Chapter 23: The Hongmen Banquet? Or her trick?

Su Rui endured the pain of the sprain and limped back to the courtyard.

Before she even entered the door, she saw Xier standing in the yard. Her eyes, as expressionless as glass beads, just looked at her, without any intention of helping her.

It was only a few steps away, and Su Rui was too lazy to give her instructions. She simply moved in on her own, "Did the Marquis' Mansion ask you to come?"

Xier nodded: "Tomorrow there will be a birthday banquet for the old lady, and the Marquis's wife invites you back to the mansion."

Su Rui sat down by the well, scooping up the refreshing water with a small spoon to poke her sore feet to relieve the swelling. After a moment of thought, she asked, "How's the investigation into the maid going?"

"Nothing was found. The pulse of the maid who died of illness was correct. The maids in the Internal Affairs Office were replaced three times in five years. They were all released normally and it was difficult to track them down after leaving the city."

That means nothing was found.

But Su Rui was neither surprised nor disappointed, as she had never expected to find out anything.

Given the Liang family's usually cautious and meticulous methods, it would be a problem if they could find out.

But Liang would not do anything in vain.

This banquet is a trap, there is no way they won't give her bait.

"Aren't there any subtle clues? Think about it carefully."

Xi'er thought carefully again, shook her head, and suddenly stopped and said, "Luo'e said a few days ago that a new maid from the Internal Affairs Office always looked around every time she came to the courtyard to deliver something."

"Bring her to Chaoyang Courtyard when we get back." Su Rui propped up her injured leg again and limped out, saying, "Go get the car ready first. I'll go say goodbye to Mr. Yunji."

By the time Su Rui reached Feiyun Pavilion, he was already sweating profusely due to the heat and pain.

When the secret guards saw her coming, several pairs of eyes quickly locked onto her.

Su Rui wisely stopped moving forward and looked up at the top-floor window that wasn't completely shut. She shouted, "Mr. Yunji, there's a banquet tomorrow for my grandmother's birthday, and it's also a welcome party for my daughter. I think it's like a Hongmen Feast. Please be kind and help my daughter tomorrow."

There was no response.

"Even if it's a reward, okay?"

There was still no response, as if there was no one on the top floor at all.

Of course, Su Rui was not sure whether Yun Ji was there or whether he would agree.

It's just a matter of trying, just in case it works.

Now that she had finished playing twice, she turned around and left without staying any longer, but her swaying, thin back looked really pitiful under the scorching sun.

Even though Yun Ji wanted to avoid her, looking at her staggering steps that refused to slow down for a moment, he couldn't help but wonder whether it was an accident on the mountain road.

The Hongmen Banquet?

Su Ye treats Su Rui badly. Is the entire Su family the same?

Even though he was in a quiet Buddhist place, he occasionally heard the ladies from noble families who came to burn incense talk about the virtuous name of the wife of the Marquis of Yong'an, and how she treated the two children left by the late wife better than her own children.

Or, is this another trick of hers?

Whatever it is, it has nothing to do with him.

The carriage returned to the city, and when Su Rui arrived at the Marquis' Mansion it was just dinner time.

The family sat around a large round table in the side hall. Zhou Yao hugged her grandmother's arm with both hands, sticking to her and acting coquettishly. The others were talking and laughing, and they were having a great time.

Until Su Rui walked in, the atmosphere came to an abrupt end, as if an outsider had destroyed the peace.

Zhou Yao immediately stood up in horror, looking pitiful as if she had done something wrong, afraid that Su Rui would scold her.

Su Ye's face darkened, but because Madam Liang was not around, he could not speak directly, so he just stared at Su Rui with a warning.

"Your grandmother has been feeling unwell these past few days, so Yao'er has been giving her a massage. Now it's time for dinner, so she pulled her over to sit next to her. She didn't expect you to come back at this time, so I'll ask someone to prepare the dishes."

