According to Madam Su's order, the letter requesting to go to the palace hadn't left the door of Grand Preceptor's mansion until the palace gates were about to close. The servant who delivered the letter walked slowly all the way to the palace gates. Unsurprisingly, he saw the gates were closed, so he sighed, turned around, and went back.

The next morning, Madam Su ordered a servant to deliver the letter to the palace again, while she took the womenfolk of the Shen Family to the mansion of the Su Family to continue enjoying the wedding banquet.

But the people from the Shen Family couldn't really enjoy the wedding banquet on the day. Only Shen Cangning, who was carefree, was having a good time. She even took a girl in fancy clothes to Wei Changying to introduce her, "This is Rouzhang from the Gu Family."

While Wei Changying was worried about going to the palace to plead guilty, she was thinking about what she should do when meeting her second uncle and aunt. She had no time to pay attention to anyone else, but she didn't want to make Shen Cangning lose face, so she had to force herself to look at the young girl.

The girl was about fifteen or sixteen years old. She wore the same double buns as Shen Cangning did. She was tied with colorful ribbons and decorated with jewels and pearl hairpins. She also wore a necklace of precious stones, wearing all the accessories that a daughter of an eminent family should have. However, even with all the jewels and pearls, she looked agile.

She had a pretty oval face, with thick black straight eyebrows slanting upwards and outwards. Her eyes were big and bright. Her nose was delicate and her lips were like a cherry. She was beautiful, full of youthful spirit.

Seeing her, Wei Changying was relieved because it was easy to pay compliments to a beautiful girl like her. As she was about to compliment her, hoping she could get out of this quickly. Surprisingly, the young girl named Gu Rouzhang raised her hands and greeted her with clasped hands, saying clearly, "My name is Gu Rouzhang. Nice to meet you, Sister Wei!"

"..." Wei Changying didn't know if she should continue her curtsy being halfway through it. She paused, and then she forced a smile, "Hello, Sister Gu. Which Gu family are you from?" She was so naive! If the girl was her sister-in-law Shen Cangning's friend, even if she was a daughter of an eminent family, she would give people a headache!

For example, Su Yufei and Su Yuyin liked wearing weird makeup and often scared their whole family to death after they did it.

"I'm a daughter of the Gu Family in the capital. My brother is Gu Naizheng." Except that Gu Rouzhang had greeted her and introduced herself in a man's way, she was being normal now. Thankfully, she didn't draw any more attention from people who already looked at them surprisedly. Wei Changying forced a smile, saying, "Ah, you are the younger sister of cousin Su's husband. Nice to meet you. I have only been married into the capital for a few days. I haven't met you before, but it's great that my fourth sister-in-law has introduced you to me."

But Gu Rouzhang said straightforwardly, "Actually, even if you had been in the capital two years earlier, you wouldn't have met me, Sister Wei."

Wei Changying froze.

Shen Cangning stood beside her, explaining to her, "Sister Gu had been staying with her grandparents in You Zhou for the past two years and only returned last month."

As for why Gu Rouzhang had been staying with her grandparents in You Zhou for the past two years, Wei Changying could well guess. Since she was Gu Naizheng's sister, no matter if she was the daughter of the wife or a concubine, she had to mourn their mother. Gu Naizheng had finished mourning their mother a few months ago, but probably Gu Rouzhang hadn't. Based on Gu Rouzhang's age, Wei Changying could tell when their mother died, she had not yet turned fifteen. A girl of this age should have had been taught most of the rules by her mother, but this was also a time when they were prone to get into bad behaviors. Probably, they had been worried about her behavior, so they told her to live with her grandparents.

Certainly, the Gu Family in the capital was a big family, so it was easy to find her an aunt to keep her. But perhaps her grandparents really loved her. After their daughter died, being worried that her aunt wouldn't take good care of her, they had taken her in.

Thinking about this, Wei Changying carried on her early plan of trying to compliment her, saying that Gu Rouzhang was beautiful, graceful, and gentle. On hearing it, Gu Rouzhang laughed, saying, "When I was at my grandparents', my grandmother used to say that I gave her a headache and she was worried that I would make them lose face when I came to the capital. I'm surprised that you think me this nice, Sister Wei."

"How could someone like you make people lose face?" This was the first time Wei Changying had met Gu Rouzhang, so how could she know her true nature? Though Wei Changying had said this out of courtesy, Gu Rouzhang took her words a bit seriously. She felt embarrassed, thinking she had been laughed at.

Shen Cangning tried to ease the situation, saying, "Sister Gu learned horseback riding and archery from her family's elders when she was in You Zhou. She has heard that you are excellent at martial arts, so she would like to learn from you, my third sister-in-law."

Wei Changying was surprised, thinking young ladies nowadays were supposed to be quiet and calm. Even daughters of generals, like Shen Cangning and Madam Su, were taught to be gentle and obedient as they grew up. Wei Changying had been able to learn martial arts because of Old Madam Song's and Madam Song's sorrow on not having their biological heirs. So, they never could say no to the lineal children whom they finally had, knowing it didn't fit the normal standard but keeping on indulging them.

