Su Xiaoqi had just returned home when she received news from someone sent by the Grand Princess.
She replied with just one word: Wait.
"Mistress, what exactly happened at the Grand Princess's manor today?" Zhang Yu had wanted to ask for a long time.
But seeing her mistress's serious expression, she didn't know how to speak up and had been holding back. It was only after returning to her own home that she finally couldn't resist.
"I thought you'd hold back a bit longer, but you couldn't help yourself," Su Xiaoqi teased her with a smile.
"Oh, Mistress, you know what kind of person I am. My thoughts run straight through, and I can't keep anything overnight." Zhang Yu pouted, looking helpless after being teased by Su Xiaoqi.
As the mistress and servant were talking, Shen Yun returned.
Su Xiaoqi saw him in his official robes and went forward to get him some casual clothes. After he changed, the iced jelly she had prepared was ready, along with iced loquats.
Shen Yun had been sweating profusely, and as soon as he wiped himself dry, sweat beads formed on his forehead again.
Unlike Su Xiaoqi, he was constitutionally sensitive to heat.
"It's too hot, I'm afraid there might truly be a drought this year." Shen Yun shook his head, his face full of worry.
He had been a little skeptical when Su Xiaoqi had mentioned the possibility of a drought year.
But now, seeing that the weather in late April had already become this hot, it was very abnormal.
Generally, the weather followed certain rules according to the twenty-four solar terms.
Current abnormalities indicated unusual celestial phenomena.
"What does the Imperial Observatory say?" Su Xiaoqi temporarily set aside her discussion with Zhang Yu and picked up Shen Yun's thread.
"The Imperial Observatory says they are still observing the celestial phenomena at night and currently do not know what the subsequent weather will be like. Perhaps it will rain after reaching extreme heat."
Shen Yun had already believed Su Xiaoqi's words and thought it was unlikely to rain.
Su Xiaoqi frowned, thinking that the Imperial Observatory of the Great Liang Dynasty was nothing special.
"These loquats taste good, are they from Bashu?" Shen Yun saw the large, yellow loquats on the table, covered in tiny water droplets from being iced, and his eyes lit up with joy.
Bashu was a region with many loquats, and this was the season to eat them.
When they were in Zhaojia Village, they would also pick them to eat at the village entrance or in Yuanbao Mountain.
He had thought they wouldn't be able to eat them after arriving in the capital this year, but he didn't expect his wife to have prepared them for him.
Su Xiaoqi's eyes flickered. These loquats were not transported from Bashu at all.
Loquats, like lychees, were delicate and couldn't be stored for long.
With the unusually stuffy and hot weather, it would take at least five days for even the fastest lychee route from Bashu to reach them by express horse.
Loquats, however, could not last that long.
Therefore, the loquats were not transported from Bashu but were picked from her space.
After some of the mist in her space dispersed, Yuanbao Mountain was revealed. She was surprised to find that what was in Yuanbao Mountain was also in her space.
Originally, there was a large loquat grove in Yuanbao Mountain, and Yuanbao Mountain in her space also had it.
Moreover, it had borne fruit. She slightly enhanced its growth with her space power, picked them, and tasted them herself. The taste was excellent.
Thinking that Shen Yun would be hot after returning from court, she had preemptively iced them for half an hour, so they would be ready for him when he returned.
However, Su Xiaoqi would not tell Shen Yun these things.
She smiled and said nothing.
She didn't want to lie to him, but she had the right not to speak.
Shen Yun understood instantly and didn't press further about the origin of the loquats. Instead, he asked, "What were you two talking about just now?"
Su Xiaoqi winked at him, happy that he didn't pry. She pointed at Zhang Yu and said, "You watched the earlier events for so long, why don't you tell him?"
Zhang Yu's eyes widened, and she looked distressed.
She had indeed watched for so long, but she was only watching it as entertainment.
How could she possibly understand anything?
"Well, I didn't see anything," Zhang Yu said frankly.
Su Xiaoqi smiled and tapped her forehead, "You, oh you."
