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“It’s right at your feet, and it’s bright red. Master Xu, which fair maiden bestowed this upon you?” the young gentleman joked.

As he spoke, he stooped down to pick up the fallen sachet from the ground.

The red sachet, contrasting against the dark veil, was quite conspicuous. Xu Lipeng spotted it instantly, along with Xu Lipeng himself standing nearby. There was no doubt that the sachet belonged to Xu Lipeng.

Reacting swiftly, Xu Lipeng snatched it and held it in his palm, his smile turning awkward. “It’s mine, made by a maid at home. Please excuse the jest.”

“A maid? The material doesn’t seem like something a maid would use.” another young gentleman teased.

“How could it be from a maid? It must be a gift from one of the fair ladies!” another gentleman playfully remarked. Everyone knew that Xu Lipeng was engaged to Second Lady Duan, who was known to be fierce and had an average appearance. It wouldn’t be surprising if Xu Lipeng had another woman he admired—a secret confidante.

“It really was made by a maid in the estate.” Xu Lipeng shifted his hand back slightly, speaking the words but with a hint of fluster on his face. His gaze wandered for a moment, and he tried to leave, giving off an air of guilt.

Someone approached from behind and snatched the sachet from Xu Lipeng’s hand, jesting, “Let’s all have a look at the craftsmanship of the maid!”

In the past, Xu Lipeng wouldn’t have faced such ridicule. He was considered a righteous gentleman with good character and reputation. But now, many aristocratic young men regarded him with skepticism, no longer treating him with courtesy. They were ready to expose his pretense of righteousness.

Caught off guard by someone approaching from behind, Xu Lipeng’s attempt to reclaim the sachet was thwarted by others.

The gentleman who snatched the sachet examined it, realizing that something was inside. He promptly opened it and handed the sachet to another young lady, casually reciting a few lines.

The voice was neither loud nor soft, but it happened to be just right. The people in the opposite flower hall all heard it, and for a moment, the ladies there looked over with curiosity.

Xu Lipeng’s face turned red as he rushed forward and snatched the note, saying, “Stop talking nonsense!”

“Who’s talking nonsense, Master Xu? This is not something a maid can write. And it’s even written on Chengxin Paper, with proper handwriting.”

Another young man teased.

In the past, Xu Lipeng always appeared serious, but now he had a rare opportunity, and no one intended to let it pass.

“Whose is it? Let’s see, let’s see. There are words on it!” someone exclaimed, raising the scented pouch high.

The embroidery on it was clearly well done, despite some signs of tampering. Nevertheless, based on the handwriting, one could make out some details. Several heads gathered together, carefully trying to decipher it.

Xu Lipeng looked annoyed, seemingly wanting to grab it back, but he was pushed away by the young men.

Everyone jovially discussed the embroidered pattern on it—flowers and butterflies, truly unique and elegant.

“Fourth sister, are you the best at embroidering this kind of design?” Qu Qiuyan, who had somehow appeared by Qu Moying’s side, overheard the conversation and whispered to her, her voice deliberately lowered.

Although her words were soft, they were clear enough for the surrounding ladies to hear. Immediately, they all turned their heads and looked at Qu Moying.

It’s not that they hadn’t thought of it, but once someone mentioned it, they all remembered—this fourth Lady Qu was once engaged to Yong Master Yongning. However, because he saved the second Lady Duan, he was compelled to break off the engagement with Qu Moying and instead would marry the second Lady Duan.

Despite Lady Qu’s eye ailment, the ladies thought she was still preferable to the bold and fierce second Lady Duan. At least Lady Qu had always displayed elegance and composure.

And when it came to her appearance, no matter how you looked at it, she couldn’t be considered ugly; in fact, she might even be exceptionally beautiful. Even with her eyes veiled, she looked more attractive than the second Lady Duan.

So, is this fourth Lady Qu still entangled with the young master?

Could it be that Lady Qu is not willing to let go?

When they thought about it, it seemed possible. Young Master Yongning had been engaged to Lady Qu for so long, and there had been no news of him calling off the marriage. Perhaps he had already taken a liking to Lady Qu, and the involvement with Yu’s niece could have been an accident—a result of her trying to entice Xu Lipeng.

Perhaps Lady Qu had been upset before, but now that her marriage had been snatched away, she was still unwilling. Was that why she sent the sachet?

Someone sighed, she was a child who lost her mother after all. She didn’t realize that even if she had sent it when she and Xu Lipeng were still engaged, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. But now that both families have called off the marriage, if she sent a sachet, it would be a sign of a clandestine affair. If someone found out, Lady Qu would have to become Xu Lipeng’s concubine.

The position of the legitimate wife had become that of a concubine. It was truly pitiful.

Someone shook their head in secret.

“Third sister, I don’t understand what you mean.” Qu Moying raised her gaze and looked at her sister Qu Qiuyan, her tone neither warm nor cold.

“Did I ask the wrong question? I just heard people in the mansion saying that you are skilled at embroidering this kind of butterfly and flower pattern.” Qu Qiuyan replied with an apologetic look, lowering her head and speaking softly.

Qu Moying let out a cold smile and straightforwardly said, “So, sister, do you think this thing belongs to me?”

