The next day, as soon as Su Xiaoqi woke up, she heard Shen Yun practicing his sword in the courtyard.
Su Xiaoqi got up and went to the window to watch.
He held a wooden sword in his hand, its blade unadorned, but his movements were crisp, sharp, and fierce.
Su Xiaoqi’s delicate brows furrowed. She realized that Mr. Gu might have given Shen Yun more than just those four individuals.
Before she could fully process this thought, Shen Yun finished his sword practice and returned to the room, sheathing his sword.
Seeing Su Xiaoqi by the window, right where he had just been practicing.
Shen Yun curved his lips, hung the wooden sword back on the wall, and walked towards Su Xiaoqi.
Hearing the movement, Su Xiaoqi turned her head and met Shen Yun’s smiling eyes.
"Are you finished practicing?" Su Xiaoqi didn't seem embarrassed at being caught peeking.
"Has my wife not seen enough?"
Su Xiaoqi lowered her gaze, "Let's have breakfast first. The嬷嬷 from the Princess’s mansion might be coming today."
When they were at Gan Quan Temple, they had saved Xiao Bao. Out of gratitude, the Princess had prepared many gifts for her, thoughtfully arranging for them to be sent directly to their residence in the capital.
She couldn't refuse, so when they returned, she had He Qiu Lei write down an address and give it to the Xu嬷嬷 who escorted them.
The Princess should be returning from Gan Quan Temple in the next couple of days.
She expected gifts to be delivered, and she needed to think about what return gifts to prepare.
Seeing Su Xiaoqi sitting there, engrossed in the dilemma of what to give as a return gift.
Shen Yun sat beside her, gazing at her quietly.
He really liked this feeling of her worrying about their home.
It meant she considered herself and him as one family.
His heart softened. He leaned over and gently kissed her cheek. Before Su Xiaoqi could react, he slipped into the adjacent side room.
Leaving Su Xiaoqi behind, stomping her feet in annoyance, and inwardly cursing him as a scoundrel.
On the surface, he was gentle and refined, but deep down, he was as dark as charcoal and full of mischief.
After they finished breakfast, someone announced that people from the Princess’s mansion had arrived.
Su Xiaoqi quickly asked Guo’er to welcome them in.
A moment later, the visitors reached Su Xiaoqi.
The person who arrived was Xu嬷嬷.
This time, she brought a horse-drawn cart full of goods.
Su Xiaoqi glanced at the items, noticing that in addition to what was listed on the gift manifest from Gan Quan Temple, there were extra food items and fabric for clothes.
Su Xiaoqi couldn't refuse and accepted them.
However, she had also prepared quite a few return gifts.
These gifts were about quality, not quantity.
She presented coffee, homemade sanitary pads, silver ear eye masks, and a set of one hundred wooden building blocks that she had people make for her as soon as she arrived here.
"Oh, what is this?" Xu嬷嬷 held the items Su Xiaoqi gave her, feeling extremely curious. However, since they were for the Princess, she didn't dare to ask too many questions.
But when she heard that the set in the small wooden box was for the young master, she dared to ask.
"These are called building blocks. I mentioned them to Bao Ge’er when we were playing last time. He'll know how to play with them when you take them back," Su Xiaoqi said with a smile.
At the same time, she picked up a silver ear eye mask and intended to teach Xu嬷嬷 how to use it, so she could then teach the Princess.
"Oh, no need, no need. Our Princess said that the Liu family is holding a flower viewing banquet the day after tomorrow. Here is the invitation. You can tell our Princess yourself when you attend,"
Su Xiaoqi blinked her eyes. A flower viewing banquet…
Er, she looked at herself, then at Xu嬷嬷, and felt a momentary confusion.
However, Xu嬷嬷 was considerate and didn't let her stay confused for long. She informed Su Xiaoqi that this banquet hosted by the Liu family would invite the families of many scholars newly arrived in the capital, as well as ladies and young ladies from families of court officials.
They could get to know each other well at the banquet.
Su Xiaoqi immediately understood. The Princess was using her own way to pull her along.
She hoped that Su Xiaoqi could quickly integrate into the social circle of the capital.
In fact, she had heard before that before each imperial examination, many scholars from outside the capital would come to the capital.
They would seek to associate with some renowned scholars and court officials in the capital.
However, because one party was a scholar awaiting the imperial examination and the other was an already appointed court official, it was not ideal for them to interact too closely.
Therefore, their families and household members would be sent to socialize.
At this time, it was not only the scholars who were actively building connections in the capital.
It was also a time for court officials to win them over.
After all, no one knew for sure who would pass the imperial examinations or advance further in their careers.
By casting a wide net and cultivating relationships with all the reputable scholars in the capital, they could then retain those who proved useful and discard those who did not.
This led to many banquets targeting the families of various scholars.
Closer ones included the Liu family's flower viewing banquet, and further afield were the Xu family's tea tasting parties, the Lin family's spring outing banquets…
In short, once integrated, there would be countless banquets to attend and innumerable social activities to engage in.
Su Xiaoqi had a general understanding and already felt a bit overwhelmed and disinclined.
Standing at the doorway, Xu嬷嬷 repeatedly urged Su Xiaoqi to attend.
Because Bao Ge’er would also be there that day, and he had been missing Su Xiaoqi dearly.
Su Xiaoqi thought of the innocent, adorable, and clingy Bao Ge’er attending, smiled, and nodded, promising that she would definitely go.
After seeing Xu嬷嬷 off, she turned back and saw Shen Yun.
He was waiting by a cypress tree at the second gate, gazing at her.
Su Xiaoqi looked at him inquiringly, asking if something was wrong.
But Shen Yun said, "If my wife doesn't want to go, she doesn't have to." His pursuit of imperial examinations never relied on such matters.
Su Xiaoqi thought that her most important task currently was to guide Shen Yun onto his destined path, which was to pass the imperial examinations and become an official.
After that, her mission would be complete.
"How could I not go? Look, I've accepted the invitations, and I've already promised Bao Ge'er."
Shen Yun held her hand. "As Xu嬷嬷 said, there will be many such banquets in the future. If you don't want to go, you don't have to. We are new to the capital, and we are not yet familiar with them."
Su Xiaoqi nodded, saying she understood. This time, wasn't it the Princess herself who sent the invitation?
The Princess was of noble status, and she treated Su Xiaoqi kindly, often offering guidance. She was quite an amiable elder figure.
Therefore, Su Xiaoqi did not resist interacting with her.
She naturally had to give face to the Princess.
However, she also indicated that she would not attend other people's banquets unless it was necessary.
Otherwise, being placed among a group of unfamiliar people, many of whom might point fingers at her identity after learning about her background and origins.
Although she might not care about it inwardly, listening to it would still make her uncomfortable.
"By the way, let's go to the Duke of Yu’s mansion tomorrow." Su Xiaoqi had this thought when that accursed嬷嬷 stopped her on the street outside.
Moreover, this was something her godmother, Madam Yu, and Yu Rong had emphasized repeatedly.
Since she had acknowledged Madam Yu as her mother, she was her daughter, and as a junior, she naturally had to heed her elder's words.
Shen Yun's brows twitched slightly. "I'll accompany you."
Su Xiaoqi keenly detected the change in his expression and said softly, "Do you already have plans?"
She remembered that someone had sent a visiting card before.
"Yes, it's alright, it's from my old friend Chang and the others."
"From Yizhou Prefecture? Then you must go and meet him." Su Xiaoqi would not let him break his promise.
She remembered that someone from Yizhou Prefecture, mentioned in the book, would become a great help to Shen Yun in the future. Although he would be his subordinate, he still needed to be won over.