The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

The invitation to the palace banquet was quickly sent to Qinghe County.

Su Qianqian planned to take Military Advisor Zhang and the old patriarch of the Zhang family to the capital for a banquet.

The Zhang family provided full support in every battle.

The Zhang family was extremely loyal, contributing money and effort without ever backing down.

The message from Gu's Teahouse arrived long ago via carrier pigeon; teahouses are known for their excellent information dissemination.

Su Qianqian learned from the letter that the emperor was hosting a banquet for the five great families in order to get them to donate money. So attending the banquet was not a good thing; the meal wasn't free, and money had to be paid.

Of all the surrounding cities, only the Zhang family could afford to pay.

Therefore, Su Qianqian informed Military Advisor Zhang that she would take him and the Zhang family patriarch to the capital to attend a palace banquet, and casually reminded him, "I heard that His Majesty organized this banquet for the purpose of donating silver."

Military Advisor Zhang said with a smile, "Thank you for the reminder, General Su. Our Zhang family is not afraid to spend money."

The Zhang family is not short of money, as long as that money can buy tangible benefits.

Military Advisor Zhang was certain that the old clan chief would be overjoyed to hear this news.

That evening, the old patriarch of the Zhang family was indeed extremely excited upon hearing the news brought by Military Advisor Zhang.

"My dear nephew, to be personally invited to a banquet by His Majesty is an honor for our Zhang family."

For hundreds of years, the Zhang clan had never had the opportunity to meet the emperor, but now they finally had.

Even if the donated money doesn't bring any benefits, it's still a worthwhile investment.

Being invited to a banquet by the emperor is a glorious honor for one's ancestors, something that can be recorded in the Zhang family genealogy, and future generations will be proud of it.

As expected, Miss Su would not mistreat those who loyally followed her.

The fact that the Zhang family could attend the palace banquet alongside the five great families means that the Zhang family is on equal footing with the five great families!

That's really exciting news!

The old patriarch of the Zhang family felt that the Zhang family was getting closer and closer to becoming the sixth most powerful family.

Therefore, the old clan chief was not upset at all when he heard the military advisor Zhang's reminder to donate silver.

Eating such a prestigious meal is something I'd gladly spend the money on.

"Since the donation is for the purpose of defending the border, the money must be donated. I will gather the clan members now. Our Zhang clan has a large population. If each family donates a little, the amount will not be small and will surely satisfy His Majesty."

The Luo family of Sicheng soon learned that Miss Su had led the Zhang clan members north to attend a palace banquet.

That's really something to be envious of.

Miss Su is clearly a descendant of the Luo clan. Even if she were to attend the palace banquet, she should have brought members of the Luo clan with her. However, the man surnamed Zhang got the better deal.

This is all Luo Shilang's fault; he couldn't distinguish between relatives and friends, and he hurt the feelings of Miss Su's family.

If Vice Minister Luo had acknowledged his kinship earlier, at least one member of the Luo family could have gone to the capital. His Majesty would have personally hosted a banquet for them, which would have been a great honor.

Chief Luo Wen was a clever man; although he was furious, he did not take any drastic actions.

He also reprimanded several clansmen who had spoken disrespectfully to Miss Su.

He told his clansmen, "Miss Su is unwilling to acknowledge our Luo clan, but we cannot blame her. The blame lies with Minister Luo for being too heartless towards Miss Su's family. We must still treat Miss Su as family; she remains the pride of our Luo clan."

"As long as we treat Miss Su with sincerity, we will eventually win her heart."

Luo Wen also punished the clansmen who spoke ill of Miss Su, warning them: "From now on, anyone in the Luo clan who dares to insult Miss Su will be punished according to family law, without any mercy."

When Su Qianqian went north, she brought many gifts with her.

After all, many families in the capital had given her gifts before, so since she was going to the capital this time, she should take the time to pay them a simple visit.

The capital city, the Prime Minister's residence.

At dinner, Prime Minister Feng was quite worried because he didn't see his youngest son.

He recently noticed that his youngest son had lost weight, and today he specifically asked the kitchen to prepare his youngest son's favorite dishes, but his youngest son was not there.

"Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on Yuanxi? Where did he go?"

Steward Chen bowed his head low, holding a letter in his hands. "Reporting to Master, Young Master Yuanxi has secretly slipped out of the manor, leaving behind a letter saying that he will personally go outside the city to welcome General Su."

Prime Minister Feng was furious. "General Su, what a load of rubbish! The Emperor never bestowed any official title upon that little girl."

That girl wants to be an official? Dream on! Unless he, the prime minister, dies, he will never allow such a thing to happen.

Prime Minister Feng skimmed through the letter and became even angrier. "What utter nonsense! Miss Su isn't arriving until tomorrow. What's he doing running out of the city today?"

