Tao Sheng did not find out until later that the reason her brother and sister took such a liking to her at first sight was because their life in Dai was very hard before. When their parents talked to them about their bright future, besides returning to Great Zhou to live a good life, they always mentioned Tao Sheng, their sister.

Their eldest sister was like a fairy who had descended to earth. She was good at studying, could play the zither, and was impeccable in her interpersonal relationships. She had all the good qualities that a girl should have, so the Luo brothers and sisters admired Tao Sheng from the beginning.

The Luo family siblings are named Nian Sheng and Yu Sheng, and they are only four or five years old now. They are innocent and cute and love to stick to their sister. Tao Sheng also likes them very much.

After meeting with her mother and siblings, Tao Sheng found her father and conveyed the emperor’s instructions to him.

Luo Xiu became excited upon hearing this; he never thought that a small person like him would one day be given a task assigned by the emperor himself.

He then stopped taking care of his family, ignored his wife and children, and just spread out a pen and paper to “do business.”

The King of Chu also heard about Tao Sheng’s parents from Ji Yanming these past two days. He was happy to think that his faction had grown stronger, so he came to Ji’s house to take a look.

Ji Yanming was away, so the King of Chu stroked Xiao Feng and chatted with Tao Sheng. Luo Zheng had just finished drawing the blueprint and went out to stretch his body. He saw the King of Chu sitting on a rattan chair, holding the big rooster in his hands, chatting with Tao Sheng casually.

Luo Xiu also heard that the person who came today was the King of Chu and was a little shocked to see His Royal Highness the King of Chu being so humble.

He didn’t expect that such a great man could be so easy-going toward Tao Sheng, a seventh-rank Dianle. It seems that the capital city is really a place of outstanding people and good people everywhere. It was truly a good decision for Tao Sheng to leave Qin County and come to the capital city to work!

Luo Xiu came over to pay his respects to the King of Chu. The King of Chu waved his hand and told him not to be so polite and to sit down and talk.

During their conversation, the King of Chu was surprised to hear that his father had personally assigned a task to Luo Xiu and was impressed that he could draw a defense map of the Dai Kingdom.

The King of Chu had always liked these things in the past and had even designed a new chariot himself. However, something happened before the chariot went into mass production, and now he faced challenges in court, making it unlikely for these things to see the light of day again.

Since they shared similar interests, the King of Chu enjoyed talking more with Luo Xiu and even invited him to lunch at Ji’s house. After meeting Tao Sheng’s lovely sister-in-law, the King of Chu thought of Xiao Ming, who was now studying in the deep palace.

When the princess was pregnant with this baby, the King of Chu didn’t know if it was a boy or girl, so he prepared toys and calligraphy for the boy and small clothes and jewelry for the girl, which were just right for the two children now.

The King drank a little too much during lunch and spoke loudly, so he immediately ordered his followers to bring those toys and calligraphy books for beginners as gifts to celebrate the reunion of the Luo family.

Luo Xiu was deeply moved again. The people in the capital were so nice—warm-hearted, generous, and sincere.

It was truly a good decision to come to Beijing this time.

Since getting to know Luo Xiu, the King of Chu started visiting frequently to discuss city defense layouts and to draw and write reports together. After finalizing the drafts, the King of Chu was eager to show the results to the emperor and went to the palace overnight.

Having dealt with the Emperor for many years, the King of Chu understood him well. Luo Xiu modified several parts of the book based on his advice, which suited the Emperor’s reading habits and touched his heart.

The King of Chu felt relieved when he saw the Emperor was satisfied. He said, “Asheng’s parents have been in the King’s City of Dai for six years, and they know a lot. But some things can only be understood and are hard to express in writing.”

After hearing this, the Emperor nodded thoughtfully.

Then, two days later, the Ministry of Personnel issued a transfer order for Luo Xiu.

He was originally an eighth-rank teacher and was appointed as the seventh-rank deputy judge of the Military Affairs Department, seconded to serve in the Ministry of War.

A few days later, everyone in the capital heard about the strange event of the Luo couple returning to the capital.

