Inside the carriage, Qi Qiong covered for her elder brother: “Big Brother has been in quite good health recently, he just accidentally caught a chill…”

Lin Hao smiled faintly.

She truly hadn’t expected that Qi Shuo would even deceive his own younger sister—no wonder she had been fooled for so many years.

Seeing Lin Hao unbothered, Qi Qiong secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Though Big Brother was wonderful, his health was somewhat weak, so it was hard to guarantee some people wouldn’t mind. Since A’Hao was so considerate toward Big Brother, she would have to treat A’Hao even better in the future.

Lin Hao suddenly noticed the young princess looking at her with burning intensity in her eyes.

Lin Hao: “…”

“A’Hao, I heard some news.”

“What news?”

Qi Qiong’s voice unconsciously lowered: “That Princess Yuliu who came to Great Zhou has a less than simple purpose—she might very well be entering the palace.”

Lin Hao’s expression became somewhat peculiar: “That’s just a rumor, isn’t it?”

The generational hierarchy would jump up immediately.

“Who knows if it’s true or false, but there is such a rumor circulating. I heard that women in Yuliu have low status, yet she traveled such a long distance, and it’s a matter of relations between two countries—a princess wouldn’t come purely for sightseeing.”

Discussing gossip with her good friend, Qi Qiong lost the composure she maintained before outsiders.

“She might not necessarily enter the palace. Finding someone of suitable age and appearance would be more likely.” Lin Hao couldn’t reveal what she’d heard from Qi Shuo, which left her feeling rather stifled.

“Suitable age and appearance?” Qi Qiong raised an eyebrow. “Then wouldn’t that be the Crown Prince and Prince Wei?”

She quickly lost interest and brought up something else: “Princess Yi’an and Princess Consort Ronghua are inseparable again…”

Someone like the Crown Prince would be a waste on whoever ended up with him. Prince Wei was actually not bad, except she couldn’t shake the image of a ball from her mind.

As they spoke, they arrived at Fuxiang Garden.

Fuxiang Garden occupied a considerable area and had beautiful scenery corresponding to all four seasons, making it an excellent destination for outings. Unfortunately, this was an imperial garden—one could not enter without an imperial invitation.

Being able to come play at Fuxiang Garden was itself something worth celebrating.

Lin Hao and Qi Qiong arrived neither early nor late. When the General’s Manor carriage stopped, it attracted quite a few gazes.

Whether it was Lin Chan calling off her betrothal with Prince Wei, or Lin Hao’s upcoming marriage to the Heir of Prince Jing, the General’s Manor had been a topic of people’s conversations for some time now, so they were inevitably curious about Lin Hao, who hadn’t appeared at formal occasions for quite a while.

The brocade curtain rolled up lightly, and a tall young lady in a yellow shirt stepped out from the carriage.

Princess Ninghua?

Those watching thought their eyes were playing tricks on them.

Wasn’t this the General’s Manor’s carriage?

Soon after, another young lady in a green dress with an oval face emerged from the carriage.

It was indeed Second Miss Lin.

Only then did those paying attention realize that Princess Ninghua and Second Miss Lin had arrived in the same carriage.

“Did you see that? The young princess of Prince Jing’s Manor and Second Miss Lin have an unusually good relationship,” one noble lady whispered to her friend.

Her friend nodded in agreement.

This was Qi Qiong’s subtle thoughtfulness.

She wanted to ride in the same carriage as Lin Hao, but if she had asked Lin Hao to board Prince Jing’s Manor carriage, it would inevitably appear to others that Lin Hao was clinging to Prince Jing’s Manor. Doing it the other way around created an entirely different impression.

Lin Hao actually hadn’t thought this much about it. She naturally took Qi Qiong’s extended hand, and they walked forward together.

“Ninghua.” A voice called out, neither too loud nor too soft.

Princess Yi’an, surrounded by a crowd, gracefully walked closer. She didn’t spare even a glance for Lin Hao, only letting her gaze fall shallowly on Qi Qiong’s face: “Did Prince Jing’s Manor carriage break down? I just searched for quite a while and didn’t see it anywhere.”

She said this with a smile, but the perceptive noble ladies understood Princess Yi’an’s attitude toward Second Miss Lin from how Princess Yi’an completely ignored Lin Hao.

