After rebirth, she became the favorite of the powerful minister.

The weasel who came to pay New Year's greetings to the chicken was still modest and courteous. He waived all the formalities with a wave of his hand, and even the doorman received his friendly smile. He turned around and greeted Wen Changling who came to greet him, "I heard that the Wen family has a new baby, so this prince came uninvited to share in the joy... Minister Wen, please don't mind."

Behind him, the servant handed over the gifts, most of which were expensive gold and silver items. The steward returned the gifts and expressed his gratitude, recording them one by one.

Wen Changling glanced at him casually, then turned back to continue the greetings, "No, no, it's a great honor for the Second Prince to be here. Your Highness is very busy with official duties, and I am ashamed to bother the Second Prince with such a small matter in your house... Please come in, Second Prince..."

Qin Yongpei looked around. Most of the people present were officials from the Ministry of Revenue, and there were also some young strangers. They were probably Wen Peiji's guests. They followed the usual style of the Wen family, being low-key and cautious, and never giving anyone the opportunity to throw dirty water on them. He retracted his gaze and asked with a smile, "Is Madam Song back? Wanzhen heard that she was injured, and she was so anxious that she couldn't eat or sleep, and insisted on coming with her."

These two shameless people!

Even Wen Changling, who was cunning and moderate, couldn't hold back his expression at this moment. He forced a fake smile and said in a sarcastic tone, "Your Highness... and this concubine, thank you for your concern. My daughter is fine, just a few scratches, but she was spoiled by Lord Song, and she made a fuss about a small matter and made it known to everyone. So, you even bothered Master Xu to make a trip. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"

"Father, be careful with your words." Wen Ning came over with a smile on her face. Her steps were calm and graceful. She was wearing a lotus pink dress and a pearl headdress, which made her look cold and gentle. She came up to him and knelt slightly to salute him. Then she said, "Father, Tong is not a concubine, so she cannot be considered as an aunt... It's okay to call her in private, but now the guests are here, it would be bad if someone heard it."

"Oh, so... I didn't pay attention to the affairs of the inner court of the Second Prince's mansion. I was negligent for a moment, please don't blame me."

This matter was a hot topic at the beginning and almost everyone knew about it. How could Wen Changling, as Wen Qian's father, not know about it? The father and daughter sang in unison, just like a play on stage. What's more, both of them looked sincere and honest, and even attacking them would only make the other party look petty. Qin Yongpei sneered secretly, patted the back of Tong Wanzhen's hand and said with a smile, "It's not a big deal... Wanzhen, right?"

The sparrow that flew onto the branch changed its expression. She stroked her abdomen with her fingertips and tightly grasped the handkerchief. Embarrassment surged in her heart, but she was too stubborn to say a word.

She didn't want to come to the banquet today. Wen Qian now made her feel timid. She felt more and more that Wen Qian must be dead, and the one who was alive now must be a water ghost who came back to life. Everything started to go out of control after that day...including Qin Yongpei's curiosity about Wen Qian. But she didn't dare not come. After these days, she knew too well what the consequences would be if she displeased this person.

She was extremely scared and regretful.

Qin Yongpei tilted his head to look at her, and asked with gentle concern, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

The hand on the back of her hand suddenly tightened. Tong Wanzhen felt as if her bones were about to be crushed. She felt dizzy, but she had to force out a gentle and weak smile and said "hmm" softly, "Master Wen, there is no need to mind... I don't know where Qianqian is. I want to go see her."

Wen Changling didn't say anything, but Wen Ning chuckled, "I'm afraid it's not appropriate. My sister is in grandmother's courtyard accompanying grandmother to receive guests. There are elders from various mansions there. I'm afraid it's not appropriate for you to go there this time." The subtext was too straightforward. There were proper old ladies from various mansions there. You, a woman who is not even a concubine and has no name or status, have no right to be there - even, you shouldn't leave Qin Yongpei's arms.

Gentle words, words that suit the occasion, conveying blunt and sharp sarcasm - the second young lady of the Wen family is far more powerful than the eldest young lady.

The commotion here had already attracted the attention of many people. Those ambiguous gazes pressed over, as if she was being stripped naked and criticized in public. Tong Wanzhen even curled up her toes unconsciously, feeling ashamed and angry, but the force on the back of her hand became stronger and stronger. Not only did she have to swallow this disgusting fly, she also had to apologize politely with a smile, "It's my fault for not considering it carefully, Lord Wen... please don't blame me."

Wen Changling laughed and came to the rescue, "Haha! It's okay, it's okay... No need to be so polite, no need to be so polite!" Although he said he was helping out, everyone could see that he was really happy, and he also felt proud as if he had avenged a great revenge.

Xu Chengjin was watching the show leisurely on the sidelines, and suddenly he felt that each member of the Wen family was very interesting, a whole family pretending to be pigs to eat the tiger.

"Hey! Make way—make way—"

The familiar person hadn't appeared yet, but the voice had arrived. Master Xu, who was enjoying the show, immediately became excited when he heard it. He grabbed a servant and told him, "Go and invite your daughter out and tell her there's a show outside." He waved his folding fan and went to greet her leisurely. Wen Peiji was left standing there with a dark face: When did this guy become so familiar with his daughter? Song Wenyuan didn't care?

The person who came was none other than Jin Yunian, the young master of the Jin family. He was wearing a purple robe with dark silver patterns. The robe was embroidered with gold and silver twined crabapples, and the work was exquisite. It looked extremely precious.

Young Master Jin Gui directed several servants to carry a wooden box covered with red cloth into the house, and called two young girls dressed as palace maids to come in. It was very grand. After entering the house, he waved his hand in a familiar manner, "Put it down!"

The wooden box fell to the ground with a heavy sound, raising a layer of dust, mixed with the sound of metal colliding, sounding like... a weapon?

The housekeeper came forward enthusiastically, holding the account book in his hand, and bowed to greet him, "This old servant greets Young Master Jin, and wishes you well... I wonder what these are?"

Young Master Jin waved his hand, and the red cloth was removed. The sunlight shone into the wooden box, blindingly bright - it was a whole box of swords!

Young Master Jin bowed to Wen Changling with a smile, "Uncle Wen, my mother said that boys should wield swords and guns to defend their country. These are what my mother carefully selected from the armory and are given to Zhuozhuo!"

After saying that, he turned sideways and showed the pens, inks, papers and inkstones in the hands of the two girls behind him, and said with a grin, "However, my cousin also said that a soldier who can only wield swords and guns cannot become a general. These are the pens, inks, papers and inkstones that he carefully selected, and asked me to pass them on. He also said that although he also wanted to come over in person to ask for a glass of wine to share the joyous atmosphere, he thought that if he was present, the guests would inevitably feel restrained... So this is just a small gift to express his gratitude. Please don't mind, Uncle Wen."