This time was the same as the last time when Wei Changying greeted the members of the Shen Family, except for the messenger had changed from Shuangli into Shuangzhu, and Song Zaitian was not at the scene.

The rear hall was just as what it was like last time, even the seats of Wei Huan, Old Madam Song, and the Count Xiangning Shen Zhou were not changed.

Wei Changying was still as elegant as she used to be, but her pace was different from the last time.... She walked slower but heavier, which seemed to be deliberate. It was not only because she had not totally recovered, but also because she was trying to cover up her nervous feelings for meeting the members of the Shen Family under such a situation, as well as her excitement and expectation.

Of course, she felt anxious, mostly.

After Wei Changying had made courtesies to the people in the hall, Old Madam Song directly asked Wei Changying to stand beside her, for she didn't need to introduce Song Zaitian this time. After Wei Changying had stood still, Shen Zhou said with pity, "Changying is thinner than last time I saw her.... She must have suffered a lot!"

Although Wei Changying knew it was just some courtesy words, she felt like crying when she heard it.

She tried to compress her emotions and stood silently, with her head lowering.

Wei Huan answered with pity, "The people are ignorant, and some of them have added trimmings on rumors on purpose. They are slandering the innocent!"

"What Marquis Jingcheng has done is inappropriate, though he did it nominally for your sake...." Although Shen Zhou was speaking normally, his voice was resonant. He said, "As a vice-premier, he is disappointing us for his foolish behaviors!"

"Maybe it was because he is quick-witted," Wei Huan said with a smile. He was implying something in his words.

Shen Zhou thought for a while and said, "You are right. However, although his idea could solve the problem temporarily, it was too reckless...."

While they were talking, Old Madam Song didn't say anything and had some tea. When she put down the cup, only half of the tea left. Seeing this, Shuangli pulled Wei Changying's hand and stared at the teacup to remind her to add some tea.

Wei Changying understood immediately. Although she was anxious, she could add tea to her grandmother. She pulled up her sleeves a little bit, took the pot, and poured.... The pot was filled with tea, so the tea came out easily.

However—

Before the small teacup was filled, Wei Changying's arm, which was close to Old Madam Song, was pushed suddenly!

Wei Changying's arm was being pushed so hard and unexpected that she dropped the teacup at once. The hot tea had wet her sleeves, and even Old Madam Song was affected, with half of her dress soaked.

The accident interrupted Wei Huan and Shen Zhou's conversation. They both looked at Wei Changying in surprise!

Obviously, Old Madam Song cared about her granddaughter very much. She forgot to apologize to Shen Zhou, and stood up quickly as she grabbed Wei Changying's arm and asked, "Are you alright? Are you scalded?"

Maybe it was because that Old Madam Song was too worried about Wei Changying's arm. She quickly pulled up Wei Changying's sleeve without avoiding Shen Zhou and his servants. Under the soaked sleeve was Wei Changying's arm, which was as white as snow. Most importantly, the Shou Gong Mark on her arm was so eye-catching, which had set off the color of her skin.

Old Madam Song was still panicking. No one knew whether she was talking to herself or letting the others hear her on purpose as she said, "Does it hurt? Huh? Does it hurt?" While she was speaking, Old Madam Song rubbed Wei Changying's Shou Gong Mark with her handkerchief as if the water would continue to hurt Wei Changying....

She rubbed again and again....

Old Madam Song wiped Wei Changying's arm so hard that her white skin turned pink after Old Madam Song took away the handkerchief.

But the Shou Gong Mark was still as red as usual.

...So it was not painted temporarily.

The ladies in distinguished families were marked the Shou Gong Mark by their family members since they were small and would be checked from time to time so that they wouldn't make the big mistake. It was also used to alert them that they should obey the rules and not to do anything that would disgrace the family.

The authentic Shou Gong Mark was marked on little girls, and could not be washed off by water. It would not disappear until the girl had experienced sex after she was married.

Wei Changying lowered her head and stared at the Shou Gong Mark. She could only hear that her grandmother was comforting her softly and apologized to Shen Zhou after pulling down Wei Changying's sleeve.... She didn't hear clearly what they had said, for she was sighing in her mind, "So, grandmother required me to come...only for this pot of tea. In other words, she did it in order to tell Shen Zhou euphemistically that I am still innocent."

—No matter whether the engagement would remain or not, the Wei Family wouldn't let Wei Changying carry a bad reputation.

The Shou Gong Mark on Wei Changying's arm had to be seen by Shen Zhou, his servants, and everyone in the rear hall, and it should be seen as soon as they arrived.

The Wei Family could cancel the engagement, but they couldn't let the Shen Family thought that Wei Changying was raped!

If the Shen Family couldn't confirm whether Wei Changying was raped or not, they would suspect her and would take granted for canceling the engagement. But now, Shen Zhou had seen the real Shou Gong Mark. If he still canceled the engagement under such a situation, the Shen Family would owe the Wei Family, even if he did it for the Shen Family's sake.

Although Shen Zhou was a male, he was an elder as well, so it was proper for him to see such a scene in front of Wei Huan and Old Madam Song. Everyone had witnessed—the tea was hot, and it was reasonable that Old Madam Song had checked Wei Changying's arm without considering the occasion because she cared about her granddaughter so much.... Although others could easily understand her purpose, there was no ground for blame—it was Old Madam Song but not Wei Changying, who had pulled up the sleeve. Old Madam Song's behavior should be understood because such hasty behavior was caused by her love for Wei Changying.

Everything was perfect.

When Shen Zhou had just arrived, the Wei Family proved to him that Wei Changying was still innocent. Next..., it would be up to the Shen Family whether their engagement should remain and how they should regard the Wei Family.

After all, the Wei Family had proved that Wei Changying was innocent, and what the outsiders had said was rumors.

