Inside the slightly swaying carriage, two young men sat face to face. They wore identical bright red robes, one with flowers blooming and the other with flowers closed, forming an interesting contrast between stillness and movement. Lian Hao smiled as he pushed the pastries on the table towards the person in front of him, saying: "These pastries are not bad, try some. I heard that Big Sister loves to have people buy pastries from this store." Lian Xi and Lian Gao, who were sitting on the carriage frame, heard Lian Hao's voice inside and exchanged a worried glance before looking away again.

  Jiang Wanru gazed at the pastries in front of her, admiring their delicate appearance. She picked one up and took a small bite, then smiled and nodded, saying "Third Master, it's delicious." Lian Hao chuckled and nodded, saying "Next time I'm on leave, I'll take you to this shop to buy some pastries. You can choose the kind you want to try, and we'll bring them back to enjoy together." Jiang Wanru felt a pang of despair upon hearing Lian Hao's casual mention of their future plans together, and she lowered her eyes to conceal her emotions.

  Lian Hao returned last night and after listening to Jiang Wan's words, he took back the jade pendant she had returned. He casually mentioned that he would take her out to play today. At the time, Lian Hao said to Jiang Wan in a relaxed tone: "Wan, I'm off tomorrow, I'll rush back tonight and tell you, tomorrow I'll take you to a place to have fun. The place is fun, everyone who has been there tells me it's a special place, with many things to play with, all of which are not for girls. This time, a friend gave me a ticket, so we can go in without any trouble, and I also have a few friends going, I'll introduce you when the time comes."

  Jiang Wanmu heard Lian Hua's words and initially thought he was speaking in a probing tone. Since she would be parting ways with him in a few months, why would he suggest going out together now? No matter how she thought about it, it didn't seem right. Jiang Wanmu took a closer look at his serious expression and realized that he was telling the truth, probably having already planned their itinerary for the next day. He had simply come to inform her. After understanding Lian Hua's intentions, Jiang Wanmu thought to herself: should she smash this person's head open? Who would be so foolish as to go out and have fun with a woman they were about to part ways with? This strange person not only wanted to go out together but also introduce his friends to her, which was something only an idiot would do.

  Jiang Wanmu could only softly decline, saying: "Such a good place, I still won't go. Maybe next time I'll have the chance to meet Third Master's friends." She said in a low voice, under Lian Hao's obvious and oppressive gaze: "I'm a woman, and even if I went there, I couldn't let loose and play, and it would also implicate Third Master, who wouldn't be able to relax and have fun. So I can only thank Third Master for his kind intentions." After hearing Jiang Wanmu's words, Lian Hao looked at her with a newfound understanding, sizing her up from head to toe, staring at her extremely carefully. Jiang Wanmu felt somewhat awkward under the intense gaze of such a handsome man.

  After carefully examining Jiang Wan's appearance, he clapped his hands and laughed: "Wan, I've taken a good look at your figure and features, and I have a way to make you have a great time tomorrow. People in the capital all know that I'm acquainted with many different kinds of people, but you're not someone who stands out in the city. Tomorrow, with me by your side, not too many people will pay attention to you. Haha, I'll head back and sleep now, and tomorrow morning I'll have Lian Xi meet you at the entrance of the courtyard. Don't bring anyone with you, haha, it's perfect!" Lian He left in high spirits, leaving behind a bewildered Jiang Wan.

  After Jiang Wanru lay down on the bed, she thought about Lian Hao's words and felt that he was just telling jokes to amuse himself, so she slept well for a night. After waking up in the morning, she treated last night as a dream. In the morning, after having breakfast, she was in a good mood and said to Jiyuan: "Jiyuan, I think the handkerchiefs will definitely sell well. San Ye saw the handkerchiefs last night and only felt that the material was too poor, without disliking the style." She handed over several boxes to Jiyuan and said: "You take them to your brother first, I'll go to East Street for a while. We'll have lunch together at noon, tell Nainai that I want to eat that water heart vegetable we had last time." Jiyuan smiled and nodded, then went to the corner of the room, took out a piece of cloth from the trunk, wrapped up several boxes, and handed them over.

  Jiang Wanru and Ji Yan smiled as they walked out of the courtyard gate, her eyes gazing at a tall and slender servant standing at the entrance. Jiang Wanru's gaze sank slightly, if she had carelessly followed Lian Huiyue out, the people in this Wangfu might not have spared her life. Her life was in danger every day, so she had to be more careful. She looked puzzled as she glanced at the servant, then turned back and continued walking slowly with Ji Yan, chatting idly along the way.

  Lian Xi stared at Jiang Wanru and the maid beside her, passing by him with a look of indifference. Looking at their posture, it was clear that they wouldn't turn back. He had heard Lian Hao's instructions to come pick someone up in the morning and thought it would be an easy task. Since his master was well-received by women, he rarely asked them to accompany him, so the woman should have been overjoyed. As he walked to the gate of the courtyard, before he could even ask someone to announce his arrival, he saw Jiang Wanru and Ji Yan come out together. Suddenly, he felt that Jiang Wanru would see him and proactively smile and greet him, and the rest would naturally follow suit.

  Lian Xi gazed at the two servants walking away in the distance, and quickly stepped forward a few steps to intercept Jiang Wanru. With a smile, he bowed and said: "Madam, Master has asked me to escort you to the study. He is waiting for you there." Jiang Wanru saw the young servant rush up to intercept her, and after hearing his words, she politely returned the bow. Turning to Ji Yan standing beside her, she sighed and said: "Ji Yan, it seems that Third Master has something to discuss with me, so I probably won't be able to go out today. You can go have fun on your own." Ji Yan glanced at Lian Xi, nodded and said: "Miss, do you want me to bring back more fabric for you?"

