"You said, did Lord Wei really receive two lashes from Duke Wei?"

  Xie Wan raised her head from behind the desk, and a drop of ink fell onto the Buddhist scripture she was copying.

  "The young one dare not tell lies." Wu Xing said: "You don't know how cruel that Lord Wei is, whatever Young Master Wei says he doesn't listen to at all, and even says that Miss you are protecting Young Master Wei with ulterior motives. I really couldn't bear to listen anymore, so I rushed back."

  Xie Wan fell silent for a moment, putting down her pen and placing it back on the holder. She then said with a sigh: "Minister Wei can only do this much. The current situation is extremely unfavorable to Young Master Wei. As the party in the wrong, regardless of whether the matter is true or false, and without considering whether this marriage will be concluded or not, if Minister Wei doesn't make some noise at this time, it would be too easy for others to take advantage of the situation."

  Wu Xing nodded and said: "But Lord Wei spoke too harshly to the young lady."

  Xie Wan didn't think much of it, smiled and stood up: "What's the big deal? I did that at the time, indeed not in line with common sense. If I were him, I'm afraid the first thing to think would be the same." After finishing, she hid her smile and said: "You don't need to care about how he looks at me, these few days you just need to closely follow Wei Gongzi, if he has anything for you to do, you can just do it for him."

  Wu Xingyuan stepped down first.

  Yu Fang looked at his back and came forward: "The way you treat Wei Gongzi is really different from the way you treat Ren Gongzi, it's like heaven and earth."

  Xie Wan smiled and sat down again, picking up the scripture book.

  Xie Rong stepped into the backyard and entered the wing room, where Xie Wei was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding a book of "Nu Jie" in a daze.

  The room was dimly lit, except for a faint glow reflected in the mirror, and the whole space seemed to be filled with an air of melancholy.

  Luxuriant.

  Xie Rong whispered softly at the doorstep. Xie Wei's body paused slightly, and she slowly turned her head around. A tear rolled down from the corner of her eye. Her fair and delicate nose wing twitched slightly due to her sobbing.

  Xie Rong walked in. He took out a flint from the drawer and lit the lamp before turning his head to look at her.

  Pursuing perfection is his consistent style, whether it's writing articles or educating his children. At the age of 14, Xie Wei has already grown into a slender and elegant girl, and her whole body exudes an air of elegance and refinement. Such a girl would be the center of attention wherever she goes. In the eyes of her father, such a daughter is naturally worthy of marrying into any aristocratic family.

  His daughter is his pride.

  "Father."

  Xie Wei softly called out, lowering her head.

  He slightly curled up the corners of his lips and gently stroked her hair. "Your mother said you haven't been eating well these past few days."

  "My daughter was wrong." Xie Wei shook her head. As she moved, tears fell like broken pearls.

  Xie Rong smiled slightly and looked at her, "My daughter has grown up and become more prone to tears. Come tell your father, which shop in the capital do you want to make your wedding dress?"

  Xie Wei's eyes were blurry with tears as she lifted her head, her lips trembling. "Father, aren't you blaming your daughter?"

  Xie Rong smiled and said: "I've heard that the embroidery skills of Luo Yi Fang are good. But Jin Yu Sha's reputation is great, my daughter is getting married, of course I have to choose the best."

  "Dad!"

  Xie Wei lost her voice and rushed into his arms, hugging him and crying bitterly.

  Xie Rong gently patted her back. Not speaking, gazing at the plum blossom painting on the wall opposite, his eyes as deep and far-reaching as this dark night.

  Outside the gate stood Huang Shi and Qie Mama waiting.

  "Third Master's affection for Wei Jie is truly rare. At their age, most fathers and daughters have grown apart."

  Huang looked at her and his gaze suddenly became complex.

  Xie Wei cried her heart out until she felt Xie Rong's collar was soaked wet. Only then did she sit up straight.

  "Does Father know?" She nodded her head and rubbed the silk handkerchief in her hands.

  Xie Rong gazed at her, "You are my daughter, what you think, how would I not know."

  Xie Wei pursed her lips, speechless. Xie Rong paused for a moment, then said: "Foolish girl, your father doesn't need you to make such sacrifices. Do you think I'm someone who needs to rely on using his daughter to advance his career? If that's the case, then I'm not a qualified father and don't deserve your respect. Even without Lord Wei, I would still have succeeded."

  "I know." Xie Wei's eyes reddened again, "But I just want to help you in some way, I want to prove that I'm not useless as your daughter. And I don't want to see you struggling alone in the officialdom. If doing so can get Father support from the Wei Manor, isn't it better? Besides, I won't be at a loss."

  Xie Rong stroked her head, "I know how you feel. But, silly child, I still don't want you to pay such a price. Because of the Wei family's nature, things are still within controllable range for now, so it won't be passive. But what if you encounter someone who isn't from the Wei household, or what if Wei Xiao is a shameless person? Your sacrifice will not only be completely in vain, but also bring extremely bad consequences. Do you understand?"

  Xie Wei stared at him in a daze and nodded slightly.

  Xie Rong stroked her hair and smiled: "Father is indeed very angry with your behavior, and even if you get married, you won't get the respect you deserve. But Father doesn't scold you, because Father knows his daughter's intentions."

  Xie Wei's eyes became moist again.

  Xie Rong gently wiped away her tears and said, "Let's go, let's eat first. Your mother is waiting for us outside."

