Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

After a while, Su Jing'an asked in a deep voice, "If you don't want to marry Gu Mingxuan, then who do you want to marry?"

“We will be returning to the capital soon. The capital is full of talented people and many scions of noble families. Aren’t they better than Gu Mingxuan?”

"Ha, do you think you can just marry into those noble families in the capital? Don't you even know your own status? A concubine's daughter, do you really think you can marry a noble family's son?"

"Even being a concubine is better than marrying Gu Mingxuan, the son of a wealthy man."

"Foolish, ignorant, short-sighted, even a skillful piece of wood cannot be carved," Su Jing'an was so angry that he was furious.

Water flows downhill, and people strive for higher places, so Su Wanshan didn't think there was anything wrong with her thinking.

"I'd rather be a poor man's wife than a rich man's concubine. But you're so eager to be someone's concubine. How could I have given birth to such a worthless daughter? Let me tell you, Gu Mingxuan, you have to marry him whether you like it or not. There's no room for discussion."

"Since Gu Mingxuan is so good, why don't you let my sister marry him instead of making me marry him?"

"You bastard, how can you be the same as your sister?"

"Just because she is the legitimate daughter and I am the illegitimate daughter, does that mean I can only marry a powerless and insignificant man?"

“Gu Mingxuan is a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examinations) and is very likely to pass the imperial examinations in the future. If he does pass, he will have a bright future. If you marry him, you will be marrying above your station.”

"Heh, let's not even talk about whether he has passed the imperial examination yet. Even if he does pass, he will at most be a minor official of the seventh rank, just like you, Father. You came to Yangzhou to be a minor county magistrate, and after more than ten years, you are still only a prefect."

"You... are short-sighted, you're beyond help."

"Alright, sir, don't be angry. Since she's unwilling, let's call off this marriage. Otherwise, the marriage might turn into an enmity instead of a union."

“Hypocritical,” Su Wanshan muttered.

"What did you say?" Su Haoyu overheard her words and stood up agitatedly, glaring at her.

Su Wanshan wasn't afraid of him, so she glared back.

"You, get back here right now, and don't come out without my order."

"Father," Su Wanshan said, unwilling to accept it.

"Get out!" This shows that Su Jing'an was truly angered.

Helpless, Su Wanshan could only leave with resentment.

As she left, Granny Li came in and said, "Reporting to Master and Madam, the traitor has been found. It is the servant who guards the courtyard. It is said that he was bribed by the Second Miss, and it has been going on for three years. Over the years, he has passed on many messages to Pear Fragrance Courtyard and Plum Blossom Courtyard."

"Good, excellent! They've even set their sights on my Zilan Courtyard. Give that traitor a good beating and expel him from the manor."

"Yes".

In the end, the meal ended unhappily.

In the following days, Su Qianrou spent her days supervising the servants as they packed their things, and her nights working on plans. She was incredibly busy every day.

At this moment, she and Song Shiyu were discussing which items could be sold and which items should be brought back to the capital.

“These vases and paintings that aren’t very valuable and don’t really have any significance are better sold. Otherwise, they’re useless and just take up space.”

“That was my original plan, but… I heard that these paintings and calligraphy were all bought by Father. We should ask for his opinion.”

"Then put it away for now, I'll ask him about it later."

"Okay," Song Shiyu then told the maid to put it away and set it aside.

At this moment, Li Jiang, the servant beside Su Haoyu, rushed in in a panic, panting, and said, "This servant, this servant has met... Young Madam, has met... Young Miss, Young Miss, please go and see the Second Young Master."

"Xiaoyu, what's wrong with him?"

"The second young master has been sitting by the pond for almost two hours. No matter how I try to persuade him, he refuses to go back. I really had no other choice but to come and find you."

"What is he doing sitting by the pond?"

“These past few days, the master has been calling the young master to the study every day to check his homework and memorization. Although the young master is not familiar with it, he can still answer the questions with difficulty. But today, for some reason, the young master could not answer the questions at all. So the master scolded him. After leaving the study, the young master went to the garden and sat by the pond for two hours.”

Su Qianrou roughly understood what was going on and looked at Song Shiyu, "Sister-in-law, I'll leave this to you. I'll go check on Xiaoyu first."

"Okay, go ahead."

Then, Su Qianrou went out.

Then, they arrived at the garden and saw Su Haoyu sitting by the pond in the distance, looking listless, so they walked over.

Chunzhu and Li Jiang remained where they were and did not follow.

"If we keep feeding them, the fish will die from overeating."

Upon hearing this, Su Haoyu snapped out of his daze, looked at her, and then stood up. "Sis, what brings you here?"

"I haven't even asked you yet, what are you doing here on such a hot day?"

"Bored, feeding the fish."

"I think you're more like someone who's here to harm the fish."

Su Haoyu looked at her, puzzled.

Su Qianrou glanced at the fish in the pond. They were so greedy that their bellies were bulging and looked like they would burst at any moment. She said, "If I hadn't come soon, these fish would have died from overeating."

Su Haoyu glanced at it and said dismissively, "How stupid. They're already full, why are they still eating? Aren't they afraid of stuffing themselves to death?"

"Fish don't know when they're full. If they have food, they'll keep eating, so it's not surprising that they can overeat and die."

How do you know?

"That's what the book says."

"Oh," Su Haoyu said, his mood turning somber again when the topic of books came up.

"What's wrong? You look so worried."

"It's nothing," he said, then sat down again, picked up the fish food, then put it down again as if he remembered something.

Su Qianrou sat down in front of him, "You're unhappy because your father scolded you."

"How did you know... Li Jiang went to see you? Humph, you traitor."

He was just worried about you.

Su Haoyu naturally knew this, so he didn't take it to heart.

"Tell me what you're thinking."

"I didn't think much about it," Su Haoyu said, sounding a little guilty, so his voice was much softer.

“You’re my brother, and I’m your sister. Don’t I know you? Do you think Dad doesn’t love you?”

"That's true. He's always so kind and gentle to you and my older brother, but he never gives me a kind look."

"Do you remember when you were seven years old, you said you wanted to learn martial arts?"

“I remember, Dad was absolutely against it and even threatened to break my legs. Later, Mom, my older brother, and you all persuaded him, and he finally relented, saying that as long as I answered his questions, he would let me learn. Coincidentally, all the questions he asked were ones I had already learned, so I answered them all correctly.”

Do you really think this is just a coincidence?

"Isn't that so?"

"Your father knows your own worth; he was just letting you answer correctly on purpose."

"How is this possible?" Su Haoyu said in disbelief.

Su Qianrou then asked, "You should still remember those military books I gave you before, right?"

"Of course, those are all unique copies, I've always kept them very carefully."

"I enjoy reading, but not military books."

Su Haoyu knew this, so every time Su Qianrou saw a military book, she would buy it for him.

"You just said that those are all unique copies, do you think I can buy them?"

Su Haoyu looked blank, clearly not understanding what she meant.

Helpless, Su Qianrou had no choice but to say frankly, "That was given to me by my father."

"Dad," Su Haoyu exclaimed in surprise.

"Dad knows I don't like watching it, but he still gives it to me. Don't you understand?"

Su Haoyu seemed to understand, but not quite; he seemed to comprehend it, and in reality, he didn't believe it.