Su Qing brought back two pieces of good news for everyone.
Firstly, Su Zeqian, the heir of the Marquis of Pingyang, had been dismissed from his post as the Langzhong in the Ministry of Justice. The Marquis of Pingyang had also been fined two months' salary.
After hearing this, Su Yuanyuan didn't feel the slightest bit of emotional upheaval. Instead, she thought it was only right.
Su Zeqian had entered the Ministry of Justice not through his own talents but with the help of the Tong family and Concubine Tong. Although he had been diligent, he was too stubborn and easily exploited, often tampering with criminal cases.
Now that the Emperor was aware of his actions, there was no way he would allow Su Zeqian to stay in the Ministry of Justice. This was truly a satisfying revenge for her.
The other piece of good news, of course, came from the Yan family.
When they learned that the Yan family had not only lost the high - ranking position of the Commander of the Capital Garrison but also been demoted to commoners and ordered to leave Shengjing for Xuancheng within three days, everyone burst into laughter, slapping the table in delight.
"You should have seen the look on Yan Huan's face when he saw the imperial edict! He really shot himself in the foot this time!" Su Qing laughed.
"Humph, they deserved it. How dare Yan Wenqi slander us like that? Our family has been guarding Xuancheng for generations to defend the country. Our patriotic hearts are beyond reproach! How could others trample on them like this?" Su Huaiyuan still felt indignant when he recalled the malicious words he had heard in the Piaoxiang Winery that day.
"However, it seems that our Emperor is fair and wise. He can distinguish right from wrong. He didn't protect the Yan family's evil deeds but drove them out of Shengjing, giving us justice," Su Huaichen said thoughtfully.
"But will the Yan family really accept this willingly?" Wei Linlang looked worried. "They've been in Shengjing for many years, and their influence runs deep. How could they be willing to leave and give up their status as a prominent family?"
"This is exactly what I want to talk about," Su Qing put down his wine bowl and said seriously.
"The Emperor has given the Yan family three days to leave Shengjing. During these three days, they will surely try every means to get the Emperor to revoke the order or earn a meritorious deed to offset their crime. To avoid being used as stepping - stones, I think..."
With a sly smile, Su Qing said, "When the Emperor conferred the title of Duke of Yong on me, besides this mansion, he also bestowed a villa. It's located seventy miles west of Shengjing. I've heard that the scenery there is beautiful. How about we go there tomorrow and stay for three days?"
Su Yuanyuan's eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands. "Father, this is a great idea! If we're not in the city, all their schemes won't affect us!"
Su Huaisheng also grinned wickedly. "Not only should we go, but we should go in a grand manner so that everyone knows we won't be in Shengjing for these three days."
Su Huaiyuan scratched his head and asked, "Why? Shouldn't we keep it as secret as possible? What if the Yan family tracks us down to the villa and tries to harm us?"
Su Huaichen picked up a piece of pig's trotter for Wei Linlang beside him and said, "If we want to take the initiative, we should make it public. In this way, no matter what happens in Shengjing during these three days, we can stay out of it, and the people in the city can testify for us. It's a win - win situation."
Only then did Su Huaiyuan realize there were so many twists and turns in it.
Meeting Su Yuanyuan's sly eyes, Su Huaiyuan couldn't help feeling a bit dejected. Even Yuanyuan could understand this principle, but he couldn't. It seemed he needed to read more books.
Next, everyone began to discuss loudly what they needed to bring when going to the villa tomorrow and how to spend these three days after arriving. They argued so heatedly that their faces turned red.
After three rounds of drinking, their father and brothers were staggering drunk. Although Su Yuanyuan didn't drink, she seemed to be infected by the atmosphere and felt a bit dizzy.
When the gathering ended, thinking of the maids in the courtyard, she asked Su Qing for a jar of Daoci wine, hugged the wine jar, and walked back to her own courtyard under the stars.
On such a happy day, how could she not celebrate with the little maids in the courtyard?
As she walked, Su Yuanyuan looked up at the stars in the night sky and stroked the red string around her neck with the little sandalwood rabbit on it.
She finally didn't have to pretend to be a little fool anymore. She could be honest with her family.
But the first person in the world to know her true self was that little thief who came and went in a hurry and suddenly appeared in her room.
At this moment, she wondered where he was and what he was doing.
The Mo family had already sent the news that Su Yuanyuan had regained her wits back to the Mingzhu Courtyard. So as soon as Su Yuanyuan's figure appeared in the courtyard, the maids immediately rushed forward and surrounded her, chattering like a flock of larks.
"Miss, I'm Xialu. Do you recognize me?"
"Miss, I'm Qiushuang..."
Su Yuanyuan's eyes swept over the maids' faces one by one. Knowing that she had regained her wits, the maids' faces showed the same joy as her family's. Even Caiyun and Zhuiyue were visibly happy.
Su Yuanyuan smiled and handed the wine in her arms to Chunxiao. "On such a happy day, let's celebrate together as master and servants. This is the Daoci wine I asked Father for. I'm sure you must miss this taste."
Except for Caiyun and Zhuiyue, the other maids were all natives of Mobei and had a special affection for Daoci wine.
Chunxiao's eyes welled up with tears when she saw that Su Yuanyuan remembered them. She took the wine jar solemnly and replied, "Yes, Miss!"
The maids busily cleaned the courtyard, prepared some pastries and preserved fruits, lit a charcoal brazier, and sat down with Su Yuanyuan in the courtyard.
Su Yuanyuan sat in the main seat. While cracking melon seeds, she told the maids the story of what had happened in the Foxing Temple today and how they had rushed to the Piaoxiang Winery to support Su Huaiyuan in the contest.
When they learned that the Mo family had almost been slandered by the people from the Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion in the Foxing Temple, the maids were all very indignant and scolded the Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion one after another.
When they heard that Su Huaiyuan had been trapped by the young master of the Yan family and that a martial arts test had been turned into a "Six - Gentleman Test", Xialu was so excited that she almost jumped up and rushed out to throw rotten eggs at the Yan family's gate.
However, when they learned that Su Yuanyuan had won the qin test and that Su Huaiyuan had broken Yan Wenqi's hands and feet in the martial arts test, the maids cheered happily.
It was as if they had experienced all these things beside Su Yuanyuan.
Before they knew it, the whole jar of Daoci wine had been drunk up, and the maids were as drunk as their father and brothers, mumbling nonsense.
"My... my miss is the most beautiful and talented woman in the world! You... you all wait and see!"
Su Yuanyuan propped her chin with both hands and thought the maids around her were really cute.
She let out an almost inaudible sigh and couldn't help thinking that it would be great if Hongli were here too.
Suddenly, the "system" attached to the sandalwood rabbit in her heart reminded her:
【Little Yuanyuan, someone is coming!】
Xiaoba could alert her to impending danger. If it spoke at this moment, the person coming would definitely not be her family but a stranger intruding on her private territory.
Su Yuanyuan immediately sat up straight and looked around warily.
【In the northwest direction.】 Xiaoba said.
Su Yuanyuan looked in the northwest direction as Xiaoba had indicated. However, there were only swaying tree shadows, and she couldn't see anyone. But Su Yuanyuan knew that perhaps the person was hiding among them.
Just as she was feeling puzzled, something seemed to flash by in front of her eyes. The next moment, a figure landed behind her. A hoarse and unpleasant voice came from beside her ear:
"Long time no see, Miss Su. Your alertness has become sharper than before."
Su Yuanyuan, who had been on high alert, turned around in surprise when she heard this voice. "Yun Jian? Is that you?"