The first snow of early winter in Kyoto wasn't very heavy. Tiny snowflakes danced with the wind, flitting across the hair and the hems of pedestrians' clothes, then floating down to the ground and melting into the dust.
The carriage creaked and swayed gently. Ye Xi absent - mindedly stroked the warm hot - water bottle in her hand, and there was actually a hint of hesitation and fear in her heart.
Her life story had been a long and winding journey, and the Lou family was the closest she had ever gotten.
If she was really a member of the Lou family, she wondered if they could get along well after more than a decade...
Lost in her wild thoughts, they arrived at Jianbai Tower.
"Be careful, miss," Lingyan reached out to support Ye Xi.
"The snow on the ground has melted. It's very slippery."
"Okay, thanks."
The mistress and her two maids got off the carriage. The icy air that rushed towards them instantly cleared Ye Xi's muddled thoughts.
As soon as Ye Xi lifted the curtain and entered the tower, she bumped into someone head - on.
Both of them were startled and quickly dodged to avoid the collision. Ye Xi was fine as Lingyan was there. As soon as Lingyan saw something was wrong, she quickly supported Ye Xi and led her to the side.
However, the other person was caught off - guard and almost fell.
She was hurriedly supported by the accompanying maid and a man who instinctively reached out.
"Sorry..."
"Sorry..."
Both of them spoke at the same time. After seeing each other clearly, they were both stunned for a moment and then burst into laughter.
"Xiaoxi, it's you!"
The person Ye Xi almost bumped into was Liu Mengxian.
As soon as Liu Mengxian saw it was Ye Xi, she couldn't stop laughing.
"What a coincidence! Are you here to admire the new painting *Portrait of a Beauty Searching for Plum Blossoms* by Mr. Hongyao too?"
Ye Xi glanced at the strange man beside Liu Mengxian and replied with a smile,
"Yes. I've long heard that Mr. Hongyao is a master of painting. Especially the beautiful ladies he painted are so vivid and lifelike that they seem to step out of the painting. I never had the chance to see his works before. When I heard that Jianbai Tower had obtained one, I rushed here immediately."
Liu Mengxian was observant. She instantly noticed Ye Xi's glance. Knowing that Ye Xi might have other things to attend to and was not convenient to talk about, she first introduced the man in green who had just supported her,
"This is my elder brother, Liu Jin."
Then she pointed to another man in a moon - white long robe behind Liu Jin and said,
"This is my brother's classmate, Mr. Ren Jiao."
After they greeted each other, Ye Xi noticed that there seemed to be something going on between Mr. Ren and Liu Mengxian. She wanted to ask a few questions, but then remembered that she had her own business. She thought she could ask later, so she just exchanged some polite words and was about to leave.
Unexpectedly, Liu Mengxian left her elder brother aside, leaned towards Ye Xi and whispered,
"Since you're here, it's just right. My third uncle's wife's younger sister is here too. If you're not busy, I won't leave either. I'll take you to meet her."
Ye Xi's heart skipped a beat. Seeing that Liu Jin and Ren Jiao were standing far away, she didn't hide it from Liu Mengxian anymore. She lowered her voice and said,
"Great. To be honest, I actually came here mainly for this today. If you could accompany me and introduce me, it would be perfect."
So the two of them said goodbye to Liu and Ren and walked shoulder - to - shoulder towards the second floor.
Perhaps because of the new painting, there were quite a few people here today.
Liu Mengxian led Ye Xi through the crowd with a smile and walked towards a woman by the window.
The woman was about thirty years old. She had a slightly round face and looked kind. She was chatting with several other women of similar age.
Although time had left some traces on her face, her eyebrows and eyes didn't really resemble Ye Xi's. There was even a faint air of arrogance in her gestures.
Ye Xi's heart sank.
"Auntie,"
Liu Mengxian had already walked closer and greeted her with a gentle smile.
"What a coincidence to meet you here. How have you been, auntie? Is the family busy?"
"Oh, Fourth Miss,"
Zhang Rui immediately stood up to greet her and pulled her affectionately with a big smile.
"I'm fine, and the whole family is fine. I didn't expect to meet you here today. What a fateful encounter."
As she spoke, she introduced Liu Mengxian to the other women,
"Sisters, this is the young lady from my younger sister's husband's family, the Fourth Miss of the Liu family. She is the most gentle and virtuous. She won the first place in the elegant competition on the first day of the women's event in the Qingyun Competition."
All the ladies immediately surrounded them and praised her one after another.
Perhaps the ladies were too enthusiastic. Liu Mengxian felt a bit uncomfortable. She responded to them one by one and then quickly pulled Ye Xi over to introduce her.
When they heard that Ye Xi was the prospective princess of Prince Yu'an, the ladies became even more excited.
One of them said,
"Miss Ye is really as beautiful as a celestial being from the sky. She's just like the nine - day fairy in the storybooks. One look at her and you'll feel close to her..."
Another one said,
"I heard that Miss Ye was valiant and talented in the Qingyun Competition and won the first place. I never thought I'd have the chance to meet her today. She is truly extraordinary. Even princesses and princesses can't compare to her..."
They all talked at once, praising Ye Xi to the skies.
Ye Xi was a bit taken aback.
Especially Mrs. Lou, Zhang Rui. She seemed afraid that someone would take Ye Xi away. She held Ye Xi's hand tightly and acted very affectionately. If someone didn't know better, they would think Ye Xi and she were very close.
But what Ye Xi heard most clearly in her mind was Zhang Rui's pride -
[Oh, a prospective princess has come. This really gives me a lot of face.]
[I've long heard her name. Since I've finally met her, I must show that I have the deepest friendship with her.]
[No, I have to maintain a good demeanor. If I can win her favor and our two families can interact more in the future, with Prince Yu'an's love for her, our family will surely rise to great heights. Then it will only be a matter of her word for Cheng'er's official career!]
Ye Xi frowned when she heard this.
Hearing Mrs. Lou's inner thoughts, Ye Xi found that she was completely different from the image of a mother she had imagined.
She had thought that her family might be a small one and might be looked down upon by those noble families. Her mother might be stubborn or weak, and might have a little vanity. But she never thought her mother would be so vain, shrewd, and have such an obvious and inexplicable air of arrogance.
This was only their first meeting, and she was already thinking of using Yi Yuan's influence to pave the way for the Lou family.
People like this usually had insatiable appetites and didn't know how to be grateful. If you helped them, they would think it was your duty; if you didn't, they would think you owed them.
Ye Xi was very conflicted for a moment. She didn't know if she should tactfully ask about her own life experience.
After all, if her biological mother was really like this, if she recognized the Lou family in the future, it would mean she would have to face the endless demands of her family for the rest of her life. Moreover, it was not impossible for them to act arrogantly outside by using Yi Yuan's influence.
Seeing Ye Xi's smile freeze, Liu Mengxian quickly pulled her to sit down and said with a smile,
"We've been talking for so long. Xiaoxi, have a cup of tea first to moisten your throat."
Zhang Rui immediately responded,
"You're right. It's all our fault that we were too happy and didn't even notice this small thing. Miss Ye, please don't take it to heart."
"You're being too polite, madam."
Ye Xi smiled, picked up the tea and took a sip. Then she put her arm around Zhang Rui's and changed the subject,
"I saw just now that you ladies were very happy talking about paintings and poems. Why aren't the young masters and young ladies here? It would be more lively with more people."