On this side, Shi Fa Ke was still pondering how she would talk to Second Brother Lu about Ke Tian’s matter when he returned. Just as Shi Fa Ke was lost in thought, Third Brother Shi came back.

“Ah Ke, what are you doing in my study?” Third Brother Shi was startled upon stepping into the study and seeing Shi Fa Ke sitting blankly in front of the bookshelf.

“Isn’t it said that if you don’t do anything wrong in life, you won’t fear ghosts knocking at your door in the middle of the night?” Shi Fa Ke came back to her senses, looking at her third brother’s still-startled appearance, and said faintly, “Or… have you done something wrong?”

Third Brother Shi patted his chest and looked at his sister suspiciously. “Ah Ke, what’s wrong with you? Why are you being so strange and sarcastic today?”

“Where did you go? Why are you only coming back now?” Shi Fa Ke asked instead of answering.

“Someone at the shop took a liking to my painting, and Second Brother called me to go take a look. Is there anything wrong with that?” Third Brother Shi blinked his eyes with a completely bewildered expression.

“You came back from outside, didn’t you hear anything?” Shi Fa Ke looked at him mysteriously and asked again.

“No, I didn’t. Did something happen?” Third Brother Shi asked puzzled.

“I got drunk last night, so I woke up late today. After I woke up, I took the betrothal letter to the He family. Do you know what happened?”

“What happened?” Third Brother Shi asked obligingly.

“After I arrived at the He family, I learned that the news of your marriage with Ke Tian had already spread throughout almost all of Copper Gong Town.” Shi Fa Ke looked at him expressionlessly.

Third Brother Shi showed a startled expression on his face. “…How could this happen?”

The expression looked very genuine.

But Shi Fa Ke’s heart sank even further. She stared at him intently and asked directly, “Third Brother, was it you?”

“What?” Third Brother Shi was stunned, then showed a hurt expression on his face. He said incredulously, “You think I spread this news? In your eyes, am I that kind of person?”

Hmm… apparently, yes.

“Hey! What kind of look is that!” Third Brother Shi jumped up angrily.

“First, I already told you before that I would go to the He family today to return the betrothal letter, but you knew I have a low alcohol tolerance, yet so coincidentally, you secretly gave me wine to drink last night. Second, you are the only one who knows about this matter and has the motive to spread it.” Shi Fa Ke looked at him and spoke slowly, “I was drunk and didn’t wake up until noon, giving you plenty of time to do this, wasn’t it?”

Shi Fa Ke stared steadily at Third Brother Shi. She thought he would make excuses, after all, her third brother was famous for being eloquent and had always been the type who could be very confident even when unreasonable.

But… this time, Third Brother Shi looked at her and surprisingly didn’t argue anymore. He just lowered his eyes and said softly, “I know these things seem too coincidental, so coincidental that they seem premeditated.”

Shi Fa Ke raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to continue.

“But Ah Ke, even you don’t believe me. I’m really too sad.” After Third Brother Shi said this, he walked out of the study with low spirits.

Huh?

Shi Fa Ke was directly stunned… what kind of development was this?

How was this not following the usual pattern?

How could she continue questioning like this?

That night, Shi Fa Ke tossed and turned, and because of the stuffy weather, she couldn’t fall asleep at all.

In the middle of the night, thunder suddenly rumbled, and heavy rain poured down, making the banana leaves outside the window rustle. Shi Fa Ke got up and pushed open the window. The coolness brought by the heavy rain finally drove away the stuffiness in the room, and drowsiness followed.

In the latter half of the night, she finally had a good sleep.

So the next day, Shi Fa Ke woke up late again.

When she opened her eyes, the sun was already high in the sky, and the sunlight was exceptionally bright. If it weren’t for the fact that the courtyard was still wet, she would probably think yesterday’s heavy rain was just a dream.

Today Third Brother Shi didn’t go out. Shi Fa Ke made up her mind to find Third Brother for a good talk.

