There was still a soft couch in the room. Although it looked fairly spacious, it was generally used for maids to keep night watch. How could Ren Yaoqi let Xiao Jinglin sleep there? She hurriedly said, “Let’s stay together then.”

Xiao Jinglin naturally wouldn’t let Ren Yaoqi sleep on the couch, so Ren Yaoqi was also being quite practical. Xiao Jinglin wasn’t overly particular about such things, so the matter was settled just like that.

Pingguo was working together with Hongying and several other maids to carefully inspect the bedding when Sujin, the Princess Consort’s head maid, came over to say that the Princess Consort requested the County Princess to come over as there were matters to discuss.

After Xiao Jinglin went to see the Princess Consort, Ren Yaoqi thought for a moment and called Sangshen over, asking her to go see whether the Ren family had arrived and where they had been arranged, and to tell the Eldest Madam that she had settled in at the County Princess’s place. Earlier, she had only brought Pingguo and Sangshen onto the carriage, while the rest of the maids and servants had taken another carriage. Now she could only let the Eldest Madam arrange for those people.

After Sangshen went out and returned, she told Ren Yaoqi that the Eldest Madam had already brought several young ladies from the Ren family over. They had been arranged in the guest rooms outside, which were quite far from here. Old Madam Ren had also come to Yunyang City, but she hadn’t come to the hot spring manor and was instead staying at the other estate in Yunyang City to oversee things. The Eldest Madam also said to tell Ren Yaoqi to be careful in her conduct here, and if there was anything she needed, she should send someone to inform her.

Not long after Sangshen returned, Xiao Jinglin also came back. Nothing could be seen from her expression, but Ren Yaoqi felt that Xiao Jinglin had probably been called over by the Princess Consort to be lectured because of her earlier conflict with Xiao Wei. Since Xiao Jinglin didn’t say anything, Ren Yaoqi didn’t ask either.

Many people had come for the Thousand Gold Banquet. Because Yanzhou had the geographical advantage, the conditions for the young ladies from Yanzhou who came to participate were somewhat more relaxed. Other prefectures hadn’t issued as many invitations as Yanzhou, so those who came were truly legitimate daughters of prestigious families and refined young ladies. Even so, there were still one to two hundred young ladies who had come.

Quite a few young masters from prestigious families had also come, but they wouldn’t be staying at the Yanbei Prince’s Residence hot spring manor. Fortunately, there were many estates near Riyue Spring, most of which belonged to these aristocratic families. These past few days, they were all fully occupied. The young masters from the Ren family were said to have come as well, but since the Ren family didn’t have an estate in this area, they were staying at the Qiu family’s estate.

The Yun family was already extremely skilled at arranging such grand banquets, so by noon, they had already settled all the visiting families.

Since the Thousand Gold Banquet was essentially a disguised matchmaking banquet, the first day of the feast was for those families with marriage intentions to socialize, exchange information, and get to know each other, with the young ladies from each family coming out to show their faces. The second and third days were for the young ladies to compete in beauty and talent to earn good reputations. It was said that over the years, young ladies who could steal the show at the Thousand Gold Banquet could all find good marriages.

People also came successively to pay respects to the Princess Consort, and the Princess Consort selected some important families to meet with. Xiao Jinglin had no patience for going back and forth with those madams and young ladies, so she hid with Ren Yaoqi under a bodhi tree in the side courtyard to read books. After the Princess Consort sent people to check on her several times, she stopped bothering with her and let her be.

The two also had their lunch in the side courtyard. The Princess Consort had brought the Prince’s Residence cooks along, but Xiao Jinglin disliked how bland the Princess Consort’s cooks made their dishes. She had somehow given instructions to send people out at some point. When it was time to eat, Hongying brought over two large food boxes full of dishes. Besides specialty dishes from several major restaurants in Yunyang City, there were even snacks like duck blood soup, lotus root flour balls, and pot stickers.

The variety was simply astounding to Ren Yaoqi.

Seeing Ren Yaoqi’s dumbfounded expression, Xiao Jinglin was quite pleased with herself, though her face remained calm as she said, “You’re staying as my guest. I should naturally find ways to let you eat well and drink well. The dishes made by the cook my mother is currently using, in my master’s words, are so bland that you could fade a bird out of your mouth after eating them.”

Ren Yaoqi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but still whispered, “County Princess, you mustn’t let anyone hear such words.” If the Princess Consort found out, not only would Xiao Jinglin suffer, but her master would also be in trouble.

Xiao Jinglin blinked her eyes with a hint of mischief: “Don’t worry, have you ever seen me get caught by anyone?”

Xiao Jinglin had grown up at the frontier since childhood, surrounded by rough and tough men. Having heard their banter and cursing so much, she was quite different from ordinary, refined young ladies. That’s why earlier, to teach Xiao Wei a lesson, she had dared to joke even about her father and grandmother. It’s just that Xiao Jinglin was also very clear about what she could and couldn’t do as the County Princess of the Yanbei Prince’s Residence. She played the role of County Princess quite well, at least she had never caused any major trouble.

After the two quietly finished their sumptuous lunch, they continued to sit on the bamboo couch under the bodhi tree, drinking tea and reading books. Even without anyone speaking, they didn’t feel bored, only experiencing tranquil contentment.

Ren Yaoqi had originally thought it would be nice to spend such a peaceful day like this. Unfortunately, heaven didn’t comply with human wishes. In the afternoon, Yun Qiuchen came over, and along with Yun Qiuchen came not only Yun Qiuping and Yun Qiufang, but also Ren Yaoyin.

