He favored his concubine and I cut off my wealth. Everyone in the mansion was in a panic.

There was not much content, only four words - Jiaojiao, it's me.

Shen Qing took back the refusal that was on the tip of his tongue, and said to Haitang, tell the people of the Meng family that I will be present at the banquet tonight.

...

The banquet was scheduled for three quarters of the evening, and the venue was the newly opened Linjiang Tower.

After half of the afternoon, Shen Qing set out from Yangling Marquis Mansion on time.

Because it was the Dragon Boat Festival, the already busy streets and alleys became more prosperous, and the traffic made the already crowded streets even more difficult to pass.

Shen Qing spent nearly an hour on the road and finally arrived at Linjiang Tower.

Linjiang Tower was surrounded by carriages.

Linjiang Tower has an excellent location, and it just opened today, so there are indeed many guests who want to come and taste it.

The host of today's banquet is Meng Guanlan, the third son of the Meng family. The reason is that today is the birthday of his sweetheart, and it coincides with the Dragon Boat Festival, so he wants to celebrate with everyone.

Shen Qing doesn't quite understand this reason, but he can accept it.

Coincidentally, today is also her birthday.

Shen Qing walked into Linjiang Tower with Chan Yi and Fu Yi. Because she was wearing a veil, she did not attract attention.

Linjiang Tower's business was very good. The lobby on the first floor was full of people, and many people were drinking tea and chatting in the waiting area on the side.

Meng Guanlan booked the entire second floor, a total of twelve private rooms, each of which cost fifty taels. The cost of the private rooms alone was a full six hundred taels of silver, which showed how generous he was.

When he arrived on the second floor, Shen Qing reported his name, and the servant took Shen Qing to the private room that Meng Guanlan had arranged.

The private rooms on the second floor of Linjiang Tower were named after the four arts, and each adjacent three were one art. The private room Shen Qing was in was "Jiaowei".

When she pushed the door open, she saw seven girls sitting inside, and with her, there were exactly eight.

Shen Qing had some vague impressions of these seven girls. They were all children of officials, but their family official positions were not very high, and the highest was only the sixth rank master.

Seeing Shen Qing, the seven young ladies from the official families were a little flustered. They never thought that Meng Guanlan could invite Shen Qing and arrange her in the same box with them. Isn't this fatal!

The seven young ladies from the official families hurriedly greeted Shen Qing, "Why is the young lady here too?"

Shen Qing smiled, "Ladies, don't be restrained. My mother's family has some friendship with the Meng family, so I came to congratulate Mr. Meng on his happy marriage."

After the greetings, everyone sat in their own seats, either in a daze or whispering. In short, it was much quieter than before.

Until half of the dishes were eaten, Shen Qing did not see Lu Yan.

The door was pushed open from the outside, and Meng Guanlan brought his sweetheart to the Jiaowei box to toast.

Meng Guanlan toasted everyone first, then walked to Shen Qing, his face full of respect, "Young Madam, you have the honor to come here, Meng is flattered."

Shen Qing still had a smile on his face, "Mr. Meng, you are too kind."

After saying that, he drank the wine in the glass.

Lan Yin, Meng Guanlan's sweetheart, was a delicate little girl, a little shy. After calling Shen Qing "Young Madam", she didn't say anything else.

The two turned around and wanted to leave, and saw Lan Yin leaning over to pick up a silk handkerchief and asked Shen Qing: "Is this the silk handkerchief of the young lady?"

Shen Qing was about to say no, but he caught a glimpse of the hint in Lan Yin's eyes.

Shen Qing chuckled, "It's mine."

The moment he took the silk handkerchief, a note was stuffed in his hand.

Not long after Meng Guanlan left, Shen Qing also stood up to say goodbye.

Hearing this, the seven ladies all breathed a sigh of relief and sent Shen Qing away with smiles on their faces, but were stopped by Shen Qing.

With his back to everyone, Shen Qing opened the note in his hand. There were only two words on it - Raoliang.

It was also Lu Yan's handwriting.

Shen Qing pushed open the door of the box and saw that the corridor was empty, as if it had been deliberately arranged.

