Who Taught You That?

At the beginning of October, a major event occurred.

Su Mingfeng, the eldest young master of the Pingnan Earl family in Dingjing City, suddenly fell seriously ill and needed to recuperate at home.

The Pingnan Earl, heartbroken over his beloved son, stayed at home with his wife to take care of the eldest young master.

Matters at the military horse farm were temporarily set aside. The Emperor sent some gifts to express condolences and appointed a new person to take over the affairs.

The common people of Dingjing City lamented this turn of events. The eldest young master Su was talented and promising, achieving great accomplishments shortly after entering officialdom.

Just as he was about to rise rapidly and his future seemed limitless, he suddenly fell ill. Truly, heaven envies talent. If this dragged on for three to five years, by the time he recovered, there might be no place for him in the court.

While the common folk saw it this way, their colleagues in the court might not.

Some astute individuals remarked, "This isn't illness; it's clearly avoiding disaster. We originally thought the Su family was like oil on fire, about to burn themselves. Unexpectedly, they've realized the situation now and pulled the rug from under their feet."

When these matters reached Ye Lily's ears, she was trimming the branches of a begonia in the courtyard.

These days at Guangwen Hall, due to the eldest young master Su's situation, everyone had new gossip topics, paying less attention to her. She enjoyed a few rare days of peace.

"Miss, you've grown fond of these flowers and plants now," Guyu smiled and said, "These begonias are growing beautifully."

The deep red petals of the begonias showed a lively color amidst the bleak autumn.

When she was Empress, she busied herself with maintaining vitality in the palace, helping Xu Hao win over powerful ministers, serving as a hostage in Qin, and engaging in power struggles with Lady Mei.

Most of the time, she lived amidst intrigue and palace battles, never having the leisure to trim flowers and relax like now.

"Do you know why the begonias bloom so brilliantly?" she asked.

Guyu didn't understand why her mistress was asking this but still smiled and replied, "These are seeds brought back by the steward. They're said to be very precious seeds. The lady praised them too, saying these begonias look especially beautiful in autumn."

Ye Lily gently shook her head.

Where was that the reason?

Just like in the cold and sinister palace, even outside the Cold Palace, flowers bloomed luxuriantly.

But beneath those flower branches lay countless white bones. The most brilliant things in this world often have the coldest reasons.

The Su family had understood this principle. What would they do?

She smiled faintly.

...

At the Pingnan Earl residence.

The eldest young master Su's courtyard was tightly guarded.

Except for his personal attendants and family members, no one else could enter. Only the heavy smell of medicine could be detected from inside.

Master Su closed his doors to visitors and refused to see outsiders.

As Su Shizi's good friend, Little Marquis Xiao Jack naturally had to visit.

The Xiao family's carriage stopped outside the Su residence.

Servants were struggling to unload medicinal herbs from the carriage. Those herbs were packed in boxes, showing how thoughtful Little Marquis Xiao was towards his friend.

Inside the study, Su Mingfeng wore a simple green robe. Apart from being slightly thinner, his demeanor remained spirited as usual, showing no signs of serious illness.

Opposite him, the brocade-clad youth furrowed his brows and asked loudly, "Avoiding disaster?"

"Precisely." Su Mingfeng looked at his friend and sighed,

"Now you see how the Su family's fortunes are rising. The Su family has lasted for generations, managing military horses. In terms of this matter, we should not continue to rise. But the Emperor not only hasn't suppressed us but instead continues to favor the Su family."

"You've also achieved merits." Xiao Jingxing reminded him.

"Because of these achievements, Father and I were quite pleased but forgot the hidden dangers.

These merits, when pushed further, become disasters. You understand all this, but originally, the Su family, being in the midst of it, was blinded by a single leaf.

Now, seeing things clearly, we had to pull back from the edge—it was extremely perilous."

"This approach is good too." Xiao Jingxing nodded, "But now you'll have to stay idle at home for a few years."

"I only wish for the Su family to remain safe and sound." Su Mingfeng said,

"Enough about me. What about you? The Su family and the Xiao family share glory and ruin together. The Su family has decided to pull back from the edge. What about your Xiao family…?" He didn't finish.

Xiao Jingxing raised an eyebrow, "I'm not entering officialdom. What can he do to me? The Xiao family only has one Lin'an Marquis. He must consider public opinion."

Xiao Jingxing was different from Su Mingfeng.

Su Yu, for the sake of the Su family, sent his son into officialdom early. But Xiao Jingxing didn't enter officialdom, holding only a nominal position.

A few times accompanying Xiao Ding on campaigns, he went under the name of a son.

The royal family, no matter how much they wanted to suppress the Xiao family, wouldn't target a family where not a single son took over.

"You're quite far-sighted." Su Mingfeng couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm not doing it to guard against him." Xiao Jingxing lazily replied.

He indeed wasn't guarding against the royal family but merely opposing his father.

"However," he frowned, suddenly changing the subject, "How did you suddenly realize this? I've reminded you several times before, but you didn't pay attention."

Su Mingfeng lowered his head in shame, "Originally, I was full of youthful arrogance and pride. Where would I think so much? This time, it was thanks to my younger brother."

"Your younger brother?" Xiao Jingxing was lazily leaning against the chair but sat up straight upon hearing this, a flicker of surprise in his eyes, "That glutinous rice ball?"

It wasn't surprising that Su Minglang was a silly ball. How could he remind the Su family of these matters? Did Su Minglang take the wrong medicine?

Su Mingfeng recounted the whole story and finally said, "If it weren't for my younger brother accidentally stumbling upon this, it might have led to a major disaster."

"Accidentally stumbled upon?" Xiao Jingxing murmured softly.

Just then, a childish voice rang out, "Big Brother, Mother asked me to bring you some snacks."

Su Minglang carried a plate of flower-shaped pastries, waddling in with his short legs.

He was round and chubby like a tangyuan, crumbs sticking to the corners of his mouth, obviously having sneakily eaten quite a bit on the way.

These days, due to his unintentional reminder, the Su family changed their strategy.

Even Master Su, who was most dissatisfied with him, unexpectedly thought his son was "bound to achieve great things," "clever and quick-witted," and "appearing foolish but actually wise."

Lady Su kept making him delicious food. In just a few days, Su Minglang gained another circle of fat.

Seeing Xiao Jingxing was still there, he instinctively lowered his voice. For some reason, he was always a bit afraid of his brother's handsome friend.

Su Minglang placed the snacks on the table, muttered "Big Brother, I'm leaving," and turned to run away. Unexpectedly, someone grabbed his collar.

Turning back, he saw the youth in brocade clothing, who kindly squatted down and patted his head. His peach blossom eyes were smiling and lively, yet his gaze was icy cold.

He asked, "Who taught you to say that?"

Su Minglang widened his eyes.

"When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog gets cooked." Xiao Jingxing smiled devilishly.