Wei Changying turned around, in astonishment, seeing a handsome young man at distance. With a jade belt around his waist, he wore a cinnabar Yueluo robe and a pair of brocade boots, his hair tied with a golden ring. He was Shen Cangji, Shen Cangfeng’s lineal younger brother.

He was also Wei Changying’s brother-in-law favored most by her mother-in-law, so she did not snub him, but turned around to ask him, with a smile, “Fifth brother, what’s the matter with you?”

After looking around to find no one else nearby, except Wei Changying and her maidservants, Shen Cangji walked up and said hello to her. And then he furtively asked, “Third sister-in-law, could I have a word with you?”

Wei Changying was curious about what this brother-in-law would talk with her, so she and he walked a few paces away from her maids to make sure they could not hear this private conversation. However, when Shen Cangji stopped and was about to ask something, he blushed. He tried to open his mouth for many times but swallowed his words. Finally, he whispered, “Yesterday, when fourth elder cousin and fifth elder cousin came to visit third brother, they also came chatting with me. However, I did not understand their words, so could you please help me explain them?”

“What did they say?” asked Wei Changying. She guessed that Su Yuliang and Su Yuwu might have known that Su Yuyin would be married to Shen Cangji, so did they give this man, who was going to be their brother-in-law, a head-on blow at their first encounter?

As expected, Shen Cangji answered, blushing, “They suggested me that I should learn from third brother, not doing anything immoral. For example, I had better not go to the entertainment places. What’s more, fourth elder cousin asked me to give him two maids serving me in the inner room.”

There was no doubt that Su Yuliang had picked up the two most beautiful maids or those who were most familiar with Shen Cangji. Su Yuliang was from the first branch of the Su Family while Su Yuwu the third branch. They were only cousins of Su Yuyin, the daughter of the second branch of this family. They were not siblings but had a few conflicts with each other. Now, they were both concerned about Su Yuyin’s marriage, which made Wei Changying surprised. However, she recalled that Su Pingzhan’s words had made Madam Su immediately give up the plan that she would ask her daughter to marry Wei Zhengyin’s son. Moreover, she in person went back to the Su Mansion, her parents’ home, explaining the cause to her father.

After thinking this, it was not strange that Su Yuliang and Su Yuwu had together helped their cousin. Shen Cangji had clearly shown his intention, so Wei Changying asked, smiling, “Fifth brother, what do you think of it?”

Staring at his boots, Shen Cangji muttered, “Would you like to give me some advice, third sister-in-law?” Actually, he had his own plan, but he wanted to prove his speculation from Wei Changying.

“It seems that first sister-in-law and second sister-in-law have not told you this news yet. Congratulations to you, fifth brother.” This was not a secret. The Shen Family would talk about the marriage with the Su Family two days later. If so, would not Shen Cangji know it? Therefore, Wei Changying directly told him, “On your last birthday, mom also visited grandparents. She and second aunt chose fourth cousin as your fiancee.”

Yesterday, Shen Cangji had sensed something. But if his sister-in-law had not told him the news, he would not be sure about it. Su Yufei was a year younger than Su Yuyin, so he did not know which one he would marry to. Now, after Wei Changying informed him of the truth, he quickly expressed his thanks to her. He was so young that he only let out a soft cry and then fled away, blushing.

Wei Changying found that his upset back was a little funny.

After walking back to the door of the courtyard, Wei Changying was asked by Mrs. Huang, “Why did fifth young master leave away so suddenly?”

“He is shyly blushing at the marriage arranged by mom,” said Wei Changying with a smile.

When Shen Cangfeng returned home, Wei Changying told him something about Shen Cangji. He said with a grin, “Last night, when I drank with fourth cousin and fifth cousin, they suddenly went out of the room to have fresh air. Although I drank much, I noticed that they had left for a long time. I didn’t expect that they had come to teach fifth brother how to be a moral man.”

“You are right,” said Wei Changying. “Today, when fifth brother came asking me in a hesitant manner, I thought that there would be something serious. However, he merely sought advice from me. He was confused by his two cousins from the Su Family who had given him a lesson.”