People said this couple must have done great deeds in their past lives. They not only adopted a wonderful girl from the orphanage for free, but also cured their chronic illness while wandering outside and had a pair of twins. Now, they had returned with nothing left, yet he had gone from being an ordinary local teacher to a seventh-rank official in Beijing. It was simply a legend!

Because of the rumor, Tao Sheng unknowingly gained another layer of luck. Now, when she went out, people stared at her like she was a walking four-leaf clover ^[1]which is often used as a symbol of rare good fortune..

Once, when Tao Sheng went to a teahouse with Mr. Wei, she heard the storyteller talking excitedly on stage.

The storyteller claimed Lord Luo’s zither music had a unique effect. It could bring peace to the world with its literary skills and determine the outcome of events with its martial arts skills. It could help people get rich, keep the dragon healthy, live forever, and greatly increase the luck of those around them.

After all, the best things in the world are presented to the emperor in the palace. Tao Sheng’s ability to provide exclusive services to the emperor proved she was the best zither player.

The audience praised the storyteller, saying there were not many who kept up with current events and were truthful and practical.

Not long after, the storyteller became wealthy and was invited to a better and more profitable platform, indirectly confirming the rumor that Tao Sheng could bring wealth to everyone around her.

This is a story for later.

After Luo’s parents moved into Ji’s house, the family had more opportunities to spend time together.

After Su Wan and Su Jia talked, they realized that the Wenyuan Marquis’ Mansion was not a gentlemanly family.

Su Wan sighed to Tao Sheng, saying when she learned that Tao Sheng was the daughter of a marquis, she was momentarily delighted, thinking that Tao Sheng’s life wasn’t too miserable after all. Such a noble family should be kind and reasonable. She never expected that the first thing they did after finding Tao Sheng was not to take her home, but to criticize her in every way.

It wasn’t Tao Sheng who got lost initially; it was because they mishandled their subordinates, causing her to get lost.

Tao Sheng gently patted her mother’s hand, saying, “It’s okay, this is good.”

If those people were truly good to her, she would have no reason not to go back.

However, the affairs of the Marquis’ Mansion were not something she could resolve. She initially supported the Crown Prince and later Prince Rui, getting deeper into trouble. If she returned, she would face endless worries.

Moreover, she now had a house given by Grand Master Luo, two shops given by Luo Xin, two farms awarded by the emperor, and a garden given by the King of Chu. She might have more wealth than Shen Yu. She hadn’t eaten or used their food over the years, so if she went back, she would have to pay for it.

Not cost-effective.

Su Wan still felt a bit regretful, saying, “After all, our family is just an ordinary family, far less wealthy than the Marquis’s Mansion. If those things hadn’t happened back then, you would have been the one marrying into the Duke’s Mansion with a grand ceremony.”

Tao Sheng smiled and said, “It’s okay. I’m willing.”

It is true that they are a little inferior in material terms, but spiritual richness is more important than anything else.

Besides, she didn’t want to marry Guan Muyun, who was confused.

_

Compared to the stability and peace of the Luo family, the Wenyuan Marquis Mansion had recently encountered chaos and turmoil.

The Shen family had no money, and the court was pressing for repayment. Old Madam Shen became anxious and ill due to the lack of funds. She spent much of her own money to save Shen Yu’s title, worsening her illness.

Shen Yu originally wanted to follow Shen Ruojin’s suggestion and find Tao Sheng as soon as possible. But with the old lady sick, he was too preoccupied to compete with Tao Sheng, so he stayed at home to care for her, wasting time.

Shen Yu heard that people in Beijing were saying Tao Sheng’s adoptive parents had returned and moved into Ji’s house with her. He realized he needed to act quickly.

There were two reasons why Tao Sheng hadn’t returned to the Shen family: her adoptive parents had no children, and they had passed away, so she had to stay to explain things to them.

Now, not only had the Luo couple returned safely, but they also had their own children. Since these reasons were no longer valid, it made sense for him to want to recognize Tao Sheng now.

Shen Yu believed that even if he took the case to the emperor, he would win.

Feeling confident after thinking this through, Shen Yu set out on a sunny morning to visit Ji’s house in the inner city.