Sunlight filters through the treetops overhead, dappling the ground beneath our feet like a soft, luxurious piece of silk, the mottled light exuding a warm and bright atmosphere.

Leaving the small garden where the banquet was held, Feng Lanyin walked along the pebbled path by the lake for a long time, but still couldn't see Xu Yunci. She couldn't help but bite her lower lip. She had clearly seen Xu Yunci leave his seat just now, how could he have disappeared in the blink of an eye?

As you walk further ahead, the view opens up, and there's nowhere to hide.

Since Princess Chunhui wasn't present today, and few young ladies could outshine her in status, why not take advantage of this opportunity to get closer to him?

If she waited any longer, her grandmother might not be able to wait any longer and would send her to Chonghua Palace. She didn't want to become a second Consort Fu. Thinking of that man's tall figure and aloof, handsome face, Feng Lanyin's cheeks flushed with a shy blush. She became even more anxious, looking around as if she could find Xu Yunci's figure at any moment.

Her gaze suddenly fell on the distant corridor. Due to her position, she could only see Li Shiyue's face.

"Who is that? He looks so familiar."

Feng Lanyin's eyes flickered as she pointed in Li Shiyue's direction. She suddenly saw another figure in the pavilion, seemingly her husband, but his back was to her, so she couldn't see him clearly.

The maid behind her followed Feng Lanyin's index finger and looked over: "It's the Princess of Yichang County. That young man doesn't look like he's from the Rongguo Duke's mansion."

Feng Lanyin glanced at the maid and retorted irritably, "What county princess? It was just that the emperor took pity on her and gave her the title out of respect for the Rongguo Duke's Mansion."

Despite saying this, Feng Lanyin still felt a pang of envy and bitterness. If she had been the one to compete that day, the title of Princess of Yichang County might have fallen on her head. Why let someone from a down-on-his-luck earl's family benefit from it?

A mere cousin who came to seek refuge dares to develop feelings for Prince Xu; doesn't she even know her own limitations?

The corridor was some distance from the shore of the small lake, and Feng Lanyin couldn't hear what Li Shiyue was saying to that young man at all. She could only vaguely see that Li Shiyue seemed unwilling to stay any longer, and even her departing figure was so fast that it was almost indistinct.

Feng Lanyin followed Li Shiyue's figure with disdain, her heart growing even more anxious: "If we walk any further, how could we not see her?"

She didn't see that person ahead, but she did see the rest of the Xu family. Feng Lanyin's gaze swept over everyone and landed directly on Xu Lingzi, a warm smile spreading across her face.

"Sixth Sister, so you've been here all along."

Feng Lanyin walked to Xu Lingzi's side and saw that only Xu Yunxu was there. A hint of disappointment slipped into her eyes.

Xu Lingzi was straightforward, but she wasn't entirely without guile; she subtly avoided Feng Lanyin's outstretched hand.

"Third Miss is out too. I just heard from the maids in the manor that there is a small garden that is specially for the ladies of various manor to play in. I was just about to go there. Would you like to come along, Third Miss?"

Feng Lanyin remained silent, her gaze falling on Xu Yunxu beside her. His features were strikingly similar to Xu Yunci's. Yet, Xu Yunci's eyes were cold and aloof, while Feng Lanyin's gentle demeanor was quite different.

Her thoughts are simple and straightforward; it's easy to guess what she's thinking.

The Xu siblings exchanged a glance, both seeing the same thought in each other's eyes. Faced with Feng Lanyin's overtures, Xu Lingzi was unlikely to reciprocate, leaving Feng Lanyin disappointed and giving up on her plans.

The small garden was temporarily set up and is larger than a normal small garden. It is surrounded by green pine forests as a fence, and you can see a corner of the corridor in the distance.

Led by a maid, Li Shiyue felt several gazes fixed upon her as soon as she entered. Her expression remained unchanged as she lifted her skirt and walked up the steps of the brown-red corridor, directly to Xu Lingqing's side, who was enjoying tea.

"Cousin." Xu Lingqing's eyes lit up when she saw her coming. She quickly took a new teacup, poured hot tea over it, held her sleeve with one hand, and used the wooden tongs to pour out the tea.

After refilling the cup, Xu Lingqing held it up with both hands and handed it to Li Shiyue: "Cousin, you've arrived just in time. Try it, it's your favorite light tea."

Xu Lingqing's tea ceremony skills have always been impeccable, but the aroma of the tea is so strong that it is swallowed down with the water after passing over the tip of the tongue, failing to leave a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth.

This is the extent that Li Shiyue can do. After all, ordinary girls wouldn't demand such high standards from someone with Taoyue's skills; they would only ask the girls to focus more on the tea-brewing process when learning tea art.

"Where are my sixth cousin and the others?"

Li Shiyue put down her teacup and looked around. Most of the women's eyes were on her, and she didn't recognize any of them. At a glance, almost all the faces were unfamiliar.

There were a few that looked familiar, like I'd seen them at a polo match before.

"Sixth Sister left with Seventh Brother just now. I didn't see Tenth Sister. Perhaps she went somewhere." Xu Lingqing's face was serene, especially since she was sitting at the wooden table, surrounded by the aroma of tea, which gave her a mysterious air.

Suddenly a scream rang out from the crowd, startling almost everyone present.

"Shi Niang!"

Before Li Shiyue could recover, Xu Lingqing rushed over to her, her voice filled with worry. As she got up and walked over, her eyes were drawn to a bright red bloodstain on Xu Lingwan's skirt.

Even if he didn't like Xu Lingwan, he never intended to harm her. Especially since Xu Lingwan was wearing a moon-white dress today, the red color stood out even more vividly.

"Where are you hurt?" Li Shiyue asked anxiously, as such a bloodstain suggested a rather large wound.

Xu Lingqing stood to one side and, seeing that Xu Lingwan was stubbornly refusing to speak, urged, "Speak up! Where are you hurt?"

But she was always gentle by nature, and even when she spoke sharply, Xu Lingwan could still hear the worry in her tone, and the hint of tears almost brought tears to her eyes.

Xu Lingwan's gaze fell on the women opposite her, and she stubbornly held back her tears.

Xu Lingqing was usually calm and composed, and after all, she wasn't much older than Xu Lingwan. The two usually just bickered like sisters. Having lived together for over ten years, she was extremely worried when she saw Xu Lingwan injured.

Li Shiyue calmed down the fastest, held Xu Lingqing down, looked at Fu Yunning, and glanced at the four or five women led by Fu Yunning with a questioning look.

Without exception, everyone avoided her gaze, except for Fu Yunning, whose eyes fell on the broken teacup at Xu Lingwan's feet.

"It's perfectly normal for women to have a quarrel. The one who was injured wasn't Miss Xu, but the woman beside me, the daughter of Minister Fan."

Fu Yunning's gaze fell on Xu Lingwan, who had remained silent, as if she were the most impartial person. She turned Fan Er Guniang's hand over and looked at it, only then noticing the tiny scars on the back of her hand.