Returning to Qifengyuan, Xie Wei made a few bows and then saluted Wei Cai: "I was at fault in the matter just now."

  Wei Xiao remained silent, nodded slightly and then turned around to head towards the Xiangxiang courtyard.

  Although he is usually careless, it doesn't mean he doesn't know the seriousness of this matter. He and she were seen together like that, and even if they jumped into the Yellow River, they couldn't wash away the rumors. At that time, Xie Qi slandered Xie Wan, and he didn't even bother to defend himself in order to clear her name. By not saying anything, he only deepened people's misunderstanding of this matter.

  But he didn't regret it either. A gentleman knows the kindness and repays it, Xie Wan had helped him so many times, even if he brought her trouble, she never blamed him. In that situation, how could he bear to let her be slandered by others? So even if he knew what consequences awaited him, he still wanted to clear her name.

  As for why Xie Wei happened to come to Cui Yi Xuan and coincidentally splashed water on herself, making him go over to ask her what was wrong, he didn't want to think about it deeply.

  How deep is human heart? This is indeed a mind-boggling problem. He simply doesn't want to go looking for these troubles himself.

  Xie Wei walked into the courtyard with her head down, and Huang Shi was already waiting under the corridor. Seeing her, she suddenly turned pale and said: "Where have you been?"

  Xie Wei raised her head, the shame and resentment in her eyes faded away, replaced by a surge of pride and joy.

  "Mother, don't worry, let's go inside and talk."

  Huang's family heard the rumors, and in their hearts, they were already furious! The couple treated their daughter like a precious gem, so when they suddenly heard such ugly rumors, how could they not be anxious and angry? They just wanted to wait for her return and give her a good scolding. But now, seeing her calm and composed expression, their anger turned into suspicion.

  She knew her daughter was a resolute person. At this moment, she didn't make another sound and went into the house, dismissing the people around her before sitting down on the edge of the bed with a solemn face.

  "The messenger who just came to deliver the message was quite clear. I'm afraid that by now, Master and Mistress have also been informed. What else do you have to say at this point?"

  Xie Wei slightly condensed her spirit, first lifted her skirt and knelt down, lightly knocked her head, then said: "This matter was originally the daughter's bold move, not blaming Mother for being angry. The person who passed on the message was right, the daughter just now was indeed with Wei Gongzi in Cui Yi Xuan drinking tea. Moreover, there were also some intimate movements."

  Since she has already made up her mind, why not just go with the mistake?

  Huang's family heard this and suddenly stood up, staring at her with wide eyes, as if to see clearly whether the person in front of her was really her daughter!

  Xie Wei lowered her eyes and continued, "As a daughter who has committed this mistake, please don't rush to punish me, Mother. Just think carefully, even if I have lost my virtue as a woman, in the end, who will benefit from it?"

  Huang's eyes widened in surprise, and his gaze flickered again.

  "Nowadays, my father is on the rise, and if he can get Lord Wei's help, it will be very beneficial. However, last time in Beijing, my father also entrusted someone to tactfully propose a marriage alliance with the Wei family, but the Wei family obviously didn't look down on our family. From the current situation, families with higher official positions than the Wei family are even more out of our reach. But families lower than them can't match Wei Bin's power."

  "Wei Cai is the most likely person we can grasp at present, and he will return to Beijing soon. It's unknown when there will be another opportunity in the future. The talented women in the capital are as numerous as the hairs on an ox, if someone else gets their hands on him first, what we lose won't just be a small advantage. Therefore, my daughter has come up with this plan, to help her father achieve his long-held wish."

  Huang's eyes remained fixed on his daughter, his chest heaving with excitement and fervor.

  Xie Wei has a plan in mind. She knew that she deeply loved her father, and she also knew that he would not think that she would have such a plan, using her own reputation to cling to the Wei family's line. This was indeed a desperate move! Wei Xiao had come to the Xie residence on his own initiative, and now he had committed such a shameful act in the Xie residence, damaging the reputation of the young lady of the house. Could the Wei family still deny it with a straight face?

  "But you, do you really like Wei Qian?"

  "Does it matter whether I like him or not?" Xie Wei raised her face and smiled: "A husband to a wife is just a means to achieve wealth, honor and prestige. As long as he can provide for me, I can learn to like him even if I don't initially. But if he's just an ordinary person, even if I like him now, I'll eventually grow tired of him. In this world, men's love is the hardest to last, only wealth and power are reliable."

  "I wasn't born into a noble family, and I never had any illusions about romantic love. All I wanted was to become a respected lady of the manor in the future. If my natal family didn't have any influence, then no matter how much my husband loved me, I would still be unable to hold my head high in his family. In the end, the fate of my natal family determines my own fate, so naturally I had to think about this first."

  Huang listened for a long time and couldn't speak, her daughter was only fourteen years old, but she had already seen through the world so thoroughly.

  A man's love is hard to last long, isn't it also a sentence she often says to herself? Xie Rong is loyal to her and does not take concubines or indulge in romantic affairs, but as the days go by, he is no longer as loving as before. Moreover, how much of his self-respect is for her sake, and how much is for his own reputation, she has no idea.

