Sir Song, do you want to pledge yourself to me?

After listening to Song Qiuniang's instigation, Shen Mingzhu actually ran to Mrs. Shen and begged her to marry her aunt's cousin Zhao Ziyi.

Mrs. Shen thought about her daughter's temperament and thought she would be more suitable to marry a gentle man who would not have to shoulder the heavy responsibilities of the family. She would just live a stable and happy life as a wife. She had also gotten along with the Shen family's cousin, who was a gentle person. As a niece from her mother's family, Shen Mingzhu would not be embarrassed by her mother-in-law if she married him.

So Mr. and Mrs. Shen decided to pack their luggage overnight and take Shen Mingzhu to Qingzhou before dawn the next day.

The time given by the Marquis' wife was limited, and Shen Mingzhu's wedding preparations were rushed. The longer she delayed, the less time she would have to prepare for the wedding. Therefore, when Mrs. Shen got home, she had no time to rest. She simply washed and dressed and went straight to the Zhao family.

After hearing Mrs. Shen's intention, Mrs. Zhao happily agreed to the marriage.

Mrs. Shen also lamented that if they had known that Shen Mingzhu's true love was Zhao Ziyi, they would not have bothered with so much and caused so much trouble for their brother.

After some discussion, the two families finally decided to set the wedding date on the tenth day of September, the best day within the deadline.

On the wedding day, Shen Mingzhu arrogantly boarded the bridal sedan chair sent by the Zhao family. On the wedding night, Zhao Ziyi apologized for delaying Shen Mingzhu, saying that he wanted to pass the imperial examination before pursuing a romantic relationship. He used the excuse that he had unfinished homework assigned by the teacher and went straight to the study.

After hearing this, Shen Mingzhu was not angry at all. Instead, she secretly praised Zhao Ziyi for being sensible and went to bed alone without any doubt.

On the day of the return visit, Zhao Ziyi personally accompanied Shen Mingzhu back to her parents' home and prepared a lot of generous return gifts. Mrs. Shen was so happy to see her son-in-law being so thoughtful that she couldn't stop smiling. She kept praising Zhao Ziyi as a rare good boy and that the marriage between relatives was indeed right.

Shen Mingzhu was also very satisfied with Zhao Ziyi's performance. She felt that he only focused on studying and didn't bother her, which was very worry-free.

It wasn't until a few days later that Shen Mingzhu's peaceful life was completely shattered. She ran into Zhao Ziyi, who was supposed to be at the academy, at a teahouse. Zhao Ziyi's mysterious demeanor piqued Shen Mingzhu's curiosity, and she followed him to find out what was going on. The result was a complete shock: Zhao Ziyi was entangled with another man, fully clothed.

Fury and humiliation mingled within Shen Mingzhu, nearly mad with rage. Although she admitted to taking advantage of Zhao Ziyi, the fact that he preferred men and used her as a shield was undoubtedly a slap in her face. Unable to endure such humiliation, she immediately rushed into the room, screaming and wanting to slap Zhao Ziyi. However, the man on top of Zhao Ziyi kicked her to the ground, and the pain made her cry out in despair, attracting the attention of the teahouse's guests.

The man, with a gloomy face, quickly straightened his clothes, pulled Zhao Ziyi away from the crowd of onlookers, and quickly left the scene. Shen Mingzhu was left alone, crying inconsolably amid the pointing and scolding of the crowd.

Shen Mingzhu ran home in tears and complained to her aunt, Madam Zhao. However, she never expected that Madam Zhao, far from intending to punish Zhao Ziyi, would instead reprimand her for being inconsiderate, disregarding the Zhao family's reputation, and damaging Zhao Ziyi's reputation. Madam Zhao even punished her by forbidding her from leaving the house and placing her under house arrest.

Only then did Shen Mingzhu suddenly realize what was happening. It turned out that Madam Zhao had noticed something was wrong with her son when he was fifteen, and she had agreed to the Shen family's marriage just to cover up the truth. Otherwise, why would Madam Zhao agree to let her son marry a willful and foolish woman like her?

After Zhao Ziyi was caught in a scandal by Shen Mingzhu, he not only did not restrain himself, but became even more unscrupulous. He brought the man home to make trouble, and in revenge for Shen Mingzhu's public humiliation, Zhao Ziyi even made intimate gestures with the man in front of her, deliberately humiliating and disgusting Shen Mingzhu.

Shen Mingzhu was under strict supervision by people arranged by Madam Zhao. She was not allowed to leave the house. Even letters sent to the Shen family had to be checked by Madam Zhao. Any words of complaint or accusation would be withheld by Madam Zhao and punished.

After repeated attempts at resistance proved fruitless, Shen Mingzhu blamed her resentment on Song Qiuniang. It was she who suggested a fake marriage to appease the Marquis' wife, it was she who said she wanted to find someone with a soft personality and easy to manipulate as her marriage partner, and it was she who said Zhao Ziyi was the best candidate.

Shen Mingzhu finally came to her senses this time and realized that it was Song Qiuniang who had betrayed her. She didn't mention Zhao Ziyi at all in her letter, only saying that the maidservants around her weren't serving her well enough and asked Madam Shen to bring Song Qiuniang back to serve her.

Mrs. Zhao read the letter and sent someone to deliver it to the Shen family.

When Prefect Qi Tongzhi heard that Shen Mingzhu wanted to take Song Qiuniang back, he agreed without a second thought. Song Qiuniang was originally a slave concubine, and she had used despicable means to climb into Qi Tongzhi's bed. Qi Tongzhi and his wife both disliked her. Now that Shen Mingzhu was willing to take her back, they were naturally overjoyed.

When the Shen family's carriage came to pick up Song Qiuniang, Ji Nuan was taking Shen Songhe to visit Yingfang Garden.

This garden originally belonged to the Wen family. After it came into Ji Nuan's hands, she asked Xuemei to transform it into a multifunctional place for entertainment, play, gatherings and banquets.

Today, Yingfang Garden is filled with the fragrance of flowers, shaded by green trees, and has a sparkling lake. The scenery is pleasant, and there is no sign of the bleakness of autumn at all.

Ji Nuan and Shen Songhe were chatting while enjoying the beautiful scenery in the garden.

"It's really nice here." Shen Songhe exclaimed sincerely, her eyes wandering around Yingfang Garden, admiring every carefully arranged scenery.

"What's that mahjong you were talking about?" Shen Songhe asked curiously. When they passed a few pavilions earlier, Ji Nuan had mentioned that it was a very pleasant place to play mahjong with a few friends.

Ji Nuan smiled slightly.

Mahjong is a special culture for Chinese people, but for Shen Songhe, who has never seen mahjong before, it is indeed difficult to explain.

She thought for a moment and tried to explain it in clear and concise language: "Mahjong is a game played by four people that relies heavily on strategy and luck. Everyone has some cards in their hands, and through combinations and pong, whoever wins is considered the winner. Aunt Shen, would you like to try it first?"

Shen Songhe became interested and said, "I have nothing to do anyway, so I'll try it for you. But I've never played it before, so you have to teach me by my side."

Ji Nuan: "Aunt Shen, don't worry. Except for me, no one here has ever played mahjong. We all start at the same level, so you don't have to worry about falling behind. Besides, I won't participate. I'll just teach everyone a few rounds to familiarize them with the rules."