Raoliang was next to Jiaowei. Shen Qing walked to the door of the box quietly and saw the familiar half-moon jade pendant hanging on the door.

Shen Qing took off the jade pendant and pushed the door open.

Lu Yan was the only one in the box.

After locking the door of the box, Shen Qing walked towards Lu Yan with a bit of doubt on his face, "What is the purpose of this today?"

The banquet was a cover and the note was a clue. It was like a spy meeting.

Lu Yan stood up, took off the veil on her head, and then pulled her to the soft couch. His voice was as gentle as ever, "Today is your birthday."

Shen Qing sat down, her face full of surprise. What does this have to do with her birthday? Just as she was about to speak, she saw Lu Yan turned around and picked up a white object from behind, "Birthday gift, see if you like it."

Shen Qing looked carefully and found that it was a snow-white cat with soft and fluffy fur, which looked very beautiful.

A soft and sticky cat cry sounded, and the cat lowered its noble head and rubbed Shen Qing's palm affectionately.

Shen Qing was surprised, "It's so affectionate?"

Lu Yan smiled, "It's been trained for a long time, and now it's familiar with your smell, even I don't recognize it."

"When we were in Yuncheng before, you told me that you wanted a cat to accompany you. At that time, I couldn't fulfill your wish. Now I send this little guy to you, so that you won't be bored in the Marquis' Mansion."

Lu Yan always remembered Shen Qing's preferences and biases clearly.

Shen Qing's smile gradually rose, and his eyes looked at the cat in his arms more and more tenderly.

The cat in his arms seemed to like Shen Qing's scent very much, and soon fell asleep with its head tilted.

Shen Qing then asked Lu Yan about what happened today, "You and Meng Guanlan are actually familiar with each other?"

Meng Guanlan is the third son of the Meng family and the next heir of the Meng family. He is now the head of the Ministry of Revenue.

For Lu Yan to tell them about their relationship, their friendship must be very strong, but Shen Qing had never heard Lu Yan mention it.

Lu Yan nodded, "Yes, we met three years ago, and we are close friends."

Three years ago, that is, before Shen Qing and Lu Yan met.

Shen Qing asked, "You saved his life?"

Lu Yan smiled, "In turn, he saved my life."

When they were in Yuncheng, Lu Yan's illness relapsed, and Yun Xiaoxiao urgently needed three bowls of blood from a person with extreme yang, and the blood was given by Meng Guanlan.

Shen Qing was silent, then teased, "He saved your life, and he's still covering for you. You're not a good friend."

Lu Yan responded confidently, "He knows I always value women over friends."

Shen Qing couldn't help laughing, and asked, "Are you so sure that Linjiang Tower is absolutely safe?"

Lu Yan's mouth curled up slightly, "Isn't this your territory? How can it be unsafe?"

Shen Qing was stunned, "How do you know?"

Linjiang Tower was not prepared for long, and Shen Qing hadn't told anyone yet.

Lu Yan explained her doubts, "Business matters are naturally clear to businessmen."

The Meng family didn't know that Shen Qing was behind Linjiang Tower, but they had found out that Ling Yi was the person in charge, so Lu Yan guessed that this was Shen Qing's new industry.

Looking into Shen Qing's eyes, Lu Yan spoke softly, "Congratulations on the expansion of Jiaojiao's industrial territory."

Shen Qing curled her lips and was about to speak when she heard a "bang" outside the window. She looked up and saw a flower formed by the gathering of streamers blooming in the air, bright and gorgeous.

It's fireworks.

Shen Qing's eyes lit up and walked towards the window.

The box chosen by Lu Yan is very good. It is located in a dead corner. You can have a panoramic view of the grand fireworks, but people outside will not be able to see the situation in the box clearly.

Lu Yan walked to her side, and his eyes were full of tenderness.

The grand fireworks were one after another, more lively than the New Year.

"Is this the fireworks prepared by Mr. Meng for his sweetheart?"

After the voice fell, a soft response sounded from the ear, "Lan Yin is indeed Meng Guanlan's sweetheart, but today is not Lan Yin's birthday."