He Le'an knew that this was not the same Xiao Shu, but she was curious, so after the banquet dispersed, she took a wine to the Xiao mansion. Someone's ears were sharp and their nose was also very sharp, they stared at her without blinking... In her hand was only a palm-sized white porcelain wine pot with a wide red silk tied around the neck, smiling: "It's good wine." The fragrance of green plum mixed with the fresh and thick aroma of bamboo wine came out from the wooden stopper.

  "It's extremely delicious, once you taste it, you'll know it's truly fragrant. " He Lian'an suddenly changed the subject and smiled regretfully: "But this isn't for you." Seeing him raise an eyebrow, she continued: "It was a farewell gift from Cheng Shuwei, the number one beauty of Fengzhou City, to the previous young master of the Xu family."

  His expression changed for a second, but then he regained his usual calm demeanor and called out to the void: "April."

  As soon as the voice fell, a long and dark figure emerged at the door like a ghost. He wore an eerie and smooth silver-white mask, revealing only a pair of indistinct eyes. With great respect, he bowed his head and clasped his hands together in greeting, waiting for orders.

  "Send the wine over." Xie Ya took the wine jug and casually tossed it.

  April steadily took over, retreated after receiving orders, and disappeared in an instant.

  He Lian'an wasn't the first time seeing the dark guard beside him, but it was the first time seeing the dark guard with a mask on. Amidst her confusion, the hand that had been holding the wine earlier was already grasped by someone else. Xi Xie pulled her into the inner chamber and said: "I have something to give you."

  She sat down by the window and saw him take out a delicate necklace from a pear-wood inlaid box on the tea table. The chain was woven with red cord, twisted into a pattern like hemp flowers, suspending a hollow white jade ball, inside which was hidden a small wooden lotus flower in full bloom. She smiled and said: "This is——"

  "Gift." Xie Ya carefully put it on her and said in a very domineering tone: "No matter what happens, you can't take it off."

  He Le'an blinked in confusion, "I don't think I gave you anything!" How did it become a thank-you gift?

  "Hmm, you're not even a thing if I'm being strict." Xie Ya smiled intentionally, savoring the taste of his words.

  He Lian's mouth twitched violently, "You're nothing!"

  Xu Xi sighed and said: "An Er, being born as a human is quite interesting, why do you insist on becoming an object?"

  "Damn it!" He Lan endured the urge to bite him and huffed: "Are you a three-year-old kid, always being so childish?"

  He fondled her fluffy hair with a smile, teased her for a while, and then said contentedly: "Let's go, I'll take you shopping."

  He Le'an suddenly remembered that today was the Flower Festival. Outside, it was just getting lively, and he burst out laughing: "Then I'll go change into men's clothes —"

  "No need." He stopped her from getting up and going to the bedroom, as she had come directly from the banquet. At this time, she was wearing a simple and elegant water-colored silk dress with a set of simple small pearl jewelry, although she hadn't put on makeup, but the whole person was elegant and charming. He said: "We are already engaged, no need to avoid each other so much, it's just fine like this, only at night it's cool, add a cloak."

  In the blink of an eye, a maid had respectfully handed over a cloud-embroidered ivory-white silk cloak with a smooth and soft texture that was exceptionally warm. He personally helped her put it on, tied the ribbon with a ball, and saw her mischievously blow the small pom-poms on the edge of the hood, couldn't help but lift her hand to pull the hat over her head, and gently laughed: "Like a little fox hiding its ears and tail."

  "What I'm going out now is to seduce men?"

  "If you dare to look at any man again, I will make sure that man can never be a man again."

  "...I don't know why, but He Le An believed such a crazy thing. He absolutely could do it, and his eyes didn't even blink as he took action. Hurriedly, he said: 'I was just joking, there are so many people on the street, don't be reckless.'"

  Xie Dao: "Mm, I was just joking too."

  "Are you kidding me?!"

  **

  The Flower Festival is also known as the Hundred Flowers Fairy Festival. During the day, people mostly go to tread on the greenery, visit gardens and admire flowers. At night, they naturally stroll through the flower market, worship the flower god, and release flower lanterns. The crowds of people coming and going squeeze onto the bustling streets and alleys, either passing on flower rhymes, drawing flower lots, composing poems about flowers, or watching songs and dances. As far as the eye can see, it's all a lively and noisy scene, with people constantly saying:

  "Over there is going to be a Lantern Festival! Let's hurry over and take a look!"

  The Red Appreciation Meeting is a competition held on the night of the Flower Festival, with three small competitions, and the winner will be this year's flower fairy, which is a game that all men and women in Fengzhou City are eager to participate in - men for watching plays, women for competing for beauty.

  He Le'an had no intention of participating in the competition, but it was still fun to watch the girls competing on stage. So he pulled Xi Ye along with the crowd and went to the venue, where they saw men, women, old and young people surrounding a large wooden shed that had been set up, packed tightly like water flowing without a gap, and all the good viewing spots had been occupied by people.

  She was about to give up, but Xie Ye protected her from the edge of the crowd and squeezed into the back of the wooden shed. The person in charge of the event looked at him with a face full of surprise and joy, as if he had picked up gold, and invited them to sit down in the empty seat next to the judges' table with great courtesy and flattery. Before they even sat down, several judges who had arrived stood up to greet him, and after sitting down, there were also servants serving tea, water, and pastries.

