Noticing Shen Zhou's severe inquiries, Shen Cangfeng also hid his faint smile, and said indifferently, "Uncle, don't you think that those people are actually walking all over us?"

Shen Zhou frowned and said, "You mean the fact that they take advantage of Madam Wei to disgrace our family? Do you think we haven't borne the grudges? But what matters now is the victory at the New Year's Eve Feast at the palace!" He thought that Shen Cangfeng was young and impetuous, and this time his unmarried wife, who had been engaged since childhood, had lost her virginity before moving into her husband's house, and was much ridiculed. In anger, he refused to listen to others' taunt and break off his marital engagement.

With a sigh, Shen Zhou also felt that his nephew was wronged. He was only a few months away from getting married. The fiancee who had been engaged since childhood was reported to have been insulted by criminals. In general, Shen Cangfeng was no doubt a generous guy, but which man could stand such kind of thing? What's more, Shen Cangfeng was in the prime of his life.

It was just that the nephew was also mad with anger. At this time, he should quickly break off the engagement, so as not to continue to be dragged in. Why on the contrary did he insist on keeping the betrothal? What were the benefits of continuing this marriage now?

So he added, “Those people's ridicule is still probably because of Madam Wei. As long as our family quit the marriage, why should it matter to us?"

Shen Cangfeng frowned and said indifferently, "Uncle, do you have the same idea? If so, what is the difference between you and those people who deny everything indiscriminately?"

Shen Zhou was startled.

Then he let Shen Cangfeng continue, "The fault lies with the assassins, the real murderer behind the scenes. What's wrong with my unmarried wife?"

"There's nothing wrong with Madam Wei, but she is unlucky." Shen Zhou's face was grim and displeased, "It is indeed that our family feels sorry for the Wei family, but our apologies can't help. We can't allow you to be mocked by others for the rest of your life just because we feel bad for the Wei Family. Moreover, the rumor that the so-called Fengzhou civilian's blocking of the sedan chair to file a lawsuit was indeed slandering, but it was a fact that this girl, taking the place of her younger brother, attended the appointment and had a private conversation with Wei Xinyong of Zhiben Hall in the valley for half a day! Not only did Wei Xinyong and his servant stay in the valley, the remaining bandits of Fengqi Mountain also stuck around! This alone has provided our family with the evidence to stop the engagement! "

He warned, "Did you insist on continuing the engagement just because you had mercy on Madam Wei? Don't be confused by a moment of softheartedness! There is a saying that “Accumulated defamation melts the bones and rumors can kill a person". Such a wife will bring you more shame and mockery than you can imagine today. Besides, even if you pity her, do you ever think about your future children? If they have a notorious legal mother like this, they will be mocked and bullied by everyone as soon as they are born...To think it over, how can you still have the power to assume the responsibility of the Family Head if you have such a burden!"

"If you really sympathize with her, it's just a matter of asking the Wei Family to take the action. Our family can make up for the Wei Family or the girl in some other aspects. Marrying a wife is a lifelong event, and absolutely there is no one who has ever married for compassion! Do you think this is taking a concubine?"

Shen Cangfeng put down his ivory chopsticks and looked at his uncle calmly, saying that, "The assassin leader was killed by my unmarried wife in public."

"So what?" Shen Zhou said coldly, "Don't think that relying on a single 'Lu Hu' sword, coupled with your father's name as a pretext, you can really dispel the rumors! The Wei Family has a prosperous style of writing, therefore, their skill of talking black into white is much better than that of us warriors! If the rumor was so easy to control, it would have been done long ago by Duke Wei!"

"Since she was able to kill the chief assassin in public on the highway, if she escaped alone, there was no problem." Shen Cangfeng said quietly, "but she didn't, she blocked in front of her younger brother Wei Changfeng, and finally protected him by retreating into the forest to escape. Later, the same thing happened when she replaced Wei Changfeng to attend the appointment. She could have made Wei Changfeng follow Wei Xinyong's servants, and returned to Fengzhou alone to inform her family of sending someone to rescue Wei Changfeng! Maybe she didn't retreat from the highway partly because she was proud of her martial arts, and she was a young woman of great courage, but after experiencing a few adventurous days in the woods, she still had the courage to go to the appointment instead of her brother... Uncle, do you think she had no idea of what was waiting for her? "

Shen Zhou said ruthlessly, "let me say it again, Madam Wei is indeed a woman of high morality! If she did not get engaged with you, I would also appreciate such a girl—such a capable and righteous female, who was rare to be seen even in Western Liang, but so what? Now our family wants a wife who can give you a hand, not a woman who will be a burden before moving into our house, and will become a ready excuse for others to criticize you. Madam Wei's reputation has been thoroughly destroyed. In the rumor, she has lost innocence and chastity. No matter how you appreciate her sacrifice, there is no reason for you to sacrifice yourself in the same way to continue to marry her just because of her sacrifice for Wei Changfeng."

