The young lady is delicate and soft, yet she criticizes the powerful minister for bowing and scrapin

Wei Zhongde and his entire family were evicted from the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence. They had no choice but to sell their two or three shops and rent a house on the outskirts of the capital, where nearly twenty people lived together.

Wei Zhongde was fond of taking concubines; he had a family of nineteen, eight of whom were concubines.

After being kicked out of the Marquis's mansion, he lost his income, but he still went to those two shops every day with a cheerful attitude. He heard from the concubines in his room that the shops could still sell for five hundred taels of silver.

Five hundred taels would be enough for them to live on for a while. Wei Zhongde was hardly ever home anyway; he ate, drank, and relieved himself outside, and would go home to rest when he was tired at night.

Not many days had passed when he returned home and wanted to find his youngest concubine to serve him, only to find that all the concubines in the side courtyard had disappeared. He was so angry that he went to question his wife, Madam Li.

The second wife, Lady Li, had also given up on pretending to be a virtuous wife and loving mother. Since she was no longer in the Marquis's residence, she revealed her true nature to her husband:

"You have eight or nine concubines, each with mouths to feed. Where would you get so much money? My son still needs to study at the Wei family academy and attend poetry gatherings and banquets hosted by noblemen. It will cost a lot of money to dress him up."

"So where did they all go?!"

Wei Zhongde has a temper that explodes at the slightest provocation. In the past, everyone in the Marquis's mansion went along with him, and even the old lady doted on him.

"Since the family has no money, of course we sell them all. They're just concubines, no different from servants. They came into the mansion to serve their masters, right? Now that they're no longer of use, they're naturally out of there."

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongde flew into a rage, grabbed the woman by the hair, and began slapping her face repeatedly.

Lady Li played the role of a virtuous and gentle woman in the Marquis's mansion, but she was not someone to be trifled with. Her newly done daffodil-colored nail polish was long and scratched at Wei Zhongde's face.

The two women started fighting. The two maids who had come out with them looked at each other, wanting to break up the fight, but they were afraid of accidentally hurting each other, so they could only call Wei Ruolan.

With the old lady's restrictions lifted, Wei Ruolan was able to leave the Jingxin Nunnery. Before she could adjust to the shift from luxury to frugality, her parents were constantly fighting and bickering.

When the two finally stopped, Wei Ruolan was dragged so much that she bumped into several tables and chairs, causing her great pain. Unable to hold back her grievances, she burst into tears.

Li felt sorry for her daughter. After scolding Wei Zhongde a couple of times, she took her daughter to her room to comfort her, her hair disheveled.

When Wei Ruolan returned from Jingxin Nunnery and saw that her parents had been kicked out, she felt extremely sad.

"Mother, I don't understand. Now that I can no longer be associated with my elder brother, how can I possibly marry Brother Chang?"

Mrs. Li was also furious. Her daughter was destined to rise to a high social status and not marry an ordinary man.

"In a few days, your grandmother will be leading the Marquis's family to Cibei Temple to pay respects. Qin Xue is the future daughter-in-law of the Marquis's family, so she will definitely be invited to go with them. Qin Wenchang is very protective of this younger sister, so there's a high chance you'll see her there as well."

Wei Ruolan stopped crying, and an idea formed in her mind: "Mother, what do you mean?"

Li said fiercely, "Since the Marquis's mansion won't give us a chance to marry into a noble family openly and honestly, then we'll rely on our own methods. By then, once the deed is done, it will be too late for them to stop us."

"But what if Brother Chang dislikes me?"

Mrs. Li flicked her daughter's forehead: "Are you stupid? Once you're married, you'll have plenty of ways to make men submit to you. Besides, it's better to be a phoenix tail in a high-class family than a chicken head in a commoner's house."

Thinking of this, Wei Ruolan smiled, her tears still wet on her face.

"Mother, the thought that that bitch Qi Yunli is still living in the Marquis's mansion while we've been kicked out fills me with resentment!"

Madam Li clenched her handkerchief and snorted, "Yes, that little slut. If she had been brought into the manor in our name, she would have been kicked out just like us. But it was Wei Jun who approved and brought her in."

"Is there really no way to deal with her? He made me lose face in front of everyone at both the flower viewing banquet and the hunting banquet. If it weren't for that, how could Grandmother have become so disappointed in our second branch of the family so quickly? It's all Qi Yunli's fault!"

A smug smile spread across Li's face as she comforted her daughter, saying, "Don't worry, the day I was kicked out of the Marquis's mansion, I wrote back to my family. Ah Li is doing well now and has made a name for herself. One must not forget one's roots and must also take good care of the elders in the family."

She added, "She won't be able to disturb our plans on the day we're offering incense at Cibei Temple. I imagine she'll be overwhelmed with her own affairs that day."

Wei Ruolan finally burst out laughing; she was just waiting to see the show.

In the study of an ordinary courtyard in the south of the city, Shen Junshan opened the letter he had received half a month ago once again.

The letter was written in neat and beautiful handwriting, revealing a kind and gentle nature, exactly like the woman in his memory.

The letter paper was just the most ordinary letter paper on the market, but every time he opened it, he seemed to smell a faint floral fragrance.

"Next month, around the middle of the month, it will be the birthday of Guanyin at Cibei Temple. The temple will be very popular with worshippers. If you are interested in flowers, you may come and join us. I have something important to tell you."

The four characters "对花意意" above were like a pebble thrown into Shen Junshan's heart lake, creating ripples. The handwriting and the tone were both gentle and reserved.

He had only known Qi Yunli for three months. He was initially attracted by her gentle appearance, and later, her intelligence, decisiveness, and gentleness left a deep impression on him.

Shen Junshan knew he was just a lowly ninth-rank official. She had met many high-ranking and wealthy people at official banquets, yet she still had feelings for him. He should cherish her even more.

He has already chosen a matchmaker and prepared the betrothal gifts and betrothal papers for the marriage proposal. He wants to confirm the other party's feelings again at the Compassion Temple. If she agrees, they can arrange their marriage.

On the birthday of Guanyin, the old lady stood at the forefront, specially wearing a dark purple brocade jacket with gold patterns, and unusually, a gold-inlaid pearl headband. Although she was over sixty years old, her complexion was ruddy, her eyes were clear, and she possessed an undeniable majesty.

The Hou family entourage left the capital in a grand procession, with five carriages lined up in a row, heading one after another towards Cibei Temple on the western outskirts of the capital, displaying an extraordinary air of grandeur.

The carriage traveled for about an hour. Cibei Temple was built against the mountainside, and there were not many residents living nearby, so there were not many devout men and women coming to offer incense.

The abbot of the temple recognized the old lady at a glance and greeted her with his hands clasped together. The abbot had prepared a quiet meditation room for the people of the Marquis's residence in advance, so that they could rest well first, and then offer incense together when the temple and the monastery held a blessing ceremony to celebrate the birthday of Guanyin.

The old lady, the third master, and Wei Jun rested in one room, while the third wife rested with her concubines.

The other room was where Qi Yunli, Wei Ruolan, and the fifth daughter of the third branch of the family, who were born out of wedlock, were together.

Wayne shared a room with his other half-brothers, and was responsible for looking after them.

Qi Yunli had barely sat down when a tall, thin monk knocked on the door...

"I just asked someone if Miss Qi is in this room?"

Qi Yunli nodded. "Master, my surname is Qi."

The monk seemed relieved and said, "Someone is looking for Miss Qi at the temple gate. Please go there."