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

He Zhilang felt a little better after hearing this, but he still had something on his mind and his brows remained furrowed. He moved a few steps closer to He Zhihuan and whispered in a voice that they could hear each other, "Second sister, what I am about to say concerns your reputation. I hope you will answer carefully."

He Zhihuan looked solemn and nodded slightly.

“As you know, your third brother often frequents those shady places.” He Zhihuan nodded, but his brows were furrowed.

Third Brother, born to the eldest concubine, is named Zhirui. He is habitually idle and good-for-nothing. To put it nicely, he frequents places of all sorts of people, but in reality, he patronizes brothels and gambling dens. He is a notorious playboy in the capital.

“A few days ago, I heard that the maid named Xiangcao by your side became a runaway slave. Today, your third brother secretly told me that he vaguely saw her at Chunfeng Tower. He wasn’t quite sure, so he asked me to ask her.”

This matter could be big or small, as it concerned the reputation of the entire family. They were also afraid of getting involved with their elders and causing trouble for their younger sister, so they secretly sought out the siblings to discuss it.

He Zhihuan covered her mouth, almost gasping out in surprise, her body trembling slightly.

Spring Breeze Pavilion!

The fragrant herbs have somehow ended up at Chunfeng Tower!

Tears welled up in He Zhihuan's eyes instantly. "Second brother," she called out, then her voice faltered, unsure of what to say next.

She swallowed hard, then took the teacup her elder brother offered and forced herself to take a sip.

Only after calming his mind did he begin to recount the events that had transpired.

He Zhilang fell silent as he listened. "...Xiangcao is too ambitious, but she definitely didn't go to Chunfeng Tower willingly. Second Sister might be able to figure out who's behind this."

He Zhilang even suspected that his second sister, out of jealousy among women, had deliberately sent that girl to that filthy place. But ultimately, he believed in his own family and thought his sister wasn't that ruthless.

He Zhihuan slowly uttered a name.

He Zhilang clearly didn't believe it. "It's him? How could it be him?"

He Zhihuan gave a bitter laugh, "Don't say that Second Brother doesn't believe it, I don't believe it either. But after eliminating so many impossibilities, this one answer is the most likely one."

“After the vanilla disappeared, I hid in my room every day and thought about what had happened before. I went through each and every one of them again and again, and the things I had overlooked before became clearer.”

She touched her face. "From the age I learned about beauty and ugliness, I knew I was born ordinary. Among all the girls who have come and gone in my life over the years, Xiangcao is the one who has stayed the longest and is the one I like the most."

“I plan to marry into the Meng family next year. After I give birth to the eldest son, I will have Xiangcao's face opened. After she has children, I will also teach them with all my heart. I originally thought that I had shown enough loyalty and affection, and Xiangcao should be even more loyal to me.”

"About half a year ago, Meng Silang's servant contacted her in secret. Before long, she became the matchmaker between Meng Silang and me. Perhaps Meng Silang truly lived up to his reputation as the dream lover of the capital, because Xiangcao had long since fallen for him."

"There were times when Xiangcao lost her composure in front of me before, but I thought it was just a young girl's first stirrings of love, which was perfectly normal. But because of my negligence, it almost led to a big mistake."

“After Xiangcao disappeared, I found a lot of things in her room that didn’t seem to be gifts from Meng Silang’s servants. Most of them were too valuable and could only have come from Meng Silang.” She was so sure because she had an identical copy of several of the items.

Meng Silang's heart is truly despicable.

"What is Meng Silang planning?" The Meng family is not short of money for a girl with a bit of looks.

"It must be because they value the unique copy I have. Considering Vanilla's series of reactions earlier, this is the only conclusion I can draw."

"But that rare copy, we'll present it to you when you marry into his family next year." So many years have passed, how come we can't wait even though there's only one year left?

He Zhihuan shook her head. "That's exactly what I don't understand."

If she truly wanted to acquire this rare book as soon as possible, she was already fifteen this year. She could simply find a pretext to bring her into the household quickly, which would achieve her goal. Why go through all the trouble of starting with a maid?

"I'm afraid this marriage with the Meng family can't go through with it," He Zhilang said with a headache. "If that woman from Chunfeng Pavilion isn't Xiangcao, that's fine. But if she really is Xiangcao, does Second Sister have any thoughts?"

"My marriage to Meng Silang is not something my second brother can decide."

He Zhilang remained silent, his face flushed with embarrassment. "It's all my second brother's fault for being useless." If he had any say in the Marquis's mansion, he could have said something about his second sister's matter.

He Zhihuan laughed instead, "Second brother, please don't blame yourself. This matter was decided a long time ago. To put it bluntly, unless I die or Meng Silang dies, this marriage will not change."

"Knowing full well that Meng Silang is not as virtuous and upright as he appears on the surface, how can I, as his elder brother, bear to watch you jump into this fire pit?"

"I've taken your kindness to heart, and I'm so happy. If I don't have a good life after I get married, I'll definitely ask you for your support." She smiled, and He Zhilang assured her repeatedly.

"Second Brother, don't think that Meng Silang is two-faced. I'm fifteen this year and will get married next year. I'm not a little girl like Seventh Sister. I already understand that a man's eyes will never stay with just one person."

He Zhilang's ears turned bright red. "So, Second Brother, don't worry about me. If you brothers from my maternal family are successful, my sisters and I will be able to live well in our husbands' families in the future."

"As for Xiangcao, it's not appropriate for our Marquis's mansion to redeem her. I have a plan; I'll trouble you, brother, to lend me a servant to run the errand."

"Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it."

"so……"

He Zhilang nodded in agreement, “This is an open scheme, but what if Meng Silang doesn’t admit it? It will also damage my sister’s reputation.”

"It doesn't matter. At worst, Meng Silang will find an excuse to break off my engagement." He Zhihuan thought that if she could marry someone else, she would also want to marry someone else.

He Zhilang didn't understand the intricacies of women's affairs; he only thought that this matter was a win-win situation: either he could secretly redeem Xiangcao, or he could sever ties with the Meng family.

Either outcome is good.

When Meng Silang received the letter from the servant and read its contents, he was immediately enraged.

"Tell Yantai to get in here."

As Yantai cautiously entered the study to pay his respects, a Duan inkstone flew from Meng Silang's hand and smashed straight into Yantai's face.

But he dared not move an inch. He didn't know what he had done to anger his master, but if he took a step back now and didn't let his master vent his anger, even more cruel methods awaited him.

"My lord, please calm down. Don't upset yourself." Blood seeped from Yantai's forehead, but he still gritted his teeth and begged for forgiveness.

"Calm down? How can I calm down after the stupid things you've done?"

“I’m glad I rewarded you, Miss He’s maid, but you shouldn’t have left me, her mistress, with such a mess to clean up your mess.”

Yantai finally understood what was going on and bowed, replying, "That girl Xiangcao, I found a broker I know well, and I didn't charge her much. I just told her to sell her far away. After all, she's someone who's close to the future young mistress, so it's not good for her to stay in the capital and do that kind of business."