Xiangqin cheered with excitement: “Fifth Miss, how long did it take? How long did we take?”

Ren Yaoqi continued walking outward without stopping, replying without turning back: “We’ll only know after we get out and check the time.”

Ren Yijun and Han Yunqian were already waiting not far from the lantern array exit. Standing with them were Hanyou and Ren Yaoting, who had gotten separated earlier. As Ren Yaoqi approached, she just happened to hear Ren Yaoting say: “Third Brother, Young Master Han, should we go wait at the entrance? Fifth Sister probably won’t be able to get out.”

Ren Yijun had already spotted Ren Yaoqi and couldn’t help but widen his eyes. He then looked down at the pocket watch in his hand and shouted at Ren Yaoqi in disbelief: “One quarter-hour and one minute!”

Everyone turned around just in time to see Ren Yaoqi walking over.

Ren Yaoqi stopped in front of Ren Yijun, took the pocket watch from his hand to glance at it, breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to Han Yunqian, who was looking at her with slight bewilderment, and said with a polite smile: “Young Master Han, I was fortunate.”

Ren Yijun laughed heartily: “Fifth Sister, you took one quarter-hour and one minute to exit the array, while Young Master Han took one quarter-hour and two minutes. You were faster by one minute! Young Master Han, you lost!”

Han Yunqian looked at Ren Yaoqi without speaking, but Ren Yaoting said with a face full of suspicion: “Impossible! How could Fifth Sister possibly beat Young Master Han?”

Ren Yijun glared with displeasure and retorted, “Why couldn’t Fifth Sister win?”

Ren Yaoting opened her mouth, noticed everyone was looking at her, couldn’t help but blush red, and could no longer speak any words of refutation.

Han Yunqian withdrew his gaze that had been fixed on Ren Yaoqi’s face, lowered his eyes slightly, and said quietly: “I lost.”

Ren Yaoqi replied modestly: “I was just lucky, stumbled my way out by chance.”

Ren Yaoting gave Hanyou an “I knew it” expression, and for some reason, felt more comfortable in her heart.

Han Yunqian, however, knew how small the possibility was of getting out of that Nine-Curve Dragon Gate Palace Lantern Array so quickly by mere luck alone.

Ren Yaoqi looked around and asked puzzledly: “Where is Third Sister?”

“Sister Yaohua said she was a bit cold and wanted to wait for you in the carriage. She left not long ago,” Hanyou answered Ren Yaoqi.

Ren Yaoqi thought that Ren Yaohua must still be angry, thinking she would embarrass herself and simply choose “out of sight, out of mind.”

Thinking of her purpose for entering the array, Ren Yaoqi turned to look at Han Yunqian: “Young Master Han, about my father’s painting…”

Han Yunqian was silent for a moment, then nodded: “Tomorrow I’ll visit your residence and first ask Uncle Ren’s opinion. If he has no objections, I’ll transfer the painting to you.”

Ren Yijun, ever eager to stir up trouble, said: “Why don’t you two compete at chess again?”

Upon hearing this, Ren Yaoqi looked at him with a half-smile: “Third Brother, should I go take the imperial examination and become the top scholar to bring you honor?”

Hanyou couldn’t help but giggle, then, feeling it was somewhat improper, quickly lowered her head and covered her lips with her sleeve.

If anyone else had spoken to Ren Yijun this way, he would have lost his temper. Hearing Ren Yaoqi say this, however, he just coughed lightly and touched his nose with his head lowered.

“Didn’t Eighth Sister come with you?” Ren Yaoqi stopped paying attention to Ren Yijun and turned to talk with Ren Yaoting.

Ren Yaoting replied somewhat absent-mindedly: “I was with Sister You the whole time and didn’t see Eighth Sister.”

“Should we go back and look for her?” Hanyou asked with some concern.

Just as Ren Yaoting was about to say something, Hanyou added: “Brother, would you accompany us to look for Sister Yaoyu?” Ren Yaoting then stopped speaking and also turned her gaze to Han Yunqian.

Han Yunqian nodded: “Alright.”

Ren Yaoting said to Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yijun: “We’ll go look for Eighth Sister. Third Brother and Fifth Sister should stay here and wait? In case Eighth Sister comes and can’t find us. How about we meet here in an hour?”

Ren Yijun naturally didn’t want to go with them—he only wanted to ask Ren Yaoqi about the lantern array, so he just “mm” ed in response.

Ren Yaoqi nodded and instructed Xiangqin: “Go tell Third Sister that I’ve come out. If she doesn’t want to come out, let her wait in the carriage. I’ll come and find her in half an hour.”

Xiangqin acknowledged and withdrew. Han Yunqian bowed to both Ren Yijun and Ren Yaoqi. Ren Yaoqi’s gaze met his in mid-air, and she smiled slightly, then naturally looked away.

After the three of them left, Ren Yijun eagerly said, “Fifth Sister, tell me how you got out of that Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Lantern Array!”

