"Wow, He Liu, your culinary skills are really amazing!"

  "These colorful little pastries are as delicious as flowers!"

  "You're still reading scriptures and Buddhist classics, I thought you were an old lady in her seventies or eighties!"

  "He Liu, you are the most disorganized girl I have ever seen, studying all sorts of books, even ancient tomes!"

  Xue Hui exclaimed with genuine admiration and curiosity, "No wonder you rarely participate in banquets in the city, it turns out that you have been immersed in books and living a life of simplicity."

  He Le'an said, "As Grandma said, having many skills won't burden you, so just learn a bit of everything." She took out a pink floral fish-shaped sachet the size of half a palm and handed it to Xue Huiyu, who was full of surprise and delight. "I made it myself, a small token of my thoughts, I hope you'll like it."

  "This is the most interesting sachet I've ever seen." Xue Huiyu took it with relish, and on both sides of the small fish's tail were two small gourds made of gold, which were finely engraved with the words "Ruyi" and "Jixiang", and below them were the words "Hui" and "Yu". The degree of thoughtfulness could also be seen from the impeccable embroidery work. She said: "Thank you, I like it very much."

  After dinner in the evening, He Le'an took out the small package that Mrs. He had given to Mrs. Xue on behalf of Mrs. Xue and pushed it to Xue Huiyu, saying: "Huiyu, this gift is really too valuable, can you help me return it to Mrs. Xue?"

  Xue Huiyu opened the handkerchief and saw a string of exquisite pink pearl lotus flower chain, with pink pearls carved into lifelike but irregularly shaped lotus flowers. The green jade beads were plump and evenly colored, and if touched by hand, one could feel the cold sensation slowly rising to warmth, an extremely rare warm jade. She smiled and said: "I had guessed earlier that your grandmother was so mysterious, she must have given you 'Lian Shuo'."

  "I can help you with other things, but not this one."

  Xue Huiyu saw that she still looked unusual, so she said: "As for 'Lian Shuo', I don't know much about it. I only heard my mother mention it occasionally before. It was originally made by our grandmother using her own dowry, intending to give it to someone she liked very much, but for some reason, she didn't send it out. Now that our grandmother has given it to you as a gift, just accept it."

  It wasn't easy to persuade He Le'an to take back the things, Xue Huiyu smiled and said: "An An, don't you have a lot of men's clothes? Let's go to the bustling streets and have some fun. Today is just the right day, all kinds of stalls from the surrounding towns will come to the market, we can also join in the excitement, okay? Okay? Okay?" By the end, she was already being persistent and persuasive.

  He Lian, who had almost zero experience in interacting with the same sex without conspiracy, couldn't handle Xue Huiyu's approach, which was full of passion and wit. He lost again and changed into men's clothes, swaggering out through the back door.

  Arriving at the bustling downtown area of Ximen, He Le'an, who had never been to this side before, was dazzled by the vibrant and noisy scene. The colorful ribbons with red lanterns hanging from them seemed like a river guiding tourists, bursting forth in mid-air. People coming and going were all carefree, laughing and chatting, while the vendors' cries of "buy" and "sell" formed an interesting melody that attracted every passing soul.

  Xue Hui's words made He Le An look like a child who had just tasted candy for the first time, with a face full of surprise and delight. She pulled Xue Hui's hand and said, "Let's go!" She took Xue Hui to recklessly squeeze into the crowd, play freely, make trouble without fear, and when they were tired, they rested at a tea house, wiping the sweat from her forehead and saying, "It's been a long time since I came here. I thought I would never set foot in this place again."

  He Le'an stared at her in confusion.

  Xue Hui smiled shallowly and said, "I have a childhood sweetheart who used to love bringing me here to play. Later, his father committed a crime, and all three clans were implicated and exiled. Unfortunately, he contracted an illness on the way and passed away."

  A casual remark, yet He Le'an heard the deep sorrow in it. Before she could offer any comfort, Xue Huiyu shrugged and said: "As long as he can live on in my heart, that's enough." But no sooner had her words fallen than she stared at something behind He Le'an with a look of having seen a ghost.

  She hadn't even turned around in doubt when Xue Huiyu swallowed her saliva and said, "Little Lu, I think I saw someone who looks like my brother."

  He Le'an turned her head just in time to see Xue Shizi looking down at them with an air of superiority, accompanied by a bright red figure that could easily make one's heart skip a beat: "..."