The Rui’an King Residence sent invitation not only to Su Rong, Duanhua, and Fen Ling, but also to Princess Qingping.
So, on the day the Emperor dismissed Official Liu, Princess Qingping, as if nothing had happened, led the other three to the feast at the Rui’an King Residence.
On the carriage, Su Rong thanked Princess Qingping, "Thank you for your support, Your Highness."
Princess Qingping waved her hand, "No need to thank me, I didn’t just intervene for your sake, but also to echo my imperial brother’s intention to checkmate Yan Li. Meanwhile, it’s also a reminder to certain fools not to offend me casually because of my brother’s favor."
Regardless, Su Rong sincerely thanked her again, "I still have to thank you, Your Highness. Regardless of your motives, I am the beneficiary after all."
Ultimately, after all this happened, the court and the people got to know that she was really well-protected by Princess Qingping. This was good news. Those who wanted to touch her, like the Crown Prince and the second Prince, would have to think twice.
Also, she had just arrived in the capital and used Princess Qingping’s intervention to downplay the Crown Prince. It was a signal to the Crown Prince that she was useful to him and it wasn’t in vain to let her eat and drink in his residence.
Princess Qingping smiled, "If you put it that way, I should be thanking you, for since you came to the capital and lived in the Princess Residence, Huahua and I have been very happy every day."
What she didn’t mention was that, because of Su Rong, the long-standing rift between her and her son-in-law Zhou Gu was more or less healed. As for Duanhua, she was no longer desperately obsessed with Zhou Gu, and had moved on from her stuck situation. That was no longer a headache for Princess Qingping. This young lady was a real blessing.
Su Rong also smiled, feeling guilty. She admitted that she moved into the Princess Residence for two reasons: first, for the food, and second, to take advantage of the Princess Residence to enter the high society of the capital city to help the Crown Prince. If this also made them happy every day, she had not expected that. It seemed that she and Feng Ling were not freeloaders after all.
The carriage arrived at the Rui’an King Residence. Xie Lin was at the door to greet guests.
The banquet at the Rui’an King Residence today differed from the one hosted by the Crown Princess’s wife, where her sole purpose was Su Rong, inviting only Duanhua, Su Rong, the second Prince’s wife, and at most Fen Ling. In contrast, the wife of Rui’an King sent invitations to all her close friends, their daughters also invited their close friends, and Xie Lin also invited his close friends.
So, the Rui’an King Residence was bustling today.
Princess Qingping dismounted the carriage, followed by Duanhua and Su Rong. Xie Lin hurried forward to salute, "Princess, County Mistress, Lady Su Qi."
Princess Qingping smiled at Xie Lin, "Young Master Xie looks more remarkable than ever."
Xie Lin was a bit embarrassed, "Your Highness flatters me. Let’s go inside. My mother is accompanying Senior Princess Sheng An right now, otherwise she would have come out to meet you personally."
Princess Qingping stopped, almost turning around to leave. She had been afraid of her elder sister Senior Princess Sheng An since she was a child. A while ago, when Zhou Gu had to come to the palace to confess, she got scolded by her severely in the palace and was annoyed for days, feeling heaviness in her heart. Although she just recovered from it and didn’t want to see her, she had already reached the entrance, so it wouldn’t fit to turn around and leave, would it?
Duanhua, who understood her mother best, was also afraid of Senior Princess Sheng An. She tugged at Qingping’s robe and whispered, "Mother, grapes."
Princess Qingping immediately remembered. Yes, she had just eaten the grapes that Senior Princess Sheng An sent to the Princess Residence. She took a deep breath and dignifiedly stepped through the gate of the Rui’an King Residence.
Duanhua took Su Rong by the hand and asked Xie Lin, "Apart from Senior Princess Sheng An, who else from the Duke Residence is here?"
Xie Lin was quite formal, "Except for those who are not home, everyone else is here."
Duanhua understood. In other words, the Duchess, Zhou Gu, the unmarried Fifth Daughter, and the ladies from the other households were all there. She turned around and looked at Su Rong.
Su Rong kept her calm and introduced to Xie Lin, "This is my brother, Fen Ling."
Fen Ling stepped forward and saluted, "Young Master Xie."
When Xie Lin was in Jiangning County, Fen Ling was hiding in the shadows. He had seen Xie Lin, but Xie Lin had not seen him.
Xie Lin returned the gesture and reached out to pat Fen Ling’s shoulder. He raised his thumb and, lowering his voice, said, "Brother Feng, you are impressive. In the kitchen of the Crown Prince Residence, you learned how to cook Buddha Jumps Over the Wall from the master chef and had Ning Ze tied up and smoke from the cooking for half a day. This act has spread all over the capital, and everyone wants to meet you."
Fen Ling was a bit embarrassed and then reassured him, "Young Master Xie, don’t worry. I’m not planning to explore the kitchen of the Rui’an King Residence today."
Xie Lin burst into laughter.
While he personally accompanied them into the residence, chatting and laughing, he watched Su Rong out of the corner of his eye. He found that after she canceled her engagement with Zhou Gu, there was not a hint of gloom on her face. She was holding Duanhua’s hand, chatting and laughing. And Duanhua also seemed to have changed. She wore a sunny smile on her face, not the same gloomy look she used to have at banquets as if she was heading for Zhou Gu.
