"I secretly hid him in Zhihong Garden and found a doctor to treat his injuries."
"After he recuperated for about seven or eight days, Young Master Shen gradually recovered. When he learned..."
After a brief hesitation, Jiang Ning glanced at everyone present and then continued,
"Well... that you, Xiaoxi, had been kidnapped and gone missing, he bid farewell and said he would help look for you. I thought his body had almost recovered anyway, and it was inappropriate for him to stay in Zhihong Garden any longer, so I let him go."
"But right after he left, when I went to the cloth shop, I saw the Shen family take him away."
"Then it spread that Young Master Shen had accidentally fallen off his horse and was injured while traveling outside and needed to recuperate at home. Since then, Young Master Shen has never shown up again, and those who went to the Shen family to visit him were politely refused. Except for..."
"Yun Qianying!"
Qiao Yan took over Jiang Ning's words, with a very strange look on her face.
"The Shen family is practically announcing in a roundabout way that Yun Qianying is the future wife of Shen Zhou they've recognized."
"You don't know. With such high - profile recognition and favoritism from the Shen family, Yun Qianying has been in the limelight these days. Even the noble consort in the palace has summoned her several times."
"Even A Zhen..."
Suddenly pausing, Qiao Yan's expression became complicated, and she closed her mouth and said no more.
From Qiao Yan's expression, Ye Xi immediately understood that Qiao Yan must have listened to her previous advice, perhaps even verified it and discovered something.
With Qiao Yan's straightforward and enthusiastic personality, knowing that the person she trusted whole - heartedly was actually ruthless and had even used her as a pawn for personal gain and implicated her own elder brother, she must be extremely sad.
Ye Xi didn't want Qiao Yan to dwell on this sad matter. Just as she was about to write something to change the subject, she heard Liu Mengxian preemptively say,
"Actually, I don't think this is a good thing."
"Although the Yun family's status matches that of the Shen family, judging from these things, who knows what kind of schemes are going on inside the Shen family. If something goes wrong then, both the Yun and Liu families might be implicated."
"And the intentions of the second young master of the Shen family..."
Liu Mengxian paused, glanced at Ye Xi, then changed the subject and frowned,
"But Qianying is still eager to get closer and is completely infatuated with the second young master of the Shen family. I wanted to give her a few words of advice, but she thought I was jealous of her good marriage. Sigh..."
Letting out a soft sigh, Liu Mengxian straightened her exquisitely complicated sleeves and said,
"Her personality has really changed a lot over the years. She's like a different person from when she was a child. If it weren't for the old friendship from childhood and the fact that Cousin Yun Qi and Aunt are not around, I wouldn't bother to court such dislike."
Everyone nodded. Suddenly, Ye Xi's mind flashed the beautiful and gentle face of Liu Jingyue. After thinking for a while, she wrote,
[It seems that Shen Zhou must have been implicated because of me.]
[But he is still the blood of the Shen family after all, so I don't think anything serious will happen to him. It's just that the Shen family's high - profile actions, regardless of whether they favor Yun Qianying or not, are actually a real coercion to the Yun family.]
"Coercion?"
Liu Mengxian and Qiao Yan glanced at each other and spoke in unison.
Ye Xi nodded and continued to write,
[Yes.]
[The Shen family has been so high - profile in their interactions with Yun Qianying that almost everyone in the capital now knows there's something between Yun Qianying and Shen Zhou. When the Shen family comes to propose marriage, even if General Yun and Lady Yun are reluctant, considering Yun Qianying's and the Yun family's reputation, they won't have much choice.]
With a "bang", Liu Mengxian angrily slapped the table. Her willow - like eyebrows shot up as she gritted her teeth and said,
"What a scheming Shen family! Such a good calculation!"
"They've calculated that there's no one from the Yun family in the capital and that Qianying is infatuated with Shen Zhou, so they're acting so recklessly! It's really hateful!"
