Inside, Qin Yuru sat paralyzed on the floor, overcome by shock. She stared blankly at Qi Tianyu, who forced his way in by kicking down the door, shaking like a leaf. She looked so frail and pathetic.
On any other day, Qi Tianyu would be pained to see Qin Yuru in such a state. At this moment, however, Qi Tianyu's eyes were filled with violence.
He snatched the rosewood box from Qin Yuru's hand, opening it without hesitation. He pulled out the letter and a quick glance told him what Qin Wanru had said was true.
"Alright, the Qi family is not worthy of you. If we are not worthy, you could have just broken off the engagement amicably..." Qi Tianyu scoffed. He looked ready to slash the delicate Qin Yuru into a thousand pieces.
"Brother Tianyu, it's not what you think..." Qin Yuru said, panicked. She reached out her hand to touch his leg and began to weep.
Consumed with rage, Qi Tianyu kicked Qin Yuru away. He thought of the years he’d spent dreaming of their marriage. He’d been so resolved to be with her he’d even rejected having a maid sent to the city with him. But it turned out he was just Qin Yuru's contingency plan.
Glancing over the letter, Qi Tianyu had learned they’d harbored feelings for each other for many years. The son of Duke Yong in the capital city had even commented that Qi Tianyu overestimated his charm. He was losing his mind with rage.
"You tried forcing your young sister to stand in for you as my bride. You even told me it was she who robbed me off you and that you would never be happy without me. You sound pretty happy without me in this letter. You and that dear cousin of yours have secretly banded together to make me a cuckold!"
All Qi Tianyu wanted to do at this moment was to completely destroy her.
He tore the letter in two and threw the torn pieces onto Qin Yuru's face. He was smart enough to know the words that would hurt her most.
"Since he’s even gotten you pregnant, you should have just taken responsibility and broken things off already. Why implicate your younger sister?"
After finishing what he wanted to say, he turned and strode away.
In that moment, he was overcome with hatred. He felt a euphoric sense of freedom getting those words off his chest. He hated Qin Yuru now as much as he loved her an hour ago.
The crowd outside didn’t have a chance to see the letter in Qi Tianyu’s hands, but they heard his words clearly and looked at each other knowingly. The older Miss Qin hadn’t just had an affair, she was pregnant!
It was an appalling thing to hear!
The crowd followed behind Qi Tianyu as he left. Now there was no choice but to break off the engagement between their families. Initially, they had thought destroying the bridal sedan was a serious concern, but the situation had become more and more dire. News about the older Miss Qin's pregnancy was the most shocking part by far.
In the room, Qin Yuru lay on the floor, the impact of the words sending her unconscious.
Madam Qin was beginning to feel light-headed as well, but her rationality spurred her to action. She turned to old grandma for help.
"Grandma, please send someone to stop Master Qi quickly. If he goes out to spread the news, it'll be as good as taking Yuru's life!" she begged.
"Is that true?" asked Grandma Qin, starting to wobble. Her face drained of color as she stared blankly at Madam Di. Although she was not very fond of Qin Yuru, she was still her granddaughter. It was only natural that she was heartbroken by the whole situation.
"It's not true, Mother. Yuru isn’t pregnant. Master Qi was trying to slander her. How could he... say such a thing!" Madam Di seemed to be drained of all energy. She was kneeling before Old Grandma Qin and wailing loudly.
"Oh, woe to our poor family!" Old Grandma Qin seemed to have lost all her strength and almost fell. Fortunately, Qin Wanru caught hold of her just in time.
"Mother, I think it'll be better for you to send men to stop Master Qin. I will help grandma back to her room!" Qin Wanru said calmly to the wailing Madam Di.
Qin Wanru left Madam Di on her own and accompanied old grandma back to her room with her maids. However, after taking a few steps, she subconsciously turned her head and realized she was staring into a pair of eerie eyes. Her hand began to quiver and she stopped dead in her tracks, nearly tripping over her own feet.
Was she seeing things?
Why would an infamous man be standing in the building opposite to her house?
The engagement between the two families was broken. The eldest daughter of the Ningyuan army general did not guard her chastity. She had such a malicious heart that, pregnant with another man’s child, she devised an evil plan for her younger sister to take her place in marriage.The news snowballed as it spread.Within half a day's time, the entire city of Jiangzhou was talking about it. In a matter of hours, the eldest Miss Qin despised, universally agreed to be the most shameful girl they’d ever heard of. Some even weaved her story into a ballads. When the news reached Qin Huaiyong, he quickly sent men to suppress the rumor, but it was impossible to completely stop people from talking. The Qi family was secretly protecting and spreading the story. By now, the news had even spread far beyond Jiangzhou...The Ningyuan army general was furious. Qin Yuru wailed and cried and even tried to commit suicide. She had shaken the foundation of her entire household.
Chu Liuchen was the crown prince when the late emperor was still alive. He was only a few months old when his uncle usurped the throne and scraped his status as the crown prince. He became Prince Chen, half locked up under house arrest in the South Court in the palace. This was why he was also known as the Crown Prince of South Court.She remembered hearing about him in her previous life. Some said he was a handsome, distinguished gentleman. Other claimed he was a sly and bloodthirsty man. Either way, Qin Wanru didn’t see it as any of her business who he was. She’d only seen him once from far off.Back then, he was the high and mighty crown prince, looking down at her like she was some kind of lowly creature.Right now, on the other hand, she had no choice but to face up to this younger version of Prince Chen.She wanted to keep her distance from him as much as possible, but she couldn’t help but perk at the chance to be recognized by somebody so powerful.
