Zi Qing and his group entered the city just before the gate was closed, although it had already turned dark, they could still see that the streets were wide and tidy, with grand houses on both sides, which was naturally incomparable to a small town like Anzhou.

  Lingzi was delighted to find that there was still a night market, with vendors shouting out their food for sale. The steaming hot wonton stalls, noodle stalls, roasted lamb skewers, and sweet rice ball sellers all caught her attention. Many people were standing on the street eating. Lingzi tugged on Lin Kangping's hand, looking up at him with pleading eyes. Lin Kangping leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "Alright, let's fill up my little Qing first, then she'll have energy to keep me company tonight. These past few days at my grandfather's house were no fun at all - with so many people around, you couldn't relax. I've already made a deal with you, tonight is not the time for shyness."

  Ziying's face turned red after listening, and she pinched Lin Kangping's waist hard. Lin Kangping hugged Ziying tightly and kissed her fiercely before pulling her out of the car. On the way, Ziying wanted to try everything she saw, but although the food was good, she didn't eat much, leaving most of it for Lin Kangping. However, she still got full because there were too many dishes.

  Back home, the sky was already completely dark. At the entrance, there were two men constantly looking around. Lin Kangping said it was Wang Cai and Wang Xi waiting for them. Zi Qing knew they had been following Lin Kangping for several years, so their feelings were not ordinary. Each of them gave a delicate purse with one or two silver coins.

  The next day, when Ziyin woke up, Lin Kangping was no longer on the bed. Ziyin stretched her waist and found that her whole body still ached. For so many days, Ziyin finally had a good bath last night, but was tossed about by Lin Kangping for half the night, and slept sweetly until now. Without adults to manage them, it's great to sleep naturally and do whatever they want. Ziyin felt more and more that Lin Kangping was good.

  Ziying changed into a silver-red velvet jacket with a fox fur collar, after all, having arrived in the capital, she couldn't continue to dress like a country bumpkin. After dressing up and walking out of the house, it was already past noon. Ziying thought that this aspect of the north was better than the south, every day since coming out had been sunny. Unlike the winters in the south, which were always overcast and rainy, without any desire to go out.

  Ziying glanced at the courtyard that Lin Kangping had bought two years ago. There were five main rooms, with Ziying's family living in the east wing and a study in the west wing. Both wings had side houses, with people living in the east one and what was probably a kitchen in the west one. In the courtyard, there were two trees that somewhat resembled crabapple trees, but Ziying wasn't entirely sure - she was relatively weak on such matters.

  Lin Kangping and Wang Cai were settling accounts in the study, while Zi Qing found a woman of thirty or forty years old busy in the kitchen. Lin An said she was a Mrs. Liu from a nearby village who had been hired to cook and do laundry for the Wang family during the day and return home at night.

  Lin Kongping saw Zi Qing come out and asked, "Did you sleep well? Are you hungry? Why don't you wait for me for a while, after I finish the things at hand, I'll take you out. Today is the Lantern Festival, isn't it? I'll accompany you to have a good stroll." After that, he also instructed Liu Pozi to prepare lunch.

  When Lin Kangping finished and came out, the dishes were also ready. After eating, Lin Kangping found a large red fox fur cloak for Zi Qing to wear and took her out to stroll around the temple fair. The temple fair was on the commercial street near Longyou Temple, which was said to be where high-ranking officials and nobles lived. Merchants gathered in large numbers.

  As expected, sitting in the carriage, they saw a sea of people at the temple fair from afar. Along the way, all the young women were dressed up and none of them wore headscarves. Lin Kangping told Zi Qing that during the temple fair period, they were allowed to go out. Because they were usually confined at home and couldn't move around, every year during the temple fair period, these young women would dress up and come out to get some fresh air.

  "Also, there's another saying about the Lantern Festival that it can ward off one hundred illnesses, so on this evening, regardless of whether you're male or female, old or young, everyone will come out to stroll around the streets. It just so happens that we can also take a walk during the lantern festival. Tonight, I'll take you there and you'll see, there are even more people."

  At the temple fair, there are things to eat, play with, wear and use, as well as antiques, calligraphy and paintings, flowers, birds, fish and insects. Lin Kangping said that the prices of goods are cheaper than those in ordinary shops, and if you have a good eye for things, you can also find some great bargains.

  Ziying excitedly ran around, looking at this and that, and bought some pen holders, pen washers and other things to bring back home as gifts. She also bought a lot of cheap fabrics, exquisite jewelry, and flower hairpins, including a big red chrysanthemum for the elderly, which looked just like the real thing. Anyway, with many people at home, it's easy to come up with an excuse to go shopping, and she definitely wanted to buy enough to make it worthwhile. Women are naturally interested in shopping, and Ziying was not under any financial pressure, so her purse was full, and she could buy things to bring back as gifts, what a joy!

  Seeing that there were legendary novels for sale, Ziqing also picked up a few copies. To be honest, having been in this world for ten years now, Ziqing had never read any of these kinds of novels before. Mainly because Chen Rui Xiang and Madam Shen's teachings were quite strict, and also because Zifu would occasionally keep an eye on her, fearing that she would become corrupted. Now that she was going to get married soon, it wasn't a bad idea to indulge in some reading.

