After dinner, it was time to go see the lanterns on the street.

Qi Le had been impatient for some time, constantly urging the elders and brothers to hurry, lest the beautiful flower lanterns in the market be bought early by others, leaving them nothing to choose from. Everyone was helplessly urged by him, and not long after the meal they went down the mountain and boarded their carriages.

Everyone had their own carriage, except Shen Xiling. When going down the mountain, she felt somewhat worried, not knowing what to do later. When they reached the foot of the mountain and everyone was boarding their carriages, she hesitantly lingered behind. Looking up, she saw Qi Ying standing by his carriage, turning back to look at her.

She had seen that carriage before—it was the one he had ridden that night of snow at the city gate. With its fragrant wood body and bronze bells hanging from the four corners, it was very tall and luxurious. At that time, she had fallen sitting in the snow holding her mother, and when she looked back, she saw him step down from this carriage, his phoenix eyes like quenched snow, noble as distant mountains.

Now Qi Ying stood beside the carriage, looking back at her with a slightly furrowed brow, then made a gesture for her to come over, saying, “You get in first.”

For some inexplicable reason, Shen Xiling’s heartbeat quickened, and her face grew hot. Fortunately, it was already dark so others couldn’t see, but she still lowered her head and walked quickly over, boarding the carriage ahead of him. Qi Ying helped steady her beside her, and only after she got in did he board.

On the other side, seeing Shen Xiling actually ride in the same carriage as Qi Ying, Zhao Yao naturally felt indignant. Her mother secretly tugged at her and whispered in her ear, “Who else could that girl ride with if not Jingchen? Your second brother is just taking pity on her—what are you getting upset about?”

After consoling her with several sentences, she finally coaxed Zhao Yao into the carriage, though still sullen.

Here, Qing Zhu had the servants remove the carriage step but didn’t enter the cabin himself, sitting on the carriage shaft with Bai Song. Bai Song glanced at him sideways, smiled, and asked, “Why aren’t you going in with them?”

Qing Zhu snorted coldly and ignored him. Bai Song curved the corner of his mouth again, raised his whip to urge the horses, and the wheels began to roll slowly.

Qi Ying’s carriage was luxuriously decorated and extremely spacious inside. A newly replaced charcoal brazier made the interior very warm.

Shen Xiling sat neither too close nor too far from Qi Ying, and they remained silent the entire time. Shen Xiling wasn’t talkative, but the silence between her and Qi Ying made her uncomfortable. She pressed her lips together and said in a small voice, “To-today I didn’t know Fenghe Garden would have guests, so I wandered around outside on my own… did I cause trouble for you, young master?”

Qi Ying had been thinking about other matters, but hearing her voice brought him back to attention. He raised his eyes to look at Shen Xiling, seeing the little girl huddled in the corner like a small bundle, looking at him with somewhat nervous expression. He couldn’t help but reflect on which time he had frightened her so much that she was still so afraid of him.

Qi Ying sighed and said, “It’s fine. I can’t hide you for a lifetime anyway—you’ll have to meet people eventually.”

Indeed, someone as thoughtful as Qi Ying, if he truly wanted to conceal her existence, would definitely not be so careless as to let her wander around freely. Since he didn’t stop her, he must have already arranged future matters.

Shen Xiling responded softly and nodded.

Qi Ying looked at her again and asked, “About the matter of studying, you can think it over carefully. If you’re willing, tell me. If you’re unwilling, that’s also fine.”

Shen Xiling was startled and looked at him.

She had thought Qi Ying had already decided she should go to the family school, and that his earlier words “let her think about it” to the eldest young master in the flower hall were merely polite. But now hearing his tone, it seemed he truly left the decision entirely to her.

Shen Xiling could hardly believe it and asked tentatively, “…I can decide for myself?”

“Of course,” Qi Ying answered. “This is your own life—naturally you should make your own decisions.”

Shen Xiling’s gaze became vacant.

Today was the fifteenth of the first lunar month, still bitterly cold. The cold wind whistled outside the carriage window, but inside it was warm as spring. Qi Ying’s voice seemed particularly steady and calm in the winter wind: “I can give you many things. For instance, when I first met you, I could have given you carriages and horses, guards, and silver, using these to send you north to Langya, but ultimately the person who decided whether to stay there would be yourself.”

He turned to look at her, his phoenix eyes completely clear: “Your life is the same. I can still give you many things, but the person who decides whether to accept them, or what to accept and what not to accept, is yourself. Wenwen, the road is difficult—I can help you, but I cannot walk it for you.”

Qi Ying’s tone was calm, but through the moonlight filtering through the carriage window, Shen Xiling could vaguely see his expression was very gentle, making her momentarily feel as if he were her father or brother.

Thinking of her father inevitably made Shen Xiling’s eyes heat up. She quickly lowered her head to hide her emotions and asked in a somewhat hoarse voice, “Then… the Qi family school, do you hope I’ll go?”

Qi Ying noticed her emotional fluctuation but didn’t immediately comfort her. He only answered her question: “I can’t speak of hope or not—it’s just that if I were you, I would go. First, you could meet peers; second, you could gain more learning. Compared to staying within the courtyard walls of Fenghe Garden, it would be better.”

He spoke matter-of-factly, his tone showing no particular inflection. He didn’t say any comforting words, only stated his suggestion very plainly, yet this gradually calmed Shen Xiling’s heart. Looking at Qi Jingchen, for the first time she felt a sense of intimacy from the bottom of her heart, and for the first time truly realized: this man sitting before her was probably now the person closest to her.

At that time, Shen Xiling actually felt quite resistant to entering the Qi family school. After all, she was now an orphan without father or mother, and having never received proper upbringing since childhood, she would inevitably feel out of place among the sons and daughters of aristocratic families.

She wasn’t good at socializing, and that Miss Zhao didn’t seem to like her much either—she didn’t know how to conduct herself. At that time she was like a startled bird, preferring to hear nothing and see nothing, only wishing to curl up in a tiny world. Narrow and cramped though it might be, as long as it was stable she was willing to stay there forever.

She actually preferred to remain at Fenghe Garden, preferred to stay by Qi Ying’s side. But at the same time she understood that Qi Ying was right—her life could only be walked by herself, and she couldn’t always depend on him. After all, he wasn’t truly her father or brother and had no obligation to always treat her well. She needed to grow up quickly and stop causing him trouble.

Shen Xiling lowered her eyelids to hide her thoughts, remained silent for a while, then answered, “…Very well, then I’ll go. Thank you, young master.”

Qi Ying looked at her for a moment without saying anything. Just then he heard voices from outside the window. Qi Ying pushed the window half open, and through it Shen Xiling saw the brilliant and colorful long street outside, where pedestrians wove like cloth and flower lanterns clustered like brocade—a scene of peaceful prosperity.

Qi Ying smiled and turned to her, saying, “There are many people on the street. Remember not to get too far from me later.”

—

**Author’s Note:** Thinking about it carefully, Qi Jingchen really has it hard: not only does he need to choose schools for his future wife, but he also has to provide pre-school psychological counseling (sigh)