By the time Qin Wanru regained consciousness, it was evening. An old woman bent over the lamp, holding scissors to cut the wick.This was her grandmother, the only member of her family who doted on her. The bandages on her arm had been rewrapped."Are you feeling better, Grandma?" she said, almost in a whisper. Old grandma looked up and saw that Qin Wanru had opened her eyes, her face brightened immediately and she got up to walk toward Wanru, and with a gentle voice, she said, “Zhuozhuo, you're finally awake. Quick, will someone prepare her dinner?"Qing Yue emerged from behind the screen and came up to Qin Wanru help her sit up on her bed and slipped a cushion behind her for support. Her injured arm seemed to have been re-bandaged and so she could not see any blood soaking through the gauze, and it was not hurting as much as before.Another maid came into the room to place a bowl of porridge and some dishes in front of Qin Wanru.Qin Wanru was indeed
"Don't meddle with this affair, you're just a kid..." Qin Huaiyong said as he frowned and waved his hand as if to dismiss what Qin Wanru said. "Asking a kid not to meddle with this affair. How about me? Am I too old to meddle with this?" Old grandma cut in. Qin Wanru indicated for Qing Yue to help old grandma to the chair to sit down. "Mother, something did not add up here..." Qin Huaiyong tried to explain when he heard old grandma's angry tone of voice. "What are you doubting? As a father, would you rather believe the words of an old maid or your own daughter?" said Qin Wanru as she looked up at Qin Huaiyong with a pair of bright eyes. Mammy Fang followed Mrs. Qin when she married into the Qin family. Qin Wanru would like Mammy Fang's arm to be severed by Mrs. Qin personally. She wanted to see how many maids would remain faithful to their mistress if the mistress could not even protect her own henchmen.
Aunt Shui was none other than Shui Ruolan, Qin Huaiyong's cousin, the daughter of old grandma's younger sister. She had come to take shelter under the Qins from a young age when old grandma's younger sister passed away. When she came of age, she got married, but her husband passed away later on before they bore any children. For this reason, old grandma brought her back to the Ningyuan Army General's house to be with her. Shui Ruolan was a woman with a gentle spirit who had never said a word of complaint even though she had a sad life. Qin Huaiyong had always had a soft spot for this cousin of his. Unfortunately, they each had their prearranged marriages respectively since young for this reason, they kept their distance in honor of their commitments. When Shui Ruolan returned to Qin Huaiyong's house as a widow, they continued to treat each other honorably. In fact, they did not see each other much within the manor grounds. Even when the need arose, they a
"You want that Fenghua glass light?" marveled Mrs. Qin. "Yes!" Qin Wan blinked and nodded. "You really want it?" Mrs. Qin asked again. "I really want it!" Qin Wanru said with resignation. Actually, it was not what she wanted, but Prince Chen who wanted it. Even if she did not ride on his coattail, she dared to offend him. Since a Fenghua glass light could satisfy him, why not giving it to him! "Why does Prince Chen want the Fenghua glass light? His role is so extravagant. He must have seen all the good products, so why does he want my Fenghua glass light? There must be something to do with it." "Fenghua glass light is certainly precious. As a prince, what treasures cannot he own?" Now look at grandmother's behavior, Qin Wanru gained a deep understanding that this Fenghua glass light was probably not simple. But she did not want to ask! "Grandmother did not have the Fenghua
"Qin Wanru, you want to go out to fetch Fenghua glass light?" Prince Chen said in a mild tone and raised his black eyes with his customary elegance. He turned over and coughed weakly and sickly. One day was enough for him to know Qin Wanru. Of course, Qin Wanru knew that the so-called gentleness was actually an illusion. "Yes, I hope that the prince can help!" Qin Wanru requested sincerely though she was nervous. If there is anyone in the house who can persuade father to let me go, he must be prince Chen in front of me. "Is this related to me?" The young man raised his beautiful eyes and looked at her with his head tilted. His smile was still elegant but his tone was a bit of ironic. "It is the Fenghua glass light that the prince wants." Qin Wanru said respectfully with her fist clenched. It seemed that she did not see the irony in his eyes. "I wanna see whether you can go out on your own or not!" Pr
Qin Wanru stood on the swing and felt it safe by pulling the ropes of the swing. "Old grandma ordered people to fasten the ropes in case of my playing it secretly. Since the swing was safe, Qin Wanru sat on it. However, she hesitated after sitting on it." She touched the place where her arm was injured, not knowing whether she would misplay. Looking up at the tall courtyard wall, she found when the swing swayed, it was likely to hit the courtyard wall. "Anyway, I have to try it." She held the ropes on both sides with her feet slammed back. Then the swing swayed, slipped down later and was about to hit the trunk behind it. When Qin Wanru felt right, she kicked the trunk behind. Then, the swing went out again. Then the swing came back again. She kicked it again. She was familiar with the swing, so she kicked almost at the same position. As the swing was getting higher and higher, she was closer and clo