Xu Hui was quite knowledgeable and knew that although such decorations were not ostentatious, some accessories could only be used by noble families and high-ranking officials of the second rank or above.
Was Chen Qian looking at this carriage?
Chen Qian quickly looked away, a smile appearing on his lips. "It's nothing, I just vaguely saw someone I knew, maybe I was mistaken."
"She must be an absolute beauty to make you remember her." Xu Hui smiled gently, her eyes sparkling, as if they held little hooks, which made Chen Qian glance at her a few more times.
Chen Qian chuckled softly, his hand lightly lifting Xu Hui's chin and gently stroking it.
"Could it be that Hui Niang is jealous? I have such a beautiful woman right next to me, who else would I want to look at?"
Xu Hui blushed shyly, flirting and dodging with a mixture of desire and reluctance.
The carriage curtain, which had been lifted, was not lowered.
Just as Chen Qian was about to say a few more words, he noticed that someone had come out of Huichuntang.
His gaze was drawn to it again.
A slender and graceful woman emerged, leading two children. Although she wore a veil, obscuring her face, Chen Qian recognized her at a glance as An Ran. The simple yet elegant red-gold pearl hairpin adorning her hair was none other than a piece from the Treasure Pavilion.
It was one of the pieces of jewelry that the Marquis of Pingyuan and his wife bought that day.
Chen Qian immediately sat up straight and looked outside.
She was escorted not only by the guards of the Marquis of Pingyuan's residence, but also by a strange man. This man had thick eyebrows and large eyes, and was tall and upright, looking quite handsome. However, he was dressed in the most ordinary cloth clothes, the dark blue fabric of which had been washed and faded somewhat, but it was still neat and presentable.
How could An Ran know such a person? To his surprise, An Ran's attitude towards him was still very polite.
He seems to be just a poor man, while An Ran is at least a concubine's daughter of a marquis, and now she is the wife of the Marquis of Pingyuan. Why would she need to lower herself like this?
He didn't care whether Xu Hui beside him would suspect his abnormality; he just frowned and stared at An Ran.
Little did Xu Hui know that she was even more surprised at this moment.
This was the carriage of the Marquis of Pingyuan's residence. She was quite certain of it, because she had seen the leading guard at Zheng Xing's house before. Thinking that Zheng Xing still had some use to her, she personally made a purse and sent it to him.
She happened to meet Zheng Xing's colleague in front of Zheng's house and was teased about it, being told that she was Zheng Xing's fiancée.
Although she was very displeased, Xu Hui didn't embarrass Zheng Xing; she just blushed and refused to speak. Zheng Xing was overjoyed to see that Xu Hui, who had always been adamant about not marrying him, was showing signs of softening.
She remembered clearly that the person leading the group was Feng Yi, whom she had met before.
He was a guard in the Pingyuan Marquis's residence, so the person who spoke must be the Pingyuan Marquis's wife.
No wonder she felt this person was somewhat familiar; she had already seen him once before in front of the Treasure Pavilion. Although the Lady of Pingyuan Marquis was still wearing a veil and had changed her clothes today, her figure still looked familiar.
In recent days, Xu Hui had also inquired about some news regarding the Lady of Pingyuan Marquis. Although what she had heard was only some rumors circulating in the market, the ninth daughter of the Nan'an Marquis's mansion was first rumored to be disgraceful, and then the current emperor bestowed upon her marriage to the Marquis of Pingyuan. It was only said that the Marquis of Pingyuan had personally sought the marriage. It was widely rumored that the ninth daughter of the Nan'an Marquis was one of the most beautiful women in the capital.
Rumors in the capital say that Marquis Pingyuan dotes on his wife, and that's true. She can go out whenever she wants, and Marquis Pingyuan has even prepared several highly skilled guards for her.
Zheng Xing once said that Feng Yi's martial arts skills were superior to his own, but since the Marquis had been kind to Feng Yi, Feng Yi simply became the Marquis's personal guard.
Is this person really An Ran?
Xu Hui had been preoccupied with this matter, wanting only to confirm her own thoughts. However, she couldn't think of a good solution for the time being.
Chen Qian's behavior today was also unusual.
He stopped abruptly the moment he saw the carriage from the Pingyuan Marquis's residence. He had been casually joking with her, but when the Pingyuan Marquis's wife appeared, Chen Qian's eyes widened in disbelief. Xu Hui had a bold guess forming in her mind.
Could it be that Chen Qian has feelings for the Lady of Pingyuan?
Xu Hui rationally found it absurd, but her intuition compelled her to think about it. It wasn't surprising that Chen Qian was attracted to a married woman, but this person looked remarkably like An Ran!
If Lady Pingyuan is truly Anran—
Could it be that the entanglement between the three of them from their previous life will still happen? She was reborn and found Chen Qian ahead of time, and Chen Qian had also fallen in love with An Ran long before that?
Rationally, Xu Hui told herself that An Ran was from a poor family, how could she possibly have any connection with the Marquis of Nan'an's mansion...
While she was still lost in her thoughts, the carriage from the Pingyuan Marquis's residence had already left.
Chen Qian, however, did not look away.
Although the man didn't show any particular expression on his face and quickly returned to Huichuntang, Chen Qian felt that his last look seemed a little strange.
How interesting! Judging from the way Marquis Pingyuan protects An Jiu so tightly and shows her such doting affection, it doesn't seem fake. Does he know that his wife is out meeting other men? And this man seems to have some ulterior motives towards his wife.
Chen Qian thought to himself with a dark glint in his eyes.
"Let's go." Chen Qian instructed the driver. He thought about how he had neglected Xu Hui for a while and wanted to coax her, but he saw that Xu Hui looked dazed and her eyes were blank.
"Hui Niang, what's wrong?" Chen Qian asked in surprise. "Are you feeling unwell?"
Little did he know that while Xu Hui was trying her best to appear calm, her heart was already churning with turmoil.
The man who had just spoken to Lady Pingyuan was half-hidden by the carriage, and she hadn't seen him clearly because he was looking down. She was almost taken aback when the carriage from the Pingyuan Marquis's residence left.
Although she couldn't see it very clearly, Xu Hui was almost certain that this person was probably the young master of the Xu family!
He was only dressed in dark blue cloth, looking rather shabby compared to Xu Zhou, the future young master of the Xu family, who was dressed in understated yet luxurious clothes and had an extraordinary demeanor. He also lacked some of the noble composure in his demeanor. However, Xu Hui thought that he looked exactly like Xu Zhou.
Xu Hui almost wanted to rush down and find out what was going on.
Huichun Hall.
Xu Hui remembered this place and decided to come back another day to investigate. After all, Xu Zhou was a bit too far away for her, and she wasn't very confident about him, while Chen Qian was someone she could hold onto tightly.