“I was wondering why we couldn’t see you two anywhere, turns out you’re here avoiding the crowds,” Yun Qiuchen looked at them and said with a smile.

Xiao Jinglin waved for those bowing to her to rise, and hearing this, didn’t defend herself, only smiled slightly: “Did cousin come to see my mother?”

Setting aside the marriage arrangement between the Yun family and the Yanbei Prince’s Residence, the Princess Consort had always been extremely fond of her niece, Yun Qiuchen, and Yun Qiuchen would also visit the Prince’s Residence from time to time to pay her respects. When Ren Yaoqi went to the Yun family last time, she heard Xiao Jinglin address Old Madam Yun as great-aunt, which was actually from her grandmother Lady Yun’s generation. Ren Yaoqi only learned later that although the Yanbei Princess Consort was the daughter of Old Master Yun’s elder brother, she had been raised by Old Madam Yun since childhood. Old Madam Yun had raised her together with her daughters, educating them together. Before marriage, the Princess Consort had been as close to Old Madam Yun as a mother and daughter.

Yun Qiuchen smiled and said, “We came to pay our respects to the Princess Consort. Yaoyin said she hadn’t seen her Fifth Sister since arriving, so I brought her along too. The Princess Consort asked us to come call you two to go out together, don’t stay cooped up here. County Princess, would you like to come with us to walk around Riyao Spring? Quite a few young ladies are over there.”

Yun Qiufang also said, “That’s right, County Princess, come with us? You don’t spend much time in Yunyang City to begin with, and many people still don’t know you. “

Xiao Jinglin didn’t want to go out, finding these people noisy and troublesome. However, since Yun Qiuchen said the Princess Consort had sent them to call her, she couldn’t very well refuse.

After thinking about it, she looked toward Ren Yaoqi: “Shall we go for a walk?” Her eyes contained hidden reluctance.

Ren Yaoqi nodded: “A walk would be good.”

The Yun family sisters were all pleased to hear this, presumably, the Princess Consort had instructed them when they came to find a way to bring Xiao Jinglin out.

The group left Lanyue Pavilion. The main courtyard only housed people from the Prince’s Residence and was relatively quiet, but as soon as they left the main courtyard, Ren Yaoqi and Xiao Jinglin felt the liveliness filling the entire manor.

Young ladies in groups of twos and threes or larger gatherings filled the air of the manor with a lingering, delicate fragrance, and soft, sweet voices could be faintly heard, yet it didn’t seem too noisy or chaotic.

Ren Yaoyin said to Ren Yaoqi, “Third Sister and the others seem to have come out too; they should be at Riyao Spring now.”

Ren Yaoqi looked around and heard that most people should be gathered in the southeast direction, presumably the legendary Riyao Spring was in that area.

Sure enough, Yun Qiuchen next led them toward the southeast direction.

Along the way, they also encountered some young ladies, some of whom knew Yun Qiuchen and came forward to greet her. Xiao Jinglin remained silent the entire way, and since others had never seen her before, no one came to disturb her. Yun Qiuchen should have understood Xiao Jinglin’s temperament, so she didn’t deliberately introduce her.

The closer they got to Riyao Spring, the more people there were. Riyao Spring was a large warm water spring, surrounded by many exotic flowers and plants that were said to bloom in all four seasons. The spring was enclosed with red lacquered wooden railings, and from a distance one could see the rising misty steam. Even though it was already summer, it didn’t feel stuffy here, only like a warm breeze caressing one’s face, very gentle and soft, quite peculiar.

Outside the railings were many stone tables and chairs, with young ladies sitting or standing distributed everywhere, each having their circles. This group, led by Xiao Jinglin, still attracted quite a few gazes as they walked over, though these young ladies’ appraising looks were relatively subtle. More gazes also focused on Xiao Jinglin. Although not many people had seen the County Princess, her outstanding appearance and the unconscious aura of keeping strangers at bay when among crowds allowed some perceptive people to guess at her identity.

Not far away, a beautiful young lady in a pink dress was leaning against the railing, talking with several girls her age, her clear and melodious voice like silver bells attracting many people’s attention. When she saw this side, her gaze paused, then she immediately came over with delight: “Sister Qiuchen, you’re finally here! We’ve all been waiting for you. If you hadn’t come, I was about to go look for you.”

Yun Qiuchen smiled when she saw her: “I wonder what Miss Guo needs me for?”

Miss Guo pouted prettily: “Didn’t Sister Qiuchen say you would take us around everywhere? And that you’d take us to see the peacocks the Princess Consort keeps here? Sister Qiuchen, surely you haven’t forgotten? That won’t do! Sister Jiang heard it too, You can’t go back on your word. Sister Jiang, come over quickly!”

As Miss Guo spoke, she turned and waved toward the back. Among the several people who had been standing with her, a young lady in a goose-yellow dress hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked out, nodding and smiling toward this side before being pulled over by Miss Guo.

Yun Qiuchen smiled as she introduced them to Xiao Jinglin: “This is the eldest daughter of the Guo family from Weizhou, and this is the eighth daughter of the Jiang family from Shunzhou. They went to pay respects to my grandmother earlier, and grandmother liked them very much, so she instructed me to show them around the manor.”

Miss Guo noticed that Yun Qiuchen had specifically introduced them to the young lady beside her, but hadn’t immediately revealed this young lady’s identity, and couldn’t help feeling somewhat surprised.

According to etiquette, when introducing strangers to each other, one should first introduce the person of lower status to the person of higher status, then introduce the person of higher status to the person of lower status.