Su Mingyu was deeply lost in those eyes until a loud shout from the waiter, "My guest, please take your seat!" woke her up.
She withdrew her hand awkwardly, lowering her slightly blushing face and whispering, "Wh...what?"
Gu Ruobai slowly dropped his hand, coughed lightly, and took out a jade bracelet from his bosom. "This is for you as a congratulatory gift."
Before Su Mingyu could react, Gu Ruobai had already put it on her hand.
Feeling the cool touch, Su Mingyu couldn't hide the joy on her lips. "It's a rare blood jade. You're really generous."
This old man was crying poor before, but this is blood jade! With this quality, it's not exactly priceless, but it's enough for her to be secretly happy for several days.
Seeing the smile on her lips, Gu Ruobai couldn't help feeling happy too. "Otherwise, wouldn't I get a reputation of being stingy from someone?"
Only then did Su Mingyu take her eyes off the bracelet. She perfunctorily curtsied and said, "Of course not."
With a beaming face, she started to flatter. "Everyone in the capital knows that Your Highness the Prince is wise and valiant, a man of great general's demeanor."
Seeing her complacent look, Gu Ruobai squinted his eyes. "Come on, don't you have something to do? Hurry up and go."
"Sure thing! I'll take my leave now."
In a great mood, Su Mingyu walked out of the inn opposite Sinnan Pavilion and immediately headed for the livestock area of the market.
After searching for a long time but failing to find what she wanted, Su Mingyu simply approached a horse - dealer nearby. "This horse looks really good."
The groom nodded. "Yes, I've been feeding this horse very carefully. Although it can't match the speed of military horses, it's not far off."
Listening to the groom's boasting, Su Mingyu nodded. "You have so many horses. You must need a lot of grain. There must be a lot of rats, right?"
The groom sized up Su Mingyu's clothes, frowned and said, "You're not a rat - poison seller, are you? I have self - made traps. They're very effective at catching rats. Go find someone else."
That's exactly what she wanted!
"I want to buy some rats from you. I'll give you one tael of silver for ten rats."
"Sure!" The groom grinned happily.
Su Mingyu took out a few copper coins from her bosom and threw them to the groom.
"This is the deposit. I'll come to pick them up tomorrow. Remember, they have to be alive."
The groom happily pocketed the copper coins and nodded repeatedly.
After getting things done, Su Mingyu sneaked back into the Su Mansion through the back door.
But as soon as she entered, she was surrounded by a group of servants.
Looking at these servants, Su Mingyu's heart sank. Oh no, these are Su Zhengyi's men.
Could it be that the matter of opening a shop has been discovered? She had done a good job of keeping it a secret. It shouldn't have been leaked.
The steward looked down at Su Mingyu haughtily and said in a shrill voice, "The master requests your presence."
"Please lead the way, steward."
On the way, almost everyone was pointing at her. Although Su Mingyu was confused, she didn't ask much. Su Zhengyi was sitting high in the middle of the study, his face gloomy. "Where have you been?"
Su Mingyu didn't lie. "The market."
"What were you doing at the market?"
"Buying a cat."
"What do you need a cat for?"
"I heard there are rats in the mansion, so I went to buy a cat to catch them."
Su Mingyu's head was getting lower and lower, and her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
Looking at Su Mingyu's slovenly appearance and her timid answers, Su Zhengyi got angry.
Su Zhengyi slapped the book in his hand on the table. "Is this something you should worry about? A girl running outside every day. What kind of behavior is this!"
She thought there was something serious going on. It turned out it was just for this.
Isn't it just going out of the mansion? Is it necessary to get so angry?
It seems that since Su Yueyue has recovered, Wang Manwen is going to deal with her.
Su Mingyu seemed to be frightened. Her voice trembled slightly and even had a sob in it.
"There's nothing to do in the mansion, so I just wanted to go out for a walk. If Father doesn't like it, I won't go anymore."
Seeing that she admitted her mistake so quickly, Su Zhengyi snorted. His voice softened a little. "A girl should act like a girl. Without my permission, you're not allowed to leave the mansion again!"
"Take a good example from your younger sister. If you really have nothing to do, practice your embroidery skills."
Su Mingyu lowered her eyes and readily agreed. "Yes, Father."
Actually, Su Zhengyi was quite satisfied with Su Mingyu's recent performance. In the past, she was always listless.
Recently, she seemed to be more energetic. Since she wasn't bad - looking, he should be able to arrange a good marriage for her soon.
A family that he could use.
Since he had made his point, Su Zhengyi waved his hand. "Alright, you can go now."
Su Mingyu nodded and bowed before retreating.
When she returned to her courtyard, Zhizhu quickly dropped the broom and rushed to greet her.
Zhizhu's face was pale with fright, looking like she was about to cry.
"Miss... I'm sorry. It's all my fault that I couldn't keep it a secret for you."
Su Mingyu comforted her. "It's okay. It's hard for you."
Being confined is nothing. The walls of the Su Mansion can't stop her.
Is this Wang Manwen's revenge?
This seems a bit abnormal.
The next day, before dawn, Su Mingyu climbed over the wall and went to the market. After getting the rats, she climbed back silently.
Looking at the dozens of rats in the room, Zhizhu trembled and didn't dare to get close. "M...Miss... What are you... going to do?"
Su Mingyu looked at Zhizhu's about - to - cry face with a smile and deliberately teased her. "Look at how timid you are. What are you afraid of? They're just a few rats."
She was probably the only woman in the world who wasn't afraid of rats.
After that, Su Mingyu acted as if nothing had happened. She had breakfast and spent several hours drawing design drafts.
Finally, when Zhizhu was about to break down, Su Mingyu carried the rats to the outside of Su Zhengyi's study and released them.
Zhizhu carefully sank the rat cage to the bottom of the lake. With a bitter face, she asked, "Miss, do we really have to do this?"
Su Mingyu nodded. "Go to the kitchen. This has nothing to do with you. I don't want you to get involved."
Zhizhu frowned. "But..."
Su Mingyu pouted. "Where did you get so many 'buts'? Go quickly!"
After watching Zhizhu leave, Su Mingyu avoided the guards and came to Su Zhengyi's study.
She carefully checked the surroundings. After making sure there was no one around, she pulled out a silver wire from her hair and started to fiddle with the lock.