After returning to Jintong Courtyard, Wei Changying found that Shen Cangfeng did not come back. However, the servant who had sent a letter to the Song mansion this morning came back. He was Ni Hao, the eldest son of Mrs. Huang. Ni Hao was several years older than Wei Changying and had the eldest daughter and a second son. For the sake of Mrs. Huang, her family was all members of Wei Changying’s dowry group. Mrs. Huang’s husband and eldest son were managers in the Shen Family

It was originally not Ni Hao’s duty to send a message, but Mrs. Huang ordered him to do so because she wanted her son to appear in front of Wei Changying.

Standing behind the curtain, Ni Hao respectfully reported, “Miss Song sent her regards to Young Madam and also wrote a letter to you.”

Wei Changying asked Zhu Lan to fetch the letter. After holding the letter on her hand, Wei Changying did not unfold it but asked with concern, “Have you ever been to rear courtyard? How is cousin now?”

Ni Hao answered, “Dear Young Madam, I only heard Miss Song say in an exciting tone behind the screen that she would visit you when you get married one month. In my view, Miss Song seems to be in good spirits.”

Wei Changying secretly felt relieved and said with a smile, “Thank you. Qin’ge, bring some....”

Mrs. Huang immediately rejected and said, “It is his honor to send a message for you, Young Madam. How could he receive your reward?”

“Fetch the Chinese ring puzzle and give it to granny’s youngest granddaughter,” said Wei Changying with a smile. “It is idle now.”

After hearing Wei Changying's words, Mrs. Huang thanked and accepted it. However, when she saw Qin’ge fetch a pair of silver Chinese ring puzzle, she knew it was still a reward. Mrs. Huang complained Wei Changying but failed to reject it, so she asked Ni Hao to receive the reward and leave.

Wei Changying entered the inner room with the letter. Leaning on the bed next to the west window, she could hardly wait to unfold the letter. It seemed that Song Zaishui was pretty happy today so she wrote many pages of the letter.

In the letter, firstly, Song Zaishui joked about Wei Changying’s new marriage. On the wedding day, Song Zaishui deliberately went to a hotel beside the road with a hat. There she watched the wedding group of Wei Changying before she entered the gate of the Shen mansion. Secondly, Deng Zongqi who had saved Wei Changying lived near the Song mansion. After Song Zaishui encountered his younger sister, Deng Wanwan, two ladies got along well with each other. Now Song Zaishui often invited Deng Wanwan to have a chat in the Song mansion, so she was not alone. Thirdly, Song Zaishui said that she would visit Wei Changying after she got married one month. Finally, Song Zaishui seemed to remember why she wrote to Wei Changying. She replied to Wei Changying with a few words: She had asked something about Wei Shengxian to her father, Song Yuwang, so it was no problem. She asked Wei Changying not to worry about it.

The fluent words in the letter showed Song Zaishui’s happiness. Wei Changying was a little embarrassed. Before reading the letter, she was concerned about Song Zaishui’s future while Song Zaishui did not care about it. On the contrary, she had a joyful life in the Song mansion. In the letter, there was a note enclosed with peach blossoms and it read the recipe for dessert.

During those months when Song Zaishui lived in Fengzhou, she did not complain about food and clothes. Moreover, as Old Madam Song and Madam Song inquired about her taste, she said that she was not picky.

Now, on the contrary, she was addicted to studying how to enjoy life.

Wei Changying gave the letter to Mrs. Huang for a look and asked, “What would you like to take when you visit Miracle Doctor Ji tomorrow?”

Glancing at the letter, Mrs. Huang answered with a smile, “Miracle Doctor Ji is not particular about food. Dessert is enough.”

“Granny can order servants in the kitchen to cook anything. If something lacks, ask them to buy and I will pay for them,” said Wei Changying.

“Food in the kitchen is enough,” said Mrs. Huang, smiling. “Miracle Doctor Ji is kind unless he meets someone he doesn’t like.”

Wei Changying naturally thought that Miracle Doctor Ji was easy to get along with because he had saved Wei Zhenghong. Nodding her head, Wei Changying said, “I agree with you.”

