Yin Yue and Jiuquan were left thoroughly bewildered by what she said.

Spread rumors? How could one simply spread groundless rumors? It was completely contrary to propriety and law—

But hearing it was oddly satisfying.

Jiuquan hesitated a little: “His first wife died by self-immolation. Everyone on the frontier knew about it at the time.”

“And what good does knowing do? If rumors spread widely enough, they can bury the truth.”

Chen Baoxiang crept close to Yin Yue with a shifty, scheming look. “We can make up a lie—say that Cheng Huaili used underhanded methods to marry into a noble family in order to curry favor with the powerful, then after his promotion decided the noble lady lacked charm and didn’t suit his taste, so he simply burned her alive and pinned crimes on her name.”

“Think about it—that noble lady was, after all, His Majesty’s eldest daughter, and there are plans to posthumously honor her right now. If rumors really do stir up, won’t His Majesty have to investigate? If something truly comes to light from the investigation, couldn’t the Zhang Family marriage be put on hold?”

Yin Yue looked helplessly toward Jiuquan: “What do we do? I think what she’s saying makes a lot of sense.”

Jiuquan pressed a hand to his forehead: “It does make sense, but it’s very difficult to actually pull off. Setting aside everything else—just figuring out how to spin the lie into a complete and convincing story without implicating the Zhang Family alone would take considerable effort.”

“It’s just telling a lie.” Chen Baoxiang slapped her chest confidently. “That’s something I’m good at.”

Zhang Zhixu pinched her: What exactly is there to be proud of in that?

Chen Baoxiang suppressed her own mischievous hand, her eyes bright and gleaming as she said: “Leave it to me. As long as I’m the one doing it, no one will be able to trace it back to the Zhang Family.”

Yin Yue thought it over: “Then first make up a story and try to deceive me.”

Chen Baoxiang launched right into it without a moment’s pause: “Cheng Huaili was originally a man from a rural village. He had taken a wife and fathered two sons. But the family was destitute, and when his wife became pregnant with the third child, he took his two sons and left to join the army, to make a living.”

“Cheng Huaili had no particular talents, but was blessed with tremendous natural strength. He accumulated considerable merit over six years of military service, yet was never able to advance in rank—suppressed and blocked at every turn. And so he set his sights on the great general defending the border at the time.”

“The border defense general had a daughter—naive and innocent. In order to marry her, Cheng Huaili lied and claimed his two sons were his nephews and that he had never taken a wife. He also risked his life multiple times to rescue the general. The general, moved by his apparent sincerity, finally gave his daughter to him in marriage.”

“With his father-in-law’s patronage, Cheng Huaili rose to the rank of deputy commander. But then his two so-called nephews let something slip—they called him Father. The noble lady learned the truth, flew into a rage, demanded a divorce, and threatened to go to her father to report him. Afraid that his newly acquired wealth and status would vanish in an instant, Cheng Huaili’s mind turned dark. He knocked the noble lady unconscious inside the house and set it ablaze.”

“What he hadn’t anticipated was that his two sons were also in the rear courtyard—they were burned to death in that same fire.”

“Afterward, Cheng Huaili made a great show of grief and shifted all blame onto the noble lady. The general, seeing how utterly heartbroken he appeared, never suspected a thing—and so was deceived by this beast.”

She finished in one breath without pausing for air. Chen Baoxiang shook her hair ornament with a self-satisfied air: “Well? How was that?”

Yin Yue clapped her hands in a daze: “Elder Sister Chen, that skill of yours is truly remarkable—it sounded just like something that actually happened.”

“If you want to deceive others, you must first deceive yourself.” Chen Baoxiang clenched her fist. “This is the truth. Cheng Huaili is exactly this kind of depraved, monstrous person. You absolutely cannot marry into that family.”

Yin Yue clenched her fist right along with her: “Right!”

Jiuquan thought it over: “We can write it down and have it printed as a storybook pamphlet. I have connections at establishments like Zhaixing Tower—I can send it there and have storytellers perform it. But other places—”

“Leave that to me.” Chen Baoxiang crossed her legs with an air of ease. “The lower classes of society—the entertainment houses, the brothels, even the beggar dens by the city gates—I can have people spreading word through all of them.”

