Because it was winter, before the banquet started, the women went to a courtyard in the backyard of the Su residence. There was an attic here and two plum trees in the courtyard. Those who were afraid of the cold sat in the attic and drank tea, while many lively ladies and daughters gathered in the courtyard to admire the plum blossoms and chat.

After Xiao Yunrou and Zhuang arrived, they went to the attic. Because of Xiao Yunrou's identity, as soon as she entered, a sharp-eyed lady called her over to chat.

Zhuang sat next to Xiao Yunrou. Madam Xue, who was sitting next to her, glanced at Zhuang and said in surprise, "Mrs. Xiao San painted plum blossom makeup today? This makeup is very popular in Beijing this year, and Lin'er also likes it. But with her lively personality, it can't be painted so beautifully, and she kept pestering me for it all day long."

Zhuang blushed at the compliment and said quickly, "Mrs. Xue, please stop complimenting me. My sister-in-law said that I look good in this makeup. This is my first time trying it."

Madam Xue smiled and said, "That's right. The Crown Prince's wife has always had excellent taste."

The ladies beside him all agreed, and Xiao Yunrou just joked:

"Mrs. Xue praised me highly when she came today. The other ladies are jealous. Look at Mrs. Li. She almost eats me alive."

Madam Li glared at Xiao Yunrou and pretended to be angry and said, "Madam, your mouth is getting sharper and sharper. I can't argue with you."

This made everyone at the table laugh, and Mrs. Li started telling another funny story.

"Have you heard? The grandson of Zhongge's hometown is going to get married?"

Xiao Yunrou was startled when she heard this, and almost spilled the tea in the cup in her hand.

"Hmm? Marry a wife? Which girl to marry? Why haven't I heard about it?"

As the mistress of the Prime Minister's Mansion, Madam Xue was well-informed about the gossips in the capital's inner chambers, but she had never heard of this matter and was very surprised.

"I also heard it from my brother-in-law. He also works in the Imperial Guards and is a colleague of Commander Zhong. He said that the girl is from northern Shaanxi. He made his concubine pregnant without having a wife, and caused a big uproar in the city. Which girl from a good family in the capital would want to marry him? I wonder if the family that he is going to marry knows about this."

Shaanxi! Xiao Yunrou immediately thought of Zhong Hao's wife in her previous life, the daughter of the Shaanxi General. This life has changed a lot, but can't it change their marriage with the Shaanxi General to consolidate military power?

"Maybe they really don't know. Even if they get engaged now, after they get married and have the child, it's not impossible for them to put the mother and child on a farm and keep them secret from the family. Humph, the Zhong family is really dishonest in this matter. By the way, Madam, I seem to remember that the concubine seems to be from the Changning Marquis's Mansion?"

Madam Xue said disdainfully. Xiao Yunrou concealed the dark emotions in her eyes and said calmly:

"She was a member of the family since my grandfather's generation. She is not a daughter of the Marquis of Changning."

Madam Xue nodded. She had no good impression of Shen Qingqing because she had caused her beloved daughter to be slandered in public. Moreover, she did not know the rules, so she hated her even more now.

After a while, everyone heard the sound of firecrackers, which crackled for a long time. Only then did Xiao Yunrou feel better.

"I guess the sedan chair has arrived. Let's go and watch the ceremony."

At the gate of the Su Mansion, the bridesmaid helped Meng Tian get off the sedan chair, stepped over the tiles, stepped over the fire basin, and entered the mansion. The ceremonial officer spoke auspicious words one after another.

When Xiao Yunrou and the others arrived at the main hall, a newlywed couple walked in. Su Qingmo usually had a blank expression on his face, and his clothes were either black or white. Today, he wore a red wedding dress, which made him look handsome, and diluted the coldness around him.

After the ceremony, the newlyweds entered the bridal chamber, and Xiao Yunrou, as a relative of the host family, naturally followed. In the bridal chamber, she watched Su Qingmo lift the veil, the two drank the wedding wine, and then she saw Meng Tian eat a bite of raw dumplings, and said "raw" with a red face.

Xiao Yunrou recalled how lively it was when she married Pei Lingfeng, and a smile appeared on her face unconsciously. Pei Lingfeng, the groom's brother-in-law, was also in the bridal chamber. When he saw Xiao Yunrou, his face also showed tenderness, and he came over and gently squeezed Xiao Yunrou's palm.

The two smiled at each other. After Su Qingmo took his relatives and friends to the front hall to entertain the guests, only the three sisters of the Xiao family and Zhuang were left in the room.

"Sister Tian looks so beautiful today." In front of someone familiar, Xiao Yi was no longer as calm as usual. "Oh no, now I should call you cousin."

Meng Tian's face turned red due to the teasing. Xiao Yunrou looked at Meng Tian and said with a smile, "Hey, I want to shrink into you."

"Third sister, if you laugh again, I'm afraid your cousin's wife will kick you out."

Xiao Yi quickly covered her mouth and hid behind Xiao Yunya. Xiao Yunya was not going to let it go, so she pulled her out and said with a smile:

"Cousin, I'll bring my third sister to you. You can beat her or punish her as you wish."

"Okay, you guys are just making fun of me. Sister Rou is getting married and I can't control her anymore. Wait until you two get married and see how I'll deal with you."

Meng Tian was so angry at the teasing that he said something harsh, which made everyone in the room laugh.

"This bridal tiara is too heavy. Take it off quickly." Zhuang spoke only after seeing the others had finished making fun of her, with a big smile on her face.

