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

Luo Shilang touched his body and found that he only had a jade pendant hanging at his waist.

This jade pendant was a gift from his granddaughter Mingfang when he celebrated his birthday last year.

Because it was a gift from my favorite granddaughter, I've always worn it, but now I may have to say goodbye to this jade pendant.

They were already standing at the main gate. If they were to slink away in front of Old Madam Qin, it would be too embarrassing. Who knows what these officials' wives would say about them then?

Vice Minister Luo took off the jade pendant from his waist and said to Madam Qin, "This jade pendant is what I intend to use for a charity sale."

Madam Qin owned a jewelry shop, so she could tell at a glance that the jade pendant was very cheap.

"Minister Luo is truly generous, actually willing to put up jade pendants worth several taels of silver for a charity sale!"

In fact, Madam Qin is usually very gentle and rarely criticizes people like this. This time, her sharp confrontation was mainly because she felt indignant on behalf of Miss Su.

Madam Qin's words made Minister Luo blush with embarrassment.

Vice Minister Luo never expected that this jade pendant would only be worth a few taels of silver.

At the time, Mingfang said that she spent two hundred taels of silver to buy this jade pendant.

But since Madam Qin's family is in the jade business, they certainly wouldn't misjudge her.

So it must be that Mingfang was tricked into spending two hundred taels of silver on cheap goods worth only a few taels.

Poor Mingfang, she was terribly deceived.

Minister Luo made up his mind that he had to arrange for a palace maid to serve Mingfang.

I've heard that the nannies from the palace know a lot, so they should be able to protect Mingfang from being deceived again.

When Mingfang gets married, having a maid like that as part of her dowry will make her look more respectable in her husband's family.

However, hiring a matron from the palace would cost a lot of money, so Vice Minister Luo clenched his fists, determined to make a lot of money.

After Minister Luo went inside, Madam Qin welcomed an even more unusual guest at the gate.

The Murong family, the head of the five great families, has actually sent people.

The one who arrived was Murong Changyu. Old Madam Qin had seen Murong Changyu from afar during the Flower Festival, so she recognized him.

This young master Murong was tall and elegant, with bright eyes and an air of refined nobility.

He was also a very handsome man, and each had his own merits compared to the Crown Prince.

I heard that the Murong family doesn't even give face to the emperor when he invites them to a banquet, but I never expected them to come and participate in the charity sale today.

Miss Su certainly has a lot of influence!

With Miss Su's help, the retired soldiers no longer have to suffer from hunger and cold.

Madam Qin greeted Murong Changyu with a smile, "Young Master Murong, please come in."

With a status like Young Master Murong's, he must donate a lot of money, right? Otherwise, it wouldn't be worthy of his position!

Therefore, Madam Qin gave the last reserved seat to Murong Changyu.

Murong Changyu came after hearing about the steamed bun incident.

His attitude towards Su Qianqian was somewhat special.

Murong Changyu has had a group of secret guards around him since birth. The only time in his life that he ran away willfully, leaving his secret guards behind and going to the vicinity of Qinghe County, he was captured by the rebel army of the Prince of Huainan.

Despite his martial prowess, he was no match for the sheer number of rebels.

The rebels, unaware of his identity, robbed him of his belongings and then drew their knives to kill him.

At that critical moment, it was Miss Su who saved his life.

Miss Su rode a large white tiger, looking like a fairy descending from the sky.

As the eldest son of the Murong family and the future heir of the Murong clan, Murong Changyu was taught from a young age to prioritize personal gain and to believe that he would rather betray the world than let the world betray him.

He couldn't believe that Miss Su saved him without asking for anything in return.

After saving him, Miss Su didn't even ask who he was, and had no intention of expecting anything in return; she simply left.

Even when they met again, Miss Su seemed to have completely forgotten that she had once saved him.

Therefore, his feelings for Miss Su were quite complicated.

Even he himself couldn't explain why he always felt an irresistible urge to get closer to Miss Su.

Murong Changyu is usually surrounded by beautiful women, many of whom want to curry favor with the Murong family.

He wondered if it was because Miss Su was the only one who ignored him that she became a special person in his heart.

Or perhaps it was because he was moved by Miss Su's life-saving grace and wanted to repay her? That's why he couldn't help but want to get close to Miss Su?

The three officials from the Ministry of Personnel, Lord Liu and his companions, arrived earlier than Vice Minister Luo, but there were no seats left for them, so they had to stand in a corner.

