The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

Shen Hanyu hadn't planned to agree so easily. She hummed in agreement, and Liang Fangrong hurriedly went to find Xu Ying.

The three surrounded Shen Hanyu, and Miaocui squeezed through.

"Please, gentlemen, show some respect."

Zhao Ling and the others then stepped back, though they harbored some resentment.

"Miss Shen, let's be frank and ask each other directly. Which one have you taken a fancy to today?"

Jiang Chengfeng rubbed his hands together, his drooling gaze fixed on Shen Hanyu.

Shen Hanyu covered her mouth and chuckled: "Mother told me not to give in, and I will listen to Mother."

The men's eyes flickered. Shen Hanyu seemed obedient and easy to talk to, and with her beauty, marrying her to keep them company wouldn't be a bad idea.

Moreover, given her personality, even if she takes a concubine in the future, she probably won't say anything; she's easy to control.

Shen Hanyu knew exactly what they were thinking; judging by the time, those people should be arriving soon.

Just as the group was about to ask a few more questions, Ding Wenxi, who had been silent all along, suddenly stood up.

"Miss Shen, may I move to your room?"

Shen Hanyu glanced at him. She hadn't paid much attention to this extra person, but now that he had suddenly stepped forward, she wondered what he wanted to do.

Miao Cui frowned, Shen Hanyu pressed her shoulder, gave her a wink, and then nodded to Ding Wenxi.

"can."

Miao Cui followed Shen Hanyu, while Ding Wenxi maintained a proper distance from Shen Hanyu. He seemed to be a well-mannered person, more like a scholar than the other three.

Ding Wenxi first cupped his hands in greeting, and when he saw that the three people were listening intently, he lowered his voice.

"I am from the same hometown as Jiang Chengfeng, and after much thought, I decided to tell Miss Shen about this." Ding Wenxi pursed his lips, not daring to look up at Shen Hanyu.

Shen Hanyu gripped her handkerchief. "What is it?"

"Jiang Chengfeng is a violent man who beats and scolds people at the slightest provocation, causing a lot of trouble in the village. Miss Shen must think carefully about this matter."

When Ding Wenxi spoke, his eyes showed fear and disgust, which was directed at Jiang Chengfeng.

Shen Hanyu was quite surprised, but then asked, "What is your intention in telling me this?"

Ding Wenxi blushed and stammered as she explained, "I didn't mean to gossip about people behind their backs. I just wanted to warn the young lady not to be deceived. Now that I know about this, I can't live with myself if I don't say it. As the teacher taught me, one should always have a clear conscience."

If this person hadn't been found by Xu Ying, Shen Hanyu would have truly admired him. In this situation, she couldn't help but wonder if Xu Ying had asked them to find another way to approach her.

"What a fine saying, 'One should live with a clear conscience.'" Shen Hanyu's scrutinizing gaze fell on Ding Wenxi.

Ding Wenxi thought she didn't believe him, "Everything I've said is true, and I swear on my future."

A commotion arose from the front hall. Shen Hanyu looked over and knew who it was even though no one came to deliver the message.

However, to be able to break into the Marquis of Anping's residence, he must be a truly formidable general.

Liang Fangrong came over with a grim expression, and Jian Xia behind her shrank back, not daring to utter a sound.

"There's no need to look at these people anymore. They're just filthy bugs from who-knows-where, disgusting people for no reason!"

This was the first time Liang Fangrong had ever spoken so harshly to Shen Hanyu.

Xia hurriedly explained, "One of the girls said she was Zhao Ling's wife and was shouting outside that Zhao Ling had abandoned his wife for personal gain, causing quite a scene. Another girl cried and complained that Jiang Chengfeng beat and scolded her at every turn, and she couldn't bear the humiliation and had gone to report it to the authorities. Now the remaining girls outside are telling the onlookers what Sun Jiaming did to them."

Xu Ying naturally sent away the onlookers, and the troublemakers were brought in.

Xia couldn't help but sigh, wondering where Xu Ying had found these exceptional women.

Upon hearing Xia's words, Zhao Ling and the other two's expressions changed.

Zhao Ling, in particular, muttered to himself, "Why is that nemesis here again?"

Before they could leave, a furious roar was heard from outside.

"Zhao Ling, you bastard! You want to abandon me and climb the social ladder by marrying into a powerful family? Don't even think about it!"

As she spoke, the door was kicked open, and a woman dressed in dark blue clothes wielded a stick with great force. She had her hair in a woman's bun, and behind her were servants from the Marquis's mansion, as well as Xu Ying, whose face was ashen.

"Stop her!"

Xu Ying shouted, her heart aching with anger.

When Zhao Ling saw Xu Sanniang arrive, he hid behind a pillar, trembling with fear.

Xu Sanniang was quite formidable. With a fierce expression, she slapped him left and right, managing to keep him from getting close. The main reason was that so many people outside witnessed what happened, and Xu Ying didn't dare to order someone to beat Xu Sanniang to death, for fear of causing trouble.

Xu Ying sighed. This happened so suddenly, and if outsiders found out, rumors would probably spread everywhere before nightfall that she had mistreated Shen Hanyu.

Damn it, who brought these people here?

The women next to Xu Sanniang glared at Sun Jiaming, whose expression wasn't much better. Over the years, he had taken advantage of his wealth to harm many people.

It's utterly shameful that such a ridiculous thing happened on the day of the marriage proposal.

Although the woman who accused Jiang Chengfeng didn't come in, Xia said that she had already run to report to the authorities. Xu Ying's men couldn't stop her, and she got away. Now, Granny Song is leading people to chase after her.

What a lively show!

Shen Hanyu seemed to wake from a dream and turned to ask Xu Ying, "Aunt, what's going on?"

Xu Ying was already annoyed, and could only manage a forced smile: "It's just a little misunderstanding."

"What misunderstanding is there? If you want to marry this person, that's fine too, Zhao Ling. I'll be your wife and she'll be your concubine. I'll let her into the family!"

"Miaoyi would never be a concubine to someone like you!"

Liang Fangrong interrupted, saying that although her relationship with Shen Hanyu had been strained recently, they were still mother and daughter. Now that Xu Ying's marriage proposal had turned out like this, she naturally couldn't swallow her anger.

As a result, his trust in Xu Ying diminished, and he felt that today's farce was utterly ridiculous.

Liang Ruoxue, who had come over to watch the commotion, stared at those people with disgust.

"What kind of people are these?" Liang Ruoxue complained softly.

However, she felt in her heart that Shen Hanyu might have been the one who did it, though she didn't know why she had this thought.

Seeing the aggressive Xu Sanniang and the people around her, Liang Ruochu couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction, and at the same time, she felt relieved that she had made the right choice.

Xu San Niang was about to go over, but the servants quickly stopped her.

Liang Fangrong finally couldn't take it anymore.

“I don’t believe you are unaware of what happened today. I’m going to find my mother right now and ask her to stand up for me.”

Liang Fangrong glared at Xu Ying, then turned to go find the old lady.

Xu Ying pursed her lips, still wondering how things had developed to this point.

What's all this commotion about?

Qiuyue helped the old lady over, with Lin Lihua beside her, who had a smile on her face.

Lin Lihua was secretly pleased to see Xu Ying suffer misfortune, and the only reason she wasn't kicking her while she was down was because the old lady was there.

The moment the old lady appeared, the main hall fell completely silent.