Xiao Yunrou asked the maid to go to the kitchen to bring some food, and they chatted for a while before going to the banquet.

The banquet was very pleasant, because Mrs. Su was helping out in the Su Mansion today, and several members of the Xiao family lived in the Su Mansion. After the party was over in the front hall, Liufeng came to look for Xiao Yunrou, and then she and Mr. Zhuang said goodbye to Mrs. Su and left.

After returning home, Pei Lingfeng still wanted to go to the study, and Xiao Yunrou frowned.

"Is it something urgent? You've drunk quite a bit today. If it's not something urgent, you'd better go to bed early."

Pei Lingfeng felt warm at heart when he heard the caring voice, and reached out to hold Xiao Yunrou's cloak.

"Yes, it's urgent, but it won't take long. If you are tired, just rest first. You don't have to wait for me."

After hearing the important matter, Xiao Yunrou stopped persuading him and took her maid back to the yard. She told Qingci to prepare some sobering soup and personally deliver it to the outer study after he took a bath.

When Pei Lingfeng came to the study, Liu Feng began to report.

"Prince An has not been in the capital these days and has not attended court. Zhong Shijie has been on the move. He went to the garrison outside the city early this morning. I heard that he stayed in the camp with the deputy commander of the garrison for nearly two hours. Although our people secretly pulled out many of his spies in the army, I know that Zhong Shijie has arranged some more."

Pei Lingfeng hummed nonchalantly.

"Let him do whatever he wants. We will just cut off as many plans as he wants. As long as we can control it, that's fine."

"The Zhong family has decided to marry the Shaanxi General, and the wedding date is set for March next year."

The room was silent. Pei Lingfeng hadn't spoken for a long time since hearing the news, and Liu Feng also stood there quietly.

"How is the investigation going in the palace?"

It was a long time before Pei Lingfeng spoke.

"I'm not sure yet, but I did find four people with problems. The people employed in the mansion are basically family-born sons, and the same applies to the shops and manors outside. The total number of people is several hundred. Because the prince said he wanted to investigate thoroughly, I dare not act blindly."

The room was silent again. At this time, Xiao Yunrou pushed the door open and walked in. Everyone in the room turned around and looked. It turned out that there were more than two people. In addition to Pei Lingfeng and Liu Feng, there were several people in black clothes standing in the room. They were probably Pei Lingfeng's secret guards.

"I asked the kitchen to prepare some hangover soup. You drank a lot of wine. Drink it quickly, or you'll have a headache tomorrow."

Xiao Yunrou walked up to Pei Lingfeng with a smile and placed the sobering soup on the table.

"Mrs. Prince." Everyone called quickly.

Xiao Yunrou smiled and nodded. Pei Lingfeng waved his hand and everyone retreated.

When there were only two people left in the room, Pei Lingfeng drank the sobering soup in one gulp, held Xiao Yunrou's hand and said softly, "I'm sorry for the trouble."

Xiao Yunrou did not hide the fact that she had just heard those words, and lowered her head and asked:

"When I came here just now, I heard you say that you were checking the people in the mansion, but is there someone who shouldn't be in the mansion?"

Pei Lingfeng looked at Xiao Yunrou for a long while, and finally nodded in acknowledgement. Xiao Yunrou's eyes flashed, and then she smiled:

"After all, I am the head of the mansion now. If a thief sneaks into the mansion, it will be my fault. Besides, I may know more about these people and things than you do. If you trust me, why not leave this matter to me?"

Pei Lingfeng played with Xiao Yunrou's delicate hands, thought for a while, and agreed.

"Okay. I'll send some people to you, but you have to promise me that you won't take any risks yourself."

For Pei Lingfeng, the most important thing for him in his new life is Xiao Yunrou and their child. He must not lose this woman again. When he just came back, he just wanted to compensate her and trusted her because of everything that happened in his previous life, but now, he just wants to grow old with her.

"Don't worry." Xiao Yunrou was unaware of Pei Lingfeng's worries, and agreed with a smile.

The next day, Xiao Yunrou took Pei Lingfeng's words to heart. After paying her respects to Mrs. Shen early in the morning, she returned to the yard and asked about the details that Pei Lingfeng had found out about the two people.

Those people were all family children and had been in the Marquis' Mansion for several generations. If they were to be accused of rebellion, Xiao Yunrou could not understand why they did this.

"Are there any other people in their homes?"

"Madam, I didn't pay attention to those people because they didn't hold important positions. But almost all of their families died in accidents in recent years, leaving only their ignorant children. I have been watching them for a long time and have not seen any contact between them and outside the palace. I suspect we have made a mistake."

Xiao Yunrou frowned. Family members are the most familiar people. If someone else were to be replaced, flaws would inevitably be revealed. Only if they were dead would they not be discovered. As for those children, they were ignorant and naturally would not know. If even the person was replaced, betrayal was natural.

Xiao Yunrou's eyes were filled with gloom. She thought for a while before she spoke and ordered:

"Zhenyuan Marquis's family is aristocratic, and even if they are family-born, they have a lot of complicated connections over the years. Although these people don't hold important positions, they are all in the Marquis's mansion, so it's not difficult for them to do something. I will find a fault with them in the next few days and lock them up. You can take them to interrogate them. Even if I can't find out, it doesn't matter. Since you are suspicious, just kill them. It's better to kill them than to let them go. We can't guard against thieves every day. Thieves can't be prevented by defense."