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墨書 Inktalez
Seventh Sister! A faint smile appeared at the corner of Feng Yinxiao's eye: it had only been a short while since they last met, yet he missed her greatly. Her charming figure lingered in his mind, impossible to shake off. If it weren't for Mother suddenly feeling unwell and needing care, he would have been unable to resist going to see her.
“Mother, I just visited the Duke of E State Mansion,” Feng Yinxiao concealed his distraction and said with a smile, “Also, I have never mentioned Seventh Sister in front of the family, so it’s not surprising.”
“It’s all because of my health,” Ling Chen sighed as she looked at Feng Yinxiao. “I originally wanted to visit the Duke of E State Mansion myself, to convey my regards to Second Madam Ming Xiao'er and see Seventh Sister, but now—”
“Mother, it’s better for me to handle this matter myself,” Feng Yinxiao reassured her. “You don’t need to make the trip. As for seeing Seventh Sister,” he suddenly paused, his face turning slightly red as he shyly added, “there will be many opportunities in the future.”
Ling Chen noticed the implication behind his words and saw her son blushing. She understood a bit more and wanted to tease him, but then she remembered the agreement with the Second House about becoming relatives and frowned instead. “Xiao'er, no matter how determined and confident you are, you should clarify things with the Second House sooner rather than later. The longer you delay such matters, the harder they become to handle. After all, she is a young lady who might be waiting for our response from the Duke of Yan's Residence. You must not procrastinate any further to avoid affecting the relationship between our families.”
“You are right, Mother,” Feng Yinxiao nodded with a smile. “It wasn’t that I was procrastinating; I was just looking for an appropriate moment. Seventh Sister invited me to the racetrack this afternoon to learn horseback riding. I want her to bring along Fourth Sister, and then I can find an opportunity to explain things to her more appropriately.”
“Oh, Seventh Sister invited you to ride?” The Duchess's beautiful eyes lit up as she teased, “Have you two become this close already? That was quick.”
Feng Yinxiao was startled and worried that Mother might misunderstand Seventh Sister as being too “easygoing.” He hurriedly explained, “Mother, don’t misunderstand; Seventh Sister also invited other friends. Perhaps she thought it would be livelier with more people and included me as well; it’s not a private invitation.”
However, Ling Chen didn’t share Feng Yinxiao's concerns. She looked at him kindly and said with a smile, “Regardless, Xiao'er is a gentleman; take good care of the young lady. Don’t let her get hurt; learning to ride requires caution—don’t be careless.”
Feeling that his mother had been positively influenced by him and seemed to have a good impression of Seventh Sister, he felt pleased that she cared so much without having even met her yet.
“Yes, Mother, I will remember,” Feng Yinxiao replied obediently. However, he was still concerned about leaving the sickly Duchess alone. “But your health hasn’t fully recovered yet; I really can’t feel at ease if I leave.”
“Go ahead; the maids and nursemaids in the mansion can take care of things; that’s their duty,” Ling Chen said. “Just enjoy yourself and remember not to forget to comfort Fourth Sister.”
“Yes, Mother, it’s getting windy; let me help you back to your room,” Feng Yinxiao stood up and assisted the Duchess as he said, “I’ll come back to visit you after returning home.”
At this time, Yun Kexin was already preparing for the afternoon horseback riding at the racetrack. This time she didn’t hide anything from Fu Lianyin, openly stating that she was going with Fourth Sister, Young Master Tong, and others to learn horseback riding in the northern part of the city. It was just after lunch.
“Seventh Young Lady, can’t you bring along Xiao Sister?” Fu Lianyin asked again during their tea break. “She really enjoys being with you.”
“Mother, it’s not that I don’t want to bring along Eighth Younger Sister,” Yun Kexin glanced at Fu Lianyin. “It’s just that she is too young; we are going to learn horseback riding, and I’m afraid we won’t be able to take care of her.”
“It’s fine; aren’t there servants?” Fu Lianyin still didn’t want to give up and smiled encouragingly. “You just focus on learning horseback riding with Young Master Tong. Let a maid take care of Xiao Er.”
“That wouldn’t be appropriate either,” Yun Kexin stubbornly declined. “The place we’re going is quite far away; even if there is a maid with her, it would still be inconvenient. She might soon want to go home, which means the maid would have to rush back…”
Unexpectedly, Fu Lianyin did not continue to argue on this issue; she simply smiled. Since the Seventh Young Lady had considered Yun Xiao so thoughtfully, it was fine to bring her along next time when they went out to play.
In fact, Fu Lianyin was just using Yun Xiao as an excuse to test Yun Kexin's attitude towards her. She had been unsettled since the morning due to the revelation about Yun Ran's "dream talk," fearing that the Seventh Young Lady would believe the Fifth Young Lady's "dream talk" and cause a scene, which would make her look bad in front of others. The consequences would be even more unpredictable than Yun Yang ignoring or distrusting her. However, after their conversation just now, she felt that Yun Kexin was "perfectly normal" and unaffected, which eased her mind a bit.
Yun Kexin only brought along her three maidservants: Shanling, Shanying, and Shanyue, and set off with Fourth Sister Yun Yan.
Upon arriving at the meeting place, they were surprised to find Crown Prince Qin Yan, Tong Zhichen, and Feng Yinxiao already waiting there.
"Sorry we're late," Yun Kexin said with a smile of apology. "You all didn't wait too long, did you?"
"You? This prince's legs are about to cramp from waiting," the Crown Prince exaggeratedly patted his legs and made a face. "I've never suffered like this while waiting for Zhen'er."
"Don't exaggerate, Your Highness; we just arrived," a clear female voice came from behind Qin Yan, followed by a charming face appearing. "Your Highness is smiling; you must be the Seventh Sister."
