Seeing the nervous expressions on the maids’ faces, Ren Yaoqi shook her head: “I’m not angry.”

She wouldn’t get angry just because Xiao Jingxi had spoken a few words with another woman. It was just that Yan Ningshuang’s behavior made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Yan Ningshuang had come to Prince Yanbei’s mansion in the same carriage as Zhao Yingqiu. The Princess Consort had already sent someone to escort them to their carriage, yet now Zhao Yingqiu and the carriage had left, while Yan Ningshuang hadn’t gone yet. It could be considered quite a calculated effort.

Seeing that Ren Yaoqi’s expression remained gentle, Pingguo and the others breathed a sigh of relief. With the wedding date approaching, no one wanted any complications to arise.

The carriage slowly departed from Prince Yanbei’s mansion, and Ren Yaoqi no longer looked outside the carriage.

However, while Ren Yaoqi didn’t look outside, the maids were uneasy. Leshan, who sat by the carriage window, would occasionally secretly lift the curtain to peek outside, wanting to see if Second Young Master Xiao would shake off that woman Yan Ningshuang and catch up.

Ren Yaoqi noticed Leshan’s movements but said nothing, letting her be.

After leaving Prince Yanbei’s mansion, the carriage headed toward Baoping Alley. This area was home to academy teachers and various scholars and literati. It was quite tranquil during the day, unlike other residential alleys that were chaotic and noisy. The main streets outside the alley were mostly filled with brush, ink, calligraphy, and painting shops, antique and seal shops, and such, so it was far less bustling and prosperous than Zhengyang Street.

As their carriage was about to turn into the main street before Baoping Alley, Leshan still refused to give up and wanted to look backward. Ren Yaoqi sighed and was about to speak when she looked up and saw someone walking out of a seal shop across the street. In that fleeting glimpse, the tea bowl and lid in Ren Yaoqi’s hands suddenly clinked together with a crisp sound. Though the sound wasn’t loud, the carriage was very quiet, startling Leshan into quickly dropping the curtain. Thinking Ren Yaoqi was angry, she hurriedly bowed her head to admit her fault: “This servant knows her error.”

Ren Yaoqi seemed not to hear Leshan’s words. She slowly blinked, then suddenly called out, “Stop the carriage.”

The woman driving outside responded and began to slow down. The maids all looked at Ren Yaoqi in confusion as she moved to the carriage window and pulled open the curtain. By this time, the carriage was already some distance from that seal shop.

Looking through the carriage window, Ren Yaoqi only caught sight of a man in an azure robe walking leisurely in the opposite direction from her.

The man was tall and slender. Since his back was turned to them, his appearance and age couldn’t be discerned. Though dressed as a scholar, he appeared somewhat languid, as if nothing in the world could catch his eye or touch his heart. He was currently tilting his head slightly to speak with his servant. Even without seeing his face, Ren Yaoqi could imagine that he must be lowering his eyes slightly with a careless smile at the corner of his mouth, looking as if he could never fully wake up. You couldn’t tell whether his gaze held you or merely emptiness.

Ren Yaoqi stared somewhat dazedly at that person’s retreating figure, momentarily forgetting how to react, until the figure turned onto another street and disappeared from view.

“Miss? What’s wrong?” Leshan asked carefully. She gathered her courage to secretly peek outside but saw nothing—this street only had a few scattered pedestrians, all strangers she didn’t recognize.

Ren Yaoqi gradually came back to her senses and realized she had lost her composure. She lowered the curtain and, pressing her lips together, said softly: “It’s nothing. I mistook someone.”

“Shall we go back now?” Leshan asked.

Ren Yaoqi remained silent.

Leshui read the situation: “Perhaps Miss didn’t mistake the person just now. Should we turn back to take a look?”

Ren Yaoqi sighed and smiled at the maids: “Let’s go back. I did mistake them.”

Even if she hadn’t mistaken them, what could it matter?

She remembered that person as a teacher and friend, but that person would only regard her as a stranger. Even if they stood together, they would have nothing to say to each other.

The maids said nothing more, and Pingguo instructed the carriage driver to continue forward.

Just as the carriage was about to move, someone knocked on the carriage wall.

Ren Yaoqi, who had just calmed her emotions, couldn’t help but freeze. She turned toward the carriage window, her right hand unconsciously clenching, feeling somewhat nervous.

Leshan glanced at Ren Yaoqi and called out: “Who is it?”

The person outside seemed to pause, then a low, soft, and pleasantly husky voice responded: “Me.”

Ren Yaoqi slowly exhaled, her hand relaxing. Her palm was somewhat damp with sweat. How could she have forgotten that there was only one person who liked to knock on her carriage wall?

Ren Yaoqi lifted the curtain slightly and looked at Xiao Jingxi standing outside the carriage window, saying softly: “How did you come here?”

Xiao Jingxi had come alone on horseback, standing beside the carriage while still holding the reins. He was still wearing the same clothes he had on when standing with Yan Ningshuang earlier. His deep eyes looked at Ren Yaoqi without speaking for a moment.