Since being in the capital, Wei Changying saw that the most of the girls in the Shen, Liu, and Su family were graceful young ladies who held a round silk fan and played among flowers. Without talking about their families, every one of them was like someone from a scholarly family. The only one who was lively and always caused trouble was Shen Cangning. Though she was a bit aggressive, she had never learned martial arts.

Wei Changying was surprised, thinking, "A Miss of the Gu Family in the capital practices martial arts?"

Wei Changying paused, and then she thought of the motivation that had kept her working hard for more than ten years. Looking at Gu Rouzhang, she sighed and said, "Sister Gu, learning martial arts is a difficult job, but you stuck it out. Well done." Seemingly, she had met someone like her!

"It was hard." Gu Rouzhang recalled, saying, "When I first saw my grandfather shoot an arrow through a red-painted willow leaf a hundred paces away, I thought it was just an easy trick. But when I started to try to do it myself, I still can't draw my grandfather's bow up until now. Then I realize how hard it is to learn martial arts!"

Shooting a willow leaf a hundred paces away wasn't a skill that ordinary people could achieve. Wei Changying knew Jiang Zheng had always thought she was talented, but she couldn't always be sure that she could manage it every time. So she became respectful, asking, "Which family is your grandfather from?"

"The Pei Family in You Zhou." Wei Changying wasn't surprised, thinking it must be the famous family in You Zhou, the Pei Family. Gu Rouzhang sighed, "My grandfather taught me all my martial arts skills. But my eldest brother has married my sister-in-law. So my father has ordered me to return home. Since I'm getting older, I guess my father will keep me in the capital. But I'm only halfway through my martial arts studies, so what can I do in the future? My eldest brother is so lazy that his martial arts skills are poor. My second brother is better than my eldest brother. But unfortunately, he has gone to Western Liang. Yesterday I met Cangning and told her about it, so she recommended you. I believe this is god's blessing that I can still have a good teacher even after I have left You Zhou!"

"Sister Gu, your aim to learn martial arts is really admirable." Knowing that Gu Rouzhang wanted her to teach martial arts, she first thought it was possible. Jiang Zheng had also said when teaching her martial arts that though the key martial arts skills of the Jiang Family must only be passed on to their own heirs, the rest could be used for teaching others. Recalling how hard she had worked back then and thinking how difficult it was to meet a like-minded person from a similar background, Wei Changying thought she couldn't disappoint her.

As she was about to agree, she suddenly became alert, thinking, "Gu Rouzhang likes martial arts, so why can't the Gu Family find a good teacher for her? She lost her teacher after she left You Zhou. Probably it is because the elders of the Gu Family won't allow it, isn't it?"

Wei Changying thought it was difficult to find a like-minded person among all the young ladies. Although she really didn't want to refuse her, she had a lot to do already. She had no time and was so ashamed that she didn't want to cause more troubles. She thought she would just give an equivocal answer. When she finished her business with Wei Changjuan, she would reconsider it.

Without her expectation, just as she said so, Gu Rouzhang grabbed her hand, looking excited and saying happily, "I knew you would accept me, Sister Wei!"

Wei Changying was startled. Before she realized what Gu Rouzhang meant, Gu Rouzhang held her hand and knelt down incredibly determinedly, saying loudly, "Teacher, please accept my respect!"

"!!!" Eyes from all directions were drawn here by her voice, and the hall suddenly became silent!

Wei Changying froze on the spot, yet her sister-in-law Shen Cangning proceeded to further put the cat among the pigeons. She grabbed a cup of tea from somewhere, smiled, and handed it to Gu Rouzhang, "Here, here. Do you need to serve tea after kneeling down? Here's the tea!"

Thankfully, Madam Su heard it. She quickly apologized to the people at her same table and ran over to them. She held Shen Cangning by the ears, dragging her back. Only then did the farce end.

As Old Madam Deng was elderly and only the young people from the families who weren't important enough for her to greet personally had come to congratulate them, Old Madam Deng excused herself away to the room at the back by saying that she was tired soon after the banquet had started. While she was drinking her tea, she saw her daughter rush in, holding her granddaughter. And her granddaughters-in-law awkwardly tried to persuade her. She didn't ask the reason but criticized her daughter first, "Cangning is old enough now. There are so many people here today and there is a wedding here as well. You can talk to her nicely instead of hurting her. You've made mistakes before, but have I ever treated you like this? The children are growing up. You have to give them some respect!"

Madam Su said angrily, "Mother, you don't know what this evil thing has done!"

Being dragged along by her, Shen Cangning had had to grovel. But now that she had seen her maternal grandmother and her maternal grandmother was helping her, how could she not defend herself? She immediately said, "Mother even said I must obey her all the time. So, mother, you didn't obey my maternal grandmother either!"

