Princess Fu’an’s anger naturally hadn’t subsided, but when she saw Princess Fuping, Princess Fu’an’s fury miraculously receded in an instant.

She remembered what her mother consort had said – to learn from Fuping and not let everything show on her face.

Meeting Fu’an’s gaze, Fuping merely smiled lightly and continued calmly sipping her tea.

Princess Fu’an’s anger instantly ignited again, though this time she learned restraint.

Anyone could see her make a fool of herself, but she couldn’t let Fuping see her humiliation.

Then she thought about how she had originally intended to show off in front of Fuping, but unexpectedly had instead given her leverage, and Fuping had even witnessed her being bullied by an orphaned girl!

This insult – no matter what, she, Fu’an, could not swallow it.

Qin Shuying descended gracefully, with almost everyone’s eyes upon her, those gazes carrying various emotions.

Qin Lulu quickly approached, beaming with joy: “Seventh Sister, you really scared me to death just now! What story did you tell the princess?”

“Nothing much, just told a story about the maritime ban.”

Qin Lulu only asked casually, then turned to look at the reward in her hands – a pair of gold bracelets, quite exquisite, made by the Imperial Household Department.

Qin Shuying placed the bracelets in her sleeve and said to Lin Zilan: “Sister Zilan, now let’s walk together.”

Lin Zilan agreed with a smile. Fourth Miss Lin was so angry she nearly tore her handkerchief to shreds.

Before leaving, Qin Shuying glanced back at the several people on the platform.

Qin Shuying only had vague suspicions about the matter between Princess Yongjia and Madam Rong, not being entirely clear about it. It seemed she would need to have someone investigate thoroughly.

She had left such a bombshell – hopefully Princess Fu’an would enjoy it well.

Princess Fuping, knowing about Old Madam Mu’s affairs, would surely tell Consort De. This way, Consort De would have another piece of leverage over Consort Kang. The struggle between them had not been just a matter of a day or two.

Could this be considered a favor she was selling to Princess Fuping?

After all, last time she had helped her.

This Princess Fuping, young as she was, showed neither joy nor anger on her face, was deeply scheming, and extraordinarily clever. She hoped never to oppose her in the future.

As for why Fuping might oppose her, she already had vague suspicions, though she couldn’t be certain yet. Presumably, the truth would soon come to light.

Setting aside these thoughts, Qin Shuying walked slowly along the lakeside with Lin Zilan and the other two.

Along the way, they encountered many madams and young ladies, all giving them indescribably strange looks.

All three tactfully refrained from mentioning what had just happened. Though Qin Lulu was curious, she knew the occasion wasn’t appropriate, and seeing that Qin Shuying kept silent about Princess Fu’an, she only spoke of the novel things in this mansion.

Princess Yongjia’s mansion was extremely large and skillfully constructed, so there were naturally many scenic views to appreciate.

The four of them, accompanied by their maids, lingered by the lakeside for a while, then walked toward a garden where flowers bloomed like brocade. The roses were particularly vibrant, so it was named the Rose Garden.

The roses were like clouds – red, yellow, white, and pink ones crowding together, competing to climb higher, luxuriant and flourishing, their fragrance overflowing and enchanting.

Lin Zilan looked yearning and praised: “If I could also have a rose garden, this life would be worthwhile. Sister Shuying, roses have a long blooming period and a subtle fragrance – I love them most. If I could also have a small bamboo grove within the rose garden, I would have no regrets in this life!”

Qin Shuying said: “Sister, hearing you say this reminds me of a place exactly like what you described.”

“Really? Where is it?”

“The Grand General of the Western Campaign’s mansion. That rose garden is even larger than this one and borders water on one side. Sometimes they hold banquets in the rose garden to entertain guests. You can imagine how large it must be.”

“From what you say, it must be quite old?”

“It should be so, probably several decades old.”

Qin Lulu then said: “There, they’ve probably cultivated a rose flower fairy by now! On summer nights under the bright moon, with insects and frogs chirping, lying under the rose flowers, suddenly seeing a fairy dancing gracefully, fragrance wafting everywhere…”

“Pfft!”

Qin Yue couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Qin Lulu looked at her: “Grand-niece, you dare laugh at me?”

Qin Yue laughed even harder, saying: “Fifth Aunt, how could I? How would your niece dare mock you? Fifth Aunt, you told that story so well, I was completely entranced…”

Qin Lulu wouldn’t let her off, using her hands to tickle her: “Still trying to argue? Still trying to argue?”

Qin Yue rarely showed such girlish charm, pleading for mercy: “Fifth Aunt, I really wasn’t laughing at you. Just look, this rose garden isn’t very old – will it cultivate a flower fairy… Ah! Fifth Aunt, don’t…”

The two made quite a commotion, while Qin Shuying and Lin Zilan watched and smiled.

Just as they were enjoying themselves, they heard someone approaching, and a voice saying: “There are ladies here. We should take another path.”

Qin Shuying and the others were all startled, as the voice was male, though it sounded well-mannered.

Actually, encountering men didn’t surprise them.

Today was originally a matchmaking banquet, and Princess Yongjia hadn’t restricted the men to the outer courtyard – this princess’s mansion had no male master, so the outer courtyard was merely for show and wasn’t spacious anyway.

Therefore, once the poetry gathering ended, men would naturally come to the gardens.

They just hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.

The difference was that the poetry and paintings were judged by these young men, while the poems and paintings created by the young men were judged by Princess Yongjia and those four madams.

Had they already finished judging?

As Qin Shuying and the others looked at each other in bewilderment, they heard another male voice say: “There’s another path this way. We’ll go through here.”

With that, those men took another route.

The group breathed a sigh of relief. Although the current dynasty wasn’t as strict about separation between men and women as previous dynasties, they were all unmarried young ladies after all, and facing men directly would still be quite constraining and nerve-wracking.

Unexpectedly, just as they relaxed, those men somehow walked right up to them from the other path.

The leading man seemed somewhat surprised when he saw them: “Oh, these two paths are connected after all.”

After a brief moment of panic, Qin Lulu cried out in delight: “Young Master Liu! Seventh Sister, it’s Young Master Liu!”

It turned out that Liu Junqing was among this group.

He had a handsome, refined face and a tall, slender figure. Dressed in white robes, he appeared even more graceful and bright as the clear moon – truly a rare and beautiful man!

Liu Junqing was also slightly stunned, then cupped his hands in greeting: “So it’s the Qin family sisters!”

Behind him followed three young men, all about the same age as Liu Junqing. One of them smiled thoughtfully: “Junqing, so these are the Qin family sisters!”

He deliberately emphasized the words “Qin family sisters.”

Hearing this, Qin Lulu became anxious, afraid they would misunderstand that she was Liu Junqing’s fiancée, and hurriedly said: “No, no, you’ve misunderstood… I’m not…”