The mistress who remarried has returned.

Qin Huai raised his teacup and offered it to Zhou Qiu from a distance, saying, "I won't drink with you, I'll just have a cup of tea."

Zhou Qiu also raised his wine glass, "I heard that the general's household is about to have a new member, and we're waiting to drink your wedding wine."

"Of course, it's a joyous occasion for the Qin family. My father will invite all his colleagues from the court." Qin Huai put down his teacup.

Zhou Qiu chuckled, his answer perfectly balanced, making one's teeth itch with envy.

Shen Shu glanced at the exquisite booklet that Qin Huai had brought.

Qin Huai looked towards the table of officials and saw Su Yuanzhou drinking with court officials in the distance. He also went to look at the table of officials' families. Wang Shi and Su Xinxin were talking to someone, but he didn't see any other familiar faces.

Today, the Yingtian Pavilion of the Mingming Qin Mansion is filled with thousands of guests, a bustling scene with the sounds of music and instruments.

Qin Huai felt a loneliness so intense it drove him mad, with no one to sympathize with him.

All this glitz, extravagance, and intrigue only exacerbated his headaches. He needed a quiet corner.

Su Yuanzhou kept observing the seats of the young masters in the upper seats. When he saw Qin Huai arrive at the table, he waited anxiously. These days, he was unsure of his daughter's position in Qin Huai's heart, so he was very worried and anxious.

Today we'll see whether we can truly build connections with the Qin family.

He then got up to look for Su Yunxi, but couldn't find her for a while. If he could get in touch with the Qin family, it would be time for him to make some progress, as he hadn't been able to advance in his career for several years.

He had instructed Su Yunxi to be sociable at the Yingtian Pavilion of the Qin Mansion, telling her to chat and flatter the young ladies at their table, hoping she might become friends with one of them, which would be of some use to him. Now, he wondered where she was. This child truly didn't know how to cultivate connections for him. She didn't understand the hardships her father endured to support the family.

He had to admit that Miss Xue Wenying was exceptionally popular. Officials' daughters and princesses were all eager to befriend her, and she was always the center of attention wherever she went.

It's a mystery how Qingniang was born, giving Xixi such a beautiful face, but in reality, she's an oddball who doesn't fit in and is completely useless when it matters. Compared to Xue Wenying, she's far inferior. Xue Wenying, a weak woman, was able to bring in the powerful Qin family to protect the Xue family.

Xixi has disappeared to some corner; she's like a piece of mud that can't be plastered on a wall.

The key point is that Su Yuanzhou was reluctant to leave this moment of official drinking and socializing, for fear of missing or neglecting anyone. What if he missed Lord Qin and the Emperor coming to speak? That would be a terrible pity.

The maidservant at Yingtian Pavilion in the Qin Mansion noticed that the guest seemed to be in a hurry. "Sir, is there something urgent? You can tell me what to do."

Su Yuanzhou immediately said to the perceptive maid, "Please go to the swings in the garden and find a girl in a jade-white dress named Su Yunxi. Bring her here and tell her to come see me."

"Understood."

The maidservant walked towards the garden outside the banquet area of ​​Yingtian Pavilion and happened to run into Xue Wenying, who was returning from washing her hands in the backyard. The maidservant did not notice that someone was coming towards her and almost bumped into Xue Wenying. She quickly steadied herself and said in a trembling voice, "This servant did not mean to offend Miss Xue."

The maid knew that Miss Xue was someone the eldest young master valued, so she dared not be negligent in the slightest. Moreover, the young lady was adorned with jewels, which made her look formidable. If any of her jewelry were damaged, she would never be able to afford to pay for it in her entire life, not even if she sold her whole family.

Xue Wenying said amiably, "Where are you rushing off to in such a hurry? It's alright if you bump into me, but there are many distinguished guests coming to the palace today. Wouldn't it be impolite to bump into one of them? You are a servant of the Qin family, how can you be so rash?"

The young maid was terrified, "Master Su and the other gentlemen were drinking and talking. I saw that he had something urgent to do, so I offered to help. Master Su asked me to go to the garden to find his daughter, Su Yunxi, to come see him. I saw that Master Su looked anxious, and I was afraid of delaying his business, so I walked a little faster. I didn't mean to be abrupt to Miss Xue."

Upon hearing this, Shuang'er suddenly stomped her foot. "She really is everywhere! Is this a place she can even come to? Who would care to see her?"

"Oh, so she's here too." Xue Wenying thought for a moment. "Now that you've found her, bring Miss Su to my table first. Take her directly to the men's section. A young lady like her is easily embarrassed; it would be too much for so many gentlemen to be watching her."

"Yes, I understand. Miss is indeed much more thoughtful. I almost put Miss Su in an awkward situation." The maid then set off to look for someone again.

After the maid left, Shuang'er said, "It must be that Su Yunxi is dressed too shabbily and is embarrassed to dine at a banquet for socialites, afraid that everyone will laugh at her. The dress she wore at the Xue residence last time was so worn out from washing that it was stiff and faded. That must have been her most presentable outfit. If she came dressed like that, wouldn't people laugh their heads off? And standing next to Miss, they would be worlds apart. She would look nothing compared to her, like a beggar begging for alms."

Xue Wenying laughed and said, "Shuang'er, why are you saying these things? I don't care about outward appearances. But since she's come to the Qin residence to beg for money, we should at least help her out. After all, she used to be the mistress of the eldest son of the Qin family."

Xue Wenying returned to the table. When the Song family girl saw Xue Wenying come back after washing her hands, she couldn't help but tug at her sleeve to examine her closely. "Sister Xue, did you get this light purple dress from Master Wei, the master tailor in the capital? And this cloak, is it also made by Master Wei? It's so beautiful."

"Yes, that's right." Xue Wenying accepted the compliment readily. "It was indeed bought from Master Wei. I like it quite a bit."

The young lady from the Song family looked on with envy as she carefully touched the stitches and the fur of the cloak. "Master Wei makes clothes for the Zhou and Qin families. His clothes are not something you can buy just because you have money. General Qin is so generous to you, sister. How much does this dress cost? Is it made of fox fur? I've heard that Master Wei has received four or five little foxes as tribute."

"With less than three hundred taels, General Qin wouldn't have time to buy me clothes. It's just a matter of me spending some money. I don't usually advocate extravagance, but I dressed a bit more formally for today's occasion."

Xue Wenying smiled gently and continued amidst the envious gazes of the crowd:

"It's not fox fur, it's raccoon fur, which is slightly inferior to fox fur. Although both have very fluffy hairs, it feels a bit stiffer and not as delicate and soft as fox fur. It's really unfortunate that Master Wei originally had a treasure made of fox fur, made of jade-white silk with indigo embroidery, which was exquisite. He was reluctant to sell it, and I originally wanted to see if I could buy it, but unfortunately someone else bought it before me."