Wang Qingchen followed the servant's gaze and saw a young woman in green standing at the corner, listening to the gossiping women. Behind her stood a maid, her face tight with anger, seeming ready to rush out and silence the group at any moment. This young woman in green must be the Second Miss the servant had mentioned, yet for some inexplicable reason, as Wang Qingchen looked at her, he felt an unsettling sense of déjà vu.

The servant's gasp of surprise was muffled, unheard by the gossiping ladies or Xia Wan’ting, save for Wang Qingchen who had followed him. In truth, this small exclamation was precisely what the servant had calculated. This entire scenario had, in fact, been orchestrated by Xia Wentao.

Xia Wentao had intended to use this occasion to orchestrate something, ideally a meeting where Wang Qingchen and his sister might take a mutual liking to each other, paving the way for a marriage proposal that would then feel like a natural progression. However, after much thought, he couldn't devise a suitable plan until he recalled the romantic tales of scholars and beauties in plays, sparking the sudden idea of engineering a "fated encounter" between Wang Qingchen and his sister. Of course, while Xia Wentao’s scheme was well-intentioned, he hadn't accounted for the arrival of these noblewomen who were now discussing his sister. Fortunately, the servant reacted quickly, whispering the Second Miss's name; otherwise, Wang Qingchen might never have noticed Xia Wan’ting at all. As for the servant assigned to Xia Wan’ting’s side, upon seeing his mistress listening to the women discuss her affairs, he dared not utter a sound.

The scene froze in place. Wang Qingchen and Xia Wan’ting, meant to experience a carefully plotted encounter orchestrated by Xia Wentao, now stood rooted, forced to eavesdrop on these women dissecting Xia Wan’ting’s character and dragging in other private matters.

The servant who had guided Wang Qingchen was wracked with regret, wishing his guts had turned green. Had he simply led the man away earlier, it would have been preferable to alerting him to the Second Miss’s presence! Now, he was trapped—moving forward meant revealing their position to the Second Miss, causing her palpable embarrassment; retreating meant risking the women unearthing even more private details about their young lady. Should he lead Wang Qingchen back the way they came?

Wang Qingchen, too, was mentally grappling with the predicament: advancing or retreating, both options guaranteed acute awkwardness.

Just then, a woman’s voice drifted over: “Ah, do you think it’s true that Xia Wan’ting fell gravely ill, which is why the Fu family switched the engagement to the Xia family’s subsidiary daughter?”

“Hmm, that’s plausible. Didn’t Madam Xia just say that Xia Wan’ting was unwell and couldn’t greet us?”

“I rather suspect there’s something amiss with Xia Wan’ting’s character. Why else would the Fu family forsake the legitimate daughter for the concubine’s daughter?”

The others nodded, agreeing with the possibility.

Then, the voice that had first admitted to eavesdropping added, “Regardless of whether Xia Wan’ting’s character is flawed, with this scandal, finding a suitable match for her future will be incredibly difficult.”

“Indeed. Which prominent family in the capital would accept her now?”

...

Hearing this, Wang Qingchen felt an even deeper wave of awkwardness, deciding the best course was complete stillness, lest the Second Miss catch sight of him and subject them both to mutual mortification. Though he had heard their speculations, Wang Qingchen felt a strong sympathy for the Second Miss, who seemed to be suffering such misfortune—doing nothing wrong, yet having to endure slander and character questioning simply because the groom had changed his intentions.

Fortunately, after a short while, the group of women moved on to another location, preventing the excruciating stalemate from continuing indefinitely.

The moment the gossips departed, Xia Wan’ting, her mood ruined, disregarded whatever scheme her brother might have been planning and turned to walk away, leaving behind a greatly relieved Wang Qingchen and a stunned servant.

When Wang Qingchen finally rejoined Xia Wentao and the others, they were still teasing him about how long it took to change his clothes, banter which Wang Qingchen deftly deflected. However, he was utterly bewildered by the knowing, suggestive look Xia Wentao shot him, racking his brain to decipher its meaning. By the time the groom arrived to claim the bride, Wang Qingchen had shelved the thought, putting the oddity out of his mind.

Xia Wentao, believing his grand plan had succeeded, was utterly dumbfounded that evening after the guests had left and a servant finally relayed the true events of the afternoon. The reality diverged wildly from his expectations, achieving the opposite effect. After his initial shock, he launched a scathing verbal assault on the servant for his utter lack of quick wit in botching the plan, followed by cursing the lineage of those idle gossips until he felt marginally better.