After listening to this, Shen Cangfeng smiled coldly, "Innocence? Chastity? If my unmarried wife had been so preoccupied with her good reputation and her chastity, she would have run away alone at the first encounter with an assassin. Absolutely she wouldn't be the one who was now attacked, criticized, and ridiculed. But for such a so-called innocent and chaste woman...I would rather marry a girl from the public place of entertainment than let the innocent woman into the door of the Shen Family!"

His eyes suddenly burst into fiery light, full of anger and disdain, and said word for word, "Those so-called innocent women simply do not meet such a thing! If met, they might be killed or humiliated by the assassins on the highway already, and it was good enough not to encumber their brothers, let alone help others. I really don't understand why those having no rights always taunt and jeer at her."

"Now returning to the issue of losing chastity or not, it was just that Madam Wei, replacing Wei Changfeng, visited Wei Xinyong once, who was actually her family uncle and the alliance with Duke Wei, what would he do to her? Even if he had done anything, then she was still a victim, and it wasn't her will! How ridiculous it was to blame her for it. In this way, I could stab a person who spread the rumors to death with a sword, and then blamed him for hitting my sword and staining my sword."

Shen Cangfeng sneered, "She was a female, and her guards and maidservants succumbed to their opponents. There were only one teacher and an elder brother as a helper of the clan, and they protected her younger brother safely from the danger. How brave she was! How talented and persevering she was! There were some people who talked about and laughed at her all day. Regardless of the old, the young, the women, the children and the ignorant, the men in them could be emphasized, not to mention whether every one of them had the ability to kill the assassin leaders in public, could they risk their own lives to protect their loved ones when facing the horrors between life and death?"

"A group of shameless people! Confounding black and white, confusing right and wrong, and not distinguishing good from evil!"

"According to the comments of these unscrupulous people, if a group of people encountered the culprits, the master could only die as soon as he lost the guards. If they didn't bare their necks to the swords on the highway, they should still commit suicide by hanging themselves after returning home. The assassins just killed the guards and maidservants of the Wei Family, and there were still survivors of masters and servants. However, these people...should hope that the survivors would also die, just for the sake of keeping the so-called innocence of the world!"

"An old saying says that flawless people can kill people. These people are full of evil thoughts, but they dare to think that they are impeccable and unspotted. They occupy what they consider to be the moral justice, and employ words as swords to kill all the people who they think should be punished!"

Wearing a cold expression, Shen Cangfeng demonstrated a clear homicidal intention in his eyes, "If the assassins are to be killed for their crimes, those people who have added more insult to her injury will be a hundred times worse than the assassins! The crime deserves a myriad of deaths."

Shen Zhou looked at his nephew who was gradually excited, and sighed again, "I have said that there is nothing wrong with this girl. The two families are fairly well matched and the girl is full of affection and loyalty, but at present if you marry her, she will definitely become your burden! On this account alone, the marriage should be withdrawn! We must consider it for you!"

Shen Cangfeng closed his eyes, and already calmed down when he opened them, "Uncle, you still don't understand! Changying...is my unmarried wife!"

Seeing that Shen Zhou was about to say something, he shook his head and interrupted to continue, "If she is not my unmarried wife, after hearing this, I will still deem that those who spread rumors should be condemned, and that she is very unfortunate...However, at best, I will only defend her by giving out a few words instead of meddling in others' business. After all, in this big world, there are so many injustices that I have the self-knowledge that I can't handle all of them."

"But Changying is different! Nominally, she has already been a member of the Shen Family. Nevertheless, when she suffers unfair treatment, our family only cares about abandoning her, without considering to help her uphold justice and clear her name. Is it reasonable?"

"Although rumor and gossip may be capable of killing people, that's just the result of people's cowardice at the beginning. The Shen Family has lasted for a hundred years, which has undergone three dynasties! The reputation and prestige of our family is not accumulated by people's flattering, but is created throughout the process when we fight with the enemies sword by sword. Handed down till today, how can our family been so timid that we even dare not protect our imminent daughter-in-law for fear of mere gossip?" Shen Cangfeng smiled coldly, "Despite the fact that the generosity and the fierceness of Changying fit in exactly with my wishes, even if she is not my favorite kind of girl, as long as she is my unmarried wife, I will never abandon her no matter who defames and slanders her. At present, there is nothing wrong with her, even if there is something wrong, only the Shen Family has the right to take charge of teaching its own daughter-in-law, when is it the turn for the strangers to find faults and retail gossip?! I am a man among men. If I can't protect my own unmarried wife since childhood, how will I survive between heaven and earth?"

Shen Zhou's countenance changed for a few times. He stomped angrily and said, "What do you know? Is this a time of abandoning yourself to impulse and emotions? Then how about the Liu Family..."