Ren Yijun was wearing a thick fur-lined cloak, but his exposed nose tip was still frozen red. Ren Yaoqi thought moving around would make the body warmer, so she deliberately acted coquettish: “I can tell you, but Third Brother has to buy me a rabbit lantern!”

Ren Yijun rolled his eyes: “Just one? I could buy you ten or eight.”

Ren Yaoqi reached out to help him put on his hood, earning a displeased glare from Ren Yijun.

Seeing him about to take the hood down, Ren Yaoqi put on her own cloak’s hood as well, saying: “Let’s go buy lanterns over there. Don’t take your hood down. You’re such a grown person buying rabbit lanterns—aren’t you afraid of being laughed at?”

Ren Yijun curled his lips disdainfully: “Who dares laugh at me!” Though he said this, he didn’t touch his hood again.

Ren Yaoqi suppressed her laughter and beckoned him to walk toward the side alley next to the Guan Gong Temple, where there was a flower lantern stall. She left two servants to wait in the original spot.

The lantern market had lotus lanterns, peony lanterns, lion lanterns, chrysanthemum lanterns, rabbit lanterns… and so on, making one’s eyes dazzle. Ren Yaoqi originally just wanted to get Ren Yijun moving to exercise his muscles and bones, so she took her time selecting while telling him about the lantern array.

As the two strolled along, Ren Yijun didn’t notice that a childishly charming rabbit lantern had been stuffed into his hands, and he carried it the whole way.

Finally noticing the good-natured teasing looks from people around him, Ren Yijun widened his eyes and stared back with righteous indignation and ferocity. His gloomy expression successfully scared away all the onlooking passersby.

Ren Yaoqi burst into laughter beside him. She had never known that this Third Brother, who always seemed gloomy in her eyes in her previous life, had such a cute and childish side.

Ren Yijun shoved the rabbit lantern in his hand into Ren Yaoqi’s hands and huffily turned to leave.

“Third Brother, wait!” Ren Yaoqi laughed while chasing after him, but Ren Yijun took large strides and quickly disappeared into the side alley.

Ren Yaoqi handed the rabbit lantern to the servant behind her to carry, muttering with a smile: “So petty.” She leisurely followed after him.

When she reached the previous lantern array exit, Ren Yaoqi’s steps suddenly paused. She noticed a carriage parked in a corner not far away. The carriage was stopped in the shadows, with no one around. Only a vague outline of the carriage could be seen, and even the horses pulling it stood quietly without movement, very quiet and completely inconspicuous. Ren Yaoqi had passed by it twice before but hadn’t noticed its presence. Could it have stopped there while she was away? But she hadn’t seen any carriage pass by the whole way.

“Fifth Miss?” The servant saw her stop and softly called out.

After coming back to her senses, Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but laugh at herself. How had she become so concerned about a carriage? Just as she was about to continue forward, she heard footsteps. Ren Yaoqi was possessed by some strange impulse to remain where she was without moving. This feeling was very mysterious, as if all the world’s noise, clamor, and the laughter and anger of all living beings were presenting themselves before her eyes and ears, yet she could only notice those faint footsteps. They captured all her attention, making it impossible for her to ignore them.

A tall figure appeared across from her. If Ren Yaoqi hadn’t felt she heard footsteps, she would have thought this person had appeared before her out of thin air. The ice lanterns cast dazzling, glass-like colored light and shadows on one side of his body, yet the light was so blinding that one couldn’t see clearly. He was entirely wrapped in a black cloak, with fox fur at the collar completely covering his jaw. At first glance, Ren Yaoqi only felt that this person emanated a very subtle and extremely attractive aura. She couldn’t describe what kind of feeling it was, only that she seemed unable to focus her vision to see his features.

Suddenly, she met a pair of extremely clear yet dark eyes, black as ink jade. Ren Yaoqi felt her heart skip a beat. Just as she wanted to see more clearly, his figure had already passed through the light and shadow and entered the dark shadow beside the carriage.

He stopped beside the carriage without immediately getting in, slightly turning his head to look over. Ren Yaoqi seemed to feel that his gaze was resting on her, making her somewhat nervous.

At this moment, someone lifted the carriage curtain for him, and he got into the carriage.

The carriage slowly started moving, brushing past Ren Yaoqi. Only after the sound of wheels had also disappeared did Ren Yaoqi feel she could finally move. She seemed to have just been caught in a nightmare.

“Fifth Miss, what’s wrong with you?” the servant asked quietly.

Ren Yaoqi shook her head and said in a low voice: “It felt like sleep paralysis.”

“Fifth Miss, what did you say?” Ren Yaoqi’s voice was too low, and she didn’t hear clearly.

“Oh, did you see that person’s face just now?” Ren Yaoqi asked.

The servants looked at each other, then all shook their heads. “This servant didn’t see clearly—the place where the carriage was parked was too dark.”

Ren Yaoqi nodded, put this matter aside, and continued forward to look for Ren Yijun.

After finding Ren Yijun, Ren Yaoqi used the lure of accompanying him at chess to coax him from anger to joy.

Ren Yaoqi silently added another note about Ren Yijun in her heart: Easy to appease when angry.