The male supporting character was actually myself.

After hearing his plan, Zhang Mingyuan stood there dumbfounded for a long time, unable to process what he was seeing.

He was stunned for a few minutes before he understood the brilliance of the second young master's meticulous planning.

First, let Zi Qiu insist that she was coerced by Li Dongchen and forced to do the shameful thing. Regardless of whether the reason is reliable or not, there is no evidence other than the parties involved. At that time, whether Li Dongchen admits it or not, he will be blamed for being immoral.

Secondly, the Marshal's Mansion issued a statement that the parties to the engagement were Li Dongchen and Zhang Ziqiu. In any case, the engagement back then was just a formality between the two families and friends, and was not publicized to the outside world. Although it was a bit abrupt to say that it was Li Dongchen, it was still acceptable. Most importantly, it was a way for both families to save face!

The commander-in-chief certainly wouldn't let others smear his reputation; the Zhang family's situation is troublesome no matter how they handle it.

After changing their fiancée, the rumors are meaningless. Even if witnesses saw them having an affair, they were just an engaged couple who hadn't seen each other for years and couldn't help themselves. Who was it to them?

In this way, the second young master's initiative in backing down and offering advice to avoid bringing shame to both families makes him appear as a sensible and good child in the commander's eyes, and also earns him some goodwill...

"Second Master, please rest assured, I will go back and deal with Ziqiu right away. Even if I have to beat her into a fool or poison her into a mute, I will make sure that the secret rendezvous was something that the eldest brother forced me to do." Zhang Mingyuan knelt down again and said solemnly, "Thank you, Second Master, for protecting the Zhang family, which consists of more than a dozen people. From now on, I, Zhang Mingyuan, will be loyal to you to the death!"

Jiang Chen helped him up and instructed him, "Remember to discuss with your parents that once the wedding is over, you should find an excuse to move the whole family to the south. The eldest brother is ruthless and was forced to marry Ziqiu under false pretenses; he might find an opportunity to make things difficult for you."

"I understand!" Zhang Mingyuan thanked him repeatedly, then hurriedly spurred his horse home.

Jiang Chen also mounted his horse and returned to the marshal's mansion as quickly as possible. He had to persuade the stubborn old man to make the marriage happen, otherwise the drama would be even more exciting!

It was already 11 p.m.

The Marshal's Mansion was already immersed in the peaceful slumber of the night, with even the lights dimmed, leaving only the red lanterns in the corridors swaying slightly in the autumn wind.

"Hissing sound~"

Jiang Chen's handsome steed neighed loudly as it stopped at the side door. He leaped down with his long legs, tossed the whip, reins, and the cloak he had casually taken off to the night watchman, and strode into the room, heading straight for the back hall along the corridor.

"Second Young Master, the Commander has gone to bed." As soon as you enter the courtyard of the most favored Thirteenth Concubine, a night watchwoman comes up to stop you. "The Commander doesn't seem to be in a good mood today. You'd better not disturb his rest, or you'll get scolded again!"

Jiang Chen casually tossed a silver dollar to the old woman and shouted, "I have urgent business with my father, I don't have time to argue with you. Father! Father, something terrible has happened!"

Shouting, he recklessly rushed into the living room.

Li Tianxing and his thirteenth concubine, who were fast asleep, were suddenly awakened and startled.

"Oh dear, what happened?" The thirteenth concubine, who had entered the manor the latest and was the youngest, was about the same age as Jiang Chen. After waking up, she huddled under the covers and said in a coquettish voice, "General, I'm so scared!"

Li Tianxing, already annoyed at being woken up, muttered, "What's there to be afraid of? Women are just a hassle."

As he spoke, he raised his voice and shouted, "Is that Dong Chen or Jiang Chen outside? What happened that makes you have to come here so late at night to make a scene? Have the bandits invaded the city or has Qin Laoxi sent troops?"

"No, none of that!" Jiang Chen stamped his foot and replied, "Get up quickly, something terrible has happened! This concerns the reputation of our Marshal's Mansion, Father, you have to stand up for me!"

The fluffy ball on the roof had already jumped onto its host's shoulder and was quietly reporting its situation.

Upon hearing this, Li Tianxing's face immediately fell, and he muttered under his breath, "Damn it, he must have had another fight with the eldest son. What sins did I commit in my past life to end up with two sons like these!"

