The things Wang Shi and Chen Shi worried about didn’t happen at all. The Wei family was actually worried that the Yu family would dislike Miss Xiang for being too tall. Once the matchmaker conveyed the messages between them, Wang Shi and Chen Shi completely set their minds at ease, wholeheartedly waiting until after the Mid-Autumn Festival to formally propose marriage to the Wei family.

However, Yu Wen and Yu Tang were having a heart-to-heart talk in the study: “Your Seventh Uncle has been found. He probably knew he had done something wrong and was preparing to flee. But this person has always been rather muddled—running around and around, he couldn’t even make it three miles out. He was quickly found by people your eldest uncle arranged. Your eldest uncle personally went to question him. The ones who asked him to do this were indeed people from the Li Family. He truly did think he was helping you.”

Speaking to this point, he continued with a bitter smile, “You can’t reason with someone like him. However, your eldest uncle told your Fifth Great-Uncle that he can’t stay in the village anymore—at least, he can’t stay in our family. He is your Fifth Great-Uncle’s adopted son. If he leaves the Yu family, your Fifth Great-Uncle will have no one to depend on in his old age. However, your Fifth Great-Uncle also said that originally adopting your Seventh Uncle was meant to enjoy some comfort in his later years. Now things have turned out like this—not only can he not enjoy that comfort, he’ll also be dragged down by your Seventh Uncle. He doesn’t want this adopted son anymore. Today he went to find Ninth Grand-Uncle, wanting to open the ancestral hall and dissolve the adoption relationship. Your eldest uncle felt this was also acceptable and privately gave your Fifth Great-Uncle twenty taels of silver, promising to help care for him in his old age in the future. This way, others won’t dare interfere with your affairs so casually.”

Yu Tang felt this was handled very well.

She said, “Eldest Uncle has worked so hard. I’ll thank him properly at the Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet!”

“You should!” Yu Wen said. “Your eldest uncle has been running around for you, and you’ve also done very well with Ah Yuan’s matter. Family matters should be like this—you look after me, I look after you.”

Yu Tang nodded repeatedly.

Without Gao Shi, Eldest Cousin’s days would also go smoothly, wouldn’t they?

She asked about the magistrate’s office: “Did those thugs confess?”

“They confessed!” Yu Wen brought up this matter with some irritation, frowning as he said, “Those people confessed immediately upon entering the magistrate’s office, even without being tortured. They said the Li Family wanted to marry you into their family, our family didn’t agree, so the Li Family had them set up a scheme. They didn’t really plan to do anything to you—just wanted to frighten you, then have Second Young Master Li Jun from the Li Family play the hero rescuing the beauty, making it a good story. When Magistrate Tang told me about this, he indicated that such a case was difficult for him to severely punish. As for the Li Family, at most they’d just be fined some silver to compensate our family and that would be the end of it. If this matter gets out, it will also ruin your reputation. He advised me to settle privately with the Li Family.”

Yu Tang hurriedly asked, “Did Li Jun know about this beforehand?”

Yu Wen said, “According to Magistrate Tang’s meaning, Li Jun didn’t know beforehand.” Speaking to this point, his tone paused slightly. “Magistrate Tang advised me to agree to this marriage…”

“That’s impossible.” Yu Tang was afraid her father had changed his mind and became agitated all at once, saying, “Even if I never marry for my whole life, I could never marry into the Li Family!”

“I know, I know.” Yu Wen hurriedly assured his daughter. “I wouldn’t arrange a betrothal for you without informing you first. I’m just worried that if we keep confronting the Li Family like this, only we will suffer losses. We need to think of a way to resolve this matter.”

Yu Tang sneered coldly, deciding to let Li Jun know about this matter as soon as possible.

If Li Jun chose to collude with them, she would find a way to make the Li Family back off. If Li Jun chose to be irreconcilably opposed, she would use another method to deal with the Li Family. If Li Jun chose to mind his own business and stay neutral, her method would change again.

However, she felt the possibility of Li Jun choosing to be irreconcilably opposed to the Li Family was almost nonexistent.

But no matter what, she was determined to make the Li Family pay a price for this.

Yu Tang secretly calculated in her heart and had A’Tiao deliver a message to Li Jun, telling him what Seventh Uncle and those thugs had said, and conveying these words to him: “If you don’t believe it, you can go ask Magistrate Tang.”

Li Jun didn’t reply.

Yu Tang wasn’t anxious.

The next day would be the Mid-Autumn Festival—she should at least let people have a family reunion holiday, right?

Even so, her mood was still somewhat low. Fortunately, both Chen Shi and Wang Shi were immersed in Yu Yuan’s marriage prospects and didn’t notice anything unusual about her. The whole family happily celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival passed, Wang Shi spent a large sum to hire a matchmaker to show their importance to Miss Xiang. Chen Shi was at home taking inventory of their assets to see what could be used. Yu Tang was invited to Ma Xiuniang’s home as a guest.

Ma Xiuniang was getting married before the Double Ninth Festival and had many small things to prepare. She wanted Yu Tang to help her look them over.

Yu Tang set her own matters aside first and focused on helping Ma Xiuniang prepare things.

Li Jun sent someone to Ma Xiuniang’s house, saying he wanted to see her.

Yu Tang figured he should have some response by now, but she needed to confirm Li Jun’s attitude toward this matter. So she said to the messenger, “If Young Master Li has something to say, have someone pass on a message. There’s no need to meet in person. I’m afraid I’ll fall into some trap again.”

The messenger appeared to be fifteen or sixteen years old. Yu Tang had seen him in her previous life. He kept accounts at one of the Li Family’s estates. She had once heard people from the Li Family say that he had been Li Jun’s personal servant. After Li Jun died, the Li Family, considering that he had once served Li Jun, gave him a relatively good position.

