After he had left, Wei Zhengyin breathed a sigh of relief and spoke to her niece with a smile, "Now we know why he was adopted into Ruiyu Hall. Your second uncle wanted to resign, but fortunately, he was there in time." She felt a bit regretful, "He is tight-lipped though. I wanted to find out how he had actually dissuaded your second uncle, but I failed."

"In my view," Wei Changying smiled and said, "The second uncle wanted to resign. But having seen that Wei Xinyong had come to the capital, he knew that this trick wasn't going to work, so naturally he didn't want to resign anymore."

Wei Zhengyin said, "Probably true, but things couldn't possibly be this simple." She asked thoughtfully, "From what Wei Xinyong said just now, it seemed that he was annoyed by you. Did you hold a sword or something to his neck before?"

Wei Changying said with a smile, "I have said before. I had threatened to harm him."

"I thought you just threatened him with words, but you actually did that?" Wei Zhengyin was a graceful and quiet person. The sharpest thing she had ever touched was probably her embroidery scissors. On hearing what her niece had said, she didn't know whether to cry or laugh, saying, "You are crazy! That's why his first few words dripped with sarcasm! But you were able to be respectful to him. I thought that he seemed very surprised, didn't he?"

Wei Changying said, "Presumably when I had met him before, I scared him so much. Well, I didn't really beat him up! However, he still carries it in his mind."

Wei Zhengyin couldn't help but try to pry curiously into the situation at the time, trying to inveigle it out of her, "You really took that risk! Having known the person who gave the invitation had bad intentions, you dared to go to meet that person in disguise, pretending to be Changfeng. If..."

"I couldn't let Changfeng take the risk, could I?" Wei Changying smiled, saying, "My second aunt, you think about it. My maternal grandmother, father and mother value me and Changfeng as if we were their lives. I had been promised in marriage to a place far away from home ever since I was small. My maternal grandparents, father and mother are all in Fengzhou. If Changfeng died, do you think I could take them with me to marry into the Shen Family? But Changfeng is a man and can stay with them. If I died, they would grieve, but they could carry on their lives. If Changfeng died, the whole family would go downhill."

Having listened her calm tone, Wei Zhengyin knew that she was honest, sighing, "That was sad. Fortunately, you are lucky and father was so insightful that he had chosen Shen Cangfeng to be your husband, so you didn't have to suffer lots." She felt that although this thing hadn't caused irreversible consequences, her niece obviously didn't like it being mentioned over and over again. She changed the topic back, "I saw that you were very respectful towards him, so respectful that it looked a bit fake. Why?"

"Although this person saved me. Changfeng and I should be grateful to him, somehow I don't feel I want to thank him." Wei Changying sighed, "It's probably because of the person's personality. My second aunt, can you guess why he mentioned Huo Zhaoyu as soon as he opened his mouth?"

Wei Zhengyin had her own opinion, but on hearing her niece's words, she said, "I don't know much about him. I was going to ask you."

"He was deliberately trying to put pressure on me with it. "Wei Changying pursed her lips, saying, "He was trying to frighten me first. He wanted to talk about what I had done wrong first, so he could overwhelm me, destroy me and manipulate me so as to do things under his command. In the mountains outside Fengzhou, the first time I met him with my cousin Wei Qing, he had tried to do that!"

Wei Zhengyin smiled, saying, "So that time outside Fengzhou, you put a sword to his neck?"

"I did it before he said anything." Wei Changying laughed, saying, "Grandmother and Mother have taught me that when I meet someone who likes to strike first, I mustn't let him frighten me, in case I should fall into a trap he has prepared. I must dominate the conversation and keep it in my way. When a fortune teller on the street says ‘You will be in big trouble soon', don't you get frightened and so will do everything he says? When Lv Buwei first met Ying Yiren, it was the same."

"This is true. My people encountered something like it once in a market," having heard the words, Wei Zhengyin said in laugh.

Wei Changying said, "Among all the things I have done recently, the stupidest thing I've done is the one involving Huo Zhaoyu. Wei Xinyong didn't mention anything but that, saying he did it for my own good. He only wanted to use this matter to make me feel regretful and embarrassed, as well as make me keep thinking about it and feel anxious. Therefore, I could not tell whether the things he was going to say were right or wrong, unconsciously obeying him in everything. Also, I lost my ground. Even if I wanted to argue with him, it would be difficult to beat him."

She pursed her lips, "Last time, he was like this from beginning to end!"

Wei Zhengyin then asked, "Were you very polite like today then?"

"No, I wasn't!" Wei Changying said, "At the time, it was just after somebody had attempted to assassinate me. Although I went to the appointment for Changfeng, as I didn't know if Uncle Jiang had brought Changfeng back safely, it was still difficult for me to stay calm. As he kept trying to intimidate me, I didn't plan to make things easy for him!"

Although Wei Zhengyin didn't know how scary Wei Changying could be when she was annoyed, she knew how much her powerful mother loved her niece. If Old Madam Song, a person with high status, wanted to spoil a child, the child who was spoiled would always become too difficult to be handled when she was being capricious. Wei Zhengyin laughed, saying, "It seems that you made Wei Xinyong suffer a lot." She then asked, "But why were you so polite to him this time?"

"I'm here at yours. You are watching! I don't want you to criticize me for not behaving like a proper lady." Wei Changying joked, saying, "Also, my grandparents have gotten him into Ruiyu Hall. Grandmother even wrote a letter to tell me not to make things difficult for him, but to help him out. My grandparents have been looking out for me for a long time. Since there is actually something I can help with, why would I argue with him if there was no benefit and perhaps I might ruin my grandparents' plan?"

She smiled, saying, "He immediately criticized me to my face because I had threatened and beaten him up in Fengzhou and he felt very upset, so I let him vent it. No matter how much he hated me, with you present, he wouldn't beat me up. And he also figured out that this trick of him dominating me wouldn't work."

