As for why the Duke of Changguo's mansion chose the Marquis of An's mansion instead of the Marquis of Qingping's mansion, there must be a reason that Xu Yixuan is unaware of.
“If you say it’s good, then it must be good. I’ve noticed that Zhiwan has been feeling quite stifled in the mansion these past few days. You grew up with her and often visit the Changguo Duke’s mansion, so why don’t you go and persuade Zhiwan’s parents?” It was because she could see that Zhiwan was indeed having a hard time, and Zhiwan wasn’t stubborn at all, so there was no need to suppress her like this.
"I was just thinking of finding some time to pay a visit." Xu Yixuan also had this intention.
The two people in front of him walked rather awkwardly, but Liao Wenchang couldn't hold back any longer and cautiously asked, "What kind of lanterns does Miss Dai like?"
Because Dai Zhiwan was half a step behind him, Liao Wenchang had to glance back out of the corner of his eye when he spoke.
Dai Zhiwan lowered her head slightly, and upon hearing this, she couldn't help but look at the lantern stalls on the street. The lanterns were dazzling and she naturally liked them all, but if she wanted to buy a nice one, she would have to stop and choose slowly.
Seemingly sensing her hesitation, Liao Wenchang, as if he had found a breakthrough, quickly followed her gaze and said, "Why don't we go take a look over there?"
Dai Zhiwan nodded: "Okay."
The two approached the stall, where the vendor eagerly greeted them with a smile: "What kind of lanterns would you two esteemed guests like? We have rabbit lanterns, lotus lanterns, bodhi lanterns, boat lanterns..."
At this moment, Su Wanyan and Xu Yixuan also came over: "This octagonal palace lantern is really nice."
Su Wanyan's gaze fell on the octagonal palace lantern above her head. The exquisite openwork was carved with the shape of flying birds, and the eight corners of the lantern were strung with glass beads, with white jade and red tassels at the bottom.
Each side of the palace lantern is adorned with a painting, which is exquisite to the naked eye.
The young shop assistant proudly introduced, "Madam has excellent taste. This was made by my master, and it took him three months to complete."
As he spoke, he reached out and took down the palace lantern so that Su Wanyan could examine it more closely.
"This palace lantern is so exquisitely made," Xu Yixuan exclaimed.
Suddenly, a slender hand appeared from behind Su Wanyan and handed a silver ingot to the vendor: "I'll take this palace lantern."
The gentle voice entered her ears, causing Su Wanyan's heart to tremble slightly.
With a slight lift of her eyes, she saw Yu Nanqing's doting smile as she entered through the curtain.
Yu Nanqing's sudden appearance startled Xu Yixuan and Dai Zhiwan, who quickly lowered their eyes and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness."
Liao Wenchang followed closely: "Greetings, Your Highness."
"Why are you here?" Su Wanyan asked, somewhat delighted.
As soon as she finished speaking, Su Wanyan noticed that there was another person following behind Yu Nanqing. This time, it was Xu Yixuan's turn to be surprised: "Gu Lang?"
Gu was Qiu Yanwang's courtesy name. Su Wanyan was stunned for a moment before she realized what he meant.
Qiu Yanwang bowed respectfully: "Your Majesty, this humble subject greets Your Highness."
He then said, "I came out of the palace banquet with the prince, and since we had nothing to do, we came here for a stroll."
Yu Nanqing was just looking for a reason to visit Su Wanyan, but now that Qiu Yanwang was with him, he had a perfectly legitimate reason.
He smiled and took the octagonal palace lantern from the vendor, handing it to Su Wanyan: "The palace lantern is beautiful and matches Yan'er perfectly."
Qiu Yanwang stepped forward two steps: "Which one does Madam prefer?"
Xu Yixuan looked at it for a moment, then pointed to the hanging ship lantern: "This one."
The vendor immediately smiled and took down the boat lantern. Qiu Yanwang paid for it, took the lantern, and handed it to Xu Yixuan.
