A time-travel story where I forcefully marry the leading lady in a film/TV series!

Of course, its main purpose is still to portray Zhuang Hanyan, the true female lead of the drama! 15

"Your Excellency does not know, but my maiden name is also Wei!" At this moment, the Zhuang family's grandmother, Madam Wei, rolled her eyes and began to claim kinship with Wei Tingyu again.

"We were one family five hundred years ago!" She said with a fawning smile to Wei Tingyu, "Thank God! Our Wei family has produced such a talented man as the Duke!"

They all share the surname Wei, so they're trying to take over the whole family?

Upon hearing this, not only Wei Tingyu, but even Zhou Ruyin and Zhuang Yushan, mother and daughter, couldn't help but roll their eyes inwardly.

Grandmother, isn't this attempt at flattery a bit too awkward? Aren't you afraid the Duke will laugh at you?

"That's quite a coincidence!" Wei Tingyu said with a slight smile. "I was just passing by your mansion when I happened to pick up the Third Miss... It really is fate!"

"Huh?" Wei Shi and Zhou Ruyin were stunned upon hearing this, both wondering what Wei Tingyu meant.

Wei Tingyu was saying that he and Zhuang Hanyan were destined to be together? They couldn't deny that, after all, if this wasn't pre-arranged, it could only be described as too much of a coincidence!

It seems that only the word "fate" can explain this!

Of course, they never suspected that this might have been pre-arranged. After all, how could Zhuang Hanyan, a wild girl abandoned by her family and raised in the countryside of Danzhou, possibly have any connections to the Duke of Wei?

As for getting the Duke of Wei to cooperate with her in staging this homecoming scene... that's even more impossible!

What does Wei Tingyu mean by bringing this up now? Could it be that he has feelings for Zhuang Hanyan?

The thought of this immediately threw Zhou Ruyin's mind into turmoil! If Zhuang Hanyan were to actually be fortunate enough to enter the Duke of Wei's mansion in the future, then she would truly have no good days ahead of her!

Of course, Zhuang Yushan's eyes widened at this moment. Although she did not want to marry into the Duke's mansion, the thought of Zhuang Hanyan being favored by the Duke of Wei made her very uncomfortable!

Wouldn't Zhuang Hanyan be a cut above everyone else in my eyes in the future?!

At this moment, a servant came to report that the Zhuang family's son-in-law, Fu Yunxi, was requesting an audience.

Wei Tingyu calculated the time; this guy must have received the news and rushed over.

Because almost a month had passed since the deaths of Zhang Youchang and his wife, their bodies had naturally been discovered and collected by the local government in Danzhou long ago!

Furthermore, all homicide cases cannot be handled casually by the local authorities; they must be reported to the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice.

Fu Yunxi, as the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, naturally had to question Zhuang Hanyan, since she, who had disappeared for a month and then suddenly appeared in the capital, might be the only witness!

Naturally, she could also be a suspect!

"This humble official greets Duke Wei!" After being invited into the main hall, Fu Yunxi immediately looked at Wei Tingyu and quickly clasped her hands in greeting.

Then he bowed to the remaining people and said, "Greetings, Grandmother! Madam Zhou!"

"Brother Yunxi!" Zhuang Yushan's eyes lit up immediately when he saw Fu Yunxi.

Without saying a word, he ran up to him, looked at him with admiration, and asked, "Why are you here?"

Wei Tingyu was not surprised at all when he saw this scene. He already knew that Zhuang Yushan's crush was Fu Yunxi.

"Yushan!" At this moment, Zhou Ruyin quickly glanced at Wei Tingyu and saw that his expression was completely calm. She immediately frowned and called her daughter back to her side.

"The Duke is still here, you mustn't be disrespectful!" She was afraid that Wei Tingyu would discover her daughter's feelings for Fu Yunxi, which would ruin her dream of marrying her daughter into the wealthy Wei family.

At the same time, Zhou Ruyin silently cursed her daughter a few times in her heart!

Although Fu Yunxi is fairly good-looking, she is still quite ordinary compared to Wei Tingyu!

In terms of social status, the difference is even more pronounced!

Wei Tingyu, through his own merits, managed to elevate his inherited marquisate to duke! Isn't that far more capable than Fu Yunxi's?!

Why can't my stupid daughter understand?!

Zhuang Yushan, who had been glared at by his mother, immediately realized what was happening and could only pout and reluctantly return to Zhou Ruyin's side, continuing to stand there obediently.

However, his eyes kept glancing in Fu Yunxi's direction.

Wei Tingyu was not surprised by this. After all, she was a young girl who had grown up with Fu Yunxi since childhood, so it was normal for her to have a crush on her or even admire her.

Unfortunately, I'm about to slap the face of this amazing sweetheart in front of this little girl!

"What brings you here, Young Master Fu?" Wei Tingyu looked up at Fu Yunxi and asked.

"I heard that the Third Miss Zhuang has returned safely, so I came to visit her!" Fu Yunxi was taken aback when she saw Wei Tingyu's gaze, and then hesitated for a moment before answering.

Both the Zhuang family matriarch, Madam Wei, and Zhou Ruyin nodded in agreement with his explanation, because it was a plausible reason and they believed it.

After all, the Zhuang and Fu families were originally related by marriage, so it was only natural that the other party would come to visit Zhuang Hanyan after hearing about her return.

Zhuang Yushan pouted unhappily because she really didn't want to see Fu Yunxi caring about other women.

However, while such words might fool the women in the inner quarters, they were far too flawed for Wei Tingyu.