He could not help but be taken aback, thinking to himself that this Lady Su Qi, contrary to her gentle and weak appearance, was not a simple character. The matter of calling off the engagement was probably complicated as well. He wondered if Zhou Gu would see through it while he was emotionally entangled or completely clueless.
Su Rong asked with a smile, "Is my elder brother here?"
Xie Lin replied, "He’s coming; he should be there with Mrs. Shen and her family members."
Su Rong nodded.
They entered the reception room to find many people already there. The eldest princess of Sheng An and the Duke’s wife were both seated while the other ladies and young ladies were either sitting or standing. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
Queen Rui’an was a beauty. Upon seeing Princess Qingping and her entourage, she laughed and rose, "Qingping, long time no see. How come you look this good? Have you been using a new rouge powder?"
Princess Qingping nodded, "My husband, while idle, made me some flower powder, a newly formulated rouge."
Queen Rui’an was surprised and immediately laughed, "No wonder."
It has been said that Princess Qingping and her husband have been happily married lately, and it seems true seeing how he even made some rouge himself. This would have been unthinkable in the past.
The ladies present felt somewhat surprised. Among them were people who had privately mocked Princess Qingping in the past. They were secretly thinking that this was indeed a case of an impossible flower blooming on a dead tree.
Queen Rui’an then turned her gaze on Su Rong and paused for a moment before returning to her usual demeanor. "This must be Lady Su Qi," she said.
Su Rong bowed politely, "Greetings, Your Highness."
Queen Rui’an, smiling, took her hand and scrutinised her carefully. "After returning to the capital, Xie Lin told me about the time he first arrived in Jiangning County and met you on the street. You were the one who invited him over for dinner. Mr. Su and Mrs. Su were so hospitable that they allowed him to stay at the residence from that day on. The members of the Su Family took good care of him during his time in Jiangning County. When I heard that you were coming to the capital, I wanted to invite you over as a guest, but due to the exams, it was delayed till today."
Su Rong smiled slightly, "Your Highness is too kind."
The Queen took off her bracelet and placed it on Su Rong’s hand. "This is a meeting gift," she added, "It’s rude to refuse a gift from an elder. Accept it. You’re just like family here. Feel free to make yourself at home; don’t feel constrained."
Lowering her head, Su Rong gazed at the bracelet on her wrist. It was translucent and made of high-quality jade. It was probably worth a fortune and was thus a generous gift. Through this gift, the Queen was both expressing gratitude for Xie Lin’s well-being in Jiangning County and showing goodwill from Rui’an’s residence to her. After thinking it through, Su Rong decided not to refuse but to accept it and expressed her gratitude, "Thank you, Your Highness."
Seeing that Su Rong was neither servile nor arrogant, Queen Rui’an thought to herself that it was no wonder she had caused quite a stir for the Crown Princess. She was indeed someone who could handle matters well.
After meeting the Queen, Su Rong naturally proceeded to pay respects to the Princess of Sheng An and the Duke’s wife.
Princess Sheng An laughed and held Su Rong’s hand, looking at her affably. "You, child, why so formal? Come, sit beside me."
Su Rong then took a seat beside the Princess Sheng An.
The Princess Sheng An asked, smiling, "Have you eaten the grapes that I sent over to the Princess Residence? Did you find them tasty?"
Gazing at all the faces turned towards her, some surprised, some confused, some curious, and others deep in thought, all watching how she would interact with those at the Duke Residence after the withdrawal of the betrothal, Su Rong did not gaze at others but simply smiled and answered Princess Sheng An, "Yes, they were delicious."
The Princess Sheng An replied with a smile: "They were grown on the grapevines in the garden of your brother Zhou. He would not let anyone pick them, specially reserving them for you."
Su Rong had a slight pause but quickly smiled, "Thank Brother Zhou for me."
Princess Sheng An patted her hand, "He is here today, you can thank him later yourself."
Su Rong replied, "Sure."
After a brief conversation, without hiding anything from outsiders, all the ladies present were rather surprised. They had not expected Su Rong’s relationship with Zhou Gu after their broken engagement to not only be peaceful, but seemingly quite good. This was indeed unusual.
In the past, whenever an engagement was broken in the capital, it was quite rare for the two parties to maintain a friendly relationship. It would not be an exaggeration to say that hostility was more often the case. This peaceful relationship between the Su Family of Jiangzhou and Duke Residence was indeed a rare occurrence.
Princess Sheng An held Su Rong’s hand, introducing her to the wives from Duke Residence’s other households, and then specially introduced the fifth young lady, "This is Yunyun, she’s around one and a half years older than you, just call her Sister Yun. She’s a good-natured girl. You two are now like sisters, make sure to keep in touch often."
Su Rong smiled and nodded, looking at the handsome girl in front of her. "Hello, Sister Yun."
Zhou Yun was also curious about Su Rong and was very puzzled about her breaking off the engagement. She had privately asked her mother, Third Lady about it, but all she had been told was that her mother wasn’t clear about the specifics and advised her not to delve into it. Laughing, Zhou Yun took Su Rong’s hand, "Hello, Little Sister Rong."
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