Ying Ge gazed at him with a desolate expression, neither responding nor making any other movements for the moment.

A cold wind swept by, and the rain that had been building finally began to fall. Large raindrops struck Fu Junyi’s body and face with sparse but forceful impact. He felt even colder, curling up and burying his face against his knees to shield himself from both the rain’s assault and Ying Ge’s piercing stare.

Suddenly, a warm droplet fell on Fu Junyi’s neck, which was exposed to the wind. Compared to the cold rainwater, it felt almost burning hot. He sensed something different about it and looked up in confusion, only to see tears glistening in Ying Ge’s eyes, with traces of tears still visible on her face.

“Ying Ge?” he called tentatively, and Ying Ge lowered her eyelashes, causing two more tears to fall immediately. Fu Junyi reached out to touch the tear that had slid to her chin, once again feeling its warmth.

He suddenly understood that the Ying Ge before him was not a vengeful ghost seeking his life, but a living person. His terror instantly dissipated, replaced by surging anger. He stood up, grabbed Ying Ge’s arm, dragged her into the hall, pushed her roughly to the ground, and shouted, “What mad woman dares to disrupt the Third-Place Graduate’s wedding!”

Ying Ge raised her head and glared at him angrily, while the Shen couple and all the guests looked bewildered, seemingly having no idea what was happening. The music in the hall ceased temporarily, leaving only the sound of wind and rain outside and an awkward silence.

Fu Junyi shouted angrily at Ying Ge again, “Why are you disguised as the bride? Where is the young lady of the Shen family?”

“I am here.” Shen Rouran’s voice came from behind a curtain to one side. Everyone looked toward the source of the voice and saw Shen Rouran emerge gracefully, wearing ordinary clothes and holding several scrolls of documents.

Walking to stand between Fu Junyi and Yun Ying Ge, Shen Rouran raised two of the scrolls toward Fu Junyi, saying, “This young lady says she has a marriage agreement with you. These are the preliminary and formal agreements drawn up when the marriage was arranged. Tell me, is this true or not?”

She then unfolded the two agreements and slowly displayed them to the onlookers before staring at the ashen-faced Fu Junyi, smiling coldly as she threw the documents at his feet.

Fu Junyi hastily glanced at the documents, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead again. His mind was in turmoil, but he forced himself to remain calm and vehemently denied, “What preliminary and formal agreements! After being named in the imperial examinations, many people have approached me seeking friendship and literary exchanges. Much of my poetry and prose has circulated in the capital. I fear someone with ulterior motives found them, imitated my handwriting to create these two documents, then gave them to this lady to frame me and destroy our good marriage. I hope the young lady will see clearly and not fall for such villainous schemes.”

At this moment, he secretly observed the people in the hall. Seeing that among those he recognized from his hometown, only Ying Ge was present, he calculated that she lacked witnesses. He steeled his heart and decided to accuse her of framing him. As long as he could persuade the Shen father and daughter to agree to complete this wedding, once he entered the bridal chamber tonight, even if the truth were exposed tomorrow, the Shen family would have no choice but to protect him.

Shen Rouran remained composed and continued questioning, “Just now I heard you call her by her personal name Ying Ge, and you seemed so frightened when you saw her. She surely isn’t a stranger to you, is she?”

Fu Junyi pretended to hesitate, then sighed deeply after a moment, “I do indeed know this young lady. When I was in Mingzhou, her father brought her to visit me, asking me to teach her reading and writing. Considering the impropriety between men and women, I didn’t agree, but out of courtesy, I did answer some of her questions a few times. This young lady developed some romantic notions from this and often bothered me. To avoid trouble, I left early for the capital to take the examinations. I never expected she would now follow me to the capital, forge these documents, and deceive you, young lady. How bold and reckless!”

Shen Rouran thought of the love letters Ying Ge had presented, knowing the handwriting and style were identical to those he had written to her—impossible for anyone to imitate to such a realistic degree. She felt great contempt for this heartless man and prepared to expose his true face before everyone’s eyes. However, faced with such sophistry, it was temporarily inconvenient to reveal the content of the love letters he had written to both women, so she didn’t speak further for the moment.