Seeing that they had all made their choices, and that she was the last one to arrive despite being the first to do so, Dai Zhiwan quickly said, "Then I'll take this one, the peach lantern!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Liao Wenchang took out some loose silver to pay the bill.
When the lantern was handed to Dai Zhiwan, she couldn't help but feel a little shy: "Thank you."
"The Eight Treasures Pavilion is offering a prize, and we're just about to go. Would you like to come with the Prince?" Xu Yixuan invited with a smile.
Qiu Yanwang and Yu Nanqing exchanged a glance and smiled: "Of course we'll go together."
He originally came to find Xu Yixuan by taking advantage of Yu Nanqing's influence, so it would be good if they could guess riddles together.
The Babao Pavilion is still some distance from here. On the way there, we played with a flower wreath and threw a lantern. By the time we got to the Babao Pavilion, the most lively time had already passed.
Su Wanyan could guess the simple riddles, but she couldn't solve the really difficult ones. Fortunately, Xu Yixuan and Dai Zhiwan were both very talented, so Su Wanyan could enjoy the benefits of being around them.
The three men behind them would occasionally guess a song or two, but most of the time it was Su Wanyan and her two friends playing.
Dai Zhiwan and Liao Wenchang were initially a little reserved, but after going around in circles, they had a great time.
In their excitement, the group forgot the time. Only after releasing the lanterns did they realize that the people on the street had already gone home, and even the street vendors were packing up.
"Strange, I don't usually feel that time passes so quickly." Dai Zhiwan was the first to come up from the moat.
Su Wanyan walked at the back, supported by Yu Nanqing as she walked up the steps to the riverbank. She smiled when she heard this and said, "We've been walking around all day. Even if you're not tired, I'm about to give up."
That's the truth. Su Wanyan felt like her legs were about to break after being outside from morning till night.
Xu Yixuan joked, "If you can't get up tomorrow, be careful, Aunt Dou will give you another lecture."
Dai Zhiwan's mother's surname was Dou, and Xu Yixuan called her Aunt Dou.
Upon hearing this, Dai Zhiwan immediately became dejected.
Liao Wenchang smiled and bowed at the opportune moment, saying, "Miss Dai, I, Liao, will see you off."
"No need, my house isn't on the same route as yours, I can go back by myself."
"It would be better if Young Master Liao escorted you," Su Wanyan said. "It's getting late, and we're worried about you going back alone."
Before Dai Zhiwan could say anything more, Xu Yixuan chimed in, "Besides, you really won't be able to get up tomorrow."
At this point, Dai Zhiwan had no choice but to compromise: "Then... I'll trouble you, Young Master Liao."
Liao Wenchang quickly replied, "It's no trouble at all."
After Dai Zhiwan boarded the carriage, Su Wanyan chatted with Xu Yixuan for a while longer before parting ways.
Su Wanyan was indeed tired. She lay down on Yu Nanqing's lap shortly after getting into the carriage. The soreness in her calves made it uncomfortable no matter how she moved her feet.
Yu Nanqing naturally noticed: "I'll rub it for Yan'er."
Su Wanyan shook her head: "Don't move, let me lie here for a while."
Su Wanyan felt very comfortable lying on Yu Nanqing's body and did not want to move at all.
Yu Nanqing smiled indulgently: "Okay."
As he spoke, he gently stroked her face with his fingertips. His previous energy seemed to vanish instantly, and all that remained of Su Wanyan in front of him was a face full of drowsiness.
Even so, her talkative little mouth still didn't stop: "Did you leave the palace banquet early? Did the Empress Dowager say anything?"
"I told you this morning, go and show your face."
If he had somewhere else to go, he probably would have left even sooner.
"Why did you come with Qiu Yanwang? I don't recall you ever having any contact with him."
"He caught up with me not long after I left, probably because he also found the banquet boring."
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