Xie Weian gritted his teeth so hard they almost broke.
“So you lied to me?”
The way he looked at Li Zhenchun was like an innocent young woman staring at a heartless man who had tricked her.
He looked as if he wanted to grab her by the neck and force her to take back her words.
Li Zhenchun quickly waved both hands.
“No, no! I was just spreading rumors. When I spread them, I believed they were true too. I really thought it was true, but…”
She glanced at Yue Jingque, who was calmly drinking tea, then laughed awkwardly like a monkey caught stealing peaches.
“I just thought Jingque didn’t like Wei Xinian.”
She then turned to Jiang Qutao.
“Don’t you agree? A beautiful woman like Jingque could never fall for that fool Wei Er.”
“No.”
Li Zhenchun blinked.
“Huh?”
Jiang Qutao said seriously,
“I used to think that too. But now I’ve changed my mind.”
She looked firmly at Yue Jingque.
“If Jingque didn’t like Wei Xinian, why would she willingly marry him?”
“My father always says, ‘Bad men attract women.’ Respectable girls always fall for the charming rogue. Jingque, did reading too many books make you fall for that useless playboy?”
Yue Jingque nearly choked on her tea and coughed several times. Nanzhi quickly stepped forward and gently patted her back.
Behind Jiang Qutao’s back, Li Zhenchun secretly gave Old Master Jiang a thumbs-up.
When it came to talking nonsense, no one could beat him.
Yue Jingque steadied herself on the desk and looked at Jiang Qutao.
She was about to answer when she noticed Xie Weian standing behind Jiang Qutao.
She had allowed him to come today to make him give up completely.
Sitting up straight, she took a deep breath.
“You’re right.”
“Huh?”
Jiang Qutao froze.
“What?”
Li Zhenchun stared in shock.
“What did you say?”
Xie Weian looked at her in disbelief.
“You like Wei Er?”
Yue Jingque, dressed in dark blue robes, answered calmly,
“I have loved Wei Er for a very long time.”
Her voice was as calm as still water, but her words hit everyone like a crashing flood.
Li Zhenchun blinked several times before suddenly pointing at Xie Weian.
“What exactly makes him worse than Wei Xinian?”
Xie Weian was still frozen when Li Zhenchun shouted so loudly that he nearly jumped.
Before he could recover, she spoke earnestly,
“Love makes people willing to live or die together. Jingque, tell him exactly where he lost, so he can finally give up.”
She deliberately stressed the words “give up.”
“……”
Actually…
He wasn’t sure he wanted to know anymore.
Xie Weian looked at Yue Jingque.
“I know you have your reasons…”
“No!”
Jiang Qutao rushed over and pointed at his mouth.
“Stop talking!”
Wearing a pink dress, she waved her arms dramatically like someone performing a strange ritual.
“Love makes people willing to live or die together! She may not have wanted to fall for that fool, but love is love. She couldn’t help it!”
She twisted around dramatically and looked at Yue Jingque.
“Don’t worry, Jingque. I may not like that useless Wei Er, but I support you following your heart. If he ever dares to betray you, I’ll break both his arms!”
Yue Jingque couldn’t even force a smile.
She simply sat there expressionless.
Li Zhenchun sighed and walked over to Xie Weian.
“A true gentleman helps others find happiness. Young Master Xie, please let her go. Sometimes letting go takes courage.”
Xie Weian looked at Yue Jingque, then Jiang Qutao, and finally stared silently at Li Zhenchun.
His gaze was cold and unsettling.
“Little Sister-in-law… we’ll meet again.”
Li Zhenchun blinked.
Wait.
There were three women here.
Why was he only saying goodbye to her?
Xie Weian flicked his sleeve and left.
Li Zhenchun called after him,
“Wait! What do you mean by that?”
“What else could it mean?” Jiang Qutao said while eating a pastry.
“He’s threatening you. Xie Third has always been like this. He’s petty and remembers every tiny grudge. You just told him to give up. He’s definitely going to hold it against you.”
“Huh? You said the same thing!”
“I’m a general’s daughter. He can’t do anything to me. But you’re only a merchant’s daughter. You’re the one who’s in trouble.”
Li Zhenchun’s face immediately turned pale.
Her legs trembled as she slowly sat beside Yue Jingque and hugged her arm.
“I’m your little sister-in-law. You have to protect me.”
Yue Jingque looked down at her.
“Sister-in-law, go back to the Wei Mansion first. As long as you stay there, he won’t dare do anything to you.”
Li Zhenchun looked at her.
