He had calculated everything, even going so far as to put aside his dislike of the Chen family and establish a distant and deadly relationship with Chen Jin Xin, but he had not anticipated this! Chen Xiang's face turned iron-gray, and although he was a seasoned veteran, for a moment he was caught off guard-----no, this couldn't be blamed on him, who would have guessed that a 14 or 15 year old girl would already be pregnant out of wedlock?! This was something that could not happen to any noble lady in the capital, yet it had happened to Chen Jin Xin!

  Mrs. Su! Su Shu! He gritted his teeth and silently cursed the two of them, then suddenly stood up and asked in a stern tone: "Since your daughter is already like this, why didn't you inform me earlier? Why did you ask me so many strange questions instead?"

  The third daughter smiled slightly, her smile was both sinister and seemingly somewhat condescending, as if she had expected it all along. She lowered her head and said in a sarcastic tone: "You came here and immediately mentioned engagement, without even asking me first."

  Chen Xiang was left speechless, a grown man who naturally thought that all women in the world should be virtuous and chaste. Even if there was an engagement, it didn't matter if they hadn't had a wedding ceremony yet, how could he have thought of this? Now that things had already happened, Chen Jin Xin's body had been ruined and she would never be able to bear children again. He couldn't possibly marry her - he wasn't stupid. Marrying Chen Jin Xin might get him the secret letter, but afterwards there would be endless trouble. Chen Jin Xin was after all the daughter of a loyal minister and martyr, and when she was entrusted to the Song family by Old Lady Su, it had caused quite a stir, even reaching the ears of the Emperor. If he married such a wife, he wouldn't be able to scold or beat her, and would have to tolerate her no matter what, making him a laughing stock.

  It's not necessary to risk one's whole life for a gamble, there are other ways to deal with the matter. Chen Xiang came to his senses and calmed down, then went to see Old Lady Song and Mr. Song: "Auntie, brother, I didn't know about this matter before."

  No wonder Old Lady Song and Old Master Song were both shocked, it turned out that they had known all along that Chen Jingxin's reputation was tarnished. No wonder he said that he would support her for the rest of her life. The last bit of doubt in Chen Xiang's heart also dissipated. His tone was somewhat subdued: "I know this may not be what Miss Chen wanted, but after all, I am the eldest son and heir, marrying a virtuous wife. Miss Chen having lost her father and husband, I can understand that. However, for such a thing, please forgive my previous impertinence."

  Song Da finally understood why his mother had always been so calm and composed, he looked back at San Niang and then at Chen Xiang with a painful expression: "How can we say this? We are not her real elders after all, it's not good to say too much or make decisions for her, let alone speak ill of her. If Chen can understand that's good enough. As for the marriage, it should be based on mutual affection and satisfaction."

  "Ugh! How dare you say that, didn't you just swear to get her hand in marriage no matter what? And now you're backing out just because of San Niang's words?"

  Zi Yun also sighed: "To say, the one who suffered the most is still Miss Chen. Originally, she had recovered a bit from her illness, but then this happened, bringing up painful memories and making her heart even more distressed. The misfortune caused by the young master of the Su family has fallen on the girl's family instead."

  It's always been this way, people are always lenient towards men but harsh on women. Song Chuyi's disgust towards Chen Xiang and Su Dashi grew even stronger - one was the beastly cousin who had brought Chen Gongzhu to such a state, the other was the distant relative who thought he was superior but had stabbed Chen Gongzhu in the heart, both hiding behind a facade of righteousness, doing stupid things that didn't treat women as human beings.

  Mrs. Song, who had not spoken until now, coughed and looked at San Niang and then at Chen Xiang: "The reason I didn't speak earlier is because of this. There are some things that we can't mention to you. To be honest, it's not right to call San Niang over either. But looking at you, I thought you were genuinely sincere in your intentions, so I thought maybe you'd be an exception."

  The third daughter burst out laughing and actually looked very happy, then replied ambiguously: "What's the point of talking about sincerity? What's the point of talking about a perfect marriage? Our young lady has long given up hope. I also hope that Old Lady and Master will worry less about our young lady in the future. With this appearance, it's already a blessing from Heaven that she can survive."

  Chen Xiang's face was somewhat unbearable, and just as he was feeling embarrassed, a housekeeper-like person quickly walked into the hall and reported to Song Lao Tai Tai and Song Renbin: "Reporting to Old Master and Mistress, several Jin Yiwei officials have arrived at the gatehouse, saying they have urgent business to discuss with Commander Chen."

  Chen Xiang let out a sigh of relief and immediately stood up to bid farewell to Old Lady Song and Old Man Song: "It's so late, I'm afraid there must be some urgent matter, I don't dare to delay official business, I'll come again another day to apologize."

  Mrs. Song and Mr. Song naturally didn't keep him either, and Mr. Song personally got up to see him out the door.

  San Niang saw that he had really left and couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from her forehead to look at Song Lao Tai Tai: "This official probably isn't here for the young lady, but rather for the secret letter."

  Mrs. Song nodded, watching as Song Chuyi led Qingtao and Ziyun into the room, then patted the seat next to her for Song Chuyi to sit down. She turned around to comfort San Niang: "This time, things have been made clear, this idea of his will be dispelled once and for all. You don't need to worry, just go back and take good care of your young lady, there's no need to mention anything about what happened here to her, lest it causes her distress. After a while, I'll send you to our estate in Tongzhou to rest for a few days, and you can all clear your minds."

  The three daughters-in-law nodded respectfully, but also furrowed their brows with some worry as they looked at Old Lady Song and Song Chuyi. After hesitating for a long time, one of them finally spoke up: "But the secret letter is still a hidden danger after all. Holding onto this hot potato may not be a good idea in the long run. You should make arrangements early on."

  Mrs. Song nodded solemnly, "You can rest assured on this matter, we've already made arrangements. You should hurry back now, in case she wakes up and can't find you, getting anxious again. If anything is needed or lacking, just have someone go to Madame's place to fetch it, don't be polite with us."

  The confidential letter has been handed over to Old Lady Song, and it's up to the Song family to take charge. Although Third Madame still had some misgivings, she knew that Old Lady Song had already made up her mind, so it wasn't good to say anything more. She bowed and took her leave, casting a meaningful glance at Song Chu-yi before turning to walk away.