"Mother!" Shi Lian suddenly knelt down, kowtowing to Mrs. Wang. Lifting her head, her eyes brimming with tears, she opened her mouth, about to speak. Seeing the situation was about to worsen, Sang Wan hastily spoke before her, "Third sister, thank the mother for her nurturing and quickly go back! Stop crying, you can’t cry during such a joyous occasion!" Sang Wan said, while secretly giving Shi Lian a meaningful look. The words Shi Lian was about to say out of impulse were timely blocked by Sang Wan, and now she came to her senses, frightened and sweating coldly. She naturally knew the temper of her stepmother, even as her own daughter, there was no reason to openly defy her mother over her own marriage matters, let alone her being a stepdaughter. Had it not been for Sang Wan stopping her just now, she could not even imagine what would have happened once she voiced her plea for refusal! "Yes!" Shi Lian then kowtowed two more times, teary-eyed, and stood up to leave. Mrs. Wang originally had a somewhat puzzled expression which then relaxed, she frowned and said, "Really! I don’t know what she was making a fuss about!" Then she turned back to instruct Sang Wan to handle the matter, simply not to lose the Shi family’s face, and to ensure everything was attended to perfectly. Sang Wan responded with a smile one by one and then smiled, "Today your daughter-in-law will go back and draft a proposal with Mrs. Li, and come back early tomorrow to report to mother!" "Then go ahead!" Mrs. Wang nodded. Sang Wan took the opportunity to visit Shi Lian again, who was lying on the bed silently in pain, with Cai Yun standing beside her wiping tears from her eyes. Surprised to see Sang Wan coming in, Cai Yun was about to speak when Sang Wan gestured with her hand and signaled her to go out. Cai Yun glanced at her young mistress quietly and withdrew. "Third sister," Sang Wan softly patted Shi Lian’s back, and softly said, "Stop crying, if mother knows, I fear it might stir up another tempest!" "Elder sister!" Shi Lian’s shuddering shoulder stiffened, she turned to sit up, wiping her tears and said, "I’m not afraid to tell you the truth, elder sister! At this point, what’s there to worry about? If she knows, she knows, what more can she do to me!" "Don’t talk nonsense!" Sang Wan held her hand, sighed lightly, and said, "It’s strange, your elder brother had told me before he left the estate that mother had agreed to reject this marriage proposal, but in a blink of an eye, the date is even set, this is really—" The two were unaware that it was Shi Yumei who was behind this mischief. Shi Lian also shook her head, choking up, "I also don’t know how the situation turned out ! Anyway, I won’t marry! I’d rather die than suffer that torment!" "Don’t talk nonsense!" Sang Wan was startled, gripping her hand tighter. "Elder sister," Shi Lian smiled bitterly, gratefully said, "I know elder sister and elder brother have tried their best for my sake, Shi Lian is still grateful to you and elder brother! Maybe this is my fate, and I just can’t fight it!" Sang Wan couldn’t help feeling sorrowful, after a moment she said, "Don’t think like that yet, it hasn’t reached that stage! Dear sister, please don’t do anything foolish, okay? When your elder brother comes back tonight, I’ll discuss it with him again!" "No need!" Shi Lian forced a smile and said, "Mother has already fixed the date with the Hong family, and since the other party is the local government officials, the matter has been settled, how could elder brother say anything more? Elder sister, I’m endlessly grateful that you care this much! I don’t want you and elder brother to be upset over my matters! Just don’t mention it to elder brother!" "You are his sister after all, your elder brother would not just watch you jump into a fire pit! Third sister, you promise elder sister, it hasn’t reached that day yet, you must take good care of yourself, don’t do anything foolish, understand?" Sang Wan truly felt a mixture of emotions, recalling the eve before she left her parental home, wasn’t it a similar mood? That fear and anxiety, no one could understand unless they experienced it personally. Now Shi Lian, who is to become a concubine, and with such a person, and having had issues a few days ago, her situation was much worse than hers back then! "Mm!" Shi Lian, warmed by her earnest words and gentle eyes, involuntarily nodded. "That’s right! Rest well, and stop crying, if someone sees, it would only bring trouble!" Sang Wan quietly breathed a sigh of relief. After reassuring Shi Lian with many words, she then got up to leave. Considering Sang Wan’s words, Shi Lian instructed Cai Yun to fetch some water to wash her face. Just after tidying up, Shi Yumei called out "Third sister!" and cheerfully stepped inside. Shi Lian broke into a cold sweat, relieved that she had tidied up properly, otherwise, if she had been seen, it would provide reason for gossip before the mother, and these remaining days would be extremely uncomfortable for her. Upon entering, Shi Yumei started with cheerful ’congratulations’ and praised the marriage arrangement as if there was nothing better in heaven and earth, making it seem like Shi Lian was taking an enormous advantage and should be extremely grateful to Mrs. Wang. Shi Lian was extremely disgusted internally, but she dared not deal with Yumei face-to-face simultaneously, managing a forced smile responding vaguely. Shi Yumei wanted to see her wearing a bitter face. Seeing that her expression was indifferently as if not minding, she felt a bit uncomfortable. She stared closely at Shi Lian’s face. "Elder sister, is there something dirty on my face?" Shi Lian instinctively leaned back to avoid her and asked with a forced smile. "Not at all!" Shi Yumei laughed, "I saw your eyes were a bit swollen, weren’t you crying just now?" "What are you saying, elder sister!" Shi Lian startled, hurriedly said, "Why would I cry when everything is fine?" Shi Yumei sneered, "Who knows? Maybe you’re not satisfied with the marriage arrangement mother mentioned!" Latest content published on novel·fire·net Infuriated inside, Shi Lian smiled faintly and said, "Marriage has always been decided by parents since ancient times, father is no longer here, mother will plan for me, how could I be so ungrateful? It’s such a good marriage proposal, how could I be unsatisfied!" "Good that you know!" Shi Yumei was somewhat disgruntled, finding it even less amusing, sat briefly then left.