  He Le'an smiled in a low voice: "You are doing well as the richest man, living a carefree life."

  "Money can make a ghost grind a millstone. Power and nobility, in the end, are all about this mundane thing." Xū Xié said with a smile.

  He Le'an thought that being a rich person was quite good, wealthy but not arrogant, having power but not being blinded by ambition, no need to worry about the face of the top noble title or be bound by family honor, speaking freely and acting at will, every day only worrying about spending money. She was just about to agree when she heard a contemptuous voice:

  "Oh my, isn't this the recluse Long Wang who never participates in any lively events? What wind blew you here today, that you'd actually attend our Rong Sheng Commercial Firm's Red Envelope Party?"

  He Le'an followed the sound and looked over, only to see two handsome young men in brocade clothes accompanying a beautiful woman in red clothes walking towards them. The one who had just spoken was a man wearing dark green brocade clothes, his narrow eyes fixed on her as he said, "This must be Miss He Liu, who is said to be cleverer than anyone else. She's already engaged and has paired up with someone. The rules of the Jianing Marquis' household are indeed very good."

  "Since the engagement has been announced, it means that this person has been acknowledged. The etiquette of going out in pairs is still observed, what's wrong with that?" He Le'an raised an eyebrow and glanced at Xū Xié beside him, a faint smile playing on his lips as he said, "It's so lively, if he doesn't take me out to see it, that would be inappropriate!"

  "Just as my sister said, Miss He Liu is not only intelligent but also eloquent." Another man wearing a light gray and brown silk robe chimed in with praise. With a bright and clear smile, he looked at He Le'an with a puzzled expression, and modestly raised his hand to salute, "I am Dongfang Er."

  Oh dear, the newly appointed young master of the Zhi Yi Bo Fu household, He Le An slightly bowed his head in return with a courtesy.

  The Eastern Prince saw that the cold and detached Xiè had no intention of introducing the man and woman beside him, so he smiled again: "This is Xiao Qi and Xiao Shiyi from the Longsheng Merchant House. The annual Red Envelope Festival was jointly founded and organized by the Longsheng Merchant House and the government."

  He Le'an nodded at them and then heard Xiao Shiyi Niang ask: "Is Miss He Liu also participating in the Red Appreciation Competition?"

  But before she could respond, Xiao Qi had already rushed to speak: "A clever and agile girl like He Liu's Miss, if she participates, will surely easily win the top prize. Your hopes, Eleventh Lady, are likely to be dashed."

  The sharp words made He Le'an laugh, and Xie Ye said carelessly: "We just came to watch the excitement. If Xiao Qi is interested in competing for the championship, he can change into a different outfit and go on stage. We will definitely cheer him on enthusiastically."

  "Hmph!" At this moment, a rather impolite burst of laughter came leisurely from behind.

  He Le'an turned his face and saw Xue Shizi coming alone. He said, "Evil, your words are still so humorous and interesting."

  It's clear that it's a matter of life and death, but He Le'an couldn't help but stifle a smile. On the other side, Xiao Qi frowned in discontent and said: "The Red Club is a battlefield for women, what can we men compete with them about? It's actually Miss He Liu who only watches the competition without participating, is she afraid of losing too badly and having her reputation as intelligent and clever ruined?"

  He Le'an wanted to respond to this aggressive questioning, but then heard a familiar cold ridicule, mocking: "The false reputation that comes from pretending, how dare you show off in front of people and claim to be capable? It's fine if it's just like pouring water into a bamboo basket, but if someone finds out her true face, she will be despised."

  She knew who it was without having to look, and hearing a long-familiar female voice, she couldn't help but exclaim excitedly: "Annie!"

  He Le'an turned around, smiled slightly at Shao Yingxue and said: "Snow, you're here too." Then she saw that besides Shao Yingxue, there was also Shao Yingxiu and He Lize, as well as Shao Yinyuan who was stuck to He Lize. Tonight was indeed lively and extraordinary, and she directly ignored Shao Yingxiu's previous sarcastic remarks, asking Shao Yingxue: "Are you here to participate in the competition?"

  "It looks interesting, so I signed up." said Shao Yingxue. "Yuan'er is also participating, won't you join in the fun, An Jiejie?"

  He Le'an shook her head, but before she could speak, Xiao Qi spoke up again, "Miss He Liu doesn't dare to play this competitive game, losing would be a crushing defeat." With a snort, he had already pinned the three words "defeated" on her forehead.

  Shaoyingxiu saw someone stabbing Hele An with a knife, and couldn't help but chime in: "I don't believe it, under the watchful eyes of everyone, you Hele An still dare to put on an act. Such a fair and just competition, you don't even dare to participate! Are you afraid that if your tricks are exposed, your fiancé will be disgusted with you?!" It's best to call off the engagement immediately and make Hele An the laughing stock of the whole city!

  He Le'an suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and listened as Xi Ye spoke with deep feeling: "What kind of woman An'er is, I am extremely delighted. The words 'dislike' are always used towards others. Those women who are ugly in appearance and impure in thought, who can't bear to see others being good, generally need to add the word 'loathe'."