Xie Fengran paused in her movements, turned her head slightly, and said nothing. She just stared at Sun Yuelan with her cold eyes until Sun Yuelan couldn't stand it anymore.
"Alright, alright, I won't say anything. Is that okay? Please don't look at me like that."
Xie Fengran averted her gaze and twitched the corner of her mouth. "I still have a pot of excellent Longjing tea. When I get back, I'll have someone send it. Please pass it on to your brother for me."
"Hey! Heartless woman. My brother..."
Xie Fengran gave a quick glance, and Sun Yuelan quickly changed her tune. "My brother will surely be very happy."
Only then did Xie Fengran let it go.
Sun Yuelan knew that her close female friend would never become her sister - in - law. Although she felt a bit regretful, she also knew that feelings couldn't be forced.
As a younger sister, apart from occasionally promoting her brother's presence, there was little else she could do.
However, seeing this girl being so insistent on reciprocating gifts and not wanting to owe anyone a favor, all her brother's enthusiasm would surely come to nothing.
After finishing their business, the two left the teahouse. As usual, Xie Fengran wore a veil hat. She waved to Sun Yuelan, got into Uncle Feng's carriage, and headed straight for outside the city.
At the Huguo Temple, in the courtyard specifically for female guests, the female relatives from the Marquis of Dingguo's Mansion had just arrived when the young lady from Prime Minister Zhang's Mansion showed up.
The Marquis's Mansion was a prominent family in the capital, and the generous donation of incense money to the Huguo Temple every year was quite substantial. Prime Minister Zhang was the emperor's trusted advisor, and his position was on the rise and couldn't be offended.
So, the Buddhist monk Jingxin, who was in charge of the temple's mundane affairs, cleared out the two best courtyard rooms reserved for pilgrims to entertain these distinguished guests.
The Huguo Temple was the largest temple within a hundred miles of the capital. With its prosperous incense - burning business, high - ranking officials and nobles often came and went. There were always pilgrims who would stay here for a while to pray.
To better serve these important patrons, Jingxin had a clear understanding of the relationships among the high - ranking officials and nobles in the capital. He knew which wives were enemies and which were just on polite terms. He was well - aware of the closeness or distance of these relationships, so he had never made a mistake in allocating the courtyard rooms.
However, Jingxin didn't pay much attention to the gossips in the capital. Coincidentally, the two best courtyard rooms he cleared out for the Marquis of Dingguo's Mansion and the Prime Minister's Mansion were next to each other!
Lanfang and the others arrived first. After they had settled in, Zhang Yao and her entourage moved into the adjacent courtyard.
Xie Chenghui couldn't stay still in the room and kept pestering to go out and have some fun.
But since Xie Fengran wasn't around, Lanfang was afraid that he would cause trouble if he went out, so she coaxed him in the room.
No one in the Marquis's Mansion knew who was living just behind the wall!
By the time Xie Fengran reached the Huguo Temple, it was already night.
Since she had secretly left the group, she only knocked on the side door of the Huguo Temple. Holding a token of the Marquis of Dingguo's Mansion, she claimed to be a servant of the Marquis's Mansion.
The gate - keeping monk asked Lanfang, and then let her in.
Lanfang sent a young maid to greet Xie Fengran. The young maid was smart and only spoke to Hexiang.
"Sister Hexiang, Sister Lanfang has already tidied up. Abbot Jingxin has cleared out the best courtyard in the temple for us. There's also a pilgrim staying in the adjacent courtyard, but we haven't found out which family she's from."
Hexiang nodded and asked gently, "How is the young master?"
"The young master was crying for the young lady earlier, but Sister Lanfang managed to calm him down. He's asleep now."
Xie Fengran felt slightly relieved. It was the first time she had brought Chenghui out, and she couldn't afford any mishaps.
She walked behind Hexiang, quietly listening to the conversation between Hexiang and the young maid. Two steps behind her, there was a figure hidden in the darkness, following them closely.
After walking for about a quarter of an hour, the young maid pointed to the courtyard in front and said, "Sister Hexiang, that's where we'll be staying."
Hexiang also let out a sigh of relief. God knew how nervous she had been following the young lady all day, fearing that something might go wrong.
She never thought that the young lady would be so bold as to come out with only her.
Now that they were about to reunite with the group, she felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders.
Being a senior maid was really no easy job!
But before Hexiang could fully relax, a staggering figure emerged from the small bamboo grove at the courtyard gate and rushed straight towards them.
Hexiang's heart skipped a beat. She immediately stepped in front of Xie Fengran and said to the young maid, "Take the young lady into the courtyard!"
But unexpectedly, although the figure was staggering, it moved quite fast and rushed straight towards them. The target -
Xie Fengran!
When the figure got closer, Hexiang smelled a strong odor of alcohol. Her face turned pale with fright. She pushed Xie Fengran away and spread her arms to stop the on - coming person.
In this pitch - black night, if this person were to touch the young lady, there would be no way to explain it.
Hexiang was really desperate. Just as the person was about to knock Hexiang down, a small foot in a coarse cloth shoe suddenly appeared from behind.
It kicked the person squarely in the chest with precision and force.
Without much of a movement, the on - coming person flew backward like a broken - string kite.
He crashed straight into the gate of the adjacent courtyard.
Just then, the gate of the adjacent courtyard opened, and the person crashed right onto someone in the middle.
"Miss!"
"Ouch!"
In an instant, there was chaos. Hearing the commotion, the gate of this courtyard also opened. Lanfang came out and was relieved to see the two.
At this moment, Hexiang quickly pushed Xie Fengran to Lanfang's side and took off the young lady's outer cloak and put it on herself.
She was so fast that Xie Fengran didn't even have time to stop her.
"Miss, you've been here with Sister Lanfang for a while. It was me who came with the token to look for you just now!"
That person was obviously after the young lady. Whether he touched the young lady or not, causing such a commotion in the Huguo Temple would surely damage the young lady's reputation if she was involved.
Xie Fengran had sensed something was wrong as soon as the person appeared. She didn't rush to dodge because she wanted to see what this person was up to.
Hexiang's actions also took her by surprise.
She patted Hexiang's hand and pulled her closer. "Don't worry."
Then she instructed Lanfang, "Light the torches. Let's go over and take a look."
At the gate of the other courtyard, the drunkard was pressing down hard on the person beneath him, and his hands were constantly groping. "Such a beauty. Let brother take a good look."
The maids and servants in the courtyard were so scared that their faces turned white. They quickly tried to pull the drunkard away.
But the drunkard was so strong that he pulled the person on top of him.
When Xie Fengran and her entourage came over, this was the scene they saw.
A woman in red was lying on the drunkard, and the drunkard was groping her. Two maids were trying to pry the drunkard's hands off.
When she saw the face of the woman in red, Xie Fengran immediately understood what was going on.
She narrowed her eyes, and a glint of sternness flashed across them.
This person just wouldn't stop!