The "Third Young Master" that Chunling mentioned is none other than Xu Yunbo, who has been reassigned. After all, the current Xu Yunbo is a completely different person, only occasionally showing a bit of youthful naiveté in front of his elders.
On the Mid-Autumn Festival, as night fell, lanterns were already hung along both sides of the moat. The bustling streets looked nothing like they had been before, the only similarity being the constant flow of people.
Suddenly, a pair of hands appeared in front of her. Li Shiyue looked up. The crossbeam of the carriage was higher, and the steps placed by the coachman were right under her feet, but Xu Yunci was reaching out as if to help her down.
Li Shiyue remained silent. Xu Lingzi had been helped down just as well. If she were to dodge, wouldn't it make her look like she was trying to hide something?
"Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, let's go see the lanterns first."
After getting off the carriage, Li Shiyue decisively withdrew her hand, not even glancing at Xu Yunci, and quickly walked to Xu Lingzi's side, smiling sweetly as she replied, "Okay."
To be honest, this was her first time celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival with everyone. In the past, she would celebrate with her grandmother, and they would just eat mooncakes; that was how the two of them celebrated the festival.
When Madam Li was alive, she had difficulty walking, so it was impossible for her to accompany her out of the mansion, let alone let her go out on her own.
Ignoring everyone else, the two sisters walked hand in hand toward the stalls in front of them. Xu Yunci glanced at them and silently followed.
Xu Yunxu stood at a distance and smiled: "Thank you for your kindness, Cousin Xie. Fifth Sister and Yan Yan couldn't catch anyone after leaving the manor, so Second Brother was worried that something might happen to them."
Xie Yizhi stood between Xu Yunxu and his sister Xu Yunyao, his expression calm, seemingly unsurprised by the harmonious interaction between the three: "How could that be? If I had a younger sister, I would protect her just like my cousin, the Crown Prince."
Xu Yunxu remained silent and walked forward with Xie Yizhi.
Only Xu Yunyao and his sister remained in front of the carriage. In front of the lantern vendor's cart, Li Shiyue and Xu Lingzi, each holding a different lantern, were asking Xu Yunci for his opinion.
"Let's go take a look over there."
That was in the exact opposite direction from Xu Yunci and the others. Xu Lingqing did not refute it, but turned around to look in that direction. Li Shiyue was holding a fox-shaped lantern in her hand, and she said something. Xu Yunci's smile was very obvious.
She pursed her lips and sighed softly, finally taking steps to catch up with Xu Yunyao.
The old man's cart was decorated with a row of lanterns, each with a different design, and the lanterns depicted foxes and rabbits, all painted with lifelike detail.
Xu Lingqing held a lotus lantern, its green lotus leaves enveloping the pink lotus petals inside, as if one could smell the fragrance of lotus in June at any moment.
"I'll take this one."
Li Shiyue looked at the fox lantern in her hand. Although it was small, the head of the fiery red fox was vividly depicted. She held it in her hand, and seeing Xu Yunci pay, she went inside.
"These lanterns are so beautiful, it would be a real shame to leave them like this."
Xu Yunci had already paid and followed. Hearing this, he showed no displeasure whatsoever. Instead, the smile in his eyes became even more pronounced. He hadn't really seen his little cousin's maternal demeanor yet, so spending a little more money to make her smile was no big deal.
"Chang Shun, go buy two more cups and send them back to the carriage."
After saying that, he turned his head and looked over. Afraid that she could not hear him, he bent down slightly and leaned close to her ear: "I will ask Changshun to go to that old man's place to buy two more cups. When you get back, you can play with Wu Niang again."
"Thank you, cousin." Li Shiyue's eyes sparkled, and even though they curved like crescent moons, Xu Yunci still felt they were as bright as the full moon above his head.
Her dimples were barely visible, but she still seemed a bit too thin; they weren't very prominent.
"Since you're so generous, Cousin Prince, why don't you give me a couple of cups too?" Xie Yizhi chased after him, grinning like a heartless fool.
Xu Yunxu, who had caught up, looked helplessly at his elder brother. Who would have thought that Xie Yizhi would run over by himself when he wasn't paying attention, and he was almost left behind in the crowd.
"You already have one, why are you fighting with Yan Yan for it?" Xu Lingzi chuckled, then suddenly took Li Shiyue's arm, as if she were going to stand up for her good sister.
Xie Yizhi sighed helplessly, but his smile widened: "I didn't steal anything. I just wanted my cousin, the Crown Prince, to give me a cup too."
His gaze fell on Xu Yunci, a deep smile mingling with his own, yet he still couldn't truly understand Xu Yunci. In comparison, it was much easier to see through others.
Xie Yizhi looked at Li Shiyue, but Xu Lingzi was blocking the two of them, so he couldn't get too close. He could only crane his neck to look at the lantern in Li Shiyue's hand: "It's a fox, and it's quite cute."
This fox... its eyes look somewhat familiar.
Li Shiyue's face showed no unusual expression. She switched the lantern to her other hand, now at a greater distance than before.
Xie Yizhi withdrew his gaze, listening intently, but his eyes occasionally darted to Xu Yunci and Li Shiyue. They were talking, their conversation unclear to others; Xu Yunci was saying something, while Li Shiyue's eyes sparkled beautifully.
He was actually a little curious about what she had said that could move the young lady so much.
By the time Li Shiyue realized what was happening, Xu Yunxu had already been taken away by Xie Yizhi to play somewhere, and even Xu Lingzi had been picked up by Guo Xun.
Now that the two of them are engaged, there's nothing wrong with them enjoying the moon together; many of the passersby are couples coming out together.
"Establish rules..."
The two turned around, and the one who called out to them was Princess Chunhui, whom they hadn't seen for many days. When Xu Yunci turned around, he saw the coldness in his eyes instantly decrease.
Princess Chunhui spotted Li Shiyue standing beside Xu Yunci at a glance. A flicker of anger flashed in her eyes, a sense of resentment rising within her. She took two steps forward, ignoring those behind her, and stood before Xu Yunci, her eyes filled with undisguised expectation.
"Li...Young Master Xu, are you here to release lanterns too?"
Her gaze involuntarily fell on the fox lantern in Xu Yunci's hand. Her face lit up with joy, and she was about to say something when she saw that Li Shiyue had an identical lantern in her hand. Her face instantly fell.
"Young Master Xu, Princess of Yichang County." The young man who came with him had youthful and humble features and was dressed in a magnificent python robe.
"This is the youngest son of the Emperor, Prince Zhao." Xu Yunci's voice was not loud, but Li Shiyue could hear it clearly. It turned out that the person in front of her was Prince Zhao, who had never shown his face before.
His birth mother, Consort An, was a palace maid recommended by the late Empress. She came from a humble background and was not as noble as the Prince of Yan, who was born to Consort Shun. Therefore, he did not stand out much.
He had just turned twenty last year, so he looked more like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old young man.
"When did the King of Zhao return to the capital? I was unaware that the King of Zhao was here. Standing here would be disrespectful." Xu Yunci shifted his feet slightly, using himself to shield Li Shiyue from view.
"I never expected that the King of Zhao, who has been away from the capital for so long, would still recognize Yichang. Such keen eyesight shows that he has gained a lot of experience on this trip."
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