Steward Chen replied, "Sir, you don't know, do you? Many people have set up tents outside the city and are staying there so they can see General Su as soon as possible."

Prime Minister Feng clenched his fists. He had already heard that storytellers at Gu's Teahouse recounted Miss Su's story of fighting against the enemy every day.

Such exaggerated propaganda, misleading the people and making them blindly worship Miss Su, is truly hateful!

Prime Minister Feng was so angry that he couldn't eat dinner. He said to Steward Chen, "Send out all the men in the manor. Even if you have to tie him up, bring Yuanxi back to the manor. If you can't bring him back, you don't need to come back either."

The Prime Minister's wife reassured him, "My lord, you don't need to worry too much. Didn't Master Tianyuan say that Yuanxi's fate has changed and he is no longer destined for a short life? So he will definitely be alright."

Looking at the still-healing wounds on Prime Minister Feng's face, she couldn't help but offer a few more words of advice.

"But you, sir, have been injured frequently lately. You'd better be careful and not speak ill of Miss Su in front of Marquis Guiping, lest you suffer physical pain again."

"As expected of a woman, all talk and no action. I'm not going to talk to you."

After finishing his sentence, Prime Minister Feng flicked his sleeves and headed towards his study.

Feng Xiaoshuang pouted, "Mom, see, I wasn't wrong. Dad clearly looks down on us women. He even said we have long hair but short brains, when he himself has long hair too."

Feng Xiaoshuang particularly liked the newly bought transparent soap; she wondered how Miss Su made those beautiful soaps.

Moreover, Miss Su is also a formidable warrior and a genius painter.

"Mother, let's get up a little earlier tomorrow. I want to go see Miss Su too. I really want to know what Miss Su looks like."

"Okay, let's go together tomorrow."

The Prime Minister's wife is now particularly infatuated with Miss Su. She has bought one of each of the fancy transparent soaps Miss Su makes and keeps them in her room.

Steward Chen led more than fifty servants to the outskirts of the city.

Tents were everywhere outside the city, as numerous as hairs on a cow, making it extremely difficult to find someone. He searched for a long time but still couldn't find Young Master Yuanxi.

"Everyone, hurry up and search. If we can't find Young Master Yuanxi, we don't need to go back to the Prime Minister's residence."

I'll definitely be punished by the Prime Minister when I get back; he might even break my leg.

In fact, among the people living in these tents outside the city, there were not only those who admired Su Qianqian, but also those who wanted to see Su Qianqian make a fool of herself.

Many noble ladies were unhappy that someone had praised Su Qianqian as a celestial being, so they had their servants camp outside the city to observe her up close and see if Su Qianqian was really as beautiful as the legends said.

Among them was the old woman sent by Luo Mingfang.

All the servants from the Luo family who had accompanied Old Madam Luo to Qinghe County had been sold off, so apart from Old Madam Luo and Fan Dajiang, no one else in the Luo family had ever seen Miss Su.

Vice Minister Luo also didn't get to have a proper dinner.

Because his fifth son got into an argument with him.

"Father, Miss Su will arrive in the capital tomorrow. She is, after all, your own granddaughter. Our household should send someone to look after her."

Vice Minister Luo was naturally unwilling, saying, "She doesn't even acknowledge me as her grandfather, so why should I send someone to humiliate myself!"

He is an elder, so Miss Su should take the initiative to come and see him, instead of him lowering himself to fawn over that young girl.

Luo Yin felt that his parents were heartless towards the family in Qinghe County. How could anyone in the world be so indifferent to their own flesh and blood!

He actually really wanted to see his niece, who was quite capable; she had actually led troops to repel the army of the King of Huainan.

Luo Yin works at the Five Cities Military Command, and many of his colleagues are admirers of Miss Su, often asking him about her.

He was very proud to have such an outstanding niece.

Madam Luo slammed down her chopsticks in anger, "Fifth son, you unfilial son! You've caused chaos in the family because of a stranger!"

Her left leg was broken by Su Qianqian in Qinghe County, and it hasn't healed yet. She hates Su Qianqian to the core.

Luo Yin felt heartbroken. Why were his parents like this? "Mother, Miss Su is not a stranger. She is your own granddaughter."

Suddenly, Luo Yin realized something and questioned the old lady, "Mother, you previously denied going to Lotus Village, could it be that you already knew the truth? You already knew about the Su family switching the children!"

Of course, Madam Luo denied it, "No, I didn't, how could I?"

Anyway, the only person who knew the truth, Mother Fan, is dead, so whatever she says goes.

Luo Yin sighed helplessly, "Father, Mother, you are my elders, I can't control you, and I won't control you anymore. Miss Su is arriving tomorrow, so the security outside the city gates is very tight, I won't be coming back tonight."