Mistakenly recognized as a cousin, thousands of pampered

Xie Ningqiu sighed softly again, and that sigh carried many unspeakable emotions.

Xie Ningqiu looked at Tao Jiuxi's outstanding appearance, which was indeed very striking. In addition, when they met today, Tao Jiuxi behaved very appropriately, so she was quite satisfied with Tao Jiuxi.

"Yier, mother has no objection to your marriage with Miss Tao. I am very pleased that you can find the one you love." A gentle smile appeared on Xie Ningqiu's face, and her eyes were full of love for her son.

When Tao Jiuxi heard this, the big stone in her heart finally fell to the ground. She really didn't expect that Shen Zhiyi's mother would be so reasonable, and she couldn't help but feel secretly fortunate.

"Thank you, mother." Shen Zhiyi thanked his mother respectfully, his tone full of gratitude.

"Thank you, ma'am." Tao Jiuxi followed closely behind.

"It's tiring from the long journey. Let's go down and rest first. Your aunt has prepared a banquet to welcome you." Xie Ningqiu said with a smile.

"Then please wait a moment, mother. Ah Xi and I will be back soon."

After saying that, Shen Zhiyi took Tao Jiuxi out of Xie Ningqiu's room. Led by a maid, the two came to the room prepared by their aunt Xu.

"The young lady is very composed today. Lord Shen's mother must be very pleased with her."

As Mu'er spoke, she noticed the hot tea already placed on the table. She hurried forward, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to Tao Jiuxi, "Miss, have a drink of tea to calm your nerves."

"Mu'er is right, my mother really likes you." Shen Zhiyi followed the two of them slowly with a faint smile on his face.

"Your room is next door, this is in your mother's yard. You'd better behave yourself and get out quickly." Tao Jiuxi said as he reached out and gently pushed Shen Zhiyi, trying to drive him out the door.

"Okay, okay, I'll be out right away. You should have a good rest first. Your aunt has prepared a welcoming banquet, and I'll pick you up later." Shen Zhiyi knew Tao Jiuxi's worries very well, so he didn't stay any longer and walked out the door obediently.

It was lunchtime in the flower hall of Xie's house.

The aroma of delicious food filled the air in the hall. The tempting smell went straight into people's noses, easily arousing people's strong appetite.

My aunt, Madam Xu, had meticulously prepared this luncheon, with two long tables laden with sumptuous dishes. According to etiquette, men and women sat at separate tables, with the men in the left hall and the women in the right.

Tao Jiuxi was wearing a light blue silk dress and sitting next to Xie Ningqiu with a dignified demeanor.

"Miss Tao, these dishes are all Jiangnan style. I wonder if you can get used to them?"

Tao Jiuxi bowed and politely responded, "Don't worry, Madam. I'm not picky about food."

Xie Ningqiu then introduced: "This is Yi'er's cousin, you can just call her Sister Mei'er."

Tao Jiuxi looked in the direction Xie Ningqiu pointed, and saw the woman in pink who had stood next to Xie Ningqiu before.

When Xie Shumei heard Xie Ningqiu introduce herself, she immediately smiled and picked up a piece of lotus cake and handed it to Tao Jiuxi: "Sister, try this lotus cake. It is the specialty of the chef in the mansion."

"Thank you." Tao Jiuxi responded politely, but couldn't call out "sister".

Xie Ningqiu's eyes were full of smiles: "Mei'er is a thoughtful child, and she always thinks things through carefully."

Xie Shumei lowered her head slightly, a shy blush on her face, and said, "Aunt, you are too kind. My sister has just arrived, so I should naturally take good care of her."

Tao Jiuxi looked at them and felt a little strange. She felt that Xie Ningqiu clearly favored Xie Shumei. There were other girls sitting at the table with Xie Shumei, but Xie Ningqiu only introduced Xie Shumei.

"Miss Tao, let Mei'er take you and Yi'er out for a stroll tomorrow. There will be a temple fair tomorrow."

"Temple fair?" Tao Jiuxi was slightly stunned, and the chopsticks in his hand stopped unconsciously.

Upon hearing this, Xie Shumei immediately said excitedly, "Sister, the temple fair is going to be so lively. The streets will be filled with stalls selling exquisite handicrafts. Those little gadgets are especially delicate, and there are also people selling sugar figurines."

Tao Jiuxi thought to himself that these things were everywhere, but he still agreed: "It sounds interesting."

Xie Ningqiu also nodded in agreement: "You young people, it's nice to go shopping and feel the lively atmosphere."

Tao Jiuxi was not familiar with the crowd, so he just followed their topics and started chatting.

She thought she could go back to her room to rest after lunch, but she didn't expect that everyone was still enthusiastic and insisted on taking her around the mansion to visit.