"Since I practiced martial arts before the emperor, there has never been a defeat!" Shen Cangfeng said with a proud voice, "Liu Xixun is merely one of my defeated opponents. Now that I can win him in the past years, why can't I defeat him this year? To say the least, even if this time I lose, that should be attributed to my own unstable mentality and my immature martial arts. What's the matter with a woman? Since ancient times, victory and defeat are both common in battles. I always disdain one who shirks and covers up his own responsibilities, let alone shifting the crimes to an innocent woman, even to his own wife!"

"This marriage was decided by my father himself when I was a child. The two families are fairly well matched and I also like the girl. Why should I break off the engagement as they expected, just because of some insignificant tactics played by the Liu Family and the Zhiben Hall of the Wei Family? I am the son of the Shen Family and I have my own way of dealing with affairs. They want to force me to be obedient just by spreading some rumors—do they really treat me as a puppet in their hands?!" He looked at Shen Zhou in a calm expression, but his tone showed no room for discussion, "Regardless of Wei Changying's talent, appearance and temperament, the moment I heard of her courage and affection, I wished I could sing the praises of her. So I am bound to marry her!"

"It was good that you could say things like that. It seemed that the calculation of the Liu Family failed to distract you. Instead, it strengthened your will, in this way, I was relieved." Shen Zhou was silent for a moment, and he added, "However, I still have to persuade you with my experiences. People may regret their decisions that they make when they are young in the future. After all, the husband and the wife should live together for a lifetime! Now you feel that you don't want anyone else but her, but in the future, maybe you'll feel sorry for what you do today."

Shen Cangfeng smiled, "I only knew that if I didn't manage to come to Fengzhou this time to stop you, my uncle...I would regret for the rest of my life!"

"Actually, the practice of canceling the marriage is adding more insult to the Wei Family, but since ancient times we give it a tacit consent." Shen Zhou once again tried to persuade him, "You don't need to think too much about Madam Wei's abject end without marrying you. Madam Wei is the only one granddaughter of Duke Wei and Old Madam Song, therefore, they will inevitably consider more about the rest of her life."

Shen Cangfeng laughed out loud, and the laughter was full of irony, "What kind of rest of life? Will she be forced to commit suicide? In that way, her story will be modified in the ethnography and she will be remembered as a heroic woman. Or should she bury all her good times for the whole life in a family temple? Or should she bear the stigmatization of the fools and the bad reputation of being dumped by her husband? Relying on her abundant trousseaus, she may marry a poor but loyal guy of the collateral branch of the gentry families, but she will still be the target of people's discussion. If everyone who has no fault and sacrifices himself to protect others comes to this end, how terrible are the current tendencies in society? Changying gave up the opportunity of escaping alone and protected the reputation while saving two younger brothers. Was it ineffective and guilty just because Changying was a woman? The original purpose of the ancient sages to advocate good reputation and integrity was to teach the world to be honest and make people become good, but if one only focuses on pursuing the well-recognized reputation and ignoring its essence, he will be nothing more than a fool, who is just a follower of others. How will they know what is the real integrity and justice?"

He shook his head and smiled indifferently, showing severe coldness in his eyes, "Uncle, please forgive me! I can't abandon my wife who has no fault for the sake of my own business! It's the issue of the Wei Family that Duke Wei will calculate for Changying's future life, but now Changying should be counted as a member of the Shen Family. Therefore, the Shen Family has the due responsibilities to provide the shelter for her. Knowing that she has been calculated to suffer unfair grievances and humiliation, we should never discard her just for fear of the rumors. People cannot bear to cast away the decorations on their desks just because they see them everyday. This is the case with the decorations, not to mention the wife who marries you."

"I would take down all those rumors and gossips. I would like to see if it is really a world with a reversal of the universe. A girl who understands the principles of right and wrong thoroughly can't be praised by the world. Instead, she suffers a lot of blame and humiliation. Even if it is true, I will never abandon my wife!"

Shen Zhou answered with a furious voice, "In this way, we are all those who confound black and white and confuse right and wrong. Only you uphold the high morality?! If you are not my nephew, do you think I will care what kind of wife you marry? Will I travel back and forth thousands of miles for your marriage?!"

"Uncle, what you did is definitely for my own good." said Shen Cangfeng. He suddenly lost all the mockery in his eyes, and saluted his uncle with a severe countenance.

"Now that you know my pains..." Shen Zhou had considered a lot for this nephew with a sincere heart. Seeing that his attitude seemed to be softening, Shen Zhou also slowed down his tone and intended to continue to persuade him.

Unexpectedly, Shen Cangfeng grinned and started, "Uncle, the 'Lu Hu' sword has been given to Changying in the name of my father, and Duke Wei must have made this news spread all over Fengzhou. As said before, the continuation of the marriage contract is a foregone conclusion. No matter how you persuade me now...What's done is done, what else should we talk about?"

Shen Zhou looked at him... Shen Zhou even didn't know how to deal with him! ! !