"Furen, please think before acting. Even bengong has never seen this jade pendant. Furen shouldn''t make random guesses out of others'' one-sidedments to avoid wronging someone and falling into their trap." Yuan de taifei cut her off and spat coldly. People saw that she had a cold and murderous look in her eyes, as if she was battling in war,pletely different from her usual noble and proud image.


    Everyone feared this side of Yuan de taifei and even Wu furen could not help but tremble, not bothering to finish whatever she had started to say.


    But after Wu Qin Qin had suffered this kind of injustice for no reason, how could Wu furen just give up so easily? She thought quickly and searched in the crowd. When she saw Yun Qian Meng, she immediately voiced out, "Yun xiaojie, since entering wangfu, you had already been with Qin Qin. Tell us what happened! Why was Qin Qin med for the incident?"


    Qu Fei Qing burned with rage at Wu furen''s usation.


    What had she just said? She made it seem like Meng''er was sticking to that Wu Qin Qin. Did she not know that it was her daughter who was forcing herself onto them and following them everywhere? Now she acted so rudely to Meng''er, as if Meng''er owed something to the Wu Family.


    Yun Qian Meng patted Qu Fei Qing''s hand under the table to abate her anger, then calmly replied, "Please don''t panic, furen. Qian Meng also believes that Wu xiaojie is innocent. But Qian Meng just met Wu xiaojie today, and Wu xiaojie had left to go on her own in between. Even if you wanted Qian Meng to prove something, Qian Meng really couldn''t do anything. Why don''t we invite Wu xiaojie and Yuan Gongzi toe over to exin everything, so we don''t go ming others?"


    Compared to Wu furen''s rude questioning, Yun Qian Meng''s polite and kind reply was more eptable in everyone''s eyes, especially since it had been Wu Qin Qin who was in the wrong. Wu furen had not questioned her daughter but rather shifted her attention to Yun Qian Meng, who had nothing to do with this incident. Did she really think that everyone was easy to bully?


    "Yun xiaojie has always been intelligent. How could Yun xiaojie not understand the meaning?" suddenly, Hai Tian coldly spoke up. Her cold eyes stared at Yun Qian Meng as if she wanted to feast on her flesh and drink her blood.


    But Yun Qian Meng just answered with a smile, then stood up and replied, "Junzhu, even if Qian Meng is extremely clever, Qian Meng doesn''t possess Discerning Eyes* that could easily determine the truth without knowing anything about the situation. Qian Meng is just an ordinary person and cannot ept junzhu''s kind praise, please refrain from making fun of chennu."


    Afterwards, Yun Qian Meng went back to seat. The light smile on her face made Hai Tian feel that her words were actually sincere. Just when Hai Tian wanted to question her again, a mama rushed into the garden, knelt in front of Yuan de taifei and reported, "Taifei, Wu xiaojie has awoken."


    "Since that''s the case, then bring Wu xiaojie over. Jiang mama, bring Yuan gongzi over." Yuan de taifei coldly ordered.


    Wu furen was worried for her daughter and thus, asked for leave from Yuan de taifei, leaving the garden with the two mama. Now, the garden had regained it silence, it might be that everyone was preparing to see what would happen next.


    Although the verbal fights had stopped, the eyes of people were still restless and containedughter. Their intentions was clear. They were all curious as to how Wu Qin Qin had been able to conquer two men.


    The atmosphere grew strange and unfathomable. Although Yuan de taifei and Chen wang bore such cold expressions, they both remainedposed and did not lose their minds just because of the suddenness of the situation.


    Chu Fei Yang was drinking his wine as if nothing was happening, but his eyes would unnoticeably nced towards Yun Qian Meng from time to time. Obviously, he already knew of Yun Qian Meng''s ns.


    On the other hand, the people from Northern Qi put their eyes on what was going to happen next. Especially Qi Jing Han, who was already sticking his neck out towards the entrance, waiting for the two people to emerge.


    In just half a cup of tea''s time, Yuan Qing Zhou arrived first, brought in by Jiang mama. Right after he saw his aunt and cousin, Yuan Qing Zhou lowered his eyes in fear. Yuan de taifei did not give him the chance to speak and angrily shouted, "Kneel!"


