Not long after, a maid rushed in and said, "Madam, someone is looking for you outside!"
Upon hearing this, Aunt Yao paused slightly in her movements. She slowly put down the grinding stick she was holding, stood up gently, and then walked gracefully toward the door.
As she reached the door, she glanced back at the room to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything before gently closing the door behind her.
With a soft creak, the door closed tightly, as if separating the inside from the outside into two separate worlds.
Li Xi cautiously stepped into the room, her eyes scanning the surroundings, trying to find some valuable clues.
However, after a careful search, she found nothing of use.
At that moment, her gaze fell on the ceramic bowl on the table.
The ceramic bowl contains freshly ground incense powder, emitting a faint fragrance.
Li Xi frowned slightly, gently scraped off a bit of the perfume powder with her fingernail, and held it under her nose to sniff.
The fragrance was familiar and alluring; it was clearly the scent of a woman's perfume.
A thought struck her, and she gently scraped off a little more scented powder, carefully wrapping it in her handkerchief.
Then, she quietly left.
Not long after, Aunt Yao returned to her room, completely unaware that anyone had entered.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Li Xi returned to Meng Zhelan's side.
At this moment, the Empress Dowager was walking towards them, smiling and beckoning them, saying, "Xiao Xi, Lan'er, come here quickly! What are you doing hiding over there? Come and chat with these young people."
Meanwhile, in a pavilion not far away, Prince An was engrossed in playing chess with Prince Jing.
However, when he heard his grandmother call out to Meng Zhelan, he was stunned for a moment, and the chess piece in his hand almost slipped from his grasp.
His gaze involuntarily drifted towards Meng Zhelan's direction, a complex emotion flickering in his eyes.
Now is not the time to ask my father for her hand in marriage, especially since their social statuses are worlds apart; he probably wouldn't agree. I'll wait for the right opportunity to speak to my father.
He continued to look down at the chessboard, but his mind was wandering to other things.
Prince Jing, Qi Xuan, noticed that Prince An was distracted and couldn't help but tease him, "Third Brother, what are you thinking about? Are you thinking of going to see the Empress Dowager?"
Prince An snapped out of his reverie, smiled slightly, shook his head, and said, "Grandmother doesn't want to see us right now. Let's just focus on our chess game. By the way, Father told you to take a good look at whether there's a woman you like; you're of marriageable age now."
Upon hearing this, Qi Xuan blushed slightly. He scratched his head a little embarrassedly and laughed, "Third Brother, please don't tease me. You're still single, how can I possibly skip over you?"
Upon hearing this, Prince An immediately burst into laughter.
He tapped the chessboard with his hand and said, "You lad, you know how to be modest. However, we both know that this marriage is not entirely up to us. Father has his reasons, and we just need to follow his wishes."
Upon hearing this, Qi Xuan nodded: "Third Brother, you are always so calm and composed, no matter what happens. If I had half your composure, that would be wonderful."
Prince An smiled faintly: "Fifth brother, you don't need to envy me. Everyone has their own way of doing things. You just need to find the way that suits you."
Today, many women handed handkerchiefs to Prince Liang, and he accepted several of their gestures of goodwill, including one from Lin Wenying, the illegitimate daughter of the Lin family.
Prince An politely declined all of these offers, and Prince Jing, seeing this, wisely chose to hide.
He is currently a disciple of Xiangguo Temple, and he can only return to secular life after he turns eighteen.
Unexpectedly, he encountered Lin Luobing, who had the same idea, behind the artificial hill.
She is the object of admiration for many unmarried men today.
Even the King of Liang was the same; although he had a future queen, the daughter of the chief tutor was more attractive to him.
She not only possesses stunning beauty and extraordinary talent, but also comes from a powerful and wealthy family, whose background is enough to make any man's heart flutter.
However, Lin Luobing did not want to be fawned over, so she hid behind the artificial hill.
Unexpectedly, Prince Jing also came, and the two were somewhat awkward for a moment, exchanging only a few casual pleasantries. It wasn't until just before the banquet was about to begin that they came out from behind the artificial hill when they heard the maid calling them.
The two pretended not to have seen each other and returned to their seats.
Just before the banquet was about to begin, Shen Xu arrived late with his sister Shen Ruonan.
The two siblings were very happy to see Li Xi.
“Brother Li, you didn’t even call me when you came. I thought Shen Xu’s gathering was a matchmaking event, so I deliberately chose to arrive just before the banquet started. If I had known you were here, I would have come much earlier.”
Shen Xu smiled and patted Li Xi on the shoulder.
Li Xi smiled slightly and replied, "Brother Shen, I was invited at the last minute. I didn't expect to meet you here."
Shen Ruonan, standing to the side, looked around as if searching for someone.
"Miss Shen, are you looking for Brother Qin? He didn't come today." Li Xi noticed Shen Ruonan's gaze and asked softly.
Shen Ruonan was slightly taken aback, then nodded, "Yes, I was originally going to say hello to Brother Qin."
After Qin Xiaolin returned to the capital, he went back to the Duke's mansion, and Shen Ruonan naturally received the news from her brother.
Now that she's grown up, she can no longer go to the Duke's mansion as freely as she did when she was a child.
"Let's take our seats first, the dishes are about to be served." Li Xi was quite enthusiastic about the banquet.
A dazzling array of dishes, their aromas filling the air, were mouthwatering. Guests raised their glasses in celebration, laughter and chatter filling the air, creating a warm and joyful atmosphere.
After the banquet, the guests bid farewell to their hosts and then boarded their respective carriages to return home.
Today, quite a few unmarried men and women took a liking to each other at the banquet, and the matriarch of the household plans to find a suitable time to ask a matchmaker to propose marriage to the other party's family.
The Empress Dowager did not return to the palace, but followed Meng Zhelan and the others, intending to go back to Tingfeng Courtyard.
The spring night was a little chilly. They passed through a secluded open space when Li Xi, on horseback, suddenly heard a noise coming from the alley.
She raised her hand to signal the coachman to stop the carriage.
"What's wrong, Xi'er?" Meng Zhelan asked softly, lifting the curtain.
Li Xi did not answer, but listened quietly to the subtle sounds.
The sound seemed to be coming from the alley ahead, sometimes there and sometimes not, like people talking in hushed tones.
The night was dark, and all that could be seen was darkness, but the feeling of unease grew stronger and stronger.
"Lan'er, wait here for a moment, I'll go take a look," Li Xi said softly to Meng Zhelan, then instructed the coachman to wait there.
The Empress Dowager's bodyguards were secretly deployed around the area, ready to respond to any emergencies.
Li Xi walked hurriedly, a strong sense of unease rising in her heart, as if something was about to happen.
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