Xu Yunyao walked out of his courtyard, his face showing a weariness he had never seen before. Ahead lay Songyuan Garden. He stood outside the gate, hesitated for a moment, and then went inside.

Xu Yunci stood under the eaves, gazing at the orchids in the courtyard, lost in thought.

A row of orchids under the eaves bloomed elegantly in flowerpots, their branches and leaves moist, clearly showing that they had been carefully cared for.

He was somewhat surprised when he noticed someone coming in and saw Xu Yunyao. Although his younger brothers had been attached to him since they were little, they rarely came to Songyuan to stay for long after they became sensible. Usually, they could only be considered as guests.

"What did you do? You look so worried."

Xu Yunyao didn't hide anything. He was used to confiding in his elder brother when he had something on his mind, hoping that his brother might come up with a solution and help him. He sighed and told Xu Yunci about what had happened in his courtyard.

It was undoubtedly his newly acquired concubine who, upon hearing that he had just seen Li Shiyue, hurriedly sent someone to find him, only to find that he was just making a fuss over nothing.

He exposed her, and even said he was afraid he would be infatuated with his cousin and abandon her. Xu Yunyao was, after all, experiencing this for the first time. He hadn't known before, but now that he had, he felt somewhat immersed in it.

He might not have been clear about his own position in the situation, but Xu Yunci saw it clearly. He glanced at Xu Yunyao but didn't say anything.

"Since that's the case, then you can forget about the marriage. Grandmother dotes on Yan Yan. If she didn't care about that woman, she could have let you do whatever you wanted that day, instead of leaving it to Fourth Aunt to handle. But you just don't understand and still took her in."

To put it bluntly, I just don't like it.

Xu Yunci stroked the ring with his hand behind his back, his eyes slightly narrowed to conceal his emotions. If he didn't cherish it, someone else would.

"Tomorrow I'm taking Sixth Sister and Yan Yan to Guanqing Garden. The sisters are going boating. Please take good care of things at home. If anything happens, send someone to find me."

"I also have some matters to discuss with Guo Xun. Things have been rather unsettled in the court lately, so you should all be careful."

Xu Yunyao clearly hadn't listened, and the worry between his brows was almost showing. But Xu Yunci didn't want to comfort him anymore. After all, what kind of image would a young man have if he were to cry and whine like that?

Guanqing Xiaoyuan is Xu Yunci's villa. I visited it once before, and this is Li Shiyue's second time here.

Li Shiyue had come here with a different purpose in mind. As she watched the boats gradually drift away from the shore, she sighed inwardly. The person waiting for Guo Xun on that boat was not actually Xu Yunci.

She walked out from behind the artificial hill and bumped into Xu Yunci behind her. Li Shiyue almost instinctively dodged, and the wariness in her eyes pierced through Xu Yunci's heart.

Xu Yunci withdrew his outstretched hand, his eyes darkening. The feeling of being avoided by his beloved made him very uncomfortable.

"Cousin, are you really comfortable with your cousin being with Guo Shaoqing by herself? After all, Guo Shaoqing is a gentleman."

Xu Yunci didn't even look at the ship, shaking his head: "I know what kind of people they are, otherwise I wouldn't have agreed to let the two of them meet today."

Li Shiyue and he walked side by side, and the two simply stopped by the lake under the shade of the trees. The afternoon sun in autumn was the most intense, as if the height of summer had not yet passed.

"Actually, from the beginning, my cousin thought highly of Guo Shaoqing, and he brought him along several times."

It's not hard to see that Li Shiyue is naturally thoughtful, especially towards those she cares about. However, she doesn't deny that Guo Xun is a very good person, but also a rather old-fashioned young man, while Xu Lingzi is naturally more active. If the two of them were to truly get together, they could be said to complement each other perfectly.

But if the opposite happens, how heartbroken would Xu Lingzi be if she were rejected after admitting her feelings?

However, it cannot be denied that Xu Yunci may have done the right thing, and he was probably satisfied that Guo Xun was his brother-in-law.

"You are very perceptive and sensitive, and you always notice details. Could you please take a closer look at some things?"

Xu Yunci's voice was calm as he stopped first, turning his back to the lake and facing Li Shiyue. The affection in his eyes seemed to have been preordained, no longer hidden, but exposed in those alluring and deep phoenix eyes.

Li Shiyue's heart skipped a beat. Perhaps it was Xu Yunci's intense gaze that made it impossible to avoid, and she subconsciously wanted to step back.

"What is it that my cousin is talking about? There's something I don't know about it."

Today, her skirt was embroidered with dark blue orchids, the pattern so lifelike, as if the orchids from his pine garden had been brought over.

The delicate fragrance of orchids wafted to her nose. Xu Yunci stepped forward and asked, "What are your thoughts on your marriage? It's a marriage arranged for you by your grandmother and Madam Li."

“I don’t want to get married, so I’ll stay by my grandmother’s side and serve her by chanting scriptures every day. I’m not afraid my cousin will laugh at me for being unambitious, but the days of serving my grandmother may seem boring to others, but they are the most precious to me.”

Li Shiyue raised her head and looked directly into Xu Yunci's eyes: "If I get married and suffer grievances in the future, my grandmother will definitely feel much worse than I do."

"Rather than that, why not just stay here all day and serve my grandmother, fulfilling the filial duty that my mother couldn't do in her lifetime? That would be enough for me."

Xu Yunci clenched his fists, his gaze undisguisedly fixed on Li Shiyue's face, and he even took two steps closer to her, almost touching her.

Li Shiyue tried to dodge, but Xu Yunci trapped her between the stone table and him first. He was tall and imposing, his hands braced on the stone table, aggressively surrounding Li Shiyue between himself and the table.

Xu Yunci's face suddenly loomed large before her eyes, his eyes slightly red, and his warm breath brushed against her face, causing Li Shiyue's mind to momentarily wander.

"What if I said, 'I will marry you, and you will be my bride'?"

“You’re afraid of others getting close, so you’re wary of everyone. You worry that no one can protect you. I can. Whether you’re the Crown Princess’s younger brother or the heir of the Duke’s mansion, I can give you a very prestigious position.”

"Yan Yan, I love you. Will you be my bride?"

Almost instantly, Li Shiyue tilted her head back, her face and eyes filled with disbelief as she stared blankly at Xu Yunci, whose earnestness seemed genuine.

Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like her chest was going to burst open. Li Shiyue swallowed hard, and the hesitation in her eyes caught Xu Yunci's attention. He raised his hand, thought for a moment, but didn't touch her cheek. He put his hand back down.

My little cousin is wary of everyone, and even now, she's only temporarily putting aside her guarded expression because of her shock.

It looked like a hedgehog that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, making it impossible for anyone to get close.

Xu Yunci sighed: "It's not that I necessarily need you to agree today. I just want to tell you that I want to marry you as my new wife."