By this hour, Han Sheng still hadn’t come.
Su Mingyuan immediately knew that something must have gone wrong on his end.
Having no other choice, he brought Ruan Qingli back to his own residence.
Unlike Han Sheng, Su Mingyuan was the sort of man who never compromised on his standard of living, no matter where he went.
His residence was spacious, complete with gatekeepers, servants, and maidservants. The scale of it was clearly far beyond what a mere town magistrate should have been entitled to.
The furnishings were equally elegant. Even the tea set was a complete matching collection, and the wood used for the furniture was unlike anything Ruan Qingli had ever seen.
The two had spent the afternoon sitting by the river waiting for Han Sheng. They hadn’t talked much, simply staring at each other while filling their stomachs with nothing but cold wind.
Now that he had invited her into his home, Su Mingyuan naturally wanted to be a proper host.
“Miss Ruan, what would you like to eat? I’ll have the kitchen prepare it.”
Ruan Qingli felt somewhat uneasy.
But since she was already there, acting shy and awkward wouldn’t be appropriate.
So she answered,
“Anything is fine. I’m not picky. But Lord Su… will Han Sheng really come here to find me later?”
“Of course. We agreed on it. Once he’s finished taking care of his business, he’ll come pick you up.”
Su Mingyuan was generous.
The meal consisted of eight dishes—four meat dishes and four vegetable dishes, with both fish and meat.
Ruan Qingli secretly estimated that this entire feast must have cost at least two taels of silver.
No wonder Han Sheng often came here for free meals.
Lord Su was genuinely wealthy.
In truth, Su Mingyuan wasn’t in a very good mood that day.
Who could be cheerful after being slapped across the face by a woman in broad daylight?
Even an ordinary man would have found it hard to swallow, let alone someone like him—a noble young master born into privilege and accustomed to being treated delicately.
As a result, he barely touched his dinner.
But when he looked up, he found that more than half the dishes had already been emptied.
It was the first time he’d ever met a young woman with such a hearty appetite.
Oddly enough, he found it rather amusing.
“Miss Ruan, do you like these dishes?”
Hearing his question, Ruan Qingli suddenly realized she’d gotten a little carried away.
But she had noticed that Su Mingyuan wasn’t eating at all.
If she didn’t eat either, then those two taels of silver would have been completely wasted.
She couldn’t bear to let that happen.
“…Did I eat too much?”
“Not at all. If you like them, I can have the servants prepare even more.”
“No, no, this is already far too generous of you!”
After dinner, Han Sheng still hadn’t arrived.
The lamps had already been lit inside the house, and Ruan Qingli was genuinely beginning to worry.
She wanted to go home.
Su Mingyuan was becoming anxious as well.
Something wasn’t right.
He called over a servant and was about to send him to check on Han Sheng when Han Sheng finally arrived.
“Mingyuan, Ah Li and I will be staying here for the night.”
Su Mingyuan looked surprised.
“What happened over there?”
Han Sheng replied,
“Jiang Tang is here.”
The moment he heard that name, Su Mingyuan understood.
The Fourth Miss Jiang certainly had impressive methods.
Not only had she managed to locate Han Sheng, she had even chased him here herself.
She had thrown away all concern for appearances.
She was clearly determined to cling to Han Sheng.
She was even willing to stay in that shabby little house of his.
Ruan Qingli asked,
“Who is Jiang Tang?”
Han Sheng answered,
“Someone who doesn’t matter.”
But Fourth Miss Jiang certainly didn’t consider herself unimportant.
Even after Han Sheng left, she remained in his little courtyard.
When she noticed women’s belongings inside the house, she remained perfectly calm.
Jiang Tang possessed an exceptionally gentle appearance.
She looked delicate and fragile.
Her face naturally inspired sympathy, making everyone instinctively believe she was a kind-hearted young lady.
With that very face, Jiang Tang brought her maidservant and paid a nighttime visit to Han Sheng’s neighbors.
She went to the Fang family carrying many rare gifts that could only be found in Youzhou City.
As the saying went, one doesn’t strike a smiling face.
Not to mention she had brought presents.
Madam Zhou warmly welcomed her.
“Miss Jiang, are you from Youzhou City?”
Fang Xiuxiu was trying on one of the hairpins Jiang Tang had gifted her.
When she heard her mother ask the question, her ears immediately perked up.
Jiang Tang smiled gently.
“My family lives in Chongzhou. But when I was little, I accompanied my mother to visit my aunt in Youzhou. Unfortunately, I got separated from my family and ended up growing up in Youzhou until I was twelve, when they finally found me again. So I suppose you could say I’m half a Youzhou native.”
Whether it was Chongzhou or Youzhou, both places were unimaginably distant and prestigious in the eyes of Madam Zhou and Fang Xiuxiu.
Their eyes sparkled with admiration.
No wonder this young lady carried herself with such elegance.
She had grown up in a great city.
Madam Zhou asked again,
“What is your relationship with Constable Han?”
Jiang Tang smiled.
“Han Sheng is my cousin. But my aunt has long intended for him to marry me, so our two families can become even closer. So… you could say I’m his fiancée.”
“Auntie, since my cousin is living next door to you now, I’d like to ask you a few things about him, if that’s alright.”
Even her voice was soft and gentle.
She truly seemed the picture of tenderness.
Madam Zhou quickly replied,
“Of course! Ask whatever you’d like.”
Jiang Tang lowered her eyes slightly, perfectly portraying vulnerability and innocence.
“Auntie, I noticed there are women’s clothes in my cousin’s house. May I ask who that woman is, and what her relationship is with my cousin?”
Had Jiang Tang asked about anything else, Madam Zhou might not have known.
But this, she knew very well.
She immediately replied,
“You’ve certainly asked the right person. I know that woman better than anyone. She used to be my daughter-in-law. Later, because she behaved improperly and couldn’t bear children, my son divorced her. Your cousin took pity on her and let her stay in his house to help with the chores.”
Hearing that, Jiang Tang finally relaxed.
So she was merely a divorced country woman.
How could Cousin possibly fall for someone like that?
It seemed Third Cousin had worried for nothing.
A woman like that wasn’t worth her concern.
There was no need to do anything about her.
Her cousin would never marry such a woman.
He had only used her as an excuse to brush Third Cousin off.
So Jiang Tang decided she would simply stay in his courtyard and wait for him.
She was already eighteen.
If she couldn’t settle the marriage with her cousin soon, she would truly become an old maid.
So she would stay there and wait.
She refused to leave.
She wanted to see how many more days he could keep avoiding her.
After Jiang Tang left the Fang residence, Fang Shubai walked inside.
“Mother, who was that young lady? What did she talk to you about?”
Madam Zhou repeated her entire conversation with Jiang Tang word for word.
After listening, the heavy burden weighing on Fang Shubai’s heart finally disappeared.
So Han Sheng already had a fiancée.
He knew it.
There was no way Han Sheng would ever marry Ruan Qingli.
Madam Zhou, meanwhile, continued rambling about something else.
“Shubai, did you see how beautiful Miss Jiang was? I’ve never met such a gentle and lovely young lady. I really don’t know why she’d fancy a rough martial man. She ought to be matched with a refined scholar like you.”
Seeing his mother once again trying to play matchmaker, Fang Shubai simply turned around and walked away.
Back at the Su residence, Su Mingyuan pulled Han Sheng aside and mysteriously whispered,
“So… how many rooms should I prepare for the two of you tonight?”