Lord Wei’s face turned pale and then green in turns; he had no idea how to clean up this mess.
He was not one of those young people who thought about things simply.
Although there was nothing between Wei Qingyang and He Shengchang, there was still a connection with the He family. Perhaps something had fallen into He Shengchang’s hands.
Otherwise, without any leverage, how would He Shengchang dare to come here publicly to propose marriage?
Clearly he had something in hand, only then would he dare to make such a big scene by borrowing the situation.
Lord Wei looked at his daughter with a complicated expression.
Wei Qingyang was still stomping in anger.
She had originally woken early to go watch Wang Chan’s humiliation, but now her good mood had completely vanished.
That man had originally been prepared by her for He Shengchang, yet now she had lifted a stone only to drop it on her own foot!
B*stard!
What a b*stard!
The steward kept wiping his sweat outside. “My lord, the people outside are getting more and more…”
They had to quickly think of a way to suppress the matter!
If it continued, half the capital would probably come running.
After all, she was his daughter!
Moreover, she had originally intended to avenge Wei Changying.
Lord Wei braced himself against the table and stood up, staring at Wei Qingyang as he asked, “Think carefully, did you leave any leverage in his hands?”
Wei Qingyang thought it over repeatedly and shook her head with certainty. “No. Every time I met Madam He I was very careful, and I never met He Shengchang at all!”
Only then did Lord Wei let out a breath of relief. He gave a low “mm,” and quickly went out with his people.
He was, after all, an experienced old hand, someone who could swallow even the pain of losing a son without a word. His composure had long been tempered.
In just a short time, he had already thought of how to deal with it.
The matter had indeed grown large, but he could first bring He Shengchang into the residence.
No matter how wildly things spread outside, once he was inside the Wei residence, then the words would no longer be up to He Shengchang.
At that time, Lord Wei could naturally produce another explanation.
And he could also make He Shengchang produce another explanation.
The residence gates opened, and the commoners who had long been stretching their necks waiting suddenly became excited.
He Shengchang also shivered, then pulled himself together again.
Wang Chan nervously gripped Qi Yuan’s hand, carefully looking at her.
Qi Yuan lightly patted the back of her hand and said with a smile, “Watch the show.”
Lord Wei quickly walked down the steps, his expression calm and detached, his tone gentle. “Young man, is there some difficulty that forced you into such a measure?”
With one sentence, he distanced himself from the matter.
Implicitly suggesting that He Shengchang was talking nonsense.
Lord Wei had originally planned to continue persuading him.
But He Shengchang suddenly pulled a jade pendant from his chest and raised it high above his head. “Uncle, this is Qingyang’s substitute jade pendant. We privately pledged ourselves to each other long ago, and Qingyang has already acknowledged my mother as her mother-in-law! Uncle, please don’t break up a loving couple. I will definitely study hard for the imperial examinations and will never fail Qingyang!”
He shuffled forward on his knees several steps, repeatedly kowtowing with loud thuds, crying bitterly. “Uncle, we already made a marriage promise. I know you are angry, which is why you sent people to beat my mother and forcibly took Qingyang away…”
All the blood rushed to Lord Wei’s head.
He hadn’t expected that He Shengchang really had something belonging to Wei Qingyang!
Of course, whether it truly belonged to Wei Qingyang was now impossible to verify!
But seeing how righteous and confident He Shengchang appeared, no one would suspect the item was fake!
Lord Wei nearly collapsed.
At that very moment, someone suddenly threw a stone toward Lord Wei: “They’re a loving pair, talented and beautiful, already privately pledged to each other, why are you still looking down on the poor and favoring the rich, breaking up a loving couple?!”
Wang Chan blankly glanced at Baizhi beside her.
Baizhi was even jumping high, shouting, “Bah! Looking down on the poor and favoring the rich, breaking up a loving couple! What kind of people are you?!”
Commoners loved watching excitement the most.
Especially in situations where the girl’s powerful parents looked down on a poor scholar and forcibly separated lovers, this stirred their righteous indignation even more.
After all, which scholar wouldn’t dream of such an opportunity?
How could they allow someone to ruin it?
Someone immediately shouted, “Isn’t this just like The Story of Yingying? People who look down on the poor and favor the rich are no good!”
“And even beat his mother! Truly shameless!”
The noise rose wave after wave.
More people even began picking up stones and throwing them toward the Wei residence!
The situation quickly became one-sided. Unable to endure it any longer, Lord Wei suddenly slapped He Shengchang.
But He Shengchang became even more reckless. “Uncle, I’ve already passed the provincial examination! I will definitely work hard to pass the metropolitan examination, I will never disgrace your family name. Please fulfill our marriage!”
Qi Yuan watched He Shengchang’s performance with a faint smile, clicking her tongue inwardly.
This performance had originally been meant for the Wang family. Now it was finally used in the right place.
She just wondered what Wei Qingyang’s reaction would be.
Lord Wei was so furious he couldn’t speak. He immediately slapped He Shengchang twice more and pointed at him in rage. “Shut up! Stop ruining my daughter’s reputation. My daughter has nothing to do with you, nothing at all!”
He Shengchang burst into louder sobs. “How could there be nothing? The day of the Buddha Mother gathering was the day Qingyang and I pledged ourselves to each other. That night the entire street was searching for someone, how can you say it had nothing to do with me?!”
An editor-official couldn’t bear to listen anymore.
This, this kind of extremely private matter had all been said aloud. What else was left to say?
Too embarrassing!
He coughed and looked at Lord Wei. “Old Wei, family scandals shouldn’t be made public. What are you turning this into?”
Meanwhile, the commoners became completely stirred up.
“I remember now, the day of the Buddha Mother gathering, it really was said that some young lady from a noble family went missing!”
“That’s right! That night people were searching everywhere!”
“So it turns out the Wei family’s young lady eloped with someone!”
Wang Chan suddenly turned to look at Qi Yuan, tears welling up uncontrollably as her body trembled.
So that was it!
So that was it!
Qi Yuan had said that to cover up one matter, you must throw out another matter that attracts even more attention.
So that was how it worked.
Not only that, once He Shengchang said this, even the matter of her disappearance on the day of the Buddha Mother gathering would no longer be remembered.
Because the protagonist of the matter had completely changed.
She choked up. “Yuan Jie’er!”
Qi Yuan smiled lightly and squeezed her hand. “See? I told you, there’s nothing to panic about, and nothing that can’t be overcome.”
As she spoke, she glanced at Baizhi. “Baizhi, let’s go!”
Baizhi was still not fully satisfied from watching the drama.
Hearing Qi Yuan call her, she hurriedly came back to her senses, helped Wang Chan onto the carriage, then looked at Qi Yuan with bright eyes. “Miss, was my timing accurate when I threw the stone just now?”
She was already getting quite skilled at it!
Wang Chan broke into laughter through her tears.
Qi Yuan also couldn’t help but laugh. “Very good.”
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