She had no choice but to recount the events to Shen Yun from beginning to end.
Shen Yun was very astute and understood just by hearing the general outline.
"It seems the Grand Princess's manor is very unstable. Previously, the Grand Princess was poisoned, but you cured her, and the person seemed unwilling, so they tried poisoning her again.
Unexpectedly, you stumbled upon it again.
My dear, there are too many conspiracies in the Grand Princess's manor. You should avoid going there in the future."
The person behind the scenes was so ruthless, poisoning the Grand Princess again and again; their audacity was considerable.
Who would dare to harm the Grand Princess?
"Husband, I've already promised the Grand Princess that I'll help her find the mastermind," Su Xiaoqi said, shaking Shen Yun's arm, indicating she couldn't go back on her word.
Shen Yun looked helpless and then turned to Zhang Yu, who was looking so surprised she didn't know how to react.
"You stay close to your mistress and do not leave her side for even half a step," Shen Yun ordered Zhang Yu, sensing a strong undercurrent of conspiracy.
Zhang Yu knew the gravity of the situation and immediately agreed, stating that she would stick to her mistress like glue and protect her flawlessly.
With Zhang Yu's assurance, Shen Yun was still uneasy and tried to persuade Su Xiaoqi to hand the matter over to him.
"Whatever you want to investigate, I'll do it for you."
Su Xiaoqi felt happy inwardly; Shen Yun was truly considering her in every way.
But she couldn't accept it just like that.
She shook her head and said, "You are in the court now, you have your own matters to attend to, and I can handle these small things myself."
Seeing Shen Yun's unease, she added, "At most, if I can't handle it, I'll ask for your help."
"Ask for what? We are husband and wife, and what concerns my wife concerns me,"
Shen Yun's sweet words came effortlessly.
Su Xiaoqi feigned annoyance outwardly, complaining about his meddling, but inwardly, she was as sweet as honey.
She also asked him for a message, asking him to temporarily sleep on the beams near Bao Ge'er at the Grand Princess's manor for a few days.
Shen Yun agreed.
By the end of April, Su Xiaoqi had sent out her banquet invitations. Some she delivered herself, while others were sent through the Grand Princess and the Duke of Yu's manor.
Basically, all families friendly with the Grand Princess's manor and the Duke of Yu's manor received Su Xiaoqi's banquet invitations.
They might not have known Su Xiaoqi personally.
However, the Duke of Yu's manor and the Grand Princess behind her were renowned throughout the capital.
Therefore, they all felt honored to receive an invitation.
It even caused a brief stir in the capital.
People were comparing to see whose family had received an invitation and whose had not.
"Huh, the Marquis of Yong'an's manor doesn't seem to have received one."
"How do you know?" someone asked, confused.
Matters like receiving or not receiving invitations, while not strictly private, were not something everyone knew.
Especially after finding out their own family hadn't received one when most of their acquaintances had.
This was not a glorious matter, and no one would say it out loud, would they?
"This was sent by the Grand Princess's manor; it's unlikely the Marquis of Yong'an's manor didn't receive one."
The Marquis of Yong'an's manor was related by marriage to the Grand Princess's manor.
So, they didn't believe it. Someone said, "Let's just wait and see."
Others suggested that the Prince Ning's manor might be the one that didn't receive an invitation.
After all, the last time, there was an unpleasant incident between the Grand Princess's manor and Princess Qionghua of the Prince Ning's manor, which even escalated to the Empress.
Although the banquet was not hosted by the Grand Princess this time, the invitations were sent by her. Under such circumstances, it would be strange if she still sent an invitation to the Prince Ning's manor.
"That's not necessarily true. Even if the Grand Princess's manor didn't send one, the Duke of Yu's manor would have. After all, who can afford to offend the Prince Ning's manor?"
Everyone's discussion was quite lively.
Su Xiaoqi just smiled when she heard this. She didn't have time to explain these matters to them now.
On the day of the banquet, they would naturally find out.