The commotion on the street was quickly quelled, and the servants brought another horse. Song Hengchuan flipped over it, glanced back at the men carrying the betrothal gifts, and said with a grim face, "Hurry up, don't delay the time."
Urged on by Song Hengchuan, the betrothal procession set off again half an hour later.
The wedding procession also set off.
The two teams passed each other by.
By the time they arrived at the Shen family's gate, they were already a full hour late. Minister Shen and his wife were sitting in the high hall, waiting for news from Song Hengchuan, and their expressions were gradually turning grim.
"Here he comes, sir, Young Master Song has arrived."
As soon as he finished speaking, Song Hengchuan arrived and explained, "Father-in-law, I was delayed on the way. I apologize."
Seeing his sincere explanation, Minister Shen did not make things difficult for him. He gave Madam Shen a wink, and Madam Shen smiled slightly and smoothed things over, saying, "We are family, there is no need for apologies."
Next came the formalities. Song Hengchuan swore to the two that he would treat Shen Ruyun well, and the matchmaker then asked Song Hengchuan to hand over the betrothal gift list.
Madam Shen took the document and glanced at it. Her attitude immediately changed: "Since the Duke of Jing's mansion values this so much, there's no need to say anything more. Go and see Yun'er. She's waiting for you in the backyard."
"Yes." Song Hengchuan respectfully bowed and withdrew.
When they arrived at the back garden, they found Shen Ruyun already waiting for them. Upon seeing Song Hengchuan, Shen Ruyun showed a shy expression.
"Like a rhyme".
Shen Ruyun nodded, staring at Song Hengchuan with her big, watery eyes, full of joy. But before she could say more than a few words, a maidservant hurriedly came to Shen Ruyun's side and whispered a few words. Shen Ruyun's expression changed instantly.
"How is this possible?" Shen Ruyun said in disbelief.
Song Hengchuan hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"
Shen Ruyun raised her head and carefully examined Song Hengchuan. It was too early to conclude that this was his fault. Shen Ruyun said, "Let's go to the front hall first."
Seeing that she was unlikely to tell, Song Hengchuan's eyelids twitched, and he suddenly had a bad feeling, so he quickly followed her back to the hall.
Madam Shen, who had just been smiling at him, now had a gloomy face, and all the betrothal gifts that had been brought in earlier had been opened.
He frowned.
"Yun'er, why are you out here?" Madam Shen winked at Shen Ruyun: "This is none of your business, you should leave."
"Mother, I also want to know what happened." Shen Ruyun stood beside Madam Shen and refused to leave.
After thinking it over, Madam Shen figured that since it was a betrothal gift for Shen Ruyun, there was no harm in her being there and listening in, so she agreed to let her stay.
"Mother-in-law, what exactly is going on?" Song Hengchuan wondered if the Shen family was being unreasonable, thinking the dowry was too small and deliberately causing trouble.
Madam Shen cleared her throat and said, "You two are not officially married yet, so please address me as Madam Shen, Young Master Song."
She changed the subject, pointing to the boxes displayed in the hall: "Are these all betrothal gifts personally prepared by Young Master Song?"
Song Hengchuan was offended by Madam Shen's words, and his face showed a hint of displeasure, but he restrained himself out of consideration for the occasion. He nodded and said, "Yes."
Madam Shen laughed angrily: "According to the rules, these betrothal gifts should be recounted and put back into the warehouse, and then sent back to the Duke of Jingguo's mansion as part of the dowry in a few days. But your Duke of Jingguo's mansion is too insincere, actually using counterfeit goods to pass off as the real thing!"
"Impossible!" Song Hengchuan denied it outright, angrily saying, "Madam Shen, how could I, the eldest son of the Duke of Jingguo's mansion, marry Ruyun with a fake?"
Seeing that his anger seemed genuine, and knowing that Yuan Fuling was the one in control of the Jingguo Duke's mansion, Madam Shen became more cautious. She pointed to one of the boxes and said, "Go and see for yourself!"
Upon hearing this, Song Hengchuan strode to the box, bent down to examine it, picked up a celadon porcelain piece, examined it carefully, and then his face darkened. He went to another box, picked up a calligraphy and painting by a famous person, and found that the handwriting on it was all wrong.
You don't even need to look closely; you can tell it's fake at a glance.
"How... how is this possible?" Song Hengchuan was dumbfounded.
He couldn't understand why all of these were counterfeit.
“Young Master Song, the Shen family opened the box in full view of everyone. There is absolutely no possibility of switching it. In my opinion, let’s call it off today.” Madam Shen ordered the box to be locked and then carried back.
Song Hengchuan was so embarrassed that he turned around and left without even saying goodbye.
This was the first time Madam Shen had expressed dissatisfaction with Song Hengchuan.
“Mother, he seems unaware of the situation. Could he have been set up by someone?” Shen Ruyun asked.
Madam Shen frowned, her own anger barely contained. She turned to Minister Shen: "My lord, this matter..."
Minister Shen snorted coldly; "What's the rush? Wait for the Duke of Jing's mansion to come and apologize."
Since the Duke of Jingguo dared to trample on the Shen family's reputation, he has no reason not to turn ruthless.
...
Prince Jing's Mansion
Song Hengchuan carried the betrothal gifts back all the way, and many passersby were curious and stared at him. Song Hengchuan felt that he had never been so humiliated in his life.
We went directly to Ninghui Hall.
When the old lady saw Song Hengchuan return, she quickly asked, "I heard you had a rough journey. Are you alright?"
"Grandmother, the Shen family has returned the betrothal gifts." Song Hengchuan's eyes were red with anger, his fists clenched tightly: "When Madam Shen was counting the betrothal gifts, she found that most of them were counterfeit goods!"
"What?" The old lady's mind went blank.
Song Hengchuan continued, "Under the watchful eyes of everyone, I personally inspected it and confirmed that it was indeed a low-quality counterfeit."
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