As he grabbed his coat and draped it over himself, he glared at the thirteenth concubine with annoyance. "Young, strong, slim-waisted, and big-hipped, why are you so useless for not giving me a few more good sons?"

Thirteenth Concubine frowned, looking aggrieved, and watched the Marshal leave, cursing all the while.

"What's wrong? You're keeping me up all night. If you bother me with trivial matters, I'll skin you alive!" Li Tianxing sat in the living room, annoyed. The old woman on night watch was busy lighting lamps and serving tea.

Jiang Chen's face was filled with grief and indignation, her lips trembling. "Father, do you know what's being said outside? It's all over Yucheng! Li Dongchen raped Zhang Ziqiu, he... he slept with her at the Zhang family's villa!"

"Dangdang!"

Li Tianxing dropped the tea he had just picked up, his face twitching as he gritted his teeth and said, "How dare they! Now even Tom, Dick, and Harry dare to slander the Marshal's Mansion, throwing this mudslinging at our head. I'll have Lieutenant Li investigate this thoroughly..."

"Investigate my ass!" Jiang Chen interrupted him angrily. "Someone saw what happened between them at Qiushui Pavilion."

Damn, he even knew exactly what color Li Dongchen's underwear was and what flowers were embroidered on it; he described exactly how he left the teahouse, which boat he took to the other side, how he entered the villa, and how he took off his clothes. It was all so detailed and accurate that it was definitely not fake!

"Father, that's my wife who's marrying me in two months! That Li Dongchen is going too far!"

As he spoke, he suddenly frowned as if he had remembered something, looking at the other person with suspicion, and said in a deep voice, "No wonder you suddenly said this afternoon that you wanted to break off the engagement with me, and even said that you wanted to marry a virtuous and decent woman. Did you already know all along?!"

Li Tianxing, still groggy from just waking up, was shocked to hear that the news had spread throughout Yucheng. He was filled with doubt and wondered who had leaked the information, someone who was deliberately trying to annoy the Marshal's Mansion...

When suddenly asked the question, he couldn't hide the fact that he was momentarily stunned.

Jiang Chen seized the opportunity, ripped off his hat, threw it on the ground, and roared, "You biased old geezer! You knew they were having an affair and kept it from me! I'm going to shoot Li Dongchen! He even dared to rape my woman, he's got a death wish!"

Seeing his enraged youngest son about to rush out, Li Tianxing immediately slammed his hand on the table and said sternly, "Stop right there! You haven't even finished speaking and you're already threatening to hit or kill someone. How old are you? When are you going to control your temper?"

"I don't care, I need an explanation for this. Li Dongchen has been spending money like water abroad for the past few years. I've worked hard to manage our family's various businesses to earn money for him to spend, working tirelessly and bearing the bad reputation of Li Yexiao."

He came back and raped my fiancée, cheating on me! I absolutely won't swallow this!

"She's just a woman, why are you so anxious about her? You're pathetic."

"Father, am I angry about a woman? How can a man be held back by a woman? I'm angry that Li Dongchen did such a rebellious thing, insulting my woman, ruining my marriage, and leaving us a laughing stock in the eyes of the people of Yucheng!"

Think about it, how will others view our family after this gets out?

What do you think of the two brothers in the Li family?

The situation is already turbulent; if our headquarters becomes a laughingstock, where will our family's face be? How can we maintain our authority and lead troops into battle in the future?

Li Tianxing opened his mouth but didn't say anything, only sulking and cursing the guy who spread the news countless times in his heart.

Originally, they could have simply called off the engagement, and after a while, they could have found some excuse to have the Zhang family members drowned in the river, and the matter would have been forgotten. Who would have thought that such a thing would happen before they even called off the engagement?

After a moment of silence, Jiang Chen, sitting in a Chinese-style chair with his head down, spoke softly: "This marriage cannot be called off, otherwise it will confirm the rumors. We must consider the big picture now and find a way to minimize the impact of the rumors on the Marshal's Mansion. We might even be able to use the rumors to our advantage."

To his utter surprise, it was his youngest son who, when faced with a problem, was able to calmly sit down and discuss solutions with him, showing great understanding and considering the big picture. Li Tianxing was filled with a mix of emotions, including guilt and relief.

The guilt stemmed from the fact that over the past twenty years, he had disliked him and always favored his eldest son while neglecting this child who had grown up without a mother.

