Xu Yunci's gaze was as calm as a still, unfathomable pool as he looked towards the location of the restaurant. Separated by the moat and a small stone bridge, the restaurant lay deep within the long street, unnoticed by anyone at their end.

"What happened yesterday, and today I saw Prince Yan and my third cousin enter the same restaurant. Could they really be here for the Xu family?"

Li Shiyue looked worried, seemingly unintentionally, her eyes drawn to the vendors beside her. She didn't even notice Xu Yunci looking at her.

When Xu Yunci turned his head, Li Shiyue's gaze was fixed on the vendor's cart, but the smile on her lips deepened. She calmed herself down and caught a glimpse of Xu Yunci giving Chang An some instructions.

When he looked up, he was holding two fans in his hands. When placed together, they resembled a beautiful spring landscape. The jade-like ribs of the fans were smooth to the touch and of decent quality.

"What do you think of this, cousin? It's just a little too big and a little too small."

Xu Yunci looked at the vendor, meaning to ask the price, but the vendor misunderstood and smiled apologetically.

“My wife is good at making these things. This pair of fans was made by my wife. One is big and the other is small, which means that the husband and wife each have a fan, and together they are like mountains and rivers leaning on each other.”

Li Shiyue's smile froze. She hadn't looked closely enough, nor had she been told that it had such a meaning. Meeting Xu Yunci's meaningful gaze, the smile in his eyes grew even more pronounced, and Li Shiyue felt as if the two fans in her hands were burning hot.

"So that's the hidden meaning."

Under Xu Yunci's gaze, Li Shiyue calmly put the two fans back and pulled on Xu Yunci's sleeve to walk away.

Xu Yunci didn't budge an inch. Even when Li Shiyue turned around and looked at him in confusion, he raised his eyebrows and picked up the two fans again under Li Shiyue's surprised gaze.

He took out some silver from his purse and placed it on the vendor's cart, enough to buy everything on the cart. But Xu Yunci waved his hand, holding the two fans in one hand and grabbing Li Shiyue's wrist with the other.

They had only taken a couple of steps when they came face to face with Xu Yunxu and his two companions. Their gazes fell on Xu Yunci's hand, as he held onto Li Shiyue's wrist tightly.

"It's time to go back."

Compared to the shocked expressions on the faces of the brother and sister, Xu Yunxu appeared remarkably calm. He glanced at them and followed Xu Yunci's footsteps.

·

Wearing a pink undergarment, Li Shiyue let Chunling wring out her hair, then closed her eyes and leaned against the wooden couch.

Chunling moved very gently, as if afraid of pulling a single strand of her hair.

"Go and pick out some of the things I bought today and send them to the west courtyard for Xu Yunyang."

He wouldn't even utter the words "cousin."

Chunling was surprised that Mingming disliked Sanlangjun so much that she had always tried to return whatever he sent her before, so why was she now taking the initiative to talk to him?

Despite her doubts, Chunling couldn't ask directly. With her doubts still lingering, she gave the handkerchief to Liandong and left.

"Oh right, from tomorrow onwards I will have breakfast with my grandmother every day, and I want to take a walk in the garden every day, Chunling, don't forget that."

Li Shiyue opened her eyes, her index finger supporting her forehead. There was no hint of a smile in her eyes; her calmness was unsettling. Her meaningful gaze was unlike that of an innocent and clear-headed person.

Chunling seemed to have guessed something and nodded in response, "This servant understands."

Lian Dong didn't even lift her head, focusing solely on wringing out Li Shiyue's damp hair with the handkerchief in her hand. The delicate fragrance of roses lingered between the strands of hair, the scent of freshly picked rose petals, perfect for a bath.

After a long while, Lian Dong got up, put the damp handkerchief aside, and picked up a wooden comb to smooth out her curly hair.

"Lian Dong, aren't you going to ask me what I'm going to do?"

"Miss, do whatever you want. The old lady is here to help you. No one can bully you."

Watching her walk towards the dressing table, Li Shiyue simply turned over and lay face down on the soft pillow. Her eyes were misty, and she looked slightly languid: "You're right. With Grandmother around, no one can bully me now."

The pine garden was shrouded in night, and the full moon shone through the treetops and under the eaves, its bright light falling on the ground.

"Both the Third Prince and the Prince of Yan have seen me. I didn't dare to go in rashly, so Steward Wang went in disguise. Although he is old, he is nimble and easily slipped in."

In his youth, Steward Wang had traveled all over the country and possessed some martial arts skills. Dressed in a coarse cloth robe, he stepped forward and said, "I sneaked in, but dared not inquire rashly for fear of attracting attention. After some thought, I learned that the Prince of Yan and the Third Young Master had entered the same room. Fearing I might be mistaken, I tried to get closer, but I could only see the Third Young Master's servant guarding outside. Even the men who seemed to be philandering were very wary around that room."

"I don't know what's going on inside, but the Third Prince's servant seems to be quite familiar with the guards of the Prince of Yan's mansion. I didn't get too close, but their manner of speaking didn't seem like they were meeting for the first time."

"I tried to sneak in, but the guards at the gate were very vigilant. The things that were sent in were delivered by the guards, and no one was allowed to enter."

Xu Yunci tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a soft sound: "Can you hear anything?"

Manager Wang shook his head: "We can only hear the woman singing and playing instruments inside, but we can't hear anything else. The door is closed tightly, and we can't see anything."

"From the outside, it looks like a wealthy young man coming to have fun."

Xu Yunci didn't speak, but he had a vague guess in his heart, and the seriousness in his eyes was as cold as the deep winter.

Steward Wang pursed his lips, glanced at Chang An, and seeing that there was nothing else for him, withdrew. He just wanted to help the madam take good care of the eldest daughter and didn't want to get too involved. He did these things because he wanted to have some status so that he could do something for the eldest daughter in the future.

As for other matters, they have nothing to do with him.

Xu Yunci got up, walked to the window, and looked at the moonlight overhead.

Prince Yan... Xu Yunyang... Lady Liu...

He closed his eyes, raised his hand to rub his temples, hoping that some things were different from what he had guessed.

"Chang'an, find a reliable but unfamiliar subordinate to follow closely behind Third Master and Prince Yan. Report any movements to me immediately. If they meet again, perhaps at the same place, find a way to get our people infiltrated."

The Rongguo Mansion shares both honor and disgrace. Ever since Xu Lingyu became the Crown Princess, the Xu family has become inseparable from the Crown Prince of Chonghua Palace. The Xu family is one of the trusted ministers chosen by the Emperor for the Crown Prince.

The Prince of Yan's approach to Xu Yunyang raises questions: Is it because the second branch of the family has allied itself with the Prince of Yan's mansion, or does the Prince of Yan intend to use the second branch to do something to the Xu family? Perhaps Old Madam Xu's concerns are not unfounded.

Xu Yunci's expression was not good. He couldn't help but feel fortunate that Li Shiyue had told him what she knew today. Otherwise, he really wouldn't have been able to connect the dots between Liu Shi and Xu Yunyang's behavior today and find anything wrong with it.