Now what exactly is there to be proud of in that.

He shook his head in disdain and pressed down her crossed leg.

But then Yin Yue said with considerable excitement: “Elder Sister is truly too capable! My second elder brother is such a rigid and dull person—what right does he have to a friend like you?”

Zhang Zhixu: ?

That’s uncalled for—his days might be a bit uneventful, but how exactly was he rigid?

Jiuquan nodded as well: “Then we’ll trouble you, Miss. Take this token—you can use it to call upon some of our people.”

Chen Baoxiang took it and looked it over, thinking to herself that these wealthy households really did have a habit of using nothing but wooden tokens.

The scheme was a little unconventional, and they didn’t dare bring it to the elders’ attention. The three of them whispered and plotted together, and then set things into motion.

The Great Immortal helped copy out the story with his left hand, and even polished the language while he was at it. Chen Baoxiang and Jiuquan had it printed and then distributed it everywhere.

And so within just a few days, Shangjing was abuzz.

“Hey, have you been to Zhaixing Tower lately to hear the storytellers?” Lin Guilan held a tray of tea and pastries, eyebrows dancing with excitement. “It’s absolutely riveting.”

Sun Fuyu perked up with interest as well: “Is that the story about the cripple who betrayed his wife and the noble lady? I’ve heard several installments. I was just telling Elder Sister Lu about it—girls from families like ours really need to be wary of villains like that.”

“Exactly—he built his whole fortune off the noble lady’s connections, and then plotted to take her life.”

“Taking her life was bad enough, but then he still wants a young girl to fill the dead wife’s place—absolutely shameless.”

A group of women chattered away, growing louder and louder.

“Who are you all talking about?” Zhou Yannian leaned in curiously.

“Oh, Master Zhou and Master Pei are here too.” Lin Guilan turned her head and found herself looking directly into Pei Ruheng’s cold and indifferent gaze.

The young master of the Pei Family hadn’t come out to join poetry gatherings in quite some time. It was a rare honor for him to grace them with his presence—yet he didn’t appear to be in a particularly good mood.

Lin Guilan quickly recounted the gossip for him, hoping to liven up the atmosphere.

But she had barely gotten to “the two nephews let it slip and called him Father” when Pei Ruheng’s expression shifted.

“Nonsense.” His gaze turned cold and heavy. “Who made up this story?”

Lin Guilan was startled, and said quietly: “How would we know? Everyone outside is talking about it. Baoxiang was just telling it too, not a moment ago.”

Pei Ruheng paused: “She’s here too?”

“Yes, I sent her an invitation and she arrived early.”

Last time he had said to let her stay at the Pei estate for a couple more days—yet he woke up and she had already vanished. When he asked the steward, the steward only said she had left with the Medicine Sage, without leaving so much as a single word for him.

Pressing his lips together in displeasure, he turned and went to find her.

Chen Baoxiang was in the rear garden telling stories to a crowd of young noblewomen—one leg propped up on a stool, both hands gesturing expressively, words tumbling out of her mouth at a rapid pace.

But then the corner of her eye caught a figure approaching. She immediately let her skirt fall, folded her hands neatly, and raised her voice in a refined tone: “The rest is what I haven’t caught up with yet—I’ll need to go back to Zhaixing Tower to hear more before I can come and tell you all~”

“Aww?” The noblewomen were left wanting more.

Pei Ruheng cut through the crowd with an expressionless face, seized her by the wrist, and pulled her away.

“Hey~” She stumbled a couple of steps, and said coquettishly: “That hurts.”

He ignored her, pulling her through the corridor until they reached a secluded corner with few people around, where he finally let go.

Chen Baoxiang stamped her foot: “You were perfectly pleasant with me before, and now you’re treating me like this again.”

“That was before.” Pei Ruheng looked away. “I’m a moody person—past pleasantness doesn’t count.”

“Then why come looking for me at all.”

“That story you were just telling.” Pei Ruheng frowned, fixing her with a hard stare. “It sounds like someone deliberately fabricated it to ruin my uncle’s reputation.”