Silence settled over the room for a long while.
"No wonder. Heh." Feng Guan leaned against his pillow with a helpless smile.
"No wonder Father praised Wei Zi so highly.
"He calculates three moves ahead with every step. Even Wei Mingyuan, the 'Classical Laureate' whose name once shook the Capital, fell far short of this..."
"He truly is a monster."
"Husband!" Jiang Shi burst out laughing, then covered her mouth and gave her husband a reproachful look.
"Who speaks of his own son-in-law like that?"
"If he isn't a monster, what is he?" Feng Guan shook his head.
"Seventeen years old, and he has every last member of the Feng Family figured out.
"The old man protects him, now you protect him too, and even I have to muster troops and deploy officers for him."
Feng Guan paused, then sighed. "I, Feng Guan, have weathered twenty years of ups and downs in officialdom, only to be taken hostage by a young fellow today."
"You did it willingly," Jiang Shi said with a smile.
Feng Guan smiled too. "Yes, willingly."
He gazed at the canopy above him and murmured, "For planning so carefully for Fu Niang's sake, I accept him as my son-in-law."
Jiang Shi rose and blew out a nearby lamp, leaving the room a little darker.
"Get some rest," she said softly.
"Mm."
Elsewhere, by the time Wei Nisheng returned to the Small Courtyard at the Wei Residence, the night was deep.
Hearing footsteps, Qu Niang came out carrying a basin.
Seeing that Wei Nisheng looked much as usual, with only a trace of wine-induced weariness around his eyes, she asked no questions and merely said softly,
"Young master, the hot water is ready. Wash your face first."
Wei Nisheng murmured his assent, took the warm cloth she