Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

Meanwhile, in a corner, Gu Mingxuan was also watching Su Qianrou leave, seeing her step by step onto the ship that was heading far away, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

"Alright, stop looking, or they'll leave," Xu Linlin said as she walked over.

Gu Mingxuan then looked away, but said nothing and turned to leave.

Xu Linlin followed silently behind him.

"What are you doing following me?"

"I'm afraid you might do something rash."

Gu Mingxuan glanced at her speechlessly, then continued walking forward.

Suddenly, Xu Linlin grabbed his hand and strode forward.

"What are you doing?"

"Let's go for a drink."

Somehow, Gu Mingxuan ended up following her to Juhuanxi.

Xu Linlin waved her hand and ordered the waiter to bring a lot of good wine to the private room.

"Drink up, don't be shy, this meal is on me."

"I don't drink alcohol."

"You're a grown man who can't drink."

"Who says men have to be able to drink?"

"Then just treat it like tea and drink it in big gulps."

Gu Mingxuan picked it up and smelled it, then hesitated.

Xu Linlin couldn't stand it, so she personally fed him the drink, saying, "Really, he's so fussy even when he's drinking a sip of wine."

"Cough cough... Why is this wine so strong?"

“It won’t be spicy after you drink it a few more times,” Xu Linlin said, walking to the side to sit down. She poured herself a glass and drank it all in one gulp, as if she drank every day. Little did she know, it was her first time too, so unsurprisingly, she was also burned by the spiciness and couldn’t help but cough.

"They act like they know everything, but they're just novices."

"You... I just don't like this kind of drink."

Gu Mingxuan didn't argue with her and drank another cup by himself.

Before long, both of them were drunk.

"Why are you all grown tall but not brave? I never knew you were such a coward. You can't even do something as simple as expressing your feelings. What good are you?"

“What do you know? She and I are worlds apart. She is a star in the sky, shining brightly, while I am just a speck of dust on the ground, insignificant and not worthy of her at all.”

"Then you should try your best to be worthy of her."

"Do you think I don't want to? But it's not that easy... However, why do you keep insisting that I confess my feelings to her? What are you plotting?"

"Conspiracy my foot! What conspiracy could I possibly have? I just wanted... I wanted her... to stay."

"Then why don't you just let her stay?"

"What reason do I have to let her stay?"

"It seems... there really isn't one."

"You're not allowed to speak," Xu Linlin pushed him.

Then Gu Mingxuan simply slumped onto the table.

"Hey, hey, wake up... You're so useless, you're drunk after drinking so little," she said, then lay down and fell fast asleep.

Regent's House

In the study, Mu Jinchen kept his head down, concentrating on official business.

Strangely, he used to stay in the palace almost every day, and sometimes he wouldn't even return to his residence for a month. But recently, for some reason, he unexpectedly returned to his residence and stayed for several days.

Before long, Yingfeng walked in. "Your Highness, the Empress Dowager has sent someone to invite you to the palace. She says she has something to discuss with you."

Mu Jinchen knew without a doubt why the Empress Dowager wanted to see him, so he pretended not to hear.

After waiting for a while and seeing that he did not respond, Yingfeng understood his meaning and went out.

After he left, a man dressed in dark blue robes walked in and respectfully bowed, saying, "Master."

Mu Jinchen glanced at him, then asked indifferently, "How is it?"

"Your Majesty, the situation is true. I inquired with the people of Yangzhou, and they all praised Su Jing'an. Furthermore, on the day he returned to the capital, the people of Yangzhou lined the road to see him off, a distance of ten miles. Not only that, the people of Yangzhou also presented him with a 'Ten Thousand People Umbrella'."

"Umbrella for Ten Thousand People"

"Ok".

"Our dynasty has been established for nearly two hundred years, and only two people have received the 'Umbrella of Ten Thousand People'. I never thought that Su Jing'an would be the third one." Then, thinking about what Su Jing'an had done in Yangzhou over the years, Mu Jinchen was no longer surprised.

The original plan was to return to the capital in ten days, but Song Shiyu felt unwell on the way and was later diagnosed as being one month pregnant. As a result, they were delayed by two days, and it took a total of twelve days for Su Qianrou and the others to return to the capital.

By this time, they had arrived at the dock and were preparing to disembark.

Su Jing'an walked at the front, then suddenly turned around and saw that Lin Rong's skirt was in the way, so he reached out to help her, saying, "Madam, please slow down."

Lin Rong was stunned for a moment, then realized what she meant and said, "Thank you, sir."

Su Mingxuan, on the other hand, was much more considerate, carefully supporting Song Shiyu and even helping her lift her skirt, which made Song Shiyu feel a little embarrassed.

“My husband, there’s no need for that. I can walk by myself.”

"It's alright, I'll help you. You're pregnant now, so you have to be careful."

Song Shiyu couldn't refuse him, so she had no choice but to let him help her down, while secretly feeling very pleased with herself.

Su Qianrou and Su Haoyu walked behind them. Seeing this, Su Haoyu said, "It's one thing for the older brother, but Father... he's changed his ways. He actually took the initiative to help Mother."

Su Qianrou looked at Su Jing'an and Lin Rong without saying a word, seemingly lost in thought.

Su Haoyu didn't mind and reached out to help her, saying, "Sister, let me help you."

"No need, you'll only slow me down if you help me," she said, pulling her hand away from his.

"Sis, at least give me a chance to show my skills."

Su Qianrou patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, you'll definitely have plenty of opportunities to shine in the future." Then she strode away.

Su Haoyu shook his head helplessly, then walked down as well.

After getting off, they searched the entire dock but couldn't find anyone from the Marquis's residence.

Su Haoyu couldn't help but say, "Could it be that the Marquis's residence didn't send anyone to pick us up?"

“Perhaps they didn’t know we were coming back today,” Su Mingxuan said.

“I wrote to them a long time ago to inform them that although we returned two days later than expected, shouldn’t they have sent someone to wait for us if we didn’t pick us up? But what happened? We didn’t even see a servant, let alone a junior. They really don’t care about us at all,” Lin Rong said with dissatisfaction.

"Alright, you know what kind of people they are, why bother arguing with them?" Su Jing'an comforted her.

"I can let it go with the others, but Mother..."

Just then, a servant rushed over, covered in sweat. "Greetings, Second Master, Second Madam, Eldest Young Master, Eldest Young Mistress, Third Miss, Fourth Miss, and Fifth Young Master."

"You are... Wang Ming."

"Yes, Second Master has a good memory."

"My mother sent you."

"Yes, when the old lady learned that no one was waiting at the dock, she sent me here. I didn't expect that I would be a step too late and keep you waiting, sir and madam."

"Let's go".

"Yes, sir. This way, madam."

Then, a group of people boarded a carriage and headed towards the Marquis's residence.