This made Madam Su feel very embarrassed, raising her hand and intending to hit her. Old Madam Deng was gentle. She couldn't even discipline her daughters-in-law and had always loved and been protective of her grandchildren. She also really liked her granddaughter Shen Cangning, so she couldn't tolerate her daughter hitting her! She reproached her instantly, "Did Cangning speak wrongly? If you had hit her somewhere else, I couldn't have done anything. But you have brought her to me. I have told you to show her some respect. However, you still want to hit her. You disobeyed your mother and acted this way towards her, so you can't blame her for learning from you!"

"There will be people everywhere else at the moment. Only your place here is quiet, mother. Actually, I hit her for a reason." Madam Su said, fuming with rage, "Last time, when it was Yuli's wedding, Wei Changjuan of the Wei Family, had caused trouble. Today Wei Changjuan hasn't come out but she has come out to cause trouble! Mother, do you think I should let her go?" Since there was only Old Madam Deng, people close to her, and the people with Madam Su in the room, Madam Su said directly, "The first sister-in-law has been displeased with us because of Cangzhu. This evil thing was being mischievous at her cousin's wedding banquet today. If the first sister-in-law knew of it, she would hate us!"

Old Madam Deng frowned, saying, "So what did Cangning do?"

Madam Su had only heard fragments of this, so she asked Wei Changying. Wei Changying wanted to cry, saying, "It has something to do with me again..." After she had said what had happened, Old Madam Deng was unhappy, criticizing Madam Su, "It was just that the girl from the Gu Family wanted my granddaughter-in-law to be her teacher, wasn't it? That was Miss Gu herself who wanted to kneel down, so it was not your daughter that pressured Miss Gu to go down to kowtow to your daughter-in-law. What's the big deal?"

"..." On hearing her daughter-in-law's words, Madam Su was also surprised. In fact, she was worried that Shen Cangning had caused more problems, as her youngest daughter was someone who could cause trouble even when she was in the palace. Besides, since Wei Changying had been married into the family, though she had never actually caused any trouble, she was always caught up in it. So when she had heard the words "Wei Changying", "Shen Cangning", "the Miss of the Gu Family", "kneeling", and "people gathering", she immediately thought that Shen Cangning had caused trouble again.

Or rather, Wei Changying and Shen Cangning had caused trouble again.

Wei Changying was her daughter-in-law, and she had never actually caused trouble, so Madam Su had decisively started to scold her daughter and had come to Old Madam Deng's place to teach a lesson to her daughter and her daughter-in-law. However, this time... Although it had drawn people's attention, it was genuinely not a big deal, let alone anything bad.

Having realized that she had wronged her daughter, Madam Su kept scolding Shen Cangning, as she was not someone who would apologize to her youngest daughter, "Gu Rouzhang, a daughter of an eminent family, wants to learn martial arts. Has she asked for approval from her elders of her family? You took her to your sister-in-law and she kowtowed to her straight away. If the Gu Family blamed your sister-in-law later on and took it out on your first cousin, what would you do?"

Shen Cangning said aggrievedly, "I didn't know that Sister Gu was going to kowtow to her immediately!"

"But you handed her tea!" Madam Su thought she had found a reason, so the volume of her scolding went up.

Shen Cangning stammered and couldn't say a word, but she caught a glimpse of her grandmother's upset look. So, she simply cried loudly, "I didn't think it was a big deal. I just wanted to be involved! Grandmother has said it's nothing big, but you keep scolding me like this!"

As soon as Old Madam Deng saw her granddaughter crying, she was distressed and quickly told Shen Cangning to come to her. Madam Su had to let her go. Shen Cangning instantly fell into Old Madam Deng's arms, bawling. While Old Madam Deng was holding her and comforting her, she was scolding Madam Su, frowning, "You are afraid of offending your sister-in-law from your old family! Regardless that I and your father are still alive, are you still an unmarried girl who relies on your brother and sister-in-law and must be submissive to your sister-in-law? To not offend your sister-in-law from your old family, you just scold and beat your children without any reason! Have I ever treated you like this before?"

Madam Su wanted to argue, but Old Madam Deng refused to listen, just saying, "Today, the Honored Consort sent someone here to congratulate Yulee on her wedding, but the Honored Consort didn't do so last time on Yuli wedding. So, your sister-in-law is in a very good mood now. She won't care about trivial things like this. However, you started to hit the girl without asking why. You're not even this harsh to concubines' children. In the end, your own children are worth less than others, aren't they?!"

She then backed down, "Since your daughters-in-law are here, I'm not going to scold you hard. Go back to your table! Cangning will stay with me for a couple of days. When you understand how to treat your daughter, you come and pick her up! If you can't figure it out and still treat your daughter like an enemy, she will stay with me until she gets married. I'll see her as my own daughter! I'll prepare a dowry and find a good person for her when she is at the age of getting married. Although it might not be that much, it's better than being beaten and scolded so often by you!"