Just then, a weak but angry voice rang out from outside the hall: "Madam of the Duke of Cheng'en!"
Chen froze, turned around, and almost screamed – Shang Yunlan was standing outside with several young men from the best families in Shengjing, and she didn’t know how much they had heard!
Among those young men, there were playboys and talented scholars, but without exception, they were all on good terms with merchants.
Shang Yunlan stared at Chen Shi and suddenly began to cough violently, as if she were about to cough up her lungs. The young men quickly helped Shang Yunlan up, while also looking at Chen Shi with reproachful eyes.
"Madam Cheng'en is truly going too far!" Shang Yunlan finally recovered and pointed angrily at Madam Chen, "Even though my parents have passed away, they both sacrificed their lives for the country! My Shang family is full of loyal martyrs, and even if we are down on our luck today, we will not allow anyone to trample on us!"
Chen stared at Shang Yunlan in disbelief. Suddenly remembering something, she quickly turned to look at Shang Shaoyan, only to find that the latter was no longer the shameless man he had been just moments before, but was now pale-faced and weeping uncontrollably!
She was about to explain when Shang Shaoyan choked up and said, "Brother, just now the Duchess of Cheng'en wanted to return the betrothal papers. I only asked a few questions about the reasons, and she did this... With Heyang being labeled like this, how will she ever get married again? It would be better if she went with Father and Mother!"
Upon hearing this, Shang Yunlan felt a pang of heartache. She dragged her weak body forward, her face filled with sorrow: "It's all because my brother is useless; he can't support the Duke's mansion..."
Chen: "..."
Seeing this, the two or three friends followed and comforted the brother and sister with words of comfort.
"Heyang, don't cry. From now on, we'll be your brothers too!" This was a very chivalrous young man. "We don't need the marriage proposal from the Duke of Chengen's mansion!"
"Yes, A-Lan and He-Yang, you have done very well," a gentle and polite young man reassured them. "With you here, the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion will always uphold its honor."
Shang Yunlan seemed to still be immersed in grief. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Shang Shaoyan pinched Shang Yunlan's hand hard, which brought Shang Yunlan back to her senses.
Watching the young men from the side, Madam Chen's face flushed with anger. She glared at the Shang siblings and said, "The young master is not in good health, so it's best not to worry about him! In any case, this marriage is off the table. I'll take my leave now."
Shang Shaoyan hadn't really cared about this marriage, but upon hearing this, he still wept again: "It's all because of Heyang; no wonder the Lady of Chengen..."
She was naturally beautiful, and the sight of a beautiful woman in tears always evokes pity; at that time, the separation of men and women was not strictly enforced, so the young men present were not in a hurry to leave and tried various ways to make Shang Shaoyan happy.
Looking at these once-glorious and powerful young men in their golden robes "entertaining their parents," Shang Yunlan felt the scene was too beautiful to bear.
It took the brother and sister quite a while to get rid of these young men. Shang Shaoyan's eyes lit up, and he called over his trusted maid and gave her some instructions.
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