Ren Yaoqi saw the nervous expressions on her maids' faces and shook her head. "I'm not angry."
She wasn't so petty as to get upset just because Xiao Jingxi had exchanged a few words with another woman. It was just that Yan Ningshuang's behavior had left her feeling somewhat displeased.
Yan Ningshuang had come to Yanbei Prince's Mansion in the same carriage as Zhao Yingqiu. Earlier, the Princess Consort had already sent someone to see them off, but now Zhao Yingqiu and the carriage had left, while Yan Ningshuang remained behind. It could be said she had gone to great lengths.
Seeing that Ren Yaoqi's expression remained gentle, Pingguo and the others breathed a slight sigh of relief. With the wedding date drawing near, no one wanted any unexpected incidents.
The carriage slowly departed from Yanbei Prince's Mansion, and Ren Yaoqi no longer looked outside.
However, while Ren Yaoqi refrained from glancing out, her maids remained uneasy. Leshan, seated by the carriage window, occasionally lifted the curtain to steal a glance outside, hoping to see whether the Xiao Family's second young master would shake off that woman Yan Ningshuang and catch up.
Ren Yaoqi noticed Leshan's actions but said nothing, letting her be.
After leaving Yanbei Prince's Mansion, the carriage headed toward Treasure Vase Alley. This area was mostly inhabited by academy instructors and various scholars and artists. During the day, it was quiet and serene, unlike the noisy and chaotic lanes of ordinary residential areas. The main streets outside the alley were lined with shops selling brushes, ink, paintings, calligraphy, antiques, and seals, far less bustling and prosperous than the area around Zhengyang Avenue.
As their carriage turned onto the street just before Treasure Vase Alley, Leshan still refused to give up and tried to look back. Ren Yaoqi sighed and was about to speak when she glanced up and caught sight of someone emerging from a seal shop across the street. In that fleeting moment, the teacup and lid in Ren Yaoqi's hands clinked together with a crisp sound.
Though not loud, the noise was startling in the quiet carriage, causing Leshan to hurriedly drop the curtain. Thinking Ren Yaoqi was angry, she quickly bowed her head in apology. "This servant knows her mistake."
Ren Yaoqi seemed not to hear Leshan's words. She blinked slowly, then suddenly called out, "Stop the carriage."
The driver outside responded and began to slow down. The maids looked on in confusion as Ren Yaoqi moved to the carriage window and lifted the curtain. By then, the carriage was already some distance away from the seal shop.
Peering through the window, Ren Yaoqi only had time to see a man in a blue robe walking leisurely in the opposite direction.
The man was tall and slender, but with his back turned, his face and age were unclear. Though dressed as a scholar, he carried an air of languid indifference, as if nothing in the world mattered to him. At that moment, he was slightly tilting his head to speak with his attendant. Even without seeing his face, Ren Yaoqi could imagine him with slightly lowered eyes and a careless smile at the corner of his lips—a perpetually drowsy appearance, as if one could never tell whether his gaze held you or merely emptiness.
Ren Yaoqi stared blankly at the man's retreating figure, momentarily forgetting how to react, until he turned into another street and disappeared from sight."Miss? What's wrong?" Leshan asked cautiously, gathering her courage to steal a glance outside but seeing nothing. The street had only a few scattered pedestrians, all unfamiliar strangers.
Ren Yaoqi gradually came back to her senses, realizing she had lost her composure. She lowered the curtain, pursed her lips, and said softly, "It's nothing. I mistook someone for another."
"Shall we head back now?" Leshan asked.
Ren Yaoqi remained silent.
Leshui, observing her expression, said, "Perhaps you didn't mistake anyone just now. Should we turn back and take another look?"
Ren Yaoqi sighed, smiling at her maids. "Let's go back. I was mistaken."
Even if she hadn’t been mistaken, what could she have done?
She remembered that person as a teacher and a friend, but to that person, she would only ever be a stranger. Even if they stood side by side, there would be nothing to say.
The maids said nothing more. Pingguo instructed the coachwoman to continue forward.
Just as the carriage was about to move, the side was knocked.
Ren Yaoqi, who had just calmed her emotions, was startled. She turned toward the window, her right hand unconsciously clenching, a hint of nervousness creeping in.
Leshan glanced at Ren Yaoqi and called out, "Who is it?"
The person outside seemed to pause for a moment before a low, soft, and slightly hoarse yet pleasant voice replied, "It's me."
Ren Yaoqi slowly exhaled, her hand relaxing, her palm slightly damp with sweat. How could she have forgotten? The only one who ever knocked on her carriage like this was a certain someone.
Ren Yaoqi lifted the curtain slightly and looked at Xiao Jingxi standing outside the window, asking softly, "What brings you here?"
Xiao Jingxi had come alone on horseback, standing beside the carriage with reins in hand. He was still wearing the same clothes he had worn earlier when standing with Yan Ningshuang. His deep eyes gazed at Ren Yaoqi for a moment without speaking.
