The hand holding Shen Jinghong’s teacup stiffened slightly.
He said nothing.
His gaze remained fixed on the direction where Shen Dingjiang and Liu Yunshuang had disappeared beyond the moon-shaped gateway, leaving behind only the fading sound of hurried footsteps.
“I’ll be back in a moment.”
Shen Jinghong set down his teacup and stood up.
Zhao Zheng immediately grabbed his sleeve.
“Where are you going? Didn’t you say you were going to politely explain everything? What does rushing over there accomplish?”
“I am going to explain things.”
Shen Jinghong brushed his hand away.
His tone was calm.
“Don’t worry. I won’t make a scene.”
Zhao Zheng looked at him, hesitated for a moment, and finally let go.
Straightening his robes, Shen Jinghong strode out of the waterside pavilion.
His pace was quick.
Passing through the flowering crabapple trees, circling a grove of bamboo, and turning down a corridor, he soon spotted the side door of the reception hall standing open in the distance.
Several maids stood respectfully outside.
He quickened his pace.
Inside a side room of the reception hall, Fu Yunyang sat quietly.
Today she wore a moon-white blouse with a pale green cloak draped over it.
Her dark hair was arranged in a simple bun, adorned with a white jade magnolia hairpin.
A gauzy veil hung from the brim of her hat, concealing her face.
Xiaodie stood behind her, clutching a bundle.
The round-faced maid wore an expression of unmistakable vigilance.
Shen Dingjiang and Liu Yunshuang stood near the doorway.
Both looked somewhat uneasy.
Shen Dingjiang rubbed his hands together, clearly wanting to say something but unable to find the words.
The dignified Northern Defense General, a man of the second rank, suddenly seemed awkward and uncertain.
Liu Yunshuang was more composed.
She smiled gently and looked warmly at Fu Yunyang.
At the same time, she quietly observed this future daughter-in-law she had never met before.
Though the veil hid her face, the calm grace with which she sat there had already won several points in her favor.
“Miss Fu.”
Liu Yunshuang spoke first.
Her voice was warm and gentle.
“The fact that you came today means a great deal to everyone in the Shen household ”
Before she could finish, hurried footsteps sounded from outside.
“Miss Fu!”
Shen Jinghong’s voice rang out from the doorway, bright and urgent.
Before the words had fully faded, he was already standing at the entrance.
His moon-white robe clung to him from the wind.
A fine sheen of sweat covered his brow, as though he had run all the way here.
Liu Yunshuang’s smile froze.
Shen Dingjiang’s face darkened instantly.
“What are you doing here?”
Shen Dingjiang barked.
His brows knitted together.
“Didn’t I tell you to stay in the pavilion and entertain the guests?”
“I have something I need to say to Miss Fu.”
Standing at the doorway, Shen Jinghong’s gaze passed beyond his parents and settled on the quiet figure seated inside.
The veil concealed her face.
He could not see her expression.
All he could see was that the fingers resting atop her lap curled slightly.
“What are you planning to say this time?”
Shen Dingjiang lowered his voice dangerously.
The veins on his forehead were already beginning to throb.
“Was the scene you caused at the Grand Tutor’s residence not enough? Today, in front of all these guests, are you trying to ”
“Father.”
Shen Jinghong interrupted him.
The way he said that single word was different.
Gone was his usual careless tone.
Gone too was the pleading voice he used after being beaten.
There was a steadiness to it that Shen Dingjiang had never heard from his son before.
The general froze.
Taking a deep breath, Shen Jinghong stepped across the threshold.
He stopped seven or eight paces away from Fu Yunyang.
Standing properly with both hands at his sides, his back perfectly straight.
“Miss Fu.”
His voice was low and deliberate.
“My name is Shen Jinghong. There are a few things I’d like to say to you.”
Xiaodie tightened her grip on the bundle.
Her eyes widened as she stared at Shen Jinghong as if ready to pounce if necessary.
Shen Dingjiang opened his mouth to speak.
Liu Yunshuang immediately grabbed his arm.
She shook her head slightly.
Let him finish first.
Fu Yunyang neither spoke nor moved.
She simply sat there quietly.
Her expression remained hidden behind the veil.
Her fingers no longer curled.
They rested calmly atop her lap as though waiting for him to continue.
Shen Jinghong drew another deep breath.
“Miss Fu.”
He began.
His voice was still tense, but every word was clear.
“The outrageous things I said in that teahouse last month were wrong.”
“I shouldn’t have said those things in a place like that. I shouldn’t have spoken about you… or said those ugly things.”
His voice grew rough.
“None of it was true. I know it wasn’t true. I was just… reckless. A few drinks in and I forgot my own name.”
Standing nearby, Shen Dingjiang listened in stunned silence.
His expression shifted from anger to surprise.
Then from surprise to something far more complicated.
Shen Jinghong never looked at his father.
His eyes remained fixed on the veiled hat.