When Lord Liu saw Vice Minister Luo, he quickly waved for him to come over.

"Minister Luo, what brings you here?"

I heard that after Minister Luo severed ties with Miss Su's family, he stopped going to Miss Su's Gu's Teahouse. I never expected to see Minister Luo at Gu's Teahouse today.

Minister Luo seemed a little distracted. "Oh, I just came to take a look around."

Lord Liu thought to himself: Minister Luo must have come because he heard about the steamed buns that cost fifty taels of silver.

As a fellow confidant of Prime Minister Feng, Lord Liu still enjoyed seeing Vice Minister Luo suffer setbacks.

He glanced at the wooden hairpin that Vice Minister Luo used to tie his hair, his eyes full of mockery.

It's utterly shameful for a high-ranking official of the third rank to use a wooden hairpin that costs only a few coins to tie his hair; that's something only poor people in the countryside would use.

Lord Liu was very glad that Vice Minister Luo hadn't recognized Miss Su as his relative, otherwise Vice Minister Luo would have become rich. Hehe, a single cornbread could sell for fifty taels of silver, it would be hard not to become rich.

Brother, I miss you! You can't become successful on your own! So you absolutely must continue targeting Miss Su, and whatever you do, don't acknowledge her as a member of the Luo family, and don't live a better life than me!

Lord Liu deliberately pointed to the emerald green cornbread in the white jade plate on the stage and said, "Minister Luo, your granddaughter is really promising. She can easily sell a simple elm seed cornbread for fifty taels of silver."

Vice Minister Luo looked very displeased.

If someone praises Luo Mingfang to her face, it's considered giving her face.

But when others praise the girl surnamed Su in front of him, they are definitely mocking him, mocking him for not recognizing a gem.

This made him very unhappy and extremely irritable.

"Lord Liu, remember this: I, Luo, do not have such a granddaughter. From now on, no one is allowed to associate me with that girl."

When Lord Liu saw that Vice Minister Luo was truly angry, he remembered that many of his colleagues had said that Vice Minister Luo doted on his adopted granddaughter the most, so he smiled and flattered him, saying, "Vice Minister Luo, I've heard that among your granddaughters, Mingfang is the most outstanding and very filial. You are truly blessed, Vice Minister Luo."

Upon hearing this, Vice Minister Luo felt much more at ease, and a smile returned to his face.

Lord Liu increasingly felt that Vice Minister Luo was foolish, mistaking a fish eye for a pearl, while turning a blind eye to the real gem.

It's better to be a little foolish, that way the Luo family will never be able to surpass the Liu family.

Look at the Gu Family Teahouse opened by Miss Su. It contains paintings by the Sage of Painting, paintings by the genius Imperial Tutor, and a rare copy from the Great Chu Dynasty. These three items combined are worth at least several hundred thousand taels of silver.

Miss Su is truly wealthy, but this wealth has nothing to do with Minister Luo.

Thinking of this, Lord Liu couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Hahahaha—"

Minister Luo stared intently at the white jade plate on the stage, where a bright green steamed bun was placed, drawing his gaze.

That steamed bun was exactly the same as the one he had taken a bite of at the Prime Minister's residence.

Vice Minister Luo secretly pinched his thigh, his face contorting in pain.

He couldn't understand how a high-ranking official like himself could be so easily swayed by a simple cornbread!

Could it be that the little girl put something strange in the steamed bun, causing people to lose their minds? That's definitely it.

This little girl is too wicked; compared to her, Mingfang is much more upright.

Vice Minister Luo shook his head and couldn't help but complain, "This is really too much! Fifty taels for a single steamed bun is clearly malicious price gouging."

He simply couldn't afford it at that price. If it were cheaper, he would definitely buy some so that Mingfang could also taste this delicious treat.

The scholar standing next to Vice Minister Luo retorted, "What do you know? Miss Su is a lucky star. What she bought for fifty taels is not just a steamed bun, but good fortune. She will have good luck all the time."

Minister Luo didn't believe in absurd claims like the "lucky star."

But Lord Liu believed it.

Lord Liu has been having a lot of bad luck lately. Not only did he choke on cold water, but he was also severely scolded by the Minister of Personnel for mishandling official documents. Moreover, his concubine ran off with the groom in his household, almost making him a laughingstock.

One incident after another proves that he has been particularly unlucky lately.

Lord Liu quickly went up to Minister Qin and asked, "Lord Qin, are those two steamed buns on the stage still up for auction?"