The village had families friendly with Mrs. Yao, who, in an effort to seek justice for her, reported the matter of Su Jingchen beating his stepmother to death to the county government.
Although the county government, after investigation, deemed that the young master of the house beating to death a mother's dowry servant wasn't a crime, Su Jingchen, as a scholar, still suffered considerable damage to his reputation due to the violent act.
The Ning Family already disliked Su Jingchen for being sickly. If it weren't for his scholarly success, they would have cancelled the engagement long ago. Now the sickly man's health is poor and his temper is too; the Ning Family fears that their daughter might be beaten to death if she marries him, so they promptly sent a letter of rejection to the Su Family.
