In this lifetime, she will never let Qi Huaiyu hurt anyone around her again.
With three days to go until her grandfather's birthday, Xin Jiuwei's visit was not simply to offer birthday wishes, but also to mend the relationship between her maternal grandfather and her father.
Whether it's the Xin family, a once-powerful clan now far less prominent than before, or the Qi family, wealthy but powerless, mutual support is the only long-term solution.
When Xin Jiuwei came from Yingzhou City, she brought many precious medicinal herbs to nourish her body and sent them to her maternal grandfather.
During the day, she stayed at the Qi residence, chatting with Shen Ping and Qi Xin, among other elders. Shen Ping thought she was well-behaved, and Qi Xin also intended to match her with Qi Huaihe.
Secretly, she instructed Wang Qing to send someone out to inquire about the whereabouts of the divine doctor.
In her previous life, she only knew that Qi Huaiyu obtained the antidote in Yuncheng, but she did not know the exact location of the divine doctor.
When Qi Huaiyu arrived in Yuncheng, he wanted to use the same tactic as before, to fawn over Xin Jiuwei in front of everyone, so as to solidify his status as the future son-in-law of the Xin family.
However, the elders of the Qi family were determined to keep this niece as their daughter-in-law, and naturally did not take Qi Huaiyu seriously.
Seeing that Qi Huaihe accompanied Xin Jiuwei wherever she went every day, Qi Huaiyu couldn't sit still any longer.
"Miss, Miss."
Wang Qing walked in with a smile, holding a sugar figurine in her hand.
"Look, isn't it beautiful?"
Xin Jiuwei took it and admired it for a moment, then asked with a smile, "I told you to go out and find someone, but you brought back a sugar figurine?"
“I had someone inquire about it. I also scouted three streets myself. I didn’t slack off at all,” Wang Qing said. “I just saw some of these little trinkets for sale on the way back, so I bought one for Miss to play with.”
Xin Jiuwei said, "You should save your money yourself. Why are you buying things for me?"
Wang Qing didn't care at all. "It's just a worthless little trinket. We can bring it back for Miss to play with. By the way, Miss, the candy vendor said there's a temple fair in Yuncheng today. It's very lively. Let's go take a look."
Upon hearing this, Mianfeng immediately said, "Where? Where?"
"As soon as he heard there was something fun, Mianfeng was quicker than anyone else," Xin Jiuwei joked. "We came to Yuncheng to celebrate our maternal grandfather's birthday."
Mianfeng said, "Then we can go out. Good Miss, let's just take a look. I've never been to Yuncheng before."
Wang Qing also looked expectant. Since she had nothing else to do, Xin Jiuwei didn't want to spoil their happiness.
"Then let's go and tell Grandpa first."
When her maternal grandfather heard that she wanted to go to the temple fair, he encouraged her to go out and see the scenery of Yuncheng, and called Qi Huaihe and two sisters from the Qi family to accompany her.
There is no strict curfew in this dynasty. During festivals or other auspicious occasions, lively towns will have various temple fairs and lantern festivals, as well as foreigners performing acrobatics, making it a very lively place.
"Look! Someone's breathing fire over there!"
Qi Xinghui pulled Xin Jiuwei through the crowd, wanting to see what was going on, while Qi Huaihe followed closely behind, worried that something might happen to them.
"Xinghui, there are a lot of people, don't run so fast."
Xin Jiuwei was being pulled along by Qi Xinghui. There were many people on the street, and she was bumped into after only a few steps.
"Feel sorry."
"Please be careful, benefactor."
The monk who collided with her stepped aside and bowed to Xin Jiuwei.
Seeing that he was carrying a round bowl, Xin Jiuwei assumed he was there to beg for alms, so she took out her money bag and put a few pieces of silver inside.
"Thank you, benefactor."
Xin Jiuwei shook her head, returned the monk's greeting, and followed Qi Xinghui's steps.
