The Double Ninth Festival in the lunar calendar is a day for climbing mountains. As the weather turns cooler, people wear cloaks when going out.

"Everyone else is out enjoying the spring, but we're out enjoying the autumn."

Li Shiyue smiled faintly. Today, she was wearing a bamboo-green cloak with dark patterns. Her gaze couldn't help but fall on the young man beside Xu Lingzi.

"Guo Shaoqing, we haven't been to this place before. Why don't you tell us how you found such a wonderful place?"

The servants behind them led their respective horses. As soon as Li Shiyue finished speaking, Xu Lingzi, who was standing beside her, pursed her lips, faced her direction, and shyly tugged at Li Shiyue's sleeve.

Everyone knows that on the fourth day after the Cold Dew solar term, Guo Xun, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, invited a matchmaker to enter the gate of the Rongguo Duke's mansion. He also invited his aunt, who had raised him, to deliver a full 120 loads of betrothal gifts, in order to ask for the hand in marriage of the sixth daughter of the mansion.

Xu Lingqing walked past Xu Yunci to Li Shiyue's side, smiling as she continued the conversation: "This place has beautiful mountains and clear waters, and the vast grasslands are perfect for horseback riding. Sixth Sister loves to ride horses with Cousin the most. I just wonder if Guo Shaoqing is a good horseman."

Xu Yunyao raised an eyebrow, a hint of playful teasing appearing on his usually composed face: "You'd better run well, otherwise how will you accompany Sixth Sister on horseback races in the future? Sixth Sister loves polo and horseback riding the most."

"Oh dear, what's wrong with you two today? Yan Yan is usually quiet, and Jiu Niang doesn't like to join in the fun. It's all Fifth Brother's fault; he's led them astray."

Xu Lingzi stamped her feet, her face flushed, and looked at Guo Xun's expression. But he looked at her with a smile, and Xu Lingzi looked away, her face turning even redder.

Xu Yunyao scratched her head at the sudden change, but Li Shiyue and Xu Lingqing exchanged a glance and nodded seriously in unison, silently echoing Xu Lingzi's words.

"It's alright. I can't outrun Sixth Sister. I'll run with her a few more times and I'll get better."

Guo Xun's voice was as gentle as his personality. Xu Lingzi, who had been blushing, raised her head and met Guo Xun's gaze. Suddenly, she remembered that day in Guanqing Garden.

He asked why she liked someone like him, someone so stubborn and old-fashioned.

What was her answer again? Oh right, she said she didn't like people like him, but rather Guo Xun, even though he was a bit old-fashioned, he was a very good person.

Later, when he agreed to marry her, the unwavering determination in his eyes seemed to be a promise to her that he would never betray her heart.

Seeing this, the group of people all refrained from making a sound to disturb her, and even intentionally or unintentionally lagged far behind after mounting their horses. Xu Lingzi rode in front, while Guo Xun rode behind her at a slower pace, but he didn't fall far behind either.

Li Shiyue withdrew her gaze, gripped the reins, and the horse leisurely moved forward, widening the distance between itself and the group ahead.

Xu Lingqing was even slower than her, as she was the least skilled at riding a horse. Upon seeing Li Shiyue's side, Xu Yunci quickly rode her horse a few steps to catch up.

Her eyes flickered for a moment as she looked at the people on either side: "Fifth Brother, aren't you going to find Second Brother?"

She wouldn't be foolish enough to mention Li Shiyue at this time; if people knew, wouldn't that expose her selfish motives? Xu Yunyao respected her second brother the most, so speaking of him was always the right thing to do.

Xu Yunyao looked up. The two people in front of her were some distance apart, so she couldn't hear what they were saying. However, Xu Yunci's gaze fell on Li Shiyue's face. She said something, and before Li Shiyue could turn around, the corners of her mouth curved up.

A cool breeze ruffled her hair, and a strand clung to the corner of her lips. Xu Yunci, riding alongside her on horseback, reached out and brushed the hair away. His expression was obscured, but Li Shiyue's gradually blushing earlobes were impossible to ignore.

Xu Yunyao lowered her head, a thought welling up in her mind.

Xu Yunxu sighed, glanced ahead, and then looked at his younger brother on the other side, whose eyes were filled with undisguised surprise: "Isn't Fifth Brother worried about you? You've never been good at riding horses. If we all go, you won't be able to manage on your own."

"Your fourth aunt loves you dearly, but if your fourth uncle knew that your fifth brother had abandoned you on horseback, you'd be waiting for him with willow branches, which would be excruciating."

While others cherish their husbands like precious treasures, Xu Huailou is different; he loves his daughter far more than his son.

Xu Lingqing wanted to say something more, but Xu Yunxu's gaze was complicated: "Ninth Sister."

His gaze held a hint of doubt, enough to shatter Xu Lingqing's thoughts. She feigned composure and said, "I'm worried about my cousin. My second brother is being cold to me, and I'm afraid my cousin might feel uncomfortable."

"Perhaps I'm overthinking it. My second brother is quite familiar with my cousin."

Her gaze fell upon the two people in front of her, and she clearly saw the tenderness in Xu Yunci's eyes, a tenderness she had never shown to anyone before, a tenderness that was different from that shown to her younger siblings.

Xu Lingqing's pupils dilated, and she looked at Xu Yunxu, but the latter looked calmly at the brother and sister, seemingly giving an answer in silence.

The two people in front naturally had no idea what was going on. Li Shiyue watched Xu Lingzi riding her horse recklessly ahead, while Guo Xun behind her would sometimes catch up and sometimes fall behind before catching up again. Xu Lingzi's lips never left her mouth.

She held the newborn in her hands. This was the first time she had spent time with Xu Yunci since they parted ways at Guanqing Xiaoyuan. His words from that day still echoed in her ears, but he made no attempt to bring them up. Li Shiyue felt a sudden surge of unease in her heart.

In fact, she had forgotten about Xu Yunci's confession these days, and was busy helping Yang Shi to sort out Xu Lingzi's dowry list. Knowing that she was going to be engaged, the palace even sent out many rewards.

When the emperor learned of this, he ordered that the reward be doubled, meaning "adding to the dowry." Adding to the dowry is usually done by one's elders or close sisters, but the emperor did so, which suggests that he regarded the Xu family girl as his own mother, inevitably making people wonder how much importance the Xu family held in the emperor's eyes.

Perhaps out of respect for the Chonghua Palace, officials who had initially wanted to follow the Prince of Yan's lead gradually began to be more cautious.

"The Prince of Yan demanded to marry the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Changping, but the Pixiang Palace refused to release her."

Changping Earl's Mansion?

Li Shiyue looked up at Xu Yunci. It seemed like she hadn't heard any news about Fu Yunning for a long time. Ever since she was taken back to the Marquis's mansion, rumors had spread that the Marquis of Changping wanted to kill her. Upon hearing this, the Imperial Concubine brought her to the Pixiang Palace.

"The Prince of Yan? Qin Ying is going to marry Fu Yun Ning?"

Xu Yunci nodded, as if he were talking about a trivial matter: "That is why the Emperor did not agree to marry him as the principal wife, leaving Prince Yan hanging. He probably felt that Prince Yan had been acting unruly in court recently, and was not very satisfied with him."

It would be strange if anyone were satisfied. Even the Crown Prince wouldn't dare to try to win over court officials right in front of the Emperor. Currently, the Xu family is the most loyal to the Crown Prince, followed by the Qin family and the Jiang family. The former two families are the Crown Prince's wife's maternal family and the latter are the Crown Prince's tutors, both personally selected by the Emperor.