They met during a heavy rain, with Guan Muyun escorting Ruojin home. She made snacks to thank him, and after a few visits, they became familiar with each other.

Guan Muyun, who was heartbroken after his fiancée left him, found himself drawn to Ruojin’s gentle and kind nature. They quickly fell for each other. He returned home to inform his parents and came to the Shen family to propose marriage.

The Wu family of Changxinghou, originally considered a prestigious match for the Shen family, has been involved in court affairs for many years and has strong connections, even with the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace. They have wealth and influence and were seen as an excellent choice.

However, the Duke of Lingguo’s sudden proposal came as a shock. His family is far more powerful and closely connected to the royal family than the Wu family, and the Shen family was worried that Prince Guan’s sudden proposal was just an impulsive decision after his heartbreak.

This matter couldn’t be delayed. If they wanted to secure the marriage with the Duke’s family, they had to first resolve the engagement with the Wu family. That night, Shen Yu left to speak with the Marquis of Changxing.

Shen Yu came here originally to ask for forgiveness, thinking that if he canceled the engagement, the other family would be angry and might make some difficult demands.

Considering the benefits and future that Ruojin could bring if she married into Duke Ling’s family, Shen Yu was prepared to take some financial losses.

However, even though the Marquis Changxing couple was in a bad mood, they didn’t completely break ties with the Shen family. They only said that it was Shen Yu’s fault for breaking off the engagement. They had already told people about the engagement, so it would be awkward to explain. They asked the Shen family to think of a solution.

This kind of thing had happened before in the capital. When a marriage faced problems but the two families still wanted to stay connected, another daughter from the family could take the place of the original girl, and they would announce that the marriage was still between the families, not just the individuals.

From what the wife of Marquis Changxing said, she seemed interested in Shen Yu’s second brother’s younger daughter.

Shen Yu knew that his second brother’s daughter had just gotten engaged last month to a talented young man from her maternal family. They were already preparing for the wedding.

Shen Yu thought that no matter how close his niece was, she wasn’t as good as his own daughter. Instead of giving this marriage to someone else, it would be better to give it to Tao Sheng and make her understand that returning to the Marquis’ Mansion would secure her a better future.

For Tao Sheng, any of their actions would feel like a huge surprise that she could never achieve on her own.

Shen Yu’s current plan was to avoid offending Marquis Changxing’s family and also explain things to the Wu family. He wanted to recognize Tao Sheng as his daughter soon and arrange for her to marry Ruojin instead.

Shen Yu thought Tao Sheng would be excited to agree. He had planned to discuss not only this marriage but also other matters like her future return to the Marquis’ Mansion and her engagement.

But Tao Sheng thought their thinking was ridiculous.

The Changxing Marquis’ family was a step up for the Shen family, and even though the Shen family broke the engagement first, the other side wasn’t angry or making demands, just asking for an explanation.

Anyone would know that something was wrong with this family’s son. He wasn’t as perfect as he seemed. Judging by the timeline, it seemed that the Wu family’s political enemies were about to expose evidence of Wu Zhen’s bad behavior, like gambling, giving his enemies a chance to report him.

This is why the Wu family was eager to find a girl to marry him.

Tao Sheng repeated, “I’m engaged.”

“That’s fine,” Shen Ruolin said. “Grandmother and father are here. Just tell us whether you agree or not. Don’t worry about the rest. If you agree, father will help you cancel your current engagement. What kind of good marriage could your adoptive parents have arranged for you? Isn’t it just an ordinary family in a remote area? We can give them some extra money.”

However, Chu’s father is a third-rank left councilor, the right-hand man of the provincial governor, and he’s more respected than Shen Yu in front of the emperor. The Shen family can’t dismiss him with just money.

Tao Sheng didn’t want to argue and said, “There’s no need to discuss this anymore. I don’t want it.”

Seeing how stubborn Tao Sheng was, Shen Yue worried she would make their father and grandmother angry and lose her chance to return to the Marquis’ Mansion, becoming abandoned by the family. He tried to convince her, “This marriage is good for both you and the family. Isn’t it much better than the marriage your adoptive parents arranged? Now isn’t the time to be angry. Grandmother and father won’t always spoil you. You need to know your place.”

Shen Yu thought he had complete control over Tao Sheng and said arrogantly, “If you stay stubborn and don’t think about the family, don’t even think about returning to the Marquis’ Mansion.”

Shen Yu’s repeated words reminded Shen Ci of the times his father had scolded him for his poor academic performance.

That’s why Shen Yu’s words today sounded especially harsh to Shen Ci, and he started thinking about it.

He had enjoyed a comfortable life in the marquis’ mansion since childhood, so it didn’t matter if his father scolded him a few times. But Tao Sheng had lived outside her whole life, and the family never gave her anything. Yet they acted like she owed them and expected her to make sacrifices for them. Shen Ci thought his father was being unreasonable.

But then he remembered what his second brother said. If they didn’t handle this soon, and the Wu family wasn’t satisfied, Ruojin’s future at Duke Ling’s Mansion might be in jeopardy.

Torn between helping Ruojin and protecting Tao Sheng, Shen Ci felt upset and didn’t know what to do, so he stayed quiet.

Shen Huan also frowned.

Even though he was satisfied with his fiancée’s looks, he couldn’t ignore Aunt Han constantly nagging him about settling Ruojin’s marriage first. Both of their marriages seemed to be stepping stones for Ruojin’s future.

Shen Huan decided to stay silent as well.

Shen Ruojin didn’t understand why Tao Sheng was acting this way. The eldest son of Marquis Changxing came from a rich and noble family and was handsome. Although he wasn’t as powerful as the Duke of Lingguo, his conditions were impressive enough for her, let alone a girl like Tao Sheng, who grew up in the countryside.

When Ruojin first heard about her engagement to Wu Zhen, she was so happy she couldn’t sleep for nights. But now, what she had once treasured, Tao Sheng treated like trash. It made Ruojin, the well-raised daughter of a wealthy family, feel small.