However, before she could go to the study to have a heart-to-heart with Third Brother Shi, someone suddenly knocked on the door outside.

Shi Fa Ke’s heart suddenly jumped. Could it be… that Second Brother Lu had returned? Counting the days, after attending Big Brother Lu and Zhu Yanyan’s wedding, he should be back in these couple of days.

She got up to open the door, her steps urgent in a way she herself didn’t notice.

However, when she opened the door and looked, she was stunned. “…Keji?”

Yes, the handsome young man standing outside the door was indeed Lu Chi’s student, Zhu Keji.

“Sister Shi.” Zhu Keji smiled at Shi Fa Ke, cupped his hands very politely, looking somewhat shy.

“Come in.” Shi Fa Ke stepped aside to let him in and asked, “Is there something you need?”

“I just wanted to ask when my teacher will return.” Zhu Keji didn’t enter the door, just smiled sheepishly.

He had probably been disciplined by his teacher to the point of developing a problem. Now that his teacher had gone back, with no one to control him, he was actually starting to feel uncomfortable! What a terrible habit… his teacher must be poisonous!

Shi Fa Ke was stunned. Oh right, Second Brother Lu seemed to have been gone for quite a while. Why hadn’t he returned yet? When she heard the knocking earlier, she thought it was Second Brother Lu returning. But why would Zhu Keji specifically come to ask her?

So Shi Fa Ke looked at him and said somewhat strangely, “Uh… I don’t know either. But aren’t you his student? Why are you asking me? Didn’t he tell you when he would return before leaving?”

“No…” Zhu Keji looked somewhat dejected.

He was very self-aware. In his teacher’s heart, he couldn’t even compare to a strand of Sister Shi’s hair. He was just a pitiful little thing unloved by his teacher! But his teacher hadn’t even told Sister Shi when he would return… Zhu Keji suddenly had a horrifying thought—could it be that his teacher wouldn’t come back?!

That shouldn’t be possible, right? After all, Sister Shi was still in Copper Gong Town…

Seeing Zhu Keji’s dejected face, like a pitiful little thing abandoned by his teacher, Shi Fa Ke’s heart softened. “Don’t worry, he will come back. The house in Willow Leaf Lane hasn’t been vacated yet, so he’ll definitely return at least once before the autumn examinations.”

Zhu Keji thought about it and realized this was indeed the case, so he let go of his worries.

Since he had let go of his worries, Zhu Keji decided to go back and properly complete the assignments his teacher had given him before leaving. Otherwise, when his teacher returned… the consequences would probably be unthinkable.

Just as he was about to leave, Zhu Keji hesitated and stopped again. He looked at Shi Fa Ke with some hesitation and said stammering, “Sister Shi, don’t be too sad either. If you need anything, you can tell me. My grandfather has a good friend who is an Imperial Physician. If it really comes to that, I can ask my grandfather for help.”

Huh? Huh?

Shi Fa Ke’s head was full of question marks. Was there a problem with her comprehension? They were clearly just talking about when Second Brother Lu would return, so how did it suddenly jump to mentioning a good friend who was an Imperial Physician? Wasn’t this topic jump a bit too extreme?

And what did this mean anyway?

“Why… should I be sad?” Shi Fa Ke asked with a face full of question marks.

And what did this have to do with an Imperial Physician?

“Eh? Sister Shi, you don’t know?” Zhu Keji looked somewhat surprised.

“What should I know?” Shi Fa Ke asked anxiously.

She most disliked this feeling of everyone else seeming to know something while she was the last to find out!

“It’s about Third Brother Shi and Miss He’s marriage…” Zhu Keji said tentatively. Seeing Shi Fa Ke’s completely confused look, he paused, seeming to regret that he shouldn’t have been so talkative.

“Hmm? So… what happened?” The vein on Shi Fa Ke’s forehead twitched.

Could it be that Third Brother had caused some trouble again? But wasn’t he staying properly in the study today?

No, wait… she woke up late again today! So what exactly had he done…