Xie Wan was also shocked when she saw this person!

  His face was as smooth as powdered makeup, his lips were like dots of pearls. Even when he wasn't smiling, the corners of his mouth still held a hint of spring breeze. It turned out to be Wei Cai, whom she had met in the capital! She had thought that after meeting once in the capital, they would each return to their own lives, but unexpectedly, after several days, she saw him again in her own home!

  Wei Xiao's eyes shone brightly as he was surrounded by the crowd, just like a favored son of heaven. By his side were not only Xie Qigong and Xie Huo, but also two middle-aged men who were dressed impeccably. On his right side stood a young man slightly older than him, wearing a black sable cloak with a high collar, exuding an air of nobility.

  "Third sister, this is Wei Qian, Young Master Wei."

  Xie Yun rarely saw Xie Wan's stupid expression and quickly introduced from the side.

  Xie Wan regained her composure and calmly said "Wei Gongzi".

  "Is this the Third Sister?"

  Wei Cang stared at her and playfully winked at her.

  Xie Wan slightly raised her lips.

  "Mr. Qi, Mr. Wei, this way, please!"

  Xie Qigong seemed to be in a hurry to take them somewhere, interrupting the two men's conversation, and then warmly extended his hand to Wei Cai and the young man beside him.

  Wei Xiao smiled and nodded, following the young man out with a steady pace.

  Xie Wan stood still for a moment under the corridor, then quickly returned to Yifengyuan. She summoned Luo Ju: "You go and find out why Wei Gongzi came to the mansion."

  Luoj said with a bitter face: "No need to investigate. I already know. The Qi Gongzi who came with Wei Gongzi is the seventh young master of the Qi family in Hejian Prefecture, and the Qi family is indeed the maternal grandfather's family of Wei Gongzi. The fifth master of the Qi family and our third master are both jinshi of the same year. Their second master is also a tongnian of the big master of the He family in Chengxi."

  "That Wei Gongzi came to Hejian Fu to visit relatives, and Qi Gongzi took him on a trip to the countryside. When they arrived at Qinghe County, Qi Gongzi first took him to visit the He Fu. Then he mentioned our Third Master, and He Dàyè led them to Xie Fu. The old master heard that Wei Gongzi was the beloved son of Wei Dàrén, who participated in government affairs, so he tried his best to curry favor with him. When he heard that Wei Gongzi was curious about the treasures hidden in our mansion, he took him there to take a look."

  Xie Wan listened until the end and didn't take off her hood and sit down on the couch until half a day later.

  She didn't know that there was such a complicated relationship in this. The Hejian Qi family had some reputation, it was a real aristocratic family with many descendants, and two of the six departments' servants were occupied by them. Two more were sent to external posts. Several ladies seemed to have married well too, one of whom became Madame Wei Bin.

  Wei Jiao's maternal family was indeed the Qi family, so it wasn't strange for the younger generation of the Qi family to occasionally move around.

  It's strange that Wei Qian was stunned when he saw her, but not surprised. Did he already know he would meet her? Or did he already know she was Xie Rong's niece?

  Xie Wan suddenly clenched her fists. Wei Zhan, he wouldn't tell Xie Qigong and the others about what happened when they met in the capital, would he?

  Yu Xue heard that Xie Qigong had invited Wei Cuo and Qi Jia's seven young masters to stay for two more days, in order to treat them well.

  The two had no relationship at all. They just happened to be passing by and came to visit, originally not expecting them to give this face, unexpectedly Wei Xiao actually praised the treasure of the Xie manor after saying a few words, and agreed to stay.

  Xie Qigong thought it was the credit of Cang Baiwan's storytelling. So he immediately ordered people to close Xiangxiangyuan - except for opening on the first day of each month, when Cang Baiwan would tell stories and make a lot of noise. In fact, Xiangxiangyuan was quite a nice courtyard, and it was just during the New Year's festival. Since Cang Baiwan's storytelling was not open to outsiders, it naturally had no impact on the inside.

  Xie Wan slept for a while in the afternoon. Xie Lang had already returned, and it was said that a noble guest had arrived at the mansion. She was called over again by Xie Qigong to keep him company.

  By dusk, Luo Ji came in to tell her that Wang Shi had invited a local opera troupe to perform for Wei and Qi, and they would be performing at the manor the next day. He also instructed Yun Ge'er to accompany the two young masters to watch the dragon and lion dance in the county.

  As Xie Bian's legitimate son, Xie Yun became the most suitable candidate to accompany him this time. The third house also became the main person in charge of entertaining guests.

  The next day, Huang set up a banquet in the third house to entertain Wei Cuo and Qi Yao.

  Young masters and misses from good families naturally have to keep each other company.

  The county school has started, and Xie Liang is busy. Because she was going to accompany Wei Cai, who had helped her before, Xie Wan's mood for accompanying this time was still pretty good. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw Wei Cai standing behind his desk painting, Xie Rong standing beside him mixing colors, and Xie Yun and the three siblings from Qi Feng Yuan accompanying Ge Yao in watching from the side. A large group of maidservants stood nearby, holding fruit and snacks.

  Xie Lang arrived at the corridor when Wei Xiao had already finished painting. Wei Xiao smiled and put down his brush, Xie Wei moved over to take a look, and first praised him: "I didn't expect that not only is Mr. Wei skilled in chess, but he also has a deep understanding of painting. It's really opened my eyes." The people standing nearby also gathered around, speaking and praising one after another.