At this time, a clear female voice speaking in Mingzhou dialect rang out in the hall: “Oh my, when Scholar Fu passed the Mingzhou prefectural examination as the top graduate, how many matchmakers went to propose marriage! They all came back saying Scholar Fu was already engaged to the daughter of the Yun Yisuo Perfume Shop owner, praising the scholar for marrying virtue and single-mindedly loving Miss Ying Ge of the Yun family without being bound by considerations of social status. This was celebrated as a fine story in our Mingzhou! How is it that the Third-Place Graduate now refuses to acknowledge his engagement to Miss Yun?”

Everyone looked toward the source of the voice and saw the speaker was Zhenzhen, dressed as a female official. She had originally been waiting outside the hall to serve at the banquet, but somehow had entered and hidden in a corner, only now stepping forward from the crowd to speak these words while staring directly at Fu Junyi.

Qiuniang often had business dealings with people from Mingzhou and had employed Mingzhou servants at home, so Zhenzhen had learned their dialect from several Mingzhou people. Being articulate, she spoke these sentences perfectly, and even Fu Junyi couldn’t detect any flaws, thinking she was truly from Mingzhou. His heart sank as he glanced at Shen Han, who was staring at him intently with bright eyes. Not daring to show weakness, he quickly reasoned that Zhenzhen must be Ying Ge’s companion, brought by Ying Ge to testify for her. He immediately bowed toward Shen Han and pleaded earnestly, “I don’t recognize the young lady who just spoke, but since Yun Ying Ge dared to cause such a scene at the wedding, she must have planned this for a long time and brought accomplices for support. Your Honor has keen insight and surely won’t be deceived by such petty people based on mere words. Your Honor is a pillar of the state, and though I am unworthy, I have also received the Emperor’s great favor and ranked among the top graduates. Since we are destined to become father and son-in-law, there are inevitably those who envy us. Therefore, they may have conspired with these two women to frame me, intending to damage Your Honor’s reputation and career. I hope Your Honor will see clearly, not be swayed by others, expel these two women, and let the wedding proceed as scheduled, not wasting this auspicious day.”

Hearing this, Zhenzhen stepped forward and said to Shen Han, “This concerns your daughter’s lifelong happiness. Please, Your Honor, investigate thoroughly and don’t entrust your daughter to such a heartless man. Moreover, what Fu Junyi has done is not limited to this… Doesn’t Your Honor want to know why the Third-Place Graduate was so panic-stricken upon seeing Yun Ying Ge?”

“Silence!” Fu Junyi sternly interrupted Zhenzhen, then pleaded with Shen Han, “This woman has ulterior motives. Nothing she says can be trusted. Please have her and Yun Ying Ge beaten and thrown out, don’t let them continue spreading rumors.”

Zhenzhen smiled coldly and looked at Shen Rouran. Understanding her meaning, Shen Rouran spoke to her father, “Marriage is a serious matter, not to be taken lightly. If Scholar Fu previously had a marriage agreement with Miss Yun, then the marriage with your daughter would be invalid. I don’t want to marry with doubts in my heart. Until this matter is clarified, I cannot marry him.”

“Marriage is a serious matter, not to be taken lightly…” Shen Han, who had been silent until now, stared at his daughter and slowly began to speak, but his opinion was contrary to what the women expected. “Your marriage to the Third-Place Graduate was arranged by your parents through a matchmaker, with all proper ceremonies including the exchange of names and acceptance of good omens. How can it be deemed invalid because of two documents of unknown origin?”

Shen Rouran was momentarily speechless. Shen Han’s gaze swept over Yun Ying Ge and Zhenzhen’s faces: “These two young ladies are obviously old acquaintances, close friends from their boudoir years. Their statements cannot serve as mutual testimony. It seems today that you two have no intention of drinking this wedding wine. Since that’s the case, why force yourselves…” He then called out loudly, “Someone come! Please escort these two young ladies out of the residence.”

