“…So it was just a publicity stunt after all?”

“What else? Did you really think I’d entrust my future destiny to some inexplicable embroidered ball? If the one who caught the ball was a beggar, would I have to marry him too?”

Shi Fa Ke clenched her fists, somewhat angry. “Going back on your word—how can one trust such a person? Moreover, Young Master Lu is not a beggar!”

“I know that. He’s a scholar.” He Ketian smiled with pursed lips.

“You know?” Shi Fa Ke was startled.

“A poor scholar of unknown origins, possessing nothing of value, who had to go to a pawn shop to scrape together enough silver to hire a matchmaker for the betrothal proposal—this is the well-read, learned, and refined gentleman you spoke of?” He Ketian looked at Shi Fa Ke with a beaming smile. “We’re good friends, and this is how you deceive me?”

“How do you know he pawned things?” Shi Fa Ke frowned. “Did you have someone follow him?”

“I had to investigate who this person was that got the embroidered ball. What if he tried to blackmail me?” He Ketian raised an eyebrow. “Look, didn’t he send you here to act as matchmaker? Perhaps he specifically sought you out because he knew we had a good relationship.”

“No, Young Master Lu is absolutely not that kind of person.” Shi Fa Ke explained earnestly.

“Oh? Then how do you explain his trip to the pawn shop?”

“He obtained the embroidered ball and came to propose according to the agreement, even pawning his most valuable possession to show his utmost sincerity in marrying you. What’s wrong with that?” Shi Fa Ke stared at her and asked.

He Ketian beckoned her with a finger.

Shi Fa Ke walked to her side, not understanding what she meant.

He Ketian leaned close to her ear and whispered softly, “That’s because… he knows that once he marries me, he’ll be marrying a mountain of gold and silver. As your second brother would say, ‘you can’t catch a wolf without sacrificing the child.'”

“He Ketian, you’ve gone too far!” Shi Fa Ke suddenly stepped back, glaring at her.

How could someone so trample on another’s sincere feelings?

“I’m merely stating a fact.” He Ketian raised her eyebrows, sat up straight, and leisurely picked up her teacup.

Serving tea to dismiss a guest.

Shi Fa Ke was finally driven away in anger.

Her head burning with rage as she rushed out of the He family’s main gate, Shi Fa Ke immediately regretted it. But to return like this… even if she could swallow her pride, the He Ketian and He Kexian siblings were not people easily persuaded by others.

Lu Chi’s hope of marrying He Ketian was probably doomed.

Having entered full of confidence only to meet such a dismal end, Shi Fa Ke wrinkled her small face in distress. She had spoken so boldly—how could she explain this to Young Master Lu?

Shi Fa Ke worried and developed a headache as she walked. When she came to her senses, she found herself standing on a bustling street filled with people coming and going.

“Shi Fa Ke!” Suddenly, someone called her name from behind.

The voice sounded somewhat familiar, but why did it seem to carry such gritted teeth?

Shi Fa Ke instinctively turned around and saw Chu Yizhi’s mother, along with a young woman beside her who looked somewhat unfamiliar.

The woman had her hair in a bun, dressed as a married woman. Shi Fa Ke noticed her not only because she stood very close to Chu Yizhi’s mother, but also because the way she looked at her was strange—seeming to harbor both hatred and resentment.

Though feeling somewhat puzzled, Shi Fa Ke still sweetly called out, “Auntie Chu.”

“I dare not accept such a form of address from Miss Shi!” Chu’s mother, Lady Li, laughed coldly and flicked her sleeve, as if she had seen something dirty, showing extreme disgust.

The Shi and Chu families had actually been on good terms, with the two families quite close previously. That’s why Shi Fa Ke and Chu Yizhi had grown up together as childhood sweethearts. Later, the Chu family moved near a private school for Chu Yizhi’s convenience in studying, and the two families gradually drifted apart. But this address of “Auntie Chu” was something Shi Fa Ke had called her since childhood.

Shi Fa Ke never expected to be made uncomfortable over this form of address now. She smiled somewhat helplessly and looked toward the young woman who had been staring at her. “This is?”

“You don’t recognize me?” The young woman dressed as a married woman looked at her expressionlessly, then suddenly smiled somewhat abruptly and nodded. “That’s right, separated by a red bridal veil, it’s normal that you didn’t recognize me.”

…Red bridal veil?

Shi Fa Ke was startled. This was Chu Yizhi’s newlywed wife?

“But I recognize Miss Shi.” Chu Yizhi’s newlywed wife, Lady Sun, looked at her. Though she wore a smile on her lips, there wasn’t a trace of mirth in her eyes.

Shi Fa Ke felt her scalp tingle under her stare, thinking to herself that she must be here to settle accounts with her. Thinking about it now, she had indeed been somewhat excessive. Though Chu Yizhi had broken his word, the bride was innocent. Her causing such a scene was indeed inappropriate.

“I’m sorry…” Thinking this, Shi Fa Ke apologetically mumbled.

