Before he could finish speaking, Shen Xiaohai rushed in and delivered a heavy kick to his chest. With a crash, he was kicked into the curio shelf, knocking over the ornamental objects displayed on it. Things clattered noisily to the ground in a scattered mess.

He Shi and Shen Huiyi almost simultaneously let out shrill screams. Trembling violently, she stood up, then knelt on the ground and embraced the still-furious Shen Xiaohai. She cried so hard she couldn’t even care about the wounds on her face, desperately pleading for him to show mercy: “Heir Apparent! Heir Apparent! He is after all our only son! If you injure him…”

Shen Huixin also knelt down beside He Shi, reaching out to grab Shen Xiaohai’s hand. Among all of them, she was the only one who could still speak to Shen Xiaohai. With a trace of tears and a bit of choking in her voice, she called out “Father.” Seeing Shen Xiaohai finally stop his hand, she felt relieved in her heart but didn’t dare delay even a moment. She quickly stated her thoughts: “This matter is indeed due to his worthlessness, and he deserves to be beaten and disciplined. But even if you beat him to death, this matter cannot end well.”

Shen Xiaohai looked darkly at Shen Qingrang, who couldn’t even crawl up, and spat heavily: “You don’t want to marry her? Would rather die than marry her? Then why did you pour a few cups of liquor down your throat and do such despicable, shameless things?! Did you go deaf and not understand what your sister just said? She’s not an actor you summon at will and dismiss as you please. She is a noble young lady with an unblemished family background and powerful backing! You think you can just walk away and be done with it? Dream on!”

Shen Qingrang’s throat choked up. Panicked, his voice even changed tone as he lunged forward to grab He Shi: “I really thought she was Hongxiu, from the Hongyun Theater Troupe…”

But no one would believe his words, not even someone as suspicious as Shen Xiaohai—he had just sent people to inquire. Recently, Shen Qingrang had indeed become even more dissolute in wine and pleasure, visiting all the wine houses, teahouses, gambling dens, and theaters in the city without exception. He’d heard that Shen Qingrang had even dared to go to the dog fighting matches in the suburbs of the capital.

When people are living dissolutely, it’s easiest to get carried away and do anything—not to mention Miss Tong had clearly stated that she’d heard Shen Qingrang was too drunk to pay his bill, so she went to pay it for him. Who knew that when he saw her, he grabbed hold of her and wouldn’t let her leave?

Shen Xiaohai pulled over a chair and sat down, pointing at him with a cold laugh: “Prepare yourself. In a few days, you’ll come with me to the Tong household to propose marriage.”

He wasn’t a fool. Now the Song family probably harbored deep resentment toward Duke Yingguo’s residence over this matter. A marriage alliance was no longer to be considered—after all, they’d failed to drag the Song family into the mire with them and had their intentions seen through. At this point, even if he had the courage of heaven itself, he wouldn’t dare to involve Song the Sixth Miss again.

Since things had already reached this point, he could only be grateful that at least it was a young lady from the Marquis Wuning household. Moreover, since chastity had been lost before marriage, the dowry she’d bring would only be more, never less. The Marquis Wuning household had also operated beyond the passes for many years and had plenty of ways to generate wealth. This could be considered extremely fortunate amidst misfortune.

Shen Qingrang wore a mournful expression, constantly shaking his head: “…She’s like that… In the future, is our family going to marry a woman with leg problems as the principal wife…”

He Shi was also struck speechless by these words. She looked up at Shen Xiaohai, hesitating over whether to gather her courage to try persuading him again, when she heard Shen Xiaohai give a cold snort.

“So what? This matter has already spread far and wide. If you don’t take responsibility, should Miss Tong hang herself with a rope instead?” He pointed at Shen Qingrang as his resentment surged up again: “If it really comes to that day, I’m telling you—you still want to marry and have children? Better prepare your coffin! Even if the censors don’t impeach our entire family to the very bottom, His Majesty and Her Majesty would probably issue an edict of reprimand. Taking ten thousand steps back—even if none of this happens, by that time the Marquis Wuning household could swallow you alive, believe it or not?!”

He waved his hand, looked at Shen Qingrang with utter disgust, then turned to He Shi and said: “Watch him carefully these next few days. If anything else happens with him, I won’t want this son anymore either. Open the ancestral hall and let him get out!”

Although Shen Xiaohai had few legitimate sons, he had quite a few illegitimate ones. One illegitimate eldest son was currently quite capable, managing the estates’ income in perfect order. He Shi knew he truly meant what he said and could do it. Her mind immediately became alert, and she nodded her head vigorously like pounding garlic.

Shen Qingrang didn’t dare speak further either. After his father called his eldest sister out, he grabbed He Shi’s legs: “Mother! Think of a way for me. I’ll marry Song the Sixth, I’ll marry Song the Sixth! That unsightly woman has such a bad temper…”

He Shi had no choice but to steel her heart and deliver a heavy slap to his face. Trembling all over, she pointed at him and scolded: “Shut your mouth! Marry Song the Sixth? Don’t you know what situation you’re in now? Do you still have the right to choose? You’d better kill this thought right now and shut up. If you bring up Song the Sixth again, I think you’re not far from being expelled from the clan!”

Everything happening in the Shen household was like scenes in a painting scroll, replaying before Song Chuyi’s eyes one by one. This was all thanks to Qing Zhuo’s silver tongue—he could even imitate He Shi’s tone of voice perfectly and vividly.

Qing Ying went out to instruct Ma Changjiang to do something. When she returned, she heard Qing Zhuo saying the most important line: “Seventh Young Master Shen absolutely refused to marry that Miss Tong. Even after being beaten black and blue by the Duke Yingguo’s heir apparent, he still cried and shouted his refusal, saying he didn’t want an unsightly woman as his wife. He kept insisting on…” He glanced at Zhou Weizhao and Song Chuyi, who were looking at him with great interest at the same time, and couldn’t help but shrink his neck. He gave an awkward laugh and glossed over the topic: “In any case, the entire Shen household was in complete chaos today, with no peace. Duke Yingguo and Madam Duke Yingguo have both fallen ill from anger. The Marquis Wuning household still isn’t letting it go—late at night, another group of people chased over to give them another scolding.”

Zhou Weizhao had always known the Shen family was Song Chuyi’s inner demon. He patiently listened to Qing Zhuo’s vivid narration, then looked at Song Chuyi with a hint of a smile: “Are you reassured now? Even the Shen family’s affairs have changed, which further proves how absurd and laughable that dream was. Just treat that dream as a gift from heaven. It teaches you how to seek fortune and avoid calamity, how to distinguish good from evil and loyal from treacherous, and also tells you which path to take.”

Qing Zhuo felt a bit deflated. His Highness’s tone was exactly the same as when he coaxed that cat at Longhu Mountain… Apparently he still hadn’t gotten the idea.

Song Chuyi didn’t know that Zhou Weizhao only used this tone when speaking to that cat, so she didn’t feel anything was amiss. She even nodded along: “What you say makes sense. Although the Shen family hasn’t yet used me and then discarded me like worn-out shoes as they did in the dream, the thoughts they harbored and the actions they took are exactly the same as in the dream. I truly should thank this dream—it teaches me how to walk each step well, so I won’t remain completely unaware even when great disaster is approaching.”