Qu Qiuyan found it difficult to respond. She didn’t expect that at this moment, Qu Moying would remain composed, even appearing assertive.

Remaining silent only made her seem more guilty.

Raising her head and composing herself, she wore a guilty expression and said, “If I’m mistaken, please forgive me, fourth sister. I was also worried…”

“What are you worried about? Worried that this sachet is related to me? Well, thank you, third sister, for taking the blame for me. While others didn’t say much, you jumped in and made it seem like you were concerned about me. Those who know will say that you are worried about me, caring about me, but those who don’t know might think you said it intentionally.”

Qu Moying responded nonchalantly.

Some young ladies looked at Qu Qiuyan skeptically. Qu Qiuyan’s behavior did seem somewhat deliberate. Moreover, everyone knew that the relationship between the two sisters of the Qu family was not good. They had heard about it before, and they had never seen them together. It was evident that their relationship was not good.

“You…” Qu Qiuyan’s face turned red, almost on the verge of tears. She looked as if she wanted to say something but hesitated. “I am just worried about our Qu family!”

This statement indicated that she was not concerned about Qu Moying but rather worried that Qu Moying would tarnish the reputation of the Qu family.

“Third sister, why are you so anxious? Let’s just listen to the whole story. We can’t just take the blame ourselves when no one else has said anything. Lady Yu is even your cousin, and you would know what he is like the most.” Qu Moying sneered, not hiding the disdain on her face.

As they heard her words, more gazes fell upon Qu Qiuyan. They recalled the previous incident involving Xu Lipeng and the concubine from the Qu family, who was rumored to have gotten involved with him at the Qu mansion.

With these thoughts in mind, it seemed that this Master Xu wasn’t such a good person. And Qu Qiuyan seemed to be well aware of this fact.

Just as someone was about to speak, Qu Qiuyan immediately interjected, secretly gesturing towards Qu Moying. Was it really unintentional?

“Ah, I found it, I found it! What character is this?”

“The embroidery on top was picked off. Master Xu is really meticulous.”

“This is to prevent people from discovering it! What kind of confidante does Master Xu have that he’s so careful? Take a look, take a look.” The young gentlemen on the other side were quite lively, engrossed in their discussion, forgetting that there were ladies in the flower hall.

“It’s the character ‘Jing.’”

“Let me see, it really is the character ‘Jing.’”

“No, there’s another character behind it, it is…” As the person spoke, they hesitated and passed the incense sachet to another person.

It wasn’t quite clear to them.

But they didn’t dare to continue.

It looked like “Jingyu” or “Lord Jing”. What could it be?

Regardless of which one it was, they didn’t dare to utter it aloud. County Lady Jingyu or Lord Jing? The sachet ended up in Xu Lipeng’s hands, and he had that kind of appearance. It seemed impossible for him to be Lord Jing, so it must be County Lady Jingyu. But how could she give Xu Lipeng a sachet?

County Lady Jingyu was the future Princess Crown!

Moreover, they couldn’t see that particular detail clearly. It seemed to be there, but also seemed like it wasn’t. Perhaps it was just a floral pattern, and the characters behind it might not even be characters at all.

Only the front character was clearly visible, and it was unmistakably “Jing.”

The young gentlemen who saw the sachet exchanged glances, realizing the gravity of the situation. Especially in this setting, they knew better than to speak recklessly. One person forced a smile and threw the sachet back to Xu Lipeng, saying, “It’s just a ‘Jing’ character, there’s no other character behind it.”

“Right, it’s just a ‘Jing’ character. We don’t know which Lady Jing is Master Xu’s confidante.” Another person caught on and joined in to defuse the tension.

“Master Xu, since it was given to you by a lady, you should keep it properly. How can you casually discard it!” Another person pretended as if they hadn’t said anything and spoke with a smile.

Xu Lipeng’s expression truly changed as he took the sachet and examined it carefully. The more he looked, the more his hand trembled. Qu Qiuyan had clearly implied that it belonged to Qu Moying. There was a shape resembling the character “Jing” instead of “Ying” and some of the subsequent characters faintly resembled the character “Yu.”

County Lady Jingyu? How could it be County Lady Jingyu? Shouldn’t it have been the character “Ying”?

No, that’s not right. It must be the character “Ying.” Xu Lipeng’s face grew anxious as he examined it carefully. Even if he tried to relate those two characters to “Ying”, he couldn’t explain it. The characters were quite distinct. The distance between the two was slightly larger, and the three horizontal strokes at the back were longer. No matter how he tried to force them together, it seemed impossible.

“A ‘Jing’ character? Who could it be?” The ladies in the opposite flower hall had also heard it. Although they hadn’t seen it directly, they looked at each other with suspicion, wondering which lady’s name contained the character “Jing.” They had also heard the recited poem earlier, and it didn’t sound like something a maid could have composed. The writing was quite impressive, evoking a blush and a racing heart.

This kind of private item couldn’t possibly be carried around by Young Master Yongning when he was outside the mansion. It seemed more like something recently obtained, especially considering it had just fallen to the ground.

Who could it be?

“Duchess, County Lady Jingyu has arrived!” A granny crossed through the guests in the flower hall and approached to inform Duchess Qi.

In an instant, everyone’s eyes lifted up.

The Duchess Qi’s face turned green…