Seeing his silence, Ren Yaoqi was about to lower the curtain when Xiao Jingxi said in a low voice: “I have something to tell you. I’ll wait for you at Dongsheng Tea House ahead.” Without waiting for Ren Yaoqi to refuse, he turned, mounted his horse, and left first.

Ren Yaoqi rested her chin on her hand and blinked, thinking for a while without moving.

Since she said nothing, none of the maids dared to move, and the carriage remained stopped by the roadside.

“Take the side alley ahead and go to the back door of Dongsheng Tea House,” Ren Yaoqi finally instructed in a low voice after a while.

The carriage driver, having received orders, set the carriage in motion again.

Leshan, being lively by nature, couldn’t help but boldly ask: “Miss, what were you thinking about just now?” This earned her a warning glare from Leshui.

Ren Yaoqi glanced at Leshan and smiled without speaking.

She had just been thinking that although Second Young Master Xiao didn’t like riding horses, his mounting movement looked quite good and authentic. She wondered how long he had secretly practiced to avoid falling off the horse. Of course, Ren Yaoqi wouldn’t tell her maids about such things.

Xiao Jingxi might have made arrangements before coming to find her. When Ren Yaoqi’s carriage arrived at the back door of Dongsheng Tea House, Tong He had been waiting for her for some time.

Tong He led Ren Yaoqi up to a private room on the second floor, where Xiao Jingxi was already waiting.

The maids and attendants all remained in the outer room. Ren Yaoqi looked at Xiao Jingxi standing before her and said half-seriously, half-jokingly: “Young Master Xiao, this seems improper?” Although she had privately met with Xiao Jingxi before, those times were because she had matters to discuss with him. Back then, Ren Yaoqi had been single-mindedly focused on escaping difficulties and protecting her family, with no spare time to worry about reputation and propriety.

“You and I are already engaged, which is different from ordinary people,” Xiao Jingxi said, thinking of how Ren Yaoqi had seen him talking with Yan Ningshuang earlier. Not knowing whether Ren Yaoqi was saying this deliberately, he felt somewhat embarrassed but still maintained a composed appearance while speaking confidently.

The customs in Yanbei were more open than in the south, and they were much more tolerant of engaged men and women. As long as they didn’t do anything improper and had maids and matrons accompanying them, there was no taboo against meeting. Especially during festivals like the Shangsi Festival, Flower Festival, and Lantern Festival, they were even allowed to travel together.

Ren Yaoqi looked at him with a half-smile and didn’t contradict him.

“I was just planning to go back to see you…” Xiao Jingxi looked at Ren Yaoqi and suddenly muttered in a low voice, showing some aggrieved and frustrated expression.

Ren Yaoqi was immediately caught between laughter and tears, but the slight discomfort that had been lodged in her heart, which she had tried hard to ignore, dissipated considerably.

Xiao Jingxi took a step forward, standing even closer to Ren Yaoqi.

Just as Ren Yaoqi was about to step back, Xiao Jingxi reached out and embraced her first.

Ren Yaoqi’s face flushed red. She struggled briefly but, fearing the people in the outer room would hear, could only whisper: “Let me go!”

“I won’t…” Xiao Jingxi’s low, husky voice carried laughter as it softly sounded beside Ren Yaoqi’s ear, making her heart tremble and her limbs go weak.

“I was just eager to see you and didn’t avoid her in time. Don’t be angry with me over someone irrelevant, alright?” Xiao Jingxi whispered in Ren Yaoqi’s ear.

Xiao Jingxi’s clean, pleasant scent surrounded Ren Yaoqi. Her heart beat as if it would burst from her chest, and even her mind was filled with the “thump thump” echoes. Ren Yaoqi felt both shy and annoyed.

She tried to calm herself and was about to use all her strength to push him away so she could breathe properly when she noticed that the ears of Xiao Jingxi, who was holding her, had turned a very suspicious shade of pink. She paused, then discovered that Xiao Jingxi’s heartbeat was also very rapid, no less urgent than her own, despite his composed appearance.

Ren Yaoqi wanted to laugh again. She sighed and said coldly, “Xiao Jingxi, if you don’t let go, I’ll get angry.”

This was the first time she had called Xiao Jingxi by his full name. Xiao Jingxi was stunned, then obediently released her, though his gaze wouldn’t move away.

This time, Ren Yaoqi didn’t avoid Xiao Jingxi’s gaze. Instead, she looked at him seriously for a while. Only after confirming that beneath Second Young Master Xiao’s calm exterior, he was indeed nervous, did she say earnestly: “I’m not angry with you.”

Xiao Jingxi looked at her without speaking.

Ren Yaoqi sighed and continued: “Because I know that with your personality, if you were unwilling, no matter what drastic measures Yan Ningshuang used, she couldn’t succeed.”

While Yan Ningshuang didn’t know this, Ren Yaoqi was very clear that if Xiao Jingxi truly didn’t want to marry Yan Ningshuang, and if Yan Ningshuang still schemed against him, Xiao Jingxi wouldn’t mind making her disappear from this world.

Those aggrieved, roguish, or domineering expressions Xiao Jingxi had just shown weren’t the real him.

Even though he would still feel nervous around her, he would still blush.