My wife wants a divorce; if she ruins my life, I'll leave.

The visitor was Gu Qiongfang, Meng Ruohua's close friend, who was married to Wang Lingjiu, the eldest son of the Wang family.

Meng Ruohua joked with a smile, "I'm not as free as you!"

"Hmph, you think you're so honest!" Gu Qiongfang said angrily, "What can they do to you? The Song family has everything they could want, what are you afraid of!"

They were friends with Li Furong for many years. They were all lively, active, and disobedient. As children, they had climbed trees, picked flowers, ridden horses, and waded through water. What hadn't they done? Yet, they ended up with so many rules and regulations for marriage!

Especially Meng Ruohua, who married into the already declining Song family, whose husband was only a minor official of the eighth rank, not very capable and had many rules, and always restricted her from going out.

Meng Ruohua held her hand and comforted her, "Don't be afraid, I'll definitely come if you invite me in the future!"

"It's a deal, if you don't come, I'm definitely coming to your door!"

Gu Qiongfang's father was the Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review, and her husband's family, the Wang family, was a prestigious and wealthy family that had been established for a hundred years. If she were to go to the Song family with such a status, no one in the Song family would dare to stop her!

As the hostess, Li Furong was busy taking care of the guests. She finally managed to spare a moment and hurriedly pulled the two of them to an empty pavilion to have a private chat.

Before they could even exchange a few words, they found themselves being eavesdropped on.

"Brother Yan, I thought you weren't coming!" Her voice was clear and melodious, and you could feel the girl's shyness even without looking at her.

"Hmm." The male voice was clear and concise, and after answering, he seemed about to leave.

The girl chased after him a few steps, her tone somewhat hurried, "My mother is also holding a banquet in a few days, Brother Yan, why don't you go too!"

"Miss, be careful what you say." The male voice heard someone behind the rockery and, not wanting to tarnish her reputation by revealing the girl's name, mumbled something and strode away.

The girl seemed to be used to Brother Yan's indifference and wasn't angry. She just stood there and snorted, "If you don't come, I'll have my brother go and invite you!"

Li Furong and Gu Qiongfang exchanged glances; from those two sentences, they had already guessed who the girl was.

Meng Ruohua rarely went out after getting married, so she didn't notice.

Fearing the embarrassment of being caught, the three of them tacitly kept quiet and waited for others to leave before speaking.

Unexpectedly, the person involved actually showed up on their own initiative.

A man dressed in black emerged from behind the artificial hill. He wore a black brocade robe with a cross-collar and gold trim, which was clean, neat, and exuded nobility.

The man had already heard voices behind the mountain and had a guess in his mind, which is why he dared to come out.

The three people in the pavilion looked at each other in dismay. Not only were they being passively eavesdropped on, but they had also been discovered by the person involved!

The man listened intently until the girl had gone far away, then strolled towards the pavilion.

"Mrs. Zhuang, you seem to have a really easy life as the head of the household," the man said.

Li Furong tiptoed to look, and only after seeing that the little girl had already gone far away did she reply with relief, "You, Young Master Yu, are so free that you still have time to attend the banquet!"

The man's name was Yu Yan. He was the son of the young master of Yangcheng and the heir of the Marquis of Yong'an. He practiced martial arts from a young age. When he was about ten years old, he went out to cultivate and travel with his master. A year ago, he returned to the capital and started as a commander in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He solved many cases and rose all the way to the position of commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was an organization feared by everyone, but Yu Yan often visited various aristocratic families when he was young and had many friendships with young talents in the capital. Therefore, these aristocratic families also wanted to get closer to Yu Yan through their friendships with the younger generation.

This gathering, ostensibly for chrysanthemum appreciation, was actually a matchmaking event. Madam Zhuang had scouted through all the unmarried young men and women in the capital and found that Yu Yan was the oldest. Therefore, she personally sent an invitation to Princess Yangcheng, inviting her to come and appreciate the chrysanthemums.

Princess Yangcheng had a strained relationship with her husband, Yu Yan, and did not want to force him to marry a woman he did not like. However, she was anxious about her son's unmarried status, so she persuaded Yu Yan to attend the banquet, hoping that he could meet someone he liked.

Yu Yan gazed at the beautiful figure in the pavilion and unconsciously stopped in his tracks.

Is she there too?

That's true, she and Li Furong are best friends, so Li Furong will definitely invite her to her banquet!

I only met her briefly at the bookstore last time, and she seemed much more gloomy.

His dark pupils held an unfathomable depth, and a glint of light flashed across them, making them hard to decipher. She had grown taller and thinner, and her face had lost some of its luster.

I still remember her standing under the tree, her bright eyes sparkling as she asked in a clear voice, "Brother Yu, can you teach me how to climb a tree?"

He stared at it quietly for a moment, then quickly came to his senses.

Li Furong and her companions had known Yu Yan since childhood, and even though they hadn't seen each other for many years, they weren't intimidated by his identity as a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. "Who are you looking at? Don't you recognize anyone in the pavilion?"

Yu Yan stood five meters away from the pavilion, a gentle smile playing on his lips. His gaze swept over Meng Ruohua's figure as he said, "It's just been a long time since we last met."

He usually kept a cold face, not wanting anyone to see his emotions, but today, his expression softened unconsciously.

"Now that you're in the capital, we'll be seeing each other more often, and I'm afraid you'll have a lot of important people to deal with."

Gu Qiongfang thought of something and interjected, "There are many young ladies and girls here today, so it's a good opportunity to have Old Madam Zhuang act as matchmaker. After you get married, you'll naturally see even more!"

Once married, the rules become more relaxed, and young couples can travel together. The families can discuss it and find a resort for a few days.

Yu Yan's gaze once again involuntarily drifted towards Meng Ruohua. He saw her listening to their conversation quietly and gracefully. A sense of annoyance rose in his heart. Was she going to pretend she didn't know her?

He couldn't explain his feelings, only a pang of sadness. "Yes, I'll go and ask Madam Zhuang to act as my matchmaker."

Li Furong spat and said, "Pah, how shameless! Who asks someone to act as a matchmaker?"

Meng Ruohua and Gu Qiongfang also laughed. They never expected that Yu Yan, who was known for his cold demeanor, would tell a joke.

“Who was that just now? We can all go and tell them for you.” Since getting married, and with the Marquis of Wu’an’s mansion not keeping her strictly under control, Li Furong has become increasingly bold.

Gu Qiongfang quickly pushed her away, saying, "You're talking nonsense again. If you want to ask a question, you shouldn't ask it here."

People come and go here; there's always someone hiding in some corner.

As for who it was just now, they could guess about 70-80% of it.

Yu Yan glanced at Meng Ruohua, who was cautiously looking around as if to see if anyone else was listening.

The gentle morning light casts its glow on the clean stone slabs, creating a shimmering, star-like effect.

She stood gracefully among the crowd, dressed in a light blue dress with silver thread. The vermilion pillars of the pavilion reflected her figure in the warm autumn sunlight, and her smile was as beautiful as a flower.

The people in the pavilion suddenly stopped and all looked at him.

Yu Yan composed himself, his gaze sweeping over her smiling face. "Let's go, you guys have fun."

He strode forward, and anyone who knew him would notice that he was in a lighthearted mood.

"That's strange, Yu Yan is actually joking with us." Gu Qiongfang said, watching his back.

Li Furong took a sip of hot tea and said nonchalantly, "We've known each other since we were little, what's wrong with joking around a bit?"

She felt that her two friends were heavily controlled by their in-laws, and they would even nag about it when they spoke to others. She turned to Ruohua and asked, "Ruohua, why aren't you saying anything? Don't you recognize him?"