Yun Kexin was taken aback as she looked at the woman stepping out from behind the Crown Prince. She wore a light purple brocade coat and ginger-colored skirt, had a neutral complexion without any makeup, and was beautiful and charming. She showed no signs of arrogance due to her connection with the Crown Prince; it was evident that she was a lively and easy-going girl.
"I am; are you Zhen'er?" After sizing up the woman in front of her, Yun Kexin tried to ask.
"It seems His Highness has mentioned me to you," Zhen'er said with a smile. "He often talks about you and mentioned that it was your idea to go horseback riding at the racetrack and that you wanted to see me, so I came. By the way, I also need to thank Seventh Sister for the Seven-Colored Glass Beads."
Yun Kexin pretended to be angry as she shot a sideways glance at the Crown Prince before smiling and saying, "You're welcome, Sister Zhen'er."
"Can we go to the racetrack now?" Tong Zhichen couldn't help but interject with a laugh. "At this rate, the sun will set soon."
Only Feng Yinxiao stood silently beside the Crown Prince, smiling as she watched Yun Kexin. Unable to join in on the conversation, listening to her was enjoyable. Occasionally her gaze would fall on Yun Kexin's cherry-red lips as they moved when she spoke—cute and interesting. It wasn't until she heard Tong Zhichen speak that Feng Yinxiao snapped back to reality and realized that her gaze on Yun Kexin had been somewhat "unrestrained." She quickly withdrew her gaze and smiled in agreement with everyone else that she had already reserved a space at the racetrack for everyone to learn how to ride.
Yun Kexin appreciated such thoughtfulness but didn't show it much on her face; she just exchanged a few mischievous smiles with Yun Yan before setting off with her companions.
The northern racetrack was the largest horse breeding ground in the capital city. The military horses supplied by the court every year came from here, making it quite famous; thus, Crown Prince Qin Yan and Feng Yinxiao were not unfamiliar with it.
The racetrack covered a vast area with lush green grass and dappled sunlight. Occasionally there were sounds of horses neighing; apart from that, there was no other noise—it was very tranquil. Feng Yinxiao led them to the stables and allowed everyone to choose their own horses. Qin Yan had his usual chestnut steed brought out for him and helped Zhen'er mount it—a kind gesture rarely seen among royal nobles—which made Yun Kexin secretly admire him. At that moment, she saw Feng Yinxiao walking towards her with a chestnut horse while accompanied by a handsome man: dressed in a purple casual riding outfit with his hair casually tied back with a white ribbon, several strands of bangs curled down over his smooth forehead. His distinctly defined square face featured narrow and enchanting eyes that slightly slanted upwards at the corners, giving him an air of aloofness and wildness. Yun Kexin thought to herself who this person could be—was he someone who raised horses? A friend of Feng Yinxiao?
"Seventh Sister, let me introduce you," when they reached her side, Feng Yinxiao pointed at the handsome man beside him and smiled. "This is my colleague and friend named Wei Qing; he serves as a thousand households in the palace and is known as 'Wei Qianhu.'"
Yun Kexin was taken aback: Wei Qing? Wei Qianhu? Wasn't he precisely the highborn youth Fu Lianyin had gone through great lengths to befriend for her “daughter”? What an unexpected encounter.
"Greetings, Wei Qianhu..." Yun Kexin nodded in greeting. The three maidservants behind her also bowed in respect.
"Seventh Sister?" Wei Qing repeated thoughtfully before suddenly raising his voice to ask, "Are you Yun Kexin from the Third House of Duke E's residence?!"
Yun Kexin smiled politely and said, "Yes! You must be Wei Qing, the legitimate eldest son of Wei Wang. I've heard about you from my mother."
"Nice to meet you!" Wei Qing clasped his hands and smiled, "I was the one who called everyone to ride. I didn't expect to see you among them—your mother invited our family to visit the Duke of E's residence not long ago."
Hearing Wei Qing refer to her as "your mother," Yun Kexin felt as if she had swallowed a fly, but thinking that ignorance is no crime, she didn't show it on her face.
"The Crown Prince is over there; shouldn't Wei Qianhu go and pay respects?" Yun Kexin, fearing that Wei Qing might reveal details about Fu Lianyin coming to "climb the social ladder," quickly changed the subject.
"His Highness has ordered that outside the palace, for safety reasons, formalities can be waived; we only need to keep an eye on things," Wei Qing said with a smile. "Seventh Sister, can you ride? Would you like me to teach you?"
Yun Kexin glanced at her Fourth Sister beside her and then at Feng Yinxiao. Suddenly smiling, she said, "Sure! With Wei Qianhu teaching me personally, I’m sure I’ll learn quickly." She seemed to intentionally create an opportunity for Yun Yan as she took her hand and said, "Fourth Sister, let Young Lord accompany you in learning to ride. I heard from my cousin Yun Ke that he rides very well."
Yun Yan quickly shot a glance at Feng Yinxiao and then lowered her head, shyly saying, "Okay, if Young Lord doesn't mind."
Yun Kexin widened her eyes at Feng Yinxiao, with a hint of playful mischief in them. Feng Yinxiao was momentarily taken aback but then understood and smiled, saying, "Fourth Sister, follow me."
Thus, Wei Qing led Yun Kexin to another area to learn riding. Feng Yinxiao watched their gradually receding figures, feeling somewhat distracted: Did the Third House really intend to form a connection with the Wei Wang residence? Would Yun Kexin like Wei Qing? Such an outstanding and talented young man, though his position was below hers, with his abilities he would surely be promoted soon; yet he was still her friend... Thinking about how they would often meet and interact in the future made Feng Yinxiao feel a wave of melancholy and concern.
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