The Shen family’s abacus calculations were indeed rattling away loudly. The Song family was unwilling to let Song Chuyi be used as a chess piece by the Eastern Palace, and also unwilling to hastily settle Song Chuyi’s marriage. If Song Chuyi and Shen Qingrang took a liking to each other, given Song Chuyi’s favored position in the Song family, if she went home and made a fuss, no matter how furious Old Madam Song and Old Master Song became, could they really beat to death this beloved granddaughter who carried Cui family blood? They would have no choice but to agree to this marriage and even courteously curry favor with the Shen family—once her reputation was ruined and a young lady’s most important asset was gone, what else could she do besides desperately clinging to the Shen family? Even the best prospects would be lost.

But they alone failed to anticipate encountering Song Chuyi—someone who in her previous life had suffered precisely from such underhanded schemes by the Shen family, living a life worse than death, with her family destroyed, everyone turning against her, and all relatives abandoning her.

Long before the Shen family showed any reaction, she had already guessed that Shen Xiaohai wouldn’t let the matter rest, and had made preparations early on.

In this world, there was probably no one who understood Shen Qingrang better than she did. Even Shen Qingrang’s own mother, He Shi, couldn’t match her understanding of him as a person. This man simply couldn’t resist temptation or withstand seduction. What he loved most and the life he yearned for was to drift along eating and waiting for death, with wealth and honor falling from the sky—he just needed to reach up and grab it.

When the matter broke out, Song Chuyi was solving nine-linked rings with Xiang Mingzi. The Princess Consort of Zhennan’s side had sent someone to deliver fresh seasonal fruits, and reportedly also a food recipe—a recipe for making red wine lees shad fish, specially sent for the Feng family.

Among noble families, such food recipes and medicinal formulas were the accumulated achievements of several generations and couldn’t be easily found outside. Sending such a gift was both generous and thoughtful.

Old Madam Song had matters weighing on her mind. Seeing such a gift, she couldn’t help but have more thoughts—calculating it all, the Zhennan Prince’s Manor was indeed quite good. Second Young Master Ye was also handsome with upright conduct. Most importantly, one could tell he had feelings for Song Chuyi.

But the problem was that the Zhennan Prince’s Manor was destined to have inextricable ties with the Eastern Palace. She sighed and shook her head, temporarily setting aside these thoughts, thinking to wait until Song Chuyi returned from Jinzhong before making plans—to see if the Cui family had any suitable young men of similar age.

Song Chuyi, however, was completely unaware that so many thoughts had already flashed through Old Madam Song’s mind. Hearing Qing Ying whisper a few words in her ear, she naturally stood up, told Xiang Mingzi she was going back to her room to change clothes, and followed Qing Ying all the way back to Guanju Courtyard before asking: “It really happened?”

Qing Ying’s eyes sparkled brightly, her cheeks flushed pink, with a smile still playing at the corners of her mouth: “Of course it happened! I heard that Seventh Young Master Shen mistook her for a singing girl from the quarters. After his wild moment passed the next day, he discovered she was actually Miss Tong from the Minister of Justice’s family!”

Song Chuyi’s renewed attention to Tong Shao had been quite accidental—this time at the hunting grounds, she had broken her leg and been sent back to the capital early, receiving great consolation from the palace, making it hard not to notice her.

Tong Shao was the legitimate daughter of Tong Yuchun, Vice Minister of Justice, always known for her violent temper. In the previous life, she could attack children over the slightest disagreement. After Song Chuning instigated her with a few words, she had whipped young master Ran, who was playing on a swing, until he was covered in wounds. It was said she grew up with her maternal grandfather, Marquis Wuning, and was therefore raised to be as crude and rude as a man, becoming unrecognizable to even her own family when her temper flared up after a few drinks.

Most importantly, this Miss Tong, whose appearance was nothing special and who had now broken her leg, had always looked favorably upon Seventh Young Master Shen and was one of the girls who liked to circle around him.

And Shen Qingrang was precisely the type who could lower himself. Since his father told him to get along well with these young ladies, he naturally wouldn’t treat them coldly—just as when Shen Xiaohai first told him to flatter Song Chuyi, whom Shen Qingrang had always detested, he could still lower his pride.

With all this background, designing a trap for these two people was actually quite easy. Moreover, she still had Zhou Weizhao as an accomplice who provided convenience at every turn.

Recently, Shen Qingrang had been particularly fond of the performers at Hongyun Theater. He would definitely attend any performance by Hongyun Theater. When that popular performer at Hongyun Theater showed him the slightest interest, he naturally became infatuated and lost his wits. Add some alcohol and his brain descended to his lower regions…

As for what she did regarding Tong Shao, it was hardly worth mentioning—she merely leaked the news that Seventh Young Master Shen’s marriage proposal had failed and he was drowning his sorrows at a tavern. If Tong Shao herself wasn’t willing, no one tied her up and dragged her there. Everything depended on whether she had the intention or not.

And in fact, just like in the previous life, Shen Qingrang’s ability to attract romantic attention remained quite strong. Miss Tong took the bait with almost no hesitation. Clearly knowing the importance of propriety between men and women, clearly knowing that physical contact between unmarried men and women was improper, and even after hearing that someone had been sent to report to the Shen family, she still refused all advice and insisted on entering Shen Qingrang’s guest room.

Once she entered, a major incident occurred. Outside the room, Miss Tong’s maidservants waited in terror with deathly pale faces, nearly fainting in the end.

By the time the Tong and Shen families arrived, everything was already too late. Never mind that Shen Qingrang and Miss Tong had been alone in the room for most of the night, never mind their disheveled appearance—just the eight layers upon eight layers of people surrounding them outside clearly demonstrated how irredeemable this situation had become.

It was said that Minister Tong was so enraged he kicked down the door on the spot, Madam Tong’s eyes rolled back and she fainted, and Shen Xiaohai arrived even later, delivering a vicious kick to his son’s gut that sent him tumbling head over heels.

When Qing Ying recounted these events, she couldn’t help but take some schadenfreude: “If you ask me, he deserved it! Earlier, that performer from Hongyun Theater had already gone in to fool around with Seventh Young Master Shen. When Miss Tong entered later, whether it was her figure or manner, they were completely different from that Hongyun Theater performer. For Seventh Young Master Shen to claim he couldn’t tell the difference—who would believe that? He clearly thought it was some stroke of romantic fortune falling into his lap and went with the flow!”

Ziyun, listening quietly on the side for a while, also couldn’t help shaking her head: “Miss Tong’s side is even worse… It was just a matter of a few words. As a young lady from a distinguished family, how could she disregard her reputation to this extent? It’s not as if she didn’t know how much this would affect her future.”

It was said that even when Tong Shao’s leg healed, it would never be the same as before. Having already felt inferior about her appearance, she naturally became even more insecure. Being able to seize the opportunity to bind herself to the man of her heart, of course she couldn’t bear to let it go.

Moreover, although Tong Shao wasn’t favored by Minister Tong, she still had the Marquis Wuning’s Manor backing her. If the Marquis Wuning’s Manor hadn’t spoiled her to such lawlessness, she wouldn’t have been able to come and go freely at the Tong residence either.