  Wei Bin had dinner and then followed his attendant Chen Shifeng to the house, where they talked for half a night. Afterwards, he sent someone to deliver a message to Xie Rong, arranging to meet in the main hall after breakfast to discuss this matter.

  Xie Wan naturally knew this news very quickly.

  This was actually within her expectations. Now it's a case of each side having its own argument, with Wei Zhen and Xie Yu each holding to their own words, making the situation very tricky. However, no matter what, both sides must first lay out their words and then take the opportunity to probe the other's bottom line before deciding how to proceed next. This was necessary for Wei Bin, and equally important for Xie Rong.

  Wei Bin yesterday was blaming Wei Zan for every sentence, but after this incident, he may not be willing to accept a daughter-in-law who has already lost her integrity before marriage. So from this point of view, the minds of the Wei father and son as well as Xie Wan are all connected, that is, they must think of a way to make this matter yellow.

  But it's easy to say, in the absence of any witnesses to testify for Wei Jiao. It is extremely difficult to achieve the goal.

  Xie Wan still sent Wu Xing to go and spy out.

  Although Wei Cui was beaten by his father with two whips, a father's poison cannot harm his son. Wei Bin could not have beaten him to death, and besides, the beating was on the upper body. So, in fact, there was no hindrance to action. And when he saw Wu Xing come to Piao Xiang Yuan for the third time, he finally confirmed that he was sent by Xie Zhuang, so he simply opened his mouth and asked him to stay and serve as an attendant, also to avoid being questioned and having nothing good to say in return.

  Xie Qigong set up a banquet in the main hall, so before breakfast, Wei's father and son arrived at the main hall. Xie Rong personally welcomed them under the corridor, after having lunch, they began to enter the subject.

  Wei's side has Chen Shifeng speaking on their behalf. "Something like this happening is truly regrettable. Although our young master only accidentally entered your estate's rear garden, he happened to lend a hand to your eldest daughter, which led to a misunderstanding. However, due to the young master's rashness and carelessness, he was severely punished by Lord Wei yesterday.

  "Given that Lord Xie and our lord serve in the same court, there will be many opportunities for mutual assistance in the future. Lord Xie may consider whether he needs us to offer apologies or compensation, as long as it is within the means of the Wei estate. Lord Wei will certainly not shirk his responsibilities."

  With these words, Wei's attitude became very clear.

  Wei Cai only entered the backyard by mistake because of a gathering for the second young lady of the noble house, and unintentionally met Xie Wei who had fallen down, then helped her up out of kindness. As for what you saw, it was just a misunderstanding. To put it bluntly, if our family's young master wasn't so kind-hearted, you wouldn't have been able to take advantage of him. If compensation is needed, that can be done. But as for marriage, don't even mention it.

  Xie Qigong's face changed color after hearing these words. However, Wei Bin scanned his face with a slight glance while stroking his beard and didn't say a word, causing Xie to immediately lose momentum again.

  What can you do if others don't listen to reason? Xie Rong has already said it, he is a second-grade official! He is someone who can influence Xie Rong's future at any time!

  He wasn't intentionally rude, but because he had lived in the countryside for a long time, the highest official he usually saw was just the prefect or county magistrate. A serious second-grade official like this was someone beyond his reach. It was precisely because of the great distance between them that he didn't know how to interact with him, just like common people who would tremble at the sight of a county official, but when suddenly summoned by the emperor, could sometimes speak eloquently and at length.

  People tend to neglect things that are far away.

  Xie Qigong was stared at by him and finally faced his own identity.

  The only person who has the qualifications to converse with Wei Bin at present is not him, but Xie Rong, who has entered the Hanlin Academy. Thinking back to when they first arrived at the mansion yesterday, he rushed ahead of Xie Rong and responded to Wei Bin's overt and covert hints and accusations with such ignorance!

  Xie Rong listened to Chen Shi Feng's words, his face was very calm. He pondered for a moment and said: "Wei Gongzi is still young, even if he made such a mistake, it was also caused by our humble house. If not for this chance encounter, Gongzi would not have visited our humble house twice. Since the adults have heavily punished Gongzi, our humble house cannot stand idly by. This medical bill should be borne by our humble house."

  He then turned to Pang Xin behind him and said: "You go get 5,000 taels of silver bills and give them to Wei Gongzi as medical expenses."

  His tone was gentle and soft, sounding sincere. However, when Chen Shifeng heard it, he couldn't help but glance at Wei Bin.

  They all underestimated Xie Rong. Now he readily takes out 5,000 taels of silver as compensation, this is not showing weakness to the Wei family, but rather high-profile display of his strength! He's using these 5,000 taels of silver to tell Wei Bin that they don't lack silver and aren't interested in his compensation at all.

  If Wei Bin accepts this compensation, then when they turn around and ask him for compensation for damaging Xie Yu's reputation, what will they use to compensate? How much money will they need to compensate? Their budget for last night's discussion did not exceed 2,000 taels of silver.

  But if they don't accept this compensation, what grounds do they have to discuss financial compensation with the Xie family?

  It's not about the amount of money, but whether it's worth spending. And what's even harder to say is that with Xie Rong's attitude, after losing money, can this matter really be settled?

  Chen Shifeng was speechless, and Wei Bin was even more speechless.

  There are not many officials who can afford to spend money to smash people, and he is one of them. Coincidentally, his tone was completely devoid of arrogance, although it was known that he had some strong words, but it made people unable to grasp his handle.