Servants immediately came forward, grasping Ying Ge and Zhenzhen’s arms to drag them away. As the two women struggled, another voice arose from the crowd—a low, slightly aged female voice. Though not loud and spoken in calm tones, the words were stern and serious, carrying natural authority: “Wait. I also have a document here. Your Honor can look at it before sending away the two female officials.”

Shen Han looked up in surprise toward the source of the voice, and his gaze met that of Pei Shangshi, who slowly raised her head.

Although Pei Shangshi was ordered to oversee the wedding banquet affairs, she didn’t need to personally handle the cuisine. She hadn’t appeared at the Shen residence in recent days, only entering the residence half an hour before the wedding began. Until now, she had only observed the hall’s events coldly. Seeing Shen Han about to expel the two women, she decided to speak.

Under everyone’s gaze, she walked slowly to Shen Han and raised one hand to show him the document she held.

Shen Han took it for a careful look and couldn’t help but frown.

Pei Shangshi didn’t keep the onlookers waiting long and directly revealed the document’s contents: “This is a property deed, with the owner listed as Yun Ying Ge.”

Fu Junyi stared intently at the property deed, his face gradually turning ashen.

Pei Shangshi lowered her eyelids slightly and said, “This house was bought by the owner of Yun Yisuo Perfume Shop as a dowry for his daughter, and now, living inside is…” Only then did she cast a cold glance at Fu Junyi and say, “The Third-Place Graduate’s mother.”

“This, this… it was the Yun family, it was the Yun family…” Fu Junyi tried to sophistry again, but couldn’t immediately find a convincing reason.

Pei Shangshi countered, “Was it given to you by the Yun family? Hmm, the Yun family seems to greatly respect teachers and value education, giving away a house merely for receiving a few teachings from the Third-Place Graduate.”

Though Fu Junyi didn’t know her identity, seeing her clothing and bearing, he understood she was no ordinary person and dared not casually contradict her. He could only remain silent, appearing quite dejected.

Pei Shangshi then turned to Shen Han and said, “That Yun Ying Ge is a female official in my Royal Kitchen. She twice refused to serve at banquets for top graduates and the families of high officials, willing to accept punishment for this. When I learned of this, I couldn’t help but be puzzled. It happened that a palace eunuch was going to Mingzhou on official business, so I asked him to inquire about Yun Ying Ge’s background. The eunuch came to the Yun family home and learned about Ying Ge’s past with just a few questions. When her parents mentioned Fu Junyi, they were very angry, saying they regretted having supported him with money and property after the engagement, only to raise such a heartless man. They then asked the eunuch to deliver this property deed to Ying Ge, saying this was her asset and would always belong to her no matter where she went.”

Shen Han asked in a cold voice, “So, Yun Ying Ge’s scene today was orchestrated by the Royal Kitchen?”

Pei Shangshi shook her head, “I only heard about Yun Ying Ge’s situation from the eunuch this morning. I received the property deed before departure and brought it along, originally intending only to give it to Ying Ge when I saw her. I never expected events to reach this point, but it can serve as some corroboration.”

Zhenzhen’s face lit up with joy: “In that case, did that eunuch also tell the Royal Kitchen about Fu Junyi’s attempt to murder Ying Ge?”

Pei Shangshi didn’t answer but looked at Ying Ge and instructed, “You tell it yourself.”

Ying Ge bowed to accept the order and then publicly recounted how Fu Junyi had tricked her into jumping into the water. The guests clicked their tongues and sighed, looking at Fu Junyi with infinite contempt.

In his panic, Fu Junyi tried to deny it again, pointing at Yun Ying Ge and shouting, “Complete nonsense…”

“Third-Place Graduate,” Pei Shangshi fixed him with an authoritative gaze without anger and said calmly, “I am a palace person who often serves at His Majesty’s side. If His Majesty asks about today’s events in the future, I will faithfully report everything I have seen and heard. Whatever the Third-Place Graduate wishes to say, please carefully consider every word. If there is even one untrue statement, it would involve the crime of deceiving the Emperor.”

Fu Junyi’s originally sharp gaze faltered at this, and he dejectedly lowered his head, swallowing all the words he had wanted to use to refute Ying Ge.