Her strength was nothing to He Jiuniang. He Jiuniang continued to laugh and joke, and after getting everyone in the family dressed, they went out together.

Others attend such occasions to build relationships and casually discuss potential in-laws, but the Lu family is different. The old couple wanted to broaden their horizons, the kids were there to eat at the banquet and recoup the gifts they had given, and as for Lu Baichuan and his wife, they were there to investigate Qian Xing's background.

The group at Qingyin Garden has been letting them operate for too long. If this isn't dealt with soon, things will become very difficult to control.

Qian Xing was quite surprised to find the entire Lu family at his wedding banquet.

Does the Lu family really value his second marriage that much?

Why does she seem even happier than him?

"Master Qian, congratulations!"

He Jiuniang congratulated him with a smile, and then introduced him to the children in her family.

Lu Baichuan is the highest-ranking official in the prefectural city, and today he even brought his whole family to attend his wedding banquet. Qian Xing was very proud and enthusiastically led them in, while also flattering Lu Baichuan.

He was overjoyed, thinking that Lu Baichuan's generosity must be because his new wife was a lucky charm for him. She had brought him good luck on the very first day. What would happen in the future?

Qian Xing seemed to already see the day when he would rise to prominence.

"Lord Qian, you're too kind. Today is your big day, so you don't need to worry about us anymore. We'll just look around and talk to some people."

Lu Baichuan also had a smile on his face, and he said a few nice words, which was rare for him.

"Very well, Lord Lu, please make yourself at home. I will go and greet the other guests now."

Qian Xing instructed his servants to take good care of the Lu family before leaving happily.

Both Madam Sun and Old Man Lu were a little flustered and asked, "Is this the Prefect?"

This was the first time they had ever faced these officials directly. Seeing the prefect smiling so obsequiously at their third son, they truly realized how successful their son really was.

Back in my hometown, let alone these high-ranking officials, even a lowly yamen runner was feared. After all, they were just ordinary people and dared not go against the government.

But now, even the prefect respects them so much, which shows how influential the son is.

Old Man Lu and Madam Sun were very proud. Having such a son meant they had done right by their ancestors.

"Yes, there are many officials over there, along with their families. Shall I introduce you to them?"

He Jiuniang glanced to the side, where the people were also watching them. Some were curious, some were shocked, and some wanted to approach and establish a connection, but dared not act for the time being.

He Jiuniang witnessed all aspects of human nature.

"Let's just forget it and sit here. I don't know any of these people, and I wouldn't feel comfortable going there."

As she spoke, Mrs. Sun sat down, surrounded by a group of children, which made her feel quite safe.

He Jiuniang thought for a moment and said, "Would you like to visit the prefect's house? I'll take you there."

Mrs. Sun shook her head again and said softly, "Let's not go. This courtyard is quite small, and there's probably nothing to see..."

Before coming, she was really looking forward to it, but after arriving, she found that the whole courtyard was not as nice as a villa in Xishuiyuan, and the various furnishings were not very good, so Sun Shi was not very interested.

"Pfft, Ms. Sun, you're really hitting the nail on the head! If Lord Qian heard this, I don't know how upset he would be!"

Actually, the Qian family wasn't very small. However, the first official residence that Madam Sun had ever seen was Xishui Garden, which was the most luxurious courtyard in the entire prefecture besides the Prince's Mansion. Having gotten used to Xishui Garden, she naturally didn't find this kind of ordinary courtyard surprising.

Sun ignored her and listened as Lianhua introduced the surrounding guests to her, and even planned to have the children take her to see the opera troupe perform.

Qian Xing put a lot of effort into today's wedding banquet, which is much more upscale than his previous wife's.

Many officials' wives around were whispering about the bride, saying that she was very lucky.

Before long, Old Man Lu and Lu Baichuan were pulled away by a group of officials to drink. Madam Sun and Lianhua were surrounded by the officials' wives, while the other children sat with other children of the same age, eating and talking about interesting things that happened at the academy.

He Jiuniang planned to take action at this time, which was something she had discussed with Lu Baichuan at home beforehand; he just needed to lie back and relax.

Once she was certain that Sun and the others were being protected in secret, He Jiuniang got up and said, "You guys keep playing, I'm going to the outhouse."

Sun glanced at her, and for some reason, she always felt that her third son's wife had something to do, but seeing that her own son didn't seem to be making any moves, she thought she was just overthinking it.

After all, if something really happens, the third brother can't just ignore it, right?

With that thought, Madam Sun felt relieved and listened to the flattery from the officials' wives around her while watching the show.

She was too busy attending a ceremony to think about anything else.

Just as He Jiuniang was about to leave, a servant came to ask what she wanted to do. He Jiuniang only said that it was too stuffy inside and she wanted to come out for some fresh air. The servant didn't say anything, but just quietly followed behind He Jiuniang, ready to obey her orders at any time.

He Jiuniang didn't mind having someone following her; she simply strolled around by herself, asking what kind of flowers were in the mansion or what kind of fish were in the water. The maidservant was very dedicated and could answer almost everything.

"You're really amazing, you know so much!"

He Jiuniang sincerely praised her, genuinely thinking that this little maid was quite good and had a wide range of knowledge.

The young maid was a little embarrassed by her praise and said, "Madam, you flatter me."

He Jiuniang smiled, subconsciously reaching out to fix her hair, then paused for a moment and said to the maid, "Could you check if the butterfly-shaped gold hairpin in my hair is missing?"

The maid looked for a while but couldn't find any butterfly hairpin on her head. She said anxiously, "Could it have fallen off in the crowded place? I'll go look for it for you, Madam. Please wait a moment!"

"Alright, I'll look for it around here myself. That's a hairpin my husband gave me; I can't lose it!"

The little maidservant ran off to find the hairpin.

Watching the little maid run off into the distance, He Jiuniang immediately turned a corner and quickly familiarized herself with the Qian family's courtyard.

When they arrived at the main courtyard, it was all red. He Jiu Niang didn't want to go there and was about to walk around it when she discovered that there were no servants guarding such a large main courtyard.

In this situation, either no one is on duty as ordered by the owner, or they have been neglected and are all outside greeting guests.

But He Jiuniang felt that the Qian family shouldn't be so unreliable.

That means it was done at the master's behest.

Could it be that the new lady has some plans?