Taking her into his tent, he incurred the wrath of a powerful and mad minister, from which he could

Xie Huaiyu has been stranded in Qingzhou for the past three days, and this is the scene every day.

Prefect Li ostensibly introduced him to the officials and gentry of Qingzhou, but in reality, he held banquets every day, with prefectural and county officials and local wealthy merchants taking turns to visit him, leaving him no time to rest.

Even so, Xie Huaiyu still felt a sense of pride when he thought that all these people were revolving around him.

"Understood, I'll be there right away."

After saying this, he straightened his clothes, held his head high, and turned to follow the attendant to the banquet hall.

As he passed through the covered walkway, a girl in a bright yellow flowing dress rushed towards him and pounced on him like a butterfly.

"Brother Huaiyu, you're here!"

Xie Huaiyu quickly took half a step back to avoid her touch: "Second Miss, men and women should not touch each other."

Li Yunwan missed her target, but wasn't annoyed. Her bright, dark eyes looked at him with a smile: "I don't mind at all, but Brother Huaiyu seems rather reserved. Fine, I won't touch you then. Look at this new dress I made, isn't it pretty?"

She lifted her skirt and spun around in place.

A faint scent of perfume wafted to Xie Huaiyu's nose, causing his brows to furrow almost imperceptibly, and a hint of unease to appear on his face.

"Is it pretty or not? Please praise me."

"The second young lady is naturally beautiful, so she looks good in anything," Xie Huaiyu said dismissively and distantly.

Li Yunwan could tell that his praise was insincere, but she didn't mind. She just liked him, and she loved hearing even his polite words.

The two were old acquaintances, having met two or three years ago.

Li Yunwan had long harbored feelings for him, but because he had no official rank at the time, the Li family looked down on him, so she had no choice but to cruelly end their relationship.

Now, Xie Huaiyu not only holds an official position but is also her father's colleague, so she no longer needs to hide her thoughts.

Xie Huaiyu, however, was unwilling to linger any longer and turned to leave.

But after taking only two steps, the small wooden carving hidden in his sleeve accidentally slipped and fell to the ground.

Li Yunwan reacted quickly, bending down to pick it up in her palm and curiously examining it: "What is this?"

That was the birthday gift he was preparing to give to Mingyi. The basic shape of a jade rabbit had already taken shape, and only a few details were left to be perfected.

Upon seeing the wooden carving fall into her hands, Xie Huaiyu's expression changed. Forgetting all about scholarly decorum, he reached out to snatch it back, shouting, "Give it back to me! This is mine!"

Li Yunwan instinctively felt that this was a gift for a girl, but she refused to return it to him.

Her eyes lit up, an idea popped into her head, and she grabbed his sleeve with one hand, leaning her body backward.

Caught off guard, Xie Huaiyu was pulled and lost his balance, leaning forward.

Li Yunwan landed on the pear wood bench under the corridor. He subconsciously braced his arms on both sides of the bench, barely encircling the person in a small space. From a distance, the posture looked rather ambiguous.

"What are you doing?" a solemn and authoritative voice rang out.

Xie Huaiyu recoiled abruptly as if burned, taking several steps back to create distance. His ears were flushed, and he was filled with embarrassment. He bowed to the newcomer and said, "Prefect Li."

Li Yunwan slowly rose to her feet and obediently called out, "Father."

Prefect Li had witnessed the entire scene and could easily see his daughter's deep affection for him. However, he remained outwardly calm and said, "The banquet is about to begin. Lord Xie, please come with me."

In front of the prefect, Xie Huaiyu felt it inappropriate to ask for the wood carving again, thinking that he could get it back from this young lady when he had another chance.

The three of them walked together toward the hall.

Prefect Li chatted with him casually for a few moments, and then casually asked, "I see that Lord Xie is of good age; I wonder if he is married?"

Xie Huaiyu honestly replied, "I was already engaged, but I am currently observing mourning for my late father, so the wedding has been postponed and I have not yet completed the marriage."

Prefect Li glanced at his daughter's disappointed expression and continued to probe: "Lord Xie is young and promising. The woman who can catch your eye must be a girl from a good family and of equal social standing."

A beautiful and outstanding image appeared in Xie Huaiyu's mind. He smiled gently and said, "Her family background is not good. Her ancestors were merchants, but I don't care about these things. I have already decided that she is my wife."

Li Yunwan's face was extremely pale.

Upon hearing this, Prefect Li stroked his beard and subtly hinted to him, "Sir Xie is so outstanding; his career will only rise higher and higher in the future. In the end, when it comes to marriage, one must consider the compatibility of social status."

"In officialdom, marriage is an advantage. If a woman from a merchant family accompanies you to your post and interacts with the wives and relatives of your colleagues, she will inevitably be criticized, which may hinder your career."

"Don't let a moment of affection ruin most of your future career."

Upon hearing this, a glimmer of hope quietly rekindled in Li Yunwan's eyes, and she secretly looked up at Xie Huaiyu.

Xie Huaiyu, however, remained calm and said indifferently, "I studied and entered officialdom to seek integrity and uprightness, not to use marriage to climb the social ladder. The foundation of marriage lies in mutual affection, not in social status."

"My career prospects are important, but I will never abandon my desire to stay with her. The engagement is set, and there is no reason to change it in this lifetime."

Upon hearing these resounding words, Prefect Li nodded slightly, but inwardly he was quite disdainful.

I just think Xie Huaiyu is too young. He doesn't want a daughter who is a good match for him in terms of family background, but insists on a woman from a merchant family.

Only when colleagues gossip about it later will they realize how naive and ridiculous their words were today.

Li Yunwan's fingers, hanging by her sides, twisted the hem of her skirt tightly, her eyes filled with resentment. Was she really inferior to that lowly woman from a merchant family?

Ji Mingyi on the other side sneezed.

Who's talking badly about her?

At this moment, Yuegui walked in and carefully closed the door.

"Miss, the young master has arrived. When shall we depart?"

Ji Mingzhe asked in confusion, "Set off? Where are we going?"

He was taken aback when he saw the bundle in the room. "Sister, why are you all packed? Could it be that those relatives from the Ji family have come after us again?"

Ji Mingzhe tensed up instantly.

They had finally found a place to settle down, and he didn't want to live a life of displacement anymore.

Mingyi bent down in front of him, patted his head, and said gently, "A-Zhe, shall your older sister take you to Qingzhou? We won't stay in the capital anymore."