She refused to marry.

The Su family.

Su Hongsheng was promoted.

A month ago, a message was sent asking my third aunt to bring her eldest daughter, Su Jinse, and Su Jinning, to the capital.

They have now arrived in the capital.

Su Wanwan and Su Xian were waiting at the city gate.

The two ordered a pot of tea and sat near the city gate, each holding a bowl of tea and gazing longingly in the direction of the city gate.

"Sister Wan, why haven't we arrived yet?" Su Xian craned her neck and looked out onto the official road.

"The letter said it would arrive today, it should be here soon." Su Wanwan took a sip of tea.

The sound of orderly hooves came from afar, attracting curious onlookers from all around.

The two put down their teacups and craned their necks to look.

Dust billowed on the official road as a group of people marched toward the city gate.

Twelve knights, each with a long sword at their waist, stood behind a four-horse chariot.

On either side of the carriage, attendants with swords at their waists and eyes like eagles vigilantly scanned their surroundings.

People at the city gate quickly made way for them, and the guards hurriedly cleared the passage, not daring to even check anything, and let people pass directly.

"Who is this?" someone asked from the side.

"I heard it's the Crown Prince of Changxin."

"Huh? Wasn't it forbidden to return to the capital without an imperial edict?"

"I heard he was seriously ill and was being taken back to the capital for treatment."

Su Wanwan listened carefully, and realized, "Isn't this the male lead?!"

Finally, the male lead has arrived! Su Wanwan excitedly pushed through the crowd and looked up to see.

When the carriage passed by the tea stall.

Su Wanwan saw a person sitting inside the carriage through the curtain. He was slender and wearing a cloak despite the hot weather.

In the original story, the Crown Prince of Changxin feigned illness to go to the capital for medical treatment, but his real purpose was to steal the Tiger Tally.

It seems the plot is about to move forward soon.

When Su Wanwan looked up again, she suddenly saw the person inside covering their mouth and looking in her direction.

Su Wanwan quickly dodged, not daring to have too much contact with the people in the main storyline.

If her storyline is triggered, I'm doomed.

After Crown Prince Changxin left, the crowd dispersed.

Before long, Su Wanwan saw the Su family's caravan at the city gate.

He hurriedly took out the documents and explained the situation to the people at the city gate.

"Mother!!!" Su Xian shouted excitedly from the city gate.

Zhao lifted the curtain, revealing Su Jinse and Su Jinning inside the carriage.

After exchanging documents with the city gate guard and exchanging pleasantries with her third aunt, Su Wanwan boarded her carriage.

When the carriage stopped in front of the Su residence.

Aunt Zhao couldn't wait to lift the curtain.

His eyes scanned the surroundings, taking in everything from the plaque above the door to the bluestone steps and the two stone lions at the entrance, not missing an inch.

"Oh my, this is Brother Hongsheng's residence?" Madam Zhao, helped by her maid, stepped down from the carriage and exclaimed in admiration.

"This is the capital city after all; this house is so much more grand than our old home!"

Su Jinse followed behind her, dressed in a light green dress, and her demeanor was more refined than her mother's.

But her eyes were exactly like her mother's. As soon as she entered the room, she looked around, first at the furnishings in the main hall, and then at the maids' clothes.

Without waiting for the maid's help, Su Jinning jumped down from the carriage and ran to Su Xian in a few strides: "Su Xian! Where's your horse? I want to ride it!"

"Shut up for a minute!" Su Xian grabbed her head and pressed it down. "You've just come in, go and pay your respects to your second uncle first."

She grabbed Su Jinning's sleeve and ran inside.

Wang pushed Su Hongsheng to stand in the front yard.

Although Su Hongsheng was in a wheelchair, his back was straight, exuding the air of a head of the family.

Zhao smiled broadly, glanced at the wheelchair, and then quickly went to greet him: "Oh, Second Brother! It's been so many years, you look so healthy!"

Su Hongsheng nodded slightly: "Sister-in-law, you must be tired from your journey. Please go inside and rest."

Su Yaoyue emerged from the backyard, walked up to Zhao Shi, and bowed respectfully: "Greetings, Third Aunt, greetings, Sister Jinse, greetings, Sister Jinning."

Zhao looked her up and down and smiled, "Yaoyue, you're getting more and more beautiful."

Su Jinse performed a curtsy, her gaze lingering for a moment on the woman's slightly worn dress.

Su Zhiyin, a stranger, peeked out from behind Su Yaoyue, timidly calling out "Third Aunt," before shrinking back inside.

Su Hongsheng smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, you must be tired from your journey. Please go inside and rest."

"It's no trouble at all!" Zhao waved her hand, but her eyes glanced towards the main hall. "Second sister-in-law, you've worked hard."

The group entered the main hall, where maids served them tea.

Zhao picked up her teacup, took a sip, and her eyes lit up again: "This is... Longjing tea?"

"It's this year's new tea," Su Hongsheng said casually.

"Oh my, Second Brother is so lucky!" Zhao put down her teacup.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while.

"Second brother, now that you're a high-ranking official in the capital, you should really give our Su Xian a boost. He's sixteen this year, but he's not doing well in his studies. I was thinking, could we find him a job in the capital?"

Before Su Hongsheng could speak, Su Wanwan smiled and said, "Third Aunt, Third Uncle has already become the supervisor of the mint. He will arrange my brother's job, so you don't need to worry about it."

Zhao's smile froze for a moment, then returned to its usual plaster: "Wanwan is right. But you know your third uncle, he's stubborn and wouldn't think of anything for his own son. We'll still have to rely on your second brother."

Su Hongsheng coughed and asked, "With you gone, will Madam Zhou still be able to manage? How is Mother?"

Zhao waved her hand with a smile, "Very good, very good. They're more comfortable without me."

Madam Wang chuckled softly, "Sister-in-law, please settle in first. Let the maids show you around the backyard to see your lodgings. Are you satisfied?"

Zhao was waiting for these words, so she immediately got up, pulled Su Jinse and Su Jinning along, and followed the maid to the backyard.

Su Wanwan followed behind.

The West Courtyard, Jinrong Courtyard, has three main rooms and two side rooms on the east and west sides.

Su Xian usually lives in the courtyard next to Zhiyuanxuan on the east side.

Zhao looked around and said, "It's good, it's good," but her hands gestured that something was missing and that she needed to buy something.

Su Jinse stood at the door of the west wing, glanced inside, pursed her lips, and held her fan to her nose.

Su Jinning put down her bundle, lay down on the bed, and exclaimed, "Finally, I can lie down!"

Su Xian sat down as well: "I live in the courtyard next to yours. It's spacious there, and you can let your horse roam in my yard."

"Don't even think about taking my horse. It cost me all my money to get it." Su Jinning punched him in the chest.

Su Jinse walked in and, seeing the two of them lying there, looked displeased. "Get up, both of you. What kind of behavior is this?"

The two people who were lying haphazardly on the bed reluctantly got up and made room for Su Jinse.