The mistress who remarried has returned.

The Song family girl and the other girls all looked at Su Yunxi, their eyes filled with amazement. The Song family girl suddenly stood up, and the other girls all stood up and crowded around her.

"This lady must be from the Su family."

"She's really beautiful. When others are beautiful, you can pick and find fault, like one eye being bigger than the other, or the nose not being high enough, or the corners of the mouth turning down. But this lady's appearance is truly undeniable. If you had to nitpick, you could only say she's too thin. If she had a little more flesh, she would be so beautiful it would make people faint."

"The jade-white robe she wears, with its indigo stitching, is truly unlike our vibrant purple and red attire. It's something we can only dream of."

"This jade-white cloak, with indigo stitching... could this be the precious garment that Sister Xue Wenying never had the chance to obtain?"

The Song family girl reached out to touch Su Yunxi's cloak, exclaiming like a magpie, "You all should touch it too! It's so much softer and finer than the raccoon fur that Sister Xue was wearing earlier, and it looks much fluffier too. It feels so good! I thought raccoon fur cloaks were already pretty good, but this one is way better than any raccoon fur cloak I've ever seen."

This caused quite a commotion at the socialite's table, and several other tables nearby also heard the noise. If the old lady and her group hadn't been at a higher vantage point, they would have heard it too.

This attracted the curious gazes of the princes and noblemen at their table, who all looked in this direction.

Shen Shu said in a low voice, "What big thing happened? The young ladies are all in an uproar. What kind of extraordinary figure has arrived? These girls used to be fiercely competitive with each other, always fighting whenever they met, like chickens pecking at each other. But this time, they all seem to have submitted to each other as if they've seen a phoenix."

As he spoke, Shen Shu picked up a pot of freshly brewed hot tea and went to make tea for Qin Huai.

Startled, Qin Huai lazily glanced at the table of socialites and beauties. He immediately spotted Su Yunxi amidst the silks and cosmetics, dressed in a moon-white robe, so clean she seemed unlike any other creature in this mortal world. The moonlight surrounded her, casting halos of light, and the ends of her fox fur cloak appeared ethereal and unreal.

He immediately remembered the girl swinging alone in the moonlight. She disliked noisy environments and had just found that secluded place to be alone to avoid being disturbed. He had not mistaken her for someone else.

He figured she wouldn't dare stand him up! So she obediently came over.

Qin Huai's heart pounded faster and faster, and the turmoil in his heart and the symptoms of his headache suddenly lessened the moment he saw her. This helpless instinctive reaction greatly troubled him.

He instantly recalled that day when they were entangled on her not-so-large bed, because she was in a bad mood and sought comfort in him. He understood that she was just too lonely that night, and although she found him disgusting, she needed to use him to keep her company.

Both the father and Kang Yin warned and advised that, for the sake of their own reputation and the overall situation of the Qin family, they should pull back from the brink of such an outrageous act as having an affair with the young woman of the Crown Prince's palace.

But the resentment of being used by Su Yunxi and the anger of having his love stolen by Zhou Yu instantly overwhelmed his heart the moment he saw her. If her nature was so wicked, it would be too easy for her to pull back from the brink.

Qin Huai reached out to touch the teacup, wanting to drink some cold tea to calm himself down.

Suddenly, he felt a scalding hot liquid pour onto the back of his hand, and he hissed as he pulled his hand back.

Shen Shu exclaimed and put the teapot away, then hurriedly ordered someone to bring a bucket of ice.

Qin Huai said, "Where are you pouring boiling water? Can't you see my hand?"

Shen Shu panicked and hurriedly took a basin of ice from a servant. Qin Huai put his hand in to cool it down. Fortunately, the water wasn't freshly boiled, so it only burned his skin and didn't cause blisters.

"You glanced at me just now, and I thought you saw me pouring tea for you. I didn't expect you were so distracted you didn't notice." Shen Shu glanced at Su Liangdi and Xue Wenying, a married woman and a widow respectively. His friend seemed self-disciplined and proper, but was actually quite wild. "Which one were you staring at?"

Qin Huai stared at Shen Shu, "You seem mesmerized by me."

Shen Shu said, "I'm a man... stop messing around."

Liu Shun was quite excited to see Liangdi and whispered in Qin Huai's ear, "The Crown Prince has already woken up. If she was just using the General to treat the Crown Prince, she would have turned her back on him today once he recovered. It's clear she remembers that the General needs someone to accompany him on this day every year. Yunze's words weren't without reason; she has always liked the General."

After the incident with the cloak, Qin Huai could not allow himself to easily misunderstand. He had exchanged his joy for utter disappointment, and the experience of leaving the Su residence clutching his torn cloak was enough.

Liu Shun was itching with anxiety, but the general remained unmoved, undoubtedly heartbroken by Liangdi, making it difficult for him to stir up any more trouble.

Although Su Yunxi hoped to find an opportunity to see if Zhou Yuan was there, she was also vaguely worried that Qin Huai would be angry if he saw her. Given her status and current situation, she shouldn't be involved with him. Unfortunately, her father lacked self-awareness.

The Song family girls looked at Su Yunxi's clothes and cloak, touching them to feel their texture. Su Yunxi glanced at Xue Wenying, whose face was pale, and realized that the other girl had been rebuffed this time. "Didn't you say you were going to pick me up and have some fun with me? Why aren't you laughing or having any fun?"

Su Yunxi originally did not intend to wear the clothes that Qin Huai gave her, as they were too expensive and formal. She was not one to accommodate the nature of clothes; no matter how good the clothes were, she would only treat them as clothes. Just now, she sat on the swing with the cape still on, unwilling to go through the trouble of accommodating a piece of clothing.

She anticipated that she might encounter Xue Wenying at the Qin family's residence and be humiliated in public by Xue Wenying. She couldn't allow Xue Wenying to mistake her for a servant and insult her for a third time.

The first two experiences of being intentionally treated like a slave were really too painful; things shouldn't happen more than three times.

So even though she knew the clothes were expensive and uncomfortable, she still wore them. She even had her mother style her hair into a beautiful updo. To save face, Wang gave her rouge and face powder, and she put on a decent light makeup.

Xue Wenying then politely took Su Yunxi's hand, smiled awkwardly, and said, "Please, sister."

It was wrong of her to invite Su Yunxi here, giving Su Yunxi the opportunity to steal the spotlight right under Qin Huai's nose.

The Song family girl said, "Sister Su, what kind of wool is this cloak made of? Judging from the craftsmanship and fabric, it's definitely Master Wei's work."

"I don't know whose work this dress is," Su Yunxi answered the Song family girl's question truthfully, "but I heard the cloak is made of fox fur."

"Yes, this is definitely the fur of those four or five little foxes that were presented as tribute." The Song family girl immediately expressed her envy and admiration. "Only someone as ethereal as Sister Su could truly bring out the charm of this dress. Suddenly, we all seem like ordinary girls. Isn't that right, Sister Xue?"

Xue Wenying's face darkened instantly, startling the Song family girl into immediately changing her tune, "Ordinary beauties don't include Sister Xue..."