After hearing his words, Shen Zhixiu closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, there was a coldness in his eyes.

When he spoke, his voice was cold.

"Chen Zhao, during the time I was away, you turned the house upside down."

"I've been busy with disaster relief these days and haven't had time to ask about your affairs. But you don't know how to restrain yourself and are becoming even more outrageous."

"Since you don't want to go to Bingmasi Prison, then forget it."

A look of surprise appeared on Shen Zhao's face, and he thought that his uncle still loved him.

Then Shen Zhixiu continued, "What happened last time at Huguo Temple plus what happened today... Wenzhu, tell someone to take the eldest young master back and give him fifty lashes. He is not allowed to have any private affairs."

Su Qingyu raised her eyebrows slightly. Fifty strokes of the cane? I'm afraid he'll lose half his life.

Shen Zhao was also stunned and knelt down to beg for mercy, "Third Uncle, I know I was wrong, please spare my life."

Wen Zhu went out and called a few people in, explaining the situation. A short while later, the soldiers from the military headquarters and Shen Zhao were taken away.

Shen Zhixiu had something to ask Su Qingyu, so he said, "All of you go out."

Manju looked at Su Qingyu, and when she nodded slightly, she and Wenzhu retreated together.

Su Qingyu was thinking about Su Shunci, but looking at Shen Zhixiu's expression, it seemed that he had something to say.

After a moment's thought, she guessed what he was going to say and decided to speak herself.

"I'll have someone send the betrothal gifts back tomorrow."

"We'll get married as planned, are you willing?"

The two spoke almost at the same time.

Su Qingyu was stunned. She thought he was here to put an end to the matter. Afraid that he would be embarrassed to speak up, she took the initiative to talk about the betrothal gift as a starting point to put an end to the matter.

Besides, she and Shen Zhao had been entangled again and again in front of him, and she guessed that he also wanted to cancel the engagement.

So what did he mean now? Getting married as scheduled? Su Qingyu was a little confused for a moment.

"We have already called off the engagement, so we can't get married as scheduled, right?" Su Qingyu asked in a low voice.

Shen Zhixiu was silent for a moment, then said, "We can still decide again if we cancel the engagement. Besides, the document of canceling the engagement was forged by them, so it doesn't count."

If he saw it correctly, when Su Qingyu mentioned breaking off the engagement, her tone was obviously light, which made Shen Zhixiu's heart sink unconsciously.

He still spoke gently and calmly, but Su Qingyu could easily hear the coldness in his words.

He is angry.

Although he looked no different from before, Su Qingyu could feel that he was angry.

Su Qingyu was confused. Could it be because of what happened between her and Shen Zhao? But why was he angry? It was the Shen family who broke off the engagement and caused the trouble.

"Whether it counts or not is not up to Third Master to decide. The document of breaking off the engagement has the seal of the Shen family. If it is fake, it can only mean that Third Master is not strict in managing the family."

"You've seen it too. The eldest young master of the Shen family has been pestering me time and again. If I marry into the Shen family, I'm afraid there will be unrest in the harem. By then, you'll be protecting your own children, and won't the blame fall on me?"

Her voice was also a little cold, and she didn't give Shen Zhixiu any face at all.

In fact, she had been thinking about this question since the moment Shen Zhixiu returned to Beijing.

Now that things have gotten so bad between her and Shen Zhao, she is no longer suitable to marry into the Shen family.

Over time, gossip will always spread, and when that happens, a rift will arise between the couple, and they will probably not be able to live a peaceful life.

Most importantly, she wasn't ready to marry a living person. She had imagined the rest of her life without Shen Zhixiu, or even a man.

Shen Zhixiu only said two words, "No."

Su Qingyu was stunned and looked at him in confusion.

Shen Zhixiu then spoke again, "I'll take care of this matter. You don't need to worry too much. The previously arranged marriage cannot be changed rashly. Do you have any other reasons for wanting to cancel the engagement?"

Seeing that he was serious, Su Qingyu answered sincerely, "I thought you were dead before, and I was ready to marry a dead person. But you suddenly came back to life, and it was a little difficult for me to adapt for a while."

Shen Zhixiu: ...

In her heart, he is better dead than alive?

Or was it really because of Shen Zhao that she agreed to marry him, even though he was already dead? She broke off the engagement with Shen Zhao out of anger, but because she was reluctant to let him go, she wanted to marry into the Shen family again.

Then marrying the deceased Third Master Shen is indeed the best choice.

Thinking of this, Shen Zhixiu felt a chill in his heart.

He also remembered what he had said to Madam Shen before: if she didn't want to, then forget it; this kind of thing couldn't be forced.

In that case, let’s call off the marriage.

When he spoke again, his words became, "Both living and dying have their own advantages and disadvantages for you." He then said jokingly, "It's impossible for me to live without any benefits, right?"

He still couldn't say that sentence after all.

The corners of Su Qingyu's lips couldn't help but twitch twice. Why did it seem like she wished he would die?

But what he said shook her heart.

Considering how snobbish the Su family is, they probably won't let her stay unmarried.

Shen Zhao was right when he said that no wealthy family in the capital dared to marry someone whose engagement had been rejected twice by the Shen family.

At that time, the Su family will have to settle for the second best and marry her to a merchant family or let her be someone's concubine. In short, they will find ways to maximize their benefits.

Instead of having to deal with her family all the time about marriage, it would be better to marry Shen Zhixiu.

At least she didn't dislike this person.

Another point is that she is very familiar with the Shen family, and Mrs. Shen is kind-hearted. Shen Zhixiu's energy is all in the court, and she just needs to treat him with respect and be a qualified third wife of the Shen family.

After weighing the pros and cons, Su Qingyu's mind became much clearer.

She wondered if there were any other aspects to consider in this matter, but when she turned to look out the window, her brows suddenly furrowed.

She stood up and moved closer to the window. The two people getting into a carriage on the roadside were Gu Ruoyun and Zhou Buren, the owner of Zhou's Trading Company. Were they in the same carriage?

Seeing the two people riding away in the carriage, Su Qingyu shouted outside in a deep voice: "Manju, go downstairs and follow the carriage with green curtains. It's my cousin's wife and Boss Zhou. Go see where they went and what they did."

Seeing this, Shen Zhixiu said loudly, "Wenzhu, you go yourself." He then said to Su Qingyu, "Your maid should stay here to serve you. Wenzhu can handle the matter properly."

Su Qingyu could only nod and thank him, wondering whether to wait for Wenzhu to come back or go see Su Shunci first.

"Miss, the fourth young lady is fine now. The second young master sent someone to tell you not to worry, she just suffered some minor skin injuries." Agate suddenly said outside the door.

Su Qingyu breathed a sigh of relief, as long as her fourth sister was okay.

The waiter brought the dishes to the table one after another. Su Qingyu felt hungry just by smelling the braised pork elbow.

He reached out, picked up a piece of elbow meat and put it in his mouth, and a layer of oil instantly appeared at the corners of his lips.

After taking a bite of meat, she realized that she had not finished talking to Shen Zhixiu yet.

"Then find some time to tell both families and the marriage will go on as usual."

Shen Zhixiu was stunned. Did she agree?