Around noon.

"Your Highness, shall we go out for a stroll? We're returning to the palace tomorrow, and who knows when we'll be able to come out again."

Bilian stared intently at the entrance, her eyes darting so far they seemed to strain, as if she would fly away if she looked any longer.

Guan Zhiyue thought for a moment and said, "Okay, let's change into some simple clothes and go out for a stroll."

"Yue'er, you're going back to the palace tomorrow. Is there anything you'd like to eat today? Father will have the servants make it for you," Guan Hongsheng said, looking at Guan Zhiyue who was about to leave.

Guan Zhiyue thought for a moment and said, "What Father instructed is always the best."

"Okay, then remember to come back for dinner after you've been shopping for a while!"

"Yes, daughter understands." Guan Zhiyue led Bilian back to her own courtyard.

After Guan Zhiyue left, Guan Chengheng quickly chased after her and whispered, "Yue'er, my dear sister."

"Second brother, what's wrong? Why are you looking so lewd?"

Guan Chengheng sneaked up to his sister and said, "How about we go shopping together?"

Guan Zhiyue's lips twitched. Why did her second brother like shopping? Isn't that what girls love most?

"Second brother, why are you following me to the street instead of practicing martial arts at home?"

“Going shopping, huh? I just wanted to spend some quality time with you, didn’t I? Think about it, we were stationed on the border all those years ago, and now that we’ve finally returned to the capital, you’ve married into the palace. We haven’t seen each other day or night, and our sibling bond has already faded.”

Guan Zhiyue reached out and took her second brother's arm, saying coquettishly, "Second brother, what are you saying? Our sibling relationship will never change. What are you thinking?"

"No matter where we were born, our sibling bond has never been broken. Second brother, have you forgotten that when you were guarding the border, you often wrote to Yue'er and bought her things? Although Yue'er didn't reply to you often back then, her longing for you has never ceased."

Is that really the case?

“Yes, absolutely true!” Guan Zhiyue said with a smile.

The two siblings returned to Guan Zhiyue's courtyard, changed into some simple clothes, and then left the Guan residence.

——

The Imperial Palace, the Imperial Study.

"What day is it today?" Li Qiji asked the eunuch beside him.

Hua Quan quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, today is the third day. The Empress will return to the palace tomorrow morning."

"Hmm! What has the Empress been doing these past few days?"

Ji Shang climbed down from the roof beam and respectfully reported, "Your Majesty, Her Majesty has been paying New Year's visits outside for the past three days."

"On the first day, I visited the family at home to offer New Year's greetings. On the second day, I went to the Fan residence. Today, I am still at the Guan residence."

"Have you seen anyone else?" Li Qiji asked casually.

Ji Shang hesitated for a moment, but still said, "Yes, Your Highness has met with the Imperial Merchant, Young Master Lan."

"Lan Shanqi has returned to the capital?"

Ji Shang respectfully replied, "Yes, Young Master Lan has returned to the capital. He came back yesterday."

"Then why did you only report this today? Go and receive your punishment!" Li Qiji's tone changed, becoming somewhat harsh.

Ji Shang remained silent, but still thanked the emperor and said, "Yes, Your subordinate obeys."

Li Qiji said, "Continue to keep watch. Report back immediately if anything happens. Okay, you can go now!"

"Yes, Your subordinate takes his leave!" Ji Shang said and disappeared from the room. Then he went off to find a place to be punished. He had to come back to his post after he was beaten. What kind of situation is this? What's wrong with the Emperor lately?

It seems that ever since the emperor married the empress, he has become somewhat unpredictable. Before he married the empress, he was still focused on managing the court, but now that he has married the empress, he has started to investigate in various ways.

Of course, Guan Zhiyue was unaware of all that was happening in the palace, because at that moment she was strolling and eating on the street with her second brother and Bilian.

...

Chaoyang Street in Beijing.

"Second brother, come quick! What is this? It looks delicious!" Guan Zhiyue picked up a string of fried sesame-coated snacks and some kind of sugar balls.

Guan Chengheng smiled and took the food from his sister with his mouth, biting into it and enjoying the burst of juicy goodness.

"Delicious, delicious, come on, little sister, try this stir-fried hawthorn that your second brother bought." Guan Chengheng said, picking up a hawthorn ball with a bamboo skewer and feeding it to Guan Zhiyue.

Guan Zhiyue's mouth was already watering from the sourness after just one bite; she was practically a walking meme, displaying every possible expression on her face.

"Oh dear, it's so sour! Second brother, this isn't good, it's too sour. You should take it back for Grandma and Grandpa to whet their appetites."

Guan Chengheng laughed and said, "Hahaha, shouldn't you women all like to eat this kind of sour stuff? Why doesn't my sister like it?"

Guan Zhiyue quickly waved her hands and then backed away repeatedly, saying, "No, no, it's too sour, it's going to knock my teeth out."

Guan Chengheng looked at his sister's face, which was contorted with sourness, and then sniffed the sour hawthorn balls he was holding. He swallowed hard but decided against it. If it smelled like that, it must taste like a painfully sour mask. He decided not to try it.

The scene that had just unfolded downstairs was witnessed by people in a private room in an upstairs teahouse, near the window.

"Young master, would you also like to try the stir-fried hawthorn balls?" A man dressed in black, holding a sword, spoke coldly from the side.

A man dressed in white stretched out his slender, fair hand, picked up a cup of tea from the table, and slowly brought it to his cherry-red lips.

The smile that appeared and disappeared at the corners of her mouth seemed to have a magical power, making her look ethereal. The beauty mark between her eyebrows became even more haunting and alluring because of that smile.

"Can."

Upon hearing his young master's words, the man in black immediately turned and headed downstairs, returning shortly with a bag of stir-fried hawthorn balls.

The man stretched out his slender, white fingers, gently picked up the long bamboo skewer, and carefully inserted a sour hawthorn ball. He slowly opened his cherry-red mouth and fed the white and red sour hawthorn into his mouth. After taking a light bite, his brow twitched slightly, and then he returned to his usual expressionless state.

It was as if the food she ate wasn't nearly as sour as what Guan Zhiyue ate, and there weren't as many expressions she could convey.

"Young master, are you alright?"

The man raised his head, revealing a fair and somewhat effeminate face, nodded, and uttered two words: "Acceptable!"

If Guan Zhiyue were here, she would definitely sigh again, "The environment in ancient times was so good, there were handsome men everywhere. This handsome man is simply like a fairy, with his fair and slender hands, his small face, fair yet strong, with distinct lines yet gentle, he is simply like a lotus that rises from the mud unsullied."

This man is none other than Su Xu, the chief minister of Nan Ding Kingdom, and a legendary figure in the kingdom. It's just a pity that Guan Zhiyue didn't get to see this handsome man today.