In a moment of impulse, I forcibly kissed my brother's best friend.

Her heart was filled with panic and embarrassment, yet a secret sweetness welled up deep within. How could she have gotten drunk? If she were sober, she could have looked at him properly and spoken to him.

But then he thought again, if she hadn't been drunk, he probably wouldn't have even gotten close to her.

The sweetness in my heart was mixed with a subtle bitterness.

She lowered her eyes, her fingers unconsciously tracing the cool outline of the jade pendant under her pillow.

"Miss, are you getting up?" Bichun's voice brought her back to reality. "The eldest son and young mistress are already waiting for you in the dining hall for breakfast."

"Get up, I'm getting up now." Xie Yige threw back the covers. "Don't keep my brother and sister-in-law waiting."

Bichun, with her skillful hands, styled her hair into a single bun. The bun was tied on one side of her head, simple and elegant, and because of her round and full oval face, it added a touch of softness and cuteness. Paired with a pink cherry blossom embroidered silk dress, the hem of which was embroidered with cherry blossom patterns of the same color, it flowed like water with every movement.

The person in the mirror had exquisite features and snow-white skin. Because of the lingering hangover, there was still a hint of languid blush at the corners of her eyes, which only added to her delicate charm.

Bichun was very satisfied with her skills: "Miss looks so beautiful."

Xie Yige looked at herself in the mirror and gently touched her lips with her finger—there still seemed to be a strange swelling there. Was it just her imagination?

She shook her head, suppressing those chaotic thoughts.

When she arrived at the dining hall, Zhou Xuan'an and Xie Wanrou were already seated at the table. Their eyes lit up when they saw her enter.

"Our Yige is getting more and more beautiful." Xie Wanrou stepped forward, took her hand affectionately, and helped her sit down.

"She seems to have grown a little taller recently?" Zhou Xuan'an said with a meticulous eye examination.

"Yes, our Yige has grown up. Who knows which lucky man she'll marry in the future?" Xie Wanrou teased with a smile.

Zhou Xuan'an suddenly recalled Zhang Zhiyi's eyes, which were glued to his sister, and Li Zhige's seemingly unintentional but actually frequent glances that day. Alarm bells rang in his heart. No, he had to keep an eye on his sister for his parents; those wolves in the capital were all eyeing him with greedy intent.

"My brother and sister-in-law teamed up to bully me first thing this morning. Sister-in-law, you're my best friend, you have to be on my side." Xie Yige was very unhappy about her brother stealing her best friend.

Xie Wanrou smiled slightly and served Xie Yige a bowl of hot porridge.

"Yige, your brother has some good news to tell you." Zhou Xuan'an picked up a sesame seed cake, his tone filled with barely concealed excitement.

"Good news?" Xie Yige took the bowl of porridge, looked up at him, and said, "What good news could you possibly have? Zhou Xuan'an, you haven't gotten into trouble again, have you?"

"Hey! You little rascal!" Zhou Xuan'an glared at her. "Why don't you trust your brother at all? It's a really good thing—I'm going to study at the Imperial Academy!"

He put down his chopsticks, his face still showing a hint of disbelief, as if he were in a dream: "So, before we went to the capital, Mother had already made arrangements for me. The Imperial Academy... I never even dared to dream of it before."

Imperial College (Guozijian)

Xie Yige paused slightly in her grip on the spoon. Recalling what she had seen and heard at Wangjiang Tower yesterday, she was no longer surprised by her mother's actions. Her mother probably had more secrets than she had imagined.

Her gaze shifted slightly, and she asked casually, "Now that you're at the Imperial Academy, won't you be able to attend classes with your classmates again? I remember that Young Master Cui... was also studying at the Imperial Academy, wasn't he?"

"Yes!" Zhou Xuan'an slapped his thigh. "Brother Yutang is at the Imperial Academy! Come to think of it, I haven't seen him since I came to the capital. I should ask him to meet up and catch up."

