An inconspicuous carriage was parked at the side gate of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion. Li Shiyue, wearing a veil, was helped into the carriage.

The carriage wasn't large. When she sat down, Xu Yunci seemed to have been waiting for a long time, placing her hands on her knees and resting with her eyes closed.

Li Shiyue pulled up the middle of her veil, revealing her face. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly met Xu Yunci's eyes, which were so deep they seemed to draw her in.

The weather outside was perfect, and it was a perfect day for young men and women to go out together. As the carriage traveled through the streets, it was a common sight to see young men and women traveling together.

After an unknown amount of time, the carriage stopped. Xu Yunci had already gotten off the carriage. Li Shiyue climbed out of the carriage and was about to take Tao Lu's hand, but Xu Yunci beat her to it. His large hand grabbed her wrist and helped her down without saying a word.

Through the fabric, I could feel the warmth of my palm through my wrist, but that warmth wasn't coming from me.

No one could see the blush on her face from under the veil, but Xu Yunci's voice came from beside her: "Don't make a sound, stay close to me."

He didn't let go, letting his wide sleeves cover his hand. His palm was broad and strong, and his grip on Li Shiyue's wrist was just right.

As Li Shiyue walked up to the second floor of the restaurant, she was puzzled and kept her eyes on the steps.

Half a month has passed since then, and she had not heard any news. She thought that Xu Yunci had resolved the matter, but she did not expect that Tao Lu would come over today, take her clothes and take her out.

She wasn't asked to manage Chengyu Pavilion; she was simply told that Xu Yunci had his own arrangements.

This restaurant is located in the most prosperous part of the capital, and also in the busiest part of this long street. However, the private room we arrived at was upstairs, towards the back, and was quite secluded.

Xu Yunci pushed open one side of the window and turned around to see Li Shiyue's veil lifted, revealing her dazed face. He gestured for her to come over.

Although Li Shiyue was puzzled, she walked over with a look of doubt and looked in the direction Xu Yunci was pointing. There was a neat courtyard facing south.

There is a quiet pebble path between the courtyards. The courtyards do not look very spacious, and there are not many people coming and going. It seems more like a separate residence.

Behind those two rows of houses, there is a wider road, and the houses are also more spacious, changing from five houses to three houses per row.

The restaurant was built high up, and this particular private room faced a secluded direction. Li Shiyue looked at Xu Yunci, puzzled. She didn't think that Xu Yunci had gone to all that trouble to call her out just to see this place.

She's not a carpenter or bricklayer, so even if a house were delivered to her, she wouldn't understand its construction.

Xu Yunci saw the doubt in her eyes and pointed in the direction of the mansion behind her: "Look there."

Although Li Shiyue was puzzled, she obediently followed his finger and looked in that direction. After a while, two carriages stopped in front of the mansion.

The women who disembarked concealed their faces and were welcomed into the courtyard by the gatekeeper. After a while, the carriage stopped, and a young man stepped down, looked around, and then walked inside. The gatekeeper bowed and scraped, showing great respect.

Unable to see his face clearly, Li Shiyue looked up at Xu Yunci, hoping to glean something from his expression, but ultimately there was no answer.

She had no choice but to ask, "Whose young master is that, and whose young lady is that? Did my cousin call me here to see which young master is keeping a mistress here?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Li Shiyue felt a sharp pain in her wrist and looked up to meet Xu Yunci's helpless gaze.

“I’ve had people follow him closely these past few days, and they’ve discovered that every two days, Fu Chen, the heir of the Marquis of Guangping, is having another secret rendezvous with someone. Can you guess which woman it is?”

Li Shiyue's heart skipped a beat. She subconsciously wanted to say "Miss Fan San," but she wasn't sure, so she swallowed the rest of her words.

"No matter whose daughter she is, if the Marquis of Guangping's heir does this, what will happen to her if he doesn't marry her?"

Xu Yunci looked at her, raised an eyebrow and said, "Then how do you know it wasn't that young lady's own choice? Perhaps she was attracted by the prestige of the Marquis of Guangping's mansion."

Li Shiyue looked straight at Xu Yunci, her eyes full of seriousness: "So, cousin already knows whose daughter she is."

"Yes, I know. She is the illegitimate daughter of Vice Minister Fan, the third in her family. Madam Fan wanted to marry her off to a wealthy merchant over forty years old as his second wife. By chance, she got involved with the heir of the Marquis of Guangping, and she is now pregnant."

Xu Yunci's eyes revealed a hint of ruthlessness: "Yan Yan, tell me, does the Guangping Marquis's mansion know about this? Does the Guangping Marquis's wife know about it? If they do, how dare they ask Mother for this?"

Outsiders may think he is cold-hearted and heartless, but only those close to him know that he values ​​his family the most.

A ruthless glint appeared in his eyes, but Li Shiyue felt no fear. If someone were to harm Old Madam Xu, she might not be much calmer than Xu Yunci.

Anyone who knows someone is going to harm their loved ones will almost always lose their temper.

Lady Guangping almost always jumped around on Xu Yunci's principles.

"I guess she knew, otherwise why would she have bothered to enter the Duke's mansion in such a hurry to go to the capital for the sake of becoming a Grand Secretary? I guess the Lady of Guangping Marquis doesn't want the illegitimate daughter of a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice as her daughter-in-law. If she wants to put an end to Miss Fan's feelings, she must first arrange a marriage for the heir of Guangping Marquis."

"The person chosen for this marriage must come from a noble family and have received a good family education; otherwise, how can they take over the Guangping Marquis's mansion and win over the heart of the Guangping Marquis's heir?"

Undoubtedly, the Crown Princess's younger sister and the youngest daughter of the Duke of Rongguo is the best choice. By attaching herself to the powerful Chonghua Palace and the Duke of Rongguo's mansion, she can also resolve the troubles of the Marquis of Guangping's family.

It has to be said that Lady Guangping's wishful thinking is about to backfire on Li Shiyue.

Xu Yunci's gaze fell on the house that had been taken out: "In a few days, the Lady of Guangping Marquis will be holding a banquet at the Grand Scholar's residence."

“She dared to scheme against the Xu family, she has to pay the price.”

Li Shiyue's brow twitched. Sure enough, she understood the deeper meaning in Xu Yunci's words, and she felt that she should applaud.

I felt both nervous and excited. What would Xu Yunci do?

"But after all, this is a matter of the inner quarters. Even if Lady Guangping Marquis holds a banquet at the Grand Scholar's residence to invite various families, what if Lady Fan doesn't bring Miss Fan with her? What if my cousin can't help?"

Seeing Xu Yunci looking over, Li Shiyue tilted her head slightly. She was shorter, so she had to look up to see Xu Yunci.

"Why don't you help me, cousin? I can handle this. It's not that difficult, is it?"

Li Shiyue blinked and smiled, "Judging from Madam Fan's attitude, it's clear that Miss Fan is actually having a hard time under her stepmother and elder sister. There's no need for my cousin to handle this personally."