Seeing his silence, Ren Yaoqi was about to lower the curtain when Xiao Jingxi said quietly, "I have something to say to you. I’ll wait for you at the Dongsheng Teahouse up ahead." Without waiting for her refusal, he turned, mounted his horse, and rode off first.
Ren Yaoqi propped her chin on her hand, blinking thoughtfully. She remained still for a long while.
Since she said nothing, none of the maids dared to move, and the carriage remained parked by the roadside.
"Take the side alley up ahead to the back door of Dongsheng Teahouse," Ren Yaoqi finally instructed in a low voice after a while.
The coachwoman, receiving the order, set the carriage in motion again.
Leshan, being lively by nature, couldn’t resist asking boldly, "Miss, what were you thinking about just now?" earning a warning glare from Leshui.
Ren Yaoqi glanced at Leshan, smiled, and said nothing.
What she had been thinking was that although Second Young Master Xiao didn’t care for horseback riding, his mounting movements were quite graceful and impressive. She wondered how long he had secretly practiced to avoid falling off. Of course, Ren Yaoqi wouldn’t share such thoughts with her maids.
Xiao Jingxi must have made arrangements before coming to find her. When Ren Yaoqi’s carriage arrived at the back door of Dongsheng Teahouse, Tong He was already waiting for her.
Tong He led Ren Yaoqi to a private room on the second floor, where Xiao Jingxi was waiting inside.The maids and attendants waited in the outer room. Ren Yaoqi looked at Xiao Jingxi standing before her and said with a mix of sincerity and jest, "Young Master Xiao, this seems rather improper, doesn't it?" Although she had met privately with Xiao Jingxi before, those occasions were always for discussing matters that needed his input. Back then, Ren Yaoqi was wholly focused on escaping her predicament and protecting her family, with no spare time to worry about reputation or propriety.
"You and I are already betrothed—we're different from ordinary people." Xiao Jingxi thought of how Ren Yaoqi had seen him speaking with Yan Ningshuang earlier. He wasn't sure if she was deliberately bringing this up, and he felt somewhat awkward, yet he maintained a calm and confident demeanor.
The customs in Yanbei were more open than those in the south, especially regarding betrothed couples. As long as they didn't overstep boundaries and were accompanied by maids or attendants, it wasn't considered improper for them to meet. On occasions like the Shangsi Festival, Flower Festival, or Lantern Festival, they were even allowed to stroll together.
Ren Yaoqi gave him a half-smiling glance but didn't argue.
"I was actually on my way back to see you just now..." Xiao Jingxi looked at Ren Yaoqi and muttered softly, showing a hint of grievance and regret.
Ren Yaoqi couldn't help but feel both amused and exasperated. However, the lingering discomfort she had tried hard to ignore earlier dissipated considerably.
Xiao Jingxi took a step forward, closing the distance between them.
Just as Ren Yaoqi was about to step back, Xiao Jingxi reached out and embraced her.
Ren Yaoqi flushed, struggling briefly but afraid of making noise that might be heard in the outer room. She whispered, "Let me go!"
"I won't..." Xiao Jingxi's low, husky voice, tinged with amusement, whispered in her ear, making her heart tremble and her limbs go weak.
"I was just in a hurry to see you and didn't manage to avoid her in time. Please don't be angry with me over someone irrelevant, alright?" Xiao Jingxi murmured softly into her ear.
Xiao Jingxi's clean, pleasant scent enveloped Ren Yaoqi completely. Her heart pounded as if it might burst from her chest, and her mind echoed with the frantic beats. She couldn't help feeling both embarrassed and annoyed.
She tried to calm herself and was about to muster all her strength to push him away so she could breathe freely when she noticed the suspicious pink tinge at the base of Xiao Jingxi's ears. She paused, then realized his heartbeat was just as frantic as hers, even though his expression remained composed.
Ren Yaoqi felt another urge to laugh. She sighed and said coldly, "Xiao Jingxi, if you don't let go now, I'll be angry."
This was the first time she had addressed him by his full name. Xiao Jingxi was momentarily stunned, then obediently released her, though his gaze remained fixed on her.
This time, Ren Yaoqi didn't avoid his gaze. Instead, she studied him seriously for a moment until she confirmed that beneath Second Young Master Xiao's calm facade, he was indeed nervous. She then said earnestly, "I'm not angry with you."
Xiao Jingxi watched her silently.
Ren Yaoqi sighed again and said, "Because I know, with your temperament, if you were unwilling, no matter how fiercely Yan Ningshuang tried, she would never get her way."Yan Ningshuang did not know, but Ren Yaoqi was well aware that if Xiao Jingxi truly did not wish to marry Yan Ningshuang, and she still schemed against him, he would not mind making her disappear from this world.
The expressions Xiao Jingxi had just shown—whether aggrieved, shameless, or domineering—were not his true self.
Even though he still grew nervous and blushed in her presence.
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