Qin Wanyin smiled broadly. She already had a pair of smiling eyes, but now they were so narrowed into slits that her pupils were no longer visible.

Holding Li Shiyue's hand tightly, she started chattering incessantly: "Fifth Sister just arrived, and she and A-Wan have teamed up to bully me. You have to help me."

Li Shiyue looked at Xu Lingzi and Xu Wan in the pavilion, who were also looking in their direction. She turned her head and raised an eyebrow slightly: "Did you lose some bet with them again?"

Qin Wanyin playfully stuck out her tongue, tacitly agreeing. Only then did she notice the unfamiliar woman beside Li Shiyue, and asked Li Shiyue, "And who is this?"

Just as Li Shiyue was about to speak, Wei Yujie suddenly stepped forward and said with a smile, "My name is Wei Yujie, and I am a cousin of the Duke of Rongguo's family."

A cousin of the Duke of Rongguo?

Qin Wanyin looked at Li Shiyue. Wasn't that Li Shiyue? She really didn't recognize this woman. But she couldn't leave her hanging. After thinking for a while, she seemed to remember that her surname was Wei... Wasn't the mistress of the third branch of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion surnamed Wei? So that's the connection.

"This is Grand Tutor Qin's only daughter, named Wanyin," Li Shiyue introduced softly, giving Qin Wanyin a helpless smile as they met her gaze.

According to custom, it should be Li Shiyue who makes the introductions. If Wei Yujie speaks rashly, and the Qin family is petty and holds a grudge, even the Rongguo Duke's Mansion might consider it impolite.

Wei Yujie was clearly unaware of this. Thinking of Qin Taifu's only daughter, she looked at Qin Wanyin with envy at what she wore and used.

However, the blatant staring made Qin Wanyin uncomfortable, so she turned away and walked inside with Li Shiyue.

It was an octagonal pavilion, open to the elements on all sides. Just as Li Shiyue sat down, she happened to be looking directly into Fu Yunning's eyes.

She looked much more haggard, and her gaze toward Li Shiyue carried a hint of coldness, as if a lone wolf had its territory taken away. The coldness in her eyes was unfathomable, yet it sent a chill down one's spine.

Li Shiyue wanted to see more clearly, but Fu Yunning had already turned around. A gentle breeze blew by, and the treetops obscured her view, so she couldn't see anything at all.

"Isn't that Fu Yunning?" Xu Wan glanced at her and then looked away.

Qin Wanyin became interested upon hearing this, craned her neck but saw nothing. She looked around and asked with a complicated expression, "Have you heard about this recently?"

Li Shiyue, Xu Lingzi, and Xu Wan exchanged glances, all seeing doubt in each other's eyes. Finally, they all looked at Qin Wanyin and shook their heads.

Qin Wanyin's voice was even lower, tinged with anger: "If you ask me, the Earl of Changping is unworthy of being a father. Ever since the commoner Qin Ying was imprisoned, the Earl of Changping actually wanted to send Fu Yunning into the palace to help the Consort regain favor and give birth to a prince."

"Where did you hear that?" Li Shiyue opened her eyes wide, looked around, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that there was no one around the pavilion.

Xu Lingzi shook her head and tugged at Qin Wanyin's sleeve: "You can't say such things. She's still an unmarried woman. If others hear this, it will ruin her reputation."

Xu Wan nodded and looked at Qin Wanyin: "What Fifth Sister said makes sense, but if what you said is true, the Earl of Changping is truly unworthy of being a father."

Consort Fu is still in the Pixiang Palace. Not to mention that the Emperor and Fu Yun Ning are old enough to be father and daughter, the Earl of Changping wants his daughter and sister to serve the Emperor together. Isn't he afraid of being impeached by the censors?

Qin Wanyin didn't continue: "I heard about it on the street when I left the manor before. I only met you today, and I couldn't help but talk about it."

"You can't say that anymore, and it might not even be true. How dare you criticize the emperor? Do you want the Grand Tutor to punish you personally?" Li Shiyue tugged at Qin Wanyin's sleeve, deliberately making her words sound scary, because these were words that really shouldn't be spoken carelessly.

Qin Wanyin nodded hurriedly, looked up and saw Wei Yujie standing alone outside the pavilion, and gestured for Li Shiyue to look over: "Isn't that the Wei family maid who came with you? Why is she alone?"

“The Wei family is not in the capital for most of the year, so she is naturally not familiar with the women in the capital, nor does she know anyone there.” Xu Lingzi also came over; this was the first time she had seen Wei Yujie.

Thinking of her troublesome younger brother, Xu Yunxu, Xu Lingzi's gaze was scrutinizing and examining. Perhaps Wei Yujie was sensitive, for she looked up and met Xu Lingzi's gaze.

"Since she came with the Duke's mansion, it wouldn't be good to leave her behind. Chunling, go and invite Miss Wei over for a chat."

Li Shiyue glanced at Qin Wanyin, somewhat worried: "Don't say those things again. Let's just pretend we didn't hear them."

Qin Wanyin nodded hastily and sat down on either side of Li Shiyue with Xu Lingzi.

When Wei Yujie saw Chunling coming over, she smiled and invited her over. She nervously touched her hair before stepping into the pavilion.

"You must be Wei Yujie's cousin. You probably haven't met me before. I am Xu Lingzi, the fifth sister. I was already married when you came to the capital." Xu Lingzi smiled. If Wei Yujie was interested in marrying Xu Yunxu, she should have inquired about her, as she was Xu Yunxu's older sister and Xu Yunci's younger sister.

Sure enough, Wei Yujie seemed to suddenly realize something, and her smile became much more genuine, but in Xu Lingzi's eyes, it was more of an obsequiousness.

"I've heard of my cousin Lingzi's name for a long time, and today I finally get to meet her."

Xu Lingzi smiled slightly, looking at Wei Yujie sitting beside her, her scrutiny slightly concealed: "I haven't been back to my parents' home for a while these days, please don't mind, cousin Wei. I hope you're not having any trouble adjusting to life at home."

Wei Yujie blushed as if she had thought of something: "Everything is fine. The Duchess and the Old Madam take good care of me."

She lowered her head, smiled faintly, her cheeks flushed, like a young woman in the throes of first love. Anyone who didn't know better would assume she had a sweetheart in the Duke of Rong's household, given her demeanor at the Duke's residence.

Xu Lingzi's smile gradually faded. If she remembered correctly, Xu Yunxu had said yesterday that he had no feelings for the Wei family's daughter. But what did this mean? Was it unrequited love?

She looked at Li Shiyue and saw helplessness in her eyes. Remembering what Li Shiyue had said yesterday, that she should contact the Wei family's young lady herself before making a decision, she seemed to understand.

He understood immediately; no wonder Xu Yunxu insisted on staying at the Guo family's house for a few days after leaving Pinxianglou yesterday.

Remembering how Xu Yunxu had been pestering Guo Xun to nod and call him "brother-in-law" all day, Xu Lingzi couldn't help but smile. She and Li Shiyue exchanged a knowing smile, both seeing helplessness in each other's eyes. Li Shiyue was probably thinking about yesterday too.

Xu Wan, who was closer, also noticed that Wei Yujie's attitude was somewhat unusual after she finished speaking. She was also engaged, and looked at Xu Lingzi and Li Shiyue with confusion, as if the two of them seemed to know the truth.

"When has Yan Yan's wedding date been set?"

Xu Wan's voice was cold and abrupt, drawing everyone's attention back to her.