Shi Fa Ke tilted her head to look at her, her expression somewhat incredulous, “Then how would one not be heartless?”

He Ketian couldn’t say either, but she always felt it shouldn’t be like this.

“If I still went to find him to play every day as I did in my youth, even though my heart would be pure, what would it look like to outsiders, and what position would that put his wife in?” Shi Fa Ke said with a completely serious expression.

He Ketian was left speechless.

“A’ke is right.” At this point, He Kexian returned after “seeing off” Chu Yizhi, and hearing Shi Fa Ke’s words, he immediately felt complete approval.

The corner of He Ketian’s mouth twitched slightly. She didn’t know why her brother had found Chu Yizhi disagreeable since childhood… Now he could finally have his wish fulfilled.

Although He Ketian was quite clever, she ultimately lacked experience. She didn’t know that this kind of behavior in men could be collectively termed… jealousy.

Seeing He Kexian agree with her reasoning, Shi Fa Ke’s expression softened considerably. Actually, her heart was far from as calm as her face appeared—she also needed someone to affirm her reasoning, and He Kexian’s words came at just the right time.

“Thank you, Big Brother He.” Shi Fa Ke smiled and said.

Thank you for standing by my side at a time like this, making me more convinced that I’m right.

He Kexian certainly had his selfish motives, but he hadn’t expected to receive such sincere thanks from Shi Fa Ke. For a moment, he felt somewhat uncomfortable, and then, suddenly, he remembered Chu Yizhi’s curse-like words…

A’ke doesn’t like me, and she doesn’t like you either. I’m waiting for you to end up the same way I did.

He Kexian shuddered suddenly, feeling that he was being made somewhat obsessed by that fellow Chu Yizhi. How could he suddenly think of such inexplicable words?

But… that inexplicable smile Chu Yizhi gave before leaving made him very uncomfortable, giving him the feeling that his intelligence was being looked down upon… What exactly had he overlooked?

Or was that fellow Chu Yizhi just deliberately creating confusion?

Making him feel troubled—that was probably his purpose! Yes, it must be so!

“Big Brother He? Big Brother He?” Beside his ear, Shi Fa Ke’s voice sounded.

He Kexian came back to his senses and saw Shi Fa Ke looking at him strangely, “Big Brother He, what are you thinking about?”

How could he zone out while talking?

“Cough, nothing.” He Kexian felt a bit confused inside, “Looking at the time, it’s getting late. We should head back too.”

Shi Fa Ke and He Ketian both looked up at the sky—it wasn’t even past the hour of the snake yet… Today’s weather was clear, with the sun hanging high in the sky. Where did he see that it was getting late?

“Ketian, what are you daydreaming about? Let’s go.” He Kexian urged.

“You go back first. I still want to stay and chat with A’ke for a while.” He Ketian said with pursed lips.

Shi Fa Ke silently glanced at her—who exactly was keeping whom company for conversation?

“Then you stay and chat with A’ke for a while. I’ll go back first.” He Kexian nodded and turned to leave.

He Ketian, who knew her brother’s nature well, was a bit surprised. He was just leaving like that, no follow-up moves? Being so agreeable was simply unlike him. Just as she thought this, she saw He Kexian walk two steps then suddenly stop.

Here it comes! He Ketian prepared to receive the blow.

“Oh right, when I came out today, I heard Mother say that Little Aunt sent a letter asking if your marriage was settled. If not, she’d take you to the capital and find you a good family there.” He Kexian turned his head and said this leisurely, then left without any further delay.

He Ketian was stunned for a moment.

“Your little aunt? The little aunt who married into the capital?” Shi Fa Ke asked curiously, then added, “I guessed that your family was planning to marry you off to the capital.”

Shi Fa Ke’s words were like adding fuel to fire. He Ketian stamped her feet, “I absolutely don’t want to marry into the capital!”

Shi Fa Ke was a bit surprised, “Why?”

She thought that with He Ketian’s high standards, she would probably be willing to marry into the capital too. After all, it was about marrying into a prestigious family.

“I absolutely don’t want to be married far away to the capital! How miserable daughters married far away are—if they’re bullied by their in-laws, it’s like crying to heaven with no response and to earth with no answer. If they suffer grievances, there’s no one to tell! I’ve read in story books about daughters-in-law who were driven to death by their in-laws! Their bones were buried in the ground before their natal families even knew!” He Ketian said with great agitation.

Moreover, she was going to marry Teacher Linyuan! She absolutely didn’t want to marry far away to the capital!

“Story books?” Shi Fa Ke’s mouth twitched, “Didn’t you tell me to read fewer story books?”

He Ketian stiffened… Oh, it seemed she had exposed her hobby.

The He family was a merchant family, and when outsiders mentioned the words “merchant,” they always felt as if there was a stench of copper in the air. He Ketian scoffed at this—while money wasn’t everything, having no money was absolutely impossible. Otherwise, why would they say that poor couples face sorrow in all matters? Clothing, food, housing, transportation, firewood, rice, oil, salt—which didn’t require money? Which could do without merchants?

She had never been a true lady either, just felt that the appearance of being a lady could avoid many troubles. For example, when she was young, she felt inferior about her appearance and had a difficult personality, so she was always disliked. Later, she gradually understood that if appearance wasn’t enough, it could be cultivated, and if cultivation didn’t work, personality could make up for it.

She learned music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She read the Four Books and Five Classics, and she became a virtuous woman in others’ eyes.

As for vulgar things like story books, even if she loved reading them, she naturally couldn’t admit it!

“That’s not the point!” He Ketian waved her small hand with great momentum, “The point is that I absolutely cannot marry into the capital, especially since I…” She hesitated, then said with a red face, “I already have someone I fancy.”

“Ah?” Shi Fa Ke’s eyes widened, “Who is it?”

“I’ll tell you about this later…” He Ketian’s eyes flickered as she avoided the topic, “I need to go back and check first, can’t let my brother ruin things.” With that, she lifted her skirt and chased after him.

…It was as if she had given up and no longer cared about her elegant lady image.

He Ketian had her calculations. If she directly told her that the person she liked was Scholar Lu, whether Shi Fa Ke believed it or not was one thing, and even if she believed it, she definitely wouldn’t be willing to help her. After all, she had offended Lu Chi quite badly before. But… what if Shi Fa Ke discovered on her own that the person she currently liked was Scholar Lu?

Then she would only need to put on a distressed and confused appearance, and with Shi Fa Ke’s personality, she would definitely help her voluntarily.

So He Ketian planned to take it step by step—first let Shi Fa Ke get used to the fact that she already had someone she fancied, then slowly guide her to discover that her beloved was Teacher Linyuan… This way, she would definitely be able to understand her predicament better and be willing to help her.

Hmm, perfect.

However, the prerequisite was that she had to solve the internal family conflicts first before she could proceed without worries. Although He Ketian extremely suspected that the letter from the capital aunt was something he made up, she couldn’t afford to gamble and didn’t dare to gamble. What if it was true?!

This was the major event of her lifetime.

Thinking this way, she ran even faster.