Jiang Ning was indeed in a daze. Even when Yun Xi arrived, she was still sitting blankly by the window.
"What are you thinking about?"
Yun Xi crept up quietly and suddenly spoke, startling Jiang Ning.
"Hey, how dare you scare me!"
Jiang Ning pouted at Yun Xi crossly and then reached out to tickle her.
This made Yun Xi beg for mercy again and again.
After they had had their fun for a while, Yun Xi didn't ask her anymore.
She already knew about Hun Yuan's visit in the dark last night.
The gifts he had brought for her were still in her room from last night. She was sure Jiang Ning must have received even more.
The relationship between these two was both too simple and too complicated. She couldn't help them.
In fact, no one could.
All Yun Xi could do was try to comfort her.
"Let's go for a stroll in the street," Yun Xi suggested.
"I heard there are even more activities on the street this year. There are acrobats and puppet shows. They've come up with a lot of new and interesting things."
"Sure," Jiang Ning readily agreed. She quickly tidied herself up and then went out with Yun Xi.
The street was extremely crowded.
It was the new year, and everyone was beaming with joy, hoping that the smiles on their faces would bring good luck for the days to come.
Yun Xi and Jiang Ning walked along, looking around and chatting and laughing all the way. At this moment, all their worries and troubles seemed to be forgotten.
"Xiao Xi," Jiang Ning suddenly stopped, tugged at Yun Xi's sleeve, and nodded towards the right. "Is that your elder brother? Who's the woman beside him?"
"Huh?" Yun Xi turned her head and indeed saw Yun Qi talking to a woman with her back to them.
The figure looked a bit familiar, but Yun Xi couldn't remember who it was for a moment.
"Come on, let's go and take a look." Yun Xi pulled Jiang Ning along, and the two of them sneaked forward carefully, using the crowd to hide themselves.
"He kept making excuses when we asked him to come out with us, saying he had to meet a friend. But it turns out he's here to meet a beauty," Yun Xi whispered with a look as if she had caught someone in the act.
"Judging from the figure, it doesn't look like A Yan. Could it be that elder brother has already changed his heart so quickly?"
While whispering, they had already got closer. Yun Xi and the others hid behind a small stall selling beautiful lanterns, completely hiding their figures.
It was a pity that the street was so noisy. Even though Yun Xi craned her neck as far as she could, she still couldn't hear what the two of them were saying.
However, the figure looked more and more familiar, as if she had seen it recently.
"Hey, that seems to be..."
Suddenly, Yun Xi had a flash of inspiration and remembered who the person was. But before she could finish her sentence, a shadow suddenly fell over her head.
Yun Xi's unfinished words were interrupted. When she looked up, she saw Shen Zhou's extremely handsome face, which made one catch their breath.
"Mr. Shen?" Everyone was stunned.
"It's A Zhou," Shen Zhou said with a smile, correcting her seriously.
"What a coincidence. What are you doing here? Do you want a lantern? I'll buy it for you."
Yun Xi stood up awkwardly and quickly waved her hand. "No..."
"Thank you, Mr. Shen, but there's no need for you to spend your money," a cold voice, as cold as the perennial snow on a mountain peak, suddenly rang out. Yun Xi didn't even need to turn around to know that it was Yi Yuan standing behind her.
An arm wrapped around her slender shoulder and pulled her into his arms, confirming her guess.
Yi Yuan's eyes were filled with hostility. "My princess can have whatever she wants. I'll buy it for her. There's no need for others to try to curry favor."
"Princess?" Shen Zhou raised an eyebrow with a half - smile.
"As far as I know, Your Highness and Yingying haven't officially become engaged yet. You've only received Yingying's eight - character horoscope, which hasn't even been seen by her parents. It doesn't count yet."
"You're still a long way from making her the Princess of Yu'an. Your Highness is calling her 'princess' now. Aren't you being a bit too hasty?"
Yi Yuan's annoyance grew. He twitched the corner of his lips, and there was a hint of barely noticeable pride in his soft voice.
"Thank you, Mr. Shen, for thinking so carefully for me.
"I won't hide it from you. Lady Yun personally invited me to celebrate the New Year with the Yun family yesterday and even asked me to stay overnight. Last night, I showed the horoscopes to General Yun and his wife, and we exchanged them.
"The only thing left is to go through the proper procedures. I've already asked someone to check, and the sixth day of the lunar new year is an excellent day. It's a bit hasty, but I've already prepared everything. I don't think I'll let my Xiao Xi down.
"As for the wedding date, it'll probably be in the spring after winter. By then, Mr. Shen must..." Yi Yuan paused, and the joy in his heart, mixed with mockery towards Shen Zhou, showed on his face.
"Come and have a glass of wedding wine."
"Crunch—" Shen Zhou's hand hanging beside the stall snapped the pole of the nearest lantern, making a soft sound.
Yi Yuan was very satisfied.
Only Yun Xi looked utterly surprised.
"You exchanged the horoscopes behind my back last night? When? I was right there. How come I didn't notice?"
Yi Yuan glanced down at Yun Xi but didn't say a word.
[It wasn't for nothing that I lost at the card game. I gave away so many treasures. I had to get something in return.]
Yun Xi: …
So she had been "sold" at the card table!
Yun Xi was both angry and amused. She glared at Yi Yuan and was about to confront him. But then she saw that Yun Qi and the woman beside him were already walking away and were about to disappear from sight.
She had a strange premonition. Ignoring the two men who were at odds with each other, Yun Xi said, "I have something else to do. I'll leave first. You two can talk slowly."
Then she quickly followed them.
Yi Yuan and Shen Zhou were not willing to let her go.
They glanced at each other, then quickly moved to follow Yun Xi, one on the left and the other on the right. They said in unison, "I'll go too."
"I'll go too."
…
Yun Xi stopped helplessly and rubbed her forehead.
"Don't you two have anything else to do? With you two so tall, I'll be discovered in no time."
Looking ahead at Yun Qi and the woman beside him, Yi Yuan immediately recognized who the woman was.
He asked with a hint of confusion, "Isn't that your little cousin from yesterday? Why are you following them?"
Uh...
Yun Xi was taken aback and secretly glanced at Yi Yuan.
She thought she might have misunderstood Wei Manzhu. Her aunt might have had her eyes on Yi Yuan, but her little cousin, who had blushed so shyly yesterday, was actually interested in her elder brother!
But she couldn't say this out loud.
The relationship between cousins was already hard to explain clearly. If this got to Qiao Yan's ears, even if her elder brother had no feelings for Qiao Yan, their family relationship would never change. Who knew how many misunderstandings the two lovers would have.
Yun Xi stammered for a while but couldn't come up with an excuse.
In the end, she glared at Yi Yuan and said fiercely, "Don't you know that girls have their own secrets? Don't ask. Go back quickly."
Shen Zhou immediately laughed gloatingly.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to mock, Yun Xi glared at him.
"You too. Go away quickly. Don't follow me!"
Yi Yuan let out a cold snort.
Rubbing her aching temples, Yun Xi ignored the two of them and was about to follow them.
But just then, the two people walking side by side happened to run into Qiao Yan, who had come out to play with her elder brother.