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

The colorful lanterns in the Imperial Garden were intricately colored, much like Emperor Qi Jing's complex and conflicted mood.

Unexpectedly, Miss Su was able to invite the Xuanyuan family to the banquet, and even invited two people directly.

Miss Su's abilities are truly astonishing. If this matter were handled by high-ranking officials like Prime Minister Feng, they certainly wouldn't have been able to accomplish it.

When Emperor Qi Jing hosted a banquet last time, only two of the five great families attended. He then asked Prime Minister Feng to find a way to invite the other three families, but none of them came.

Therefore, he was both shocked and somewhat wary of Miss Su.

A teenage girl with such abilities—could she pose a threat to the Great Qi dynasty in the future?

Madam Xuanyuan had been the matriarch of the Xuanyuan family for decades. She was a very clear-headed person who prioritized self-interest.

She followed Miss Su into the Imperial Garden, not drawn to the graceful figures dancing in the ballroom, but instead keeping her eyes and ears open.

Madam Xuanyuan noticed this, and both the head of the Mu family and the head of the Sikong family stood up from their seats to greet them.

No need to ask, they must all be here to welcome this old lady, Madam Xuanyuan.

After all, the Xuanyuan family and the Murong family are the pillars of the five great families.

Madam Xuanyuan slightly raised her chin, stopped in place, and waited for the two to come over and inquire about her well-being.

However, they saw that both the head of the Mu family and the head of the Sikong family walked up to Su Qianqian.

The head of the Sikong family was extremely grateful to Su Qianqian. "My youngest son fell into the water, and it was thanks to the search and rescue dog trained by Miss Su that his life was saved. The Sikong family will always remember Miss Su's life-saving grace."

The Sikong family has few descendants, with only two sons in total. Moreover, the elder son has a congenital disability, so the younger son is especially important and will most likely inherit the position of family head in the future.

That's why the Sikong family head was so grateful to Su Qianqian.

The head of the Mu family also clasped his hands in greeting, "Miss Su, it is an honor to meet you. Thanks to Miss Su, my nephew was able to defend Shacheng."

The Mu family cannot be compared to the Xuanyuan family. The Mu family exists because it is dependent on the Great Qi, so it pays more attention to the family's contribution to the Great Qi.

The old lady of the Xuanyuan family was very surprised when she heard what the two were saying.

This little girl is truly remarkable.

There are only five major families in total, and two of them have already been won over by this Miss Su.

This Miss Su will likely become the biggest threat to the Xuanyuan family in the future. I must remind my son, who is the head of the family, to be careful of this girl.

The Mu family head and the Sikong family head surrounded Su Qianqian, expressing their gratitude before turning to greet the old lady of the Xuanyuan family.

"Madam has arrived. Please, have a seat."

In Daqi, snake-head canes and dragon-head canes are the same, so no one in the common people dares to use snake-head canes.

When Minister Qin saw that the old lady of the Xuanyuan family was brazenly using a snake-head cane without any sense of taboo, it was clear that the Xuanyuan family was extremely arrogant.

I've heard that the Xuanyuan Mansion in the capital is magnificent, almost as grand as the Imperial Palace, only much smaller in size.

Moreover, I've heard that the Xuanyuan family's residence in the Western Xia Kingdom is even larger and more luxurious.

For the past few centuries, the emperors of various dynasties did not focus their efforts on weakening the five great families, which is why the five great families are now even more powerful.

The five great families have been raising countless soldiers both openly and secretly, making it even more difficult to weaken them now.

Minister Qin smiled and greeted everyone, "Distinguished guests, please take your seats."

Everyone took their assigned seats, one person per table, all of which were carved rosewood tables.

Su Qianqian sat cross-legged on the round cushion and smelled the faint sandalwood scent emanating from the table.

This square table is so big, and it's made of rosewood, and it's carved with flowers, insects, birds and animals. It's so luxurious!

If placed in the world before the time travel, it would be priceless.

Xuanyuan Jing didn't go to his own seat, but squeezed into the same table as Su Qianqian.

"Sister Su, may I sit at the same table as you?"

Su Qianqian nodded, "Okay."

Having someone nearby is a good opportunity to chat.

These small dining tables, like the traditional eight-immortal table, aren't very big. They're spacious enough for one person, but a bit cramped for two.

The palace maids were quick-witted and nimble, and hurriedly brought over a table to put them together.

This way, Su Qianqian and Xuanyuan Jing wouldn't feel crowded sitting together.

The commotion of moving the table drew everyone's attention to Su Qianqian.

Minister Qin was very surprised: if he remembered correctly, this was Miss Su's first time visiting the Xuanyuan family, and he did not expect that she would win over the young lady of the Xuanyuan family in such a short time.

