Outside the gates of the Nan residence.
“Ai, why did His Highness have to leave in such a hurry!” Nan Huaimin sighed, his brow deeply furrowed.
Just as that slap of his was about to land squarely on Madam Nan’s face, Steward Fu’s urgent voice had cut through from outside, announcing that the Crown Prince was about to depart. Naturally, he could no longer spare any attention for the domestic dispute, scrambling in a panicked rush straight out the door.
Yet, unfortunately, he had still arrived a step too late and missed the Crown Prince entirely.
A deep wave of vexation gnawed at his heart, but the moment he remembered that Zhi’er had been taken away by the Crown Prince, his mood instantly flipped into jubilation. All the gloom vanished from his face, replaced by a blossoming smile.
Standing nearby, Madam Nan finally snapped back to reality from her grief of parting. Seeing that disgusting, triumphant smirk on his face, a wave of intense revulsion rose within her.
She stared out at the distant carriage as it vanished past the horizon, leaving only a trail of dust in its wake, reluctant to pull her eyes away even now.
Her Zhi’er had just been carried off by the Crown Prince like that, without even a moment to bid her a proper farewell. It had all happened so suddenly that Madam Nan had been given zero preparation time.
How heartbroken and terrified her poor Zhi’er must be right now! Madam Nan’s heart twisted into a painful knot of pure agony. With Zhi’er now following the Crown Prince without any formal title or status, what would become of her if the Crown Prince ever grew tired of her and cast her aside?
A short while later, her eyes still burning red with tears, Madam Nan cast a freezing glare at Nan Huaimin: “This is all your fault!”
With that icy verdict, she turned on her heel and strode back into the interior of the estate, refusing to spare him another glance.
Nan Huaimin had originally been about to leave as well, but just at that moment, he spotted Wen Tingyue approaching the front entrance, causing him to halt his steps once more.
Noticing Nan Huaimin and his entourage standing outside the gates of the Nan estate, Wen Tingyue flashed a look of surprise. Quickly collecting his composure, he dismounted from his horse and walked forward with a smile.
Cupping his fists in a polite greeting, Wen Tingyue said: “Greetings, Elder Nan. Might I ask if Zhi’er is currently at the estate?”
Squinting as he sized the young man up, Nan Huaimin put on a amiable smile and replied in a measured tone: “Tingyue has returned? How did the examinations go?”
“Elder Nan, thanks to your blessing, the examinations went quite well.”
Dressed in a blue-gray scholar’s robe, Wen Tingyue exuded a refined, well-mannered aura. Naturally framed by the scholarly grace in his every gesture, he truly looked the part of a gentle, jade-like young master.
Having just completed his exams, his very first impulse had been to rush back and see Nanzhi. Overjoyed and full of anticipation, he remained completely oblivious to the fact that the person he had been yearning for had just missed him by a hair’s breadth.
Feeling quite pleased with himself and spotting Wen Tingyue’s timely return, Nan Huaimin decided it was the perfect moment to officially call off the engagement between Nanzhi and him.
“Tingyue, this uncle wishes you early success on the imperial roll.”
A thin smile stretched across Nan Huaimin’s lean face, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes as he abruptly shifted the subject: “Since you’ve happened to return just now, there is a matter this uncle wishes to discuss with you.”
“What matter? Please, Elder Nan, speak freely.”
Wen Tingyue asked with polished courtesy, though for reasons unknown, his eyelids began to twitch violently, and his heart pounded against his ribs with a sudden, ominous thud. A heavy premonition of bad luck crept over his skin.
Reaching out to stroke his beard, Nan Huaimin adopted a tone of affected regret: “That marriage pact between you and Zhi’er—let us simply consider it canceled from this day forward.”
“What? Elder Nan, what is the meaning of this?”
As if struck by a bolt of lightning, Wen Tingyue staggered, barely able to keep his footing as he snapped his head up to stare at Nan Huaimin in utter shock, his eyes swimming with sheer disbelief.
“Tingyue, this uncle has no other choice either. Zhi’er has caught the eye of the Crown Prince. Just moments ago, right before you arrived, she was taken away by His Highness. It is this uncle who has let you down; you should simply treat it as though this engagement never existed in the first place.”
Nan Huaimin let out a heavy sigh: “Ai, I shall have someone send the betrothal gifts back to your residence shortly.”
With his head bowed low, Wen Tingyue stood frozen as though shattered by the blow, muttering over and over again in a daze: “It’s impossible… impossible, how could this be? Zhi’er promised she would wait for me to return.”
As he kept his gaze lowered, he completely missed the smug, triumphant smile curling across Nan Huaimin’s face.