  Jiang Wanmu glanced at the little servant waiting on the side, smiled and said to Jiyuan: "Okay, help me bring some fabric back and thread of the same color." Jiyuan understood the meaning behind Jiang Wanmu's words, she quickly walked towards the right side. Jiang Wanmu turned around and followed the little servant, heading towards Lianhao's study. The masters' studies in the Wang Mansion were said to be all gathered together, and it was also said that there were superior people guarding them, ordinary people couldn't get close easily. Lian Xi walked ahead, constantly paying attention to the movements behind him, waiting for the woman to ask about Lianhao's affairs like other women did, but the result was that the woman just silently followed along.

  Walking through the bustling flower path, turning over the deep tree-lined trail, walking to a place under the dense foliage, under Lian Xi's leadership, Jiang Wanmu only saw clearly that not far away, under the dense foliage, a dark green courtyard door was hidden. If you don't take a closer look, you would think it's just an oversized tree trunk, and no one would think it's a gate made to resemble tree roots. Lian Xi and Jiang Wanmu's footsteps startled the guard deep inside. A man in a long robe flashed out from the dark under the trees, he saw Lian Xi and immediately quickly flashed back into the depths of the trees, disappearing in an instant.

  The man's sudden and mysterious movements left Jiang Wanmu with a stunned expression, staring in the direction he had gone. Lian Xi knocked gently on the door several times, and after hearing the noise inside, he pushed the courtyard gate open with force. When the gate was slightly ajar, allowing people to pass through, Lian Xi turned back to call out to Jiang Wanmu, only to see her looking at him with an admiring expression, staring at the spot where the man had disappeared into the shadows. Lian Xi glanced at Jiang Wanmu and smiled, saying: "Madam, please." When Jiang Wanmu turned back to face him, she regained her calm composure, making Lian Xi dare not say more.

  Jiang Wanru slipped into the courtyard, and saw that the trees were still densely shaded. She seemed to have a feeling, raised her head carefully, and vaguely saw the corner of the building hidden in the shadows. Jiang Wanru felt that someone was secretly staring at her, so she quickly withdrew her curious gaze, lowered her eyelids, and closely followed behind the servant. The study room of the Wang Mansion had always been off-limits to outsiders. Jiang Wanru's appearance broke this rule, attracting the curious gazes of the guards hiding in the shadows.

  Jiang Wanru followed Xiao Shu to the study, almost getting dizzy from all the turns. When they finally arrived, Lian Hao was already pacing back and forth in front of the building. Seeing Jiang Wanru and Lian Xi approaching, he scolded Lian Xi with an unhappy expression: "Why are you so late?" Lian Xi didn't dare to say it was because of Jiang Wanru's slow pace, so he could only lower his head and admit fault. Jiang Wanru looked at Lian Hao with a nonchalant expression, asking in a low voice: "Third Master, did you call me here for something specific?"

  Lian Hao gave Jiang Wanru a once-over, gesturing for her to follow him into the building. Jiang Wanru trailed behind him, entering the building and then a room. It wasn't until now that she was surprised to discover that despite the dense shade of the trees outside, plenty of sunlight still filtered in through the windows. Jiang Wanru curiously took in the bright room, noting that aside from the bookshelves on three walls, which were packed with stacked books and wide, sturdy desks, it didn't look much different from an ordinary room. She rushed to the large window at the front of the room and stood there, only then realizing that the nearby house was actually farther away than she had imagined.

  Outside the window, there was no big tree as she had imagined. On the empty land, all kinds of flowers were planted. At first glance, the branches seemed tall and grand, but amidst the clusters of flowers, one could see the gardener's careful work. The scene gave people a sense of delight and pleasure. Even with the window closed, the fragrance of the flowers still wafted in. Jiang Wanyu, who was about to stick her face against the window, turned around as Lian Hao took out his clothes and placed them on the desk. Lian Hao gently reminded her, "Wanyu, are you going to stick your face against the window or turn around and listen to what I have to say?"

  Jiang Wan's gaze lingered on Lian Hua, who nodded slightly, and then shifted to the men's clothing on the table. Jiang Wan's eyes fell upon a half-open red robe with large crimson flowers embroidered on it, flaunting itself like its owner. She glanced at the red robe Lian Hua was currently wearing, which had only dark red thread-embroidered flowers, lacking the flamboyance of the flowers on the garment on the table, yet making him appear elegant and refined.

  Jiang Wanmu glanced at Lian Hua, and under his gaze, she had no choice but to step forward. As she approached him, she asked: "Third Master, do you want me to help you change clothes? I've never served anyone before, so I'm a bit worried that I won't do it well." Lian Hua listened to her words and directly picked up the old robe on the table, handing it to her. He said: "This is an old garment I wore several years ago, which you can wear now. Yesterday, I observed you carefully and think you should be more careful in your actions. Wearing men's clothing outside and following me around, don't worry about others seeing through your disguise; you can also feel at ease and have a good time."

  Thank you: General San voted 2 pink votes, Fang Fei Fang Fei voted 1 pink vote, Yao Fei Yu gave a gift of 99 starting points, Xiao Mu 0632 voted 1 pink vote. Thank you to book friends for their support. There are still 50 more pink votes owed, I'll be taking the night train back tonight, not sure if I can update at midnight, so early sleepers don't wait up. (If you like this work, welcome to start (start) voting for recommended votes and monthly votes, your support is my greatest motivation.)

  Bitterly studying books