The fate was changed, the mistress of the Hou family was slapped in the face and made money to win

Chapter 728 The Eldest Princess

"Yixue, how come you guys are so far behind?"

In front, Zhong Xingyun's voice sounded.

He and Marquis Mingchang had stopped and were looking at the two of them.

"Don't worry, Minister Zhong, nothing will happen. This prince is only inviting Miss Zhong to attend a banquet at the Marquis' Mansion in half a month." Yuwen Huan said in a clear voice.

"Yes, Lord Zhong must bring Miss Zhong to my birthday party in half a month. Huan'er's mother has repeatedly mentioned at home that she wants to see Miss Zhong again." Marquis Mingchang also spoke.

"Of course, of course. It is a blessing for me and my daughter to be invited by the Marquis. I will prepare gifts and come to your house on time."

On the palace road, after the four figures disappeared into the distance, Jiang Suining and Shen Yanxi came out from behind.

Jiang Suining said: "It seems that Minister Zhong and Marquis Mingchang are both very satisfied with this marriage."

"The Zhong family is naturally satisfied to be able to get in touch with the Mingchang Marquisate. As for the Mingchang Marquisate..." Shen Yanxi understood and said, "I heard that Yuwen Huan not only hangs out in places of entertainment all year round, but also took in two mistresses some time ago. Now the Mingchang Marquisate is anxious to find him a wife to take home. The Marquisate is naturally satisfied with this marriage with the Zhong family."

"So that's how it is. No wonder the Marquis of Mingchang is so nice. But..." Jiang Suining turned his head and smiled at Shen Yanxi, "How do you know so much about it? You even know about his mistress?"

"Then you have to ask Lin Ziqing." Shen Yanxi raised his eyebrows and smiled, "He heard that Zhong Xingyun impeached the Women's Academy in the court, so he sent a copy of all the news about the Zhong family, including the Zhong family's marriage and Yuwen Huan's romantic affairs."

"Why give it to you instead of giving it to me directly?" Jiang Suining was puzzled.

If Lin Ziqing wanted them to know more about the Zhong family so that they could deal with the impeachment later, then there was no need to give it to Shen Yanxi. Why not just give it to himself?

"To do a favor."

"Favor?" Jiang Suining thought for a moment, "He wants to ask you for something?"

"His Tianyin Pavilion recently opened its 20th branch and ran into some trouble. He hopes I can help."

"Tricky?"

"It's not a problem, it has been dealt with." Shen Yanxi shook his head.

Seeing this, Jiang Suining did not ask any more questions, and the two of them quickly left the palace.

The next period of time was relatively peaceful. Zhong Xingyun was busy building relationships with the Mingchang Marquisate and no longer paid attention to the women's academy.

However, some inappropriate news about Yuwen Huan was reported every now and then, but he had a reputation as a playboy, so even if these news were reported, they would not cause any harm to him.

However, Zhong Yixiu's mother became worried after hearing the news and felt that this marriage was not appropriate.

She also found opportunities to mention it to Zhong Xingyun twice, but was refuted each time by Zhong Xingyun, who even warned her not to talk nonsense. In the end, the matter was left unresolved.

In a blink of an eye, half a month passed and the date of Marquis Mingchang’s birthday banquet arrived.

As the prime minister, Shen Yanxi was naturally on the list of invited guests. Jiang Suining was both a palace lady and Shen Yanxi's wife, so she was also invited.

When the two men got off the carriage, the mansion of Marquis Mingchang was already crowded with people.

Court officials, royal family members, and some prominent luxury merchants in the imperial city were among the invited guests today.

The butler who was in charge of welcoming people outside the door saw Shen Yanxi and quickly came over with a smile on his face.

"Greetings, Your Excellency the Prime Minister. Please come in."

After Shen Yanxi asked Yuan Liang to hand the gift to the servant behind the housekeeper, he walked in with Jiang Suining.

The mansion of the Marquis of Mingchang was built extremely luxuriously. The family had been a noble family for generations, and in this generation, Yuwen Jing married a princess, which further elevated the status of the Marquisate.

A servant led the way to the back garden, which was also the place where today's birthday banquet was being held.

The back garden is extremely exquisitely built, divided into two parts, east and west, with corridors, waterside pavilions, rockery, lakes, and countless flowers and plants of various colors.

According to today's arrangement, the east side is mainly for banquets for officials, while the west side is for banquets to entertain the wealthy and luxurious families.

As for the female members of the family, they did not have separate seats. Instead, before the banquet officially began, they were all invited to a corner of the garden to appreciate the flowers and chat with the wife of Marquis Mingchang.

When Jiang Suining arrived, quite a few people had already arrived, including the sisters Zhong Yixiu and Zhong Yiyu.

The reason why I brought Zhong Yixiu here today was naturally to let her meet the wife of Marquis Mingchang, that is, the eldest princess Xiao Changnian.

As for bringing Zhong Yiyu along, it was also one of Zhong Xingyuan's plans. He thought that those who could come to the Marquis' Mansion for the banquet today were either rich or noble, so it was a good opportunity for him to get to know each other. If there was a noble family that took a liking to her, then the marriage of his second daughter could be solved.

Zhong Yiyu was very unwilling about this, but she had no choice but to obey.

When everyone saw Jiang Suining coming, they all greeted him enthusiastically.

Although not all the female relatives present agreed with Jiang Suining's decision to open a women's academy and serve as a female official, her status was there after all, and she had to appear to be able to get away with it.

In response to these greetings, Jiang Suining also smiled and nodded. As for those glances that were looking at her overtly or covertly, she pretended not to see them at all.

"The eldest princess has arrived."

Following the announcement, a woman in gorgeous clothes, full of noble air, walked over.

"Greetings, Princess." Everyone bowed.

"Everyone, please stand up. You are welcome." The princess smiled gently. "Today is the Marquis' birthday banquet. I am very happy that you can come to the palace. Don't be restrained. Just enjoy yourself."

The eldest princess Xiao Changnian is the only biological sister of Emperor Xiao. Although she is not the most outstanding compared with her sisters, her status naturally rises as her brother becomes the emperor.

After Emperor Xiao ascended the throne, she was named Princess Haoyue and was engaged to Marquis Mingchang early on, thus avoiding the issue of a marriage alliance.

Therefore, many people secretly envied her for her good fortune. After all, among the several princesses of the late emperor, she was the only one still left in the imperial city, while the others were either married off as foreign princes or married far away, and might not return to the imperial city in their lifetime.

Xiao Changnian did not immediately walk over to the soft chair that had been prepared and sit down. Instead, he looked among the crowd. When he saw Jiang Suining, he paused for a moment, smiled and nodded, then shifted his gaze and stopped on Zhong Yixiu.

"You must be the eldest daughter of the Zhong family. Come forward and let me take a good look at you."

There was a sense of intimacy in the smiling words, as if he was looking at someone very close.

Jiang Suining looked at the eldest princess and Zhong Yixiu, frowned slightly without saying a word, and felt a little strange in his heart.