At this moment, outside the room, Zhu Xian and Zhu Lan saluted Shen Cangfeng in a clear voice. Shen Cangfeng returned home. Mrs. Huang folded the letter that she didn’t finish reading and urged Wei Changying, “In-law has come back. Young Madam, please go to welcome him.”

Wei Changying stood up and wore silk shoes. However, after hearing Mrs. Huang’s words, she blushed and sat on the bed. She pretended that nothing had happened and said, “He came back and why should I go out to welcome him?”

Mrs. Huang saw that Wei Changying originally wanted to come out but now pretended that she did not care about Shen Cangfeng. Mrs. Huang felt slightly angry but found it funny, so she responded, “All right. Next time, I will not say something like this to you. OK?”

“What?” Getting to her feet, Wei Changying angrily waved her hand. When she was about to speak out, Shen Cangfeng opened the door and entered the room. He wore a Private Guard uniform with a Cuojin knife tied onto his belt.

Without saying anything, Mrs. Huang put the letter into her clothes and saluted, “In-law, I shall leave.”

Shen Cangfeng nodded with a smile.

Wei Changying didn’t look at her husband until Mrs. Huang came out of the room and closed the door. She said, “You have come back.” As she finished her word, Wei Changying found it embarrassed and touched her hair.

Beaming at her, Shen Changfeng untied his knife and said, “It is a little late today.”

“Ah?”

“My colleagues congratulated me on my new marriage, so they invited many people to have a drink outside.” Shen Cangfeng placed the knife on the table, thinking for a while, and continued, “Today Honored Consort Deng came to see His Majesty with seasonal fruits in Xuanning Palace. After seeing me, she mentioned to you. She said Princess Linchuan’s birthday is in the next midmonth, so she invited you to the palace.”

It was an unexpected thing. Wei Changying asked, “Why did she invite me there?”

“I heard that,” said Shen Cangfeng, holding Wei Changying in his arms. Wei Changying firstly pushed him but then nestled against him. Now, she was close to him, so a smell of drinks came to her. Shen Cangfeng fiddled with a wisp of her hair and said, “Princess Linchuan is beloved by His Majesty, so the Empress and Honored Consort are eager to introduce their own nephews to Princess Linchuan for the purpose of marriage.”

In shock, Wei Changying asked, “But... what about Zhang Pingxu?”

“Zhang Pingxu has changed his idea,” sighed Shen Cangfeng. “When we had a drink today, Gu Ziming privately told me that when he and Gu Wei had visited Zhang Pingxu, they found that he was seriously ill. Moreover, Gu Ziming is good at medicine, so during their visit, he secretly took Zhang Pingxu’s pulse and found that his pulse was seemingly caused by Chenkesan.”

Chenkesan was the kind of medicine causing fake serious illness. How to make it was not a secret. Moreover, great families possessed it. However, for other people, they did not know about it at all. When Princess Linchuan’s husband was about to be decided, no one didn’t understand why Zhang Pingxu pretended to be ill.

Wei Changying knew that Chenkesan was similar to Youlaihe. If people took it, it would be hard to diagnose. Gu Yiran was able to privately diagnose that Zhang Pingxu had taken Chenkesan, which revealed that he was skilled in medicine.

She had no time to be surprised at Gu Yiran’s skills, but asked, “Zhang Pingxu consented with the marriage before, why does he change his idea now?”

“Ziming doesn’t know the reason, either,” said Shen Cangfeng with an air of concern. “Ziming indirectly asked Zhang Pingxu the reason, but Zhang Pingxu who pretended to be ill and weak politely expelled his guests. Today, His Majesty heard about what had happened to Zhang Pingxu and then doubted him. He asked Honored Consort Deng why is Zhang Pingxu who was always healthy, now ill.”

His Majesty was not only slack his official business but also capricious. He always appointed people who he liked as the Empress or the Crown Prince while dismissed them out of dislike. However, his position was all the time firm. Many great families harbored malicious intentions in private, but in public, they respected His Majesty. In their view, His Majesty was not incompetent, but he did not focus on the official business.

Wei Changying speculated, “He agreed to get married to Princess Linchuan before because he didn’t have a lover, but now is it likely that he has fallen with someone during these months?”

