Sun's family had originally sent a maid to follow Chu Tianjiao, but Chu Tianjiao walked too fast, and the maid from the Duke of Wuning's mansion couldn't catch up with her and Chu Yun'er.
Chu Tianjiao asked around and learned that her aunt was currently directing things in the banquet hall of the front courtyard.
This banquet at the Duke of Wuning's mansion not only invited female guests but also male guests. The women would soon be seated in the flower hall of the inner courtyard, while the men would dine in the banquet hall of the front courtyard.
Chu Tianjiao had originally wanted to visit her aunt first but had to give up on that idea.
Although she was usually casual in her daily life, she still needed to observe basic social etiquette on such formal occasions to avoid criticism of the Marquis of Liyang Mansion's upbringing.
She found an old woman to send a message to the front courtyard, seeking her grandfather.
After waiting for a short while, a hearty laugh reached Chu Tianjiao's ears.
Her burly grandfather, dressed in a luxurious dark red brocade robe, was laughing and shouting from afar:
"Where's my Jiao'er? This little ingrate has finally remembered she has a grandfather!"
Chu Tianjiao's expression turned awkward. Her grandfather was still as unreliable as ever!
Speaking of which, the Zheng Family and the Chu Family were considered old family friends.
Chu Tianjiao's philandering grandfather was initially her grandfather's vanguard general.
However, Chu Tianjiao's grandfather, the old Marquis Liyang, had unfortunately passed away a few years ago due to severe injuries and illness.
This Duke of Wuning, on the other hand, seemed to live more freely as he aged. It was said that he had even taken a new concubine this year, truly living up to the saying "old but vigorous."
Although the Duke of Wuning had many children, he valued his pair of children from his first wife considerably.
He had doted on Chu Tianjiao, his eldest granddaughter, since she was little, giving her the moon and stars if she asked for them.
Back then, when the old Marquis Liyang was still alive, the Duke of Wuning would often visit the Marquis of Liyang Mansion. The two old men competing for their granddaughter's affection became a frequent scene.
Just as Chu Tianjiao went to greet him, a forceful gust of wind came at her face. Chu Tianjiao blocked with her right arm and swung out a left punch.
"Ouch!"
The Duke of Wuning covered his eye, and Chu Tianjiao hurriedly stopped, anxiously asking, "Grandfather, did I hurt you?"
Chu Yun'er, who was following closely behind Chu Tianjiao, shuddered and took two steps back, distancing herself from Chu Tianjiao, thinking:
Big sister is so fierce, she even dares to hit her own grandfather. Wouldn't hitting me be a piece of cake?
The Duke of Wuning removed the hand covering his left eye and laughed heartily, "My Jiao'er's martial arts have improved again, and she's using our Zheng family's fist technique!"
Seeing the Duke of Wuning's slightly bluish eye socket, Chu Tianjiao guiltily took his hand and complained:
"Grandfather, you're no match for me now. Please don't ambush me like this anymore. I'm afraid I might not be able to hold back and really hurt you!"
The Duke of Wuning turned to his son, Zheng Yuanshuang, who had come along, and said, "Listen to her talk, so full of herself. Truly worthy of being Zheng Batian's granddaughter!"
Chu Tianjiao's uncle Zheng Yuanshuang rolled his eyes, looking quite disapproving of his father, and advised:
"Jiao'er is right. You should take it easy, old man. Look at yourself, can you still handle such rough play?"
"If you fight with the younger generation, people outside won't say you're disrespectful in your old age, they'll say these youngsters are inconsiderate."
Chu Tianjiao nodded repeatedly, agreeing with her uncle's words.
Her grandfather used to ambush her often, and Chu Tianjiao was used to roughhousing with him.
Chu Tianjiao couldn't match the Duke of Wuning and often got angry when he successfully ambushed her.
Unexpectedly, after observing three years of mourning and returning from rebirth, her grandfather had aged, and now he couldn't beat her anymore.
The Duke of Wuning didn't mind being punched by his granddaughter at all. Instead, he was quite pleased, after all, Chu Tianjiao's fist technique was personally taught by him.
The Duke of Wuning led everyone to his courtyard and sent a maid to call for Chu Tianjiao's aunt.
This lady of the Duke of Wuning's mansion, whose maiden name was Wang, had been good friends with Chu Tianjiao's mother before she was married and was quite caring towards Chu Tianjiao.
After exchanging pleasantries with her aunt, Chu Tianjiao entrusted Chu Yun'er to her aunt's care before following the Duke of Wuning into the study.