The relief stemmed from the fact that Jiang Chen was decisive and had his own ideas when it came to matters of principle, which is what a man who is capable of great things should be like.

Tell me what you're thinking?

"When I first heard the news, I was furious." Jiang Chen sneered, "I was just thinking of coming back to ask you to take charge and make Li Dongchen explain things to me! But... you knew all along and didn't tell me!"

The deed is done, there's no point in shooting Li Dongchen now.

Instead, we should think about how to prevent the Marshal's Mansion from being disgraced and silence the rumors circulating outside.

First of all, I thought that I couldn't call off the engagement, nor could I make a move against the Zhang family at this critical juncture. Any action that even slightly raised suspicions would completely confirm the future relationship between the brother-in-law and sister-in-law...

Now that we're in a dilemma, why not try a different strategy? Isn't Li Dongchen determined to get my woman even if it means forcing himself on her?

Then I'll be magnanimous one more time and let them be together!

Anyway, when Li Dongchen left for the ocean, there were rumors that he had abandoned Zhang Ziqiu after starting a relationship with her, which led to my marriage proposal to quell the rumors.

Today he has done such a rebellious thing again, so we might as well go with the flow and grant his wish.

Tomorrow morning, the Marshal's Mansion will send out a wedding invitation to explain the reason.

It was only said that an auspicious date and time had been chosen for their engagement years ago, but the eldest son of the Marshal's Mansion was busy with his studies and could not stay long, so I had to take his place to complete the ceremony. In reality, the engagement was between Li Dongchen and Zhang Ziqiu. Now that he has returned from his studies, he has had someone calculate an auspicious date and time again, and the two of them will soon get married, and the lovers will finally be united.

Anyway, the engagement was witnessed by only our two families. I only learned from rumors that I attended the engagement ceremony. These days, it's not uncommon for the younger sister to stand in for the older sister when she's not feeling well, so we didn't overstep any boundaries.

In this way, no matter what outsiders say, it's still a private matter between an engaged couple, so who does it bother?

The Zhang family has already suffered an undeserved disaster. We can't let Li Dongchen's rape of a woman implicate their family members, can we? That would make our Marshal's Mansion seem too domineering and unreasonable. After the wedding, we'll find a reason to make them leave this place so they won't have to see us anymore.

Zhang Ziqiu hasn't done anything outrageous over the years. Once she enters the Marshal's mansion, we can send a few old women to keep an eye on her. If anything goes wrong, wouldn't it be cleaner to divorce her and carry her out?

Incidentally, our headquarters can also take this opportunity to make a move—claiming we'll hold those who spread rumors accountable and punish them severely. Wouldn't that be a perfect excuse when we need to send troops?

Chapter Fifteen: Easily Resolving the Crisis...

"You little rascal, tell me honestly, did Zhang Mingyuan teach you to say that?" Li Tianxing's eyes lit up after hearing this, and he looked at Tie Hanhan's youngest son with disbelief, unable to believe that he could come up with such an unconventional and effective method.

Jiang Chen waved his hand smugly, unable to hide his smugness, and said, "Do I need his advice?"

Zhang Mingyuan has worked hard by my side all these years, and I have indeed learned a lot of cultural knowledge from him. But this matter concerns the Zhang family, so I have no way to listen to his nonsense.

Once this storm has passed and things have calmed down, we can just fabricate a mistake and throw him into the military to completely eliminate the potential threat.

This is a trick I just came up with. Did you think I came here to put on a show and yell at you? Anyone would swallow this insult, but as the young master of the Marshal's Mansion, I naturally have to put our family's honor first, so I'll just bear with it for now.

The Marshal's Mansion will not be criticized for this; and the Li brothers appear to have no estrangement to outsiders.

Most importantly—we can also use this opportunity to shift the blame for all the rumors and gossip detrimental to the Marshal's Mansion onto others, giving us a perfect reason to launch a military campaign and annex other forces once we are fully prepared!

Li Tianxing slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed, "Good! My dear son, I was very angry when I heard the news today. But after all, it concerns the reputation of our Marshal's Mansion. Besides, I've seen how you treat Zhang Ziqiu all this time, and I'm worried that you won't be able to let go of her."

Since you've come to this understanding, that's a great idea. Don't worry, you've suffered a great injustice in this matter, and Dad will definitely make it up to you in the future!

