When news of Miss Tong pushing the Shen family’s old madam down the steps—causing her to hit her head—reached the Changning Marquis Manor, the household was in the midst of preparing for the wedding banquet on the nineteenth. Upon hearing the news, Old Lady Song and First Lady Song were completely dumbfounded.

  It wasn’t that they were slow to react; rather, the event was simply too shocking. They had already witnessed Miss Tong’s spoiled and reckless behavior firsthand over the past few days. They had also seen how utterly senseless the Wuning Marquis household was—ever since Marchioness of Wuning stormed into their manor uninvited, they had understood that family’s ck of decorum.

  But no matter how they looked at it, they never expected Tong Shao to be this brazen or the Wuning Marquis household to be this ridiculous.

  Not only did Tong Shao fail to apologize after injuring the Shen family’s old madam, but she even went home crying and tattling. Marchioness of Wuning, as always, chased after the matter and caused a huge ruckus at Duke Ying’s residence. The chaos escated to the point where Shen Xiaohai and Lady He could no longer tolerate it and immediately announced the annulment of the engagement.

  Xiang Mingzi had never liked Tong Shao, this spoiled young dy who wielded her horsewhip at the slightest provocation. Ever since she had seen her cause trouble for Song Chuyi during the banquet at Duke Ying’s manor, she disliked her even more. Now, upon hearing this scandalous gossip, she was completely speechless.

  She knew Tong Shao had a terrible temper, but to think she was capable of this—raising a hand against an elder like the old madam of the Shen family? Just how bad did her temperament have to be?

  First Lady Song, after much restraint, couldn’t help but comment, “Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but no family should spoil their child to this extent. Marchioness of Wuning isn’t doting on Miss Tong—she’s ruining her.”

  But what was done was done. This was how Tong Shao had been raised, and there was no changing it now.

  Old Lady Song swept her gaze over the young girls sitting with their heads lowered and warned them in a hushed tone, “Take this as a lesson.”

  Though she didn’t eborate on exactly what they should take away from the situation, everyone present understood. They immediately rose and respectfully replied, “Yes, Grandmother.”

  Compared to Tong Shao, the young dies of their household were paragons of virtue. Old Lady Song’s warning was unnecessary, but seeing their prompt obedience, she waved a hand, signaling them to sit back down. Then, turning to Nanny Huang, who had brought in the gossip, she asked, “And then? This matter has escated to the point of annulling the engagement—there must be a conclusion by now.”

  Nanny Huang had just returned from delivering New Year’s gifts to the Guang’en Marquis Manor and had witnessed the commotion on the way back. Smiling, she reported, “Old Lady, you wouldn’t believe it—Lady He has already entered the pace to seek an audience with the Empress.

  “Marchioness of Wuning no longer dares to make a scene. Instead, she brought gifts and personally accompanied Miss Tong to the Shen Manor to apologize. But before they could even step through the door, they were turned away…”

  Since Shen Xiaohai had already made up his mind to sever ties with the Wuning Marquis household under the pretext of the old madam’s injury, he naturally wouldn’t give them any opportunity to redeem themselves.

  “Marchioness of Wuning was livid,” Nanny Huang chuckled before frowning slightly. “But strangely enough, Miss Tong didn’t react as one would expect. Normally, with her temper, she would have been throwing fits and shing out. But today, she remained silent…”

  Old Lady Song and First Lady Song had only been listening for entertainment, but upon hearing this, they exchanged a knowing smile.

  This engagement was as good as annulled.

  That night, however, when Xiang Mingzi went to Ningde Courtyard to accompany Old Lady Song for dinner, she heard an even more astonishing piece of news—

  Her Majesty the Empress had sent an imperial envoy to reprimand the Wuning Marquis couple for their failure in raising their granddaughter properly and for allowing Miss Tong to harm others.

  This wasn’t entirely unexpected.

  Miss Tong had pushed an old madam bearing an official title, causing her serious injury. Even the censors at court were eager to submit memorials condemning the Wuning Marquis household for failing to properly educate their daughter, for cking moral integrity, and for using their power to oppress others.

  As the role model for all women in the empire, it was only natural for the Empress to issue an imperial decree chastising the Marchioness of Wuning.

  What truly left Xiang Mingzi covering her mouth in shock was that Miss Tong had committed suicide by poisoning herself.

  No sooner had the imperial envoy left the gates of the Wuning Marquis Manor than Miss Tong consumed half a catty of arsenic, foaming at the mouth as she died within the household.

  When Old Lady Song brought up the matter, her tone was heavy with disapproval. “So young, yet so burdened with such thoughts… That is not a good thing.”

  She couldn’t help but recall the version of Song Chuyi from the dream her granddaughter had described. Though Song Chuyi’s past fate was not exactly the same as Tong Shao’s, there were undeniable simirities between them.

  Miss Tong hadn’t taken her own life for any other reason—she died because the Shen family had firmly annulled the engagement. Unable to marry Shen Qingrang, she would rather die.

  But she was indeed an unpredictable person—one moment, she wanted to beat Shen Qingrang until he was cowering like a rat, and the next, she treated him like he was the most precious treasure. Perhaps she had truly been spoiled beyond reason. Though she liked Shen Qingrang, her pride was far too heavy, and because of her me leg, she was especially sensitive—her temper only grew worse over time…

  Song Chuyi gnced at Old Lady Song, lowered her gaze, and gently csped her grandmother’s hand. “Grandmother, don’t worry. I won’t walk the same path as before.”

  Love was an elusive and intangible thing, impossible to grasp. She had made up her mind never to touch it again. That which one fought for would inevitably be lost, but that which one never sought could never be taken away.

  Yet, she didn’t fully understand the depth of Old Lady Song’s meaning. The old dy let out a heavy sigh and patted Song Chuyi’s hand.

  Song Chuyi then turned the topic to the Shen family. “From this moment on, the Shen father and son will no longer have the energy to scheme for wealth or status. The Wuning Marquis household may have initially felt some guilt over the old madam’s injury and wanted to make amends, but now that Tong Shao is dead, this matter has become an unsolvable deadlock.”

  Moreover, the reputation of Duke Ying’s household had been utterly ruined—completely and irreversibly. The entire Great Zhou now knew what a mess Duke Ying’s family had made, how they couldn’t even handle their own domestic affairs properly, turning what was supposed to be a marriage alliance into enmity, and ultimately leading to a fatal tragedy.

  Yuanhui disdained people who only knew how to drag others down and accomplish nothing of value. At this critical moment, the Prince of Commandery was working to regain the Crown Prince’s favor—he certainly wouldn’t want to be associated with Duke Ying’s household, which had now become a scandalous, untouchable disaster.

  Shen Xiaohai’s future ambitions, no matter what they were, were now completely unattainable.

  Old Lady Song nodded in agreement. This was the price the Shen family had to pay for repeatedly trying to manipute Song Chuyi.

  All Song Chuyi had done was fan the fmes a little, and both the Wuning Marquis household and Duke Ying’s household had acted according to their true natures, escating matters until they became utterly irreconcible.

  No wonder Song Chuyi had said that Shen Qingrang absolutely must not die. Death would be too easy for him. The best punishment for that debauched man, who never saw women as human beings, was to let him be the one to clean up this catastrophic mess.