Wang Chan was so anxious she kept pacing in circles, and in her heart she hated herself for being so useless.
First Wei Qingyang had plotted against her; if Qi Yuan hadn’t happened to return to the capital from her hometown at that time, she probably would have already been unable to bear the blow and died.
And now there was Ling Qiang again!
If it weren’t for her, Qi Yuan wouldn’t have confronted Duke Cheng’s residence.
Qi Yuan’s expression didn’t change at all. Instead, she raised her brows with a faint smile and asked Wang Chan, “Do you regret it?”
What?
Wang Chan froze for a moment.
Qi Yuan asked again, “Offending the Ling family means this marriage won’t happen. Will you regret it?”
“Of course not!” Wang Chan answered without hesitation. “If he didn’t want this marriage, he should have directly refused to meet me, or even said so plainly. Do you think I would have clung to him?”
But Ling Chuhan clearly didn’t want this marriage, yet he didn’t dare say so. Instead, he hid behind his sister and watched Ling Qiang humiliate others.
What kind of man was that? He didn’t even count as a proper person.
Even if she never married, she wouldn’t regret failing to marry someone like him.
“Then that settles it.” Qi Yuan curled her lips coldly. “They came looking for trouble with me because they’re blind. They won’t gain anything from it.”
Madam Lu had originally been both angry and anxious, so furious she felt like coughing up blood, but hearing Qi Yuan say this, she suddenly couldn’t help laughing out loud.
For some reason, with Qi Yuan around, it always felt like nothing was truly a problem.
Qi Yuan was always confident and composed.
Wang Chan also broke into a smile through her tears: “But it was still me who dragged you into this. Otherwise, why would you have offended them?”
Even if having many lice means you stop feeling the itch, having lice on your head is still annoying.
Besides, Duke Cheng’s residence was, after all, still a ducal household.
This time Qi Yuan had publicly slapped Ling Qiang’s face. Ling Qiang didn’t look like someone who would swallow the insult.
She bit her lip, still worried.
Qi Yuan didn’t take it to heart at all: “You’re mistaken. Even without you, Duke Cheng’s residence wouldn’t like me. Duke Cheng’s residence and Duke Chu’s residence have always advanced and retreated together. Duchess Cheng, Madam Liu, and Zhou Wangfei are also cousins. With such relationships, I don’t need to deliberately offend them.”
So she truly didn’t think pressing Ling Qiang onto the table had been wrong.
It was only that the timing wasn’t appropriate; otherwise, today she wouldn’t have stopped at merely pressing her down.
But it didn’t matter, people who didn’t know their limits wouldn’t suddenly learn them in one go.
The other side would definitely make another move.
Madam Lu felt somewhat relieved after hearing Qi Yuan’s words, but thinking about Ling Qiang bringing up the Buddha Lantern Festival incident in public still made her grit her teeth in anger.
If that girl dared say it openly in front of people, who knew what rumors she might spread in private?
Now that Wang Chan’s marriage had fallen through, who knew what would happen in the future.
She clutched her handkerchief, absent-minded even after donating incense money. As she descended the steps, she stumbled and nearly fell.
Fortunately, Wang Chan stepped forward to support her, but Wang Chan herself also lost her balance.
Madam Lu came back to her senses and was instantly terrified out of her wits: “Chan Jie’er!”
The steps of the main hall of Dazhao Temple numbered more than a hundred. If someone rolled down from here, wouldn’t they be severely injured?!
She immediately panicked.
Luckily, before Wang Chan could fall, someone coming up from below had already caught her in time.
Qi Yuan also arrived just then and pulled Wang Chan back up with one hand.
Madam Lu finally let out a sigh of relief and hurried down the steps to grab her daughter: “Chan Jie’er, are you alright?!”
Wang Chan, still shaken, shook her head, then looked at the person who had just helped her.
At this glance, her eyes widened, she saw that the other party was a young scholar, wearing the robes of the Imperial Academy.
At this moment, Qi Yuan also raised her brows in surprise: “Young Master Xie?”
Xie Ying was holding a branch of plum blossoms. When he saw Qi Yuan, his eyes also lit up: “Miss Qi! You’ve come here to worship as well?”
Whenever Qi Yuan faced him, her attitude was gentler than with most people. Hearing this, she nodded lightly: “We’re just about to head back.”
Xie Ying smiled warmly: “This is my friend, Wen Mingfeng of the Wen family from Jinling.”
The Wen family of Jinling was a prominent clan, and Qi Yuan naturally knew of them.
She had also heard of Wen Mingfeng.
She politely nodded to him.
Wen Mingfeng hurriedly returned the greeting, then also greeted Madam Lu.
Madam Lu quickly expressed her thanks: “Thank you, young master, for saving my daughter.”
Wen Mingfeng smiled and shook his head: “It was only a small effort, Madam. You give me too much credit.”
With this small incident, Madam Lu’s mood improved considerably. After boarding the carriage, she couldn’t help saying, “That Young Master Wen is actually from my hometown.”
Madam Lu herself was also from Jinling.
Because of that, she naturally knew the Wen family’s distinguished background and long scholarly tradition.
After the incident with Ling Chuhan, she no longer wanted to marry Wang Chan within the capital.
Rumors had already spread, and there would always be people who loved stirring trouble. If Wang Chan married in the capital, she would inevitably hear all kinds of messy gossip.
It would be better for her to marry elsewhere.
After a few years, the rumors would naturally fade.
Qi Yuan had originally been thinking about meeting Xie Ying, she had been back in the capital for so long yet still hadn’t gone to visit Madam Xie, which truly wasn’t appropriate.
Regardless of whether the Xie family had treated her especially well in her previous life because of Xiao Yunting, she had indeed received their kindness.
Both emotionally and logically, she should go thank them.
Hearing Madam Lu say this, she immediately understood what Madam Lu intended and shook her head: “Aunt, Wen Mingfeng isn’t suitable.”
Madam Lu was puzzled at once: “Why?”
After all, the Wang family was a noble household, and Wang Chan’s dowry was generous.
She was more than qualified for the Wen family, so why wasn’t it suitable?
Qi Yuan wasn’t someone who liked to beat around the bush. She rubbed her brow: “Aunt, Wen Mingfeng is a concubine-born son in his family and not favored. He also has deep conflicts with his family. Someone like that isn’t suitable to entrust a lifetime to.”
A concubine-born son?
Madam Lu immediately dismissed the idea.
It wasn’t that she had prejudice against concubine-born children, mainly, he was also at odds with his family.
That truly made him unsuitable.
She sighed.
Wang Chan, however, was much more open-minded: “Mother, don’t rush to arrange a marriage for me. I actually feel there’s nothing to hurry about.”
If she were to marry someone like Ling Chuhan, she’d rather not marry at all.
Since that was the case, what was the rush?
At this moment, Wen Mingfeng also asked Xie Ying curiously, “That girl who just helped the person, do you know her?”
Xie Ying placed the plum blossoms on Monk Zhifeng’s desk. Hearing the question, he nodded casually: “You could say we know each other.”
Wen Mingfeng seemed thoughtful: “She’s quite an interesting girl.”
Xie Ying raised a brow and glanced at him: “That has nothing to do with you.”
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