“Aren’t you coming back with me?”
Yue Jingque lowered her eyes.
“Wei Er really went too far before. He humiliated the Prime Minister’s Mansion. After he’s released from prison, I want him to come and take me home himself.”
…
As soon as Li Zhenchun entered the courtyard, Hongxiu rushed over.
“Young Madam! Something terrible has happened!”
Li Zhenchun quickly pressed a finger to her lips.
“Don’t say ‘something terrible.’ I’m doing quite well right now.”
“No…” Hongxiu said anxiously.
“It’s the Eldest Young Master.”
Li Zhenchun immediately stood straighter.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. He went to the palace today. After coming back, he went to the ancestral hall by himself, and he’s still kneeling there.”
Li Zhenchun lifted her skirt and ran toward the ancestral hall.
Could it be…
Was Wei Nancheng blaming himself because he couldn’t save Wei Xinian?
Why would he punish himself like this?
Outside the ancestral hall stood Chen Runiang, Fang Rushi, Fourth Aunt, and the youngest aunt of the Wei family.
The four women were all standing there.
When Chen Runiang saw Li Zhenchun, she immediately grabbed her arm.
“Why are you here?”
“Hongxiu told me Brother Nancheng was kneeling here, so I came.”
Chen Runiang held onto her sleeve so tightly that Li Zhenchun felt like a cow tied to a post. She leaned forward to look inside.
She saw Wei Nancheng kneeling perfectly straight.
Immediately, she pulled her head back.
Turning to Chen Runiang, she whispered,
“Why is he kneeling here willingly?”
The fourth Aunt answered softly.
“He resigned from office.”
“Resigned?”
Li Zhenchun looked confused.
“Why?”
Chen Runiang sighed.
“Only if he resigned would His Majesty agree to release Second Brother.”
Li Zhenchun felt her hands grow cold.
So it wasn’t only Yue Feng.
Even the Emperor had interfered in Wei Er’s case.
But why?
Why force Wei Nancheng to resign?
The Wei family had earned military honors for three generations, but now they were only a modest official family.
Wei Nancheng was merely a fourth-rank civil official.
Even Third Uncle, who had served in the army for years, was only a commander of one thousand soldiers.
Among all the powerful noble families in the capital…
Why target the Wei family?
“We’ve already tried talking to him,” Chen Runiang said.
“He said he’s fine. He just wants to be alone.”
She gently took Li Zhenchun’s hand.
“You’re his wife. Husbands and wives should support each other. Go inside and comfort him. Say something from your heart and persuade him to go rest.”
Li Zhenchun smiled awkwardly.
“Mother… I’m not good with words. Could you come with me?”
“Look at you. You’re as scared of him as a mouse is of a cat.”
Li Zhenchun laughed weakly.
“Please come with me.”
Honestly…
She didn’t have to go inside.
But she couldn’t bear seeing Wei Nancheng kneeling there alone.
“Second Sister-in-law.”
Chen Runiang looked at Fang Rushi.
“I understand.”
Before Li Zhenchun could ask what she meant, Fang Rushi suddenly gave her a hard push.
Li Zhenchun stumbled straight into the ancestral hall.
Maybe the floor was slippery.
Maybe her foot slipped.
Or maybe Fang Rushi pushed too hard.
Before she realized what happened, she had crashed into Wei Nancheng’s back.
Losing her balance, she flipped over his shoulder and landed flat on her back.
Her legs ended up resting across his shoulders.
The two stared directly into each other’s eyes.
Li Zhenchun: “……”
Outside, Fang Rushi peeked in.
“Oh…”
“Maybe I pushed a little too hard.”
Li Zhenchun looked into Wei Nancheng’s deep black eyes.
Startled, she quickly pulled back her legs, scrambled upright, lowered her head, and said,
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright.”
She secretly glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
Then she slowly scooted across the floor like a crab until she was sitting beside him.
Turning around, she saw Chen Runiang, Fang Rushi, and the youngest aunt all peeking through the doorway.
The three women silently pointed at Wei Nancheng, urging her to keep talking.
Li Zhenchun was speechless.
If the one kneeling had been Wei Xinian, the elders wouldn’t have been so careful.
Especially Fang Rushi.
She probably would have rushed in and slapped him already.
But this was Wei Nancheng.
The obedient son who had never caused trouble.
The more well-behaved a child was…
The harder it was to comfort them.
“I heard you resigned.”
Li Zhenchun finally spoke.
Wei Nancheng lowered his eyes.
“Go back and rest. I’ll kneel here a little longer.”