Judging that everything that needed saying had been said, Nan Huaimin didn’t bother lingering, turning around and walking back into the courtyard.
Hearing the news that the Crown Prince had already departed, Nanyan made her way out to the front entrance as well. Though she missed catching a glimpse of the Crown Prince’s carriage, she did run straight into Wen Tingyue, who had just rushed back looking travel-worn and weary.
Seeing him standing there rooted to the spot, looking utterly shattered, stripped of his usual radiance, and plagued by a hollow, defeated despair in his eyes, Nanyan guessed that he must have already caught wind of what happened to Nanzhi.
Figuring the fire simply wasn’t burning hot enough, she purposely stepped right up beside him to fan the flames: “Oh my, Young Master Wen is back?”
“You must be here looking for my eldest sister, right? What a pity—Elder Sister already left in the company of His Highness the Crown Prince just moments ago. Young Master Wen, you’re a step too late.”
She deliberately raised the volume of her voice: “Young Master Wen, you have no idea—Elder Sister has thrown you away. Last night, she crawled into the Crown Prince’s bed, and now that she’s climbed up to the Crown Prince’s coattails, there’s not a shred of you left in her heart!”
The moment Nanyan finished her taunt, Wen Tingyue snapped his head up abruptly, fixing her with a chilling, bone-cold glare as he bit out: “Second Young Miss Nan, Zhi’er is not that kind of person! Don’t you dare soil her name with your filth!”
The hands hidden within his wide sleeves clenched so tightly that the veins bulged across the backs of his hands. With that fierce warning, he spun around, mounted his horse, and galloped off.
The horse surged forward in an instant, kicking up a heavy cloud of dust that choked Nanyan with a sudden, violent fit of coughing: “Ahem! Ahem!”
Watching Wen Tingyue’s retreating back, Nanyan stamped her feet in furious indignation, letting out a sharp, resentful huff: “Hmph!”
Covering her nose and mouth, she turned on her heel and stormed back inside.
Wen Tingyue’s personal manservant had just caught up to the estate when he watched his young master spur his horse away once more, driving him to cry out in panic: “Young Master, wait for this slave!”
Yet Wen Tingyue’s speed was terrifyingly swift. In the blink of an eye, he had vanished completely from the servant’s line of sight. No matter how hard he tried to sprint after him, he couldn’t keep up, leaving him stranded with nothing to do but stare longingly in the direction his master had fled before reluctantly heading back to the Wen residence alone.
Seeing her son’s servant return entirely by himself, Madam Wen wore a look of shock as she pressed: “Ah Cai, where is your young master? Why didn’t he come back with you?”
Lowering his head, Ah Cai answered: “Mistress, this slave has no idea where the Young Master went. Right after finishing his exams, he rode straight to the Nan estate, but by the time I arrived, he had already mounted his horse and taken off again. This slave couldn’t keep pace and had no choice but to return first.”
A wave of worry inevitably clouded Madam Wen’s brows, creasing them tight. Where on earth has Yue’er rushed off to now?
To come all the way back without even stopping at home first—this child really was something else.
“Very well, I understand. You may withdraw for now.”
At that very moment, Wen Tingyue was galloping at breakneck speed, chasing desperately in the direction Nanzhi’s party had taken.
Recalling the carriage he had crossed paths with earlier on the street, his gut told him that the Crown Prince must have been sitting inside it.
When he first arrived, his frantic eagerness to lay eyes on Nanzhi had blinded him to his surroundings, causing him to miss her by a hair’s breadth—a blunder that filled him with crushing regret.
He refused to believe that Zhi’er was the kind of woman Nanyan made her out to be. In his heart, he was certain that Zhi’er must have been forced into it against her will, trapped by circumstances beyond her control.
He couldn’t resign himself to this. He had to see her again.
Only three short months remained before Zhi’er was supposed to cross his threshold as his bride; how could everything have transformed into this nightmare the moment he returned?
With a face as pale as death, Wen Tingyue pushed the horse beneath him, praying for it to run faster still.
Zhi’er, just wait a little longer for me.
The biting gale shrieked across his face like slicing blades, yet Wen Tingyue seemed entirely insensible to the pain. With bloodshot, crimson eyes, he yanked hard on the reins and roared at the top of his lungs: “Hyah!”
Half an hour later, catching sight of a carriage shadow rolling into view far ahead down the road, a flash of wild, desperate joy ignited within his bloodshot eyes. Feeling as though he had finally glimpsed a ray of dawn, he cracked his riding crop against the flanks of his mount in a frenzy of excitement, driving the animal into an even faster sprint.