As soon as they entered the room, Zheng Yuanshuang inquired about Chu Tianjiao's marriage.
Chu Tianjiao repeated the same explanation she had given to the Chu family.
The Duke of Wuning said nonchalantly, "If you don't want to marry, then don't. If the emperor dares to force my granddaughter into marriage, I'll submit a joint petition with your father to cancel the engagement."
Zheng Yuanshuang, exasperated, retorted to his father, "What good would your petition do!"
The Duke of Wuning, hearing this, flew into a rage, slammed the table, and shouted, "I may be retired now, but I'm still a third-rank duke. I was once the great General of Distant Expeditions, commanding thousands of troops. Would the emperor dare not give me some face?"
Zheng Yuanshuang, not wanting to argue with his father, muttered, "Is your face worth more than my brother-in-law's? Even when Old Madam Chu submitted a petition, the emperor didn't approve."
Chu Tianjiao, not wanting her grandfather and uncle to worry about her cancelled engagement, tried to console them:
"Grandfather, don't worry. Uncle is right, the emperor won't easily agree to cancel the engagement. He's probably waiting for my father to return to court, intending to use this matter to offset part of my father's merits from his victorious return."
The Duke of Wuning spat, "The imperial family is just that petty!"
Zheng Yuanshuang then asked about the Eastern barbarian spies.
It seemed that Zheng Chuang had not kept this matter from his father when he returned home.
Chu Tianjiao explained the whole story.
"Uncle, Grandfather, do you know much about Minister Ye?"
The Duke of Wuning said, "Ye Linxuan is no good! He was the top scholar in the imperial examinations of the Bingchen year. When he first entered the court, he had no foundation at all, but in just over twenty years, he became the Minister of Personnel. No one would believe it if you said he wasn't good at maneuvering."
"This man appears amiable on the surface, but he likes to stab people in the back. I've suffered at his hands before!"
"Later, he sent his daughter into the palace, presumably with greater ambitions.
But if you're saying he's involved with Eastern barbarian spies, I think that's unlikely.
I've heard that when Ye Linxuan was young, his entire family was killed by the Eastern barbarians."
After hearing the Duke of Wuning's introduction, Chu Tianjiao thought: It seems the Ye family's characteristic is to be friendly in public but scheming behind the scenes.
Ye Tinglan indeed has her grandfather's style, no wonder a mere concubine's daughter can navigate the Ye family so well.
The three of them chatted for a while longer, then the Duke of Wuning actually took Chu Tianjiao to the ancestral hall to offer incense to her birth grandmother.
By the time they finished all this, it was nearly noon, and most of the guests should have arrived.
The Duke of Wuning and Zheng Yuanshuang had to go receive the guests, so Chu Tianjiao returned to the flower hall.
As soon as she entered, she saw Chu Yun'er standing with Ye Tinglan, Zhou Tongyun, and others, chatting and laughing.
Chu Tianjiao walked over and heard Ye Tinglan praising Chu Yun'er's pink pomegranate skirt.
Chu Yun'er was quite pleased with herself, boasting that this skirt was a new product from the Elegant Embroidery Hall.
Zhou Tongyun seemed unable to stand Chu Yun'er's smug look and was about to retort when Ye Tinglan tugged at her, making her close her mouth.
Ye Tinglan, with words as sweet as honey, flattered Chu Yun'er: "Miss Chu is naturally beautiful, she looks good in anything. Not everyone can queue up to buy these new products from the Elegant Embroidery Hall."
A noble lady next to them, whom Chu Tianjiao didn't quite recognize, chimed in:
"I went to the Elegant Embroidery Hall last month to order a skirt, but they said it would take two months to deliver. I ordered spring clothes, but in two months, wouldn't it be time for summer clothes? So I couldn't wait and cancelled the order."
Ye Tinglan nodded while praising Chu Yun'er for her capabilities.
Chu Yun'er, thirteen years old this year, was even taller than Ye Tinglan due to her martial arts training since childhood.
She straightened her back, and the expression on her face visibly became more arrogant.
Chu Tianjiao could believe that if she hadn't appeared in time, Chu Yun'er would have considered Ye Tinglan as her best friend, the kind who would help count money even after being sold out.
Chu Yun'er patted her chest and said, "Next time you want to place an order, just ask me!"
"Ask you for what? Can you embroider or can you make clothes?"
Chu Tianjiao grabbed Chu Yun'er, interrupting her foolish attempt to make grand promises.
