Going to Beijing to save his father, all the powerful officials in the city are vying to be his fath

Madam Su said calmly, "Your Majesty, I am only the child's stepmother. Her mother is no longer with us. She has never lived with us since she was a child. She has always been raised in the countryside, so her relationship with the master is naturally weaker.

Before the entire Su family was imprisoned, we knew that Chanzhou had suffered a flood. We thought that she and the old lady had died. Although we were sad, we could do nothing about it. But when we were released from prison, we learned that she was still alive. When we left Shangjingcheng for Chanzhou, we originally wanted to take her with us, but she said that she wanted to stay and be Mr. Zeng's granddaughter, and she was already engaged and didn't want to leave.

While I am glad that she is still alive, I am also sad. However, now that things have come to this, I cannot blame her too much. After all, we have never fulfilled our responsibilities as a father and mother. We can only live the life she wants according to her wishes.

As for changing her surname, she will have to take her husband's surname when she becomes a wife. A daughter who is married is like spilled water, so it doesn't matter what her surname is.

We didn’t live together before, but now it doesn’t matter whether we live together or not.”

Mrs. Su's cold attitude was something she had discussed with Su Qin. Su Qin said that the reason why the emperor wanted her to enter the palace was to make Mr. Zeng serve the emperor and to tie the Su family and the emperor together.

Only by making the emperor believe that Su Qin has no feelings for the Su family, and Su Jijing also being sad because Su Qin was afraid of death and recognized someone else and changed her surname when she was imprisoned, and no longer paying attention to this woman, the emperor felt that even if Su Qin entered the palace, it would not have any effect, and the emperor would not be angry with the Su family because she was engaged.

Those present who didn't know Su Qin's relationship with the Su family were all shocked. Su Qin was really the daughter of the Su family? She had actually evaded the search, avoided imprisonment, and even became Zeng Lao's granddaughter. She was truly capable. At the same time, everyone felt that Su Qin was cowardly, disrespectful of her ancestors, and even used Zeng Lao. She was an unfilial and scheming woman. Therefore, they looked at Su Qin with very unfriendly eyes.

The Queen was even more shocked. She asked Su Qin in surprise, "Are you engaged?"

Su Qin nodded, and the Queen was dumbfounded: "When?"

Su Qin: "Last year, not long after I recognized my grandfather as my relative."

The Queen didn't believe it: "To whom? How could you secretly get engaged when your parents are not around?"

Su Qin: "It's not a private matter. Grandpa is the matchmaker for me. My parents also agreed. The matchmaker is Zhao Liangchen, Grandpa's student."

The Queen exclaimed in shock, "Zhao Liangchen? Impossible! How come the Emperor and I have never heard of this? Even the Zhao family doesn't know about it."

Su Qin: "I came to the capital to look for my family for marriage, but so many things happened that I didn't mention it again. Grandfather said that my marriage couldn't be delayed, so he personally arranged a marriage for me. At that time, he wanted to marry me into the homes of his friends, but my status was awkward, and I didn't want to cause trouble for those noble families, so I planned to find a son-in-law.

Later, Zhao Liangchen said that no one had arranged his marriage, his parents had never thought of arranging a marriage for him, and his status and situation were not good. It would be better for me to marry him, so that our marriages would be settled, and we could stay with grandpa together to take care of him.

I thought Zhao Liangchen was a good candidate, so I agreed. Later, when my father and others were released from prison, Zhao Liangchen told his parents about this matter. His parents did not object, and they exchanged the engagement letter before leaving.

It's just that my parents were in a hurry to go back to help with the disaster relief, and Zhao Liangchen didn't want the Zhao family to know about it, so we decided on this matter privately and didn't tell anyone else.

The queen was silent for a while after hearing this. She didn't know what mood she was in, whether she should be happy or disappointed. Su Qin couldn't enter the palace, and there was one less woman competing with her. She should be happy, but she hadn't completed the task assigned by the emperor, and she was lying in her heart. She also didn't know whether what Su Qin said was true.

Logically, Su Qin had no reason to lie to her. The emperor had not yet announced that he would choose her to enter the palace, so there was no need for her to make up such a lie to avoid entering the palace. But why did this reason sound so strange?

Even if Su Jijing was angry because Su Qin was cowardly, Su Qin was still his daughter after all, representing his reputation. How could he just give his daughter away like that? Without even a proper engagement gift or ceremony?

The Queen thought for a moment and looked at Madam Su. "Although Miss Su is now Miss Zeng, she is still a member of the Su family. How can her engagement be so hasty? Deputy Commander Zhao is also a hero in this event, so his marriage cannot be settled so easily. Although his parents are no longer with us, we must not neglect the proper etiquette. Will this palace hold a formal engagement banquet for them?"

This time, Madam Su smiled sincerely. "I won't bother you, Queen. The Master said that Qin'er's marriage was indeed his fault. No matter what her last name is now, as his biological daughter, a dowry should still be prepared for her. It just so happens that my youngest daughter is having an engagement banquet in two days, so I'll hold it together with Qin'er's."

The queen was surprised again: "Your daughter is also engaged?"

Madam Su smiled and nodded, "Yes, it was with Wang Erding who was beside the emperor. When we returned to Chanzhou, we had just been released from prison and were weak. The master was seriously injured and had difficulty moving. It was that child who took care of us.

Later, when they arrived in Chanzhou, the master was short of manpower, and it was that child who helped him all the time. He made great efforts in recruiting private soldiers.

At that time, I thought that no matter whether the Su family was guilty or not, it would be difficult for my youngest daughter to marry into a wealthy family because she had been in prison. Even if she married into a lower-class family, her husband's family might not mind that she had been in prison. Besides, our health was not good, and our youngest son was still young. The family was in need of a man to support the family. Seeing that Wang Er was a reliable and honest child, I planned to marry my daughter to him.

However, I was too busy in Chanzhou at the time to attend to it, so we simply exchanged engagement letters without a formal engagement. Now that everything is settled, I want to hold a formal engagement ceremony for them."

After hearing this, the queen fell silent again. Now she didn't care whether the news was true or not. She was very upset and didn't know how to explain it to the emperor.

At this time, the wife of the Marquis of Wuning laughed sweetly and said, "Isn't this a coincidence? It seems that the recent days are all auspicious. And my brat is also going to have an engagement banquet. Why not hold it together?"

The Queen was in a bad mood at the moment and didn't want to know who the Marquis of Wuning was engaged to. She was thinking about how to explain this to the Emperor later.

But she couldn't just leave the Marquis of Wuning's wife out in the cold. The wife of the Duke of Lu was the highest-ranking among those present, so she looked at her curiously, "Is there a happy event happening in the Marquis of Wuning's mansion? Has the Crown Prince decided on another consort?"

The wife of Marquis Wuning said: "No, the eldest son is used to being wild, and we can't control his marriage. It's the second son."

Lady Lu: "Oh? It's the Second Young Master Qi. What kind of girl could make this naughty boy change his mind?"

The wife of the Marquis of Wuning smiled and pointed at Xu Yunguo and said, "This girl is here, Miss Xu."

"what?"

The queen cried out in surprise. If her belly hadn't been so heavy, she would have stood up in shock.

The Duke of Lu's wife glanced at the Queen, her eyes signaling that she was being too impolite. After the Queen had finished her outburst, she realized she had lost her composure, so she forced an unnatural smile and asked, "Didn't the Xu family just arrive in Shangjing? How did they get engaged to Master Qi?"