Miss Xuanyuan sat next to Miss Su, her eyes narrowed into slits with delight; it seemed she truly adored Miss Su.

Miss Su's speed in winning people's hearts is simply incredible.

Just as Su Qianqian picked up a round pastry and put it in her mouth, the music changed its tune.

A new group of dancers dressed in purple came up on the dance floor.

The lead dancer was standing on a huge water vat, which reflected colorful lanterns, creating a vibrant and beautiful scene with ripples.

The dancers, dressed in purple, were as light as swallows, graceful and agile, like startled swans, their ribbons fluttering as they twirled.

Before I traveled through time, I had seen palm dancing on TV, but this was the first time I had ever seen someone dance on a water tank, and it was quite a sight to behold.

It seems the emperor made quite thorough preparations for this banquet hosted by the five great families.

The palace maids filed in, bringing out fine wine and delicacies.

Emperor Qi Jing raised his wine cup to express his gratitude, "Thank you all for gracing this banquet. The main purpose of my invitation today is to raise funds."

Su Qianqian hadn't expected Emperor Qi Jing to be so impatient.

She gave strategist Zhang a wink, and strategist Zhang stood up from beside the desk.

"Your Majesty, the Zhang family of Qinghe County is willing to donate 80,000 taels of silver."

Su Qianqian, being the most well-informed, had already learned that the emperor had posted an imperial edict in the capital city, selling official positions for 80,000 taels of silver.

She also secretly told Strategist Zhang.

The 80,000 taels should be the result of discussions between Military Advisor Zhang and the old patriarch of the Zhang family.

The Zhang family could still produce that quantity.

When Emperor Qi Jing heard the enormous sum of 80,000 taels of silver, he was overjoyed. "Very good! Minister Zhang is truly concerned about the country and its people. I am very pleased."

This result was far beyond his expectations. As expected, Miss Su's people were the most helpful, even more generous than the five great families. They were simply the saviors of the Great Qi.

Inviting Miss Su to the banquet was the wisest choice.

Since Madam Zhang immediately offered 80,000 taels, others couldn't possibly offer too little.

Because Madam Xuanyuan had promised Su Qianqian in advance, the 80,000 taels of silver was unavoidable.

However, she was unwilling to be outshone by the little-known Zhang family, so she decided to donate an additional ten thousand taels: "Your Majesty, my Xuanyuan family is willing to donate ninety thousand taels of silver."

Ninety thousand taels to buy the face of granddaughter Xuanyuan Yue is absolutely worth it, as Xuanyuan Yue is destined to marry the future head of the Murong family.

Emperor Qi Jing was overjoyed when he heard the numbers reported by Madam Xuanyuan. Since Madam Xuanyuan was invited by Miss Su, the credit belonged to Miss Su.

He turned his head and saw Su Qianqian enjoying the shrimp soup. He instructed Eunuch Fu, "Have the imperial kitchen send two more servings of shrimp soup to Miss Su's table."

Miss Su is a major contributor to this fundraising effort and deserves special attention.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The head of the Sikong family also said, "Your Majesty, my Sikong family is also willing to donate 90,000 taels of silver."

Ninety thousand taels is not much compared to Miss Su's life-saving grace. Out of respect for Miss Su, we must donate it.

The Sikong family can afford this amount of money.

Master Meng, who hadn't previously mentioned how much he would donate, also stood up. "Your Majesty, my Meng family is also willing to donate 90,000 taels of silver."

Master Meng owns Meng's Dim Sum Shop, which has branches in four countries and brings in tens of thousands of taels of silver every year.

Ninety thousand taels was not much to him.

Moreover, Miss Su had saved his only daughter, Baozhu, and the debt of gratitude for saving her life was greater than heaven.

He had also heard about the imperial edict being posted. Master Meng Wu's relationship with the head of the Meng family wasn't particularly good, so he planned to use the money to get an official position and build his connections within the clan.

Seeing that the Sikong, Xuanyuan, and Meng families had all donated 90,000 taels, the head of the Mu family certainly couldn't be any less.

Moreover, among the five great families, the Mu family has the best relationship with the Qi royal family.

"My Mu family also donated 90,000 taels of silver."

Emperor Jing of Qi was extremely excited.

I never dreamed I could receive so much donations in one night.

If it weren't for the Zhang family, brought by Miss Su, who were the first to offer 80,000 taels, how could the other noble families have been willing to part with so much silver?

With this silver, supplies can definitely be supplied to the border.

The dikes within the territory that were overburdened can now be repaired, so that they will not cause major disasters when the summer rains come.

Tonight's fundraising far exceeded his expectations.

I need to call my cousin back from the border later and show him how beautiful and outstanding the wife I found for him is!

I'm sure my cousin will fall for Miss Su.