Upon hearing the question, Shi Lian’s vision went dark as she nearly fainted. Before Sang Wan arrived, how could she dare to speak of such things? Besides, that kind of matter is not something a girl could speak of. Shi Lian’s face was instantly streaked with tears as she bowed her head and sobbed without saying a word. "What are you crying for! Worthless thing, speak up at once! Who did you meet in the plum forest that day?" Mrs. Wang said angrily. "I don’t know who it was!" Shi Lian cried out, "I honestly don’t know who that person was!" Shi Lian inwardly groaned in despair, hoping that Sang Wan would hurry to save her. But how could Mrs. Wang believe her? Despite her desperate questioning, Shi Lian bit her lip and refused to speak. Mrs. Wang, realizing she would get nothing out of her and suspecting that Young Master Hong had merely seen her from afar, softened her expression. She scolded Shi Lian harshly and decreed that Shi Lian stay obediently in her house and not to leave rashly in the future. Shi Lian felt as if she had been granted amnesty and quickly agreed. Seeing Shi Lian still kneeling before her, Mrs. Wang glared and said, "What are you still doing here? Get out of my sight at once! Copy ’Lessons for Women’ and ’Women’s Rules’ thirty times each, and have someone show me in three days! Leave now!" Was she off the hook just like that? Shi Lian was surprised but quickly composed herself, nodded her head in agreement, and got up to leave slowly. By coincidence, just as the messenger sent to notify Sang Wan in Ningyuan arrived, Sang Wan had gone out on an errand. When she returned and heard the news, she had a bad feeling and rushed back to Mrs. Wang’s side. On the way, she happened to encounter Shi Lian and Cai Yun who were returning to Fuqu Pavilion. "Younger sister!" Sang Wan called out and moved forward, holding her hand and looking her over, "How did it go? Everything is alright now, isn’t it?" Shi Lian’s eyes reddened as she gently shook her head, "Thank you, elder sister, everything is fine now!" "That’s good, that’s good!" Sang Wan also breathed a sigh of relief, inwardly puzzled why her mother-in-law had let Shi Lian come out so quickly. As if having read Sang Wan’s thoughts, Shi Lian whispered, "I don’t know what happened either. I didn’t say anything, and mother just scolded me a bit and ordered me to copy ’Lessons for Women’." She added with a laugh, "This is already the best possible outcome, much better than what I had anticipated!" The truth can’t be hidden forever, Shi Lian was well aware that even though her brother and sister-in-law had helped keep it secret, her mother would probably find out sooner or later. She thought it better to be reprimanded sooner and be done with it! Sang Wan smiled slightly and gently patted her hand, "Forget about it, don’t take it to heart, go back and rest well!" "Yes!" Shi Lian smiled gratefully and the sisters-in-law parted ways. Having already come halfway, Sang Wan couldn’t just leave, even though Shi Lian was no longer in trouble. She still needed to go and make a visit to Mrs. Wang. Mrs. Wang, upon seeing her, couldn’t help but blame her too, saying she had failed to watch over Shi Lian properly. Sang Wan knew that coming here meant taking the blame, so she stood by obediently listening without protest. Mrs. Wang just needed to vent her frustration and had no real intention of blaming Sang Wan for this matter. After cooling off, she sighed and said, "You’ve come at the right time, there’s something I was just about to discuss with you! Sit down and listen." "Yes, Mother, please instruct me!" Sang Wan replied with a smile, sitting down cautiously. Mrs. Wang then told her about the recent visit from the Hong Mansion and casually added, "What do you think of this match? Mrs. Ning said she will come for a definite answer in three days!" Sang Wan was completely bewildered; Mrs. Ning’s words were completely different from what Liu Ya had said! Shi Lian hadn’t said anything in front of her mother, no wonder mother had only given her a light scolding! If her mother knew the truth as Liu Ya had spoken it, she wouldn’t let the matter rest so easily! Perhaps in her heart, she believed that Young Master Hong had only seen Shi Lian from a distance and that Shi Lian was completely unaware of his existence! "What are you daydreaming about!" Mrs. Wang grumbled discontentedly when she saw Sang Wan spacing out. Snapping back to reality, Sang Wan quickly replied with a smile, "Young sister’s marriage is surely a matter for Mother to worry about, it’s not my place to say anything!" This content belongs to novel~fire~net Mrs. Wang said, "That’s alright, speak your mind freely!" After a moment’s thought, Sang Wan said, "Mother, may I speak frankly then? If I say something wrong, please don’t take it to heart!" Mrs. Wang laughed, "How could I? Tell me what you think, go ahead!" Sang Wan started, "Young sister’s maternal aunt has already passed away, and our father is gone as well. The matter of her marriage is thus utterly in your hands. If the match is not good, people might gossip, saying how you, her lawful mother, did this and that. Wouldn’t that be grievous? After all, these years you’ve never mistreated her, right?" "Exactly, that’s what I was thinking!" Sang Wan’s words resonated deeply with Mrs. Wang. She had never treated Shi Lian harshly or cruelly over the years, and there was never any gossip about her incompetence as a lawful mother. If she doesn’t secure a good match for her, all her prior kindness would come to naught. She’d come this far and couldn’t let everything fall apart at the last step! "Speaking of which, it’s time to consider her marriage as well! I have been negligent and completely forgot about it," Mrs. Wang said, not truly annoyed. After all, the marriage of a concubine daughter wasn’t an extremely important matter. A decent match without flaws was sufficient. "Young sister has just come of age this year, so it’s just the right time to discuss her marriage, not late at all. How can mother be called negligent?" Sang Wan laughingly said, "However, although the Hong family is an official family and outranks ours slightly, marrying into it as a concubine cannot compare to being the lawful wife! I am afraid—" Mrs. Wang interjected, "Mrs. Ning said she will be an honored concubine once she marries there." Sang Wan replied, "Mother, an honored concubine is still a concubine! Once Young Master Hong takes a wife, won’t she still have to serve like a slave? Then, it will be said that she is a daughter of the Shi family. Where will the Shi family’s face go? It’s not as if we can’t find a good family!"