Su Qinghe's eyes flickered as she glanced at Luo Pinzheng's seat.
I saw her as soon as she arrived. I thought she was here to curry favor with these people today, but I didn't expect she had other intentions.
Su Qinghe patted Qin Anmin on the shoulder gratefully.
"Thank you, Sister Qin. Please take a look first."
Qin Anmin nodded and returned to his seat.
Su Qinghe didn't want to linger, so she led the men to their seats.
She sat in the middle, with the people holding children closest to her, while Ji Qingyu and Qin Ange were some distance away.
Looking at the dozens of tables temporarily set up in the open space, Su Qinghe glanced at them and saw that they were all occupied by families.
Just now, she was surrounded by them downstairs, and each of them introduced themselves, so it was hard for Su Qinghe not to know them.
Regardless of where they were on duty, whether they were civil or military officials, or heads of households, almost half of the people from Tianhe County, big and small, came today.
Fortunately, Qin Anmin, the top military officer of Tianhe County, was there; otherwise, Su Qinghe would have been somewhat restrained in the face of such a powerful group of people.
"Cough cough!"
After making sure everyone was in sight, Su Qinghe cleared her throat and began to exchange pleasantries.
"Today is the 100-day celebration for my children. Thank you all for coming... Please enjoy the food and drinks..."
After she finished speaking, the people below responded one after another, their gazes towards Su Qinghe particularly fervent.
Su Qinghe didn't want to waste time arguing with them, so she quickly got to the point.
Drawing lots is an activity that is held in every family when a child is 100 days old.
Su Qinghe glanced at Zhang Fu beside her, and Zhang Fu, understanding, clapped his hands.
Before long, several servants from the mansion carried in a round table. They worked quickly and soon spread a soft blanket on it.
The things Su Qinghe had prepared in advance were all neatly arranged on it.
Pens, ink, paper, inkstones, abacuses, books, swords, and so on—a dazzling array of items.
Once everything was ready, Su Qinghe personally carried Su Wang from Lin Xi's arms and placed him on the round table.
"Little Wang'er, you go first."
Su Wang was placed in the center of the table by Su Qinghe. She is now almost four months pregnant and can sit up steadily.
"Ah...haha..."
Looking around at the things, the little guy grinned and babbled for a while, turning his head halfway around before finally fixing his gaze on the abacus on the left.
She reached out to try and grab it, but lost her balance and fell sideways onto the table.
"Mmm, uh..."
Su Qinghe didn't help her up; the blanket was thick, and she wouldn't get hurt at all.
The little guy struggled for a moment, waving his limbs and moving slowly with his little body swaying. Before long, he had the abacus in his arms.
"That's really impressive. So young and already thinking about helping his mother manage the family business. Patriarch Su is truly blessed!"
When Su Wang's lottery results came out, the people on the ground immediately began to sing his praises.
Su Qinghe exchanged a few polite words, handed Su Wang to Lin Xi, and then brought Su Le over in her arms.
Still in the same pose, Su Le giggled and, without even looking around, reached straight for the sword sheath in front of her.
After Su Le made her choice, it was Ling Cheng and Su Wangyou's turn. Su Qinghe immediately picked them both up, as the siblings were wearing matching clothes today.
No one had noticed before, but now everyone showed expressions of astonishment.
The two babies look exactly alike!
"Patriarch Su, were these all born to that young master?"
Everyone showed incredulous expressions, and one of them pointed at Ling Feng, as they had all just seen Su Qinghe take the child from his arms.
"Exactly, but it was just luck."
Su Qinghe nodded in agreement without any hesitation.
"Twins were born in one pregnancy, and these two babies not only look alike, but they also look the same size. It's amazing that such a thing can happen in the world..."
Su Qinghe acknowledged that the crowd below immediately became lively, marveling at the miracle before them. Some more thoughtful individuals attributed it to Su Qinghe's extraordinary pregnancy, and their desire to befriend her intensified.
Luo Pinzheng's gaze darkened, his eyes fixed intently on the faces of the two infants on the table, as if trying to bore a hole through them.
Meanwhile, her husband, Madam Guo, stared at Su Qinghe and scrutinized her.
He remembered her; she was the person who accompanied that important figure from Kyoto at Lingyan Temple that day. He never imagined that so many people would want to curry favor with her now.
Guo's mind raced, and she turned to ask Luo Zi'an, "Zi'an, what do you think of Patriarch Su?"
Luo Zian's heart tightened; he understood his father's words perfectly.
Luo Zian glanced quickly at Su Qinghe, whose face was handsome, and felt extremely regretful.
She had thought Su Qinghe was just an ordinary person with some money, but now even her own mother had to speak to her politely.
He scanned the field again and saw many familiar faces. The young masters of various families had also been brought out today, and many of them had some connection with him.
Judging from this situation, it's clear that each family still intends to marry off their son.
Seeing that he hadn't given a reply for a long time, Guo became a little anxious and gently nudged him.
"Say something if you have any ideas! I need to talk to your mother. So many young masters have come today, it would be even more of a loss if we're late!"
Luo Zian bit his lip, and despite his reluctance, he nodded.
Seeing that he had agreed, Guo was overjoyed. She quickly tugged at Luo Pinzheng's sleeve, leaned close to his ear, and told him her plans.
"No way." Luo Pin glared at him and refused without hesitation.
Guo looked anxious, and Luo Zi'an looked puzzled.
"Why? Although the Su family is in business, everyone in Tianhe County wants to curry favor with them. If our son marries into that family, there will only be benefits and no drawbacks,"
Luo Pinzheng's expression was serious as he grabbed his sleeve.
“I said no, and that’s final. There’s no reason why. I’ve already made up my mind about Zi’an’s marriage. It’s better than the Su family’s. He won’t suffer in the future, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
Guo was taken aback by what she heard, but she still insisted on her own idea.
“There are plenty of families in Tianhe County more powerful than the Su family, but I’ve already inquired and found that the eligible women are either already married or of questionable character. Where are there any suitable ones left?”
"If you marry Zi'an off to those纨绔 (playboys), even if he is a proper husband, wouldn't you be harming him?"
"If I were to marry a man who has already married his principal wife and become a concubine, I might as well marry Su Qinghe, whom everyone is currently fawning over! In any case, I'd be a concubine anyway, but Su Qinghe's position as a concubine would be much more respectable!"
Hearing his father repeatedly say that he should be a concubine, Luo Zian clenched his fists in resentment. He was the legitimate son of the county magistrate, and now he was supposed to be a concubine to a merchant.
If his father's analysis hadn't been so reasonable and the facts hadn't been so true, he would never have agreed.
Guo was still trying to persuade him, but Luo Pinzheng was already a little angry and directly scolded him to shut up.
Seeing that she was angry, Guo was frightened and did not dare to really disobey her wife. She could only hold Luo Zi'an's hand and gently comfort him.
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