After walking out of Liufang Pavilion, Xie Yizhi looked around for a long time, but he couldn't see the person he wanted to see.

Just as he was about to step out of the courtyard, Xie Yizhi heard the conversation between the young men in the long corridor outside. He stopped and listened intently to their soft laughter.

"I remember this villa was bestowed upon Prince Xu the year he was promoted to the position of Prefect of Jingzhao. The scenery in this garden is one of the best in the capital."

"However, I didn't expect that the Duke's mansion would hold the birthday banquet for their cousin here. Is this an honor or do they not really consider her a member of the Xu family?"

The young man who spoke last sounded somewhat doubtful. After a pause, the voice of the first young man who spoke came again, this time even lower, with a hint of suspense.

"I don't think so. Even if His Highness the Crown Prince had asked to hold a banquet for the Crown Princess at Guanqing Garden, Prince Xu would never have agreed to it."

If you ask me, there are quite a few shady dealings in the Rongguo Duke's Mansion. First, there's the cousin of a fallen earl's family who suddenly becomes the only non-royal county princess in the dynasty. It's said that the late Madam Li of the Yunyang Earl's Mansion and Madam Xu of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion arranged a marriage between their younger generations, and that this Yichang County Princess came to the capital to get married.

However, this marriage seems rather unreliable. The young lady of Dayong is usually engaged by eighteen at the latest, and as far as I know, that county princess will be that age next year. It's likely that Old Madam Xu has already chosen a suitable young man from the Xu family, but hasn't revealed it yet.

Another young man seemed thoughtful: "According to you, this Princess of Yichang County must have a high status in the Xu family. She might become quite a figure after marrying into the Xu family."

"What do you mean by 'personal figure'? Pshaw, she's just good-looking and has a good figure. Now that the Yunyang Marquis's family has offended the government, they have no choice but to cling to the Rongguo Duke's family. Otherwise, how can they marry into a high-ranking family by taking advantage of the Xu family's influence?"

Such a young woman may look acceptable, but if it were my family, I would certainly not allow her to become my wife. Without the Rongguo Duke's mansion, how would I have had the opportunity to meet the Emperor? She's just a young woman; she should obediently marry according to her father's orders, instead of having the audacity to travel to the distant capital, so far from Yunzhong County, to get close to a nobleman.”

The voices of the two young men faded into the distance. Xie Yizhi walked out of the courtyard gate and looked at the figures of the two young men, finding them somewhat familiar.

He beckoned, and the servant behind him came over: "Young Master."

Xie Yizhi pointed at the two departing people, whispered something in the servant's ear, and the servant nodded and chased after them.

A short while later, Xie Yizhi walked slowly along the corridor with his hands behind his back. Through the curved corridor, he hid his figure behind the tree branches and listened to the two young men's cursing.

The water is hot enough, it's even steaming. I hope this clothing will be as clean as those two people's mouths, and will be fine after a few washes.

Xie Yizhi watched the two young men leave, cursing and swearing, feeling incredibly happy. However, the next moment, he raised an eyebrow and looked at the two men approaching, seemingly lost in thought.

It was Xu Yunci and Li Shiyue.

While talking, Li Shiyue looked at Xu Yunci with bright eyes, and even the corners of her mouth were upturned, indicating that she was in a pretty good mood.

The words of the two people seemed to echo in his ears. Xie Yizhi narrowed his eyes into slits, looked up at the blue sky, and then looked at Li Shiyue. Her clothes seemed to be different from what he had seen in the morning.

Xu Yunci slowed his pace and watched Li Shiyue enter the courtyard from a distance before turning his gaze away.

He hadn't walked far when he came face to face with Xie Yizhi, as if they had been waiting for him.

"It's too stuffy in the courtyard, let's go for a walk." Noticing Xu Yunci's gaze, Xie Yizhi smiled and spoke first, breaking the silence.

"This villa has a really nice view, especially at this time of year. It's warm in winter and cool in summer, which is probably true." The tenderness in Xu Yunci's eyes disappeared as soon as Li Shiyue's figure disappeared.

However, it wasn't a cold indifference that kept people at arm's length, but rather a gentle tone and a polite, normal interaction.

He proposed Li Shiyue's birthday banquet here, partly for his own selfish reasons, wanting to make his beloved's birthday more unique, which is not unreasonable.

On the other hand, Guanqing Xiaoyuan was under his control, and he had not invited any families. Now, taking advantage of this opportunity, he brought out Old Madam Xu as well, all for the sake of his grandson's filial piety.

Xie Yizhi smiled, not mentioning the scene he had just witnessed, but only talking about the conversation he had overheard between the two people. He scratched his forehead and said, "It was my own decision. If it caused any trouble, my cousin, the Crown Prince, can simply push me out."

Xu Yunci's expression was unreadable, but his eyes held a hint of coldness. It was unexpected that such idle talk would come from the mouth of a seven-foot-tall man.

"I see."

Xie Yizhi glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, then remained silent and followed Xu Yunci into the courtyard.

Although the courtyard of the young lady and her husband belonged to Liufang Pavilion, there were separate courtyards on both sides. Walking out, one could reach the main hall, which faced Bixin Lake and resembled a pavilion in the lake. There, a larger plaque hung with the three large characters "Liufang Pavilion" in red gold.

Surrounded by water on three sides, facing the center of Bixin Lake, the pavilion is enclosed by a section of lime-colored marble, forming a rectangular four-cornered structure that leaves a narrow lake spring in the middle.

A screen erected along the gray marble railing separated the men's and women's seating areas. Madam Yang led the ladies to the inner pavilion, where they faced the women with the doors open, able to see clearly what the women were doing with just a glance.

Li Shiyue and Xu Lingzi sat together at the head of the table. Today, Li Shiyue was the main character of the birthday banquet, so it was perfectly reasonable for her to sit in the main seat.

She pulled Xu Lingzi along because Xu Lingzi had also contributed to the banquet today. They had never been so clearly separated, and most of the women sat together on either side, so this was not surprising.

Inside the pavilion, there were four long square tables, on which were already laid out dishes that looked and smelled delicious. There was also enough space between each pair of long tables to fit a charcoal brazier, which warmed my legs nicely.

Among the maidens, Princess Chunhui was the most noble. She sat with Fu Yunning, treating everyone else as if they were invisible, and took her seat first.

She was extremely proud and delicate, and this wasn't the first time she had acted this way. Some young ladies were used to it, but since it was a banquet hosted by the Duke of Rongguo's family, they didn't expect Princess Chunhui to be so disrespectful.

Li Shiyue and Xu Lingzi exchanged a glance and saw helplessness in each other's eyes. Fortunately, they had no intention of putting on airs, as they had guessed that Princess Chunhui would not easily give face to anyone.

"I originally thought this Liufang Pavilion was in the courtyard I just saw, but I never expected there to be such a wonderful place here."