"Is Young Master Fu joking with me?" Wei Tingyu narrowed his eyes, a meaningful smile playing on his lips, and looked at Fu Yunxi, asking directly, "It's still snowing heavily outside! Young Master Fu, you'd even put aside your official duties during the day just to visit a relative you've never met?"

"Your Excellency is wise!" Fu Yunxi was taken aback, then sighed softly, and clasped her hands in a fist salute before saying, "Indeed, there is another important matter that I must inquire of the Third Miss in person..."

"No!" However, before Fu Yunxi could finish speaking, Wei Tingyu waved his hand to interrupt him.

This not only stunned Fu Yunxi, but also the other three women in the room.

What's going on? They came to ask Zhuang Hanyan something, and before the three older sisters or elders of the Zhuang family could even speak, Wei Tingyu had already refused?

"When Miss Zhuang returned home, she fainted in my arms!" Wei Tingyu said with a slight smile. "I don't have many other merits, except that I never give up halfway through a task!"

"Now that I've saved Miss Zhuang's life, I'll naturally see it through to the end!"

"She has just settled in and hasn't even recovered yet, and Fu Shaoqing is already so impatient to come and interrogate her..."

"What if we make her condition worse?"

"..." After hearing Wei Tingyu's words, everyone present was completely dumbfounded.

They really didn't expect the other party to come up with such a reason to interfere in Zhuang Hanyan's affairs!

However, seeing that even after Zhuang Hanyan had been sent to the Zhuang family, the Duke of Wei was still willing to condescend to come in and have a cup of tea with everyone, it seemed that he felt that everything he said was quite reasonable.

If it weren't for the Duke of Wei wanting to know whether Zhuang Hanyan's health could recover, how could he have gotten involved with the Zhuang family, a mere compiler in the Hanlin Academy?

……

By this time, Zhuang Hanyan had already taken a nice hot bath with the help of servants and maids, and changed into a clean and dry set of clothes.

Apart from the frostbite marks on her hands and feet still not fading, her face has regained about 70-80% of its original natural beauty!

But even this alone is enough to make more than 90% of the young ladies from wealthy and powerful families in the capital feel ashamed!

"Miss..." After Zhuang Hanyan dismissed the other servants and maids, Shu Hong, the maid who had just stayed behind to take care of her grandmother, Madam Wei, cautiously ran in from outside and whispered a few words in Zhuang Hanyan's ear.

"So what now? Should I go out to see him?" Zhuang Hanyan was taken aback when she heard Shu Hong's words, then frowned slightly and asked.

Because what the other party was talking about was Fu Yunxi, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and also the son-in-law of the Zhuang family, who had come to their door.

"That won't be necessary!" Shu Hong quickly shook her head upon hearing this, saying, "I heard that the Duke of Wei stopped this matter, saying that your health is not yet fully recovered and you cannot be interrogated!"

"Duke of Wei..." Upon hearing this, Zhuang Hanyan immediately pictured the man who had embraced her in front of the Zhuang residence.

When he looked into his own eyes, there seemed to be something else going on...

No! I was dressed like a beggar, without any makeup, and even smeared mud on my face, making me look extremely ugly.

How could he possibly be interested in someone like that? After all, a Duke like him could have any beautiful woman he wanted.

However, the other party's concern for her at the moment was genuine... Putting aside everything else, just the fact that he had helped her stop Fu Yunxi's interrogation made Zhuang Hanyan quite grateful.

After all, although he had prepared his explanations for many things, he was not in a good state right now, and he might give himself away in front of a professional criminal investigator like Fu Yunxi.

If Wei Tingyu buys him a few more days, his chances of getting away with it will increase even further.

Thinking about it this way, this marquis really was helping me!

Zhuang Hanyan was puzzled by this. Why was there not a single person willing to help her during the first seventeen years of her life?

On the contrary, after killing Zhang Youchang and his wife, one after another, benefactors appeared around him, first the Jade-Faced Fox Gentleman and then the Duke of Wei. But it seems that he owes more and more favors!

The handsome fox-faced young man asked him to repay the debt of saving his life by offering himself to him, but now he owes the Duke of Wei a huge favor, and how should he repay it?

Ugh! The more I think about it, the more my head aches!

Forget it! Let's just take it one step at a time!

Zhuang Hanyan was at a loss, so she turned to Shu Hong and asked, "Has Fu Yunxi left yet?"

“067 didn’t!” Shu Hong shook her head and said, “It seems he also insists on seeing Miss…”

"Let's go!" After hearing this, Zhuang Hanyan paced around the room a few times, her eyes darting around before she made up her mind and said, "Let's go to the front hall together to see this Lord Fu!"

“Miss…your health…” Shu Hong immediately became nervous upon hearing this, after all, her current responsibility was to take good care of Zhuang Hanyan.

“It’s alright!” Zhuang Hanyan said with a sharp look in her eyes.

She had changed into those beggar's clothes outside the capital and had come in on her way here. The frostbite on her hands and feet was from the night before when she had endured the stinging pain.

Therefore, although her current physical condition is still somewhat weak, it is incomparable to the fatigue and hardship she experienced on the way from Danzhou to the capital.

Having taken a hot bath and drunk warm rice porridge, Zhuang Hanyan had already recovered about 70-80% of her strength.

Since Fu Yunxi is staring at me intently, trying to extract some clues from me, I might as well take the initiative instead of waiting passively!

Since the Duke of Wei wants to help me, I might as well take advantage of his presence to meet with Fu Yunxi. If she encounters any difficulties, the Duke of Wei will be on my side...

After rolling her eyes a few times, Zhuang Hanyan devised a plan to take the initiative and use Wei Tingyu as a tool.

……