Starting tomorrow, you will be in charge of our family's money shop. The head manager said you've done a great job, so keep up the good work and don't get arrogant.

"Congratulations, host! The task that's been running for half a day is finally complete!" The fluffy ball excitedly licked its paws. Actually, it had a lot of questions but didn't know where to start. The poor CPU was almost burned out, but it still couldn't figure out what kind of messy things were involved.

However, the best host is one who can successfully complete the mission. I'm more suited to eating, drinking, and waiting to win without lifting a finger, so I won't make things difficult for that cute little brain of mine...

Meanwhile, Zhang's parents, who had been awakened in the middle of the night, sat in the hall, their faces pale with anger and their hands and feet cold.

"Qiu'er, what your brother said... is it true?!" Suppressing his anger, Zhang's father turned his questioning gaze to his daughter, whom he had always pampered. "You...you really are with Li Dongchen..."

Zhang Ziqiu, half asleep and dragged out of her warm bed, listened to her brother's story, feeling guilty and scared.

After thinking it over, she realized that the only person who could know such detailed information and be dissatisfied with her behavior was her maid, Xiu'er. Enraged, Zhang Ziqiu lunged at the unsuspecting Xiu'er and slapped her twice across the face. "You vile wretch! You must have told everyone! I'll beat you to death! I'll beat you to death, you slut!"

"Snapped!"

Having long been unable to tolerate it any longer, Zhang Mingyuan saw that she showed no remorse and even blamed others. Enraged, he stepped forward and slapped Zhang Ziqiu hard across the face, knocking her to the ground. He angrily cursed, "You did something shameless and immoral, and you still have the nerve to complain about the maid? Did she encourage you to undress and sleep with Li Dongchen?"

Do you realize that your actions have brought about the annihilation of the Zhang family?!

"Zhang Ziqiu, do you realize this involves the two young masters of the Marshal's Mansion and the Li family? A single word from them could mean the end of our entire family of over a dozen people! What kind of bewitching potion has Li Dongchen given you? Isn't the second young master good enough to you? How can you shamelessly seduce your future brother-in-law like this!"

"I don't love Li Jiangchen!" Zhang Ziqiu sobbed, covering her swollen face. "I love Dongchen. You all blame me, but who knows the pain in my heart? The thought of marrying Li Jiangchen makes me so sad I want to die..."

"Then don't agree to marry me! Go die and don't drag others down with you!" Zhang Mingyuan roared angrily. "Now the whole city of Yucheng, even the boatmen know what pattern your undergarment is, and even the girls in the brothels are copying you. Zhang Ziqiu, how did you grow up to look like this? You are a sinner of the Zhang family!"

Zhang's mother never imagined that the daughter she had personally taught would do such a shameless thing behind her back. She was so angry that she couldn't speak and almost fainted.

Mr. Zhang was a shrewd businessman, and he did indeed secretly bribe people to boast about his daughter's beauty in an attempt to find her a good husband. When the second young master of the Li family came to propose marriage, he was very happy, feeling that his years of efforts had finally paid off.

If she can successfully marry into the Marshal's mansion, the Zhang family will naturally rise to a higher level.

But he never imagined that his daughter would be so shameless, so disregarding her own reputation, and even two-timing with the two young masters of the Li family. Now, instead of getting away with it, he's facing a terrible predicament. What should he do?

“Yuan’er, you’ve been by the Second Young Master’s side for years. Given his personality, shouldn’t you…? Should we run away quickly, pack our valuables, and get as far away as possible?” Zhang’s father asked tentatively.

Before Zhang Mingyuan could reply, Zhang's mother shook her head weakly, her whole body trembling, "Where can we run to in the dead of night? Yucheng and the surrounding area for miles are all the warlord's territory. With one order, the soldiers will be mobilized and we will have nowhere to escape! Ziqiu, Ziqiu, you have really ruined the whole family!"

Xiuer covered her face and sobbed, "Master, Madam, I couldn't persuade Miss to reject Li Dongchen. She said I didn't understand her love and wouldn't listen to advice, so I also bear some responsibility for the disaster that has befallen us."

I lost my mother when I was young, and my father was addicted to opium and gambling. When he couldn't pay his debts, he sold me. The slave trader always beat and scolded me and didn't let me eat my fill. It wasn't until I entered the Zhang family that the master and mistress treated me like a human being and never lacked food or clothing.