“I’m not here today to ask for your forgiveness.”
His voice softened further.
“Words spoken can’t be taken back. Hurt caused is hurt caused. I could apologize ten thousand times and it wouldn’t undo it. I know that.”
“I just want to tell you this…”
He paused before continuing with sincere earnestness.
“This engagement isn’t your fault. And it isn’t the Fu family’s fault either. The one at fault is me.”
“I never should have spoken about you that way. You did absolutely nothing wrong, yet I criticized and ridiculed you in public. Who could possibly endure that?”
He lowered his head and stared at his own feet.
“I’ve thought about it for a long time. I’m uneducated, idle, always chasing amusement. I get drunk and spout nonsense. My reputation throughout the capital is terrible.”
“You are a well-bred young lady from a respected family.”
“If someone like you married someone like me… it’d be like jumping into a pit of fire.”
The room grew even quieter.
Fu Yunyang’s fingers moved ever so slightly.
“So I’ve come to think…” Shen Jinghong looked up again, his expression surprisingly open and honest.
“This engagement should be called off.”
“Not for my sake. For yours.”
“You deserve someone better.”
“Not… not a scoundrel like me.”
When he spoke those last words, a faint smile appeared on his lips.
Not his usual carefree grin.
A bitter smile of self-mockery.
Shen Dingjiang’s expression changed completely.
His son angered him every other day.
He was used to that.
But hearing such words come from this troublemaker?
That was something he had never expected.
Liu Yunshuang’s eyes reddened slightly.
Still, she remained silent.
Then Shen Jinghong turned toward his parents.
Suddenly, he bent deeply at the waist and performed a formal bow.
Not the perfunctory bows he usually gave.
This one was genuine.
His forehead nearly reached his knees.
“Father. Mother.”
His muffled voice rose from where he bent.
“I’m sorry.”
“Your son has been unfilial. I’ve brought shame upon both of you.”
Shen Dingjiang’s lips trembled.
“This past month, I’ve thought about many things.”
Straightening, Shen Jinghong met his parents’ eyes.
“For most of my life, I thought you would always clean up my messes. That nothing could truly go wrong.”
“Now I understand that some things can’t be fixed by Father and Mother.”
“And some things shouldn’t be.”
“At the gate of the Grand Tutor’s residence, I said that even after thirty years I’d still be the same useless person.”
His voice lowered.
“I said it in anger.”
“But now that I’ve thought about it… maybe it’s true.”
“I’m not someone who was born to study. I’m not good at rules or propriety. No matter how much I change, I’ll never become the kind of son-in-law the Grand Tutor’s family wants.”
Shen Dingjiang’s face darkened completely.
“So this engagement…”
Shen Jinghong spoke with surprising calmness.
“Ending it is for the best.”
“Miss Fu won’t have to suffer.”
“Father won’t have to keep hanging his head in court.”
“And I…”
A small smile touched his lips.
“I’ll still just be Shen Jinghong, the same scoundrel I’ve always been.”
“Nothing worth regretting.”
When he finished speaking, silence filled the room.
For a long time, no one moved.
Shen Dingjiang stood frozen.
His fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly.
His lips trembled.
He seemed to want to speak.
Yet no words came.
Then he slowly raised a hand.
Liu Yunshuang instinctively stepped forward, thinking he intended to strike their son.
But when she saw his expression, she stopped.
That wasn’t the face of a father about to hit his child.
It was the face of a father realizing he had never truly understood his son.
His hand paused in midair.
Then slowly descended.
It landed on Shen Jinghong’s shoulder.
Pat.
Pat.
Just two gentle pats.
Shen Jinghong stared in shock.
He had expected a scolding.
A beating.
A kick behind the knees forcing him to kneel.
A furious shout of “You foolish brat, what nonsense are you spouting now?”
Instead, his father simply patted his shoulder.
Then turned away.
His back faced everyone.
His shoulders trembled faintly.
Liu Yunshuang looked at her husband’s back and let out a soft sigh.
The room fell silent once more.
Then a voice broke the stillness.
“Very well.”
Everyone turned toward the quiet figure seated in the chair.
Fu Yunyang’s voice drifted through the veil.
Calm.
Gentle.
Unhurried.
“Since Young Master Shen has spoken so sincerely, there is little for me to add.”
She tilted her head slightly.
Xiaodie immediately bent down beside her.
Fu Yunyang whispered several words.
Her voice was so soft that no one else could hear.
Only Xiaodie’s expression changed.
First surprise.
Then unwillingness.
Finally reluctant acceptance.
Straightening up, Xiaodie glanced at Shen Jinghong.
“Our young lady says…”
Her voice sounded somewhat sullen.
“Your birth chart and engagement papers will be returned shortly.”
Shen Dingjiang’s shoulders jerked.
Liu Yunshuang’s expression changed as well.
She stepped forward anxiously.
“Miss Fu, this…”