Do you know: I should be fat and you should be thin!

It came ahead of schedule as expected!

Sheng Changbai hasn't even married Hai Shi yet, but with my pressure to get married, Mo Lan still took this step...

"Ning Lang, go if you wish. I can return to the manor on my own," Wei Zhi said.

Zhou Ning shook his head and said, "It's rare for you to come out, so have some fun. We'll buy you whatever you like. I'll keep you company for now."

"Pop!"

After a few days, Wei Zhi figured out Zhou Ning's preferred way of expressing gratitude and took the initiative to offer a kiss.

The two played for a whole day.

Only three days left until I take up my post in Beijing!

Seeing that Sheng Hong did not send anyone to deliver the message, Zhou Ning brought gifts and visited under the guise of celebration!

Sheng Hong was in the wrong and dared not turn Zhou Ning away, so he asked Sheng Changbai to entertain him first.

"You're about to leave the capital, why aren't you making all the necessary preparations before coming to see me?" Sheng Changbai asked.

Zhou Ninghe said, "I heard that you have been selected as a probationary official in the Hanlin Academy, so I came to congratulate you. This is just a small token of my respect."

"You're too kind. I've had some family matters to attend to recently, so it's inconvenient for me to entertain guests. I'll see you off at Fanlou in two days," Sheng Changbai said.

Zhou Ning rose and bowed, saying, "To be honest, brother, I've come not only to congratulate you, but also to discuss Fourth Sister's matter. Fourth Sister has accepted my betrothal letter, yet she's causing quite a stir outside. What do you think I should do, brother?"

Betrothal letter: An engagement document given by the man to the woman after the engagement, formally establishing the marital relationship.

"What?! Is that true?!" Sheng Changbai stood up in shock.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, both parties who break off the engagement after receiving the betrothal letter will bear clear legal and financial consequences.

According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, if the bride has already given a betrothal letter (or received betrothal gifts even without a betrothal letter) and then breaks off the engagement without permission, both the bride and the officiant will be punished with sixty strokes of the cane.

When a woman breaks off an engagement, the person responsible for officiating the wedding is, in order of priority, her grandparents, parents, and other elders in her family.

Furthermore, if the man breaks off the engagement and then remarries the woman, he will be punished with up to one hundred strokes of the cane. If the remarriage has already taken place, the officiant will be sentenced to one and a half years in prison!

Zhou Ning nodded and said, "It seems Lord Sheng didn't tell my brother. But the engagement is real, and the betrothal letter has been issued. I just want to ask what happened to Fourth Sister? Is the Sheng family going to break off the engagement? Brother, you've always been upright and knowledgeable about the law, could you teach me what to do?"

Sheng Changbai slammed his fist on the table in anger, shouting, "You scoundrel! How dare you do such a disgraceful thing!"

"Brother, what happened to Fourth Sister? If it was just that Liang Liulang hugged her, I'll pretend I don't know anything about it for your sake, and the marriage will proceed as planned!" Zhou Ning said anxiously.

Don't just give me a hug, that would be a disaster!

Sheng Changbai walked out of the house and said, "You sit here for a moment, I'll be right back!"

Zhou Ning wasn't in a hurry; he sat down and drank tea.

"It's good that the engagement was successfully dissolved. Brother Changbai, it's up to you now!"

......

Shouantang!

"Dream on! That little bitch caused this terrible disaster, it's your own fault! You two, wanting my Minglan to clean up your mess? Keep dreaming!"

Grandma Sheng flew into a rage.

Sheng Hong was utterly despondent, and Wang Ruofu was at her wit's end.

"If Mo Lan can't marry into the Liang family, then Ru Lan and Ming Lan's reputations will be ruined," Wang Ruofu whispered.

"Don't try to scare me with this! Mo Lan has done such a shameless and disgraceful thing, and she's even spreading it around, forcing us to submit. If you ask me, just drag her out the door and let whoever wants her take her. Or beat her to death with sticks, and that will at least improve our family's reputation for being respectable. Ru Lan and Ming Lan will still be good girls!" Old Madam Sheng roared.

