Chapter 569: Attending the Banquet

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Li Qing carried his son over. Dongdong bowed to the two of them. “Aunt,

Auntie, Brother Dong is leaving. Come and play.”

Li Yu patted Brother Dong reluctantly. Madam Gong touched his face reluctantly. “Brother Dong, be good on the way and listen to Father and Mother.”

Brother Dong nodded. “Auntie has to be good too.”

They smiled and nodded. “Okay, we’ll both be good.”

Li Qing and Fan Mingfang bowed to everyone and got into the carriage. The coachman waved the whip and drove the horse forward.

The group stood there and watched the convoy gradually go further and further away before turning around and getting into the carriage to return to the city.

When Li Yu returned home, she changed her clothes and went out. She got into the carriage and headed toward the Shen family.

The Shen family occupied most of the street behind Li Yu’s house. Two majestic stone lions stood at the door, and the entrance was filled with carriages.

When Li Yu got out of the car, an old woman went forward and respectfully welcomed Li Yu to the door. She got into a small sedan chair and Xing Hua followed the sedan chair in.

Walking along the limestone road to the second door, the sedan chair was lowered. Madam Wu smiled and welcomed her. “Madam Li, please!”

“Alright,” Li Yu replied with a smile. The two of them walked in together.

Madam Wu smiled and said, “It’s rare for you to come out to socialize. After knowing that you were coming, Madam specially asked me to welcome you!”

Li Yu smiled. “Madam Luo, you’re too polite. Look at me, I don’t even know what I’m busy with. I never knew that Madam Luo had returned to the capital.”

When the two of them arrived at the main hall, they saw that there were already many Madams and Misses sitting inside.

Li Yu walked in. Madam Luo smiled and went up to her. She said intimately,

“This must be Madam Li!”

Li Yu smiled and nodded. She bowed and said, “Greetings, Madam Luo.” Madam Luo smiled and said, “How can I let you bow to me? Please sit.”

Madam Luo’s attitude towards Li Yu was seen by all the Madams in the hall.

They thought to themselves that this was as expected of His Majesty’s favorite Madam. Even the Madam General had to be polite to her.

The Madams in the hall chatted politely for a while more. After everyone sat down, Li Yu spoke to Madam Luo politely.

After sitting for a while, the Gong sisters also came. After Li Yu went forward to greet them, she went to the garden with them.

Madam Luo looked at Li Yu’s back and thought to herself, In the past, I heard from Master that the woman who saved His Majesty was elegant. I even felt that Master was looking down on her. A farm girl who knows some martial arts might just be a little more elegant than ordinary women! Seeing her today, she indeed has an extraordinary bearing. No wonder even the Empress Dowager praised her.

The Gong sisters and Li Yu walked into the Shen family’s garden and saw that it was filled with exotic flowers and grass. There was also a man-made lake about ten acres wide in the garden.

The lake was filled with weeping willows and a large peach blossom forest. The pink peach blossoms filled the branches, and the fine green leaves contrasted with the flowers. They were as dazzling as pearls and emeralds. A gust of wind blew, and the pink petals emitted a fragrance.

The peach forest was paved with stone slabs. The three of them walked into the peach forest and immersed themselves in the sea of flowers.

Elder Madam Gong smiled and said, “The Shen family’s peach forest is really well taken care of. When I walk in this peach blossom forest and smell the fragrance of the flowers, my mood becomes even better.”

Madam Gong smiled and glanced at Li Yu, who was immersed in the sea of flowers. “The Shen family’s peach forest is indeed not bad. It’s rare to see such a scenery in the capital.”

A beautiful woman covered in pearls walked over from the front and walked up to Madam Gong. She had a flamboyant smile on her face and her eyes darted back and forth between Li Yu and Madam Gong. She bowed perfunctorily to Madam Gong. “I’m also coming to the Shen family to attend the banquet! This must be Auntie Jin’s cousin, right?”

Li Yu looked at her and felt that her smile was too fake. She called her Aunt, but she did not have the respect she should have for her elders. She frowned and did not respond to her.

Madam Gong glanced at her and said indifferently, “So it’s Madam Chen. When did you return to the capital?”

The woman called Ah Ning smiled awkwardly and said, “I’ve only been back for two days and haven’t had the time to pay my respects to Uncle and Aunt.”

“Don’t. I’m not worthy.” Madam Gong pulled Li Yu with a cold expression. “Ah Yu, let’s go.”

Ah Ning’s face darkened. She wanted to say something but closed her mouth.

Madam Gong pulled Li Yu forward. Ah Ning looked at Li Yu and wanted to call out to her. Seeing that she did not even look at her, she stood there resentfully.

Li Yu followed Madam Gong forward. She had known Madam Gong for a few years and had never seen her treat anyone like this. She felt that something bad must have happened between them. Seeing that she was unwilling to mention it, she did not ask.

Elder Madam Gong followed and asked Madam Gong in a low voice, “Wanru, whose Madam is that? Why haven’t I heard you mention it before?”

“This is a girl from the second branch of the Lin family. She’s now the eldest young mistress of the Chen family.” Madam Gong said briefly, still unwilling to say more.

The few of them walked to a pavilion built in the lake. Seeing that there was no one in the pavilion, Madam Gong said to the two of them, “Let’s go in and sit.”

When they sat down in the pavilion, Madam Gong said, “She hasn’t been mentioned all these years because Master said not to mention her. The Lin family doesn’t have such a grandaunt. I think she wants to use me to get to know Ah Yu. I was afraid that Ah Yu would be deceived by her, so I mentioned it again.”

Elder Madam Gong looked at her cousin in confusion. “Just tell me what she did. I’m confused.”

Madam Gong looked at her. “Cousin, have you forgotten that not long after I married my master, a pair of siblings from the Lin family came to my residence and stayed at my house for half a year before leaving?”

Elder Madam Gong thought for a moment and shook her head. “I don’t remember seeing them.”

“She was born by the second son of the Lin family’s concubine. That year, the Qingzhou Prefecture was in chaos. The siblings avoided a calamity by renting a house outside Qingshan County. Later, Master came to the capital to marry me. They heard about us from somewhere and found my house to stay.”

“This girl looks straightforward and generous on the surface. After interacting with her for a long time, I realized that she’s scheming and takes property quite seriously. Her personality is simply that of a Pixiu. No matter what it is, as long as it’s in her hands, don’t even think about letting it out.”

Elder Madam Gong curled her lips and said, “How can such a woman be raised bv an aristocratic familv?”

Madam Gong sighed. “That’s one thing. Coincidentally, when the siblings lived in my house, Master’s good friend, Su Jinshi, was waiting for the Imperial Court to send officials to the capital. Master could talk to him and the two of them often gathered.”

“Although Scholar Su is ordinary-looking, his family is rich and eloquent. I don’t know when she hooked up with Scholar Su. When Master found out, he flew into a rage and said that Scholar Su was engaged at home. He firmly disagreed with the two of them and even scolded Scholar Su.”

“Then she urged his brother to come out to criticize Master. There were other unpleasant things. In short, it meant that we were not qualified to interfere in her matters. They moved out that day. Later, I heard that she and Scholar Su were married..”