Although Wang Rong resented Wang Yueniang’s foolishness, she was still his precious daughter whom he had raised. Thinking of Wang Yueniang’s pitiful state, he felt distressed. “A gentleman’s revenge can wait ten years. We will certainly avenge Yueniang, but now is not the time. Once the Crown Prince comes into power, won’t dealing with the Shen family be just a matter of a single word?”
Second Madam Wang added, “My lord, what about Yueniang? Although we’ve suppressed this matter, if news were to leak out, how could she face the world in the future?”
Wang Rong replied, “What else can we do? We can only marry her off to a distant place. Think about potential matches in the next few days, and whatever is lacking in her dowry needs to be prepared quickly.”
Second Madam Wang nodded, knowing there was no other option. Worried about Wang Yueniang, she went to her room.
Wang Yueniang lay in bed, having lost a considerable amount of weight in just two days. Her chin had sharpened, and she stared blankly at the ceiling, speaking to no one. Upon seeing her, Second Madam began to tear up again. Since they had rescued her, she had been in this state, having suffered greatly. Those beasts had even torn her lower regions.
Although the Wang family couldn’t move against the Shen family at the moment, those who had violated Wang Yueniang met with unfortunate fates. The owner of Tianxiang Tower, being cunning, had fled overnight when trouble arose. The Wang family’s search for him proved fruitless.
“Yueniang, Yueniang,” Second Madam called softly.
Wang Yueniang remained silent, tears slowly trickling from the corners of her eyes, making Second Madam’s heart ache even more.
“Yueniang, how could you be so foolish? Even if you disliked Shen Cui, you could have slapped her a few times. How could you…” Second Madam, understanding her daughter, couldn’t help but ask, “Who gave you this idea? Such a heartless person!”
Wang Yueniang’s eyes moved slightly, remembering Fourth Miss Wang’s words. Her tears fell more rapidly as she croaked, “Fourth Sister.”
Second Madam’s heart filled with hatred. Since childhood, Fourth Miss Wang had always manipulated Wang Yueniang into doing things for her while pretending to be innocent. Unfortunately, her foolish daughter always listened to Fourth Miss Wang.
“Didn’t she always favor Shen Che? How could she give you such an idea to harm the Shen family?” Second Madam asked suspiciously.
Wang Yueniang recalled Fourth Miss Wang’s words, claiming that the Shen family had long since divided their household, that Shen Che didn’t approve of his third aunt’s character and consequently looked down on Shen Cui. She had said Shen Che wouldn’t trouble the Wang family for Shen Cui’s sake, and that even if the Shen family investigated, they wouldn’t trace it back to them. Besides, Chen Bin would be at the forefront and would never betray her.
But the result? None of Fourth Miss Wang’s words could be trusted. Sadly, Wang Yueniang realized this truth too late.
Second Madam couldn’t bear this injustice. She stood up, intending to leave, “I’ll go tell your father right now, and make Fourth Miss explain why she instigated you to do such a thing.”
Wang Yueniang grabbed the hem of Second Madam’s robe, weakly shaking her head, “Don’t go.” It would be useless. The Wang family had already lost one daughter; did they want to ruin Fourth Miss as well? Moreover, Fourth Miss Wang was the Virtuous Consort’s full sister.
Wang Yueniang seemed to have matured overnight. Lying in bed for so long, she had thought about many things. She hated those people so much she could eat their flesh raw, but now she could do nothing. If her mother went to accuse Fourth Miss Wang, it would only cause discord between the main branch and the second branch, leaving her with even less hope. She only wished that her Fourth Sister, seeing how she had kept her mouth shut, might help her seek revenge in the future.
At this moment, Wang Yueniang’s Fourth Sister, Fourth Miss Wang, was speaking with her father, Wang Shu. “Father, how does Uncle plan to settle Yueniang?”
Wang Shu frowned, “Your Second Uncle says to quickly arrange a marriage for Yueniang, to marry her off to a distant place.”
Fourth Miss Wang said, “Yueniang is Second Uncle and Second Aunt’s darling. If she’s married far away, they’ll never see her again. Because of Yueniang’s impulsiveness, even our cousin from the Chen family was implicated. Our family’s relationship with the Chen family will likely become strained.”
Hearing Fourth Miss Wang mention this matter, Wang Shu cursed, “What a fool! She’s ruined our relationship with the Shen family, and the Consort is upset about this too. If this gets out, she’ll have completely disgraced our Wang family, and we’ve lost the Chen family’s support as well. Ah Bin got into trouble because of her. The Chen family came to us yesterday demanding an explanation. If she were my daughter, there’d be no talk of marriage. It would have been better to find a pillar for her to dash herself against and be done with it. Death would be cleaner.”
Fourth Miss Wang sighed softly, “Cousin Bin’s leg is now crippled. It’s unlikely he can marry a girl from a noble family now. Father, why don’t we betroth Yueniang to Cousin Bin? What do you think?”
Wang Shu looked at Fourth Miss Wang in astonishment, not understanding why she would make such a suggestion. “Yueniang has been defiled. Would the Chen family still be willing to marry her?”
Fourth Miss Wang smiled faintly, “But Cousin Bin has always been fond of her. Now that his leg is crippled, if Yueniang hadn’t met with misfortune, how could he ever marry her? He would only be grateful to us. Besides, we can’t afford to become estranged from the Chen family. Strengthening our ties through marriage would help smooth things over. Moreover, since Yueniang caused this trouble, she should go to the Chen family to serve her mother-in-law and show filial piety.”