“Perhaps,” said Shen Cangfeng. Thinking for a while, he doubted, “However, when I was ordered by His Majesty to inquire Zhang Pingxu, I did not give him an absolute response. After all, His Majesty did not appoint him as son-in-law yet. It was because the servants of His Majesty said that Princess Linchuan had often praised Zhang Pingxu for his talent in poems. Therefore, Zhang Pingxu was considered as a candidate. Actually, His Majesty thought that Zhang Pingxu was good at poems, but he was physically weak. Besides, if he had fallen with someone, why wouldn’t he tell me in private and politely report to His Majesty?”

Wei Changying thought in mind, “According to you, you are not close to Zhang Pingxu. If he were reluctant to get married to Princess Linchuan, why should he tell you?” On the contrary, Wei Changying said, “Perhaps he is afraid of the punishment by His Majesty.”

“Princess Linchuan is arrogant. She adores Zhang Pingxu, but if she knew that Zhang Pingxu did not favor her, she would not harass him anymore,” said Shen Cangfeng, shaking his head. “After all, Zhang Pingxu is a lineal son of the Zhang Family. If he did not want to get married to Princess Linchuan and showed his attitude in advance, it would not be hard to deal with. After all, he was not the only candidate for His Majesty and Princess Linchuang. However, now, he does not directly refuse marriage. Besides, His Majesty has drafted the imperial edict but doesn’t issue it. If His Majesty and Princess Linchuan know that Zhang Pingxu has feigned illness, their dislike to him will be strengthened. However, Zhang Pingxu is always sensible, so he is not likely to do so.”

Wei Changying said, “Perhaps does he encounter his beloved recently?”

“Is it coincident?” asked Shen Cangfeng with a smile, lowering his head to kiss her hair.

Wei Changying gently pinched his arm and said, “It seems that you have been concerned over him. If he refused the marriage, would you get into trouble?”

Zhang Pingxu, Zhang Pingxu... Wei Changying thought that he had nothing to do with her. No matter he was punished or he would get married to Princess Linchan, it was a matter of the Zhang Family. Besides, she heard from Mrs. Huang that Liu Ruoyu’s stepmother was from the Zhang Family. Therefore, she disliked the Zhang Family. However, she wondered why Shen Cangfeng had cared about Zhang Pingxu so much.

With a sigh, Shen Cangfeng said, “Have you noticed it?”

Wei Changying merely asked casually. After hearing his words, she was shocked, “Why are you involved in it?”

“It is not easy to explain,” said Shen Cangfeng with a crafty smile. “I just came back, so I feel a little tired. If you kissed me, I would immediately recover and tell you. Hmm.”

Wei Changying realized that she had been tricked, so she violently crushed his foot and pushed his hand away from her, “Nonsense.”

Shen Cangfeng saw that she was angry and coaxed her with a smile, “Why? Actually, Zhang Pingxu rejected the marriage, which has something to do with me.”

Wei Changying looked at him with a sneer. After shoving him out of the way, she walked into the tent and lay on the bed without taking off her clothes. She turned her face to the wall, which showed her anger and her reluctance to talk with him.

Shen Cangfeng hurried to follow her, sitting on the edge of the bed and holding her hand, and said with a smile, “It is true. Listen, Zhang Pingxu should call us brother and sister-in-law. He is the nephew of our second aunt, so he is our kin. If he annoyed His Majesty, why should not we worry about him?”

Turning around her head to face Shen Cangfeng, Wei Changying was confused to ask, “It is not reasonable. His refusal of marriage is not easy to deal with. Relatives among great families are complicated. If someone made a mistake and all his relatives were to punish, all people of great families would be given punishment.”

Grabbing her hand, Shen Cangfeng softly kissed her fingertip and said with a sigh, “You are so smart. However, there is a more important thing.” His lower voice revealed something serious.

“What is that?” Wei Changying was curious about that and sat straight.

“It is that I have annoyed you just now. Compared with it, it is not important who Prince Linchuan would marry, whom Zhang Pingxu loves as well as what His Majesty and Princess Linchuan would do if they knew the truth. These are not important. What matters is that I have made you unhappy,” said Shen Cangfeng, touching his own chin and bursting into laughter.

Wei Changying was so furious that she threw herself into his arms and punched him. “How dare you tease me?”