Feeling somewhat restored, Xia Wentao immediately sought out his sister to offer comfort, then began anxiously planning a remedy. He was certain Wang Qingchen's impression of his sister must have plummeted to its lowest point.

After a sleepless night of contemplation, Xia Wentao resolved that the only path forward was to be completely frank with Wang Qingchen. Thus, the next morning, Xia Wentao hurried to the residence shared by Wang Qingchen and Zhao Cheng, determined to explain everything.

Wang Qingchen and Zhao Cheng, having only visited the Xia manor the day before for the wedding festivities, were surprised by Xia Wentao’s early arrival. After the joy of yesterday, why would Xia Wentao visit them so early this morning?

Upon arrival, Xia Wentao suddenly found himself unable to speak, especially with Zhao Cheng present. What if he spoke and Wang Qingchen refused? Given the rumors from the previous day, Wang Qingchen’s opinion of his sister might be severely tainted...

Zhao Cheng was no fool; he noticed Xia Wentao’s hesitation and his repeated glances toward Wang Qingchen. He correctly surmised that Xia Wentao had important, delicate matters to discuss with Wang Qingchen, so he quickly found an excuse to leave, granting them privacy.

Zhao Cheng’s discretion earned Xia Wentao profound gratitude; with him gone, the words he needed to say felt much easier to bring forth.

Wang Qingchen had also sensed that Xia Wentao intended to broach a serious subject, but his tendency to beat around the bush frustrated him. Now that Zhao Cheng had voluntarily departed, perhaps Xia Wentao could finally speak plainly.

Xia Wentao took a breath, seemingly resigning himself to the outcome, and blurted out, “Qingchen, tell me honestly, what is your impression of my younger sister?”

“What?” Wang Qingchen sounded as if he hadn’t heard clearly. He was completely unprepared for this drawn-out build-up to such a strange question. He laughed, “Come now, just say what you need to say. Why bring up your sister? Surely you aren't suggesting you want to marry her off to me?”

Wang Qingchen had intended this as a lighthearted joke. He never imagined the Xia family would consider offering a daughter to him, so he spoke without restraint. To his astonishment, after the joke, Xia Wentao turned grave and responded, “Qingchen, what if I were entirely serious about offering my sister to you?”

“Uh… you must be joking, right?” Wang Qingchen was genuinely taken aback this time.

Such an idea had never once crossed Wang Qingchen’s mind. Having arrived in this era, he was keenly aware of the intense value placed on pedigree, especially in matters of marriage where social standing was paramount. He had always assumed he would eventually marry a farmer’s daughter or someone from a humble background, matching their own family’s status. Even his delaying tactics—postponing any serious discussions until after he passed the metropolitan examination to potentially secure better marriage prospects—were merely procrastination; he never envisioned a prominent household offering a daughter to him. In his mind, such matches only occurred in plays; the gulf in social rank was not so easily bridged. Therefore, Xia Wentao’s directness left Wang Qingchen profoundly shocked.

Seeing Wang Qingchen stare silently, Xia Wentao worried that his host was displeased. He rushed on, “I know what those people said yesterday must have given you a very poor impression of my sister, but you must understand the saying about three people making a tiger—if enough people repeat something, others will believe it without questioning the truth. I am setting aside family honor now; I will tell you exactly what happened…”

Without waiting for a response, Xia Wentao launched into the full account of the Fu family’s decision to change the engagement.

“...In truth, this is a family disgrace and shouldn't be spoken of, but I cannot allow you to misunderstand my sister. Now that I have told you, regardless of whether you agree to marry her, I beg you not to reveal these matters to anyone.” Xia Wentao finished.

Wang Qingchen certainly would not spread the tale. In fact, even without Xia Wentao's confession, Wang Qingchen hadn't judged Xia Wentao’s sister harshly; rather, he felt mostly pity. It was the sheer magnitude of Xia Wentao’s proposal that had momentarily stunned him into silence.

Wang Qingchen paused, choosing his words carefully. “Brother Xia, regardless of what others say, I truly hold no negative opinion of your sister. As I said before, in those events, she was the most innocent and the most injured party. I will not heed baseless slander.”

This declaration brought Xia Wentao immense relief. However, the words that followed immediately made Xia Wentao’s heart leap with anxiety again.