Wang Shu immediately understood Fourth Miss Wang’s meaning. The Chen family’s anger needed an outlet, and while they wouldn’t dare to move against the Wang family directly, pent-up resentment could lead to trouble. By marrying Yueniang to them, whatever torment they might inflict on her would be their own business.
“Fourth Miss, if only you were a son,” Wang Shu couldn’t help but sigh.
Fourth Miss Wang laughed coyly, “Father, don’t let my brothers hear you say that.” As she laughed, she thought of Wang Yueniang. How could someone so stupid dare to set her sights on Shen Che, thinking that just because she hadn’t broken off an engagement, she could surpass her? Wang Yueniang’s little schemes had never escaped her notice. But what was more unforgivable was that with such a perfect plan, neither Wang Yueniang nor Chen Bin had managed to kill Shen Cui and Ji Cheng. It was truly disappointing.
Fourth Miss Wang’s mind wandered briefly before she quickly returned to the matter at hand, “Father, how should we resolve this issue with the Shen family?”
“Even when beating a dog, one considers its master. The Shen family has gone too far this time. Do they think the Consort can’t stand without their support?” Wang Shu harbored resentment in his heart.
Fourth Miss Wang said, “Father, small grudges can ruin great plans. Concubine Huang has just given birth to a prince, and the Consort has recently angered the Emperor. We absolutely cannot afford to clash with the Shen family at this time.”
“I know,” Wang Shu understood this point even more clearly than Fourth Miss Wang.
“Father, I think what the Shen family did to Yueniang doesn’t seem like Duke Qi’s style. This tit-for-tat approach is more like children squabbling. I don’t think it was ordered by Duke Qi.”
Wang Shu looked at Fourth Miss Wang, “What do you mean?”
“I believe it’s highly likely that the Shen family’s third branch was behind this. Think about it: Shen Cui’s incident happened during the Qixi Festival, and the Shen family hasn’t said a word for so long. They don’t want to openly antagonize us. The third branch of the Shen family probably felt that revenge was out of reach and resorted to this tactic. Their branch has never amounted to much, and Duke Qi is a smart man. How could he possibly confront us over someone like Shen Cui, especially when she wasn’t even seriously harmed?”
Wang Shu nodded, gesturing for Fourth Miss Wang to continue.
“Father, with Yueniang in such a state, the Shen family must feel guilty towards us. I think we shouldn’t confront them angrily. Instead, we should appear more forgiving, since this incident was initially Yueniang’s fault. If we handle this well, not only can we avoid becoming enemies with the Shen family, but we might even be able to draw them closer to us.”
Wang Shu was moved by Fourth Miss Wang’s words. Since they couldn’t confront the other party directly, the best approach would indeed be to turn enemies into friends.
Fourth Miss Wang whispered her specific ideas to Wang Shu, who nodded repeatedly. Finally, he said, “Fourth Miss, this truly puts you in a difficult position.”
“Father, what are you saying? For the sake of the Wang family, I’m willing to do anything,” Fourth Miss Wang replied, lowering her head.
While Fourth Miss Wang’s plans were being laid, the Shen family’s Old Madam had sent someone to fetch Shen Che, who hadn’t been seen for several days.
Although Old Madam Shen had initially asked Shen Che to arrange this matter to seek justice for Shen Cui and Ji Cheng, she hadn’t expected Shen Che to be so ruthless. After all, Wang Yueniang was just a young girl, and now she was in a terrible state. Because of this, the Old Madam had even gone to Jishi Temple the next day to chant sutras for a whole day to atone for Shen Che’s sins.
As soon as Old Madam saw Shen Che, she struck him hard with her walking stick, “How could you be so cruel? You’ve ruined that young girl.”
Shen Che silently endured the blow, then smiled and moved to help the Old Madam sit down. “Did you hurt your hand, Great-Grandmother? If you wanted to hit me, why didn’t you say something first? You could have asked Granny Cao to do it. Be careful not to strain your back.”
“You and your sweet talk,” the Old Madam glared at Shen Che, her expression almost childlike. “Tell me, what were you thinking with this matter?”
Shen Che replied, “I merely repaid them in kind. Back then, Ah Cui and Sister Cheng escaped on their own. If not for that, it would be you, Elder, who’d be heartbroken today. If Wang Yueniang couldn’t escape on her own, that’s her karma. You shouldn’t think too much about it, Elder.”
“Quibbling, you’re just quibbling,” the Old Madam huffed angrily. In front of Shen Che, she seemed to have returned to her youth, losing all the usual solemnity of Old Madam Shen.
“Alright, alright,” Shen Che conceded. “I just wanted to end Third Aunt’s thoughts of the Wang family, fearing she might implicate Third Uncle.”
The Old Madam sighed, “I hope she understands your good intentions.”
Shen Che said, “It doesn’t matter if she doesn’t understand. You needn’t worry, Elder. Just enjoy your golden years with your grandchildren. I’ll keep an eye on Third Aunt’s situation. There won’t be any trouble.”
“Why don’t you give me a grandchild to dote on?” the Old Madam replied offhandedly. “You were so adorable as a child, all chubby and pink, with the sweetest words. Even your grandfather, stern as he was, would put you on his knee to play…”
Shen Che had no interest in hearing about how he was doted on as a child, but the elderly always loved to reminisce about such things.
The Old Madam had just inquired about Shen Che’s marriage prospects when, the very next day, the wife of the Heir of Marquis Jing’an—who was Fourth Miss Wang’s aunt and the wife of Wang Shu, Fourth Miss Wang’s mother—came to visit the Old Madam and Princess An’he.