It's all ruined, who cares about the chastity arch

Gu Linjun listened quietly at the side, his eyes full of understanding and admiration for the young emperor's meticulous thoughts.

His patience was as deep as the ocean, and he could sense the excitement and anxiety running through the little emperor's heart tonight, and he was probably having trouble sleeping.

In order to prevent the little emperor from acting on impulse, Gu Linjun even arranged for people to guard the palace gate to prevent him from really running to Zheng Mansion in the middle of the night. After all, as the king of a country, such behavior is inevitably inappropriate.

Fortunately, the little emperor still took the overall situation into consideration. He just couldn't wait to send someone to deliver an exquisite invitation to the Zheng family in the dead of night.

Originally, the birthday banquet that the emperor planned for himself happened to be on the same day as Su Wanyu's birthday, which was several months ago.

However, as Jiangzhou suffered a severe flood at that time, the emperor attached great importance to people's livelihood and deliberately postponed the banquet to show his concern for the victims.

It wasn't until this month that a new date was finally set, just five days later.

The eldest princess had hurriedly asked Su Wanyu to change the color of her clothes in order to appear in her best form at this important banquet.

Originally, this was supposed to be a private family gathering. The emperor did not invite other court officials. Only the beauties in the imperial harem, relatives of the Pingxuan Marquis' Mansion, members of the Pei family, and the eldest princess' family participated.

The fact that the Zheng family was invited to participate this time as an exception was undoubtedly a blessing from heaven for them.

That night, when the old lady of the Zheng family tremblingly took the invitation personally bestowed by the emperor from the maid's hands, the expression on her face instantly changed from worry to incredible joy.

The Zheng family has suffered a series of misfortunes recently, especially the death of Zheng Yinyin, which is still shrouded in mystery. The Zheng family is in a panic, fearing that they have angered God.

Receiving the emperor's invitation at this moment seemed like a ray of hope given by fate, which instantly made Madam Zheng glow with vitality. Little did she know that hidden behind this joy might be the last struggle for the family's rise and fall.

"Quick, go find Xiao Guo immediately and ask her to start preparing for entering the palace."

Madam Zheng almost staggered to her feet from the bedside, her tone revealing an irrepressible urgency.

"It's really God's protection for our Zheng family. If we can enter the palace this time, and if we are lucky enough to be favored by the royal family again, maybe one of our young ladies will be able to rise to prominence and become a phoenix."

Her mind was completely immersed in how to take the opportunity to improve her family's status.

In addition, Madam Zheng also summoned Zheng Chengyuan.

As the third son born out of wedlock, Zheng Chengyuan's mother died early and he was raised by the old lady since childhood.

He is only one year older than Zheng Chengyan and they got married two years ago. His wife is the concubine's daughter of the eldest wife of the Pei family.

Although he was born in a side branch, because of the connection between the main branch of the Pei family and the royal family, this Pei was also from a famous family. On weekdays, the two of them did not interfere in the troubles of the Zheng family. They were determined to separate as soon as possible, set up their own business, and live their own lives.

In their previous life, they didn't have much interaction with Su Wanyu, but after the Jiang family came to power, they all came forward to curry favor with her, showing their snobbery and cowardice.

Now that Mr. Zheng has gone to Huzhou, all household affairs are temporarily handled by Xiao Guo. The two of them are secretly calculating whether they can take this opportunity to get more of the family property and leave this place of trouble as soon as possible.

But the reality is that the Zheng family is already stretched to the limit and can barely maintain daily expenses, so where is the extra money for them to squander like this?

In order to enter the palace with dignity this time, Old Madam Zheng had to reluctantly sell off several of the manors that came with her as a dowry, just to barely maintain her superficial glory.

Since the whole family is about to set foot in the imperial city, they naturally cannot lose face. They have to wear silk and satin so as not to be looked down upon.

As for Su Wanyu, her heart is as hard as a rock and it will be difficult to convince her in the short term.

Old Madam Zheng then turned her attention to Pei.

Although Pei was also a illegitimate daughter of the Pei family, she was financially well-off, and perhaps this could be the key to the preparations for entering the palace this time.

Even though the eldest son of the Pei family is only a third-rank official now, his family background is extraordinary.

Back then, the master of the Pei family was the prime minister of the dynasty and held great power, and the daughter of the family was honored as a royal concubine. For a time, the entire family was prosperous and glorious.

Even today, the Pei family is not as glorious as before, but compared with the gradually declining Zheng family, it still retains real power. Its position is far more stable than that of the first-class Changping Marquis Zheng family, which is only supported by empty reputation.

"Cheng Yuan, do you know what I just received? The invitation from the palace turned out to be from the Queen Mother herself inviting all members of our Zheng Mansion to attend a grand banquet to be held in the palace in five days."

When Zheng Chengyuan heard the news, he couldn't help but lower his head slightly, with a bit of shyness on his face.

Normally, the Zheng family is extremely strict in distinguishing between legitimate and illegitimate children. On grand occasions like this, except for the eldest and second young masters of the Zheng family, others rarely have the opportunity to show up.

Madam Zheng narrowed her eyes slightly, and a sly smile appeared on her face. "It's been a while since your eldest brother passed away. Now, among the men in the Zheng family, only you and Yan'er are still somewhat promising. Therefore, after discussing with your mother, I decided to send you and Yan'er to represent the family and bring your family members to the palace banquet."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Chengyuan was overjoyed and asked immediately, "What about my sixth brother? Isn't he going with us?"

Madam Zheng's face suddenly darkened, and her tone was a little stern: "That child is too wild, it's better to let him stay at home obediently."

Ever since the incident when Jiang came into the family, the Sixth Master Zheng Yuanbin seemed to have become much quieter overnight. He obeyed Su Wanyu's orders all day long, staying quietly in his own courtyard and hardly stepping out of the courtyard.

When outsiders saw this, they all thought that he had become even more stupid and dull.

However, the truth is that Su Wanyu secretly invited a famous doctor with superb medical skills and a master with high martial arts skills to not only heal his body and mind, but also teach him martial arts to help him strengthen his body.

Although the Zheng family was cold towards Su Wanyu, she knew very well who was affectionate towards her and who was cruel to her. She kept it in mind and waited for the day when she could repay or retaliate.

Zheng Chengyuan felt a little relieved. He knew very well that as a bastard's son, he could not compete with Zheng Chengyan's status as the eldest son. But he could not help but compete with Zheng Yuanbin on everything.

He secretly vowed that he would never admit that he was no match for a man who was considered a lunatic.

Seeing the smiling faces of the couple, Madam Zheng stopped beating around the bush and got straight to the point: "This time when you enter the palace, our Changping Marquis Mansion must make a respectable appearance. You two will be fully responsible for the preparations."

Upon hearing this, Pei, who was standing next to Zheng Chengyuan, suddenly froze in place, at a loss as to what to do.

Zheng Chengyuan didn't think much about it and immediately agreed: "Yes, old lady, this matter will be undertaken by my husband and me."

Pei's face turned pale, unable to hide her displeasure.

Madam Zheng smiled brightly and praised, "Chengyuan, you still know the rules. Go ahead. After the matter is settled, I will definitely say a few good words for you in front of your father. Maybe I can even help you separate and live separately sooner."