Lin Xiao had a dream that night, which wasn't very good, and she woke up in a bad mood. After getting up, she saw that the two goldfish in the large water tank in front of the yard had bitten the roots of her water lilies as fish grass, and the water lilies floating on the water surface were half dead, making her mood even worse.

  Lin Tan sighed and instructed Mu Zhi: "Change the water tank for these two goldfish, and find a florist who knows how to care for flowers to ask if this lotus can be revived."

  The goldfish in the water tank were put there by Ruyi, she had just returned to the mansion and felt that the yard was a bit lifeless after being uninhabited for so long, so she asked someone to bring her two water lilies to raise in the water tank. Later, Ruyi thought it didn't look good with flowers but no fish, so she put two goldfish inside, and the result is... something she should have expected.

  Lin Daiyu finished instructing and took Mu Lan to Funiang Tang to pay respects to Li Shi and Old Lady Zhuang.

  Just as she had just walked to the front of Fú Níng Hall, she saw a green piece of clothing hanging from the tree above the corridor, and then a green figure jumped down lightly.

  A youth dressed in a sky-blue brocade robe stood sideways before them, raised an eyebrow and glanced at her, then stretched out one finger and said with an air of villainy: "This road was opened by me, this tree was planted by me. If you want to pass through this road, the young lady will have to stay behind..."

  Lin Xiao gave him a bored look, then walked over, pulled out the sword he was wearing, and directly knocked it on his leg.

  The young man hastily dodged to the side with a "hey hey" and shouted while avoiding: "Hey, stop hitting."

  Lin Xiao tossed the sword back into his hand and snorted: "I think it's just about right to leave you here, stinky little brat."

  Young man put his sword back on and said: "Cousin, you are becoming more and more un-ladylike, the barbaric customs of the northwest have corrupted you."

  She glanced at him and asked, "Why did you come so early? Where's your aunt?"

  That's right, this young man is indeed Lin Daiyu's elder cousin - the youngest son of Lin Xiangru, Xiao Cheng, the young master of Qinghe Wangfu.

  Xiao Cheng was not considered a late-born son, but when Lin Xuan was born, he was already nearly thirty-five years old and the youngest child in the family. The couple, Qinghe Wang, had always been very indulgent towards him, and his older brothers, who were much older than him, also treated him with half-parental care, which resulted in his current somewhat unruly temperament.

  Lin Xiao had a good relationship with her cousin, who was only three days older than her. Due to Xiao Cheng's lively and active personality, Lin Xiao took care of him like he was her younger brother.

  Xiao Cheng patted his own clothes and replied to Lin Xiao's words: "Talking to your great-grandmother and your great-grandmother."

  "Then I'll go and pay respects to your mother and grandmother. Do you want to come with me?"

  "Go, why aren't you going?"

  As she spoke, she suddenly thought of something and jumped over to Lin Xiao's side, wrapping her arms around his neck and smiling ingratiatingly: "Yuanyuan."

  Xiao Chang was tall, Lin Xiao's height was not short among women, but only reached his ear tip. Lin Xiao was suddenly hugged by him and her nose hit his shoulder, almost knocking off her nose.

  Lin Yan exerted her strength to push him, but seeing that he wouldn't budge, she directly threw a punch at his chest and said: "Hurry up and let me go! Men and women shouldn't sit together after the age of seven, don't you know how to avoid suspicion?"

  Xiao Cheng said with a smile, "We're just cousins, what's there to be afraid of? Besides, we're not the kind of people who follow these outdated rules." He narrowed his eyes and smiled at Lin Yi, "Yuan Yuan, you used to be quite close to San Niang from the Qi family, didn't you?"

  Lin Ya asked him in surprise: "Are you talking about Chu Chu?"

  "It seems to be called this name."

  Lin Yan said: "What are you asking her to do?" She looked at him with a suspicious gaze, and then asked again: "What bad idea are you thinking of now."

  Xiao Cheng's face suddenly turned red, and he looked around awkwardly before speaking: "What bad idea did I have again? It was just that last time at my sister's autumn banquet, I accidentally ran into her in the backyard, and she thought I was a bad person and beat me up... Ah, why do you care so much? Just tell me about your relationship with her." As he spoke, his ears became even redder.

  Lin Xiao initially listened to his words, still thinking that he was beaten and unwilling to give up, wanting to retaliate as usual. It wasn't until she looked at his face again that she realized someone had been beaten so badly that their head was cracked open, and even their emotions were exposed.

  Xiao Cong's marriage was not something she could interfere with, and the Yongxing Hou Fu Qi family was still the emperor's birth mother's maiden home. The two families were involved in a complicated matter that was not simple at all.

  She didn't bother to explain Xiao Cong, and instead said casually: "I don't have a good relationship with her, we just played together at someone else's house during the Spring Festival when we were young. She borrowed a skirt from me and I gave her a chess set, that's all. If this is considered a good relationship, then I must have many good friends all over the capital. Think about it again, after I returned to Beijing and was ill for so long, did she ever come to visit me? We are just acquaintances."

  Xiao Cheng didn't believe it and said, "I think she might not be unwilling to come see you, but maybe there's a reason at home. Why don't we do this: when you return to the capital, you should celebrate in some way. How about hosting a tea party or flower appreciation gathering? Invite some of the noble ladies from the capital, and also invite her along. You had such a good relationship as children, it would be a pity if it were to end now. This is a great opportunity for more interaction."

  The Yongxing Marquis's residence, the Qi family, was originally an ordinary and somewhat declining noble family. However, because they produced a virtuous concubine, Qi Xianfei, who gave birth to a good son who became the emperor, it wasn't until after the emperor ascended to the throne that they gradually rose to prominence. But due to Wu Guifei's mother, Princess Dechang of the State of Xuan, also being from the Qi family and being Qi Xianfei's cousin, the Qi family took a middle-of-the-road approach in the struggle between the Lin and Wu families in the imperial court, adopting an attitude of non-participation on both sides.

  Lin Xiao was close to Qi San Niang when they were young, but as they grew older, things became more complicated, especially with the Lin family wanting her to enter the palace. The Qi family couldn't have been completely unaware of this, and at this point, they wouldn't let their daughter get close to her either.

  Lin Xiao knew this principle, and Xiao Cheng couldn't have thought it through either. But roughly from being spoiled since childhood, he had to do what he wanted to do, regardless of the consequences. However, Lin Xiao couldn't act as recklessly as him.

  Lin Xiao saw that the Foning Hall was right in front of her, turned her head and glanced at Xiao Cheng, giving him a "don't think I don't know what you're up to" look, saying: "I think you understand her better than me, you two are more familiar with each other, why don't you host a tea party and invite her over." After finishing speaking, she ignored him and walked directly into the Foning Hall.