Shen Cangfeng smiled and answered, “They are overly worried about fifth brother. He is always gentle and grows up with fourth cousin sister. For the recent two years, after being a private guard, he has been busy with his work. So, he spends less time getting along with her. However, they are lineal cousins, so how could he shabbily treat her?”

Wei Changying did not say anything, smiling. She thought in mind, “Being a wife is different from being a cousin. A generous man, except Gu Naizheng who is weird, could bear a willful cousin because they are relatives. It has been normal that two cousins get married since ancient time. However, after being a wife from a cousin, these girls are likely to have an unhappy life.”

Now, although Shen Cangfeng referred to this, Wei Changying didn’t want to retort upon him, so she changed the topic.

After they chatted for a while, Shen Cangfeng suddenly mentioned Nian Shengyao, “Is Mr. Nian still in the front courtyard?”

“He left away after lunch,” answered Wei Changying. “Why do you find him?”

Shen Cangfeng answered with a smile, “It doesn’t matter.” Did he imply that he wanted to discuss something with Nian Shengle? But he did not tell her anything about it. Wei Changying did not ask him, either. She only poked his breast with a finger, and said, “On the birthday of fifth brother, you drank too much on behalf of fifth brother, because Gu Zilie urged you to drink. Yesterday, the party was held at our home and Gu Zilie was taken away by Gu Ziming, but why did you still drink so much? This morning, I was afraid that there would be something wrong with you when you rode a horse to work so hurriedly.”

“The lance I received last night was pretty handy, so I was delighted and then drank much,” said Shen Cangfeng, holding her hand to kiss it. “This lance has been made since five years ago. During this time, I became more powerful, so it was adjusted from time to time, which cost lots of woods. Last New Year’s Eve, my lance was broken, so I waited for this new one. Now, it is handier than expected, so I am pretty happy.”

Wei Changying understood that a handy weapon was as important as life, so when she saw Shen Cangfeng’s big smile, she lightly pinched his face, and said, “You are as childish as a boy who is given a sugar.”

“It is so sweet,” flirted Shen Cangfeng, pulling her into his arms to have a kiss.

After their flirtation, Wei Changying recalled what had happened yesterday, so she became serious, “The trick, Furious Rain Flying Sleet, by Gu Ziming is very dangerous, though you have caught the needles for many times. You should be more careful in the future.”

Shen Cangfeng held her in his arms and said with a smile, “It is nothing serious. The needles in his lance are pretty thin. The trick lies in the suddenness so that an opponent will fail to avoid them in time. However, if someone beats them with all the strength, they will fall onto the ground to be useless.”

He added, “At the first time when I fought with Brother Ziming, the needles were beaten down by me. Liu Shili was not hit by them, either.”

Wei Changying put her arms around his neck, muttering, “After Shen Die told me what had happened between Liu Youzhao and Pei Kai, I have been worried about you.” Last time, after the event about the lotus-picking girls in the Spring Grass Lake, Madam Su had taught her daughter-in-law that she should consider more for Shen Cangfeng, in case he was framed by an evil, mean person. At this moment, Wei Changying didn’t hope that her husband was too careless, so she persuaded, “Liu Youzhao dared make a mistake in front of His Majesty, and who knows whether he would do so again when he battles with you?”

“Liu Youzhao is innocent,” said Shen Cangfeng with a sneer. “Today, Liu Youzhao came here with Pei Kai, which implies there were no conflicts between them. Liu Youzhao is from the lineal clan of the Liu Family. He did not try his best to fight with Pei Kai in front of His Majesty. After all, it will not be a good thing if someone bleeds. However, even if he were not to blame for murdering his colleague, it would be, to some extent, harmful to his career, because of his misbehavior before His Majesty. After his elder cousin, Liu Jizhao, passed away, the status of his branch has been badly influenced, so how could his family give up him, a lineal son?”

Wei Changying asked thoughtfully, “Is it due to Liu Ruowo?”

“Yes, it is,” responded Shen Cangfeng, kissing her on the face. “Now, Liu Sijing, Duke Weiyuan, is in the charge of Ranli Hall. He originally had high hopes for his lineal youngest son, Liu Jizhao, who is also our cousin-in-law. Unfortunately, he was killed in the war battle. Other sons of Liu Sijing are not able to master this family, so he chose Shili, his nephew from the collateral branch, to be his successor.” Ranli Hall was the clan title of the Liu Family in Eastern Hu.

