Hearing that they were going to the residence of the junior secretary, Su Hele lifted her chin and said,
"Madam should know that I've always scorned to curry favor with the powerful."
It was clearly a refusal.
Madam Li let out a cold laugh. "Fine. Let Su Nansheng steal the show then. I'm sure she'll be the mistress of the marquis's mansion in the future."
After saying that, Madam Li left without even looking at Su Hele.
A smart person needs no much prodding. When it came to jealousy and scheming, Su Hele was never lacking.
What she had to do now was to get Chen Wanrong to give in.
...
Because she had to attend banquets from time to time and also manage the accounts and the household, Su Nansheng was so busy that she could hardly spare any time.
It took her several days on and off, but she finally got everything ready for the banquet.
One day, while she was writing the invitations, she was summoned by Chen Wanrong.
"The Prince Cheng's mansion has invited me too?"
Su Nansheng was a bit surprised. She had long heard about the grand wedding of the heir of the Prince Cheng, but she never expected that she would be on the invitation list.
Chen Wanrong nodded with a smile.
It was nothing strange. By now, the ladies from various mansions had heard something about her.
With He Xun's status, it would be strange if she wasn't invited.
"You'll go with me then. Your clothes shouldn't be too eye - catching, but neither should they be too plain. After all, it's a happy occasion."
Although Chen Wanrong trusted Su Nansheng, she still wanted to give her a few instructions. One couldn't afford to be careless when dealing with the royal family.
Su Nansheng was different from that woman in Bitao Courtyard who always wore white. She liked to wear bright clothes.
But probably because she thought it was troublesome, she rarely wore accessories. It was okay on ordinary days, but for a wedding in a prince's mansion, it seemed a bit disrespectful.
Su Nansheng understood Chen Wanrong's concern and immediately nodded in agreement. She asked,
"Is the second young mistress on the invitation list?"
Since she was invited, Su Hele should be invited too.
But this time, she didn't want to clean up Su Hele's mess again. The occasion was too important for her to handle, and she might even get implicated.
"Her name is not on it. Even if it were, I wouldn't let her go."
Chen Wanrong answered straightforwardly. She didn't want to take any more risks.
...
In the evening of the next day, He Jin entered Yurong Courtyard beaming with joy.
"Madam, here's your invitation."
This was an invitation personally given to him by the heir of the Prince Cheng, asking him to bring his family.
All the wine he had drunk and the gifts he had given these days were not in vain.
Madam Li was very happy to see the gilded wedding invitation. But when she saw the words "bring your family", her face twitched involuntarily.
Seeing He Jin so happy, she naturally didn't want to pour cold water on him.
So she said, "The heir even remembers A Le. He's really considerate."
He Jin smiled proudly. "The heir is on good terms with me. Naturally, his people will pay attention to everything about me."
"I knew that A Jin is the most capable. You just don't like to fight for things usually. If you put your mind to it, that brute is no match for you."
Maybe influenced by He Jin's attitude, Madam Li was also very proud. But she quickly put away her smile.
This was a rare opportunity, and there couldn't be any mistakes.
"A Le has been learning the rules these days. You're her husband. You should give her some good advice and tell her to tone down her arrogant nature."
Her warning last time had worked. Although Su Hele was still the same as before, at least she didn't make wild remarks anymore.
She was planning to plead with Chen Wanrong in a few days to let Su Hele attend some small - scale banquets. But before she could even open her mouth, such an important invitation had arrived.
She had said all she could. The rest depended on A Jin.
"Of course."
He Jin agreed readily, but he didn't really care in his heart.
Previously, he had scolded Su Hele a few times and ignored her for a while.
Since then, she had been very attentive to him. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she was obedient to him.
So what if she was arrogant? She still had to listen to him and was tamed by him.
...
In the main hall of Bitao Courtyard, Madam Li, together with Nanny Wang and Nanny Liu, were all sizing up Su Hele in front of them.
Today, she was wearing a long purple dress with patterns of clustered colorful flowers, paired with a shawl of the same color. It was neither too plain nor too bright to steal the show.
Her black hair was styled into a flower - shaped bun, and she wore a golden hairpin with crabapple flower ornaments. She looked graceful and beautiful.
Madam Li was quite satisfied with Su Hele's appearance. After looking her up and down again, Madam Li said,
"I've prepared the congratulatory gift for you, and I've also arranged people for you. When you get to the Prince Cheng's mansion, you don't need to say much. Nanny Liu will handle everything for you. Do you remember?"
She had pleaded with Chen Wanrong for a long time and showed her the heir's invitation before she finally agreed to let Su Hele attend the banquet.
But she was still warned by Chen Wanrong that if there were any more mistakes this time, no one would come to her rescue, not even Su Nansheng. So she must keep a close eye on Su Hele.
She didn't need Chen Wanrong to tell her that if Su Hele caused trouble on such a happy day, her life would be in danger.
Actually, her life didn't matter much, but He Jin couldn't afford to lose face.
So Madam Li had started to arrange everything two days ago. From the clothes to the jewelry and then to the congratulatory gift, everything had passed through her hands to ensure that there would be no problems.
To be on the safe side, she didn't even let Su Hele speak, for fear that she would say something wrong again.
Even so, she was still a bit worried. She kept giving instructions until even she herself was annoyed.
Su Hele just nodded slightly.
Madam Li was annoyed at her attitude, but she managed to hold back and got up first.
When they arrived at the mansion gate, Chen Wanrong and Su Nansheng had just arrived.
Seeing Su Hele's attire, Su Nansheng couldn't help raising her eyebrows. It was the first time she had seen Su Hele dressed so brightly. She really stood out.
But Su Hele ignored her. After greeting Chen Wanrong, she walked straight to the carriage she usually took.
Seeing this, Nanny Liu quickly followed and stood beside her, not daring to relax for a moment.
Chen Wanrong glanced at Madam Li, who quickly said,
"I've given her all the instructions. I guarantee there won't be any mistakes."
Chen Wanrong nodded. "Let's go."
Hearing this, Su Nansheng and the others immediately got into their respective carriages.
Since they were going to a prince's mansion, they had to put on a bit of a show. So each of them had a carriage.
With a crack of the whip, several carriages started at the same time, looking quite imposing.
In the last carriage, Su Hele pulled at her clothes with a cold face.
The bright purple and yellow colors were too tacky and didn't suit her temperament at all.
She didn't know how many young ladies from noble families would come to the Prince Cheng's mansion today. Those ladies were the most vulgar and fond of comparing with each other.
She didn't even want to stand with them for fear of getting stained with their money - grubbing air.
If it weren't for He Jin's request, she really wouldn't want to attend such a noisy occasion.
Anyway, she wouldn't be the protagonist of this wedding banquet, no matter how excellent she was.