Feng Ruoying glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping before whispering in a low voice, "Song Chen."

"He is the second young master of the Marquis of Jianning's mansion, and Song Huai's elder brother."

Mentioning that person, Feng Ruoying couldn't help but frown: "My brother said that Song Chen was an upright person, unlike Song Huai, who was a debauched scoundrel. Who would have thought that he would do such a thing?"

Shen Qiyin seemed to be thinking: "I see..."

Is it Xie Qing from Song Huai's gang?

Previously at the Marquis of Wu'an's residence, Xie Qing pushed Feng Ruoying into the water to help Song Huai. Now she has gotten involved with the second young master of the Marquis's residence, so it seems that they have reached a deal.

During the day, Shen Qiyin learned from Feng Ruoying that Xie Qing was about to marry into the Jianning Marquis's family. When she returned to the Shen family in the evening, Shen Cang handed her an invitation.

It was an invitation from the Marquis of Jianning's residence.

He invited her to the Marquis's Winter Solstice Banquet.

Shen Qiyin remembered hearing Feng Ruoying say that Xie Qing and Song Chen's affair was not as sensational as Feng Heng and Shen Ruyin's affair.

So far, apart from those two mansions, she is the only outsider who knows about this.

Therefore, she guessed that this so-called "Winter Solstice Banquet" was probably a pretext concocted by the Marquis of Jianning to create an opportunity for Xie Qing and Song Chen to meet and get to know each other, so that when they suddenly proposed to each other in the future, they could say that the two of them fell in love at first sight, so as to avoid any unpleasant rumors.

To Shen Qiyin's surprise, the invitation included not only her but also Shen Mengyin.

This is rather intriguing.

Those prominent families, especially those who value social status, would not even consider a family like the Shen family, let alone a concubine's daughter like Shen Mengyin. They would never have bothered to invite her.

interesting……

It seems that her fourth sister is not alone; she must have also found someone to rely on.

As for who it is, she will find out at the banquet soon.

That evening, the sound of flowers hitting the window arrived "as promised".

Unsurprisingly, the person who arrived was Xiao Yan.

As Shen Qiyin opened the door and welcomed him into the room, she couldn't help but think that he was much more clingy than she had imagined.

We had to see each other every single day...

This time, however, Miss Shen didn't say anything that could easily be misunderstood or upsetting. Instead, she happily said, "You've come at the perfect time!"

She pulled Xiao Yan to sit down in the outer room, then tiptoed into the inner room, and came out carrying something in her hand.

Xiao Yan recognized it as a purse at a glance!

The dark brocade was embroidered with intricate cloud patterns in gold and silver threads.

His gaze suddenly froze, but his voice sounded very restrained and calm: "This is... meant to be given away?"

"Um."

"For whom?"

Shen Qiyin's brows furrowed slightly, her expression unreadable: "Of course it's you!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan's deep, dark eyes suddenly lit up.

The joy in his eyes was almost undisguised: "Mine?!"

Shen Qiyin nodded: "Otherwise what?"

This is a purse; how could she possibly give it away so easily?

"Who do you think I'm going to give it to?"

“I thought…” Xiao Yan took it, as if he had received some rare treasure: “It was for your senior brother and junior brother.”

"Their clothes have already been sent."

Thinking of the way he looked longingly at the clothes she had prepared for her senior brothers that day, Shen Qiyin said again, "Hmm... if you also want clothes, I will make them for you in the future."

"real?"

"Of course it's true!" Given his behavior, how could she bear to go back on her word?

Xiao Yan held the purse in his hands, looking at it from left to right, reluctant to put it down.

Shen Qiyin's needlework is undoubtedly superb; her stitches are fine and her lines are smooth and flowing.

He likes the word "of course".

It seems that there is no other possibility besides the reason that follows those two words.

The only one.

No one can shake its position.

Seeing that Xiao Yan stared at the purse for a long time without saying a word, Shen Qiyin was unsure of his thoughts, so she said, "If this purse doesn't suit your taste, you can keep it as you like, you don't need to wear it, or you can return it to me, and I'll make one you like in the future..."

Before she could finish speaking, her voice grew softer and softer.

Until the very last syllable fades away completely.

She had a strange feeling that if she said just one more word about getting her purse back, Xiao Yan would rush up and bite her hard.

It seems he does like the purse she gave him.

On the contrary, they still care a lot.

She feels happy when the recipient likes the gift she gives.

"I haven't seen you wear sachets or other similar items before, so I don't know what scents you like. Therefore, I haven't taken the liberty of adding any fragrances. You can decide for yourself."

"White sandalwood."

"Huh?" Shen Qiyin didn't react for a moment.

Xiao Yan slightly raised her dark eyelashes: "I like the scent of sandalwood." The scent emanating from her.

This was originally a very simple sentence, but Shen Qiyin inexplicably heard a different meaning in it.

Unconsciously avoiding Xiao Yan's overly focused gaze, she changed the subject, saying, "...Actually, I originally wanted to give you clothes, but I wasn't sure of your measurements. I was afraid that if I made them blindly, they wouldn't fit you and would be a waste of the material."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan immediately stood up without saying a word.

Shen Qiyin looked up at him, her eyes filled with confusion: "Are you leaving?"

Xiao Yan grabbed her shoulders with both hands, half-pinching and half-carrying her up from the chair, and said with bright dark eyes, "Measure her now."

"……oh."

Seeing that he was in high spirits, Shen Qiyin didn't want to spoil his fun, so she went along with it.

However, she didn't have a ruler at hand, and she was afraid of waking up Ren Dong if she went into the inner room to search for one. So she simply used her hand as a ruler and measured it by the hand span.

"Open your hands."

Xiao Yan did as instructed and spread her arms out.

Shen Qiyin stood in front of him, intently measuring his dimensions.

The two were quite close, so close that Xiao Yan only needed to lower his head slightly to kiss her forehead.

He was startled awake by his own reckless thoughts, his pale lips pressed into a thin line, and his hands clenched into tight fists.

Finally, he simply closed his eyes.

However, with the view obstructed, other senses are amplified.

The subtle fragrance emanating from her body lingered around him, intoxicating him.

Moreover, he could clearly feel her hand lightly touching and moving around his waist. He knew that she was not intentionally teasing him, but rather that he was distracted and having impure thoughts.

“Yinyin, I think…” Xiao Yan’s voice was deep and somewhat tense.