriously.

"When Su Jinlan followed Ning Du, Ning Du gave her a name." Ning Yue put down the teacup, looked at Fang Ling's puzzled eyes, and said:

"He has the same surname as Ning Du, and a single given name, Jin."