The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

The old lady wanted to say a few words, but since things had come to this point, there was no point in saying anything more.

"Was the book that went missing from the inner study an original or a handwritten copy?" Madam Zhan asked incisively.

Everyone looked at He Zhihuan, who clearly didn't know anything.

He Zhizhang continued, "I have looked through the copy in the inner study. I have never seen a truly unique copy before, but based on my personal feeling, the copy in the inner study is very likely the original."

Madam Shen was extremely shocked. "How could this be? I got that book from Rong-jie'er. It was said from the beginning that it was a handwritten copy, and Er-ya personally delivered it."

Oh my god, she missed out on the original. She felt like she had missed out on so much.

The crowd turned their suspicious gazes to He Zhihuan. "You really don't know anything about this?"

He Zhihuan was also stunned. "When I delivered the book to my cousin Rong that day, Xiangcao went back to the courtyard to get it. After the book was delivered, I didn't take it out to look at it."

I only glanced at the cover and saw that it was indeed written by me, so I didn't think much of it. She was already in a bad mood that day, and she never expected that Xiangcao would take it upon herself to do so.

She now carefully recalled Xiangcao's every move back then, and combined this with the fact that she and Meng Silang had secretly become involved. All of this had been foreshadowed long ago.

Lord He frowned and said, "There is a big difference between the original and the handwritten copy. Since Brother Zhang says it is the original, the possibility of it being wrong is much smaller."

"By the way, find that vanilla-loving girl, interrogate her, and the truth will come out, won't it?"

Thinking of Xiangcao, who had been abandoned in the mass grave, He Zhihuan felt embarrassed and brought up his private relationship with Meng Silang in the open.

The old lady already knew some of the inside story, and now her impression of Meng Silang is even worse. "It's Meng Silang again!"

Could all of this happening today be the work of Meng Silang? It seems like a feint attack.

Lord He nodded unconsciously, "He stole the book on one side and successfully dissolved the engagement on the other, and has no further connection with our Marquis's mansion. Thinking about it carefully, it's really a clever plan."

Madam Zhan didn't understand, "If you just want to break off the engagement with Er Yatou, why go through all this trouble? Stealing books and framing someone who fell into the water."

"Second daughter, do you have any doubts about whether you fell into the water? For example, did someone push you, or did you slip or something?"

He Zhihuan smiled bitterly. While she was still conscious, she had been asked about this matter no less than ten times by different people, but she really didn't know how she fell.

As if by some strange coincidence, she fell down.

Seeing that she couldn't get any information from him, Madam Zhan asked, "Then who was the man who saved Er Yatou with when he went into the women's quarters?"

Good question, but everyone looked at each other, none of them knowing the answer.

He Zhilang, who was in charge of cleaning up the mess, then stepped forward to explain, "The person who saved Second Sister is called Xin Yucheng. He was personally invited by Eldest Brother."

Everyone looked at He Zhizhang, as they did not recall any junior official or nobleman in the capital named Xin Yucheng.

He Zhizhang had no choice but to explain, “Brother Xin’s family is not well-off, but he is very talented. I befriended him and saw that he was a top-ranking talent. I valued his talent and befriended him.”

For this wedding, I specially sent him an invitation.

Something exploded in Madam Shen's mind. She looked at her son with extremely complicated eyes, "Even if you sent him an invitation, why did he appear in the place where the women are?"

It's clear that not only was he from a poor family, but he also had moral flaws.

He Zhizhang instantly understood the source of Shen's hostility, but he was unwilling to give up on befriending such a talented person just because of his seventh sister's one-sided account.

Besides, if this person were to ultimately be detrimental to the Marquis's mansion, wouldn't it be better to keep him under our watchful eye?

He Zhilang knew the answer to Shen's question: "What this Scholar Xin said is true. He saw our group coming this way, and out of curiosity, he followed us."

As a result, he got lost in the winding garden and heard someone shouting that someone had fallen into the water. Since he could swim, he jumped in without hesitation to save the person.

After rescuing his second sister, he realized he had saved a young woman. He intended to leave quickly after the rescue, but unexpectedly, a large group of people suddenly appeared around him, and he was caught red-handed.

He also said that his family wanted him to go to the Meng family to explain, and he was willing to go with them. His family also wanted him to take responsibility for his second younger sister, and he would not shirk that responsibility.

At that moment, He Zhihuan, the person involved, felt embarrassed upon hearing this.

But no one around her seemed to care about her troubles. The old lady countered, "Do you think what this Scholar Xin said is true?"

After discovering that Xin Yucheng was very likely the unfaithful man her daughter had married in her previous life, Madam Shen stopped saying anything more.

Since it concerned the second wife, Madam Zhan had no choice but to speak up, "I think this Scholar Xin is certainly not as innocent as he claims."

Everyone knows that in wealthy and powerful households, the areas for male and female guests are clearly separated. If someone falls into the water, there are maids and servants to rescue them, and if all else fails, there are guards in the mansion who can swim. How could he, an outsider, possibly have a chance?

I think he's clearly trying to curry favor with the noblewoman of the Marquis's mansion.

He Zhizhang's expression was slightly unpleasant. After all, Xin Yucheng was someone he had invited to the Marquis's residence. If he hadn't sent an invitation, this person wouldn't have been able to enter the residence, and naturally, there would have been no incident of an outsider rescuing his sister.

The old lady took in He Zhizhang's expression and tried to smooth things over, "Alright, what's done is done, there's no point in dwelling on it. Second daughter, what do you think?"

Meng Silang can use this matter as an excuse to come to our residence and annul the engagement; similarly, we can take this opportunity to dissolve our engagement with the Meng family.

This is an opportunity.

He Zhihuan looked up at her grandmother in surprise.

The Shen and Zhan families were extremely shocked. "How can Xin Yucheng's family background compare to the Meng family? Moreover, Meng Silang is also well-known for his talent in the capital."

Putting everything else aside, Xin Yucheng saved our second daughter, so the manor should prepare a generous gift to express our gratitude.

Furthermore, if Xin Yucheng ever seeks advancement in his career, we can lend a hand within our capabilities.

However, I don't really approve of involving Er Yatou's marriage. I still think Meng Silang is a better match."

He Zhihuan never expected that the first person to stand up and oppose her would be her stepmother, Madam Zhan.

Although Ms. Zhan meant well, she secretly preferred to marry Xin Yucheng.

If she had no other choice, she could only console herself and treat Meng Silang with the utmost respect.

But since fate has presented her with this opportunity, why should she refuse it?

Isn't this the opportunity she's been longing for?

Xin Yucheng may be from a poor family, but didn't the eldest prince think highly of his talent?

If that's the case, then Xin Yucheng isn't entirely useless.

If it weren't for the incident with Xiangcao, she wouldn't have given up on Meng Silang.

But deep down she was a little afraid of Meng Silang, and she wanted to escape whenever she had the chance. Her grandmother also agreed to use this opportunity to help her break off the engagement with the Meng family. It was a rare opportunity, and she didn't want to give it up.

So she knelt down before the old lady and said, "I will listen to my grandmother. Thank you for standing up for me."