"Second brother."

Li Shiyue's smile froze. She turned around and saw Xu Yunyang with two or three friends following behind, heading in their direction.

Since they were all men, Li Shiyue suppressed her smile and lowered her eyes. Xu Lingzi and the other three also stopped chatting and walked over together.

Xu Yunyang's gaze fell deeply on Li Shiyue, who didn't look up. He thought she was so pure, but it was just a matter of status. All those principles she talked about with him were just as cheerful as the young master of the Xu family.

Although Li Shiyue stood next to Xu Yunci, the distance between them was enough to fit two Xu Lingzis. Xu Yunyang, however, had always been outshone by Xu Yunci; he couldn't see that in his heart and eyes, only in what he wanted to see.

However, he concealed it very well, maintaining his usual gentle and refined demeanor, noticing that Xu Lingzi and the other three had different objects in their hands.

Li Shiyue smiled and said, "Third cousin, you've come at just the right time. I just picked out some things for everyone, and since you're here, we don't have to carry them back."

As soon as he finished speaking, a servant boy stepped forward carrying a wooden box. Inside the box was a jade pendant with green tassels. Xu Yunyang picked it up and examined it, noticing the jade pendant in the hand of the seventh son, Xu Yunxu. It was clear that this was a very ordinary gift.

Without revealing anything amiss, Xu Yunyang smiled and held the hand in hers, saying, "Thank you, cousin."

Li Shiyue didn't want to get too involved with him, and simply said, "As long as Third Cousin is happy."

Xu Yunyang seemed to have only said hello, put the jade pendant away, and left with his friends.

After strolling around for half a day, the group finally returned to the Duke's Mansion.

The three sisters sat in the same carriage, while Xu Lingqing sat on the other side, never taking off the hair ornament in her hair.

Li Shiyue's gaze fell on Xu Lingzi, who had been admiring the earrings ever since she got on the bus. Xu Lingzi kept talking, while Li Shiyue sat to the side without showing any impatience, occasionally nodding and agreeing with Xu Lingzi.

“My cousin is so kind-hearted. Even though my tenth sister treated you so badly, she still thinks of her. No wonder Mother keeps reminding me to learn from my cousin. If I were my tenth sister, I wouldn’t be so ungrateful.”

Li Shiyue met Xu Lingqing's gaze and smiled, "My tenth cousin is still young. Since she calls me 'elder cousin,' I've already accepted it. How can I hold it against her?"

"My ninth cousin praised me so much that I felt embarrassed."

Xu Lingqing covered her mouth and chuckled: "What you said is the truth. If it were me, I wouldn't be so devoted to the West Courtyard."

She seemed quite dissatisfied with Xu Lingwan in her words. The two were close in age, and with Xu Lingwan's flamboyant and arrogant nature, Xu Lingqing must have suffered quite a bit of setbacks from her.

"Second brother is off today? I was startled when I saw him. I thought it was only fifth and seventh brothers today." Xu Lingqing's tone suddenly changed, becoming very intimate with Xu Lingzi.

Xu Lingzi seemed used to it: "Yes, Grandmother asked my second brother to come out with us for a walk. New Year's Eve is just around the corner, have you prepared your jewelry yet?"

Xu Lingqing glanced at Li Shiyue and said with a smile, "I thought Sixth Sister had no interest in dressing up. I heard that she's been kept in Tingxiang Pavilion by her aunt these days to learn account books."

"I heard from the old woman that the account book was all written in words, yet Sixth Sister was able to sit still," Xu Lingqing said, tugging at Li Shiyue's sleeve with a mysterious look on her face.

"You don't know this, do you? Sixth Sister hates sitting. Since she was little, she loved to go to the martial arts field with Second Brother and Fifth Brother. Once, she dragged me along, and when Auntie found out, she was almost punished."

Xu Lingzi blushed and said angrily, "Who knew you were afraid to ride a horse? Your mother almost had to punish you with family discipline back then."

Xu Lingqing pretended to beg for mercy, reached out and tugged at Li Shiyue's sleeve, and softened her voice: "Cousin, please help me. If Sixth Sister is angry, she might not lend me the rare book."

Li Shiyue smiled and held Xu Lingqing's hand, her eyes crinkling as she looked at Xu Lingzi with a beaming smile: "Cousin, you can ride a horse? That's amazing!"

Her little cousin's sweet praise instantly dispelled Xu Lingzi's embarrassment at being exposed, and a proud smile appeared on her face: "Do you want to learn? I'll teach you after the New Year."

Xu Lingqing chimed in, "I think it's a good idea. Sixth Sister loves playing polo. If Cousin learns it, Sixth Sister won't have to nag me every year. I'll do anything you ask, but I'm really bad at riding horses. I don't even dare to take a step when I see a horse."

"But when it comes to riding skills, it has to be Second Brother. Sixth Sister was taught to ride by Second Brother himself. If Cousin is afraid, she can go to Second Brother instead."

“After spring arrives, we often host banquets for each other, and most of the time we go to the horse farm to ride horses or play polo. If my cousin is interested, we can go and have some fun after spring arrives.”

Xu Lingqing said apologetically, "Although I can't ride, I'll wait for you to come back on horseback and make tea for you all."

Before the words were finished, the carriage had come to a smooth stop, and a maid's voice could be heard outside the carriage: "Ladies, we've arrived."

The three alighted from the carriage one after the other. The three Xu brothers, Xu Yunci and Xu Lizhe, were waiting for their three sisters to enter the mansion together. But then, an angry female voice called out from behind, "Xu Lizhe!"

Li is Xu Yunci's courtesy name. People who can call their son by his courtesy name are usually close relatives.

Li Shiyue was very curious. She turned around and saw a richly dressed woman standing on a luxurious carriage not far from the gate of the Duke's mansion. Her face looked somewhat familiar.

The woman was dressed in luxurious clothes, and besides the pure gold hairpin, the other pearl flowers in her hair were exquisite and beautiful. She walked quickly to Xu Yunci, glanced around, but the hair ornaments on both sides of her hair hung down steadily.

Upon closer inspection, Li Shiyue finally remembered who this woman was. She was Princess Chunhui, whom she had met on the second day after entering the manor with Xu Yunci when they entered the palace half a month ago.

Princess Chunhui had a beautiful face with an oval shape, a pointed chin, and slender cheeks. Her eyes held a hint of displeasure and anger as she looked around before fixing her gaze on Li Shiyue. Her small, raised eyebrows gave her an even more domineering air.

Not to mention the tone of her voice, it was anything but friendly: "You're off today. That explains why you didn't accept my invitation. Turns out you're accompanied by a beautiful lady!"

After all, she was a princess. After the formalities, Princess Chunhui's words reached everyone's ears. The expressions on their faces no longer showed the warmth they had shown before; instead, they displayed distance from Princess Chunhui.

Princess Chunhui, seeing this, looked indignant and turned to look at Li Shiyue. She looked her up and down, then snorted disdainfully and said contemptuously, "You are nothing but a cousin living in the Duke's mansion. Don't have any improper thoughts. The position of the Duke's heir's wife is not something you can covet."

People were all outside the Duke's mansion, and Princess Chunhui's voice was quite loud; passersby could hear it clearly.

Li Shiyue blushed with embarrassment. It was the first time she had encountered such a situation, and she didn't know how to answer Princess Chunhui's question.

She never intended to become the wife of the Duke's heir, nor did she ever think of climbing up to Xu Yunci!