Chapter 460: The Liu Family Feast
What happened to Li Junyue at home after yesterday’s experience, she already vaguely knew.
The sisters were able to sow discord in front of her, plus Li Junhua’s vitriolic humiliation; these people did it with extreme ease. They probably did so in normal times.
She had a torturous time at home, so marrying into a good family and staying away from the family would be better for her, right?
”Marry?” Liu Zhiqiu rolled his eyes outside. “Your thoughts are so naive. Do you think she will definitely be better off married? If her partner’s character is bad, it would be better to stay at home than marry.”
”How can his character be bad?! I will personally pick for her!”
The woman’s words dispersed Liu Zhiqiu’s lazy look and into a frown. “Kang Ziyu, don’t mess things up. What you give isn’t necessarily what the other party wants. Don’t think you have a good intention and instead end up forcing her into a desperate situation!”
”Humph!” Kang Ziyu sat back down, not even listening to Liu Zhiqiu’s advice.
She would personally choose the person. Could she deliberately harm Li Junyue? She definitely wouldn’t choose a bad person.
The Li family hoped that all the women in the family would marry into a prestigious family, so if she picked someone who met all the conditions, Matriarch Li would definitely give a nod. When Li Junyue married out of her family, she would no longer be subjected to such bullying. After she married and became the mistress of the home, she would be able to make her own decisions about her new family.
Wasn’t it the best of both worlds?
Although Li Junyue took advantage of her, she still thought of their previous friendship and didn’t want to see her stuck struggling there alone.
She would help her at last.
Outside the carriage, Liu Zhiqiu sat at the front of the carriage. The carriage that was moving at great speed brought up the morning breeze. It was very refreshing and cool, but it couldn’t put off the restlessness of his heart.
He didn’t know where that dull, restless feeling came from.
In short, it was like having some foreboding.
However, he quickly threw this premonition at the back of his mind.
In the capital, it was time to go to the banquet at the Liu family’s residence.
Grandma Liu and Chen Xiulan started to choose their robes again.
This time was different from the last time when they went to Wanjin Restaurant to celebrate the opening of the new wine shops. In Grandma Liu’s eyes, this banquet was the real battlefield.
The Liu family was scheming against their family.
They could lose other things but not momentum.
They were not that easy to bully.
”Grandma, Mother, why don’t I take you to the street clothing stores to pick out clothes?” Liu Yusheng sat next to them and watched with amusement as her grandmother and mother picked out their clothes.
”No, what’s the point of wasting that money?” The old lady rejected it immediately, “We don’t want to do all those fancy things. We just need to wear something decent and imposing. We can’t compare with a nobleman’s temperament, so wearing gold and silver will only make us look like an upstart. We don’t want to do that.”
”Exactly. Our grandma still has this kind of insight. I’m impressed!” Liu Yusheng praised her, making the two women laugh.
Chen Xiulan picked out a set of dresses that were not too complicated but still dignified, and compared them to her figure. “After the banquet today, let’s go see Yuzheng sometime. I’m always uneasy thinking that she lives alone in the alley. It’s more important to have someone with you at times like this. Unfortunately, we can’t push her to the limit.”
”Yes, we must go to see her. We don’t have to show up, just quietly take a peek nearby.” Grandma Liu sighed. Her heart hurt whenever she thought of that girl.
She was their granddaughter-in-law. How could she be in such a family? She lived more than a decade of bitterness as a cauliflower, with no one to love her or care for her.
”Grandma, Mother, I’m worried that if Yuzheng discovers us and moves away, it will be hard to find her.”
”Don’t worry. Even if she discovers us, I have a trick to make sure she can’t run away!” How could they let her run away? Then her being an old biddy for decades would be in vain.
Liu Yusheng covered her mouth and laughed. Grandma was always as if on the way to war, exuding a battle aura.
They changed their clothes, while several of the men waited in the hall.
The royal carriage was waiting outside the door, and Feng Qingbai personally escorted them to the carriage.
He made arrangements all the way to the Liu’s residence to not let any accidents happen.
Even so, he was still uneasy, so he went to Liuyun Pavilion to dig Xue Qinglian up. He searched for a lot of things from him and stuffed them into the hands of the womenfolk of the family. Xue Qinglian was exploited to the point of no return.
After their arrival to the King’s Manor, he studied day and night, but none of his good things were left behind.
He had become an unpaid laborer.
”Feng Qingbai, we’re leaving.” In the carriage, the young girl’s little head peeked out of the carriage window, clinging to Feng Qingbai, but was pulled back by Liu Dalin.
”We’re just going to have a meal. It’s not a long trip. You’re acting like you’re not going to see each other for a long time?!” He didn’t dare to say this to his daughter. Otherwise, he would be beaten by his parents. He was unwilling, so he could only shoot Feng Qingbai.
Feng Qingbai smiled. “Uncle Liu, I’ll wait for you to leave the banquet and pick you up at that time.”
”No need to pick us up. Can we still get lost in this city?” He couldn’t curse when the man kept smiling like that.
Unfortunately, his daughter pulled the rug under his feet. “Then we’ll wait for you at the entrance after the banquet.”
”Okay.” The smile under Feng Qingbai’s eyes deepened.
Whatever Liu Dalin wanted to say was kicked off by his old man. “Enough already. Can’t you tolerate your daughter’s happiness?”
Who among the elders didn’t look forward to younger people’s affection? There was no ambiguity there, but he just had to nitpick.
If he really broke up Nannan and Axiu, he’d probably be the first to cry!
Liu Dalin grumbled. With his parents’ pointed glares, he didn’t dare to utter a word again.
Chen Xiulan covered her mouth at the side and laughed.
It was his turn to be jealous of his son-in-law. It wasn’t over yet.
As the richest family in Nanling, the Liu family was the most influential clan in the capital. However, because they were born merchants and their family status was inferior in class, no matter how rich they were, they weren’t qualified to be close to the inner circle of the imperial city.
The Liu residence was situated in the outer third ring of the rich and powerful, two blocks away from the inner ring where the officials lived. It took a little more than half an hour to travel around in a carriage.
When the Liu family arrived, Liu Huai had already taken several elders of the family and his descendants to greet them at the gate of the Liu Mansion, expressing the importance they attached to Grandpa Liu’s family and his party.
”Patriarch Liu, you flatter us with your personal greeting.” Liu zhixia got off the carriage first. As the younger generation of the family, who had the Number One Scholar title, it was most appropriate for him to take the lead to deal with this kind of occasion.
”It’s a great honor to have the Number One Scholar and Ruyi County Lady’s family here,” Liu Huai welcomed them with a smile, sweeping away the gloom from his previous appointment with Liu Yusheng and Qian Wanjin.
Liu Yusheng helped the family elders get off one by one at the back, admiring Liu Huai’s ability to hide his emotions. He was dying to kill someone, but he could still smile at them.
It seemed that everyone in the capital’s Liu family had this ability, so did Liu Huai, and so did Consort Liu.
Without a trace, Liu Huai sized up Grandpa and Grandma Liu. The smile on his face deepened, and after a brief exchange of pleasantries, he welcomed the group to the house.
Peek-Aboo 
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