Cheng Rujin was locked up in the woodshed by the old lady for three days before being released. In the past few days, he has been busy trying to win over Shen Zhao.
Shen Zhao was resentful and never had a good face towards her.
Hearing Cheng Ruijin's words, his expression suddenly softened. "What's the solution?"
Cheng Ruijin whispered, "Every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, my cousin goes to the Huguo Temple to light the eternal lamp for my grandfather. If our Su family goes there this year, then..."
Chen Zhao's expression gradually brightened, and when Cheng Rujin finished the last word, Chen Zhao's frown relaxed.
"What you said is indeed a good idea. By the time the two families have decided on the marriage, it will be too late for her to disagree."
"Then I'll go find my grandmother and tell her that I'll go to Huguo Temple on the 15th to light a long-lasting lamp for my third uncle. I think my grandmother will agree."
Seeing that Shen Zhao accepted her advice, Cheng Rujin took advantage of his happiness and stepped forward to gently pull his arm.
"Brother Chen Zhao, I am willing to share a husband with my cousin. When she comes home, I will respect her and never make her angry."
"Take me up the mountain with you this time. If she still cares about that incident, I'll kneel down and beg for her forgiveness. If that doesn't work, I can practice cultivation directly in the Huguo Temple."
"As long as my cousin can forgive me and agree to marry you, I'm willing to do anything for you."
Cheng Rujin choked up as she spoke these words, a few crystal tears hanging from the corners of her red eyes. But she bit her lower lip tightly, pretending to be strong, and looked at Shen Zhao with burning eyes.
Although Shen Zhao was angry, it wasn't like they had no feelings for each other. He sighed, "Why are you doing this?"
Cheng Rujin's tone softened when he heard his words, as if he had been pardoned, and said in a low voice: "Brother Chen Zhao, as long as you are well, I don't care what happens to you."
Chen Zhao put his arm around Cheng Rujin's shoulders and said, "Don't worry, even if Sister Qingyu marries me, I won't treat you badly."
Cheng Rujin nestled her face in the crook of Shen Zhao's neck, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised.
Since Shen Zhao wanted Su Qingyu so badly, she would help him. If things got out of hand, Su Qingyu would have no choice but to be his concubine.
They were all concubines, so naturally no one was superior to the other. Once he got the girl, it wouldn't take long for Shen Zhao to get tired of her.
Su Qingyu didn't know that Cheng Ruijin had already started setting a trap for her. When she returned to the Marquis' Mansion in a carriage, she found that her father Su Chengye had been released.
Going inside the hanging flower gate, there is a brazier on the bluestone road leading back to the inner courtyard.
Everyone in the Su family surrounded Su Chengye, and auspicious words came out of their mouths as if they were free.
Gu Ruoyun took a brand new broom and symbolically swept Su Chengye twice, saying, "My Lord, Yuan Kai and Yi Hui have done a great service in this matter. These two children have been worried about you."
Aunt Xue said hurriedly, "What merit or no merit? This is what they should do as children."
Gu Ruoyun disagreed and said, "That also depends on the child's filial piety. At that time, the old lady asked the eldest daughter to ask the Shen family for help, but the eldest daughter repeatedly refused."
"I think she just doesn't regard the Marquis as her father and doesn't take it to heart at all."
Su Chengye looked at Su Yuankai and Su Yihui and said with relief: "You two have worked hard, and I know it."
Su Yuankai looked a little flustered, but he pretended to be calm and said, "I can't say it's hard to work for my father."
The old lady also looked at Su Yuankai and his sister with a smile on her face, "These two children have grown up really well and can help share the burden of the family."
"I was worried that Lord Xu would be difficult to talk to, but I didn't expect things to go so smoothly."
"Prepare a generous gift and send it to Lord Xu."
Su Qingyu listened for a while before walking over with a smile.
"Father is back? That's great."
"Grandmother, Father, the Shen family and the Zhao family of the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion have made great efforts in this matter. Shouldn't we send them some gifts to express our gratitude?"
Su Qingyu asked sincerely.
But the question confused everyone.
Madam Su was the first to ask, "Wasn't it the Xu family who helped? Why did they bring up the Shen family again?"
Su Chengye also looked at Su Qingyu, and subconsciously felt that it was more likely that the Xu family would help.
"Didn't you refuse to go to the Shen family to ask for help? Why are you coming out to take credit for yourself?"
Su Qingyu smiled and said, "I originally thought it would be more convenient to find Elder Xu, but when I saw that my eldest brother hadn't entered the Xu family for three consecutive days, I became a little anxious."
"I wanted to ask Madam Shen for help today, but when I arrived, she had already asked the Duke of Wei to intercede for me."
The old lady frowned and looked at Su Yuankai, "You didn't go into the Xu family's house?"
Su Yuankai was already panicking, and he became even more at a loss when Su Qingyu pointed it out in public.
"I...I...I didn't go in, but I saw Young Master Xu Liu. I found him in Nanyi Pavilion."
Nanyiguan is a famous brothel in Beijing, and it's full of male prostitutes.
It is very intriguing that Su Yuankai found Xu Liangping in Nanyi Pavilion.
Su Yihui, who was standing nearby, asked in confusion, "What kind of place is Nanyi Pavilion? Is it a restaurant?"
Su Qingyu tilted her head back and tried to suppress a smile. She really wanted to have a good talk with Su Yihui about what was going on with this Nanyi Pavilion.
But she couldn't speak, let alone explain, and had to pretend to be ignorant.
Su Chengye glared at Su Yuankai angrily, "The sisters are here, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Su Yuankai realized that he had said the wrong thing and could only stand aside timidly without saying anything.
Madam Su looked at Su Yuankai with disappointment. "As the eldest son of the Su family, not only did you fail to handle such a small matter, but you also deceived the family. You really disappoint me."
He glanced at Su Yihui coldly again. Although he didn't say it explicitly, the meaning in his eyes was: What's the use of you if the Xu family doesn't value you so much.
Su Yihui wished she could find a hole in the ground to crawl into. She didn't dare to look the old lady in the eye and could only lower her eyebrows.
"Qingyu, help me in." The old lady said gently. The look she gave Su Qingyu was much kinder than before.
Su Qingyu was already accustomed to the old lady's snobbery. She calmly stepped forward and lifted up the old lady's arm without any smugness on her face.
Because Su Chengye came back, the family had a reunion dinner together at noon.
Two days later, Su Qingyu got on a carriage and left the house to find Lin Wenbai.
"Second cousin, has Boss Zhou been released?"
"He's released, but he's not allowed to open the shop." Lin Wenbai said while counting on an abacus.
Lin Wenbo has been so busy these days that he is dizzy and his face looks much more haggard than before.
"He must know we're plotting against him this time. Keep an eye on the shop and warehouse. If he goes all-out, like setting fire or poisoning us, our whole family will be buried with him."
Lin Wenbo pushed the last abacus bead up, wrote down a number casually, and then looked up.
He stretched his stiff neck and said, "The Zhou family is still a small matter. We just need to be more cautious."
"Something else happened recently that I haven't told you about."