Qi Xinghui squeezed to the back of the crowd, standing on tiptoe to watch the fire-breathing acrobat perform. Xin Jiuwei turned around and only saw the monk's departing figure amidst the lamplight.
She naturally thought of Jueming, wondering if Jueming would come out to beg for alms.
Thinking about it, he found himself ridiculous. Jueming was a highly respected monk in Yingzhou City, Lingyin Temple was a popular place of worship, and he was also the emperor's beloved son. He had all sorts of talented people around him, so why would he need to go out and beg for alms?
But she didn't know if he had read her letter.
Qi Huaihe stayed behind his younger sisters and watched the excitement with them. Before long, they met several familiar rich young men.
"Brother Huaihe, you've come out to join the fun too!"
Qi Huaihe hid his sisters behind him and greeted them.
Several people insisted that Qi Huaihe go upstairs with them for drinks, saying that a singing girl from Yingzhou City had arrived that day, and her voice was very beautiful.
Qi Huaihe said, "I came out with my younger sister today, so I won't be going."
"We have servants with us, what's there to be afraid of!"
"That's right, it's been so long since we got together, and who knows when we'll see you again."
"Brother Huaihe, you must have been very busy with the provincial examinations recently. You deserve a break."
Qi Huaihe was about to refuse when Qi Xinghui leaned over and whispered, "Brother, I also want to go see that songstress and listen to her music."
Qi Huaihe frowned, "Why are you getting involved at such a young age?"
"Can't young people listen to music?" Qi Xinghui pouted. "Are you going to some improper place? I'm going to tell Grandpa."
Upon hearing her words, the young master quickly said, "Sister Qi, you've misunderstood. These are all legitimate restaurants, legitimate restaurants!"
Qi Xinghui was eager to try, "Then take me there, take me there!"
Qi Huaihe had a headache, so he grabbed her by the back of her collar and pulled her back.
The young men were somewhat embarrassed. They enjoyed having fun, but they weren't exactly spoiled brats; some were even quite well-educated. However, bringing their friend's younger sister to a music performance was still rather inappropriate.
Xin Jiuwei also said softly, "Cousin Huaihe, I'm also a little curious. Let's go take a look for a while."
As soon as she spoke, her voice was soft and obedient, which immediately attracted the attention of several young men.
They saw that she was slender, with a fair and delicate face, her black hair styled into a pretty and charming updo, and she wore a light blue gauze cloak. Beneath the cloak, a pinkish-blue pleated skirt swayed. What a graceful and beautiful young woman she was.
Someone immediately asked curiously, "Brother Huaihe, who is this younger sister?"
"Who's your sister?" Qi Huaihe gave him a warning look. "My cousin from Yingzhou City came to celebrate my grandfather's birthday."
The man immediately bowed deeply, "So it's my cousin! My apologies for not recognizing you!"
Xin Jiuwei smiled subtly, "I am the third child in my family, so you may call me Xin San, young master."
"Could it be the Xin family of Yingzhou?" The young master's eyes lit up. "I rarely hear the name of the Third Miss. It's truly an honor to meet you today!"
The others also came over to greet Xin Jiuwei, making Qi Huaihe and Qi Xinghui look wary.
The atmosphere relaxed, and the group went up to the restaurant chatting and laughing.
Unlike Panyuelou, the restaurant they chose looked more like an ordinary eatery with a two-story building. It was decorated in a simple and elegant style. The second floor was also a large open space with only two private rooms at the back. From the few seats on the side, one could easily see the bustling street scene below.
The group sat down one after another, and a series of tinkling silver bells rang out as several songstresses carrying musical instruments gracefully came upstairs.
Xin Jiuwei glanced over casually, her gaze landing on the songstress holding the zither, and paused for a moment.
The songstress put down her zither, stood up, bowed to the crowd, and looked up to meet Xin Jiuwei's gaze, and was also taken aback.
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