The young lady is delicate and soft, yet she criticizes the powerful minister for bowing and scrapin

"Who wrote this? Tell him to come see me in person." Qi Yunli pretended to be stupid and said, "I am a cousin of the Marquis of Dingyuan. I can't just go over whenever someone hands me a note."

The maidservant looked somewhat embarrassed, but still bowed and withdrew, saying, "What you say is true, Miss."

After the maid left, Wei Ruowei, with a pastry in her mouth and her cheeks puffed out, asked, "What did that maid say to you just now?"

"It's nothing. She's a maid from the Rong Prince's mansion. She heard that I was there when I fell into the water, so she came to ask me if my clothes were wet." Qi Yunli casually made up an excuse.

Wei Ruowei: "The Rong Prince's Mansion is so courteous. I should tell my mother to pay more attention to these details in the future. They are very pleasing."

As Wei Ruowei ate, she muttered to herself, curiously asking, "Big brother has been nowhere to be seen since he entered the manor. Where did he go? The feast has already started. It's such a pity that he missed out on so much delicious food."

Qi Yunli listened and couldn't help but laugh out loud. She covered her mouth with her handkerchief:

"The ladies brought us to the Rong Prince's residence so we could find suitable husbands. Have you forgotten what the old lady said? After your eldest brother gets married, you sisters will marry one after another. Aren't you hurry up and find a good husband?"

Having said that, Wei Ruowei looked a little sullen and stuffed a piece of pastry into her mouth. After a while, she said:

"When a woman marries, no matter how carefully I choose, there's no guarantee that he won't take multiple wives or concubines, or gradually fall out of love with me. These are all uncertainties. Letting me choose now is simply giving me the power of choice; if I regret it later, there will be no turning back."

Qi Yunli never expected that this innocent, lively, and cheerful third young lady of the Dingyuan Marquis's mansion would harbor such sorrow in her heart.

"Do your best and leave the rest to fate. It's certainly a pity to marry a man who doesn't love you, but if his family is well-off, you can live a comfortable life as the mistress of the house with just simple household chores. If you choose a family with strict rules, he won't act too out of line, and you'll have fewer worries as his wife," she advised gently.

Wei Ruowei nodded: "Sister is right. You are truly a wise and insightful woman. Speaking of strict family traditions, I think that apart from my eldest brother, I doubt many other young masters in the capital can truly be strict with themselves."

Qi Yunli stopped talking.

The second madam kept glancing at them, and Qi Yunli rarely responded to Wei Ruowei's words after that.

Prince Rong and Princess Rong sat at the head of the main hall. They stood up and said some auspicious words to the guests who had come to the mansion that day.

Prince Rong was a middle-aged man with a strong and loud voice. However, due to his pampered lifestyle, he had a rather large belly, which was even bigger than that of his pregnant concubine.

Princess Rong had jet-black, lustrous hair, bright eyes, and a noble appearance.

If it weren't for the weathered corners of her eyes reminding everyone that this woman had lived through many years, one would hardly recognize her as a middle-aged woman just by looking at her face and figure.

After having some refreshments, about fifteen minutes later, Princess Rong asked the guests to wait a moment, as the flower-viewing banquet would be held in the front courtyard, and asked everyone to look forward to it.

The second madam instructed her personal maid to place several kinds of pastries on a plate, and personally brought it to Qi Yunli, saying:

"Your eldest sister fell into the water, and although it wasn't your fault, you were there at the time. You usually have a very good relationship with her, so please take this plate of snacks to the guest room in the backyard, where your eldest sister is resting."

The second wife sighed helplessly, "I still have social engagements to attend to here. I just came back from over there, so it's inconvenient for me to go over there again. Could you go and check on your sister for me? I'm afraid she's hungry."

Qi Yunli: "Aunt, this is the Rong Prince's residence, I dare not wander around."

The second madam said, "What are you afraid of? My personal maid will guide you. The Rong Prince's Mansion is very hospitable; you shouldn't say such things."

Wei Ruowei, who was standing nearby, twitched her ears and said, "I'll go with A-Li. Don't worry, Second Aunt, I'll definitely deliver the snacks to Eldest Sister."

The second wife opened her mouth slightly, just about to bring up the third wife as an excuse, but Wei Ruowei was an impatient person and had already pulled Qi Yunli to the front of the maid.

"Act according to the situation, and return quickly!" The second wife quickly gave a wink and said in a low voice.

The backyard of Prince Rong's Mansion is extremely large. The resting courtyard specially set aside for the female guests at this flower viewing banquet is located on the west side.

However, the women were all in high spirits before the banquet, either trying to build relationships or to find suitable husbands, so few of them chose to rest at this time.

Therefore, the courtyard where the women rested was sparsely populated, with no other guests in sight.

"Why did you insist on coming with me? If the Third Madam sees you, aren't you afraid she'll scold you?" Qi Yunli asked.

Wei Ruowei said with a smile, "Of course I'm scared. But you said you were a little nervous as soon as you entered the Rong Prince's Mansion. I was afraid you would be even more scared if you were alone."

It's quite unexpected that this shrewd and calculating family of the Marquis of Dingyuan would produce such a kind and innocent daughter.

Qi Yunli took off a mutton-fat jade ring from her right hand and placed it in Wei Ruowei's palm.

"This is for you. I have nothing of value, and this is the most precious thing I can give you."

The gifts from the old lady were of the finest quality.

Wei Ruowei's eyes sparkled: "Thank you so much, Ali! When I get back to the manor, I'll give you something nice too. I didn't bring my most treasured thing with me today."

As they entered the courtyard and arrived at the door of several side rooms, the Second Madam's personal maid stopped Wei Ruowei: "Third Miss, the Third Madam has sent someone to look for you. You'd better not go into the side rooms, lest the servants can't find you and cause the Third Madam unnecessary worry."

Qi Yunli: "I'll be right back."

Qi Yunli entered the room alone. Just as she turned around, a servant came looking for Wei Ruowei. The Third Madam was worried that Wei Ruowei would act recklessly in the Rong Prince's Mansion as if she were at home and cause trouble. So she specially asked the servant to use the incident of Wei Ruolan falling into the water as a warning and urged the Third Miss to return to her mother's side as soon as possible.

"Ah Li, I'm leaving now." Wei Ruowei pursed her lips.

As soon as Qi Yunli entered the room, she indeed did not see Wei Ruolan, who had fallen into the water and was resting there.

Yes, it was Zhou Wenbin, the portly, lecherous man with half-white hair who made Qi Yunli want to vomit just thinking about him.

"So this is the surprise? It seems the Wei family keeps their word."

Excitement gleamed in Zhou Wenbin's eyes as he approached her step by step, taking off his clothes as he went.

Qi Yunli calmly asked, "The Vice Minister of Revenue isn't in the main hall, but in the women's courtyard. What will people think if they find out?"

Zhou Wenbin stripped down to his undershirt: "What are you afraid of? If you dare to scream, your innocence will be ruined. Whether or not something happened between us, people will speculate about a man and a woman being alone together in a room."

I am an official appointed by the imperial court, and at my age, I'm nearing retirement. In another two or three years, I won't be seen in the court anymore. Those rumors and gossips are nothing to me but matters beyond the walls. But you, do you dare?