Shen Xiaohai first heard about the Song family sending invitations to the Zhennan King's Mansion and the Li family while out drinking. Surprised, he gently pushed away the newly-arranged courtesan girl leaning in his arm. "They sent invitations to both the Zhennan King's Mansion and the Li family?"

  He wasn't so muddled as to confuse this Li family with the one recently disgraced and seized by the authorities. This was the family of Li Yu, the Shandong provincial governor. However, he couldn't understand why the Song family was inviting these two households. The pretext was a farewell banquet for a family member, but shouldn't that have involved someone from the Cui family?

  Then he remembered that he had exchanged verbal agreements and tokens with Song Yi, and there had been no follow-up from him since. Feeling uneasy, he stood up, grabbed his coat, and ordered someone to prepare his horse.

  Meanwhile, Lady He wished more than ever that the courtesans in Shen Xiaohai's courtyard could have kept him distracted a bit longer. Hearing that Shen Xiaohai had come in, she even dropped the green tangerine she was holding, its sharp thud on the white porcein pte reflecting her pale complexion. She exchanged a worried gnce with Shen Qingrang and Shen Huiyi sitting nearby.

  Shen Qingrang and Shen Huiyi were both equally anxious, standing awkwardly with their heads bowed, too frightened to say a word, looking like two shivering quails.

  Shen Xiaohai entered the room, ignoring his son and daughter as they nervously greeted him, and went straight to the main seat. He gnced at Lady He and immediately asked, "Has the Song family sent over any tokens?"

  In truth, he bmed himself for getting so easily distracted, letting himself get captivated by a young singer, even arranging for her to move in and spending half a month in foolish revelry. If he hadn't overheard the Song family's activities at the dinner table, he might not have remembered this matter at all—after all, in his eyes, the agreement with Song Yi was a done deal. He had even sent a token, and Song Yi was, after all, Sixth Miss Song's father. What could possibly go wrong?

  Hearing that the Song family had extended invitations to the Zhennan King's household and the Li family, he considered that they might be inviting mediators for a formal engagement discussion. With that, his mood brightened considerably as he rode back home.

  Lady He turned pale as she gnced at him and didn't speak for a moment. When Shen Xiaohai coughed impatiently, she snapped out of her stupor and hesitantly shook her head. "I tried to send someone to find you before... but they said they couldn't locate you... I never got a chance to tell you... Old Lady Song called me over a few days ago and explicitly stated that this arrangement wasn't going to happen..."

  Not going to happen?! How could it not happen? Shen Xiaohai's face darkened as he squinted at her. "Song Second Master accepted our token, so why is this suddenly off?"

  Lady He dared not reveal that her daughter had participated in a scheme against Song Chuyi, forcing herself to smile and reply, "From what Old Lady Song hinted, the Empress and the Eastern Pace sent much more valuable gifts to Sixth Miss Song than they did to other noble girls in the capital... suggesting they might have special pns. They don't dare to make such decisions lightly for her marriage now..."

  Excuses, just excuses! Did he not understand the Song family's mindset? Old Master Song was obviously trying to steer clear of the Eastern Pace, wanting to serve as a neutral minister without attachments. How could he willingly bind himself through his granddaughter's marriage?

  This was clearly a refusal to form an alliance with the Shen family!

  If the Song family was unwilling to ally with the Eastern Pace, and Song Chuyi's unfavorable fate was also an issue, then why hadn't they just gone along with this marriage arrangement... Shen Xiaohai clenched his fists, stewing with resentment.

  So the invitations sent to the Zhennan King's household and the Li family weren't for the purpose of arranging matchmakers??

  Shen Xiaohai sneered, the anger building up inside him until he nearly choked, pounding the table in frustration.

  Shen Huiyi and Shen Qingrang both jumped in fear, with Shen Huiyi even letting out a small gasp, unable to hide her nervousness.

  Lady He was also startled and quickly shot her daughter a warning gnce not to reveal anything incriminating. Bracing herself, she went over to support Shen Xiaohai, gently trying to calm him. "Since the Song family has set their sights higher, they must have found someone more suitable. We can calcute things, but so can they. Even if the Sixth Miss doesn't marry the Eastern Pace's Heir or Prince of the Commandery, there's still the Zhennan Prince's second son, isn't there? I've heard he's had a close retionship with Sixth Miss for some time, and the Princess of Zhennan has spoken highly of her on many occasions. They likely have an understanding."

  Shen Xiaohai refused to accept this, casting a scornful gnce at Shen Qingrang, who stood there with a worried look. "I told you to make an effort with Sixth Miss, so what exactly have you been doing? You spend your days gambling and carousing, neglecting serious matters. Just what do you think your future holds?"

  Shen Qingrang felt deeply uncomfortable. Though he feared being tainted by Sixth Miss Song's supposed bad fortune, and didn't truly care for her, being dismissed by someone who had once clung to him was hardly pleasant.

  He stood there silently, his head down.

  Shen Xiaohai tugged at his colr irritably and turned to Lady He. "And we didn't receive any invitation from the Song family?"

  Lady He shook her head honestly. "I've heard they only invited the Princess of Zhennan and Lady Li. It seems they truly intend for them to act as companions for the farewell. They had just made it clear that our verbal agreement didn't count, and perhaps they wanted to avoid awkwardness or suspicion by not inviting us."

  Shen Xiaohai's frustration only grew, and he scolded her, "What do you know?! The Song family has no intention of putting Song Chuyi in the Eastern Pace. So, if someone is going to get this rare prize, it might as well be us. She's a true gem!"

  Everyone knew she was a valuable match, but the question was whether they could even afford to handle such a "gem." Lady He sighed, "But from what Old Lady Song implied, they are dead set against it... I heard that Song Second Master has taken ill. Do you think he'll be able to overrule Old Lady Song?"

  "Find a way to make them agree, whether they want to or not!" Shen Xiaohai decred furiously. "Arrange for Song Second Master to meet me in a few days, and have him bring Sixth Miss Song along. If the two youngsters fancy each other, let's see how the Song family can refuse!"

  Shen Qingrang gnced timidly at his father, shivering slightly.