“Is Liu Sihuai, Military Officer, the lineal grandfather of Liu Ruowo?” asked Wei Changying, touching his lip to stop him from kissing her. “So, is it the conflict between Military Officer and Duke Weiyuan?”

Shen Cangfeng naturally kissed her fingertip, and then answered, “Yes, it is. Moreover, the Pei Family in Youzhou is close to Eastern Hu. They often fight with the Northern Rong tribes with the Liu Family. After Liu Jizhao passed away, Duke Weiyuan was sad, but he did not condemn the Pei Family. He did not ask Liu Youzhao, his lineal nephew, to kill Pei Kai. On the New Year’s Eve when Liu Youzhao battled with Pei Kai, there was something wrong with his plum blossom-shaped silver awl. Someone had smeared lard on his hammer. The lard was pretty light and the hammer was heavy, so Liu Youzhao who got used to this hammer did not notice what had happened to it. During his battle with Pei Kai, as the hammerhead hit the weapon used by Pei Kai, and the grand candles were lit in the palace, the lard melted into fluid, flowing along the hammer stem, so Liu Youzhao was not able to hold the hammer anymore.”

The plum blossom-shaped silver awl, a heavy weapon, was difficult to lift with one hand for those who were not used to it. What was more, there was greasy lard on it, so it was no wonder that Liu Youzhao had lost the battle.

At the beginning of the Great Vi, among the six gentlefolks across the nation, the Wei Family in Fengzhou was not the only one with two clan titles. For some reason, except for the Wei family, others had only one clan title later. However, conflicts in the family remained. Even if there were a bleak chance to be a rich and powerful clan, who would not take a try?

Wei Changying thought that Liu Xixun was unusual, so she asked, “Yesterday, as I saw Liu Xixun, he didn’t look upset.”

Liu Xiyun usually ranked second in the material arts battle in front of His Majesty. However, he did not rank the top ten last year. Besides, because of him, his clan brother was framed. He nearly killed the son of the Pei Family. Duke Weiyuan was in Eastern Hu, Military Office in the Capital City and the headquarter of the Liu Family in Youzhou. The Pei Family often helped the Liu Family repel the invasion by the northern Rong tribes, so it was obvious that the Pei Family played an important role in the internal strife of the Liu Family.

Someone was likely to think that because of Liu Jizhao, the Liu Family was so furious at the Pei Family that Duke Weiyuan’s lineal nephew accidentally killed the son of the Pei Family. This complicated situation faced by Liu Xixun was increasingly unfavorable, but he still normally behaved. Who would expect that he would hide this awful experience behind his bright smile?

Shen Cangfeng said with a faint smile, “Brother Shili is rather generous.”

“You are right. He is in person chosen by Duke Weiyuan from his clan.” Duke Weiyuan used to place great expectations on Liu Jizhao. According to this name, he must have the eldest son, Liu Bozhao, the second one, Liu Zhongzhao, the third one, Liu Shuzhao. And Liu Jizhao was the youngest one. Also, Duke Weiyuan had a nephew, Liu Youzhao. Perhaps he had other descendants. But why didn’t he choose his lineal sons or nephews, but Liu Xixun? Obviously, this nephew from the collateral branch was so superb that Duke Weiyuan was willing to cultivate him as a successor.

Wei Changying did not agree with her husband, “You knew that there was something wrong, made by a mean person, with the weapon of Liu Youzhao, and didn’t you fear that Gu Ziming would experience the same thing?”

“There is nothing wrong with the needles,” said Shen Cangfeng, laughing. “Do you know why are those needles so thin and light? If they were heavy, the lance itself would be out of balance. Besides, the lance body itself cannot bear the overly heavy needles and there is so little space at the head of the lance. If they were too large, the lancehead would be useless. Brother Ziming is good at playing with the silver lance, so the needles in it are merely a trick.”

Wei Changying was annoyed to push him away, “You had better be more careful. Don’t make any mistakes.”

Shen Cangfeng kept touching her, and answered absently, “I got it.”

“You!” Obviously, Shen Cangfeng did not hear her words, so Wei Changying was angry to pinch him forcefully. However, he caught her in his arms.