At this moment, Madam Zhou was completely at a loss, while Elder Madam Zhou had only one thought: they had lost!

Wei Ru Feng heard the noisy clamor around him and struggled to open his eyes. Discovering himself naked, he was startled, and seeing many people surrounding him with expressions of entertainment, he instinctively reached for clothes to cover himself and leave.

Zhuang Yu Shan grabbed his sleeve: “Young Lord… you can’t…”

At these words, the crowd’s expressions toward Wei Ru Feng became strange. From Yu Shan’s tone, it seemed the Young Lord had forced himself on her…

Grabbed by Yu Shan, Wei Ru Feng was stunned, remembering what had happened earlier. His heart chilled as he looked at Yu Shan: “How is it you?”

Yu Shan was confused by his words, unable to understand their meaning. Though there was no time to think deeply, she knew she must secure a position for herself in front of these noble guests. If she could become a concubine in the Wei Prince’s mansion, losing her virtue would be worth it – even a blessing in disguise! Since the bandit incident, she had understood that her dream of marrying into a noble family would likely remain unfulfilled. Now with such an opportunity, how could she not seize it? She looked at him coyly: “Young Lord… surely you’re not going to deny it…”

Wei Ru Feng felt coldness spread through his heart. If Zhuang Yu Shan was beside him, then she… Turning his head, he saw Han Yan standing among the crowd outside, watching him calmly as if he were a stranger. The mockery and coldness in her eyes aroused his indignation.

Could she have done this?

No… impossible. She was the victim and couldn’t have known his plan. But how had Zhuang Yu Shan ended up in his bed? This…

He had come to the Zhuang mansion today with some anticipation of seeing Han Yan. Although she had consistently expressed unwillingness to marry him, the more she refused, the more he vowed to possess her. Upon arriving at the mansion, he had intended to speak with her but accidentally overheard two maids talking. When they mentioned “Fourth Miss,” he grew interested and secretly listened to their entire conversation.

He learned of Madam Zhou and Elder Madam Zhou’s plan – they intended to ruin Han Yan’s reputation and make her Zhang Wei’s concubine!

Initially hearing this plan, Wei Ru Feng felt both outraged and indignant. In his mind, he had already claimed Han Yan as his woman. Now these people coveted her and devised such a poisonous scheme to frame her, which infuriated him. He had planned to teach the Zhou sisters a lesson and then warn Han Yan at Qing Qiu Court. However, on his way there, he changed his mind.

Han Yan had always disliked him and refused to marry him. Though he didn’t know why, her attitude was very firm, making even the usually confident Wei Ru Feng uncertain whether Han Yan would become his Princess Consort.

But the Zhuang family had what they wanted, and his father had said that a marriage alliance with the Zhuang family would be advantageous for the Wei Prince’s mansion. Moreover, now that he was interested in Han Yan, he was even more unwilling to let go. Yet Han Yan was no ordinary woman.

She was clever and intelligent. Despite her young age, her methods were no less sophisticated than grown men’s. Last time, she had firmly told him she would never be the Wei Prince mansion’s Princess Consort. He believed Han Yan would keep her word – this young girl would certainly find ways to avoid this marriage.

He had been thinking about how to make Han Yan willingly marry him. Now, hearing the Zhou sisters’ plan, he had formed an idea.

If he were the one to have intimate relations with Han Yan… if their private affair was exposed before everyone, then Han Yan could only marry him! Though she might enter as a concubine, if he spoke with his father, he could even make her Princess Consort.

This was Wei Ru Feng’s thinking: with her reputation ruined, no other family would want her, and when he proposed the position of Princess Consort, Han Yan would willingly don the wedding dress for him. So he watched Zhang Wei’s every move at the banquet, and when Zhang Wei left his seat, he followed him to the small cottage, knocked him unconscious, and had people guard him outside the mansion. The room was extremely dark with no lights. Upon entering, he felt his body heat up, and vaguely seeing someone on the bed, he groped his way over. He couldn’t remember what happened after that, only knowing that when he woke up, Zhuang Yu Shan was beside him.

Thinking about it now, the room must have been filled with aphrodisiac incense. He had never intended to harm a hair on Han Yan’s head. His greatest hope was for Han Yan to willingly marry him, and as a scholar, he prided himself on scholarly integrity and would never take advantage of someone’s vulnerability. Yet he hadn’t realized that plotting to ruin Han Yan’s reputation was itself taking advantage of vulnerability.

But Wei Ru Feng still couldn’t understand why the person beside him had become Zhuang Yu-Shan.

Seeing Wei Ru Feng’s continued silence, Yu Shan thought he was unwilling to take responsibility. Growing anxious, she grabbed his hand as tears rolled down her cheeks: “Young Lord… now that Yu’er has lost her virtue, what… what do you plan to do?”

Wei Ru Feng turned back in disgust, seeing Yu Shan’s pitiful, tragic expression, feeling extremely irritated. Looking outside at Han Yan’s indifferent manner, he felt a surge of resentment for some unknown reason.

She must be pleased to see this situation. Han Yan’s dislike for him was a fact she had admitted herself. Now that he had relations with another woman, she must be delighted, even though it was her sister – she didn’t care at all!

Such a cruel woman! Thinking this, Wei Ru Feng laughed coldly: “This Young Lord will not neglect what should be done.” He then put on his clothes and strode out. Prince Wei looked at him darkly, but Wei Ru Feng ignored it, only pausing briefly when passing Han Yan to say softly: “Fourth Miss shouldn’t rejoice too early… hmph!”

His words were extremely quiet, inaudible to others except those with martial arts training. The Seventh Prince’s expression was very unpleasant. He walked to Han Yan, his sinister gaze examining her up and down. That predatory look made Han Yan very uncomfortable. He spoke ominously: “Fourth Miss Zhuang always manages to surprise people at crucial moments.”

The Seventh Prince thought she had schemed against Wei Ru Feng. Han Yan smiled without responding. But she too was puzzled – Wei Ru Feng’s appearance here had nothing to do with her, and she truly couldn’t understand the logic behind it.

Seeing Han Yan’s lack of reaction, the Seventh Prince grew more displeased. He turned to Fu Yun Xi: “Uncle’s words today, this nephew has remembered. ‘The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind’ – I just hope Uncle can always remain that oriole!” With that, he told his attendants: “Return to the palace!”

With today’s farce concluded to this point, the ladies were satisfied and began bidding farewell to their hosts. Only Zhuang Shi Yang remained embarrassed – he had hoped to reverse his demotion, but now this had made things worse, becoming a laughingstock. Yet he could neither beat nor scold the true culprit – who would dare touch someone from the Wei Prince’s mansion?