The daughter of a noble family is reborn, and she is doted on by her godmother.

"Flower viewing party?"

"Yes, but Qingqing, it's not convenient for me to stay any longer. Could you get me two sets of jewelry suitable for formal occasions, something more dignified?" Xing Xiaoyu was a little anxious and didn't say much more to Yun Qingjin.

"alright, please wait."

Yun Qingjin quickly returned to the backyard, selected two ordinary hairpins with floral patterns, and came out carrying two boxes.

"These two are the most common hairpins my family wears for banquets. They are decorated with intertwined flowers and have one or two small red buds, imitating balsam flowers. They won't seem too over the top, and they should be just right for your status."

Xing Xiaoyu opened the lid and took a look to confirm that there was no problem.

"Qingqing, it's not a good time to stay. I'm leaving now. If anyone comes to ask me about it, you know what to say."

"Don't worry, Sister Xiaoyu," Yun Qingjin said softly, then her expression changed.

"Thank you for your presence, Lord Xing. These two hairpins are a gift from our Yanchun Pavilion. We hope you will come and patronize our business again."

Yun Qingjin escorted the person to the door, deliberately speaking loudly. Sure enough, out of the corner of her eye, Yun Qingjin saw two people at the street corner look away.

"Oh dear, I can't accept that. But I was really in a hurry today. Thank you for the gift, little shopkeeper. I'll come to your shop to pick out jewelry again next time." Xing Xiaoyu played along with Yun Qingjin's performance, while also noticing the person watching her from the street corner.

Unfortunately, there was no way to immediately inquire about the commotion Xing Xiaoyu had caused early that morning. Yun Qingjin quickly told Yun Yuke what had happened. The mother and daughter planned to go to the government office that evening.

As a result, the Yun family also received the invitation at noon.

"Is Boss Yun here?"

The person who arrived was dressed in the standard uniform of a servant in the Marquis's mansion, and it was clear at a glance that he was the steward of the Marquis's mansion.

"I am Yun Yuke. May I ask your names, gentlemen?" Yun Yuke hurriedly stepped forward to greet the newcomer.

"Mr. Yun, you're too kind. We're just stewards from the Marquis's residence." The steward who came was quite calm. He cupped his hands in greeting, and at the same time, a servant beside him handed over a special scroll.

"Three days later, at the Marquis of Ankang's residence outside the city, our Marquis will hold a flower viewing party and invite all the prominent figures in Changgan City to attend."

"Huh? Can we go?" Yun Yuke immediately realized that this flower viewing party was the news that Xing Xiaoyu had brought during the day.

The steward smiled slightly, "That's right, our Marquis originally intended to invite everyone in the city to join in the festivities, and anyone of any standing will be invited."

"Thank you very much, Lord Marquis." Seeing that the other party was adamant, Yun Yuke had no reason to refuse, so she had no choice but to accept it.

The steward who came specifically emphasized, "Mr. Yun, our Marquis said that you must bring your daughter with you. We would be honored if your daughter would do us the honor of coming."

The steward was holding a brocade box, which he opened to find a scroll inside.

"This is a special invitation from our household. You two can bring this to our residence when you come."

After handing the brocade box to Yun Yuke, the steward looked specifically at Yun Qingjin beside Yun Yuke, smiled and nodded, and after confirming the child's appearance, he turned and left.

The smile didn't reach her eyes, and Yun Qingjin, facing the manager directly, felt inexplicably flustered.

Suddenly, I felt that this look was somewhat similar to the one I had in my past life when I was learning to be a "skinny horse" (a euphemism for a prostitute). The madam had a similar smile to me after I completed my task.

Yun Qingjin shuddered and grabbed Yun Yuke's arm, "Mother, that person is a little scary..."

Yun Yuke hugged Yun Qingjin. At the same time, the other craftsmen on duty in Yanchun Pavilion were also present and saw the steward's threat, so they all came forward.

"Boss, it's almost autumn, what flowers can we possibly see? This is a trap, isn't it? Let's not go."

Yun Yuke unfolded the invitation. The wording on it was quite sophisticated. It basically said that the Marquis's residence had planted many flowers, which, through special cultivation, would be in full bloom in a few days. Therefore, everyone in the city was invited to join in the celebration.

"Who doesn't know it's a trap... The key question is, can we really refuse?" Yun Yuke muttered to herself, unsure of how to make a decision.

Yun Yuke looked at Qingqing and said, "I can go by myself. Qingqing doesn't need to go."

"Boss Yun, I advise you to listen to me." A voice came from the doorway, and everyone looked towards the door.

The visitor was the local village head, surnamed Yang, who was quite prestigious in the area.

"Grandpa Village Chief is here," Yun Qingjin greeted him in advance, showing respect.

Yang Baozhang nodded and continued to ask Yun Yuke, "Boss Yun, is this so? You received an invitation from Marquis Ankang, right? And his steward specifically requested that your child go as well, did I hear that right?"

Yun Yuke nodded. "That's right."

"In that case, you'd better take your child with you. Take my advice: if you take your child, nothing will happen to you. But if you don't take your child, you need to be careful."

"What does this mean? Can't we just not go?"

Yang Baozhang shook his head. “You’ve just arrived and don’t know the situation. You’ve done a lot of good deeds in this area, and we don’t want to harm you, so we’re here to tell you: Although this flower viewing banquet is only held occasionally, each time it’s held, Marquis Ankang will specifically designate some people. If you don’t listen to him, many different people in Changgan City will come to torment you.”

"Compliance test?" Yun Yuke blurted out.

"Obey? Of course. Since he was enfeoffed, Marquis Ankang has been living in this area. He has done a lot of things here, such as building bridges and paving roads. However, he has a very unpredictable temper. If anything doesn't go his way, he will find all sorts of ways to torment people."

When the village head mentioned this marquis, he spoke in a low voice, but the sense of awe in his tone was still palpable.

"Village head, please sit down first. I'll have someone pour you a glass of water." Yun Yuke sensed something was wrong and quickly asked the person next to her to bring tea.

"No need, no need. Just listen to me. In Changgan, whatever Marquis Ankang says goes. Don't go against him. He usually doesn't get involved much, but when it comes to banquets or when we need to support him, we must not go against him too much."

Yun Yuke's eyes shifted, and she changed the subject, "Well, thank you for your concern, Chief, I understand; but I still don't quite understand, this Marquis Ankang seems like a good person to me, why are you all so afraid of him? I've inquired about him before, and it seems like as long as you don't offend him in person, you should be fine, right..."

When Yun Yuke heard what the village head said, she sensed that there was a problem: the information she had collected back then was obviously flawed and insufficient.

The information I had previously gathered seemed to be all from recent times, and in that short period of time... it seemed that Marquis Ankang had indeed been quiet for a while.

"Village head, I wonder if it's convenient for you? I'd like to ask if there are any taboos associated with the Marquis of Ankang, so I can find out in advance and avoid being affected."

Yang Baozhang took a sip of tea and sighed, "Alas... when Marquis Ankang was young, he especially liked to 'have fun' in our city."

"Fun?"

"For example, if he couldn't stand the beggars in the city, he would arrest them all and send them to his own manor to work. When someone passed by, many beggars would be working there, day and night. Marquis Ankang would even ride people like horses and beat them at will. When the beggars could no longer move, he would send them back to where they had been begging. He would also send people to follow the beggars and demand that they not rest and must be begging on the street without stopping for a moment."

"Isn't the government doing anything about it?"

Yang Baozhang's face turned ashen, and he forced a helpless smile. "The government wants to take action, but there's no law that protects people like beggars who don't have household registration."