The man happened to look at her with a hint of scrutiny in his eyes. After a glance, he looked away and stood up.
Old Madam Su hurriedly called Su Yao, "Come here quickly, Yaoyao. This is Master Li, the grandson of Princess Mingchang."
Su Yao noticed the unusual warmth in Old Lady Su's attitude, but showed nothing on his face and politely greeted Young Master Li.
Young Master Li had a lukewarm attitude. He simply nodded towards Su Yao, then politely stood up and said goodbye to Old Madam Su.
Old Madam Su hurriedly asked someone to send him out, and said apologetically, "Master Bo has gone out for something, and there is no one at home to entertain you. I am really sorry for not entertaining you well. I will invite Master Bo to come to my humble home for a drink next time."
Master Li Xiaojue also politely agreed, and looked back at Su Yao before leaving.
As soon as he left, Old Lady Su leaned back on the pillow, rubbed her brows in annoyance, and said to Su Yao, "You must be very curious why the Princess Mingchang Mansion, which has always been so arrogant, has repeatedly shown favor to our family? In the past, how could Her Royal Highness the Princess look down on us? But now, they have sent us invitations and asked the young master to come to their house in person. They really give us enough face."
Yes, the title of a county lady alone is probably not enough for Princess Mingchang to achieve this.
Su Yao sat down next to Old Lady Su and asked instead of answering, "What is he doing here?"
"It is said that the Ministry of Personnel has already issued an official document that the former Yunnan Lieutenant General Qin Shuang died in battle, and the chieftains of various Yunnan tribes are now in chaos again. Now the Ministry of Personnel has sent your brother to take the position of Lieutenant General to quell the rebellion and asked him to go to Yunnan and leave after the New Year." The warm smile on Mrs. Su's face has now disappeared, and what remains is full of solemnity and worry.
The rebellions in Yunnan have never stopped since the time of Taizu, with several rebellions of varying sizes occurring every year. It was not until a few years ago that Duke Chengguo Xu Yonghong went there for a while and suppressed the most clamorous chieftain, and then won a few beautiful victories, that the situation got better. But Duke Chengguo got into trouble in the capital again and never went back.
The originally good situation turned into a mess.
Since the beginning of this year, four military officers below the third rank have died in Yunnan, as well as several prefects. The imperial court has suffered a major setback in Yunnan, which has truly made the court lose face.
Under such circumstances, everyone was trying to avoid jobs in Yunnan.
How could Old Mrs. Su not worry when Su Rong was going there
But now there is nothing to do except worrying. Firstly, Su Rong's assignment in Xuanfu had already been full of twists and turns, and it was only after the death of King Fenyang that the matter was settled. If something unexpected happens again this time, it would be meaningless for Su Rong to have his title restored.
Secondly, this is dangerous, but also an opportunity.
Old Madam Su was very rational, and then she sneered, "Young Master has always been arrogant. He came here to give us this news. Yaoyao, you are so smart, why don't you guess what he wants?"
Su Yao sat next to Old Lady Su, and a thought occurred to him: "It was the young master who came here in person, could it be that Princess Mingchang's Mansion intentionally..."
Old Madam Su nodded with a cold face: "That's right, Her Royal Highness the Princess really has a good idea. Young Master Li is the heir to both branches, and she intends to ask for you to marry him and become the young mistress of the third branch of the Li family."
It sounds like a good thing, but if you think about it carefully, you will know that this marriage is definitely not a good one.
My husband is a good husband, but he is also the second uncle from a different family. He is the heir of two families. He is the young lord of the second family, but only the young master of the third family.
The second wife has a title, but the third wife has nothing.
The third branch of the Li family proposed to Su Yao in marriage. As a county lady, Su Yao could not only bring a large dowry, but also raise the status of the third branch of the Li family. It was a sure-win deal no matter how you looked at it.
Old Madam Su pursed her lips, her face still showing anger: "No wonder they have been sending invitations to our house these days to invite you over, and now they have asked the young master to flatter you and reveal your brother's job, so this is their plan..."
Su Yao had expected this and didn't find it strange at all.
Princess Mingchang has always been an expert at seeking benefits and avoiding harm. She would naturally run in the direction the wind blows.
It's just that being popular now seems a little bit ugly.
Of course, she probably didn't care about these things, otherwise, she wouldn't have been resentful towards the late crown prince and the Song family because her daughter couldn't marry the crown prince.
After she was done getting angry, Old Lady Su asked for Su Yao's opinion in a bad mood: "It's better if you don't go to the banquet at the Princess's Mansion, so as to avoid causing trouble again."
Su Yao did have other things to do, and was not interested in playing these tricks with Princess Mingchang, so he quietly agreed: "Yes, I will listen to my grandmother."
Old Mrs. Su immediately asked the Huichu Office to write a reply, politely declining the invitation from the Princess's Mansion.
When they returned to the room, it was already dark. Yan Cao followed Su Yao closely, wanting to say something but stopping herself several times. When Su Yao turned around, she couldn't help but asked softly, "Miss, why..."
Why did Princess Mingchang suddenly think of asking the young master to marry her
It was obvious that Princess Mingchang had never been in a good mood whenever she saw Su Yao before. She either made sarcastic remarks or simply ignored her.
Now she wants Su Yao to be her granddaughter-in-law. Isn't this too big a difference
Su Yao tapped the table with her fingers, and smiled after a moment. She was not affected by this matter at all. She raised her eyebrows and sat down. She took a pen and paper and solemnly wrote the word "Qi" on the paper, and then wrote the names of Xu Yonghong, Prince of Fenyang, Prince of Zhuang, and everyone in the Qin family.
The whole piece of paper was soon filled up with a wide variety of names, including royal family members, high-ranking officials, civil officials, and military generals.
They seem to have nothing in common, yet they have something in common.
They all targeted Xiao Heng.
After looking at it for a while, she put the paper on the candle flame and burned it, and asked Yancao to find out when Su Rong would come back.
Fortunately, it didn't take long for Yancao to come back and say that Su Rong had returned and was paying his respects to Old Madam Su in her courtyard. She nodded and went to wait in Su Rong's courtyard. When Su Rong came back, she stood up and looked at him, saying calmly, "Brother, the jewelry has been sold."
Even though Su Rong was usually calm, he couldn't help but be startled. He closed the door and asked, "Was it really bought by someone from the Xu family?"
Su Yao nodded: "I saw with my own eyes that Grandma Xu paid the money, so there is no mistake. These things were stolen by Tang Youlong from Lei Yun. Logically, they are from Nuku. Others don't recognize them, but I do..."