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

Madam Zhan couldn't understand why her usually clever second daughter would choose rubble over pearls. Could it be that she had become stupid from studying too much?

However, He Zhihuan was only a concubine's daughter, and although she had feelings for him, they were limited.

The old lady nodded in agreement, and everyone in the Marquis's mansion understood that their family's marriage ties with the Meng family had been severed.

"Second daughter has suffered today, go back to your room and rest. You all can leave now. I'll keep your lord here for a while longer."

After everyone took their leave, only the old lady and her son remained in Fushou Hall.

"Mother, is there anything else you need?"

The old lady said, "Regarding the annulment of the engagement with the Meng family, you should privately talk to someone in their family who can make the decision. I imagine neither of our families wants this to become public knowledge."

Lord He said, "Is Mother determined to break off the engagement with the Meng family? I'm afraid the Meng family won't agree." After all, the marriage between the two families was not their true intention.

The old lady said, "The Meng family has lost the rare book they've always wanted. Why push Er Ya into the fire pit?"

Lord He hesitated, "What if the Meng family doesn't believe we've really lost this rare book?"

The old lady said, "If the book that went missing from the inner study was indeed taken by Madam Shen from Rong'er, then the Meng family will definitely believe it!"

The old lady knew about the inside story between Xiangcao and Meng Silang. She didn't understand Xiangcao's intention in mixing the original with the copy, but now, considering the theft from the inner study, everything seemed to make sense.

But she was unwilling to explain further to Lord He.

"If the Meng family is unwilling to dissolve the engagement, you can just tell them to ask Meng Silang."

Lord He frowned. Could things really go so smoothly?

But seeing his mother's unwavering resolve, he couldn't bring himself to ask more questions.

It felt as if his mother was an all-knowing sage, while he, a wealthy man traveling the world, was completely clueless about the intricacies of her situation.

Qingwuyuan

Hua Sirong returned with Wang Mama and the others, and immediately went into the study to look through the manuscript that Xiangcao had once sent her.

Following behind Hua Sirong, Wang's mother initially didn't want to disturb her daughter, who was engrossed in flipping through books and carefully examining the paper.

But she had many questions in her heart, and she couldn't bear not asking them.

Hua Sirong smiled and said, "Mom, just say what's on your mind. I can tell you're holding it in."

As if granted a pardon, Madam Wang asked, "Girl, you didn't suffer any loss today, did you?"

If we ever encounter a situation like today again, your servant and Chunyan will never abandon you again.

Even if the King of Heaven himself came, he wouldn't make me abandon the girl.

I thought that since this was the Marquis's residence, and the young lady had a table to herself, there wouldn't be any fools coming to cause trouble.

Little did we know that some people harbored malicious intentions and had planned to scheme against us from the very beginning.

Come to think of it, it's also my fault. If I had listened to you yesterday, I would have gone directly to the Lady of the Marquis or one of the more influential maids in her courtyard and told her.

"Today we'll just stay hidden in Qingwu Courtyard and not go anywhere else. Even if there are mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, we won't jump in."

Hua Sirong gently stroked the book in her hand, "Mom, don't blame yourself. Even if I insisted on staying in our yard, wouldn't those who harm others have thought of other ways to drag us down with them?"

Even if they don't succeed this time, there's no guarantee they won't try again next time.

We know we're in a bad situation, so the only thing we can do is stay vigilant at all times.

Wang's mother still felt she was wrong. "I don't know how well the Lady Hou has found a suitable match for the young lady. If there is one, the young lady should marry him as soon as possible so that she can be in charge of her own household."

Hua Sirong knew that Wang's mother felt sorry for her, but being anxious usually didn't lead to good results.

"My aunt probably won't have time to take care of me lately."

Hua Sirong knew that her aunt was very pragmatic, and today she might still be blaming her for ruining her cousin's wedding banquet.

Mrs. Wang was speechless. "Girl, what did you do wrong? You were the one who suffered the loss. Sure enough, there's a barrier between those who aren't blood relatives."

Hua Sirong thought to herself, "There's more than one layer between us, but I'm quite content, since the Shen family has no obligations to me."

Thinking back to how Shen Shi had barely said a word for Hua Sirong at Fushou Hall today, Wang Mama felt somewhat resentful.

"The second wife in the mansion is an upright person and very fair in her dealings."

I remember the old lady used to treat you very well, and she would often send you little trinkets.

But this incident has shown me clearly that when it comes to the reputation of the Marquis's mansion, outsiders are always sacrificed.

Hua Sirong thought, "That's right. As long as these outsiders do something even slightly wrong, they can immediately incur the old lady's displeasure, and she doesn't even bother to cover it up."

However, she warned Wang Mama, "The Second Madam may seem fair, but in reality, she is just like everyone else; she is biased and protective of her own."

She sided with me today, but only because of my intervention, which indirectly saved her second son from disaster.

Madam Wang was puzzled. "The Second Young Master brought so many people with him today. No matter how much Miss Jin schemes, the Second Young Master can't possibly fall for it, right?"

Hua Sirong nodded, "That's right, but what if the Second Young Master goes alone? It's hard to say what might happen."

This shows how adept the second wife was at interpersonal relationships. She was grateful to me on one hand, and doing me a favor on the other.

"Today's events were obvious to anyone with eyes to see that the women of the third branch of the family each had their own ulterior motives. But the Third Madam is, after all, the Third Madam of the Marquis's mansion. For the sake of the mansion's reputation and to shut me up, they were willing to bestow a little favor upon me."

Mother Wang was saddened, "Our girl was clearly wronged in their household, and even if she is proven innocent in the end, it is still unclear."

In the end, we'll still have to be extremely grateful to your household, as if we've gotten a huge advantage.

Hua Sirong agreed, but as someone living under someone else's roof, there was nothing she could do.

She waved the book in her hand. "Every cloud has a silver lining. I haven't come away empty-handed today. Mom, go ahead and do your work. I still have some things to think about."

Seeing that her daughter had truly not suffered any loss today, Madam Wang had no choice but to go out and keep watch.

After Wang Mama left, Hua Sirong began to examine the book in front of her.

When she first received the book, she had some doubts, thinking that the second daughter, He Zhihuan, was a meticulous person.

Even the copies that were sent out, whether in terms of handwriting or paper, all showed signs of being made in an antique style.

However, considering the theft from the inner study today and Jiang Huaiji's emphasis on this book, she boldly speculates that the book in her possession is the truly unique copy.

As for why the rare book was delivered to her by the second young lady, she carefully recalled the details of her interactions with the second young lady and her unique intuition at that time.

She thought that there must be something special in this book, otherwise why would the second daughter specifically request this rare copy as part of her dowry?