She remarried a cold-faced, powerful man, and the scumbag regretted it and cried his heart out.

"Nonsense!"

Shen Zizhong paced back and forth in the front hall, saying, "From today onwards, how will the world view the two of you!"

Shen Jingshu sat upright, not daring to utter a sound, only secretly glancing at her mother with her eyes. Song Wan shook her head helplessly at her, giving her a look of utter resignation.

Jiang Jin'an stood up, bowed deeply to Shen Zizhong, and said, "Uncle, I am willing to bear all the consequences alone."

"You!" Shen Zizhong pointed at Jiang Jin'an, his hand trembling with anger. "Commander, how can you bear this alone? By dawn tomorrow, half the capital will probably know what you two did in front of the Marquis of Pingyang's mansion. You may not be afraid, but what about my daughter!"

"I'll marry him."

Shen Jingshu suddenly spoke, and the hall fell into a deathly silence.

Shen Zizhong nearly fainted from those words. Song Wan was shocked and quickly stepped forward to help him sit down. The maids and servants were in chaos, frantically pouring tea and fanning the flames. Song Wan waved to the two of them repeatedly, signaling them to leave quickly.

Shen Jingshu pursed her lips, grabbed Jiang Jin'an, and ran.

Having run all the way to Shaoguang Courtyard, Shen Jingshu was panting, but still managed to ask, "Why didn't you expose him?"

Jiang Jin'an raised an eyebrow, the corners of her lips curving into a smile, and said, "Don't you think that making him think that I know everything perfectly well, yet I'm still infatuated with you and deeply in love with you, would make him even more heartbroken?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Jingshu's expression was somewhat complicated.

Jiang Jin'an's gaze shifted downwards, landing on Shen Jingshu's hand still tugging at his sleeve. He then looked up and asked, "You just said you wanted to marry me?"

Shen Jingshu pondered for a moment, "How about we have a fake marriage?"

A fake marriage?

Jiang Jin'an's eyes darkened imperceptibly, but he quickly regained his cold demeanor. In a clear, icy voice, he asked again, "Miss Shen, why do you have this idea?"

Shen Jingshu released Jiang Jin'an's sleeve and replied, "I made it clear at Jinhua Tower that day that I can help you with what you are thinking about, and I also need your help to achieve what I want to achieve. Once everything is done, we can each leave and not be tied to each other anymore."

Jiang Jin'an stared at her, his gaze filled with inquiry and scrutiny. "What do you intend to achieve? Is it related to Wen Huaiqing?"

Since Shen Jingshu had already chosen this path, she had no intention of hiding it from Jiang Jin'an.

She nodded, her eyes blazing with hatred. "Your Excellency is wise. My feud with Wen Huaiqing is irreconcilable."

Jiang Jin'an couldn't understand why she, as the daughter of a marquis, would harbor such a deep hatred for a prince, making her so resolute. But he didn't want to ask any more questions. Since she was now so determined to get an answer, he would stay by her side. He would help her with what she wanted.

Meanwhile, Shen Zizhong sat in the carved armchair, his brows furrowed, his hands constantly rubbing his temples.

Seeing her husband's expression, Song Wan advised, "Master, if you ask me, the Commandant is quite good. But look at your precious student, what kind of things is he doing?"

Shen Zizhong put down his hand that was rubbing his temples, his brows furrowing even deeper. He sighed heavily, "You don't understand. What kind of place is that Commandery? Although the official rank is only third grade, the power it wields is beyond imagination. Jiang Jin'an is the head of the Commandery and a favorite minister of the Emperor. Countless eyes are on him. If he were to form a marriage alliance with the Marquis's family, wouldn't others have some suspicions?"

At this point, Shen Zizhong paused, his voice tinged with worry: "I fear even the Emperor might become suspicious. Our Pingyang Marquis's family has been loyal and virtuous for generations, and we have only been able to live in peace thanks to the Emperor's grace. If this marriage leads the Emperor to mistakenly believe that we are currying favor with powerful officials or forming cliques, then in the future..."

Upon hearing this, Song Wan was speechless for a moment.

The room was quiet, with only the rustling of leaves in the breeze outside the window.

After a long pause, Song Wan spoke again: "But now that things have escalated to this point between Jing Shu and the Commandant, the rumors are bound to spread like wildfire, and it will be difficult for us to deny it. Moreover, given Jing Shu's personality, once she has spoken, she probably won't turn back."

Shen Zizhong rubbed his temples. "Alright, alright, let me think about it carefully. We can't just settle this marriage so hastily. My daughter from the Marquis of Pingyang's mansion shouldn't suffer any injustice for no reason."

The two were facing each other in silence when a servant rushed over, bowed, and reported, "Master, Madam, the Commandant has come to take his leave."

Shen Zizhong waved his hand dismissively, "Get out! Just say I'm so angry with him I can't stand seeing him anymore!"

Jiang Jin'an and Shen Jingshu overheard Shen Zizhong's angry words in the courtyard. They exchanged a glance, and Shen Jingshu burst out laughing first. Her eyes crinkled and a hint of teasing played on her lips as she teased, "Look at my father's temper. He even turned away a powerful figure like the Commandant. You'll have to be more tolerant of him in the future."

Jiang Jin'an looked righteous and raised his voice slightly, "It's alright, your uncle is only thinking of you, I understand his good intentions. But you, you must not act so rashly in the future, lest you anger your uncle again."

Shen Jingshu's smile deepened, and the two walked side by side toward the gate of the mansion.

As soon as they stepped out of the mansion gate, Lin Yu and Wu Chen were already waiting there, standing at attention. Upon seeing the two of them come out, they bowed in unison.

Jiang Jin'an raised his eyes, a sharp glint in them, and asked, "How did things go?"

Lin Yu stepped forward, a confident smile on his face, and cupped his hands in reply, "Young Master, rest assured, everything is taken care of. We just need to wait for the show to begin tomorrow."

Shen Jingshu looked at Jiang Jin'an and said, "Once this matter is accomplished, I will definitely give you a generous gift in return."

That night, the candles in Shen Jingshu's room remained lit all night.

She sat at the table, with a sheet of paper spread out in front of her, filled with every name she could remember.

Shen Jingshu lightly tapped the paper with her fingers, her gaze following her fingertips as she muttered to herself, carefully recalling the identity and style of each name on the list, not missing a single detail. Then, she concisely wrote down the key information on another piece of paper.

After everything was finished, she softly called out, "Yaoqin."

Upon hearing the sound, Yaoqin pushed open the door and entered. She quickly walked to Shen Jingshu's side, curtsied, and asked, "Miss, what is it?"

Shen Jingshu gave Yaoqin a few instructions, and seeing the doubt on Yaoqin's face, she chuckled, "Go and prepare. Tomorrow, I'll take you to see a play."

As dawn broke and the sky began to lighten, the capital city remained as bustling as ever.

A piercing scream ripped through the sky from the Cheng residence, followed by a woman rushing out, disheveled and terrified.

It was Xie Wanqing.

Her hair was disheveled, her hairpins and jewelry scattered, and she ran while shouting hoarsely, "Someone is trying to harm me! Someone must have deliberately framed me!"

However, there were no pursuers behind them, only the servants of the Cheng family looking astonished, whispering and pointing.