Cold-faced Empress

The thin oil-paper umbrella caught the dripping raindrops and also obscured the upper half of Fu Siying's face, leaving Bai Qingyu only able to see the hazy veil covering her face.

Fu Siying, using the umbrella as cover, didn't look up at Bai Qingyu, which allowed her to maintain a demure and reserved demeanor.

Madam Li explained with a smile, "This girl caught a cold and sprained her ankle before she left, so she's not in good spirits. I hope Young Master Zhiyu will forgive her."

Bai Qingyu noticed early on that Fu Siying was being supported by her younger siblings and was walking with a slight limp. Upon hearing this, she immediately welcomed Prime Minister Fu and her family into the Bai residence to settle them in.

Both Bai's parents were prominent figures in Pingcheng. They were warm and courteous enough to welcome the prime minister's family as guests, but without appearing obsequious or ingratiating.

“Ah Yu said that after he went to the capital, he received great care from the Prime Minister and your family. My wife and I are extremely grateful.”

Prime Minister Fu and Madam Li exchanged a surprised glance, both finding themselves puzzled. When had they ever taken care of Young Master Zhiyu?

Fu Siying glanced at Bai Qingyu at Bai's father's gratitude, but quickly looked away before he could look back at her.

He's such a pushover, always bestowing favors on others.

"The guest rooms have been cleaned. Since your daughter is feeling slightly unwell, please go back to your room and rest. If you need a doctor, please do not hesitate to instruct the servants in the manor."

"Thank you."

From the moment they entered, they all went to the guest room, with the rest of the family following behind Prime Minister Fu, awkwardly laughing. Rather than displaying arrogance, it seemed they were simply unable to get a word in edgewise.

After returning to the Bai family guest house, and after Master Bai and Madam Bai had left, Fu Shi, the second master of Fu, said to Prime Minister Fu with a forced smile, "I didn't expect that my elder brother had such connections in Pingcheng. Your connections are truly extensive."

Prime Minister Fu disliked people saying that he had extensive connections, as it sounded like he was abusing his power for personal gain and bullying others.

Ignoring his second brother, he turned to respectfully see the old lady off, saying, "Mother, you must be tired from your journey. Please go back to your room and rest."

Madam Fu was indeed getting on in years and needed to rest immediately, so the family members stopped making sarcastic remarks like Fu Shi did and quickly went back to their rooms to rest.

The Fu family settled in at the Bai family's place. After they had rested enough, the Bai family would host a welcome dinner for them.

"Wow, these rooms are all decorated so elegantly." Yunzhi looked around, full of praise.

Fu Siying nodded. Indeed, even the guest rooms in the Bai family's residence were extremely exquisite and meticulous, comparable to the master's bedroom in her own home. Furthermore, the servants in the Bai mansion were all handsome and refined, demonstrating that the Bai family was an extremely particular household.

Li praised again: "Young Master Zhiyu's parents are clearly upright and sincere people. Their family tradition is indeed simple and honest."

Yunzhi couldn't help but laugh: "Mother, how many times have you praised him? You really admire Young Master Zhiyu that much?"

Madam Li was taken aback, then smiled with a somewhat strange expression, "Mother not only admires him, but also wishes she had such a good son-in-law."

Upon hearing this, Yunzhi was taken aback: "Huh?"

Knowing she had said too much, Madam Li waved her hand to dismiss the matter, but then secretly pulled Fu Siying aside and whispered, "Yingying, what do you think of Young Master Zhiyu's character?"

Having heard her mother's words just now, how could she not guess the meaning behind her mother's current question? Fu Siying sighed helplessly, "Mother, how can you think of anything?"

"What's there to be afraid of?" Madam Li said confidently. "Anyway, you're going to break off your engagement with Prince Mu. Once the engagement is broken off, all those gossips in the capital will definitely start talking about you. If you turn around and immediately get engaged again, I guarantee it will infuriate a lot of jealous people."

Seeing her mother's matter-of-fact expression, Fu Siying found it difficult to tell her that she had been threatened by Mo Canglan and had therefore broken her promise to cancel the marriage.

She still held onto a sliver of hope, believing there was a chance the matter of breaking off the engagement could be resolved. After all, almost everyone in the capital knew that the Emperor and Prince Mu had agreed to her breaking off the engagement, and even if Mo Canglan alone refused to let go, who knew if something might change?

Li mistook Fu Siying's silence for her pondering the feasibility of the matter, and thus praised Bai Qingyu even more effusively.

"He told his parents that he was well taken care of by our family, but your father and I haven't, and Yunzhi and Rongchen certainly haven't either. It's clear that all the credit is with you. I remember, didn't he even bring you medicine at first? It was more like he was taking care of you. Such a good man, aren't you tempted?"