Wei Zhengyin gently pointed to her forehead, saying, "Then I ask you a question. You stay calm. I don't mean anything else. I just don't understand it. Having heard your explanation of Wei Xinyong's intentions and seen the way you responded, I think you did it very cleverly, didn't you? Why did you make a mistake about this Huo Zhaoyu thing?"

"If I had known, I wouldn't have made that mistake." Wei Changying sighed.

In the evening, Wei Changying excused herself from Wei Zhengyin's invitation to stay for dinner and went back to the Grand Preceptor's mansion.

After she returned, she went to the main room to see Madam Su who was holding Shen Shuguang and amusing him. At more than three months old, the child knew how to smile now. He was lying in his grandmother's arms. His dark eyes followed the rattle which his grandmother was gently turning in front of him, and he let out bright laughter from time to time. It made Wei Changying's heart melt.

Seeing her daughter-in-law come back, Madam Su put the rattle down and asked, "You are back now? Have you seen your sixth uncle?"

"Mother, I have met him." Wei Changying was going to politely and subtly say that Wei Xinyong wanted to visit Shen Xuan, but as her son was in front of her, she was distracted. Gazing at Shen Shuguang, she said straightforwardly, "My sixth uncle is more gifted and good-looking than any ordinary person. Grandfather especially wrote a letter and asked him to give it to father in person. So my sixth uncle specially asked when it would be convenient to pay a visit to father."

Madam Su had noticed her gaze, saying, "I have had Shuguang in my arms for a long time and my arms hurt. If you are not tired, you come and amuse him for a while." At that moment, as the rattling stopped, Shen Shuguang cried with his child’s prattles.

Wei Changying was very happy, quickly saying, "I'm not tired at all!" She took her son and took the rattle to make him smile again. Wei Changying was delighted.

Madam Su pondered for a moment, thinking about what Wei Changying had told her.

After a while, she said, "Since he is your uncle, invite him to visit our mansion tomorrow afternoon or the afternoon after tomorrow."

Wei Changying said yes with a smile and thanked her mother-in-law. Madam Su smiled, saying, "It's fine."

In order to hold her son for a little longer, Wei Changying spoke more things to her mother-in-law. Having tried to stay for a bit longer, she still had to leave, so she reluctantly returned Shen Shuguang to her mother-in-law.

Having left the main room, Wei Changying told Qin'ge to make a trip to the mansion of the Su Family to inform Wei Xinyong.

At noon the next day, when Wei Changying had just told the managers, who had come to take their orders, to leave. Zhu Lan, a maid, lifting the hem of her skirt, came over to report with a smile, "The sixth master is here. He is chatting in the front courtyard." She was worried, saying, "I have heard from the people in the front courtyard say that our young master's assistant, Mr. Nian, is here too. I wonder if the Family Head would ask Mr. Nian to test the sixth master."

"Don't worry about that. If he didn't even pass Nian Shengyao's test, it would be a waste of time that Grandfather had appreciated him for so many years." Said Wei Changying casually, having complete confidence in Wei Xinyong's ability and manipulative character.

It had also been the reality. Shen Xuan had kept Wei Xinyong at Grand Preceptor's mansion for dinner. As Wei Xinyong had insisted on leaving, he had ordered someone to take him back to the mansion of the Su Family with his own carriage. Having returned to the main room and drunk some soup to clear his head, he spoke to Madam Su with mixed feelings, "I'm surprised that the Wei Family has one as talented as him! It's a pity that it's too late now as he has been recruited by Duke Changshan and has become his nephew! If I had found out earlier, it would have been great."

Madam Su had heard Wei Changying say that her sixth uncle, who had suddenly come out of nowhere, is "more gifted and good-looking than any ordinary person". However, she hadn't noticed that Wei Changying had been trying to recommend him at that time. She had thought it was just some compliment, so she hadn't paid any attention to it. Now having heard it, she was surprised, asking, "Is he really that excellent? How come I have never heard of him before?"

"He was originally from Zhiben Hall, but now he has joined Ruiyu Hall. Apparently, he wasn't appreciated when he was in Zhiben Hall. Or, his talent became a threat there and Wei Qi didn't value him. Therefore, he has joined Ruiyu Hall." Shen Xuan became silent for a while and then said, "Otherwise, why would he have seized the opportunity of Wei Changfeng's coming to celebrate the birthday of his teacher, Wei Zhijiao, to recommend himself?"

He found it was really a pity, saying again with emotion, "If I had known him earlier, I would have recruited him by any means. Cangfeng's assistant, Nian Shengyao, is young and talented, but today he was silenced by Wei Xinyong's simple words! As far as I can see, Wei Xinyong didn't think Nian Shengyao was a threat at all. This man is young, a few years younger than Nian Shengyao, but he is wonderfully articulate. He is really a rare talent. Unfortunately, now he is backed by Duke Changshan. Despite how Duke Changshan has helped us over the years and now he is an in-law. Wei Xinyong is very smart. It wouldn't be nice to cut the ground from under Duke Changshan's feet. If it had been anyone else, I would have done it anyway, even if I have to marry Cangning to him!"

Madam Su knew that her husband loved the talented, but he was so eager this time. Clearly, Wei Xinyong was an outstanding person with whom no ordinary individual could compare. Nevertheless, on hearing him say that in order to get Wei Xinyong, he wouldn't hesitate to marry his favorite youngest daughter Shen Cangning to him, she didn't know whether to cry or laugh, "Our third daughter-in-law is Wei Xinyong's niece. You want to marry our youngest daughter to Wei Xinyong. Then what would they call each other?"

Shen Xuan clapped his hands, saying, "I just wanted to say it. Alas!"