  Before long, Zi Qing saw Lin An's hands full of things, and Lin Kangping instructed him to send the carriage back first and then come over. Anyway, Zi Qing really had a shopping spree, never spending money so happily before, it was simply indescribably cool. No wonder women in their previous lives would rather be mistresses than find some rich and handsome guy, Zi Qing took a look at Lin Kangping beside her, heh heh, she easily picked up an exceptional person, and his character wasn't ordinary either.

  Seeing others playing ring toss, Zi Qing also played for half a day, winning a jade bangle and a small vase. She was so engrossed in the game that her forehead was covered in sweat. Lin Kangping took off her cloak and handed her a handkerchief to wipe away her perspiration. Zi Qing gazed deeply at the man before her, who had devoted his heart to her, and smiled sweetly.

  Two people did not know that in a room on the floor less than twenty meters away from them, a man dressed as a noble was staring at them intently by the window, his heart full of bitterness and acid. He probably never thought that the country girl who claimed to be a wild child would transform into the woman in front of him, with a spirit that rivaled those of the so-called ladies of the capital city. What's more important is that they were deeply in love, their hearts beating as one. How could he have obtained her? Looking at the tender affection in the eyes of the two people, Wen San's heart was pained like a thorn, thinking that such an ethereal woman had originally been within his reach.

  "Wen San, what are you looking at? You're so absorbed. You've been staring blankly." Another young nobleman sitting next to the table lazily asked. After finishing speaking, he also stood up and walked to the window, just in time to see Zi Qing take a string of fish balls and taste one herself, then with a smile on her face, feed Lin Kangping, who was holding her coat, wanting to put it on her. Zi Qing shook her head, pouted, and Lin Kangping reached out to pinch her cheek.

  "Marvelous, marvelous, what a wonderful person! Beautiful eyes, elegant and refined, like a startled swan. Unfortunately, Luo Fu has already been married off. Which family in the capital is this talented young lady from? How come I've never seen her before? What a pity that I missed my chance." The noble young master lamented, stamping his foot.

  "Oh, and there's also the young master who caught your eye, but I don't know her. Second brother, let's take a look too." Another younger public son in his late teens said to the twenty-year-old public son at the table who was cold and hadn't spoken much.

  However, the second brother listened lazily and didn't move, with a completely uninterested expression. The younger master had no choice but to get up himself. By this time, Zi Qing had already turned around, so the young master only saw her back, "Looking at her back, she's really a gentle and elegant lady. Her clothes are very unusual, I've never seen such a style before, it completely shows off her slender waist. Tsk tsk, she's really daring to wear this. In this capital city, probably only she would do so. Don't even mention it, this little waist of hers, just looking at it makes me want to hug her."

  "Go, how old are you? Your mind is not small, a whole house of concubines and maidservants is not enough for you to hold? You see someone's back view and you're already moved, if you saw her face, you'd probably take her home by force. I'm telling you, she's truly a beauty, a wonderful person." Luo Da Gongzi said.

  "Hey, is there a woman who caught your eye? You, Luo Daguizi, are also famous in the capital as a notorious playboy, claiming to have had relationships with women from 5 or 6 years old to 50 or 60 years old. What kind of beauty haven't you seen before, that's worth your boasting?" The young boy asked with a smirk.

  "Beautiful women are a dime a dozen, but somehow I always feel like something's missing. Ah yes, authenticity! Don't you think the beautiful women around us are all so artificial? Even when they smile, it's just a superficial smile, who knows what they're really thinking about? Where can you find someone with such genuine, vibrant expressions on their face? There's an idiom that comes to mind - '顾盼生辉' ( radiant with joy). That fleeting smile is even more dazzling than the sun! Ah, heavens, I've actually found my one and only heartthrob in this lifetime. No wonder those bookworms need someone to inspire them. If I had her by my side, I'd have been a high-ranking scholar long ago, maybe even a champion!" Lord Dagu declared with feigned rapture.

  "Alright, stop pretending. You've said that you're heart moved for the first time in your life over a hundred times already. Every time you see a pretty woman, you go up to her and use all sorts of complimentary phrases like 'ice and snow clever', 'flower-like beauty', 'overturning cities and states', 'a treasure among people', 'pear blossoms with rain', 'I see and I pity'. And just now you said 'dazzling brilliance'. There are too many, I've lost count. You still have the nerve to say it's the only time your heart has moved? You're really not ashamed at all. It's a wonder that you're two or three years older than me, yet you seem like someone who hasn't seen the world before." The young boy disdainfully mocked Luo Da Gongzi for a few sentences and kicked out with one foot, but was dodged by the other party.

  "This time it's really different, I swear, more precious than pearls. Don't believe me? Ask Wen San, isn't that right, Wen San? Otherwise, Wen San wouldn't be staring blankly either." Lord Luo asked.

  Wen San felt very displeased, as if the treasure hidden in his heart was being coveted by someone. However, he couldn't afford to offend anyone present, so he lost interest in eating, drinking and having fun, and made an excuse to leave. He wandered around the temple fair, but unfortunately didn't see the person he had been thinking about again. Wen San also didn't want to return early to face that dull face, and thought that Zi Qing would definitely go to watch the lanterns at night, so he might as well wait until dark to try his luck. With this in mind, he found a place to rest and wait for nightfall before making plans.