“Return the betrothal letter?!” Madam He’s eyes widened. “Why return the betrothal letter?”

He Ketian couldn’t be bothered to argue with her mother, only looking seriously at He Kexian and saying: “Brother, I don’t want to marry Third Brother Shi. I already told A’Ke yesterday. Fortunately, this matter hasn’t been publicized yet, so let’s quietly dissolve the engagement and pretend this never happened.”

Hearing this, He Kexian’s tightly furrowed brow finally relaxed somewhat.

Just then, someone suddenly came from outside to report.

“Master, Madam, Young Master, Young Miss, Jin Man Lou has sent people to deliver congratulatory gifts…”

“Master, Madam, Young Master, Young Miss, Sheng Xing Restaurant has sent people to deliver congratulatory gifts…”

…

“Master, Madam, Young Master, Young Miss, Lai Fu Ji has sent people to deliver congratulatory gifts…”

Box after box of gifts were carried in.

He Ketian and He Kexian’s faces turned green.

What happened to not being publicized?

At this moment, Shi Fa Ke was looking at the gifts covering the floor, listening to He Kexian expressionlessly report to her one by one who had sent what, and her face was also green.

…So pretty much the entire Copper Gong Town knew about it!

“What about Ketian? Is she… alright?” Shi Fa Ke asked tremblingly.

“She went back to her room to practice calligraphy.”

Shi Fa Ke trembled silently.

This was the rhythm of someone about to be driven mad with anger…

Indeed, He Ketian was about to be driven mad with anger. She had written ten large characters in a row and still couldn’t calm down.

When she began writing the eleventh set of large characters, He Ketian suddenly felt someone standing in front of her. At first she thought it was Yanzhi, so she didn’t pay attention. Then she realized something was wrong… hadn’t she sent Yanzhi away? Where would she get the courage to stand there silently like a wooden post in front of her?

Thinking this, He Ketian looked up and saw a familiar face.

Shi Fa Ke?!

The writing brush in He Ketian’s hand snapped with a “crack,” and a large blob of ink spread across the rice paper.

Great, the calligraphy practice was wasted.

Indeed, the character for “patience” has a knife over the heart!

“Ketian…” Shi Fa Ke smiled awkwardly.

He Ketian put down the brush in her hand, took a handkerchief to wipe the ink stains on her fingers, looked up at the guilt-ridden Shi Fa Ke, and slowly exhaled, “I thought you were going to break your word and not come.”

Shi Fa Ke knew she had arrived rather late, and said awkwardly: “Sorry, I accidentally overslept…”

“You met my brother?” He Ketian asked.

Shi Fa Ke nodded. Yes, she had met him, and he was quite frightening.

“I remember you said this matter hadn’t been publicized and no outsiders knew about it?” He Ketian looked at her and said quietly.

“…”

Yes, she had said that, and even now she couldn’t figure out how after just one night it had become known to everyone. This matter was truly bizarre.

“A’Ke, we are friends, and I originally trusted you very much, but you have disappointed me.” He Ketian looked at her with frost in her eyes and an icy tone, “You should know what it means for me that this matter has blown up, right?”

It meant the problem had become more complicated.

It meant He Ketian would either have to pinch her nose and accept this marriage, or break off the engagement and have everyone know about it, ruining her reputation… A woman who had broken off an engagement, whether she was rejected or initiated the breakup herself, would find it difficult to marry into a good family in the future.

“I’m sorry.” Shi Fa Ke felt extremely guilty and bowed her head in apology.

“Is apologizing useful?” He Ketian said angrily.

“I can guarantee that before today, this matter was never publicized, and truly no outsiders knew about it.” Shi Fa Ke said earnestly: “I only told my parents about this matter, and even my three brothers don’t know.”

“So what? Why did this matter suddenly become known to everyone?” He Ketian looked at her, with raging fire flashing in her eyes, questioning: “It had always been quiet, but on the very day you promised to return the betrothal letter, it suddenly became known to everyone.”

Shi Fa Ke immediately felt short of breath, because this matter was indeed bizarre. How could it be such a coincidence? Even if she said it wasn’t intentional, no one would believe her.

Wait… intentional?

“Someone deliberately spread this matter.” Shi Fa Ke suddenly had an epiphany.

He Ketian was also stunned for a moment, but thinking about it again, this seemed to be the only possibility.

“But who could it be?” He Ketian frowned and asked.

“First, not many people knew about this matter. Second, this person might harbor resentment toward you.” Shi Fa Ke analyzed, then suddenly looked at He Ketian, “Have you offended anyone recently?”

He Ketian snorted disdainfully. The people she had offended… there were too many to count.

