Tao Yue wore a peach-colored short jacket with a front opening, and below it, she wore the uniform ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) that all the maids in the manor wore. Her hair was styled in a spiral bun, and her jet-black hair was smooth and shiny, adorned only with a single silver hairpin.

He led Li Shiyue into the side room, hurriedly took off her clothes, and then helped her wash and groom herself again with Chunling and Xingyue before going to the back to find Xu Lingzi and the others.

"This is the Crown Prince's villa. Every year at this time, the Crown Prince brings the young men and women of his household here. If Miss Cousin wants to go boating on the lake, there are boats on the shore ahead."

"Further in is a small hill with an octagonal pavilion on top. If Miss wants to play chess or paint, she can go there. Moreover, the location is higher up, so she can also take in the scenery."

Her tone was gentle, just like her personality; she was a very reliable person.

Li Shiyue was mostly curious. As Taoyue introduced one of the items, she looked over and gazed at it. Her eyes were filled with novelty, and her fondness for Taoyue grew even stronger.

"Actually, I'm not afraid of being laughed at by you, Miss. Xingyue and I only started serving the young master last year, and we've only been to this little garden this year. If there's anything inappropriate, please forgive us."

Li Shiyue wasn't surprised. After all, someone like Xu Yunci hadn't even died in her previous life before he got married. Not to mention Taoyue and Xingyue, Yang's original intention was to use them as maids, and then promote them to concubines after Xu Yunci got married. Even if Xu Yunci didn't like them, they could just be kept.

Unexpectedly, Xu Yunci treated the two as ordinary maids from beginning to end, and they rarely even got close to Xu Yunci. Fortunately, the two were not of bad character, and they did their job well in Songyuan.

As long as they don't make mistakes, their work at Songyuan is much easier than others', and they're not confused.

Besides, Tao Yue was more observant. Li Shiyue visited Songyuan more often than Xu Lingzi, so she didn't think of the cousin in front of her as just a cousin. Moreover, she had a feeling that the young master seemed to be very concerned about matters concerning the cousin, so she should be even more careful in serving her.

“It’s alright, it’s my first time here too, we can take a look together. My sixth cousin has been telling me how great Guanqing Xiaoyuan is, why don’t you take me to see it?”

Li Shiyue withdrew her gaze, smiled as she looked at Taoyue's face, and lowered her head somewhat shyly: "If I get lost, you'll have to be patient and lead me back."

"You flatter me, Miss." Tao Yue felt a warmth in her heart. She really liked the kindness of this young lady. After all, it was a great blessing for a servant to meet or serve such an easy-going master.

Li Shiyue followed Tao Yue at a leisurely pace, taking her time to admire the sights.

Just as she reached the small stone bridge, she saw something suddenly stir the calm lake surface beneath it, creating ripples. Li Shiyue had never seen anything like it before, but with her sharp eyes, she noticed a pebble-like object fly by before the ripples appeared, and it seemed that the pebble had created the beautiful ripples.

She immediately spotted Xu Yunci among the young men in the crowd. He was sitting on a stone bench with his hands behind his back, talking to Xu Yunyao, seemingly unaware of what was happening.

Instead, it was Xu Lingzi who looked surprised. Beside her was Xu Yunxu, and a young man she didn't recognize. He tossed a pebble in his hand, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Xu Lingzi, and with a flick of his wrist, sent the pebble flying.

The pebble seemed to come alive, instantly creating another ripple on the previously calm lake surface, this time farther and with more continuous waves.

Li Shiyue looked at Taoyue with surprise and asked, "What kind of game is this?"

"This is called skipping stones. Our Sixth Miss is the best at this, even Seventh Prince can't compare to her," Tao Yue explained with a smile, leading Li Shiyue over there.

Li Shiyue lifted her skirt and walked over. Xu Lingqing saw her coming and walked to her side first: "Cousin, you've come at just the right time. Sixth Sister is having a competition with Guo Shaoqing."

Another competition.

She was only a little late, yet it seemed like she had missed out on so much. Li Shiyue looked at Xu Lingzi, and between her and Guo Shaoqing stood Xu Yunxu.

She couldn't help but glance at Xu Yunci sitting to the side. He didn't stop her, but when she looked over, Xu Yunci seemed to deliberately turn his head to look at her.

There seemed to be a smile on her lips, but as Li Shiyue was trying to take a closer look, Xu Yunci turned her head and continued talking to Xu Yunyao.

Before Li Shiyue could even speak, Xu Lingzi had already spotted her and her eyes lit up.

"Yan Yan is here too, do you want to give it a try?"

Xu Yunxu looked troubled: "My dear sister, if you can't beat her, don't drag Yan Yan down with you. Besides, Yan Yan might not be able to do it either. Cousin Yan Yan is so gentle."

Faced with Xu Lingzi's expectant gaze, Li Shiyue could only shake her head: "I really don't know how. I saw it was launched with a pebble just now. It was really amazing."

Xu Lingzi looked as if she had been struck by frost. She really didn't want to lose and had to admit that Guo Xun was better than her.

With a slight look of regret on his face, he heard the rustling sound of Xu Yunci's clothes as he stood up. He bent down, picked up a pebble, and tossed it in his palm.

"I'll give it a try."

Xu Yunci stood by the lake, glanced at the pebble in his hand, and then tossed it away. Amidst the surprise, he turned his head slightly to look at Li Shiyue, his almond-shaped eyes filled with a mixture of amusement and astonishment.

The little girl was stunned when she met his gaze.

Xu Yunci withdrew his gaze, unable to hide the smile on his lips. He was clearly the more capable one. With his hands behind his back, he rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, feeling a slight itch on his fingertips, as if it were hooking onto his heart, making him unbearably itchy.

Xu Yunci seemed to see the stunned face of a little girl before him. He looked at the ripples on the lake, as if his beloved girl was on the lake, gentle and tender.

He seemed to have a definite answer to the question his older sister had asked him before. He wasn't joking, nor was it a spur-of-the-moment thing; he was simply paying attention to her subconsciously.

Perhaps it was during that day in Shangjing County, or during some other day when they spent time together, that he developed feelings for his little cousin, and today he has finally come to his conclusion.

Li Shiyue, however, was stunned by Xu Yunci's gaze and remained speechless for a long time. Their eyes met in the crowd, and if she wasn't mistaken, Xu Yunci had a faint smile on his lips.

A cool breeze swept by, dispelling the sweat on her brow, but it couldn't dispel the heat in her heart. Li Shiyue shifted her gaze to the ripples on the lake's surface; Xu Yunci's ripples were even more pronounced.

The ripples on the lake were long and beautiful, and the glistening water droplets were particularly noticeable in the sunlight. Amidst admiration and surprise, Xu Yunci had already taken a half step back, his gaze falling between Guo Xun and Xu Lingzi, as if he had made up his mind.