"Your Majesty, what Li Ze said is correct. My younger sister passed away early, and she was not with my mother while she was in Yunzhong County. Therefore, my mother believes that Yan Yan's marriage should be carefully considered."
I've heard that the Xu family is now enjoying great favor, with even the noble character "Rong" being used as a title. Precisely because of this, the Xu family should not forget their original intentions.
The Duke of Rong glanced at his son, then cupped his hands and addressed the Emperor. Seeing that the Emperor did not appear angry, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"I see." The official nodded thoughtfully, a hint of disappointment in his eyes.
On second thought, Xu Yunci was also one of the young masters of the Xu family. He looked at the Duke of Rong again, lost in thought.
Fortunately, the Emperor did not mention anything else. After dinner, Li Shiyue wanted to go find Xu Lingzi, but seeing that it was getting dark, she decided not to go.
After all, their residences weren't very close, and even though there wasn't anyone she needed to hide from now on, she still felt unsafe.
The next day, Li Shiyue followed Yang Shi. Today, the Emperor led his officials to go horse racing, while the women of the household naturally had other activities.
Naturally, she sat with Xu Lingyu. Li Shiyue's riding outfit was newly made in lake blue. She picked up a grape, which was unusually sweet.
Yang and several other officials' wives, including Madam Qin, were talking with Xu Lingyu when Li Shiyue's eyes suddenly lit up, and she stood up to greet them.
Xu Lingzi, dressed in riding attire and with her hair styled in a woman's bun, walked over with Guo Xun. Madam Yang didn't restrain her, letting her and Qin Wanyin fight against Guo Xun and Xu Lingzi.
Sitting on their horses, it was easy to see that Xu Lingzi's complexion was rosy, and Guo Xun's eyes never left her.
"Hey Guo Shaoqing, why didn't you ride with the Emperor?" Qin Wanyin suppressed a laugh, but it still slipped out from the corners of her mouth.
Xu Lingzi glared at Qin Wanyin with a hint of annoyance, but Guo Xun, on the other hand, didn't feel embarrassed by the teasing and laughed frankly, "I'm not a military officer, and I haven't learned how to hunt. Besides, accompanying my wife is more important."
"Huh~"
Qin Wanyin hugged her arms, her body trembling. Clutching her polo mallet tightly, she turned to Li Shiyue beside her for comfort: "Yan Yan, let's beat Fifth Sister today."
Looking at the couple exchanging loving glances beside her, Li Shiyue wholeheartedly agreed: "I think it's a good idea."
By the time Xu Yunci and the Crown Prince arrived, the match was already over, and Li Shiyue and Qin Wanyin had lost by one goal.
However, seeing Xu Lingzi jog towards the stage and stand with Guo Xun, Li Shiyue and Qin Wanyin showed no sadness at their defeat. Instead, they smiled at each other and returned to the stands.
Xu Yunci was already sitting next to Yang Shi, and Li Shiyue, her eyes gleaming, sat down on the other side of Yang Shi.
"Just now, Erlang said he wanted to have a match, but he needs to rest for a while longer." The Crown Prince turned to look at Xu Lingyu, but he was itching to play at the polo field.
Xu Lingyu smiled. Today she was wearing a bright yellow riding outfit with dark patterns, and a narrow-sleeved jacket with light silver and gold patterns on the outside.
She looked at Yang's younger brother beside her, nodded, and then turned to pull Li Shiyue up: "Yan Yan, come along too."
“That’s perfect. I’ll go with Yuan Niang, and Er Lang can go with his cousin.” The Crown Prince rubbed his hands together, completely unaware of the way Yang Shi was looking at Xu Lingyu.
As she stepped off the stands, Xu Lingyu deliberately glanced at Xu Yunci, who was following behind her. The opportunity had been given to her; whether she could seize it was up to her.
Li Shiyue wasn't unaware of Xu Lingyu's intentions; she probably thought Xu Yunci was a very good husband, but she didn't make it too obvious so that everyone could see it. However, Madam Yang certainly understood.
It felt as if Yang's gaze could see right through Xu Lingyu, and it was easy to guess why. These days, Yang would always hold back her words, but when Xu Lingyu was staying in the palace, she accidentally let slip that Xu Yunci had confessed his feelings to Yang.
When she looked up and met the gaze of the person beside her, Li Shiyue gripped the cue stick tighter.
"Thump!"
A gong sounded, and everyone stopped. Li Shiyue handed the cue stick to Chunling, who was standing nearby. Xu Yunci dismounted but didn't rush to get the item from the platform; he waited for her to dismount so he could retrieve it.
A pair of tourmaline hibiscus flower hairpins, the prize money, were neatly arranged on a red lacquered wooden tray. Anything that Xu Lingyu would use as a prize money item was certainly not of inferior quality.
The jade above is pure white and flawless, with a carved hibiscus flower encased in the center by tourmaline.
Li Shiyue turned around, and Xu Yunci behind her smiled slightly when he saw her looking over. What was that feeling?
He was standing right behind her, and she could see him as soon as she turned her head. It was as if he was always the first person to appear whenever something happened.
Tell her not to be afraid, it was Xu Yunci.
She gradually increased the pressure on her grip on the jade hairpin. Before leaving, Old Madam Xu held her hand and brought up the matter, wanting her to make the decision herself.
But right now there seems to be nothing to hesitate about. He has already taken the first step toward her, and there's nothing wrong with letting her take that step instead.
Sitting on the stands, Madam Yang's eyes held a deeper meaning. She recalled how she had mentioned this matter to the Duke of Rong a few days ago, and how the Duke of Rong had not objected but instead felt that his eldest son's intentions were important.
She was truly unwilling, but looking at the two children in front of her, she couldn't bring herself to say anything against it.
I put down my teacup, let out a long sigh, and thought, "Forget it, the child's intentions are the most important thing, and that's not wrong."
When she looked up at the field again, she met Xu Lingyu's gaze. Only the two women could understand the deep meaning in each other's eyes. However, the upturned corners of Xu Lingyu's mouth betrayed her state of mind, which was probably completely different from Yang's.
Back at her residence, Li Shiyue looked at the pair of hairpins placed in front of her. Although she didn't say anything, she sensed that Xu Yunci clearly had something to say when he returned.
Her residence was one behind Xu Yunci's, separated by a high wall. She had no idea that the young master, as seen by outsiders, was sitting in a chair with a troubled expression.
He naturally didn't want to wrong his little cousin. Betrothal naturally required the proper formalities and the presence of elders. Even if he was anxious, there was no reason for him to personally visit her.
"If the young master is in such a hurry, why don't you go back and ask the old lady for help?"
Chang Shun's silence was fine, but the moment he spoke, Xu Yunci raised his hand to cover his eyes. After all, he wanted to as well, but Old Madam Xu clearly wanted to hear Li Shiyue's own opinion.
Chang Shun was about to say something when he saw Chun Ling walk in carrying a food box. Chun Ling ignored Chang Shun's winks and placed the food box on the table.
"Young Master, this is a fruit cake that the young lady just made. She said that you didn't eat much after the polo match, and she was worried that you might get hungry later, so she specially ordered me to bring it over."
Chunling emphasized the word "deliberately" as she spoke.
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