Xie Yige lowered her eyes, gently stirring the porridge in her bowl with a spoon, her voice soft and natural: "Brother, I heard Zhiwei say yesterday that the food and wine at Wangjiang Tower in the capital are quite good, with fine wine, delicious food, and a beautiful view. If you're making plans, why don't you book there?"

Bichun stood behind her, her eyes slightly widened.

I heard? Didn't Miss go there just last night? She got completely drunk and had to be brought back by Young Master Cui...

She stole a glance at her young mistress's seemingly calm profile and suddenly felt as if she had discovered something extraordinary. But she dared not say a word.

"Wangjiang Tower?" Zhou Xuan'an thought for a moment and nodded. "That's fine. I've heard that the literati and scholars of the capital love to gather there. Let's book Wangjiang Tower then. I'll send an invitation to Brother Yutang later."

He smiled at his sister and said, "Thanks for the recommendation, dear sister."

Xie Yige smiled, pursed her lips, and lowered her head to drink her porridge, but her ears turned red.

Beneath the pinkish-cherry-colored cuffs, fingers gently caressed the mutton-fat jade pendant hidden on her wrist. The cool jade pressed against her skin, yet it warmed a secret anticipation within her.

After breakfast, the brother and sister were discussing how to send an invitation to Cui Yutang when the steward came in carrying three gold-leaf invitations.

"My two young mistresses, young lady," the butler presented the invitations, "sent from the General of the State's Mansion."

Xie Yige took it, opened it, and saw that it was an invitation to the old lady Li Changgong's sixtieth birthday. It was on bright red paper with gold flecks, the handwriting was vigorous, and it was signed Li Zhige.

"Three days later..." Zhou Xuan'an leaned closer to look, his brows furrowing slightly. "Time is a bit tight, and it might be difficult to find a birthday gift."

The General's Mansion certainly has no shortage of ordinary gold, silver, and jade artifacts. But if the gift is too insignificant, it would be impolite.

"Brother and sister-in-law," Xie Yige said softly, putting down the invitation, "Yesterday, Zhiwei mentioned that the Old Madam had served in the army on a northern expedition in her youth, and was a female general who was no less capable than any man. Perhaps we could consider making our birthday gift in that direction?"

"That makes sense!" Zhou Xuan'an's eyes lit up. "We've seen plenty of ordinary jewels in the General's Mansion. If we can find something meaningful that is related to the Old Madam's life, it will show that we've put in the effort."

Xie Wanrou nodded, "But things like this are probably hard to find..."

Before the words were finished, the steward rushed in again, his expression somewhat strange: "My lords, the young general of the Zhenguo General's Mansion has come to visit in person. He... he brought several boxes with him."

The three of them were taken aback, and quickly got up to go out and greet them.

The general's carriage was parked outside the gate. Li Zhige, dressed in a dark blue casual suit with a long sword at his waist, was directing his servants to unload boxes from the carriage. Upon seeing them come out, he immediately stepped forward and clasped his hands in a salute.

"Brother Zhou, Madam Xie, Mrs. Zhou," he said solemnly, his ears slightly red, "I should have come to express my gratitude sooner, but I was thinking of preparing some appropriate gifts, so I was delayed for a few days. My father and I are extremely grateful to you all for saving my grandmother and my sister that day."

"Brother Li, you flatter me." Zhou Xuan'an quickly returned the greeting. "It is only right to lend a helping hand when one sees someone in danger on the road. Please come in."

The group returned to the main hall and took their seats, where servants served them hot tea.

"We just received an invitation from your esteemed household," Zhou Xuan'an said, taking the initiative to speak. "I wonder how the Old Madam's health is recovering?"

"Thank you for your concern, Brother Zhou. Grandmother is much better now." Li Zhige said, turning his gaze to Xie Yige, his tone becoming more serious. "Grandmother said that it was thanks to Madam Xie's timely and proper bandaging that the wound healed so well."

Xie Yige lowered her eyes slightly: "These are some basic methods taught by my mother. I hope they can be of some help."