A crown princess who doesn't do infrastructure construction isn't a good doctor.

When the three people in the main hall had finished their conversation, Prince An realized it was time for lunch and began to subtly tell them to hurry up and leave.

"It's getting late. Shouldn't you go back and discuss matters with Master Kong and Headmaster Kong regarding Suiyou?"

To everyone's surprise, Kong An was uncooperative and said, "No rush. The imperial examinations have been postponed to the beginning of next month. With the date fast approaching, Father and Second Brother are busy. Once Suiyou's shops open, this batch of supplies won't be needed. It's fine to discuss it later."

Kong An was the youngest son of the great Confucian scholar Kong Ao. He had two older brothers and two older sisters. His eldest brother, Kong Wen, served as the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, while his second brother, Kong Yan, succeeded as the headmaster of Hongde Academy after their father Kong Ao grew old. Kong Ao then retired to the second line and focused on teaching his students.

Kong An then added, "Besides, I also want to try my sister-in-law's cooking. Are you deliberately trying to get rid of me, Yu Chuan? If so, I can't be too tactless..."

After Kong An finished speaking, he raised his hand to half-cover his eyes, as if he was about to express his distress at being driven away.

Prince An knew his friend's nature well and remained unmoved. However, he then thought of something and changed his mind.

"It's not impossible for you to freeload a meal, but... you have to be mentally prepared and keep your mouth shut."

Then he asked Qin Suiyou, "Have you told him that you're going to the Shi'an Temple for lunch?"

Qin Suiyou understood and said, "I already instructed him to go ahead before I came."

"That's good."

Kong An was momentarily confused by the two's cryptic exchange, wondering why they needed to be prepared and keep quiet about a meal. Could it be that Princess An's cooking was so terrible that Prince An was afraid of losing face if word got out? But judging from her expression, that didn't seem to be the case; her eyes were practically squinting with laughter.

Prince An instructed the head steward to inform Princess An that a guest was staying, and then continued to speak to Qin Suiyou in cryptic language, without mentioning Kong An either. However, Kong An did not understand what the two were talking about at all and could only respond with "hmm," "yes," and "not bad."

Just when Kong An felt he couldn't hold back any longer, Prince An finally said, "Alright, let's go to the inner courtyard and talk while we eat."

Kong An was filled with doubts, feeling that Prince An was acting strangely today. Could it be that he had fallen ill from worrying about his son's injury?

Thinking of this, Kong An felt that he had seen the truth and stopped criticizing Prince An in his heart. He even silently prayed for Beitang Yan a few times.

Prince An was unaware of these inner thoughts, and walked at the head of the group with a smile on his face.

Upon arriving at Shian Courtyard, the group first sat down in the small hall. Qin Suiyou discovered that Beitang Yan was not there, so after Kong An had greeted Princess An and Beitang Xinyue familiarly, he gave Beitang Xinyue a wink.

Beitang Xinyue understood and sat down next to Qin Suiyou.

"Where's your brother?"

Upon hearing this, Beitang Xinyue replied with a troubled expression, "He came here a long time ago, but he couldn't find my sister-in-law, so he kept saying he wanted to look for her. Gao Yu didn't keep an eye on him for a moment, and he went out."

Qin Suiyou frowned and asked, "And now?"

"Gao Yu went to look for her, but couldn't find her. He doesn't know if he can persuade her to come back."

With a sigh, Qin Suiyou called out, "Lu Xi".

Now that he wasn't in the Wutong Courtyard and there was no one to chat with, Lu Xi almost slipped out, but upon hearing Qin Suiyou's voice, he obediently returned.

"what happened?"

Qin Suiyou said, "Go out and look for Beitang Yan. He should be on some road leading to the front yard. Bring him back."

There must be more than one way to get to the front yard in such a large mansion, otherwise we should have encountered it earlier.

Lu Xi naturally agreed to go out for some fresh air.

"Wait, we will definitely complete the mission."

Qin Suiyou added, "Don't play around, he'll be there to dine with us later."

Lu Xi patted his chest and said, "Don't worry."

After saying that, Lu Xi went out through the side door.

After observing Qin Suiyou and Lu Xi's interactions several times, Beitang Xinyue couldn't help but exclaim, "Sister-in-law and Brother Lu Xi have such a good relationship; they don't seem like master and servant at all."

Qin Suiyou smiled faintly and said, "Perhaps it's because I've never regarded him as a servant."

Beitang Xinyue added, "Sister Du Ruo and the others too."

Qin Suiyou took a sip of tea, a faint smile still on his face.

"They are also my friends."

Beitang Xinyue nodded thoughtfully and then glanced at Yun Ying beside her.

"I just can't do that."

Beitang Xinyue felt that, subconsciously, she felt that it was her duty to be served by the maids and servants. It would take her a long time to change to treat Lu Xi and the others the way Qin Suiyou treated them.

Seeing that Kong An was still talking to the Prince of Tong'an and his wife, Qin Suiyou pushed the pastries on the table toward Beitang Xinyue.

"It looks like they want to catch up for a while, so let's eat something first to fill their stomachs."

After saying that, he tasted a piece first, and seeing this, Beitang Xinyue also took a piece and ate it.

“I can be friends with them because I have never had the fixed mindset that I must treat them as servants. But you are different. Beiqian values ​​etiquette and has a clear class system. You have lived in your own identities for so many years, and the habits are already ingrained in your bones. You have not done anything wrong. Besides, you have treated Yunying well. Compared to those who have followed an unkind master, she is very lucky.”

Beitang Xinyue listened quietly to what Qin Suiyou said, and some thoughts began to form in her mind.

Meanwhile, Yunying said to Beitang Xinyue, "Miss, I don't know about other things, but I'm sure of one thing: you are the person who treats me the best, besides my mother. Whether you treat me as a servant or a friend, it's all a blessing from you."

Beitang Xinyue said with a bitter face, "Don't talk about bestowing favors on me, it makes it seem like I'm treating you even worse."

Qin Suiyou smiled and said, "No matter what the relationship is, just treat the other person sincerely. There's no need to bind yourself with a shackle."

"Hmm~ Sister-in-law, what you said makes so much sense!"

Just as Beitang Xinyue finished speaking, a figure suddenly flashed before her eyes.

"young married woman!"

Looking at Beitang Yan who was leaning close to him, Qin Suiyou felt a slight headache.

"Didn't I tell you to stay here with Mother and wait for me? What are you doing out here?"

Beitang Yan said, feeling wronged, "I just wanted to find you."

"Cough cough."

Prince An coughed lightly, interrupting their conversation.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, let's get ready to eat."

As he spoke, he got up and beckoned Kong An to go to the dining hall together.

"This……"

Kong An was so shocked that he couldn't speak. Just moments ago, he had been secretly praying for his friend's son, but now he was standing perfectly fine in front of him.

Prince An patted his friend on the shoulder and said, "Let's eat first. If you have any questions, we can talk about them after we finish eating. If we stay out any longer, the food your sister-in-law made will get cold."

"I……"

Kong An wanted to refute something, but Prince An had already half-carried him to the dining hall, while the others were all seated and waiting for the meal to begin.

Unable to find the words to express himself, Kong An could only suppress his shock and finish the meal without tasting it.