Shi Fa Ke understood and felt somewhat speechless for a moment.

“But the prerequisite is that it must be someone who knew about the marriage discussion between you and my third brother.” Shi Fa Ke pondered, “This immediately narrows the scope considerably.”

“My parents, your parents, and you. Are there any others besides these people?” He Ketian thought for a moment, then looked at Shi Fa Ke suspiciously, “Among these five people, you seem to be the most suspicious.”

“…”

“You’ve actually found me disagreeable for a long time, haven’t you?” He Ketian continued, her gaze becoming increasingly wrong.

“…”

Shi Fa Ke twitched the corner of her mouth, momentarily speechless.

Then she suddenly froze.

No, there was another person.

Her third brother… he had eavesdropped on her conversation with Ketian that day.

Assuming this matter was really done by her third brother, what would his motive be? What would it mean if this matter was spread? It would mean He Ketian would either have to pinch her nose and accept this marriage, or break off the engagement and have everyone know about it, ruining her reputation.

Was he forcing the He family to accept this marriage?

Thinking of this, Shi Fa Ke’s head began to throb. If it really was third brother who did this, what should she do?

“A’Ke? A’Ke?” He Ketian waved her hand in front of her, then looked at her suspiciously, “Why are you suddenly spacing out? Feeling guilty? Could this matter really have been done by you?”

Shi Fa Ke suppressed that terrifying guess in her heart, suddenly reached out and grabbed He Ketian’s hand that was waving in front of her, looking at her seriously, “Ketian…”

“What… what are you doing?” He Ketian was startled by her and stammered.

“I will definitely give you an explanation for this matter.” Shi Fa Ke said seriously, taking the betrothal letter from her bosom and placing it in her hand, saying solemnly: “Whether this matter was calculated by someone with ulterior motives or just a coincidence, this marriage will not continue. You can rest assured.” She paused, then continued: “I will also be responsible for explaining clearly to your parents and brother.”

He Ketian’s hand was tightly held by her. Seeing Shi Fa Ke’s serious expression, she could only respond in a daze, “Oh… oh.”

“I will definitely try my best to minimize the impact of this matter and try not to let it affect your future marriage prospects.” When Shi Fa Ke said this, she suddenly had an inspiration and said: “You told me before that the Mr. Linyuan you like is Second Brother Lu, right?”

Hearing this, He Ketian’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, “So what if it is?”

Shi Fa Ke thought that Second Brother Lu had always had difficulty with marriage proposals, and Ketian had previously refused Lu’s marriage proposal due to misunderstandings, going around in circles. Although it was somewhat unpleasant at the time, now that the misunderstanding was finally cleared up, perhaps they could bring up the old matter again. This would not only solve Ketian’s current predicament but also solve Second Brother Lu’s marriage issue!

Wouldn’t this kill two birds with one stone?

So Shi Fa Ke said: “When Second Brother Lu returns, I’ll help you propose to him.”

“Really… really?!” He Ketian’s eyes widened.

The surprise came too quickly, completely catching her off guard. This was truly “when the mountain and river are exhausted and there seems no way out, suddenly there’s a village amid the dark willows and bright flowers”!

“Of course it’s true.” Shi Fa Ke nodded seriously, “Keep the betrothal letter safe. I’ll go back first. I will definitely investigate this matter and give you an explanation.”

After speaking, Shi Fa Ke ran off.

She left in such a hurry that she didn’t even notice He Kexian standing at the corner by the door. Before He Kexian could call out to her, she had already run away like a gust of wind.

He Kexian silently withdrew his outstretched hand, paused for a moment, then turned and walked into his sister’s room.

He Ketian was standing in the room in a daze, looking absent-minded.

“Ketian?” He Kexian called her name. Seeing her rare absent-minded appearance, he felt a touch of pity in his heart, thinking she was troubled by the chaotic marriage affair being known to everyone. So he turned and walked to the table, intending to pour her a cup of tea to help her calm down.

As a result, He Ketian lifted her head in a daze, looked at her brother with a vacant stare, and suddenly said: “Brother, why don’t you marry A’Ke.”

With a “bang,” the teapot in He Kexian’s hand fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

He turned his head mechanically, looking at his sister, “What did you just say?”

Had he misheard?

“Don’t you always like her quite a bit? I can see you care more about her than about me. Compared to me, you actually want her as a sister more, right?” He Ketian looked at He Kexian with bright eyes, using a very bewitching tone to encourage him: “Then why don’t you marry her and bring her home? Once you marry her, she’ll be yours.”

…What kind of sister was this? Why would he want to marry a sister?

He didn’t want Shi Fa Ke to be his sister.

However…

“Good.” He Kexian spoke, a simple and concise single word.