"So clever of you." Xiqiu couldn’t help but laugh. Watching the mischievous Tong Xiyan, she felt happy. How long had it been since they last played together like they used to? She couldn’t remember, it all seemed so distant!

Tong Xiyan scooted closer to her, squeezed in beside Xiqiu, and asked, "Tell me quickly, I heard from Nanny Qian that a Scholar Qian has been visiting big brother recently. Is father thinking of marrying off our eighth sister to him?"

"And what do you think of this Scholar Qian?" Xiqiu asked with a smile.

Tong Xiyan frowned and thought for a moment, then replied after some contemplation, "In my opinion, having eighth sister marry him wouldn’t be a grievance. If he does achieve the rank of Advanced Scholar next year, then this match is indeed worth considering. But, Madam Mei definitely won’t agree; she will surely make a scene."

Xiqiu raised an eyebrow, gently laughing as she held Tong Xiyan’s hand and said, "How can you be so sure we’re discussing eighth sister’s matter? It might just concern you instead."

"Me?" Tong Xiyan laughed, "What could possibly come up for me?" After speaking, seeing Xiqiu still smiling, she showed a suspicious look and glared at Xiqiu, asking hesitantly, "Is it really about me?"

Xiqiu just nodded.

Tong Xiyan’s expression changed slightly, her mind racing through many matters related to her, and she finally blurted out, "Could it be Jiang Shilin?"

"What nonsense, must your matter always involve him?" Xiqiu patted her hand, putting away her smile, and looking at Tong Xiyan said, "Fourth sister, do you still have feelings for him?"

Gone was her earlier laughter, and Tong Xiyan’s face fell, as if deep in thought. After a while, she shook her head, "No, it’s just habit!" Xiqiu nodded and asked again, "What plans do you have, have you thought about completely cutting ties with the past, finding a suitable man, and settling down?"

Tong Xiyan froze, then laughed heartily, spitting, "Who would dare want someone like me, and even if they did, I wouldn’t dare to marry!" After saying this, she waved her hand disinterestedly, "Forget it, I’ll just live like this, why trouble myself further."

Xiqiu said nothing, and Tong Xiyan turned her head to look at her, "Is it sister-in-law who said something to you?"

Sure enough, she was trying to relate it to Madam Jiang. Xiqiu looked at her with annoyance, "Don’t let your imagination run wild, don’t you know sister-in-law’s character by now?"

"True." Tong Xiyan nodded, then looked at Xiqiu, knowing she wouldn’t bring up something out of the blue, so she pressed, "You’re hiding something from me, what is it? Tell me quickly."

Xiqiu sighed, then recounted Han Cheng’s marriage proposal to Tong Xiyan, and introduced the situation of the Han Family to her, "Since they’ve made an offer, we have to ask for your opinion first, considering that Lord Han’s conditions are indeed good, and he is also..."

"Stop right there." Tong Xiyan suddenly stood up, looking at Xiqiu with a grim expression, "How does he know about me?"

Xiqiu explained the past two years to her, and Tong Xiyan finally remembered, "So that man is Han Cheng!" She said and began pacing the room, looking a bit uncertain, "...Doesn’t he know about my situation?"

"He knows." Xiqiu replied, "Madam Han has been gone for two years, and during this time, he has declined numerous proposals, saying he was waiting for your mourning period to end."

Tong Xiyan was taken aback, her cheeks subtly reddened. She vaguely remembered Han Cheng’s appearance, tall and robust, different from Jiang Shilin’s type, he was handsome and upright, while Jiang Shilin was elegant and dashing... Tong Xiyan was somewhat dazed, looking back at Xiqiu and asking, "What do father and sister-in-law say?"

"It’s ultimately up to you." Xiqiu replied.

Tong Xiyan sat back down mumbling to herself, she never thought her life, lived so disastrously, would still have someone willing to marry her, accepting her as a first wife, and waiting two years for her... She was touched and surprised, yet speaking of marriage made her hesitant and withdrawn. She sighed, "You’d better refuse for me, with my situation, if I marry someone else, who knows what kind of joke I’ll become."

"Fourth sister, don’t rush to decide, we haven’t even discussed marriage properly yet, consider it further and tell me in a few days, there’s no hurry for a reply." Han Cheng hasn’t given a response yet either.

Tong Xiyan hesitated, almost speaking but stopping herself, looking at Xiqiu, who had already stood up, "I should head back now. I don’t feel at ease leaving Zhi at home." She said and then turned to Tong Xiyan, "Think about it, don’t force yourself. Whether it’s father, big brother and sister-in-law, or me, we all hope for your happiness, so follow your heart."

Tong Xiyan looked at Xiqiu and nodded slightly, "I’ll walk you out." As they went out the door, Xiqiu turned back to Tong Xiyan, "Where’s eighth sister?"

"Nanny Qian and Nanny Lai took her to Puji Temple early in the morning, saying they wanted to pray for Madam Mei." Tong Xiyan replied absentmindedly.

Xiqiu didn’t think much of it, bade farewell to Madam Jiang, and returned directly to the Governor Mansion.

Zhi was already waiting for Xiqiu at the door, and as soon as he saw her, he immediately ran over, "Mother, why didn’t you take me with you when you went out?" Saying this, he shook her hand, "Did you go to grandfather’s house?"

Blah blah, he kept talking, Xiqiu couldn’t help but laugh, holding his hand, "Mother had some matters to attend to, didn’t I come back quickly?" Saying this, the mother and son walked inside, "What did you do at home this morning?"

"We were making kites." He said, pulling Xiqiu along faster, "Mother, come see, we made them very beautifully."

Xiqiu chuckled gently, "Take it easy, easy!" As she spoke, the two were already inside the courtyard, and Zhi dragged Xiqiu all the way to his room in the back courtyard, "Look!"

Following his finger’s direction, Xiqiu indeed saw a multitude of scattered Xuan paper and bamboo splints on the floor, with the brush and ink discarded to the side. The kite’s shape was unrecognizable, so Xiqiu curiously asked, "What’s it supposed to be?"

"Can’t you tell?" Zhi furrowed his brows, wearing a surprised expression as if saying, "I’ve made it so well, and you can’t tell what it is?" He asked again, "Didn’t you see what it is?" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Xiqiu paused, and looked again carefully, only seeing something vaguely round or square, while Zhi watched her with expectant eyes, waiting for his mother’s praise. Xiqiu hesitated then covertly glanced at Qingshan, about to speak when suddenly Min’s voice came from behind, "It’s definitely a parrot, isn’t it?"

"Brother!" Zhi exclaimed joyously upon hearing, immediately nodding, "Yes, it’s a parrot." Finishing this, he seemed to find a kindred spirit and was very happy.

Xiqiu felt secretly embarrassed, showing a guilty expression, "It’s my fault for not recognizing what it is!" But Zhi, acting magnanimously, said, "It doesn’t matter." Then squatted down to tinker again.

Min greeted Xiqiu, "Mother." Xiqiu nodded and continued, "Actually, I have something to discuss with you." Upon hearing this, Min listened attentively, and Xiqiu sat down on a nearby chair, looking at him, "You’re getting older, and it’s not suitable to keep living in the back courtyard. However, I also don’t feel at ease letting you move right away, so your father and I discussed letting you move to the back Rong’en Courtyard. What do you think?"