  Xie Wei was wearing a plain white slant-collared robe, with a pair of delicate double buns on her head, and two long strands of hair hanging down in front of her white clothes, set off by a pair of red gemstone earrings on her ears, making her look like a plum blossom in the snow, noble and elegant beyond words. Xie Qi was also wearing a brand new pale purple padded jacket, having abandoned the usual floral accessories, with only a silver necklace around his neck, looking warm and gentle.

  The woman at the gate also looked at the group of young girls and boys in the house, heard Yu Xue's sound of closing the umbrella under the corridor, then turned her head back, hurriedly went forward to welcome Xie Wan into the doorway.

  "Third sister, why have you come so late? Come quickly and see Wei Gongzi paint!"

  Xie Wei smiled and walked over, pulling her to the desk.

  Wei Xiao's eyes fell on Xie Wan's face with a bright and smiling gaze.

  Xie Wan nodded at everyone and then looked at the painting on the table.

  It's a plum blossom, with a very delicate composition. From the upper right corner, two branches of plum blossoms stretch out diagonally, one long and one short. The deep red plum blossoms are scattered on the black branches in a charming way, with a perfect color contrast. It made her think of Xie Wei's outfit today.

  "Wei Gongzi's painting is indeed good." She praised lightly.

  There's no need for more words. As the youngest among everyone, even if she has a better appreciation ability, how can she express it in front of so many people? Following others to praise and not having any personal opinions to express is reasonable.

  Some people who heard this were not very pleased. Qi Yao picked up a corner of the rice paper and smiled, "What's meant by 'Wei Gongzi's paintings are naturally good' must also be explained in order to be convincing."

  Xie Qi and they saw Quan Yao's playful intention, giggling and hugged their arms.

  Xie Wan smiled silently. Wei Xiao's expression turned serious: "Seventh brother, don't be naughty and bully someone else's little sister." As he spoke, he turned his head and looked at Xie Wan warmly: "Big sister likes plum blossoms, so I painted a plum blossom picture for her. Second sister said she likes peonies, so you also say what you like? I'll paint one for you too."

  Xie Wan took a look at the side and indeed there was already a finished painting of peonies. If she said nothing and didn't want it, would she be misunderstood as being arrogant and aloof?

  "After some thought, he said: 'Then let's paint a pine tree, the kind on the cliff, and it would be best to also paint a little girl climbing up.'"

  "Really?" Wei Xiao smiled and said: "This doesn't seem like the kind of painting you'd want, are you sure you want 'Hanging Pine on a Cliff'?"

  When he heard about the cliff and the little girl, he was nonchalant, probably having genuinely forgotten everything.

  However, he was just a young child, and there were many new and interesting things every day, so it's normal to forget. Xie Wan herself was an old soul with over 30 years of experience, so she naturally chose to remember some things. Just like that, didn't she also forget what he originally looked like?

  She nodded: "Then paint this."

  Wei Xiao smiled and spread out a new piece of xuan paper, picking up his brush.

  Xie Qi slightly pursed his lips and sat down to look at her peony.

  Xie Yun and the others looked at each other for a moment, then pulled Qi Yao back to the chessboard. Xie Wei ordered someone to bring tea, and Xie Wan also sat down in the rattan chair.

  Wei Qian occasionally glanced at Xie Wan who was sitting upright.

  It's done soon.

  He beckoned to Xie Wan in the morning, and Xie Wan walked over. At a glance, the brushstrokes were bold and powerful, with colors that blended harmoniously. The steepness of the cliff was vividly depicted, while an ancient pine tree on the cliff was painted with intricate roots, its style completely different from the softness of painting flowers and birds. Looking again at the person standing under the pine tree, although only a few strokes were used, it accurately captured her side profile, adding a touch of gentleness to the overall hardness of the painting.

  The tranquility of the woman in the painting is unforgettable at a glance.

  "This girl under the pine tree has a few points of resemblance to Sanmei."

  At this time, Xie Wei had already walked back and said after reading it.

  Xie Qi walked up curiously, looked at the painting and then at Xie Wan, saying: "I've never seen Third Sister wear a large cloak?"

  The girl in the painting wore a cloak with a hood, which was only worn when going out in heavy snow. On ordinary days when it was windy and snowy, Xie Wan naturally stayed indoors and didn't go out, but on that day when she went to the Wei Mansion to rescue Luo Ju, she was wearing a fox-fur cloak with a hood.

  She glanced at Wei Qian.

  Facing Xie Qi's questioning, Wei Cai's face was very calm, he put down his brush and said: "Third sister is probably because she has never been to the wilderness, so I thought I would draw it for her to see. I just drew it casually, and didn't know if it looked like anyone or not. Nor did I know whether Third Sister liked it or not."

  When facing everyone, there was no trace of his former mischievousness on his face, and every move he made was very dignified.

  Xie Wan took the painting and said after a while, "I haven't only never been to desolate mountains and wild ridges, but also have never been to big places like Hejian Prefecture. Let alone the two capitals with their bustling streets. It's just like being a frog at the bottom of a well, my knowledge is really shallow. Luckily, Mr. Wei gave me this painting, so I know there are such landscapes in the world."

  Wei Xiao's eyes gleamed as he stared at her for a moment when he heard that she had never been to the prosperous capital.

  She caught it out of the corner of her eye, but remained expressionless and lowered her head.

  She believed that Wei Qian was a clever person and would understand her hint not to reveal what he had seen, but it seemed that Wei Qian was also used to being the young master of a noble family, always having people at his beck and call. Whether or not he could keep her secret, she wasn't very sure.