“I’m not tired. I can kneel with you.”
She knelt beside him.
As long as he didn’t turn his head, he wouldn’t have to look at her.
Looking at the ancestral tablets, she shrank her shoulders.
“My mother said I was born early, so I’m not very smart. I learned to talk and walk later than other children.”
Wei Nancheng paused.
“So… if I say something foolish, just pretend I’m a silly person and don’t take it seriously.”
Wei Nancheng turned toward her.
She immediately covered her face.
“Don’t look at me. I get nervous.”
He quietly turned back.
Only then did she lower her hand.
“In Nanzhao, there are wild mushrooms that grow in the mountains. People pick them to sell and earn extra money.”
“One day, someone carried an orange up the mountain to eat later. He put the orange in the same basket as the mushrooms. When he took the orange out, it was already dead. Why do you think that happened?”
Wei Nancheng thought for a moment.
“Were the mushrooms poisonous?”
“No.”
After another pause, he admitted,
“I can’t guess.”
She answered,
“Because the orange took the mushroom’s place… and when the ruler wants his subject dead, the subject has no choice but to die.”
Wei Nancheng froze.
He almost turned to look at her but remembered she had told him not to.
After a long silence, he began,
“You…”
Li Zhenchun shrank her neck.
“That wasn’t funny. I know another one.”
“There was once an elephant who met a little white rabbit. The elephant asked if rabbits shed fur. The rabbit said no, so the elephant wiped its mouth with the rabbit.”
“The next day, the elephant met a little squirrel and asked if squirrels shed fur. The squirrel also said no, so the elephant wiped its mouth with the squirrel.”
“Afterward, the elephant said, ‘Thank you, little squirrel.’”
“The squirrel replied, ‘I’m the little white rabbit.’”
Wei Nancheng: “……”
He didn’t laugh.
Outside, Chen Runiang held her forehead.
The fourth Aunt quietly laughed behind her hand.
Fang Rushi frowned.
“How did the squirrel suddenly become the rabbit?”
The youngest aunt quickly covered Fang Rushi’s mouth.
“Second Sister-in-law, don’t interrupt. Let’s hear the rest.”
Inside the hall…
Li Zhenchun had heard every word.
Her face burned with embarrassment.
She secretly looked at Wei Nancheng.
Why wasn’t he laughing?
Were her jokes really that bad?
If she kept going, she’d completely lose face.
She pouted.
“Actually… I don’t want to only tell jokes when you’re unhappy.”
“I wish I knew music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Then I could play the qin with you, play chess, write poetry…”
“But learning music was too expensive, so my father wouldn’t let me.”
“Chess wasn’t expensive, but I could never learn it.”
“As for reading… I fall asleep the moment I open a book.”
“So I only learned a little painting. I studied for a few days with the man who wrote Spring Festival couplets. He said I learned well—that even my handwriting looked like a painting.”
“Thankfully, I also learned a little martial arts.”
“But… you don’t like that.”
She couldn’t exactly ask him to go outside and fight with her.
And if she threw him onto the ground…
He’d probably feel even worse.
Li Zhenchun sighed.
Comforting men was really difficult.
Just as she was thinking that, Wei Nancheng suddenly turned to look at her.
“You want to learn music, chess, calligraphy, and painting?”
She hesitated.
“I… guess so.”
“I’ll teach you.”
He stood up and looked down at her.
“Get up. Let’s go to study. I’ll teach you how to play the qin.”
Li Zhenchun blinked.
“Huh?”
Seeing how serious he was, she quickly realized he wasn’t joking.
She slowly scooted backward.
“That was when I was little. Now I…”
“It’s not too late!”
Chen Runiang suddenly appeared at the doorway.
She hurried over and pulled Li Zhenchun to her feet.
Despite looking gentle and weak, she lifted Li Zhenchun up with surprising strength.
Smiling warmly, she said,
“Go on, Zhenchun. Go to study and learn the qin from Nancheng. I’ll prepare some pastries and bring them to you later.”
She gently pushed Li Zhenchun toward the door.
“Zhouqing! Come in and escort them back.”
“Coming, Sister-in-law!”
The youngest aunt, Wei Zhouqing, flashed a wide grin and linked arms with Li Zhenchun.
“Niece-in-law, the ground is slippery after the rain. I’ll walk you back.”
Li Zhenchun forced a weak smile.
“Th-thank you… Aunt.”
She already felt like dying whenever she had to read a book.
Learning the qin would be even worse.
With these clumsy hands…
She might snap the strings.