Bai Jinzhi sat inside the painted boat, nibbling on pastries while looking toward Dong Changyuan, who was talking with her elder sister at the bow. She lowered her voice and asked Dong Tingzhen, “Why has Cousin Changyuan become so thin? Is it too much pressure from the metropolitan examination?”

Dong Tingzhen nodded carelessly: “Brother Changyuan didn’t do well on the exam this time, so he’s under pressure! I hope my cousin can console Brother Changyuan!”

“My elder sister can console him well! My elder sister speaks the most reasonably!” Bai Jinzhi stuffed the pastry into her mouth.

Standing at the bow, Dong Changyuan lowered his eyes to stare at the lake water and spoke: “Knowing that cousin has returned safely, Changyuan is at ease! However… now that envoys from various countries have come to the capital, I imagine that tomorrow at the Emperor’s birthday banquet, there will surely be envoys proposing marriage to a cousin. Changyuan fears the Emperor might casually assign cousin to someone else, so I begged Brother Changsheng to let me see cousin once. As long as my cousin nods, I’ll go find my aunt immediately. If the Emperor truly arranges a marriage… cousin would have an excuse to decline. If cousin encounters a man she fancies in the future, Changyuan will have the elders dissolve the engagement.”

Dong Changyuan had no intention of coveting Bai Qingyan. When he learned that Bai Qingyan had achieved a great victory in the Southern Border, he knew the distance between him and Bai Qingyan was one he could never bridge.

Bai Qingyan looked at Dong Changyuan, who wouldn’t raise his head, and asked in a low voice: “Is it because of my marriage that Second Uncle and Second Aunt have had discord?”

Dong Changyuan hadn’t expected Bai Qingyan to guess this. He looked up at her in surprise, then frowned and averted his gaze.

Indeed, it was so.

Although Bai Qingyan hadn’t had much contact with her cousin Changyuan, she didn’t believe he was someone who would be troubled by romantic entanglements.

So Bai Qingyan guessed that perhaps because of her affairs, Second Uncle and Second Aunt were at odds, which caused Dong Changyuan to lose focus.

“Mother intends to arrange a marriage with our maternal family’s cousin for me. Father disagrees, and Grandmother also disagrees, thinking… to wait until cousin returns from the Southern Border! Later… when news from the Southern Border came back, Mother, she…” Dong Changyuan found his mother’s words difficult to speak of. He pressed his lips together and continued: “Mother spoke harshly, feeling that Father and Grandmother were biased, insisting on delaying my lifelong happiness to make me wait for my cousin. They fought terribly, and Father in his anger… wanted to divorce his wife.”

Dong Changyuan’s mother, Cui Shi, spoke harshly, saying that Bai Qingyan’s burning and killing of surrendering captives was intolerable by heaven’s principles, that she was cruel and ruthless. She also said that Old Madam Dong’s heart had grown biased, insisting that her legitimate grandson wait for her granddaughter. Did they have to wait until Old Madam Dong’s granddaughter rejected Dong Changyuan before allowing him to discuss marriage? If Old Madam Dong and her husband insisted on humiliating her son like this, she would take her son back to her natal family.

In his anger, Dong Qingyue wanted to divorce his wife.

In short, chaos ensued.

So during this metropolitan examination, Dong Changyuan performed terribly and was deeply affected, unable to recover.

Bai Qingyan hadn’t expected that because of her affairs, her maternal family would be thrown into such turmoil.

“So Cousin Changyuan insists on meeting… could it be that you heard something from Great Uncle?”

Dong Changyuan nodded: “I heard that Great Liang’s envoys inquired with Great Uncle about whether the cousin is betrothed.”

Great Liang had sent a prince this time. Dong Changyuan feared that if Bai Qingyan were truly sought in marriage by Great Liang’s prince, and the marriage didn’t suit Bai Qingyan’s wishes, Grandmother and Father would blame Mother in the future.