    Shocked by Yuan de taifei''s suddenmand, Yuan Qing Zhou immediately knelt in front of them. Yuan de taifei pointed at Yuan Qing Zhou and scolded him, "Look at what you''ve done today! Wu xiaojie is an innocentdy from a prestigious family, but you have influenced her negatively! Why don''t you learn better things than those exchanging belongings with ady? What do you want to happen to Yuan Family''s reputation? Having done such an act of disgrace today, speak, what do you think we should do?"


    Yuan Qing Zhou felt injustice at being scolded by Yuan de taifei.


    He saw that it had been Yun Qian Meng who put the handkerchief on the table; thus, he took the opportunity when there no one else was around to secretly take it. He originally wanted to use it to show his love for Yun Qian Meng, but had not expected that the handkerchief was actually Wu Qin Qin''s.


    Up until this moment, Yuan Qing Zhou still had no idea what had gone wrong. Why did Yun Qian Meng''s belonging suddenly be Wu Qin Qin''s?


    He originally wanted to have Yun Qian Meng own up to it, but a while ago, both Ning Feng and Jiang mama separately told him to recognize his rtionship with Wu Qin Qin, so Yuan Qing Zhou had to hold back his bitterness. He could only lower his head and let Yuan de taifei scold him, and he still needed to apologize in the end, "It''s all nephew''s mistake! But nephew is really in love with Wu xiaojie. That''s why nephew gave her my favorite belonging. Please, gumu, please decide for nephew."


    "Decide? How can I decide? The only solution now is for you to marry Wu Qin Qin. There is no other way. Otherwise, even if bengong is a taifei, bengong still wouldn''t be able to justify to Wu Guo Gongfu. You idiot! You even need bengong to clean up the mess of your misbehavior! Reflect on this!" Yuan de taifei coldly said with a tone containing anger and resentment towards Yuan Qing Zhou for not meeting her expectations. But he was nevertheless a descendant of the Yuan Family. How could she let Wu Qin Qin ruin her nephew''s good fortune?


    "Gumu…" Yuan Qing Zhou thought that everything would be fine after he acknowledged his mistake. He had not expected that Yuan de taifei would force him to marry Wu Qin Qin. Thinking of Wu Qin Qin''s big and round face, he really did not have a good impression of her. Now, they even wanted him to marry her? Would that not mean that he needed to face that ordinary and boring face forever? That kind of life was not worth living.


    But Yuan de taifei already made her decision and she would not tolerate Yuan Qing Zhou questioning it. She immediately said, "Bengong will personally exin this matter tootaijun. You don''t need to say anything else. Get up."


    At that, Yuan de taifei looked away, refusing to meet Yuan Qing Zhou''s pleading gaze.


    At this time, Wu Qin Qin walked in, with the help of Wu furen and her yatou. Her face was as pale as paper and her weak body trembled unconsciously. There were still tears running down her face, which led people to right away assume that it was because she was ashamed to see everyone now that her secret affair with Yuan Qing Zhou had been revealed.


    Seeing Wu furen approaching, the coldness in Yuan de taifei''s face slowly faded as it changed into a smile. Especially when she saw Wu Qin Qin, she showed her a satisfied expression. Even before Wu furen could say anything, Yuan de taifei already made the first move, "Wu furen, Qing Zhou already told us a while ago about his love towards Wu xiaojie and expressed that he wanted to take Wu xiaojie as his main wife. If furen agrees, bengong will immediately enter the Pce and ask the Empress Dowager for a decree to make this marriage even more grand and honorable."


    The reason Wu furen and Wu Qin Qin had arrivedter was because the two of them were discussing solutions in the room. They had not expected that Yuan de taifei''s move was faster than theirs. She already made this decision by herself without waiting for them toe, nor giving them any chances of overthrowing the decision.


    But this matter also involved Wu Qin Qin''s reputation, so even if she would marry Yuan Qing Zhou, they still needed to find out who framed Wu Qin Qin. Otherwise, even if she became Yuan Qing Zhou''s wife, she would still carry the reputation of having secret affairs with someone and would be criticized her whole life.