As Liang was about to stand up and start talking, she saw that everyone was praising her and surrounding her.

"No need, I'm not hungry." Su Rui directly rejected Liang's pretense. "It's just that Xi'er said my new clothes haven't been delivered yet. Tomorrow is my grandmother's birthday party, so I came to ask."

"I forgot." Liang suddenly remembered and hurriedly asked someone to go get it. "Rui'er, make some food first, I'll bring it back in a while."

"As long as my aunt remembers it, I'll have someone send it to Chaoyang Courtyard." Su Rui refused again, bowed to her grandmother and left.

Before anyone left the house, Su Ye slammed the chopsticks in his hand onto the bowl. Liang quickly held him down and shook her head silently.

"Mom, she's in such a bad condition now, and you still want to protect her!" Su Ye didn't understand.

"She has suffered so much, it's inevitable that she has some resentment in her heart, but she has to be patient and obedient."

Liang was compromising, and Zhou Yao was sensible enough to sit back next to the old lady and serve her dishes and soup obediently.

Comparing the two, the old lady said in a deep voice, "This Rui girl has never been as well-behaved as Yao girl since she was a child, and now she is even more erratic. If you try to arrange it for her, I'm afraid it may not work out tomorrow. It's better to let Yao girl go too. It's not good for outsiders to think that all the girls in my mansion are like that."

After hearing the old lady's words, Zhou Yao couldn't contain her joy. She felt that it was worth it for her to serve the old lady these days.

Madam Liang was embarrassed. "This... is not good. Besides, Yao'er hasn't prepared any new clothes."

"Why not? As for the new dress, we still have some fabric left. We can ask the tailor to make a simple one tonight."

"Yes, my wife understands."

…

It was not until midnight that the servant brought Su Rui new clothes before she went to bed.

It is a skirt made of crescent-white chiffon, with a skirt made of floating cloud brocade, a collar embroidered with silver thread and flowers, and a shawl with the same color of floating cloud patterns.

The whole set was made with great care, and it should have taken the tailor and the embroiderer ten days to finish it. If it needed to be changed, it would be too late.

There is nothing wrong with this skirt, but it is not suitable for Su Rui.

It doesn't show her figure, and her looks aren't suitable for such a playful look. She only wore it like this when she was deliberately trying to cover herself up.

Now Liang is doing it according to her original preferences, and she has no fault to complain about.

"Miss, I know someone who came out of the Sizhenfang and now has a shop in Beijing. I can ask her to change it." Luo E saw through it and suggested in a low voice.

"It's too much trouble, and I don't want to let my aunt down." Su Rui waved her hand. Liang Shi would not give her the chance to alter her clothes. "Where's the maid from the inner office?"

"Xi'er, please keep an eye on her. I've already dealt with the Internal Affairs Office. They won't come looking for her."

Su Rui nodded in understanding, yawning as she walked towards the bed, "Hang up the new clothes and use the incense in the copper burner to fumigate them."

The fragrance lingered all night long, and Su Rui slept soundly.

The next morning, the Yong'an Marquis' Mansion became busy. After all, it was considered an old-established lord in the capital. Even though it was affected by Su Rui's situation, there were still many people who wanted to curry favor with him.

Of course, there are also those whom the Marquisate wants to make friends with, such as Princess Pingjun and Shen He.

As another protagonist today, Su Rui naturally had to accompany her grandmother to meet the guests.

Wearing clothes that didn't suit her, she wasn't so conspicuous, and people who came to pay their respects didn't pay much attention to her.

Even Chen He suspected that he had seen it wrong that day. Su Rui was not as beautiful and attractive as she was that day. It was a pity that he often dreamed of her graceful figure in the past few days, so she came today.

The result is like this, which is really disappointing.

As the guests in the room were exchanging pleasantries, a servant ran in with a look of fear on his face, shouting, "Madam! Madam! Princess Chang--Princess Changning is here!"