“Changyuan…” Bai Qingyan gently called Dong Changyuan’s name. “In this life, I have already sworn never to marry and to remain with the Bai family! Since this matter arose because of me, I will write to Grandmother and Uncle to tell them my intentions! Uncle and Aunt are a couple who have shared hardships—don’t take their momentary angry words to heart. You should prepare well for the palace examination. Otherwise, if this matter truly affects your future, the rift between Uncle and Aunt will surely grow deeper.”

Dong Changyuan’s body trembled slightly. He straightened his back and looked toward Bai Qingyan.

She smiled faintly at Dong Changyuan: “If Cousin Changyuan can win first place in the palace examination, with such good news, Aunt and Uncle will surely reconcile. At that time, Cousin Changyuan should find an opportunity to discuss this matter properly with Uncle and Aunt. Once everything is spoken clearly, it will be resolved.”

“But what about you, cousin? What if Great Liang seeks marriage? What if His Majesty grants a marriage?”

“The Emperor would rather marry off a princess than let me marry into another Kingdom. Moreover, I swore not to marry beforehand… everyone in the capital knows this. The Emperor won’t force such difficulties upon me.” Bai Qingyan comforted Dong Changyuan.

Dong Changyuan pressed his lips, thought for a moment, then bowed deeply to Bai Qingyan: “It was Changyuan who thought wrongly before. Thank you for your guidance, cousin.”

“Cousin Changyuan is well-read and brilliantly talented. Although the metropolitan examination wasn’t entirely satisfactory, I deeply believe Cousin Changyuan will surely succeed brilliantly in the palace examination.”

Dong Changyuan listened to Bai Qingyan’s warm, spring-like, gentle voice. Upon hearing this, he looked up at Bai Qingyan, saw her eyebrows carrying an extremely faint smile, and nodded: “I will not disappoint cousin’s expectations.”

Today was clear and bright. Even Great Liang’s Fourth Prince Wei Qiheng came to tour the lake, hoping to encounter some beautiful young ladies from prestigious families and have a romantic liaison. Who knew that the dashingly handsome Fourth Prince, riding all the way, did encounter several young ladies… but not one caught Wei Qiheng’s eye.

Great Liang’s Fourth Prince Wei Qiheng leaned listlessly against the painted boat’s railing, feeding fish with fish food, finding it particularly boring. As he lazily raised his eyes, the Dong family’s painted boat happened to pass right before him.

Wei Qiheng stared straight into the passing painted boat, but before he could see anything clearly, he saw the boat’s stern pass before his eyes. A stunning figure in plain colors standing at the boat’s stern with a young man suddenly appeared before him. Wei Qiheng was stunned, his gaze tightly following that slender figure talking with the young man.

On the lake, willow branches swayed, gentle breezes created ripples, and the woman’s light, wide sleeves fluttered in the painted boat. From afar, she looked like a fairy about to ascend to heaven, beautiful as a painting or poem, not seeming like a real person.

“Is… isn’t that Princess Nanzhou Liu Ruofu?” Wei Qiheng turned and shouted to his guards and boatmen, “Quick, quick, quick! Chase that painted boat behind us! Hurry!”

When Bai Qingyan returned to the Bai residence, the plaque for Princess Zhenguo’s mansion had already been hung at the entrance of the Bai residence.

News of her being granted the title of Princess Zhenguo seemed to have grown wings, and people coming to present congratulatory gifts streamed endlessly.

When she reached Qinghui Courtyard, Nanny Tong was leading the maids in changing the gauze curtains in the room. The weather was gradually getting warmer, so changing to lighter-colored gauze curtains would look more refreshing.

Dong Shi had already sent people to deliver gifts from various mansions to Qinghui Courtyard. When Nanny Qin was helping Chun Tao register all the gifts for storage, she opened the gift box sent by Prince Yan Li Zhijie and found an exquisite rosewood brocade box containing a thumb ring, with a letter pressed underneath.

Seeing this, Nanny Qin was startled and hurriedly brought the rosewood brocade box to Bai Qingyan with Chun Tao.

Upon hearing this, Bai Qingyan put down the brush in her hand: “Nanny, bring it here for me to see…”