  Xie Wei's son is like his father, calm and emotionless. The love in the world for them is like a flower painted on a vase, only serving as an ornament. But she is not, she is an ordinary woman who yearns for romance and expects eternal love, grand weddings and all that. To her, it's naturally good if they have these things, but even without them, as long as the person she loves is by her side, everything is fine.

  Looking at Xie Wei's determined appearance, she didn't know what to say.

  Xie Rong has always been a man of integrity, and he loves his daughter so much. The Xie and Huang families have never sacrificed their children's reputation for the sake of benefits. If Xie Wei does this, Xie Rong will surely be furious. However, at this point, it seems that there is no better solution than to admit the mistake. Because he loves his daughter, he will not tolerate anyone tarnishing her reputation without taking responsibility.

  Huang could almost predict Xie Rong's expression after he knew about this matter.

  "Mother."

  Xie Wei's hands rested on her knees, her bright eyes staring at her.

  Huang sighed and closed his eyes slightly.

  Xie Qigong and Wang's side also received the news.

  Wang heard the people's report and knew that this matter was related to Xie Qi. He immediately called Xie Qi for questioning, but he never expected that when Xie Qi invited Xie Wan to have tea and brought Ren Yun to catch them in the act, they actually caught his own granddaughter and Wei Zhan in the act!

  In her heart, all the grandchildren are the same, but in Xie Qigong's eyes, they are different. The three rooms with a pair of children are Xie Rong's lifeblood and also Xie Qigong's tender flesh. How could Xie Wei calm down after such a thing happened?

  "This Wei Qian! I usually think he's decent and has some sense of propriety, but unexpectedly he did such a beastly thing right under my nose! What kind of noble young master is this? I think he's not even as good as the spoiled rich kids in our Qinghe County!"

  Xie Qigong slapped the table, and because of his large movement, a cloak he was wearing fell off.

  Wang picked up his clothes and put them back on him, saying: "Speak softly, be careful not to be heard by others!"

  Xie Qigong snorted in anger, his entire being seeming to radiate flames even from every single strand of hair.

  Wang sat down at the end of the table, and a few points of unease also surged up in his heart.

  This was all caused by Xie Qi, and now that Xie Qigong is angry, if he offends Wei Cen, it's possible that Wei Cen will expose the scheme to frame him and Xie Wan. If that happens, not only will Xie Yu be affected, but even Xie Qi himself will be dragged into it!

  Xie Wan was nothing, but Wei Yan was different. If Xie Qi knew that Xie Qi had privately framed Wei Yan to curry favor with Ren Shuai, how could he let her off lightly? Moreover, if Xie Qi's evil intentions were exposed, even if the Ren family gave her a mountain of gold as dowry, they would not accept her. She had gone to great lengths to invite Ren Shuai into the mansion, and this marriage could not be ruined like this.

  In order to shut Wei Qian's mouth, we must not let Xie Kegong go and interrogate Wei Qian.

  "It's not necessarily a bad thing at this point." She sank her gaze, stood up and said, "Wei Gongzi's family background is very good. Since he visited our mansion twice, it can be seen that, as Master said, they are quite compatible with our Xie family. In these days, Yinger has been getting along well with him, and the two of them are just at the beginning of their romance. Even if they occasionally show some affection, it's not excessive."

  "He, Wei Gongzi, is not a child anymore. Since he can secretly meet with the young lady from the inner chambers to have tea, he naturally understands what kind of consequences there will be. In my opinion, this is a ready-made marriage arrangement. Isn't Third Brother wanting to form an alliance with the Wei family? Now that we have this opportunity, Master cannot just give Wei Gongzi a polite rejection, but must treat him with courtesy instead. It would be best if someone were sent to deliver a letter to the Wei estate, asking Lord Wei to make a decision."

  Xie Qigong heard this and his body stiffened for a moment before he suddenly turned around.

  "You're saying, take this opportunity to make this marriage a reality?"

  "Isn't that right?" Wang smiled: "Director Wei's teaching has no method, and living in my house has damaged the reputation of my young lady. Shouldn't he, as a dignified Director, give an explanation? Isn't he afraid of being impeached by the censor?"

  Xie Qigong's eyes gradually lit up, "Right! His son Wei Bin committed a mistake in someone else's mansion, and he should take out a charter! Although our Rong Er's official position is not as high as his, we are also dignitaries of the Hanlin Academy! How can our Wei Jie be bullied by him like this!" As he spoke, he smiled at Wang Shi again: "You thought of it more thoroughly, I didn't think of that layer!"

  "Where is my fault? The old master was just momentarily angry and couldn't turn around."

  Wang patted him on the back and helped him sit down, gently patting his shoulders as he spoke.

  Xie Qigong picked up the tea cup beside him, took a sip, thought for a moment, and then said: "I see. Since it was Wei Gongzi and Mei Jiejie having tea in Cuixi Xuan, what were Qi Jiejie and Renjia Xiaozi doing there?"

  Wang's hands, which were about to pat his shoulders, hovered in mid-air for a long time without falling.