As soon as Su Mingyu walked in, she saw Ye Weiguang, who was reading a book.
She stepped forward and curtsied. "Lord Ye."
Ye Weiguang nodded. "You don't seem surprised at all that I've summoned you?"
Su Mingyu pursed her lips into a smile. "How could I not be surprised? But the news that Prince Ruixian suddenly asked the emperor for a marriage decree has been all over the capital. So I thought you might want to see me."
Seeing her smiling face, Ye Weiguang's eyes flashed with admiration. "I heard Qingfeng suffered a setback in your mansion?"
Su Mingyu feigned confusion. "He just accidentally triggered some anti - thief mechanisms I set up. How could that be considered a setback?"
"Seems like you've got some tricks up your sleeve, girl." Ye Weiguang said, pointing to the wooden stool beside him, motioning for Su Mingyu to sit.
Su Mingyu didn't stand on ceremony. She plopped down on the stool and casually picked up a cup of hot tea and took a sip. "Lord Ye, you've summoned me today to ask about my matter with Prince Ruixian, right?"
Ye Weiguang nodded. "I've heard you and Prince Ruixian are on good terms, but I never knew you two had gotten to the point of discussing marriage."
"The feelings between a man and a woman are unpredictable. Prince Ruixian and I have overcome many difficulties to reach this stage." Su Mingyu said sincerely, "I never thought he'd ask the emperor for a marriage decree. I just found out about this this morning."
Ye Weiguang glanced at Su Mingyu out of the corner of his eye. "Although Prince Ruixian may seem like a prince who has lost his power, a man who has led troops on the battlefield for so many years and survived can't be a soft - touch."
"So," Ye Weiguang's tone became earnest. "If he truly has feelings for you, that's great. But if he has other motives, you must be on your guard."
Su Mingyu didn't expect Ye Weiguang to call her here out of concern for her.
Suddenly, she felt a twinge of guilt. She had used the old man's longing for his granddaughter to get close to him, yet he treated her so sincerely.
"Thank you for your advice, Lord Ye." Su Mingyu said shyly, pursing her lips. "Although I don't consider myself extremely intelligent, I'm a good judge of character. I can feel that Prince Ruixian is sincere towards me. You can rest assured on this point."
Seeing the look of a lovestruck young woman on Su Mingyu's face, Ye Weiguang nodded in understanding. "If that's the case, forget my over - concern. Has Prince Ruixian told you when he'll formally propose marriage to your family?"
"Well..." Su Mingyu lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, and then said, "Not yet. But I'm not in a hurry. After all, with the emperor's decree, neither side dares to break the promise."
Seeing the confidence on Su Mingyu's face, Ye Weiguang didn't bring up the topic again. Instead, he started chatting with her. "Since you're about to get married, how much dowry is your Su Family going to prepare for you?"
Su Mingyu never thought that no matter men or women, masters or servants, everyone seemed to be interested in gossip.
She pouted. "To be honest with you, Lord Ye, my step - mother sent my younger sister to talk to me about this today. She said the Su Family is in a difficult situation, so there won't be much dowry. She even asked me to discuss it with Prince Ruixian."
"Absurd!" Ye Weiguang slapped the table angrily, knocking over all the cups on it. Tea spilled all over the table.
Su Mingyu was startled. "What's wrong, Lord Ye? Why are you so angry all of a sudden?"
Ye Weiguang glared at Su Mingyu in frustration. "You're the eldest legitimate daughter of the Su Family. By rights, your marriage should be a grand occasion for the family."
"But Wang Manwen told you there won't be much dowry and even asked you to discuss it with Prince Ruixian! Have you ever heard of a family asking the groom's side to reduce the betrothal gifts before the bride even marries in?"
Ye Weiguang's face darkened with anger. "Wouldn't this make you seem inferior even before you get married? How can you hold your head up in Prince Ruixian's mansion in the future?"
Su Mingyu didn't expect Ye Weiguang to see through Wang Manwen's scheme at a glance. She smiled to comfort him. "I think Prince Ruixian won't care about such a small matter. It should be okay for me to talk to him."
"Nonsense!" Ye Weiguang's face turned gloomy. "As a young girl, it's improper for you to talk to the groom's side about this. Don't you think it'll affect your reputation if this gets out?"
"Moreover, if on the wedding day people see that you only have a meager dowry, you'll become the laughingstock of the whole capital."
Seeing Ye Weiguang's serious face, Su Mingyu suddenly squinted and smiled. "I don't care about being a laughingstock at all."
Just as Ye Weiguang was about to scold her, Su Mingyu continued, "Don't worry about this, Lord Ye. I'll handle it myself."
"Handle it yourself?" Ye Weiguang said coldly. "You're a young lady in the boudoir, and your family doesn't support you. Where will you get the silver to prepare the dowry?"
Su Mingyu gave a mysterious smile. "Have you heard of Sinnan Pavilion?"
Ye Weiguang thought for a while and asked, "Do you mean the clothing store that has become extremely popular in the capital recently?"
Su Mingyu nodded. "Since you know about Sinnan Pavilion, you must have heard that there seems to be a close connection between Sinnan Pavilion and Prince Ruixian's Mansion?"
"I have heard about it." In fact, Ye Weiguang had once sent Qingfeng to investigate the truth of this matter.
But for some reason, every time Qingfeng was about to find out who the behind - the - scenes boss of Sinnan Pavilion was, he couldn't proceed any further.
It seemed as if there was a powerful force protecting the boss behind Sinnan Pavilion.
"You must be curious about who the person behind Sinnan Pavilion is, right?"
Hearing the implication in Su Mingyu's words, Ye Weiguang narrowed his eyes.
Suddenly, as if he had realized something, Ye Weiguang suddenly widened his eyes and looked at the thin and small Su Mingyu in front of him in disbelief. "You mean Sinnan Pavilion is your store?"
Su Mingyu pursed her lips into a smile. "Otherwise, those speculations didn't come out of thin air."
Ye Weiguang never expected that this little girl in front of him had such abilities. "Prince Ruixian has hidden you so well that even I couldn't find out."