Everyone was startled to see Liu Mengxian so angry for the first time.
The accompanying maid quickly served Liu Mengxian a cup of tea and gently patted her back to help her calm down.
Ye Xi quickly picked up her pen and continued to write,
[Don't be angry. Since things have come to this, let's first see what Lady Yun thinks.]
[If General Yun and Lady Yun agree, then this will be a good thing.]
Thinking that the probability was indeed not very high, Ye Xi quickly changed the subject and wrote,
[By the way, the day A Yuan found me, he sent a message to Young General Yun and the others. It's okay that Ling Yanyuan is far away, but now that a large group of us have arrived, why haven't Young General Yun and Lin An returned yet? I wonder where they are?]
"Soon, soon,"
Qiao Yan replied without thinking,
"They arrived near Fuxing County yesterday. They were delayed by something before, so they should arrive tomorrow."
"Why?"
After Qiao Yan finished speaking, she saw everyone looking at her in surprise, which made her feel uneasy.
"Why are you all looking at me like this?"
"Nothing, nothing,"
Everyone glanced at each other. Liu Mengxian said with a meaningful smile,
"It's just... well... Your news is really well - informed, A Yan."
The carefree Qiao Yan actually understood the hidden meaning in Liu Mengxian's words this time.
Wasn't this making fun of her for closely following Yun Qi's whereabouts?
Qiao Yan's face flushed. She wanted to argue stubbornly but didn't know how.
After all, Liu Mengxian didn't actually say anything.
If she rushed to explain, it would be like trying to hide something and making it more obvious.
She was in a dilemma for a moment. In the end, Qiao Yan simply stamped her foot angrily and started to expose Liu Mengxian's affairs,
"My news is not only about this. I also know that you and that Young Master Ren have been having a great time discussing poetry, enjoying the snow, and praying for blessings."
"I heard that both families have exchanged the birth - date information for divination. I think if the divination turns out well, your marriage will be settled by the end of the year."
Ye Xi didn't expect so many things to have happened in the capital during her disappearance. Her eyes widened with interest as she quickly wrote,
[Why is it so fast?]
[Was the matter of that perfume smell resolved?]
"Perfume? What perfume?"
Qiao Yan didn't know the whole story and immediately asked.
"Good for you two, keeping so many little secrets from me. Quickly confess everything, or I'll use my 'tickling' torture!"
Liu Mengxian's face instantly turned red. She let out a soft "um" and explained a few words to Qiao Yan. Blushing shyly and lowering her head, she murmured,
"Actually, that perfume smell was because he knew he would meet me that day and specially bought some rouge to give to me."
"But he was too shy and embarrassed to give it to me. Later, he finally managed to give it to me after going through a lot of trouble, using my elder brother's name as an excuse."
"Since the misunderstanding has been resolved and Young Master Ren is already of the right age, his parents have been waiting for him to pass the imperial examination so they can arrange a marriage for him. With everything falling into place, things are moving quickly."
Ye Xi suddenly understood.
The group hadn't seen each other for a long time and talked about all sorts of things until it got dark. Ye Xi also told them about the plan to hold a make - up birthday banquet for Yi Yaofeng. The date was tentatively set for seven days later, and invitations would be sent to each mansion at that time.
Firstly, her throat should be better by then so she could speak, and secondly, there would be time for preparations.
Liu Mengxian and Qiao Yan accepted the invitation, and only then did everyone leave reluctantly.
Over there, Yi Yuan and the others also finished their conversation. After everyone left, Yi Yuan immediately came to Ye Xi.
"Xiaoxi."
As soon as Yi Yuan stepped through the door with his long legs, he couldn't wait to call out.
When he saw Ye Xi standing in front of him, smiling and looking fine, he secretly let out a sigh of relief. There was a hint of joy in his eyes as he said,
"Lin An sent a message saying that he and Yun Qi accidentally discovered some clues related to Yanshan County during this trip."