When Xu Yunci arrived at Zhaode Temple, it was already close to evening, and his clothes had even turned a darker color in the rain.

He sat on his horse, holding a whip that had hardened from being soaked in the rain, looked up at the steps without hesitation, and dismounted.

He now has only one thought in mind: to go up the mountain.

Following behind was Chang An. Luckily, he had been Xu Yunci's servant who had trained him in martial arts since childhood; otherwise, riding a fast horse in the rain and climbing a mountain would have been a death sentence.

Zhaode Temple is located on the mountaintop, with hundreds of steps. Not only is it tiring to climb, but it is also not suitable for climbing in a downpour.

"Your Highness, why don't we wait until the rain stops before going up?"

The steps seem to stretch on forever; it'll probably be a long way before you reach the gate of Zhaode Temple.

This is one of the three temples of Dayong, and even nobles from the palace would come here to offer incense.

Xu Yunci dismounted without even looking at him. His clothes were already soaked through, so he simply walked straight up the mountain.

"Then wait for me here."

Before he finished speaking, he took steady, powerful steps with large intervals, climbing more than a dozen steps in just a few strides.

Seeing that he couldn't stop him, Chang An gritted his teeth and quickly followed.

The mountain stone steps were built wide, and perhaps due to the years, there were more or less cracks in the steps, with green grass sprouting from the exposed soil in the middle.

Rainwater dripped down through the gaps in the lush, leafy trees overhead, much less than before.

The gate of Zhaode Temple was knocked open, and the young monk who came to open the door saw two people who were soaking wet, especially the young man in the back who was dressed in fine clothes and looked serious and solemn.

He put his hands together and said, "Benefactor, what brings you here in this heavy rain?"

Chang An stood in front of the door, speaking respectfully: "Young master, my husband is the heir of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion. My matriarch is here to worship Buddha, and my young master has come to find her."

"Please lead the way, young monk." Perhaps worried that the young monk wouldn't believe him, Chang'an took out the token with the character "Xu" engraved on it.

Recently, the matriarch of the Xu family of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion came to worship Buddha again and stayed in the quiet Zen temple on the back mountain.

The young monk, seeing that the token did not appear to be fake, put his hands together in a gesture of inviting the two inside.

There were no worshippers at the temple today. As soon as I entered the temple gate, I could faintly hear the deep voices of monks chanting sutras in unison. It seemed to have a special magic. I listened carefully for a while, and the restlessness in my heart was replaced by tranquility.

Seeing that the two were soaking wet, the young monk still handed them two umbrellas.

He didn't look around aimlessly, but led them through a side corridor, bypassing the main hall and other magnificent temples.

After several detours, they arrived at the rear monastery. The young monk whispered something to another monk, and the young monk in front put his hands together in prayer before turning back.

"Please, benefactor."

Then the young monks pretended to lead the two inside, probably because each young monk had a different responsibility.

Xu Yunci watched without saying a word, holding the umbrella the young monk had given him, as he was led to Old Madam Xu's Zen temple.

Just then, Granny Chang came out from inside and saw the figure walking towards her from the courtyard gate. She seemed afraid that she had knocked on the wrong door, so she stared intently until Xu Yunci, holding an umbrella, walked up to her. She hurriedly said, "Young Master?"

"Why did the young master come here so suddenly? In this weather, did you get caught in the rain?"

Granny Chang paused, then looked at Xu Yunci with concern, "Young Master, why are you in such a hurry to come over? Has something happened in the manor?"

Xu Yunci shook his head: "Grandmother is here, I want to see Grandmother."

If something had happened, Xu Yunci probably wouldn't have remained so calm.

Granny Chang breathed a sigh of relief: "The old lady just returned from worshipping Buddha and is in her room. Young Master, go ahead. This old servant will go to the two young masters' quarters and find you a change of clothes."

Seeing Xu Yunci go inside, she turned and instructed the maid guarding the door to boil a bowl of ginger soup and bring it in later, reminding Xu Yunci to drink it.

"You should drink a bowl in a little while to get rid of the cold."

Granny Chang was older, and she treated Chang An and his brother as if they were her own grandchildren. She pulled him along the corridor.

Chang An scratched his head and replied with a smile, "Thank you, Granny."

"No need to thank me. My old man brought you two home. It's fate, isn't it?"

Granny Chang smiled, seemingly casually mentioning why Xu Yunci had rushed over in the rain. She then observed Chang An's expression, not wanting to miss a single detail.

"To be honest, I don't know either. The young master said to prepare the horses and go out, so I followed him."

Chang An told the truth that he really did not know that the young master had rushed over in the rain just to see the old lady.

Today at court, I noticed that in the past few days, there hasn't been anything that the young master couldn't handle. So why is he in such a hurry to see the old lady? He must have his own reasons.

Seeing that she really couldn't get anything out of him, Granny Chang smiled and said, "Alright, I'll go ask Fifth Master and Seventh Master to find you and the young master a clean set of clothes to change into. It's windy here, so go wait in my room. I'll have someone bring you a bowl of ginger soup in a bit so you can warm yourself up."

Xu Yunci entered the room. Old Madam Xu was sitting cross-legged, letting the maid massage her legs. Xu Lingzi and Li Shiyue were nowhere to be seen.

Perhaps sensing someone approaching, when Madam Xu opened her eyes and saw Xu Yunci, she was momentarily bewildered, but her expression quickly turned to surprise and joy.

"Erlang? What brings you here?"

Madam Xu couldn't hide her joy, but the next second she saw his wet clothes and looked worried as she reached out to him: "What happened? Did you come in the rain?"

Her expression froze, as if she had considered many possible thoughts. Xu Yunci quickly said, "There's nothing wrong at home, Grandmother. It was your grandson who wanted to see you."

Madam Xu breathed a sigh of relief. The grandchildren in front of her had been raised by her when they were young, and they were a pair of siblings whom she had devoted all her efforts to raising.

Fortunately, they didn't disappoint her. Xu Lingyu and Xu Yunci, this brother and sister, were so young yet so capable of putting her at ease. Xu Yunci, in particular, had been raised as the family heir since childhood, and every action and word reflected this.

Since he started school, he has rarely been so impulsive. He doesn't seem like a composed and dignified young master in public, but more like a naive young man just beginning to experience love.

The smile on Madam Xu's lips gradually froze as she stared intently at Xu Yunci: "Why did you rush to see me in such a hurry?"

Xu Yunci pursed his lips, a rare hesitation surging in his eyes.

Seeing this, Madam Xu raised her hand to signal the maid to leave.

"Now it's just the two of us, grandmother and grandson. Do you still want to hide anything from your grandmother?"

Xu Yunci's eyes were clear. He took two steps forward, as if he had mustered up a great deal of courage to speak, and knelt on the footstool on Old Madam Xu's body.

"Grandson, if I may be so bold as to ask, what are your plans for the marriage between our two families, Grandmother?"