Xin Jiuwei didn't even glance at Qi Huaiyu. She took Qi Huaihe's hand and got off the carriage, then went into the Qi residence with him.

The maternal grandparents' house was large, quiet, and elegant. The front hall was separated from the main gate by a pond, which had to be crossed by a bridge only two or three people wide. Xin Jiuwei and Qi Huaihe walked side by side in front, while Mianfeng and Wang Qing, along with a servant of the Qi family, completely blocked Qi Huaiyu's path, making it impossible for him to reach Xin Jiuwei.

Upon arriving at the front hall, the maternal grandfather and elders were waiting. The threshold at the door was a bit high, and Qi Huaiyu finally found an opportunity to quickly walk to Xin Jiuwei's side. Just as he was about to reach out to help her, Mianfeng stepped in front of him and helped Xin Jiuwei cross over.

Qi Huaihe stood respectfully to the side, watching Xin Jiuwei enter the room steadily before leading her to pay her respects to the elders.

A woman in blue sitting on the left noticed Qi Huaiyu's actions and asked with a smile, "And who is this?"

In previous years, Qi Huaiyu came to deliver congratulatory gifts, but he was never led into the house. As a result, almost none of the elders in the Qi family recognized him.

My maternal grandfather often received news from Yingzhou, so he knew about Qi Huaiyu.

Seeing his eager manner, she guessed what was going on, snorted coldly, and said nothing.

But Xin Jiuwei replied obediently, "Grandfather, Aunt, Young Master Qi works under my father."

The elders in the room didn't think much of it, except for the maternal grandfather, whose eyes flashed with surprise.

Then she asked meaningfully, "Didn't your fiancé, who's been insisting on marrying you, come with you?"

Qi Huaiyu was about to speak first when he heard Qi Huaihe laugh:

“Grandfather, Sister Awei is not engaged yet, so where would she get a fiancé?”

Qi Huaiyu said, "Brother Huaihe..."

“Jiuwei hasn’t been to Yuncheng for several years, and the first thing she does is make such a joke with her maternal grandfather.” Xin Jiuwei pouted, looking quite charming and innocent. “How can Jiuwei find a husband in the future? I’m not coming to see my maternal grandfather anymore.”

The grandfather understood completely, and a loving smile appeared on his thin face.

“It’s Grandfather’s fault. Wei’er, come here and let Grandfather take a look.”

Although he disliked Xin's father and had little contact with him over the years, the three children were his daughter's own flesh and blood, and Xin Jiuwei had lost her mother at birth. He still felt great pity for them and paid attention to them every year.

Xin Jiuwei quickly walked up to her maternal grandfather and said a few auspicious words.

The woman in blue was none other than Qi Huaihe's mother, Xin Jiuwei's maternal aunt—Shen Ping.

She laughed and said, "Our Wei has grown up to be so beautiful, why would she worry about not finding a suitable husband? Even if she can't find one she likes, there's always Huaihe."

When Xin Jiuwei came to Yuncheng as a child, Qi Huaihe always took her out to play. The adults were used to joking around, and Shen Ping may not have taken it to heart, but the listeners took it to heart.

Qi Huaiyu was displeased. The Qi family was just a group of merchants, but Qi Huaihe was Xin Jiuwei's cousin, which gave them a close relationship. Moreover, seeing that the other party was handsome and cared about Xin Jiuwei, he immediately felt threatened.

In Yingzhou, everyone knew that Xin Jiuwei was clinging to him and throwing herself at him. He had long been used to Xin Jiuwei being unable to live without him. Now, seeing the situation of her maternal grandparents' family, Qi Huaiyu took this unintentional joke to heart and looked at Qi Huaihe with a somewhat gloomy expression.

Qi Huaihe, however, took it as a joke from his mother. "Mother, please don't joke. It will ruin my cousin's reputation."

"It's not that serious," the grandfather said calmly. "Leaving aside the marriage, as the elder brother, how could you not take care of your younger sister?"

Qi Huaihe cupped his hands and said, "Grandfather, rest assured."

Sitting next to Shen Ping was Qi Xin, who had come to visit her mother today. She was Xin Jiuwei's mother's older sister.

“I think this matter can be discussed seriously. Jiuwei has grown into a young woman. She has been close to Huaihe since she was a child. Huaihe just finished the provincial examination last year. If he becomes an official in the future, he can take care of Jiuwei.”

Xin Jiuwei was pleasantly surprised, "Cousin Huaihe, you passed the exam?"

Qi Huaihe smiled and said, "It's just the provincial examination. Right now, I'm just a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examination)."

"That's amazing, especially for someone so young." Xin Jiuwei was genuinely happy for him. "Brother Huaihe has always been a good student and loves martial arts. Now he's truly accomplished in both. When will you go to the capital for the imperial examinations?"

Before Qi Huaihe could speak, Chen Ping laughed and said, "Look, Huaihe is embarrassed by his sister's praise."

Qi Xin said, "Our family has been in business for so many years, it's not easy for a scholar to emerge from here. I'm sure Jiu Wei knows that. What's wrong with praising your own cousin?"

Xin Jiuwei also said, "That's true. My brother is also preparing for his exams recently, so he couldn't take the time to celebrate his grandfather's birthday. I hope his grandfather and elders will understand."

"That mischievous boy is still willing to study?" Grandfather was very pleased. "It's good that he's thinking about taking the exam. There's no need to be distracted by these trivial matters. Go back and tell him to study hard, take the provincial exam as soon as possible, and go to the capital in the future."

Xin Jiuwei said, "Brother is still a long way off, but he has been very diligent lately. Mr. Ye praised him for his perseverance. Father also said that he doesn't expect brother to achieve any official rank; it would be enough if he could support the Xin family."

She said this not only to her elders, but also to Qi Huaiyu.

Is he taking advantage of the fact that the Xin family is currently small in number and trying every means to destroy her brothers and sisters so that the Xin family will have no successor, so that he can take over?

But she wouldn't let him have his way.

Thinking of this, she moved closer to Qi Huaihe and said with a smile, "Cousin, you must be tired from coming to pick me up. Grandfather, Wei'er is also feeling hungry. When shall we eat?"

Grandfather laughed heartily and said, "I knew you'd still be as greedy as when you were a child. Alright, alright, let's eat now."

Xin Jiuwei stayed by her maternal grandfather's side, and the group went to the dining room together.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!