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The two talked in the study for a long time before finishing lunch, when someone from the Cui family came to invite them over. Su Chen initially thought that since He Su Shi had only returned once, they were now inviting him again, which meant that Su Shi and Cui Shi Ran had probably spent more time together than anyone else. However, he later understood that it was actually Grandma Cui who had sent someone to invite him over for a visit, and also to invite He Su Shi.

"Why would you invite me? We're not even close," was He Suchen's first reaction. She was reluctant; after all, being a guest in a stranger's home was never a pleasant experience. If the two families weren't familiar, having to desperately find topics to talk about to avoid awkwardness was truly unpleasant. Besides, this time they hadn't even invited Tang's mother, only her two children. What topics should the elderly and children talk about? That was a problem…

That being said, he still had to go. Since the two houses were so close, he could simply carry a sedan chair across without even needing a cart. However, precisely because they were so close, He Suchen's small wish to see the Suzhou market was swiftly shattered. He had only walked about a hundred steps from his doorstep to the side gate of the Cui residence, and he hadn't even seen a single person outside the two houses, let alone the market.

Chapter 45, Gentle Breeze

The "Promoter" function is now open! What are you waiting for? Join now!!! (Settings changed: He Suchen is 10 years old, He Sushi is 16 years old, Cui Shiran is 15 years old. Yuanfang is 14, Yongjiao is 13, Yuanrou is 13. This way, some dialogues won't seem so cringeworthy.)

I'm so sorry.

P.S.: Many friends have asked why the story suddenly shifts back to Yuan Rou after Su Chen and his sister went to Kyoto. That was a mistake made by a friend when updating the chapters. That Kyoto chapter was scrapped and I've deleted it. Please pretend you didn't read it and continue reading from the Suzhou chapters onward.

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Unlike the sparsely furnished courtyards of the He family mansion, the Cui family's architecture is characterized by its grand and open style. Su Chen alighted from the sedan chair and, together with her brother, followed several old women who were leading the way. They passed through several corridors, crossed small bridges, and then turned past several artificial hills. The towering, lifelike artificial hills blocked their view, with dappled shadows of trees, making them feel as if they had entered some undeveloped, secluded mountain, with a very natural feel.

She chuckled to herself, tugging at He Susheng's sleeve. "Last time Cui Shiran came to our mansion, he kept praising how beautiful the He mansion was. But look at his own place, how can our mansion compare? That guy looks so honest, yet he can still say such polite things."

He Su Shi was both surprised and amused. "Who told you he was honest? That guy is a wolf in sheep's clothing. I don't even want to mess with him. You're saying he's honest? You're over twenty years old. Besides, the general structure of the Cui residence was designed by Zhang Tianshi. Although it has a strong sense of otherworldly elegance, from an architectural aesthetic point of view, it can't compare to ours. It's only natural that he praised the He residence's garden."

Su Chen wanted to say something more, but Granny Tian, who had followed them, coughed twice to signal them to stop. Fearing that the walls might be overheard and that what they said might not be anything good, the two of them had no choice but to give up.

Upon entering the main courtyard, the old woman leading the way turned back to usher them into the room, where maids were already waiting to greet them. As the two crossed the threshold, someone stepped forward—a man in a black robe and a blue belt, clean and neat in appearance—it was Cui Shiran.

He smiled and said to He Su, "Why did it take you so long to come? Grandma has been waiting for ages."

He Su smiled back, "I was delayed at home for a while, but not too long, right? I just made Grandma Cui wait." After saying that, he turned around to see if Su Chen had caught up, and then stepped forward to bow to Grandma Cui.

With a smile, Madam Cui asked everyone to get up and sit down. A maid brought tea, and after everyone had a cup, she said, "I don't see you coming to play often. Shi-ge, you are classmates with my Zi-ran, but you don't come here often either. Guazi doesn't come to keep Grandma company either. Is my house not fun?"

He Su Shi replied respectfully, "Grandma Cui, you are too kind. It is rare for me to return home. I am usually with Zhi Ran. If I have time, I will naturally come to pay my respects to you."

Madam Cui chuckled, took a sip of tea, put it down, and pointed at Su Chen, saying, "You're not in the manor, so why doesn't your sister come over? Is this old woman of mine really that unpopular?"

...How did this get dragged into me? He Su Chen kept her eyes down, pretending to be a lady, and silently thought to herself that everything is empty, so say whatever you want, you can do whatever you want, I'll just pretend I don't understand.

He Su Shi gave her a few winks, and seeing that she pretended not to notice, he had no choice but to say, "My sister had some trouble a few days ago and has been recuperating at home. She often thinks about Grandma Cui, and today when you sent someone over, she came happily."

He Su Chen listened with a cold sweat as he spoke polite words to the old woman. Suddenly, Cui's mother said, "Chen girl, come here and let me see you. It's been so long." She was suddenly called out and couldn't pretend to be stupid, so she had no choice but to put down the tea and go forward.

Mother Cui let her come closer and looked at her for a while, only carefully checking if she was wearing the white jade bracelet she had given her last time. After seeing it, she smiled and asked a few questions about her daily routine, and then asked, "Is this bracelet comfortable to wear?"

Grandma made me wear it this morning. How would I know if it's good or not? It's a bracelet, and a rather expensive one at that. She answered helplessly, following what Tang's mother had taught her: "I feel much more refreshed, and I've been wearing it for a while now."

Madam Cui smiled and chatted with the others for a while before turning to Cui Shiran and saying, "Ran-ge'er, why don't you take them for a stroll in the garden? They're getting bored staying in the room with this old woman."

