The boat docked smoothly at the shore, and Qin Wanyin and Xu Wan walked off hand in hand. Xu Yunci glanced at Li Shiyue beside him, stepped off first, turned around, and reached out his hand to look at Li Shiyue.
Li Shiyue held a round fan in her left hand, and her right hand was tightly enveloped as soon as it touched his palm.
Her cheeks were flushed, and she looked down at her feet. Quite a few people were looking at her, and they weren't the only ones boating on the lake today; it just so happened to be a busy time.
"Be careful." Xu Yunci seemed oblivious to the commotion around him, and didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with his concerned demeanor. It was just that he didn't seem to be the same person as the aloof Prince Xu that outsiders spoke of.
As he spoke, he lowered his head and watched as the young woman beside him hurriedly withdrew her hand. When he looked up, he realized that many eyes were already on him.
Most of the comments were sarcastic and envious. But when they saw that the fan in Li Shiyue's hand was about to cover half of his face, the smile in his eyes deepened, and even the upward curve of the corners of his mouth seemed uncontrollable.
Xu Yunci chuckled softly in Li Shiyue's ear, but because she was standing so close, it didn't escape her ears. She looked up at Xu Yunci, giving him a deliberately fierce glare, but Xu Yunci saw it more as a coquettish gesture.
Following the pebble path, the group arrived at the other side of the lake. Unexpectedly, they bumped into Wei Yujie. The person they had just been discussing was right in front of them, and Xu Lingzi felt a little awkward.
Wei Yujie seemed not to see her at all, and walked straight up to Xu Lingzi, affectionately reaching out to take her arm.
Xu Lingzi moved faster and subtly moved away from Guo Xun, making it difficult for Wei Yujie to reach out again.
“I remembered that some of my sisters were coming to visit the lake, so I thought I’d try my luck and come see if you were there.”
Wei Yujie had a rosy blush on her face, looking like she was in a good mood. She didn't seem to notice anything amiss, and only when she smiled at Li Shiyue did she notice Xu Yunci was also there.
Xu Yunci stood out among the group of suitors, half a step behind Li Shiyue, as if deliberately hiding herself. Even though she dared not harbor any romantic feelings, she couldn't help but feel disappointed, thinking that the person she was to marry could only obey her family's arrangements.
If the Xu family still doesn't agree, she'll really have no choice but to marry an old man if she's sent back. Thinking this, she became even more anxious about Xu Lingzi's overtures.
Li Shiyue and Xu Yunci exchanged a glance. She noticed the impatience in Xu Yunci's eyes, and then looked at Xu Lingzi beside her, who was still being pestered by Wei Yujie and couldn't get away. She felt somewhat helpless.
"We've picked some lotus pods from the lake, let's go take a look." Xu Yunci's voice wasn't lowered as he looked at Li Shiyue, and the two got up and walked to the other side.
It was a small basket, and the lotus pods inside were greenish in color. This wasn't Yunzhong County; such lotus seeds were not edible.
Li Shiyue picked up a lotus pod, but the lotus seeds inside were not easy to remove.
Seeing this, Xu Yunci took the lotus seeds from her hand. His fingers were slender and only slightly wider than Li Shiyue's. He peeled them open gently but firmly and placed two plump lotus seeds in Li Shiyue's hand.
The two lotus seeds he placed in Li Shiyue's palm were the most beautiful, while the remaining lotus seeds in his hand were smaller than those in Li Shiyue's hand.
"You can't eat this. It's a bit of a hassle to carry so many peeled pieces." Li Shiyue tilted her head and looked down at his hand.
Xu Yunci looked down at her palm, only to see Li Shiyue take out her handkerchief, a pale yellow square handkerchief, and place the lotus seeds in her hand on it.
She picked up the lotus seeds from Xu Yunci's palm, just big enough to hold in one hand, and wrapped them in a handkerchief. Xu Yunci moved swiftly, taking the handkerchief and lotus seeds from her: "I'll hold them for you."
Li Shiyue had no doubts; in fact, she was somewhat used to handing it over to Chunling. But since Xu Yunci wanted to, she didn't need to embarrass him here.
"Young Master".
An unfamiliar maid appeared out of nowhere, walked up to Xu Yunci, and said with her head bowed, "Lord Guo is waiting for you in the front courtyard. Young Master, would you like to go and find Lord Guo now?"
There was still some time before the banquet started. Xu Lingzi and Guo Xun had left the pavilion sometime earlier, leaving only Wei Yujie sitting there alone.
She looked around; Qin Wanyin was talking to Xu Wan and her maid. She looked up at Xu Yunci; there was hesitation in his eyes, clearly he was worried about leaving her alone.
Li Shiyue smiled gently, sensing his thoughts and feeling a warmth in her heart: "Perhaps Guo Shaoqing has something important to do. I'll go find Ayin and the others."
Xu Yunci nodded, but was a little worried: "Don't wander around. There are a lot of people at the Grand Tutor's residence today, and you don't know the way."
Seeing that Li Shiyue patiently nodded in agreement, he followed the maid in the opposite direction.
He was always a bit alert, and as the path the maid led him took him further and further away, he became wary and squinted at the maid in front of him.
The maid led the way, noticing the watchful gaze behind her, a chill running down her spine. She was still quite young, and facing such scrutinizing eyes, perhaps due to the glaring sun overhead, sweat poured down her forehead.
"Are Guo Shaoqing and Madam Guo together? Why are they in such a remote courtyard? Madam Guo is not feeling well."
After hearing his words, the maid gave a stiff smile, and her turning around was also somewhat awkward. If she didn't answer, she was afraid of giving herself away, so she thought for a moment before saying, "Madam Guo said it's a bit hot, so Young Master Guo is resting here with her."
After she finished speaking, Xu Yunci stopped. Perhaps realizing that she hadn't followed, the maid turned around and looked into Xu Yunci's deep eyes, her face showing surprise.
Xu Yunci remained silent, her expression calm, her eyes cold as she looked at the maid in front of her.
The surroundings were quiet, save for the incessant chirping of cicadas in the treetops, and the sun overhead seemed to radiate even more heat and light. The maidservant bent slightly, staring at the pebbles at her feet, beads of sweat trickling down her forehead, tickling her, but she paid no heed to them, only feeling the intense pressure of the gaze from above.
"Your Highness?"
The maid tentatively opened her mouth, and when she looked up, she saw what seemed to be a mockery in Xu Yunci's eyes. She tried to look more closely but found nothing.
She suddenly knelt down, her forehead touching the ground. This gesture of respect was meant to apologize, a rule that shouldn't be observed outside the palace, yet it was happening at the Grand Tutor's residence.
Xu Yunci looked at the maid kneeling on the cobblestone path. He had never seen her in the palace before, but her voice sounded familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.
Without giving it much thought, Xu Yunci glanced at the maid on the ground and turned back the way she came without looking back.
The maid, unaware of the secret she had given, instinctively knelt down, her eyes filled with terror as she watched the direction Xu Yunci had left in.
Until a young woman stood beside her, the maid saw the sorrow and despair in the girl's eyes and slammed her forehead against the cobblestone path.
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