    Wu Qin Qin seemed to be shocked and scared by Yuan de taifei''s decision. She almost fell to the ground while murmuring, "No, I don''t want to marry him…"


    Everyone knew that the Yuan Family''s Yuan Qing Zhou was a lecher. Almost none of thedies he fixed his eyes on were able to escape from him. As ady from a noble family, Wu Qin Qin naturally would not want to marry yboy like him, who had no sense of responsibility or ambition and only wanted to push himself onto women. It was very normal for her to have such reaction.


    The xiaojie who were originally enjoying the show and had shown enmity towards Wu Qin Qin now started to feel sorry for her misfortune after hearing Yuan de taifei''s decision. Although she was marrying into the grand and famous Yuan Family, she was actually entering a graveyard. Wu Qin Qin might have to suffer her whole life living with jealousy and mistreatment.


    But this was actually a good thing for them, who had yet to get engaged. After all, since Yuan de taifei had already said so, then Wu Qin Qin marrying Yuan Qing Zhou was final. They naturally had one less enemy, and an enemy who had a strong family background even, so they secretly rejoiced.


    Thus, all the xiaojie pitied Wu Qin Qin for her encounter, but also rejoiced over one less opponent.


    Wu furen had not anticipated that in her absence, Yuan de taifei had alreadye to this decision. Yuan Qing Zhou''s reputation as a yboy was known even by the children of the capital. Wu furen felt as if her heart had been sliced by a knife at the thought of her daughter marrying this kind of person.


    She originally thought that Chu xiang''s words would be a turning point, but Yuan de taifei had crushed her hopes without any consideration. But Wu Qin Qin''s reputation was already harmed in the public''s eyes, the only way to save her daughter now was to marry her to Yuan Qing Zhou.


    Thinking it over, Wu furen gnashed her teeth, but was still not able to think of another solution. She could only nod stiffly in spite of Wu Qin Qin''s pleading.


    Yuan de taifei was finally relieved. She then had Jiang mama help Wu Qin Qin sit beside her and said kindly, "You''re already someone who is about to be a bride, why are you still crying like this?"


    Looking at Yuan de taifei, who was wiping off her tears for her, Wu Qin Qin could not help but tremble as coldness sprang up from her body. She felt that the woman in front of her was really scary, she was not even able to say any words of rejection through her fear.


    Wu furen suddenly spoke, "Taifei, Qin Qin was framed! Please, taifei, find the suspect for Qin Qin!"


    Wu furen thought that this time, Yuan de taifei would back her daughter up. But her words unexpectedly gained her a cold re from Yuan de taifei as the cold voice resounded throughout the garden, "Wu xiaojie has always possessed upright conduct. If anyone dares to spread any rumors, they would be an enemy of Han Guo Gongfu and Chen wangfu!"


    Afterwards, Yuan de taifei ignored Wu furen, as she was annoyed by Wu furen for not knowing what to do at the right time.


    A while ago, she had already promised the position of the main wife of Han Guo Gongfu''s future master to that moral degenerate Wu Qin Qin to give face to Wu Guo Gongfu. Otherwise, how could a woman like Wu Qin Qin even enter the doors of Han Guo Gongfu?


    Moreover, she had already exined to everyone a while ago that Wu Qin Qin and Yuan Qing Zhou were in love with each other. If she changed her exnation now, then would she not be contradicting herself?


    Wu furen realized that Yuan de taifei did not want to wash the injustice away for Wu Qin Qin and turned livid with rage. But it had already been made clear that if she did not let go of the matter, then she would be offending Yuan de taifei in public. In the future, if Qin Qin really married into Han Guo Gongfu, she might suffer the consequences , so Wu furen docily became quiet.


    "Since it is so, then bengong congrattes Yuan de taifei, Chen wang, Yuan gongzi, and Wu xiaojie! On the day of your wedding, bengong will surely send a grand gift." Qi Jing Yuan and all the other people from Northern Qi stood up and left Chen wangfu after Qi Jing Yuan''s words.