Tao Jiuxi really couldn't refuse, and Xie Shumei was always by his side.

Afterwards, Xie Ningqiu took Tao Jiuxi to the Xie family's shop to choose brocade.

Tao Jiuxi knew that Shen Zhiyi's mother's actions were a sign of her deep regard for her. Although there was still a sense of unfamiliarity between them, she was still filled with gratitude.

It was not until he had finished his dinner again in the evening that Tao Jiuxi was able to return to the courtyard where he lived in Xie's mansion.

As soon as he returned to the house, Tao Jiuxi collapsed from exhaustion.

"Girl, you walked such a long way today. Can you bear it?" Mu'er said with a distressed look on her face. She squatted beside Tao Jiuxi's legs and gently massaged her legs.

"There's nothing wrong with your body, but your feet are very sore. You've been walking for such a long time, sit down and rest for a while." Tao Jiuxi reached out to pull Mu'er beside his legs.

"Miss, I'm not tired." Mu'er didn't get up. After a while, as if she suddenly remembered something, she said, "Oh, right, I have to go see how the medicine they made for you is doing."

"Go ahead, then. I'll just lie here and rest for a while."

After Mu'er left, Tao Jiuxi leaned lazily on the chaise longue, slowly closed his eyes and took a short nap.

Not long after, she felt another even and strong pressure on her legs.

"Why are you back so soon?" Tao Jiuxi didn't open his eyes, but just murmured softly.

"Are you exhausted today?"

A familiar voice sounded, and Tao Jiuxi realized that the person giving him a massage was Shen Zhiyi.

When he heard it was Shen Zhiyi, Tao Jiuxi didn't even bother to open his eyes and still maintained his original posture.

"I haven't walked this far in a long time. Where did you go this afternoon? I haven't seen you since lunch." Tao Jiuxi asked.

Shen Zhiyi's hands were still gentle as he pressed and said, "After dinner, local officials learned I was here and came to visit. My uncle is doing business here, so I can only accompany him to entertain him. I wanted to go find you, but my mother said she wanted to spend more time with you."

"Well, your mother is very gentle and treats me very well..."

At this moment, a maid's gentle voice came from outside: "Greetings, young lady, the medicine has been boiled. Madam asked us to bring you some clean clothes."

Tao Jiuxi slowly opened his eyes when he heard the sound, and saw a group of maids coming outside the door, so he wanted to get up.

However, just as she moved, Shen Zhiyi gently pressed her shoulders and pushed her back onto the chaise longue, saying softly, "Rest for a while, don't get up."

Then, Shen Zhiyi turned to the maid outside and said, "Send them all in."

Shen Zhiyi's hands never stopped gently massaging Tao Jiuxi's legs.

The maids filed in, and when they saw the Duke massaging the girl's legs, they couldn't help but widen their eyes and show expressions of astonishment on their faces.

They deftly arranged the boiled medicine, steaming hot water, and the clothes and accessories sent by Shen Zhiyi's mother and aunt Xu.

But after putting down the things, the maids' eyes involuntarily fell on Shen Zhiyi and Tao Jiuxi, their eyes full of surprise.

Shen Zhiyi didn't care about their glances at him. His eyes were always focused on Tao Jiuxi's peaceful sleeping face.

Until Mu'er comes back.

"Master Shen, the young lady must drink this medicine while it's hot."

Mu'er happened to run into Shen Zhiyi when she was leaving, so she wasn't surprised to see Shen Zhiyi still there. It was just that she had just arrived and wasn't familiar with the routes around the mansion. She only found out after she found the medicine had been sent back to Tao Jiuxi when she reached the pharmacy.

Tao Jiuxi had been sleeping uneasily to begin with, and when he heard Mu'er coming back, he sat up.

Mu'er immediately brought the medicine over. The temperature was just right. Tao Jiuxi drank it in one gulp and then asked, "Did you go to see if Fu Ya was behaving well on the boat?"

"Jiang Shun has already gone to see it and will stay on the boat today."

Tao Jiuxi heard this and felt relieved. Shen Zhiyi was always more thoughtful than she thought.

"That's good. You should go back and rest early. My aunt said there will be a temple fair tomorrow. If you have nothing to do, come with me."

"Why are you kicking me out now?" Shen Zhiyi said with a look of grievance.

Tao Jiuxi poked his head out the door and looked around. After making sure that there was only Jiang Qu standing with his back to the door and no one else, he gently held Shen Zhiyi's face with both hands and pecked him lightly on the lips.

"I won't chase you away when we get home. Go away! I'll go to sleep after I finish taking the medicine."

Shen Zhiyi enjoyed the kiss so much that the corners of his mouth curled up involuntarily. Then he said with a reluctant tone: "Then I'll go to my mother's place for a while."