Mistakenly recognized as a cousin, thousands of pampered

Soon, someone came to report that Prince Rui invited Shen Zhiyi to go fishing with him.

If someone else had invited him, given Shen Zhiyi's personality, he might not even bother to pay any attention.

However, Prince Rui is different. He is the elder who watched Shen Zhiyi grow up and has always taken good care of Shen Zhiyi.

Because of this, Shen Zhiyi couldn't refuse Prince Rui's invitation.

The place where people go fishing is full of men, so Tao Jiuxi naturally won't go with them.

She returned to the reading stand alone, but immediately noticed the strange atmosphere around her.

There were always people whispering, and although the voices were low, they were like fine needles that pricked her heart and made her feel uncomfortable.

Even the sisters of the Xie family, although they had some minor frictions on weekdays, had never expressed their dissatisfaction so obviously. But at this moment, they all looked at her with displeasure, as if she had committed some unforgivable sin.

Tao Jiuxi of course knew the reason for all this, which was that she had just gone to find Shen Zhiyi regardless of everything.

A trace of regret welled up in her heart, but there was no better solution. After all, reputation was not as important to her as human life.

For now, she could only pretend not to hear and ignore it.

She lowered her head, trying to make her presence as small as possible.

It was not until Tao Qingwan came back that she cheered up a little and went out to play with Tao Qingwan.

"Why did you take so long, sister?"

"It's strange, I was playing the piano with some other girls at the Princess's, and afterwards she kept me to herself to chat."

"Is it because my elder sister is so beautiful and talented, and she's a good pianist, that she wants to propose marriage to you?"

"Stop talking nonsense and teasing me. You've been so honest today. How could you sit there for so long?"

"that……"

Tao Jiuxi simply described what had happened before, but deliberately avoided the details of Shen Zhiyi and her in the greenhouse.

"Have you reconciled with Cousin Shen?" Tao Qingwan asked in surprise.

Tao Jiuxi shook her head. She couldn't explain the situation clearly.

"Jiuxi, this is not a solution. Cousin Shen is the Duke of the State. Even if he wants to indulge you, there will be a limit. And Cousin Xie treats you the same way..."

"He was hurriedly called away. I'll talk to him when I see him later."

As the sky grew darker, the dinner party began.

Today, men and women sat at separate tables. Since this banquet was intended to create opportunities for young men and women, many screens were placed between them to separate them.

Those screens are embroidered with exquisite designs, and the delicate stitches outline lifelike landscapes. Although you can vaguely see the other side through the screens, it also adds a hazy beauty.

As for the male guests, they were chatting and laughing, and the atmosphere was warm.

The female guests were on the other side, also chatting and laughing.

The Tao sisters sat together with the female members of the Xie family.

When Xie Yuhua heard today that Tao Jiuxi went to see Duke Shen, she was filled with jealousy and dissatisfaction, and she mocked Tao Jiuxi during the meal.

Because Tao Jiuxi was staying at Xie's house recently, she had been playing the roles of "Tao Songsong" and "Tao Renren". Also, because her aunt had told them to live in harmony with each other before going out, she did not lose her temper, but just silently endured Xie Yuhua's verbal attacks.

Tao Jiuxi was sitting far away from the upper seats, and she couldn't see Shen Zhiyi at all because of the screen.

Tao Qingwan was invited by the eldest princess to compete in piano playing with several other noble ladies.

Tao Qingwan's fingering was skillful, and her piano music was melodious and plaintive, and she finally won the first place.

The eldest princess personally gave her a gorgeous hairpin made of pure gold. The hairpin sparkled under the light, making people envious.

Even after the banquet ended, Tao Jiuxi still hadn't seen Shen Zhiyi, and felt somewhat disappointed.

When they parted, he said that he would look for her later, but he never came.

It was as if he had left her in Xie's house for so long and they had never seen each other.

Tao Jiuxi even suspected that Shen Zhiyi's actions in the greenhouse today were just a whim.

If it weren’t for the polo match today, I probably wouldn’t have seen him.

She looked around before slowly getting on the carriage back home. As the carriage went farther and farther away, Shen Zhiyi, who was hidden in the darkness, slowly walked out.

"Master, are you really not going to see your cousin?" Jiang Shun asked cautiously.

"It's not the time yet." Shen Zhiyi said thoughtfully.

In today's situation, Tao Jiuxi's attitude is still unclear. Even if she is asked to move out of Xie's house today and the two of them are together all day, Tao Jiuxi will not stay by his side willingly.

It would be better to let her go and see. The road outside is really difficult to navigate. Perhaps after experiencing some twists and turns, she will be able to truly understand her feelings.

The carriage swayed along the way, and after a while, Tao Jiuxi fell asleep leaning on Tao Qingwan.

However, the carriage suddenly stopped, breaking the tranquility.

"Cousin, the young master wants to see you." The driver's voice came.

"Is there something wrong, Brother Jinghuan?" Tao Qingwan asked as she lifted the curtain.

Xie Jinghuan stood beside the carriage, looking somewhat anxious. "Sister Wan'er, can I exchange carriages with you? Sister Xi'er and I have something to discuss."

Tao Qingwan looked at Xie Jinghuan with an embarrassed look on her face, "Jiuxi fell asleep right then."

"Please be flexible, sister." Xie Jinghuan's attitude was somewhat firm.

Tao Qingwan looked back and saw that Tao Jiuxi had already woken up.

Tao Jiuxi nodded slightly to show his agreement.

"In that case, I'll have to trouble Brother Jinghe to take care of Xier." Tao Qingwan said helplessly, then got up and got off the carriage and exchanged carriages with Xie Jinghe.

After Xie Jinghuan got in the car, Tao Jiuxi rubbed his eyes, a trace of fatigue on his face, and asked, "Brother Jinghuan, if you have something to say, just tell me directly."

"I heard that you cried today. What's the matter?" Xie Jinghuan hesitated for a moment, and finally asked.

It was only at today's banquet that he heard that a woman came to Duke Shen crying and threw herself into his arms.

At that moment, his heart seemed to be tightly gripped by something, and an indescribable uneasiness spread in his heart.