    The other gongzi and xiaojie also followed suit right after and congratted them. But seeing the teary and woeful Wu Qin Qin and the unwilling Yuan Qing Zhou, they knew that they should not stay in the ce too long. Thus everyone started to ask to take their leave from Yuan de taifei and rode their respective carriages home.


    Qu Fei Qing held on to Yun Qian Meng''s hand and the two of them stood in front of xiangfu''s carriage. Qu Fei Qing''s clever and lively eyes looked around before she moved closer to Yun Qian Meng, and whispered, "Meng''er, it was you who ced the jade pendant inside Wu xiaojie''s pouch, right?"


    Hearing that, Yun Qian Meng looked at Qu Fei Qing with a smile then slowly said, "Does biaojie think that what I did was wrong?"


    Qu Fei Qing immediately shook her head, then said passionately, "That Wu Qin Qin didn''t have any good intentions towards you from the start. She even tried to frame you! You were just protecting yourself. But remember to tell me before doing anything next time, so that I won''t make any mistakes and will be able to coordinating better with you."


    Afterwards, Qu Fei Qing naughtily stuck out her tongue. Her smooth and fair face blushed unconsciously.


    Yun Qian Meng was amused at Qu Fei Qing''s words, but she also knew that Qu Fei Qing was afraid that she might not be able to handle the situation on her own. Thus, she nodded and the two of them went to their respective carriages after talking for a short while.


    Yun Qian Meng alighted a stool to go up her carriage. But as she opened the curtain, she immediately saw a familiar dark expression. She then quickly lowered the curtains and told Mu Chun, who had yet to go up the carriage, "Mu Chun, let''s go and apany biaojie."


    "You dare?" a voice that was soft yet full of anger came from inside the carriage. The voice was rather ingenious, as only Yun Qian Meng, who was nearest to the carriage, could hear it. Mu Chun, who was still on the ground, totally did not notice that there was another person inside the carriage.


    Yun Qian Meng tried to step on the stool again to unhesitatingly move away from the carriage, but the shameless voice sounded again, "If you''d prefer that I went to xiangfu at midnight, you can surely leave now."


    Yun Qian Meng was annoyed, but she still stopped her attempt to leave and ordered Mu Chun, "I want for a bit in quiescence, go sit in biaojie''s carriage for a while."


    Mu Chun did not understand Yun Qian Meng''s order, but she had never disobeyed Yun Qian Meng. Thus, she nodded and watched Yun Qian Meng enter the carriage before she turned and proceeded to Fu Guo Gongfu''s carriage.


    Yun Qian Meng nced at Chu Fei Yang then sat beside the carriage exit and closed her eyes to rest them.


    Seeing her ignoring him, Chu Fei Yang''s anger slowly faded, then he moved to sit beside Yun Qian Meng. Chu Fei Yang felt that the soft and graceful face in front of him showed a unique confidence and stubbornness. The long and thick slightly curled eyshes produced a light shadow on Yun Qian Meng''s face. The small and delicate nose, the small red lips, everything made Chu Fei Yang rxed and happy. He followed his heart and slowly lowered his head...


    Even with her eyes closed, she had already felt Chu Fei Yang approach her, but she simply kept her eyes close. When she felt a hot air slowly getting closer to her face, her delicate brows knitted. She could not help open her eyes then, and saw that Chu Fei Yang was staring at her. He had not stopped moving just because she had opened her eyes and was still slowly lowering his head. Rather, a hint ofughter appeared in his eyes when she opened hers, making Yun Qian Meng feel embarrassed and angry as she stared back at Chu Fei Yang.


    "You''re awake? You don''t want to sleep anymore?" Chu Fei Yang said with his lips less than an inch apart from Yun Qian Meng''s face. His tone was amused and teasing, but his dark eyes contained some seriousness.


    Yun Qian Meng awkwardly moved her body then unnaturally coughed as she steadied the emotions that Chu Fei Yang had stirred. Clearing her voice, she asked, "Why are you here?"


    Chu Fei Yang somewhat disappointedly sat back when she had easily regained her calmness, but his eyes still stared at Yun Qian Meng''s slightly opened lips and coldly said, "You were really too bold today."