This discovery caused quite a few noble ladies who had considered getting closer to Lin Hao to abandon the thought.

Saying a few more words to the future Princess Consort of Prince Jing wouldn’t make them friends, but it would offend Princess Yi’an—that would be a poor bargain indeed.

Qi Qiong had grown up among these people and had just as much, if not more, cunning, yet she acted as if she knew nothing and said with a smile: “Prince Jing’s Manor has several carriages, all quite sturdy. Mainly I wanted to chat with A’Hao on the way, so I squeezed into her carriage.”

Princess Yi’an’s indifferent gaze fell on Lin Hao’s face for a moment, yet she still addressed Qi Qiong: “I see, so that’s how it is.”

A richly dressed young lady standing beside Princess Yi’an covered her mouth and laughed: “Ninghua, since when did you become so close with Second Miss Lin?”

This remark sounded ordinary but had needles hidden in cotton.

Prince Jing’s Manor and the General’s Manor suddenly forming a marriage alliance had surprised many people, so these words inevitably led people to wonder—had the young princess created opportunities for her good friend to spend time with her brother, which led to this marriage arrangement?

Qi Qiong looked at the young lady who had spoken, feeling disgusted inside but still smiling on the surface: “Of course! A’Hao is about to become my sister-in-law. If I’m not close with her, who should I be close with? Ronghua, surely you’re close with Third Miss Chen?”

Princess Consort Ronghua had become betrothed last winter to the Chen family of the Ministry of Rites’ Minister’s Manor. Her relationship with Third Miss Chen was like Lin Hao’s relationship with Qi Qiong.

Qi Qiong wasn’t afraid to offend Princess Yi’an, but she had no fear of offending Princess Consort Ronghua.

They were both princesses—she wouldn’t take this insult lying down!

Hearing Qi Qiong mention her sister-in-law, Princess Consort Ronghua couldn’t help feeling stifled.

Who could stand someone as rigid, dull, and meddlesome as Chen San, yet she was her sister-in-law…

The frustration that flashed through Princess Consort Ronghua’s eyes instantly lifted Qi Qiong’s spirits.

Qi Qiong’s gentle and soft-spoken words left no room for others to make a scene, and Princess Consort Ronghua shot Lin Hao a vicious glare.

In truth, she had no connection with Lin Hao—she was only picking on her to please Princess Yi’an, whose dislike of Lin Hao was too obvious.

Princess Consort Ronghua quickly discovered her eye-rolling was wasted on a blind person.

The young lady being targeted showed no expression whatsoever, looking completely oblivious.

This reaction somehow made people even more irritated.

In reality, Lin Hao’s heart was not calm.

So it was Princess Yi’an who had called out to her at the Lantern Festival on the Fifteenth Night—Princess Yi’an had been infatuated with the top scholar even then.

If Princess Yi’an hadn’t run over to make a nuisance of herself in front of her and the young princess today, she still wouldn’t have recognized this voice.

That glass lantern had truly caused her trouble.

“Second Miss Lin, how is your elder sister’s condition? Has there been any improvement?” Princess Consort Ronghua asked with a concerned expression. “Your sister came so close to becoming my sister-in-law—what a pity.”

Lin Hao slightly raised her chin toward one direction: “Is that Princess Yuliu? She’s truly beautiful.”

At her words, everyone including Princess Yi’an looked over to see an absolutely gorgeous beauty walking toward them with a swaying gait, accompanied by attendants.

“I apologize for arriving late.” Princess Lingque smiled at Princess Yi’an.

The two had already met once before this.

Princess Yi’an raised her chin slightly: “It’s nothing, I just arrived myself.”

Taking advantage of everyone’s diverted attention, Lin Hao finally had a chance to observe Second Miss Kou Wan of Weiwei Marquis Manor, who stood in an inconspicuous spot.

She was a beautiful young lady whose features resembled Princess Yi’an’s.

This was troublesome—Princess Yi’an was so unfriendly toward her, so whether or not to save Princess Yi’an’s younger sister was now a question.

Kou Wan seemed to sense something and met Lin Hao’s gaze, then rolled her eyes dramatically.