“We can’t accept this apology of yours, nor do we dare to. Even if Yizhi wronged you before, we’re even now!” Before Lady Sun could speak, Chu’s mother spoke through gritted teeth. “I should have known long ago what kind of person your father is and what he’s capable of. I should consider that my Chu family was blind to befriend your Shi family before. From now on, our two families are completely severed. Please conduct yourself properly, Miss Shi, and don’t come pestering our Yizhi anymore!”

Shi Fa Ke was stunned. “What does this have to do with my father?”

“Miss Shi.” Chu Yizhi’s newlywed wife, Lady Sun, suddenly called her name and said loudly, “Please forgive us, Miss Shi. My mother-in-law is truly furious. After all, my husband was ambushed in an alley the day after our wedding and was severely beaten. He’s now bedridden with serious injuries, and his right hand was hurt. The doctor says it might affect his ability to hold a brush. You should know what this means for a scholar. Of course, compared to that, my going to my family home alone on the return visit day is nothing.”

As Lady Sun spoke, Chu’s mother stood nearby glaring viciously at Shi Fa Ke, looking as if she wanted to devour her alive.

“What do you mean by this? Are you suspecting my father of beating Chu Yizhi?” Shi Fa Ke’s eyes widened.

“Besides your father, I heard Miss Shi also has three brothers who dote on you quite a bit?” Lady Sun said with an indifferent expression.

“I don’t know who beat Chu Yizhi, but it absolutely wasn’t my father or my brothers.” Shi Fa Ke looked at her and said decisively. “My father promised my mother that he would never fight with anyone, and my brothers wouldn’t either.”

Shi Fa Ke knew her father didn’t have a good reputation in town because he ran a pawn shop and underground money lending business. Money lending was naturally unpopular, but her father never fought with anyone. She remembered when she was very young, one night her father came home very late. Her mother held her and went to look for father, only to find him surrounded by several drunkards. Those men, reeking of alcohol, were pushing and shoving father. Father’s forehead had been injured by something and was bleeding. She was so frightened that she cried.

Hearing her cries, father became even more flustered.

“Don’t kill anyone,” mother frowned and said at the time.

Then, very quickly, those drunkards were beaten and left lying on the ground.

Father, with his long arms and legs, quickly stepped forward to hold her in his arms as she cried incessantly. While coaxing her with endearments, he tried to please mother, saying, “They’re all alive, no one died.”

Later, she asked father why he didn’t fight back when his martial arts were so good, letting several drunkards injure him.

Father said that when he was young, he was a scoundrel. Later, he took a fancy to her mother and proposed marriage. Mother made three rules with him: first, he must not idle about; second, he must not be combative; third, he must not fight and hurt people. Just like that, she forcibly reformed a local ruffian.

Father had always kept his promise to mother. How could he possibly beat Chu Yizhi without cause?

Moreover, Chu Yizhi was someone father had watched grow up. Father had always been fond of him. How could he possibly harm him?

Lady Sun stared at her steadily, then laughed with a “tsk” sound.

“If it wasn’t your father and your brothers, then who else could it be? My Yizhi is a gentle scholar. Besides your family’s unreasonable bunch, who else could he have offended?” Chu’s mother shouted angrily.

The commotion here quickly attracted onlookers on the busy street. Surrounded by a crowd and faced with Chu’s mother’s accusations, Shi Fa Ke’s tears were about to fall. But no matter how angry she was, Chu’s mother was still an elder, and she couldn’t directly conflict with her. She could only hold back her tears and ask, “Did you see it?”

“What?” Chu’s mother was startled.

“Did you personally witness my father or my brothers beating Chu Yizhi?” Shi Fa Ke looked at Chu’s mother and asked.

“Miss Shi is truly brazen. Are you relying on my husband’s soft heart?” Lady Sun sighed lightly, speaking meaningfully.

Shi Fa Ke glanced at Lady Sun. She always seemed to ignite Chu’s mother’s anger at just the right moment. Once was coincidence, but twice? It seemed she really disliked her and found her detestable.

Sure enough, Chu’s mother became furious upon hearing this. “Shi Fa Ke, to speak as an elder, I also watched you grow up. I never thought you’d be so cunning inside. Truly ‘when the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam is askew.’ My Yizhi was beaten black and blue all over, yet he refuses to say who hurt him. Are you, girl, taking advantage of his soft heart and being so brazen?!”

“You’ve really gone too far!” Shi Fa Ke could no longer bear it. “No matter what kind of person my father is in your eyes, in my eyes, he’s a good man who values loyalty and keeps his promises. Since Chu Yizhi hasn’t said who hurt him, how can you, based on your own speculation, conclude that it was my father or my brothers who beat him?”

“Perhaps it’s because he feels guilty,” someone suddenly interjected.

Shi Fa Ke was startled and turned her head to see a person walking over from the direction against the light, wearing a dark ink-colored robe, graceful as a jade tree in the wind.

Lu Chi?