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The entire Ji Family was filled with sorrow. The servants, who walked in and out, had bloodshot eyes and looked very sad.

“It’s still early. Ladies, why don’t we go for a walk?” a young lady of about fifteen or sixteen years old stood up and suggested with red eyes.

Qu Moying knew this person. She was Xiao’s niece, Xiao Haitang.

Earl Ling’an’s Mansion had three young ladies. They were Ji Youran, First Lady Ji from the second branch; Ji Hanyue, Second Lady Ji, and Ji Yanyue, Third Lady Ji, who were both from the first branch. In addition to these girls, there was also Ji Yuanxing, the eldest son of the second branch, who was Ji Youran’s brother. There was also the Second Young Master from the second branch, but he was a concubine-born son.

Because the first branch did not have a son, everyone knew that Ji Yuanxing, First Young Master Ji, would take over the entire Earl Ling’an’s Mansion in the future.

Even if this title belonged to his eldest uncle now, he would inherit it eventually.

As a result, the Ji Family’s second branch was quite powerful. All the servants in the mansion knew that the second branch would inherit everything eventually. However, although the first branch did not have a son, the current title was held by the first branch, and he was the Suppressor General. In addition, Ji Hanyue was the future Crown Princess of Eastern Palace. Therefore, the servants in the mansion did not dare to offend the first branch.

The two branches had always been very balanced. After Yue, the wife of Earl Ling’an, passed away, the management of the mansion fell on Xiao of the second branch. Nevertheless, the second branch treated the first branch very well when managing the household. Everything remained as usual, and at times, the second branch would take the initiative to back down. In the eyes of outsiders, the Ji Family’s second branch was doing a great job and very considerate of others.

Previously, Ji Hanyue shared the same thought. She even felt that Xiao and Ji Youran were wholeheartedly treating them well. Now that she thought about it, it was all but a joke. Due to her status back then, Xiao and Ji Youran had no choice but to curry favor with her. How could they dare to ill-treat the first branch?

The family asset and ranking in the imperial court were nothing compared to the monstrous power and authority!

As for Xiao Haitang in front of her, because the Ji Family did not have any other unmarried young lady, it was very normal for Xiao Haitang to help Xiao entertaining the guests. Moreover, Qu Moying knew that Xiao was very satisfied with this niece and wanted her to marry into the Ji Family. Previously, the Ji Family indicated that they were willing to take Xiao Haitang in, which was such a big joke.

Hearing Xiao Haitang’s words, Qu Xuexin looked at the Old Lady, and the Old Lady nodded.

Only then did Qu Xuexin stand up. “Let’s go then, Miss Xiao.”

They had known each other before.

Qu Qiuyan and Qu Caiyue also stood up. Qu Moying hesitated for a moment, then looked up and said, “I’m a little inconvenient to walk right now, so I won’t go out with you. I’ll stay here with Grandmother.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll just walk around. If you are tired, we can sit down and rest,” Xiao Haitang suggested.

“Ying, just go. There’s nothing to do here. I’ll just have a chat with Old Lady Ji. Go out with your sisters. If you are tired, you can come back first,” Old Lady Qu also advised, afraid that Qu Moying would get bored if Qu Moying stayed here with her.

“Fourth Lady, please go and take a stroll with them. Yesterday, when you came, we didn’t have time to accompany you for a good walk. Now, you can walk around and look around,” Xiao persuaded.

She sounded as if the conflict between her and Qu Moying had not happened yesterday.

Hearing their persuasion, Qu Moying had no choice but to stand up, bow at the elders, and follow them to the garden.

Qu Moying walked the slowest. After walking for a short distance, she fell behind.

“Fourth Lady, are you tired? Do you want to go over there and rest for a while?” Xiao Haitang waited for Qu Moying to come over with the rest of the group. When Qu Moying came over, Xiao Haitang smiled at her and asked.

Qu Moying looked up at the pavilion on the side and shook her head. “It’s fine, Miss Xiao. You can go ahead. I’ll walk slowly. If I am tired, I will rest by myself.”

“Oh, I can’t do that, Fourth Lady. You’re not feeling well. How can we leave you alone and wander off? How about this? Third Lady, you’ve been to our mansion before. Why don’t you accompany First Lady and Second Lady for a walk? I will ask someone to lead the way for you, and I will stay behind to accompany Fourth Lady.”

Xiao Haitang suggested in an appropriate manner.

Qu Moying agreed to Xiao Haitang’s suggestion. She stopped and looked at Qu Qiuyan. Qu Qiuyan nodded and said casually, “Alright. We’ll wait for you in front.”

“Okay!” Xiao Haitang nodded gently and called the maid to lead the way for the three ladies, while she stayed behind to accompany Qu Moying.

“Fourth Lady, I am Second Madam Xiao’s niece. You probably haven’t seen me before!” When Xiao Haitang saw the people in front of the two of them leave, she stepped forward with a smile and said to Qu Moying warmly.

“Yes, I’ve never seen you before, because I’ve always been staying in the village,” Qu Moying explained with a reserved smile.

“I’ve heard. You’ve been ill since you were young and have been raised in the boudoir. Are you better now?” Xiao Haitang looked at Qu Moying’s long eye veil and asked with concern.

“I’m fine now,” Qu Moying replied vaguely.

“Fourth Lady, look at the beautiful scenery in the corridor. Let’s go there and have a rest. I’m actually a little tired after walking all the way here.” Xiao Haitang pointed to a corridor in front of them. Beside the corridor were a few blooming purple peonies.

