Chapter 90 Birthday Banquet
Su He said: "Keep sending people to watch, and if Liu Jinglei makes any move, inform me immediately."
She already knew who the man who lent Liu Qiuqiu her seed was, and the next step was to catch the turtle in the jar.
At Lu's mansion, Lu Yanxiu returned late again.
Liu Qiuqiu, who was drunk, couldn't help complaining, and stood aside and watched Mingchun wipe his face and unbutton his clothes.
"Where have you been with Lu Zhili again? You two are really a pair of good brothers. You come home late every night. Are you talking about business or having fun?"
Lu Yanxiu was drunk and unconscious. Hearing her words, he waved his hands and smiled: "I have worked diligently in the court for so many years, and I didn't expect that everything would be solved with a dinner! Qiqiu, I got promoted, I got promoted!"
Liu Qiqiu's expression changed immediately, and she asked excitedly: "Really?"
"The second prince and I were drunk for three days and didn't come home every night. He showed mercy and promoted me to the Ministry of Rites! Su Ronghai and I will be colleagues in the future..."
"But Su Ronghai won't be arrogant for long. After his birthday, where will the Su family be in the capital?"
Lu Yanxiu said in a daze, his mind full of the situation of being surrounded by mountains of gold and silver.
Isn't it to make money after being promoted?
Thanks to Zhili's advice to him, he should show more in front of the second prince. It was also good luck that he happened to catch up with the second prince's banquet to entertain his staff. Lu Yanxiu won the second prince's appreciation with his courage.
But even so, if he failed to deal with the Su family at the birthday banquet, the second prince could still take his life.
When Liu Qiuqiu heard the word "Second Prince", her eyes were stunned. She lowered her head and saw Lu Yanxiu was drunk. She hesitated and asked, "Didn't the Second Prince... say that he is not favored by the Emperor? How can he assign you an official position at will?"
"He is a prince after all. Who else except the Emperor and the Crown Prince has the courage to go against him? Although he is only a Yuanwailang, it is also a transition. Su Ronghai's position will always fall on us..."
Lu Yanxiu knew in his heart that since the Second Prince wanted to use him, all his background investigations over the years must have been thorough. If Lu Zhili had not been caught in the cheating case, how could he have a position?
"Help me up."
He closed his eyes and stretched out his hand.
Liu Qiuqiu hesitated for a moment,
then bent over and helped him to the bedside, wanting to say something but stopping herself. Lu Yanxiu opened his drunken eyes, kissed little Ji'er on the face, then lay on his back beside him, looking at the ceiling and laughing foolishly: "It would be great if Ji'er's black spots could disappear completely..."
Liu Qiuqiu shuddered, turned aside and did not answer.
On the sixth day of the first lunar month, the osmanthus was fragrant and the autumn scenery was pleasant.
The gate of the Su Mansion was filled with loud gongs and drums, specially for Su Ronghai's 55th birthday.
There was no need to make such a grand ceremony, and it was not the style of the Su family. But Su He had given the order before, so the maids had no choice but to do it, not to mention that the master and the mistress had no objections, so they agreed.
When Su He and Lu Huaihe arrived in the carriage, distinguished guests were coming in one after another, and even the Crown Prince sent a gift.
As soon as they entered, Lu Yanxiu rushed over with a gift. He glanced at their backs and wanted to follow them, but he was afraid that people around would gossip. How could he be embarrassed to follow his ex-husband?
There were many guests in the hall. As soon as Lu Huaihe entered, she was pulled to greet him. Seeing that she couldn't get away, she gave Su He a helpless look.
Su He smiled with her hands covering her mouth. She couldn't get out of the situation with men.
Pei Xia leaned close to her ear and said, "The young master of the Lu family is here."
"You should pay attention to his actions from now on. If he leaves without permission..."
Su He whispered for a while, and Pei Xia was immediately full of energy and ambition after hearing these words. He looked at Su He with firm eyes and vowed that he would never let her down.
She can do things in a trustworthy way.
After Lu Yanxiu entered the hall, he quickly joined in the conversation, but his eyes were erratic, looking around from time to time.
Su He hid in the gap of the carved window sill and looked at him, scanning back and forth with inquiring eyes, thinking about how to make him lose the most important thing the most.
Face, reputation or children?
"Second sister, why are you still here? Madam and sister-in-law are already waiting in the women's hall, only you are missing."
Su Lian suddenly appeared behind her, still with a simple smile on her face.
She has always been like this, as if she doesn't care about all the relationships in the mansion.
Su He looked back and said lightly: "I know."
The women's hall was full of people.
When Su He hurried over, Wang waved at her and said in a gentle tone: "Where have you been?" When the two were close, she said in a very low voice: "Except for some servants serving in the hall, I have reduced the number of maids and servants in other places."
Su He nodded.
In his previous life, Lu Yanxiu hid a note with treasonous intentions under the flowerpot beside the steps of Su Ronghai's study in order to frame the Su family and replace them.
When the birthday banquet was halfway through, the officials led people to surround the Su Mansion and successfully found the treasonous note.
The entire Su family was arrested and imprisoned for this, which also provided the fuse for Liu Qiuqiu to set the fire.
Now it happens again, Lu Yanxiu must pay the price!
Thoughts turned.
A stage was set up on the open space outside the hall, and the humming songs echoed in the mansion.
In the women's hall, everyone was watching the opera seriously.
Su He leaned back in her chair and listened attentively. When she saw Qingyun, who was late, she nodded slightly as their eyes crossed.
Before entering the mansion, she asked Qingyun to do her a favor.
Maybe, it was done.
"Oh, by the way, it's my father's birthday today, why didn't the young master of the Cheng family come?" Su Lian took a bite of osmanthus cake and looked towards the main hall separated by a screen. Although people were coming and going, there was really no sign of Cheng Yu.
Logically, he wanted to marry Su Yun, so how could he be absent from such a good occasion as a birthday banquet?
Su Yun didn't want to pay attention to her and wanted to pretend that she didn't hear it, but she was unhappy and sneered: "He rejected me once, and I rejected him once. It's just an ordinary marriage. What's so strange about it? Could it be that Fourth Sister is thinking about the young master of the Cheng family?"
"No, no..."
Su Lian waved her hands and shook her head repeatedly, feeling a little embarrassed.
She just mentioned it casually, who knows what Su Yun was going crazy about today, and her words were full of thorns.
Everyone in the mansion knew that Cheng Yu had no intention of marrying her. If he hadn't seen Lu Huaihe become the husband of the Su family, he would not have had the audacity to come to the mansion.
"Talking about marriage is a matter of mutual consent. Since the third lady doesn't like it, just refuse it. There are so many men in the capital, do you really have to marry Cheng Yu?"
Aunt Luo couldn't help but stand up for her daughter, and glanced at Su Lian with a sidelong glance, not taking her seriously.
As soon as she spoke, Aunt Mei moved her lips and said, "Given your background, it is already destined that you will marry someone and have a family. After all, Mr. Cheng's family has been officials for generations, and the family tradition is not bad. Miss, don't be so picky that you end up with nowhere to go when the time comes, haha..."