Sheng Hong still couldn't bear to kill Mo Lan, and blamed Lin Qinshuang for corrupting the child.

Wang Ruofu wept bitterly, knowing that even if she killed Mo Lan, the reputation of the Sheng family's daughters would be ruined, and Ru Lan would have no chance of finding a good family. Hua Lan, who was already married, would also face even more difficulties.

Sheng Hualan went to the ancestral hall to teach Mo Lan a lesson, telling her that the Liang family refused to take her in, and that her grandmother had decided to beat her to death.

Ke Molan lied and claimed to be pregnant, saying that if she didn't believe her, she could see a doctor, and she wanted the old lady to personally go to the Liang family.

Sheng Hualan broke down and returned to Shou'an Hall to tell everyone!

"How dare this little slut be so arrogant? Does she think I won't dare to kill her?" Wang Ruofu was so angry that he wanted to kill someone.

"That girl, Mo Lan, has really broken ties with the family. She knew I would be hesitant to act against her, and that I would have no choice but to agree." Old Madam Sheng's face was grim.

Minglan, standing to the side, also looked unwell. She only wanted Lin Qinshuang to pay with her life so that her father would punish Lin Qinshuang for the sake of his reputation.

Lin Qinshuang spread the news too quickly. She achieved her goal, but the consequences were beyond her expectations.

"Grandmother, you don't have to agree. If you have to bow down to such a sordid matter, Minglan would rather not marry!" Minglan said.

"Nonsense! What girl doesn't get married?" Old Mrs. Sheng scolded.

"What nonsense are you talking about, child? A girl who doesn't get married is a laughing stock," Hua Lan said anxiously.

"If you don't get married, then Rulan will! Even if Rulan doesn't get married, what will happen to your sister Hualan in her husband's family? Her mother-in-law has always made things difficult for her, you know that..." Wang Ruofu said excitedly.

Minglan was numb and stopped speaking.

At this moment, Sheng Changbai arrived. He bowed and said, "Greetings, Grandmother! Greetings, Eldest Sister..."

"Bai'er, what brings you here? Has Pengqi left?" Sheng Hong asked anxiously.

Sheng Changbai said, "No. Your son has something to ask you, Father. Pengqi said he has a marriage agreement with my fourth sister and that a betrothal letter has been exchanged. Is this true?"

Apart from Old Madam Sheng, Sheng Hong, and Minglan, everyone else was stunned. Was there really such a thing?

If the two companies can't reach an agreement, why should it become three?

"When did this happen? How come I don't know about it? My lord, is this true?" Wang Ruofu asked incredulously.

Sheng Hong nodded weakly, which was considered an admission.

"Good heavens!" Wang Ruofu collapsed to the ground.

Sheng Hualan helped her mother to sit down on the chair again.

"If that's the case, the family should not tolerate evil. If this matter is handled according to the laws of the Great Zhou, even Grandmother will be implicated." Sheng Changbai explained the Great Zhou version of the marriage law to everyone.

Grandma Sheng asked, "Bai'er, what do you think should be done about this?"

Sheng Changbai angrily said, "Since she is engaged to Pengqi, yet she committed such a disgraceful act, she should naturally be beaten to death!"

"Shut up! She's your own sister!" Sheng Hong roared.

Sheng Changbai declared loudly, "Father! Heaven is watching, must we let the heavens and the gods know that the Sheng family is a faithless and untrustworthy family that broke off an engagement?"

"You!" Sheng Hong felt a pang of pain in his heart.

Grandma Sheng sighed, "Bai'er, this concerns Ru'er and Ming'er's reputations, and besides, Mo Lan might be pregnant..."

Sheng Changbai was even angrier than he expected that not only would their affair turn into adultery, but she would also become pregnant out of wedlock. He said, "Then we must not tolerate such evil! Even if my fifth and sixth sisters cannot get married and stay at home for the rest of their lives, we will still get along well as siblings."

All I could hear was crying!

"Stop crying! Go! Go and find Zhou Ning, and find Ru Lan too. Explain this matter first, then we can talk about the Liang family!"

......