    Yun Qian Meng''s shifted her gaze towards Chu Fei Yang. His face was cold with no trace of the smile he usually wore so she also put on a serious expression and retorted coldlyt, "Bold? If I hadn''t been that bold, then today, the person people would be pointing at would be me. That Wu Qin Qin approached me with ill intentions. If I didn''t act upon it today, I might have already been framed by her."


    Yun Qian Meng did not notice the anger in her tone as she spoke to Chu Fei Yang. The coldness in Chu Fei Yang''s face melted at Yun Qian Meng not hiding her anger in front of him, and his eyes were filled with the love for her.


    "But do you know how risky this was? What if you didn''t seed?" although Chu Fei Yang understood Yun Qian Meng''s unfavorable situation, he did not agree to her going into danger herself, especially in front of Chen wang, who had intentions for her! Every time Chu Fei Yang thought of Chen wang using violence against her in the rock garden, he could not suppress the anger in his heart. If he had not suppressed his anger then, he might have already fought with Jiang Mu Chen right then and there.


    But Yun Qian Meng lightly shook her head and said, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."


    "But what about me? Aren''t you afraid of worrying me?" Chu Fei Yang asked with burning rage. Yun Qian Meng''s words had irritated Chu Fei Yang and then held her shoulders, firmly gripping her body so that she could only look at him.


    Yun Qian Meng was shocked. She never thought of hearing something like this from Chu Fei Yang. Her heartbeats sped up uncontrobly. Being stared at by Chu Fei Yang''s love-filled eyes made Yun Qian Meng blush and got the urge to look away from Chu Fei Yang, much unlike her usual confident self. But Chu Fei Yang had already decided to not let her get away with it this time, so he did not allow Yun Qian Meng to hide from him and instead closely stared at her eyes, letting her see all of his fears through them.


    Yun Qian Meng understood the anger, worry, sorry, and love… that she had never experienced before. Suddenly, she felt very puzzled.


    She now felt a bit apologetic in her heart. She opened her lips for a while, then said, "Sorry."


    Even before her voice faded, Yun Qian Meng was forced into a warm chest. Her body was then hugged tightly as she heard Chu Fei Yang''s voice filled with insecurity, "How could I be relieved to see you fight all alone? Meng''er, can''t you try to believe in me?"


    Listening to his strong heartbeat, the sentence, "Can''t you try to believe me?" kept echoing in Yun Qian Meng''s ears.


    Thinking of everything that had happened ever since they met, it was impossible to say that her feelings for Chu Fei Yang had not changed.


    But after being a part of various plots and schemes, how could she easily trust others?


    Hearing Chu Fei Yang murmur now, Yun Qian Meng felt really sorry for him. Was she too cold and calm? Too cold and calm that she had even hurt his feelings?


    Maybe she should try let her guard down around him. If she would really stay in this alternate universe for the rest of her life, if she were to really spend her life with the man in front of her, then she at least needed to learn more about him and stop hiding from him.


    Removing all her coldness, Yun Qian Meng quietly stayed in hisp and answered his question, "I will."


    Chu Fei Yang thought that he might have heard wrong and immediately pulled them apart to confirm, with surprise, while his eyes now contained unlimited joy, "Are you serious?"


    Seeing Chu Fei Yang, who rarely showed emotion on his face, like this, Yun Qian Meng smiled and nodded, "Of course. When have I lied?"


    Chu Fei Yang''s expression turned dark as he murmured, "Do you consider the times you have lied few?"


    A while ago, in Chen wangfu, did she really think that he had not noticed? This little fox had already set up a plot and was only waiting for the enemy to slowly fall into her trap.


    Afterwards, she even innocently pushed away all the responsibilities, causing unspeakable pain to both Wu furen and Wu xiaojie.


    Yun Qian Meng pouted at his questioning and denied, "I did those for…"


    Before she was able toplete her sentence, her mouth had already been covered by Chu Fei Yang''s thin lips.


    Discerning Eyes - while it can be taken to mean that, the specific characters (火眼金睛) (lit. "golden-gaze fiery-eyes") refers to an ability given to Sun Wukong in Journey to the West which enables him to recognize demons. not really super relevant but it seemed interesting to share ;)