Seeing the distressed and uneasy look on Fan Heng's face, the two maids both saw confusion on each other's faces.

Is this person really drunk? There's no smell of alcohol on him; he seems more like he's been frightened.

On the other side, Li Shiyue was worried about leaving Qin Wanyin alone, so she took her to the "Fan Garden" and found Madam Qin in the house.

As soon as the two arrived, the surrounding ladies were also drawn to them. After all, who didn't know that the Princess of Yichang had taken over the management of the Duke's mansion the day after she married into it?

Lady Yang, the wife of the Duke of Rongguo, showed no displeasure as the mother-in-law and took the initiative to hand it over to her. Such a good family would not let the new bride suffer, and for a time everyone's thoughts gradually became active.

Regardless of what the people around her said, Li Shiyue simply smiled and responded. She walked to Madam Qin's side and gently pushed Qin Wanyin, saying, "I was worried about leaving Ayin sitting outside by herself, so I brought her here to see Madam."

Madam Qin was already worried about her daughter while sitting in the room. After all, the rumors about her going to the capital were known to almost everyone, and several people had been trying to find out if she was getting married soon, but she had brushed them off.

After leaving "Fan Garden", Li Shiyue found Xu Lingzi, who had been busy all along: "I couldn't find you in 'Fan Garden' just now. I knew you were busy today, but I didn't expect it to be so difficult to see you."

The Guo family was not as powerful as the Rongguo Duke's family. Although they had some servants, there were still some things that Xu Lingzi had to personally oversee.

When she turned around and saw that it was Li Shiyue, Xu Lingzi was both surprised and delighted. She forgot to give instructions to those people, turned her head and asked her trusted confidant to keep an eye on her, and walked over herself.

"Why did you come all by yourself? I've been a bit busy today and haven't had a chance to say a few words to you."

As they talked, they took each other's hands and sat down on a round stool on one side.

The banquet was about to begin, and she had slipped out from the "Fan Garden" to keep an eye on things. If Li Shiyue didn't come, she would hurry back.

"To make a long story short, I went to the Grand Tutor's residence to deliver a letter and only then did I learn that the Grand Tutor's residence was unaware of the rumors circulating in the capital. Today, I encountered that scholar, who was actually waiting for A-Yin in the corridor. If I hadn't been with him and had let him provoke A-Yin, she would have really rushed over."

“The long corridor outside ‘Fan Garden’ offers a wide view. If we make too much noise and attract other people, then even if A-Yin has ten mouths, she won’t be able to explain herself.”

“I was anxious to find you because I was also a little uneasy. This student doesn’t seem like a simple person. His purpose seems to be very clear: he’s heading towards A-Yin and the Grand Tutor’s mansion.”

After Li Shiyue finished speaking, she pursed her lips. She didn't know if it was her imagination or what, but she felt that she saw the shadow of someone from the past in Fan Heng.

It was the same feeling Meng Zhuo had when he was at the Yunyang Earl's Mansion, thinking about her and the Earl's Mansion.

He acts all respectable while speaking, but his heart is restless and frivolous; it's actually quite easy to guess what he's thinking.

Perhaps she should talk to Xu Yunci about today's incident and thoroughly investigate this Fan Heng. If he is merely trying to curry favor with the powerful and influential in the Grand Tutor's mansion and is using A Yin, then he can be easily dealt with.

If it's for the sake of the Grand Tutor's Mansion, or if there's a bigger conspiracy, then it's beyond what she and Xu Lingzi can handle.

The young men's courtyard was "Pingyuan" opposite "Fanyuan", and one had to walk around half a long corridor and pass through a small roundabout.

Most of those who came today were unmarried young men from their families, some of whom were like Guo Xun and Xu Yunci, who had just gotten married.

People of Qin Taifu's age and the Duke of Rongguo's age generally do not attend banquets.

Xu Yunci and Guo Xun were together. The Crown Prince had matters to attend to in the palace and needed to help the Emperor with his affairs. He had sent a gift first and would come over later if he had time.

However, King Zhao arrived exceptionally early. He sat in the main room, glanced at Xu Yunci, and then at Guo Xun.

Playing with the folding fan in his hand, he glanced at the other young men, and when he didn't see Fan Heng around, a hint of contempt appeared in his eyes.

He's useless; he can't even handle this simple task, and we still have to ask him to step in.

"I have recently heard some rumors in the capital, which must mean that I am about to attend someone's wedding banquet again."

Those who could sit in the main house were either noble families from the capital, members of the Chonghua Palace faction, or people on good terms with the Guo family.

A dozen or so young men sat together, relaxed but still able to hear what the King of Zhao said, and couldn't help but think of the recent rumors about his trip to the capital.

However, since the Grand Tutor's residence had not made a clear statement, and Grand Tutor Qin was highly respected, if it were to be said that his daughter was involved, the young men exchanged glances and tacitly chose to lower their heads and ignore the King of Zhao's words.

Xu Yunci rubbed the teacup in her hand with her fingertips, looked up at Prince Zhao, and stared at him with undisguised scrutiny: "I heard that His Majesty recently asked my elder sister to collect portraits of young women from the capital. The other day when I went to the palace to pay my respects, my elder sister mentioned that she was supposed to help the prince find a suitable wife."

"I'm afraid we should drink this wedding wine first. I wonder if Your Highness has taken a fancy to any girl? If so, why not go to the palace and ask for an imperial decree to grant you marriage? His Majesty would prefer to see Your Highness get married now."

What a coincidence, it's really too much of a coincidence.

Since both Fu Yuning and Fan Heng had the presence of the Prince of Zhao, and the sudden mention of him made Xu Yunci unable to help but suspect the purpose behind the Prince of Zhao's words.

"Speaking of which, I have an interesting story to tell. My cousin wrote to me from our hometown a few days ago to inquire about my well-being and told me about something that happened to her there."

Guo Xun glanced at King Zhao and picked up where Xu Yunci left off, asking, "What is it that you remember so clearly?"

Xu Yunci smiled faintly, but the smile didn't seem very gentle.

“My cousin is engaged, and her close friends are also getting engaged. So there are some suitable men back in our hometown, but one of them is rather unusual.”

"My cousin's heart was filled with the thought that the young man's family was poor and he wanted to marry my cousin's younger sister, but the gap between the two families was obviously too big. The girl's family was also a wealthy merchant family, and naturally they did not want their daughter to suffer after marrying into that family."

"But the young man refused, and even went around saying that the two families had already agreed to the marriage, but now he was going back on his word, portraying himself as very pitiful. Now the girl is in a dilemma, her reputation is ruined, and even the marriage that was supposed to be arranged has been delayed."

As soon as he finished speaking, the young man's expression improved, after all, this was a story very similar to the rumors.

One of the young men asked, "So, are this young woman and this young man mutually in love?"

Xu Yunci looked up at the young man and shook her head, saying, "No, and I've never seen him before."

"That means he's eyeing the woman's family's wealth; such behavior is truly despicable."

Yang Ke sat down next to Xu Yunci, and after speaking, she shook her head with extreme disdain, looking at such behavior with utter contempt.