Cui Shiran tactfully went down with the two of them, and the maids also withdrew, leaving only Granny Tian and Cui's mother inside.

After leaving the courtyard, Cui Shiran dismissed the maids and servants who were following him, and led the two of them for a casual stroll before heading to the study. He looked at He Suchen with a slight smile and said, "We've recently acquired about a hundred new small fish in the garden. They're quite beautiful. Would you like to take a look, little sister?"

He Su Shi stopped her, saying, "Let's go to the study together. She's not just anyone. She might be able to help." After saying that, she turned to He Su Chen, but seeing that she didn't seem to care, she turned back and said, "I already told you not to call her 'sister,' call her Gua Zi or Su Chen. 'Sister' sounds too cutesy."

Cui Shiran paused for a moment, but didn't ask any more questions. He nodded slightly to He Suchen and led him to the study.

It was called a study, but it was more like Cui Shiran's own living room. There were no books inside, just a table, chairs, and a desk. Cui Shiran pulled out a small booklet from the desk, which He Sushi took and read carefully. The two chatted for a while, while Su Chen listened from the side. It was nothing more than a discussion about shop locations, requesting manpower, and marketing methods. He didn't understand these things, so he just drank tea.

The two people on the side were talking about something when Cui Shiran suddenly said, "That's true, but Shizhi, do you still remember the story you told last time?"

He Su raised an eyebrow. "What story?"

"In the still of the night, a nobleman was walking along a path in the Marquis's mansion when he suddenly saw a woman walking ahead of him. The woman had long, unbound hair, wore a scarlet silk dress, and was leading a pure white snowball dog. Her gait was elegant and beautiful, and she blended into the night like a fairy."

He Su listened quietly and said, "It's kind of you to remember."

Cui Shiran continued, "The Duke felt an irresistible urge to worship her and give everything for this fairy-like woman. Although he himself was not very distinguished, he was willing to give everything for this woman."

"He followed the woman all the way. The woman saw him, turned around without saying a word, gave a faint, charming smile, and continued walking. Before long, they arrived at the hall where a banquet was being held."

"The lord, filled with suspicion and unease, followed her inside. He saw the woman walk straight toward a merchant sitting in the hall. The merchant was quite fat, and under the light, he looked even more like a stupid pig. The woman let go of the leash of her dog, giggled, and walked over to lean against the merchant. The surrounding guests teased and joked, and even touched her inappropriately—it turned out that she was just a prostitute."

Su Chen found the story somewhat familiar, as if he had seen something similar before, only the setting seemed to be the Champs-Élysées in Paris, and the protagonist was a character from a novel. It seemed this story was adapted by Su Shi.

"The lord's admiration and impulse crumbled instantly. Watching the woman's charming smile as she moved effortlessly among the guests, he felt utterly disgusted. He just wanted to get as far away from her as possible. At this moment, the host of the banquet came forward to greet him and asked if he was interested in the woman after looking at her for so long. He offered to have her serve him if he was interested. The host coldly shook his head and refused to look at her again."

Chapter 46, starting point

The promotional function is now open! What are you waiting for? Join us now!!! Cui Shiran concluded, "People are like this: we need to make them come to us, not the other way around. The more something seems untouchable, the more people will try to pursue it. As long as the atmosphere is right, there's no need to worry about whether the product will sell."

He Su Shi pondered for a moment and said, "We don't have enough trump cards." He stroked his chin. "Although we can use the banner of Longhu Mountain, it's best not to use it too much. You're trying to avoid that faction, but if you get dragged into it again because of the teahouse incident, it would be a loss."

Cui Shiran nodded. "I know what I'm doing."

Su Chen simply sat to the side drinking tea, unable to join in the conversation or offer her opinion. To be honest, she still didn't understand why He Su Shi had dragged her along. Seeing her listless expression, Su Shi casually took two books from the drawer on the desk and tossed them to her, laughing, "If you're bored, you can read by yourself."

...This is really unnecessary; they dragged me along for no reason...

He Suchen casually flipped through them. Fortunately, they were "Tang Dynasty Tales" and "The Legend of Li Tang". He could just treat them as novels to read at home.

The first half of the day was spent with the two discussing matters, while Su Chen read a novel alone. After lunch, the group chatted with Cui's mother for a while before taking their leave.

The next day was supposed to be the day Liu took Yuanfang back to the capital, but several torrential rains made travel difficult, so they had to stay a few more days. For some reason, Liu's temper became increasingly eccentric. She was expressionless and taciturn in front of Tang's mother, but behind her back, she would beat and scold the maids, and even neglected her eldest daughter, whom she had always doted on. Yuanrou, who was originally scheduled to stay with Yongjiao, stayed in Tang's mother's room because Zhang and the others hadn't returned from their birthday celebrations and remained unaffected. Everyone in the mansion held their breath, avoiding provocation and speaking too much, for fear of incurring the Third Mistress's wrath.

Finally, the weather cleared up. Liu, who had been waiting anxiously, hurriedly took Yuanfang to the capital. A few days later, Zhang and Yongjiao finally returned to the mansion.

They had barely arrived at Madam Tang's room when a maid came to the second room to say that the eldest mistress had returned and asked them to come over. Granny Sun helped Su Chen get ready and went over with her. The room was already filled with people. Some of the women who frequented the neighborhood were chatting with Madam Tang. Madam Zhang sat at the lower end of the table, while Granny Sun stepped aside. Su Chen stepped forward and greeted them one by one. Madam Tang smiled and said, "Go and play with your sister."

She agreed and went to the side room. Two maids were guarding the entrance. When they saw her, they both said, "It's so hard for you to come. The young ladies have been talking for ages." After saying that, they opened the door and let her in.