Dou Mingxiu stared fixedly at Xie Guidu, unable to stand his unflappable composure.
"What are you so smug about? Fourth Sister doesn’t want to marry you either."
Having grown up with him since childhood, Dou Mingxiu had always spoken without restraint, completely oblivious to the icy chill gathering in the man’s eyes.
"Our engagement was arranged by our elders. No one can annul it."
Xie Guidu took a deep breath, his voice cold and clear. "She’s upset because I neglected her recently. She’s always had feelings for me."
"During the engagement negotiations, I won’t visit her. Don’t mention the betrothal gifts for now, to avoid complications." He handed the gift box in his hand to Dou Mingxiu and turned to leave.
Recalling her resolute refusal during the marriage proposal and her genuine desire for an engagement annulment just moments ago, Xie Guidu’s entire demeanor darkened.
If she insisted on not marrying him, shouldn’t he feel relieved?
Why did he still feel a sense of loss?
This, of course, was something Dou Mingxiu failed to notice.
He was convinced that Dou Wenyi had rejected the marriage because her reputation had been tarnished and she didn’t want to burden others. But now that the truth had come to light, and even someone as proud as Xie Guidu had humbled himself to apologize, her continued tantrums were simply unreasonable.
She was merely putting on airs to gain more attention.
Carrying a pile of gift boxes, Dou Mingxiu pushed the door open and entered, only to find that Old Madam Dou and the others had already left.
"These are all gifts from Xie Guidu, and they’re all fine items. Fourth Sister, I think he truly cares for you."
Dou Wenyi glanced at the brocade boxes on the table. They contained not only high-quality medicinal herbs but also jewelry from the Precious Treasure Pavilion. Though these gifts weren’t exceptionally precious, they were impeccable in every way.
Xie Guidu was thorough in his considerations—no wonder even Grandmother thought he was a good match.
Dou Mingxiu patiently coaxed her, "He even brought you lychees. Are your eyes set too high? If you miss him, who else do you think you’ll marry?"
Dou Wenyi smiled. "You’re right, Elder Brother. But I break out in rashes whenever I eat lychees. I’m simply not fortunate enough to enjoy them. Third Sister loves lychees the most—why not send them to her instead?"
Her words were met with dead silence.
Dou Mingxiu was first stunned, then exclaimed, "You can’t eat lychees? How come I never knew?"
Lychees were a rare delicacy, transported from Lingnan thousands of miles away. Even the imperial family found them scarce. Xie Guidu’s maternal grandfather was from Lingnan, and his uncle had close ties to the water transport system. Every lychee season, he would send two large baskets to the estate.
In the past, hadn’t Dou Wenyi always been overjoyed whenever she received lychees?
Dou Wenyi had no desire to argue. "If you don’t believe me, Elder Brother, shall I eat some to prove it to you?"
Dou Mingxiu grew irritated. "If you can’t eat them, why didn’t you say so earlier? You made him send them year after year!"
"Yes, I should have made it clear long ago—including about this engagement." Dou Wenyi felt a sudden daze, her heart aching for her past self.
Those lychees were one of the few gifts he had ever given her. How could she not treasure them like precious jewels?
Even just smelling their fragrance had made her feel that life was worth living.
But were they really meant for her?
He had clearly intended them for Dou Mingyan all along!
If he had sent them exclusively to Dou Mingyan, rumors of their improper relationship would have spread long ago. So, he had used her as a pretext, sending two large baskets under her name.
Agitated, Dou Mingxiu stared at the lychees, feeling deeply uncomfortable. In the end, he simply flicked his sleeve and stormed off.
Dou Wenyi pointed at the pile of gift boxes and sneered coldly, "Cuizhi, return all these along with the betrothal gifts Xie Guidu sent last time back to Marquis Dingyuan Manor."
Cuizhi stared in disbelief, while Bihe beside her twitched her eyelids and panicked completely, "Miss, please reconsider!Returning these gifts would be an outright slap in the heir's face.
If they angered Marquis Dingyuan Manor, this marriage alliance would truly fall through.
Bihe noticed a long brocade box and retrieved a painting from it. As the scroll unfurled gradually, a beauty beneath a magnolia tree came into view.
"Heavens, Miss, look! The heir painted you! So beautiful!"
Dou Wenyi stared fixedly at the painting, feeling as if the person in the portrait was laughing mockingly at her.
Xie Guidu was renowned for his paintings of flowers, birds, and landscapes. His works were highly sought after in Great Zhou, difficult to obtain even for a thousand pieces of gold, and treasured by scholars and connoisseurs.
After marrying him, she couldn't avoid being conventional, constantly yearning for him to paint her portrait.
Yet even after waiting ten years, her wish remained unfulfilled.
She often tidied his study and discovered that he occasionally sketched portraits of beauties when inspired. However, these paintings always lacked eyes and eyebrows by the final stages.
More absurdly, no matter how well-painted they were, they ultimately met the fate of being ruthlessly torn apart by him.
He would always gently smile and reassure her, "I'm truly unsatisfied with this painting. I'll paint another for you next time."
She believed him, but his gentleness was a dagger!
How could she have known that those beauty portraits he painted consistently over ten years weren't of her at all, but of Dou Mingyan.
Dou Mingyan was the exalted Crown Princess, the untouchable white moonlight in his heart. How dare he add eyes and eyebrows? That would only bring trouble upon her!
In her previous life, this was something she sought but could never obtain.
Now in this life, he eagerly presents it before her.
She was no longer an inexperienced young girl. Nowadays, even glancing at it made her nauseous.
"What are you all standing around for? Return everything!" Dou Wenyi's eyes were filled with disdain.
Suddenly, a tearing sound was heard as the painting was ripped in half by Dou Wenyi, followed by several more crisp tearing noises that echoed sharply in the room. The painting was shredded to pieces.
Cuizhi watched with trepidation, fully realizing that her mistress would never marry Young Master Xie.
Marquis Dingyuan Manor.
Xie Guidu sat at his desk in a daze, the graceful figure beneath the magnolia tree lingering in his mind. The scene in the painting was actually from his private residence, but that place currently didn't have a single magnolia tree…
He admitted her appearance surpassed even Mingyan's. He prided himself on being a gentleman, not a lustful man, nor one who would change his affections easily.
Why did he harbor such romantic thoughts about her every night?
"Crown Prince."" Moyu strode in.
"What is it?"
"Dou Fourth Miss has returned all the… things you sent over."
Xie Guidu's brow faintly showed traces of irritation as he lifted his eyes to cast a cold glance at Moyu. "What about the painting?"
Moyu hung his head dejectedly, "Everything was returned, but the painting was torn to shreds! They also said… Fourth Miss never liked lychees, and that…"
"And what else?"
"And that painting a young lady from her chambers without permission is unbecoming of a gentleman. They said if you love painting, you should paint more of other things, like… dragons, tigers…" Moyu's voice trailed off.
Xie Guidu's face turned cold. It's easy to draw a tiger's skin but hard to draw its bones; you may know a person's face but not their heart.
How dare she insult him in such a roundabout way? He had been too indulgent with her!
Indeed, it was his misconception that had confused the person in his dreams with the real her…
What was a mere marriage arrangement, after all?
Whether she resisted it or disliked it, she could only marry him in this lifetime!