The flowers bloomed beautifully, making the corridors and windows look even more beautiful.

Qu Moying nodded. The two of them brought the maids along and sat down in the corridor at the corner. There was a breeze blowing, and the flowers rose and fell with the wind. The petals trembled slightly. It was vivid, charming, lively, and fragrant.

“Fourth Lady, I heard that you had called off the engagement with Marquis Yongning’s Mansion before. You made this decision after Young Master Yongning fell in love with Second Madam Qu’s niece, and then jumped into the lake to save Second Lady Duan, am I right?” Xiao Haitang looked back from the flowers and asked gently.

Although her words sounded inappropriate, her gentle manner reduced the sharpness of her words, as if she was really concerned about Qu Moying.

“I actually don’t know about that.” Qu Moying shook her head and kept looking at the flowers in front of her.

“I used to think that Young Master Yongning was quite nice, but now… I think he is quite shady. I’m sorry that you have to go through this. I’m sure that you’ll have a happy marriage in the future,” Xiao Haitang tactfully changed the topic and comforted Qu Moying after sensing that Qu Moying did not want to talk about this matter.

“Thank you, Miss Xiao.” Qu Moying nodded.

After that, the two of them did not speak for a while as if they did not know what to talk about. The atmosphere became a little dull.

Qu Moying quietly admired the flowers in front of her as if she had put all her attention on the flowers. It seemed that she was just someone who was appreciating the flowers leisurely, while Xiao Haitang was the anxious one.

Sure enough, Xiao Haitang turned around and ordered the maid behind her, “There should be a snack room nearby. Go and bring us some desserts.”

“Miss, do you want me to bring over the ones that First Young Master specially made for you?” After the maid took a few steps forward, she suddenly turned around and asked.

This question made Xiao Haitang feel a little shy. She patted her blushing cheeks with her handkerchief and urged, “Go and fetch some!”

After the maid left, Xiao Haitang turned around shyly and explained to Qu Moying, “Cousin Yuanxing knows that I like to eat desserts, so he usually will bring some new varieties over. Coincidentally, he brought some today. Fourth Lady, you must try a few of them later and see if they are delicious.”

“Miss Xiao, that’s so kind of you.” Qu Moying thanked her.

“This… is nothing.” Blushing, Xiao Haitang waved her hands shyly as if Qu Moying’s remark embarrassed her even more. “Actually, Cousin Yuanxing wanted to eat the desserts himself. He said that he brought them for me to eat, but he would eat most of them. He once brought such a big plate of desserts here, but he ate more than me.”

“First Young Master Ji is very close to you, Miss Xiao.” Qu Moying smiled and gave such a conclusion.

“Uh… This is nothing. We grew up together, so our relationship is naturally different,” Xiao Haitang lowered her head shyly and explained.

Xiao Haitang was clumsily trying to “cover up” her story, but she only revealed more.

At this point, Qu Moying could understand Xiao Haitang’s intention. The latter clearly knew about Xiao’s plan, so she was hinting Qu Moying about Ji Yuanxing being her childhood sweetheart.

Xiao Haitang was hinting that she herself was the one that Ji Yuanxing loved.

“Congratulations, Miss Xiao.” Qu Moying smiled and congratulated her.

Xiao Haitang looked at Qu Moying suspiciously, but the latter’s smile was very sincere, and her expression remained the same.

“What’s there to congratulate about? It’s just that Cousin Yuanxing is indeed a very good person.” Xiao Haitang was extremely shy.

At this time, the Ji Family’s maid brought over some pastries. There were a total of five plates of pastries, and they were all extremely exquisite. The ones in the middle were the most outstanding. They were flower-shaped pastries with a delicate and pleasant fragrance. A faint peach blossom fragrance overflowed from the pastries, which were very appetizing.

“This is…” Qu Moying’s eyes turned cold, but she didn’t show her emotions on her face. She pointed to the pastries in the middle and asked in surprise, “Why do they smell so nice?”

“These are peach blossom cakes. Not only does the cake smell nice, but it is also very delicious. On it are cleaned peach blossom petals, but they are different from ordinary ones. I heard that the tree is not planted in the capital,” Xiao Haitang explained with a smile. She picked up one of the pieces and gently took a bite. “Fourth Lady, please try it!”

Qu Moying wondered if it was from the peach blossom tree planted in her mother’s courtyard. There were a few special peach blossom trees there, and it seemed that the flowers on this pastry were from these trees.

Not only that, but the peach blossom cake recipe was also the one in Ji Hanyue’s dowry. In the past, it was given to her mother when she was married over from the Yue’s Mansion, and then it was passed over to her. She had never taken the recipe out to make pastries when she was with the Ji Family. Had Granny Zhou not showed her when the former was arranging the dowry, even Ji Hanyue herself would not have known that there was such a recipe.

Now, she saw the pastry in the Ji Family. It was obvious that the recipe was brought over by Ji Youran.

In other words, all of her dowry belonged to Ji Youran now.

Pei Luo’an and Ji Youran had planned to kill her, and then they took her dowry without any guilt! A trace of hostility appeared in the bottom of Qu Moying’s eyes.

“Is this peach blossom cake? Is it made according to the recipe? I heard that if they don’t handle it properly when putting the peach blossom petals on the cake, it will backfire.” Hiding the hostility in her eyes, Qu Moying slowly asserted with some curiosity.

Upon hearing the question, Xiao Haitang froze as she was reaching over to take the pastry…