Yu Tang had long forgotten what this person was called.

Seeing this person, Yu Tang remembered that Li Jun had fallen from his horse on the second day of the tenth month.

Her previous life and this life had become very different. She didn’t know what fate awaited Li Jun.

Li Jun’s servant looked very embarrassed after hearing this. He hurriedly bowed to her and ran off.

Ma Xiuniang didn’t know the inside story and said with feeling, “Why don’t you like Second Young Master Li? He treats you so well!”

Yu Tang smiled and changed the subject.

On the way home, she encountered Li Jun.

Li Jun was waiting for her at the entrance to Green Bamboo Lane.

Seeing her sedan chair, he hurriedly ran over and said, “Miss Yu, I know my family has wronged you. It’s only natural that you don’t want to see me, so I came to see you instead.”

Yu Tang lifted the sedan curtain and said, “I don’t think that’s necessary. I already made things very clear to you before, Young Master.”

“It is necessary!” Li Jun said, his eyes even turning red.

Only then did Yu Tang notice that Li Jun was wearing a wrinkled bright blue fine cloth robe. His hair was carelessly bound with a net, he had pimples on his forehead and blisters at the corners of his mouth. Not only did he look somewhat slovenly and haggard, he also appeared dispirited, like an eggplant beaten by frost, carrying a deep sense of exhaustion.

Yu Tang’s heart stirred. She felt that Li Jun at least retained a measure of kindness, unlike Lin Shi and Li Duan, whose actions had no bottom line anymore—as long as they were happy, nothing else mattered.

She thought for a moment and got out of the sedan.

Li Jun’s expression relaxed. He bowed deeply to Yu Tang and said sincerely, “First, I apologize to you on behalf of my family. This is the first thing. Second, I had no idea about this matter at all, but regardless, this happened because of me, so I should also apologize to you for myself. I promise you that such things will never happen again.”

After he finished speaking, his expression became even more dejected, as if even his back could no longer straighten.

Yu Tang had no ill will toward Li Jun, but she couldn’t withstand Lin Shi’s scheming and Li Duan’s evil deeds.

Just like their Yu family—”an ordinary man is innocent, but possessing a jade disc makes him guilty.” Although their family had obtained that painting unintentionally, they could only try to clear themselves of involvement.

Li Jun wasn’t at fault. If anyone was to blame, he could only be blamed for being implicated by his relatives.

Yu Tang said to him sincerely, “Young Master Li and I have no grievances or enmity. Meeting you was also a chance coincidence. It’s just that what your family did was too excessive. I really don’t want to have any entanglement with you or your family anymore. Please, after Young Master Li returns home, make it clear to your esteemed father and mother—don’t look for trouble with our Yu family anymore. We’re a small, humble household and can’t withstand such torment from your family.”

Ever since Li Jun learned that the scheme to abduct Yu Tang was done by his own family, he knew that in this lifetime he would probably never have any connection with Yu Tang. He went to find his mother, Lin Shi. Lin Shi spoke bluntly and even said righteously that she was helping him. He was stunned at the time, in such pain he didn’t know what to say.

He had spent the entire Mid-Autumn Festival in a daze.

Worse yet, his elder brother even tried to persuade him, saying this was all for his own good, telling him not to overthink it and just wait to marry Miss Yu into their family.

At that moment, he suddenly understood Yu Tang’s anger—she was clearly the victim, yet everyone else acted as if it were nothing, not believing this matter was done wrongly.

He immediately felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, unable to stay at home for even a quarter-hour.

Although he couldn’t give Yu Tang an explanation, shouldn’t he at least apologize to her?

Li Jun didn’t think too much about it. Driven by righteous fervor, he sought out Yu Tang.

Yu Tang only had an attitude of “can’t provoke, so must avoid” toward him, only accepting reality and pleading—this made his heart feel even worse.

Clearly they could have had a good future together, but through strange mishaps, it had become like this.

Li Jun’s face was full of shame as he said again in a low voice, “I’m sorry.”

Yu Tang shook her head and said, “I won’t forgive your family. From now on, let’s act as if we don’t know each other. Young Master Li, please go home early too, lest your esteemed mother comes up with some other scheme. This time I was lucky—Third Master Pei of the Pei Family extended a helping hand. If there’s a next time, I can’t guarantee I’ll have such luck again.”

Li Jun walked away dejectedly.

Yu Tang watched his retreating figure with some regret.

In the Li Family, Li Jun might be the only one with any conscience left.

She turned around preparing to get in the sedan, but unexpectedly when she turned around, she saw Wei Xiaochuan standing under the big tree at the lane entrance.

“Xiaochuan!” Yu Tang walked over in pleasant surprise. “When did you arrive? Why didn’t you come sit at home?” Then seeing he was carrying a study basket, she said, “Did the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday end, so you came to attend school?”

Wei Xiaochuan made an affirming sound and said, “I heard my cousin is about to arrange a marriage with your eldest cousin?”

“Yes.” Yu Tang saw there wasn’t a trace of a smile on his small face and couldn’t help but say somewhat cautiously, “Don’t you like it?”

“No!” Wei Xiaochuan said. “My cousin is quite good, and your family is also good. If she marries into your family, she probably won’t be disliked by your family.”

Yu Tang was startled.

Wei Xiaochuan had already said, “The Li Family has a small estate not far from my maternal grandfather’s estate. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, I went to deliver festival gifts to my maternal grandfather’s family. I asked my cousin about the Li Family. He said the Li Family’s small estate hires people who are all refugees from other places fleeing famine—each one fierce and menacing. The neighboring families don’t dare provoke them. He also said when the Li Family was disputing over land boundaries with other families, those people would come over…”