"Gentlemen and ladies, guess the riddles and win lanterns! Winning one brings good fortune to your home!" a middle-aged man with a beard called out. Qingyin glanced at the most beautiful carp lantern hanging on the table. The red and yellow carp, exquisitely crafted, seemed to be spitting out pearls; it was indeed a masterpiece of craftsmanship. Qingyin pointed to it.

"Is this also a lantern that can be won?"

"Madam, you have a good eye. This is our shop's prized lantern. You have to guess all the riddles correctly to get it," the man said with a smile, as he laid out the riddles one by one.

Seeing Qingyin lingering there with great interest, Yinzhen naturally stepped forward to help Shilan win the lantern.

The two walked very close; the man was incredibly handsome, and the woman's exposed eyes and brows were also extremely attractive under the lights. Soon, this place attracted a large crowd of onlookers.

"Isn't that Fourth Brother?" Standing on high ground with a wide view, Yinzhen smiled and looked at the familiar face. Because of the angle, he couldn't see Qingyin's figure. He raised his eyebrows slightly, showing some interest. However, the fourteenth prince, Yinzhen, who was shopping with him, was even more shocked than him.

"What? Fourth Brother, that's impossible! He's the kind of guy who'd rather be stuck in his official duties, and he actually knows how to go shopping?"

Yinzhen looked over incredulously at the familiar figure. He could recognize his most hated fourth brother even if he were reduced to ashes. Yinzhen was a little confused: "It really is him. How come he has so many people around!"

"You'll find out when you get there," Yinzhen said with a smile, opening his folding fan as he slowly walked towards Yinzhen, with Yinzhen following closely behind.

Just as they arrived, Yinzhen had just won all the riddles and handed the carp lantern that Qingyin had chosen to Qingyin.

The colorful lanterns shone on those fair, jade-like hands, making them glow and appear as exquisite and beautiful as works of art.

That scene was witnessed by Yin Tang. What no one knew was that the Ninth Prince, known for his sharp tongue, had a strange fetish—a hand fetish. The more beautiful the hands, the rarer they were. Yin Tang had never seen a hand that satisfied him, but now he discovered a hand that was even more perfect than he had imagined. The slender, long fingers seemed to glow with a soft, pinkish light at each joint, and the white, luminous texture, like mutton fat jade, was flawless at first glance, instantly arousing a desire in Yin Tang.

Following Yinzhen's gaze, Yinzhen hesitated and asked, "That's... Fourth Brother? Who's that person next to him?"

Yin Tang's eyes flickered, and he guessed some of the truth. He forced himself to look away, not wanting to go to that place again.

He dared not go, but Yinzhen had no such cowardly thoughts. He strode over directly, staring at those extremely beautiful eyebrows and eyes, feeling a strange sense of familiarity and trembling.

"Fourth Brother!"

Yinzhen couldn't help but block Yinzhen's intense gaze towards Qingyin, giving Yinzhen a warning glare for not avoiding it.

Seeing Yinzhen standing directly in front of Yinzhen, Yintang couldn't leave any longer and stepped in, breaking the inexplicable tension between the two with a smile.

"Ninth Brother, Fourteenth Brother." Yinzhen greeted the two perfunctorily, not wanting to linger. He only wanted to spend some time alone with Qingyin, and was somewhat impatient.

Standing behind Yinzhen, Qingyin also looked at the two of them. Although she had worked on small worlds with the same settings, each small world actually had some differences. They looked the same but were actually completely independent small worlds. Therefore, the task she had done in the previous one was different from the person she was meeting now. However, Qingyin was a little curious about the Fourteenth Prince in this small world. She peeked her little head towards Yinzhen. Unlike Yinzhen in the previous life, the Yinzhen in this world was obviously more cold and aloof. In this respect, the two brothers looked more alike.

Upon discovering that Qingyin was peeping at her brother, Yinzhen's face darkened. He slightly turned to block Qingyin's view, but Qingyin, having satisfied her curiosity, was happy to hide behind him and play with the newly acquired lantern.

Completely unaware of how nervous Yinzhen was when she stared at him, he stood frozen in place. Fortunately, he had a habit of becoming expressionless the more nervous he was, so what appeared before Yinzhen was a pair of cold and serious expressions exactly like when he was in court. Seeing Yinzhen like this, Yinzhen's excessive tension actually relaxed. He exchanged a few words with the two of them, then shook them off and strolled off in another direction with Qingyin.

Only after the two had walked far away did Yinzhen realize that his palms were already sweaty. Thinking of Qingyin, whose features were unfamiliar yet felt familiar, Yinzhen trembled. Unwilling to think about what kind of feelings this was, Yinzhen forced himself not to chase after the two and continued to stroll through the streets with Yintang.

After their chance encounter with their fourth brother, Yinzhen and Yintang, each with their own thoughts, lost interest in shopping and sightseeing, and quickly returned to their own residences after finishing their shopping.

Yinzhen then leisurely led Qingyin on a stroll through the bustling streets. The capital city was filled with countless trinkets, and Qingyin bought many interesting little things along the way. Yinzhen followed behind her to pay for them and then accompanied her to release river lanterns into the river.

Watching the lotus lanterns slowly drifting on the river, Yinzhen secretly gave the guard a look, signaling him to snatch them back. After all, he wouldn't leave any of Shilan's things to outsiders.

After releasing the lanterns, Qingyin felt a little sleepy and couldn't help but yawn. "Master, let's go back."

Yinzhen said gently, "Okay."

— — — — — — — — — —

A lotus lantern that had drifted into the deeper part of the river was snatched away by a pair of large, well-defined hands that seemed to have anticipated this. The guards who had followed along were left staring at the river full of lanterns, lost in thought, their faces full of confusion.

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