Life in the Marquis Mansion.
It was not overly extravagant.
Yet Ye Qingluan had given Luo Feiyan the very best.
On the way back to the Marquis Mansion, Zhao Shuning could sense Ye Qingluan's care and affection for Luo Feiyan several times.
They set off on their journey during the day.
At night, they would find an inn where they could take a hot bath and rest for the night.
In the early morning.
If Zhao Shuning was still asleep, Ye Qingluan would delay the departure of the carriage.
Later, soft and warm bedding was even laid inside the carriage. In this way, even if Zhao Shuning didn't get enough sleep in the early morning, she could continue to catch up on sleep in the carriage.
This was Ye Qingluan.
She didn't care about formalities. She only hoped that her daughter could live comfortably.
The Luo Family's Marquis Mansion was located in Taoyuan City, the very center of Ruoqiang.
Strangely enough.
On this day, as soon as the Luo Family's carriage drove into Taoyuan City, the commoners in the market cast strange looks in this direction.
Zhao Shuning and Ye Qingluan were both inside the carriage and didn't notice the outside looks.
The coachman said, "Madam, why is Taoyuan City more than seven times busier than usual today?"
"Ah? Maybe there's some festival being held in the city."
Ye Qingluan sat upright.
There was a hint of unease on her face.
Zhao Shuning knew that Ye Qingluan must have heard the whispers of the people outside.
Ye Qingluan had good spiritual power and could clearly hear the whispers of people within a radius of ten meters.
She thought that Zhao Shuning couldn't hear and pretended to be nonchalant, as if nothing had happened.
Zhao Shuning gave a charming smile.
She didn't expose it.
Now, with her abilities as the Eight Phases and her spiritual power approaching the eighth rank, not to mention a radius of ten meters, even within a hundred meters, as long as she concentrated, she could clearly hear whatever anyone said.
The commoners in Taoyuan City were really bold.
Back then, when Luo Hao became the Marquis of Ruoqiang and was extremely arrogant, these commoners didn't dare to be so presumptuous.
It seemed that Luo Hao's influence had indeed declined a lot. Otherwise, in the streets and alleys, they wouldn't even dare to whisper.
"Yan'er, Taoyuan City is so lively, isn't it?"
Ye Qingluan forced a smile.
Zhao Shuning nodded.
She closed her eyes.
"Mother, I'll take a rest first."
"Okay. I'll wake you up when we get home later. You can lie down and sleep first. Later, your father has arranged a welcoming banquet for you. The family members should also come. You'll have to greet them then. It'll definitely be a bit tiring."
"Yan'er understands. Then I'll take a rest first."
"Okay."
The unease on Ye Qingluan's face was because she had heard something different.
She didn't hear many of the discussions outside. Otherwise, Ye Qingluan would surely be unable to contain her fiery temper at this moment.
"Look, that's the carriage of the Luo Family's young lady."
"Is it that luxurious?"
"It's a pity. With such a grand display, they're just bringing back a muggle, a useless young lady who has no spiritual power or spiritual energy at all."
"By the way, I've also heard that since Luo Feiyan is back, the Marquis Mansion is actually holding a grand banquet. Heroes from all over the world and the masters of many great families have all received invitation cards."
Zhao Shuning frowned slightly.
She remembered that Ye Qingluan had told her that this banquet was just an ordinary family dinner and shouldn't be so grand.
In the current situation, the matter of the family dinner must have spread far and wide.
"Right? Those who know it is the Luo Family's young lady coming back from Changkong Academy to visit her relatives. Those who don't know might think the Marquis Mansion is going to marry off their daughter."
Ye Qingluan would never make such a low - level mistake.
You should know that before Zhao Shuning appeared, Luo Feiyan had no spiritual energy at all, let alone spiritual power. So in Taoyuan City, Luo Feiyan had always been very low - key.
This time, it was just a simple trip for her to come back from Changkong Academy. If the banquet was held grandly, it wouldn't bring any benefits to the Marquis Mansion. On the contrary, it would attract a lot of ridicule.
Was a useless girl from the Luo Family worthy of such a grand banquet?
Could it be that someone was also interfering in the matter of the banquet?
Zhao Shuning didn't open her eyes.
She just listened to those people's discussions calmly.
Suddenly, from a farther place.
Zhao Shuning seemed to hear a mocking voice.
She noticed it because that person directly called Luo Feiyan by her name.
The speaker should be a woman.
And judging from the tone of her speech, she should be a spiritual pharmacist, and her level should be around the fifth rank.
"Miss, don't you always look down on that delicate young lady from the Luo Family? Why are you going to this banquet in person today?"
"Go? Of course I have to go. Xiaoxiao, I'm going today to watch a good show. With such a grand display, how can my cousin Luo Feiyan handle it?"
"Normally, when I talked to her, just seeing her face made me annoyed. Fortunately, she didn't dare to say anything excessive to me. Every time I bullied her, she would just smile and never tell Aunt and the others about it."
A childish voice came.
"That's because cousin Feiyan is generous and doesn't bother with you. Ye Xirou, you're Feiyan's cousin after all. Isn't it inappropriate to say such things?"
"I wondered who it was. So it's Lin Qingzhi, that little follower beside Luo Feiyan."
Lin Qingzhi?
Ye Xirou?
Zhao Shuning had some impression of these two people.
Previously, Luo Feiyan had shown her their portraits.
Lin Qingzhi was a distant cousin of Luo Feiyan. Because Luo Feiyan was gentle and had taken good care of Lin Qingzhi since childhood, this little cousin was one of the few people in the family who was kind to her and very dependent on her.
As for Ye Xirou, Luo Feiyan didn't think highly of her.
This cousin, relying on being a spiritual pharmacist with good talent, had often insinuated and mocked Luo Feiyan when no one was around.
But Luo Feiyan, in order to maintain the peace of the family and not to trouble Luo Hao and Ye Qingluan with this matter, had always endured it.
After entering a small path, the carriage shook a bit.
The closer they got to the Marquis Mansion, the more those people stopped talking. After that, Zhao Shuning didn't hear anything else.
Ye Xirou was just a small character. If her previous speculation was true, the real tough character might be hiding in the Marquis Mansion.
Drowsiness came over her.
Zhao Shuning hugged the soft pillow and slowly fell asleep.
She was suddenly awakened from her dream when she felt the carriage jolt.
"Brother—"
"Yan'er, what's wrong?"
Zhao Shuning wiped the fine sweat from her cheeks and said, "It's okay, Mother. I just had a nightmare."
She had dreamed of Zhao Huai.
Zhao Huai had a sharp sword stuck in his chest. He was standing on the edge of a cliff, looking at her despairingly.
She reached out her hand, trying to hold Zhao Huai.
But just as her hand was about to touch Zhao Huai, with a jolt, her hand missed, and Zhao Huai's body fell off the cliff like a drifting leaf.