At that moment, Qian Zhiqing sat in front of the dressing mirror, slowly combing her long, black hair, while sunlight streamed in from the window.

In the bronze mirror, her face, which showed signs of illness, appeared somewhat transparent due to the sunlight.

Lanqiu brought the soup and medicine to her.

The familiar bitterness instantly wafted past her nose. Qian Zhiqing frowned in disgust, but had no choice but to pick up the bowl and drink it all in one gulp.

Lanqiu put down the bowl, took the jade comb from her hand, and tied up her hair.

Qian Zhiqing stared at the bronze mirror for a long while before saying, "Baoxia, bring me the cloak."

Ever since Bao Xia was frightened that day, she had been trembling. Now, she dared not disobey and brought over the cloak, quickly draping it over her shoulders.

Qian Zhiqing tied the ribbon in front of the bronze mirror, looked at herself in the mirror again and again to make sure there was nothing wrong, and then walked outside.

Seeing that she was about to go out, Lanqiu worried that she was not fully recovered and said, "You are not fully recovered yet, you should rest for a while before going out."

Qian Zhiqing raised her eyes and said in a low voice, "Move aside."

Lan Qiu's fingers trembled slightly, and she lowered her head and retreated.

Qian Zhiqing glanced sideways, then rushed forward with Xia in her arms and lifted the curtain.

Qian Zhiqing straightened her back and stepped out.

Lanqiu stood by the door, quietly watching the figure gradually walk away, and sighed inwardly, "What was the point?"

Today is the Shangsi Festival, and all the young women in the capital will go out. I suppose that young lady from the Shi family will also go out. Even though she knows this, she still insists on going.

It would have been alright before, but now that the young lady has been ill for many days, she is as thin as a piece of paper. The other woman is in good health and is pampered. Compared to her, the young lady is already three points weaker. In addition, the other woman's marriage is already arranged, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, she will become the mistress of the Marquis's mansion. The young lady, on the other hand, is just a poor relative living in the Marquis's mansion. Even if she has the help of the lady, it won't make much difference.

In comparison, she only gained the young master's pity.

However, since the young master refused to take her as a concubine in the first place, he must have wanted to save face for his future wife. If the young lady goes too far, the young master will probably not be happy.

Without that bit of affection, there's never a shortage of opportunists in this household, and the young lady's life will probably be even more difficult then.

Lan Qiu, with a somber face, took the bowl of medicine to the tea room, cleaned up the dregs, and stared blankly into space, silently praying that the young lady wouldn't be confused and wouldn't do something she would regret.

In Beining Garden, Zhu Yi frowned and said, "The most important thing for you now is to take good care of your health. You can go to the garden later."

Qian Zhiqing coughed softly a few times, revealing a faint smile, "Once I'm better, I'll set off to go back. Jinming Pond will only be open for a little over a month. If I don't go now, I'm afraid I won't have the chance later."

Zhu Yi said, "In previous years, when I said I would take you, you never seemed interested. Why are you so insistent this year?"

Qian Zhiqing smiled and said, "It's probably because they feel they won't see each other again that they want to see each other even more."

Zhu Yi frowned, looked at her for a while, and then agreed in a deep voice.

The steward quickly prepared the oxcart, and Qian Zhiqing sat in the carriage, letting out a soft breath.

Bao Xia glanced out the window, somewhat uneasy, and whispered, "Miss, most of the people in the capital went to Jinming Pond today. For safety's sake, please ask someone to inform Madam to send a few more people over."

Qian Zhiqing smiled slightly and said, "No need, with my cousin here, everything will be fine."

Bao Xia shrank to the side, still feeling uneasy.

The oxcart left the alley and entered the market.

The streets were crowded with people, and although the streets were wide, people moved slowly.

Having sat for quite some time, Shi Lan grew tired, so she lifted the brocade cloth inside and looked out through the thin silk gauze.

Seeing that she looked very interested, Shi Ling knew that she must be curious, so she kindly moved closer and, through the crowd, pointed to the shops along the street and told her about them.

As Shi Lan listened to her recount the famous soft mutton soup, the delicious stone marrow soup, and the most renowned flatbread from the distant shop, she couldn't help but turn her gaze to look at her.

After speaking for a while, Shi Ling realized that the audience's attention had turned to her, and her delicate face immediately turned red.

Shi Lan smiled lightly, not pointing it out. Instead, Shi Ling's younger brother, Shi Zhen, bluntly complained, "Third sister, if you keep eating like this, you'll really become a big fat person. Mother will be worried to death then."

Shi Ling turned her head and glared fiercely at Shi Zhen, clenching her fingers into a fist and waving it with great force.

Shi Zhen stuck out his tongue at her, looking completely unafraid.

Shi Ling was annoyed that he had made her look bad in front of Shi Lan, and immediately said coldly, "I'm so fat, I'm not going to the small kitchen anymore starting tomorrow, and there won't be any more tung bark noodles or anything like that."

Hearing this, Shi Lei, who was watching the commotion from the side, immediately changed her expression. She quickly grabbed Shi Ling's sleeve with her chubby little hand and said ingratiatingly, "Third sister, Shi Zhen is talking nonsense. You are naturally beautiful and you can eat as much as you want without gaining weight. Let's have tung bark noodles tomorrow, and also prepare more fragrant minced meat sauce."

Shi Ling lowered her eyes and pulled a long face, while Shi Lei grinned at her with her small mouth missing a tooth, the dark little hole looking particularly comical.

Shi Ling was only trying to scare Shi Zhen, but seeing his younger sister so funny, he burst out laughing.

Shi Lan tilted her head and watched the three siblings interact, feeling a deep sense of love. For a moment, she thought of her younger brother, who was far away at the Wang clan school, and wondered how he was doing there.

The carriage swayed slightly and came to a stop. Shi Lan blinked, thinking something had happened, and tilted her head to look.

But the car only stopped for a moment before it started moving again. Shi Lan glanced at it, but because she didn't stick her head out, she didn't see what was going on.

But as she lowered the curtain, she heard someone softly calling her from not far away, "Second Miss Shi."

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