If the Shen Family still neglected the Wei Family, they should be blamed.

Wei Changying was not opposed to such a way to prove herself, and she thought it was necessary because the Wei Family shouldn't be in an inferior position. However, she still felt sad—how many ladies needed to prove so earnestly to their fiance's family that they were innocent?

However, she felt herself in an inferior position after proving that she was innocent....

Was this engagement able to continue?

Shuangli was holding Wei Changying's arm with a worried expression. She was holding hard as a hint to let Wei Changying say something. She then said, "First Miss is tired these days. I'll hand her...."

Wei Changying settled her mind and tried her best to maintain an elegant posture as she bowed. She asked to leave for a while to tidy up herself.

Old Madam Song had also finished apologizing to Shen Zhou. She then said, "Come with me. I have to change too."

After they left the hall, Old Madam Song held Wei Changying's hand tightly. She wanted to say something, but she swallowed her words. After a while, she asked in a low voice, "Was it hot? Are you hurt?"

"Not at all," Wei Changying said as she shook her head. She didn't lie—although the tea was steaming, it was far from hot. Old Madam Song only needed a proper opportunity to pull up her granddaughter's sleeve, how would she hurt Wei Changying? As to the several times that Old Madam Song had rubbed her..., Wei Changying wouldn't feel hurt because she knew her grandmother's intention.

What she saw was Old Madam Song's love and planning for her grandchildren....

"Go back to your court first," said Old Madam Song. Seeing how considerate her granddaughter was, Old Madam Song had a complex feeling. How would such a good child, and such a wonderful engagement, be schemed by others to this extent? If she had known this, she would have instigated Wei Huan to kill Wei Zhengya earlier! At most, she would be accused of murdering the lineal eldest branch.

But now it was too late....

They could only resign to their fate!

Both Wei Changying and Old Madam Song could hardly tell their complex feelings. They had stood on the corridor for a while before they were ready to return to their rooms and change. At this moment, they heard some noise from the front.

Old Madam Song let Wei Changying return to Xianshuang Court. She then frowned and asked, "What's happening? Don't they know Count Xiangning is inside?" She thought that anyone who would stir up trouble here must be related to the people in Duke Jingping's mansion.... But no matter what had happened there, nothing could be more important than her granddaughter's engagement.

Old Madam Song had decided that no matter who came for any reason, as long as it was related to Duke Jingping's mansion, she would treat him harshly.

However, when the maid had run towards the corridor on the side, a crowd of people suddenly appeared from the round "moon-gate".

The man leading the crowd was wearing a bamboo hat. He was in a red gown and was wearing a pair of cloud-patterned boots. There was some mud on his boots and gown, and his sleeves were wet. Ruiyu Hall was paved with floor tiles, so his clothes had become dirty before he arrived at Ruiyu Hall. It could be seen from the mud dots on his clothes that he had ridden a horse here from a long distance.

He walked in hurriedly with a sense of sharpness, which was outstanding among ordinary people. The style of his bamboo hat was used for riding, so it was extremely large. Although the man was tall, the hat had almost covered his face. Old Madam Song could only see his lips under the hat, and she couldn't recognize who he was from his outfit and figure. This made Old Madam Song surprised and angry at the same time— even Wei Changfeng hadn't rushed into the rear hall like this! Who was he? What did he want? Why would the guards let him in?!

When Old Madam Song was still confused, she saw the people behind him. They were the guards from the front yard to the rear hall, and among them were some managers as well as some maids. But these people.... The managers and maids could do nothing, while the guards had their hands on their knives. But none of them dared to kick off the fight.

Seeing that Old Madam Song was looking at them with surprise and anger, a manager from the reception court ran towards her and said, "Old Madam Song, he is—"

Before the manager had finished her words, the man in red stopped walking with surprise. When he stopped, the crowd stopped and looked at Old Madam Song in confusion. Without caring about the rain, he took off his bamboo hat, and his appearance was shown to all.

He was only about 20 years old, with thick eyebrows and bright eyes—so bright that Old Madam Song could felt the aggressiveness in his eyes. His posture of standing had been practiced because he could stand as straight as a lance whenever he stops. He looked shining brightly all the time!

Such shine had made people ignore his embarrassing look in dirty clothes. Even his handsome look didn't impress others in the shadow of his shine.

At present, the aristocratic families were pursuing a subtle and elegant demeanor and were advocating the elegant charm of a secluded hermit. Wei Zhenghong and Wei Xinyong were good examples. However, Old Madam Song was used to seeing people who were like Wei Zhenghong, but it was her first time seeing a person so aggressive that she forgot to scold him and looked at him with stun.

Being stared by Old Madam Song, the man in red was still calm and gave his bamboo hat to a manservant behind him. He tidied his clothes and bowed to Old Madam Song as he said confidently, "Good to see you, grandmother! I am Shen Cangfeng."

Even if Old Madam Song, who had experienced a lot in her life, was stunned by this young man, she even felt dizzy when she saw him bowing to her politely, as well as hearing him call her "grandmother" and his name "Shen Cangfeng".

Old Madam Song had forgotten to respond. After a while, she murmured, "Shen Cangfeng?"

Old Madam Song was still stunned until Chen Ruping secretly pulled her sleeve, indicating that she hadn't responded to his bow yet. Old Madam Song then took a deep breath and said in embarrassment, "Good child, get...get up first!" She then remembered something and asked, "Why do you come?"

—No wonder he could rush through the Ruiyu Hall from the front yard to the rear hall so quickly. Although so many people were following him, no one dared to stop him. Facing such an important guest who was Wei Changying's fiance..., who dared to fight with him?

Facing such a person with an aggressive demeanor, the guards could do nothing to Shen Cangfeng except for following him in case of an accident.