Zi Qiao nodded stiffly, "It was the young prince who tore it off himself, otherwise how could we servants dare to..."
"And what about him now?"
"Now... of course I left early." Zi Qiao's smile was somewhat forced.
Wei Shuwan noticed the slightly strange expressions on the two maids' faces, but said nothing more and went straight to Zhaoshui Hall.
Although the Wei family members were exhausted after four days, they returned to the mansion in two separate carriages. They had to exchange greetings in the front hall before going back to their rooms. After arriving at Zhaoshui Hall late, Wei Shu asked Ziqiao and Miaoxiang to go back to Fuquxuan to prepare hot water so that she could take a bath when she returned later. Then she sat on a chair and waited for the rest of the Wei family to arrive.
Before long, the Wei family members gathered in Zhaoshui Hall. Wei Wenshi, who arrived last, hesitated for a moment when she sat down. It seemed that she also felt that after saying those words in the hall, it would be a bit embarrassing to return to the second branch of the family now, let alone sit back in the main seat.
Wei Zheng was filial; he got up and personally helped Wei Wen Shi over, thus resolving the awkward situation.
When Wei Zheng sat back down, his face was heavy, and his voice was muffled and suppressed when he spoke:
“These past few days, everyone has been implicated because of my matter, and I feel deeply guilty…”
Seeing that he had stopped, Lady Wei Wen advised him, "This matter is an undeserved disaster for the Wei family. You were framed by evil people, so you can't be blamed."
Wei Hai quickly chimed in, "Mother is absolutely right. A family should share both good times and bad. Second brother, you shouldn't blame yourself anymore."
Meng seemed to have suddenly realized something and followed up, "Yes, to be honest, our eldest branch has also done something wrong. Why don't we just let this matter go and stop blaming each other?"
After saying this, Madam Meng glanced guiltily between Wei Zheng and Sun Lurong, her words clearly harboring ulterior motives.
Although the three of them have been released, Wei Chengxu is still in prison and his fate is uncertain. Since Wei Shuwan has inexplicably climbed up to the high branch of the Prince of Qiaochuan, she naturally cannot confront him head-on again. It would be better to find a way to ease the relationship and gain his understanding.
Hearing her grandmother and uncle and aunt's sweet words, Wei Shuwan felt disdain. The heartless words spoken in the hall were still ringing in her ears, and the already weak family affection between the two rooms had long since disappeared.
If her father, mindful of her grandmother's kindness in raising her, wanted her to stay in Shengjing to enjoy her later years, she would have no objection. But if he also intended to take in the three members of the eldest branch of the family, she would definitely not agree. Even at the cost of a falling out with her father, she was determined to drive the three members of the eldest branch of the family out of the Wei family this time.
Wei Shuwan was pondering how to persuade her father when her father, who had been silent for a long time, continued speaking:
"Since I am in officialdom, I may not be able to avoid such things in the future. It is a good thing that my elder brother and sister-in-law publicly distanced themselves from our second branch of the family in the hall. At least we will not be implicated by the second branch of the family in the future."
Wei Shuwan was slightly surprised. She looked at her father and understood the meaning of his words perfectly. It seemed that her father was not as stubborn as she had thought.
Originally, Lady Wei Wen and her husband, the eldest son, intended to let the matter drop, but Wei Zheng brought it up anyway, making Lady Wei Wen and her husband lose face. Even Wei Shuyao sat there with her head down, not saying a word, as if she felt inferior from now on.
Although she had relied on the second branch of the family in the past, Wei Shuyao never thought of being inferior to Wei Shuwan. After all, Wei Shuwan's family had no blood relation to the Wei family, but they grew up eating the Wei family's rice. Therefore, no matter how good the second branch of the family was to the Wei family, it could only be considered as repaying a debt of gratitude.
But when the grandmother publicly severed ties with the second wife and then came to visit, the feeling was completely different.
Seeing that she couldn't get away with it by being vague, Madam Meng subtly nudged her husband, hoping that Wei Hai could mediate and smooth things over. After all, she had already done the worst when the Wei family was in trouble, and it wouldn't be good for her to bring up the issue now.
Wei Hai understood, and had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Second brother, are you blaming us for what we said in court today? But that was just a temporary measure. If all of us in the Wei family were locked up in those cells, who would sincerely try to find a solution?"
"Brother, you have a wide network of connections. Thank you for your trouble."
Sun Lurong's casual remark left Wei Hai feeling quite embarrassed. After all, everyone knew that their eldest branch had come to Shengjing completely clueless, and apart from their second brother Wei Zheng, they had no one else to rely on. No, it should be said that they didn't even know anyone else, yet they insisted on showing off.
Wei Hai was speechless, while Meng Shi was furious and about to interject, but was stopped by a sharp look from Wei Wen Shi:
"Alright, everyone has suffered these past few days and it's understandable that you're feeling down. In my opinion, there's no need to argue about it as soon as you get back. Why don't you go back, wash up, and get some rest? Even if it's a big deal, we can talk about it tomorrow when we're more refreshed."
Lady Wei paused briefly, then turned to look at Wei Zheng: "Second son, what do you say?"
Wei Zheng would not disobey Wei Wenshi. Although he had considered asking the eldest branch of the family to leave, Wei Wenshi had raised him, and no one could change that.
Therefore, Wei Zheng echoed, "Mother is right. Let's all go back and rest for the night first."
The meeting at Zhaoshuitang ended, and Wei Shuwan was in a good mood when she came out. She said to Sun Lurong with satisfaction, "Mother, it seems that Father has finally seen the light this time."
"We've already said all that today. No matter how filial your father is, he won't treat your grandmother the same way he used to, let alone the eldest sons. But since your father has already made up his mind, you shouldn't get involved anymore. Let him handle it slowly."
Wei Shuwan nodded vigorously, "Yes, we've lived under the same roof for over ten years, so what's ten or fifteen days?"
"Alright, you should go back and take a bath too. Zi Qiao should burn your dirty clothes to clean them up, don't keep them."
"Wanwan understands."
On the way back to Fuquxuan, Wei Shuwan walked briskly, but when she arrived at the gate of the courtyard, she deliberately slowed down.
She wrapped her light jacket tighter around herself, covering her dirty clothes completely, and straightened her hood so that not a single stray hair was visible. Finally, she took a deep breath and exhaled, then stepped into her small courtyard like a soldier going into battle.
The path paved with pebbles led all the way to the courtyard of Fuquxuan. Wei Shuwan stopped when she saw that increasingly familiar figure.
The man stood quietly in the moonlight, handsome and refined, as pure as a jade tree, seemingly blending into the elegant scenery around him.
Hearing the noise behind him, he slowly turned around. Moonlight fell on his eyebrows and eyelashes, making him look like a banished immortal covered with a layer of frost.
Li Qingchen's gaze swept over Wei Shuwan's face, and finding that she didn't seem too surprised, he couldn't help but smile slightly: "You knew I would be waiting for you here?"
Wei Shuwan answered frankly: "Zi Qiao is someone who can lie without batting an eye, but Miao Xiang is much more honest. I could tell from her guilty look that the young prince hadn't actually left."
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