From the moment they received the news, the Marquis Anle and his wife had regained their composure by the time they reached the outer hall.
Everyone in the household had gathered at once. Ye Jiyu’s wife, née Yuan, hurried over upon learning that her husband was furious at the front gate, rushing to soothe him. Ye Jichang and his wife, née Wang, arrived shortly after.
Ye Su stood to one side without speaking. Yuan and Wang exchanged a glance, then, worried that Ye Su might be upset, gathered around her. Yuan clasped Ye Su’s hand with concern. “Third Sister.”
Wang also tried to comfort her. “Perhaps there’s some misunderstanding.”
Ye Su shook her head. “Second Sister-in-law, Eldest Sister-in-law, I’m fine.”
This matter was indeed utterly absurd—the kind of thing that could destroy a young lady’s reputation entirely. Yet Ye Su remained extraordinarily calm, as if she were used to it.
And she was. The rumors that had spread after her first two fiancés died had long since toughened her up.
So what if the engagement was broken?
She was going to kill Meng Zixu, that bastard who had made her lose face in the capital yet again!!
Even Ye Mo stood nearby, her face feigning shock and bewilderment at what was happening, though in truth she was there to watch the spectacle.
Could Ye Su’s marriage prospects really have fallen through again? This was the third time. Was she truly cursed with such an ill-fated destiny—first losing fiancés to death, and now being rejected?
What use was all the dowry the family had prepared for her then?
Sitting imposingly in the seat of honor, the Marquis Anle stared coldly at the man standing below. “You were sent by Meng Zixu to break off the engagement?”
The Marchioness Anle sat on the other side without speaking, her face frosty.
Facing such cold questioning, Chang Ke was already drenched in nervous sweat. Everyone in the room belonged to the Marquis’s household, and he was already regretting taking on this task.
Master Meng was a young lord of the Marquis’s estate, but he—Chang Ke—was nothing.
But since he was already here, he could only force himself to stay calm and present a thick letter with both hands. “Yes. I am Chang Ke. This is the letter of annulment written personally by my master, along with a letter of apology.”
A servant took the letter and handed it to the Marquis Anle, but he didn’t even glance at it, tossing it carelessly onto the table. His gaze never left Chang Ke. “Is this his own decision, or the will of the Marquis of Ningguo’s household?”
Since even the betrothal gifts had already been sent, it probably wasn’t the decision of the Meng couple. That could only mean Meng Zixu had acted on his own.
Sure enough, Chang Ke said, “This was my master’s own decision. It has nothing to do with the Marquis’s household or his parents. My master said he alone will bear all consequences.”
The Marquis Anle laughed in fury. “Fine. A fine example of ‘one man takes responsibility for his own deeds.’ You’ve trampled all over the dignity of the Anle Marquis’s household in full public view!”
He didn’t even need to send anyone to investigate—he knew that after today, word would spread throughout the capital that the Anle Marquis’s household had been humiliated by someone coming to their door to break off an engagement.
Chang Ke was silent as a cicada in winter. The words were his master’s orders, but the deed was his doing.
“Go back and tell your master that we agree to break off the engagement. All the betrothal gifts will be returned in full by the end of today.” The Marchioness Anle, who had not spoken a word until now, finally opened her mouth.
Her expression was calm, her gaze level. Compared to her husband’s reaction, she seemed not the least bit angry.
Chang Ke’s heart was uneasy, yet also felt as if he’d been granted a pardon. It looked like he would be able to walk out of here in one piece.
He was about to bow and give his thanks, but the Marchioness Anle didn’t wait for him to move before instructing a servant, “See our guest out.”
Chang Ke had no choice but to abandon the gesture and follow the servant out.
Inside the Marquis’s residence, after the man had left, the Marquis Anle panted heavily, clearly furious.
He said loudly to his wife, “Immediately inventory all the betrothal gifts the Marquis of Ningguo’s household sent over. Not a single thread is to be left behind—return every last bit of it!”
“Mama Huang, send someone to check the list, then you and Steward Liu personally lead the people to deliver everything back. Make a big show of it—let everyone see clearly that we haven’t taken a single advantage from them!” the Marchioness said coldly.
“Yes.” Mama Huang didn’t dare hesitate and immediately went out to summon people to carry the betrothal gifts.
The commotion of returning the gifts was enormous. Steward Liu and Mama Huang had gathered nearly two hundred people, marching all the way with drums and gongs.
Not only that, they had servants loudly explain to passersby that the young lord of the Marquis of Ningguo’s household had, disregarding the friendship between the two families, committed an unjust act by breaking off the engagement without cause.
There were also literate servants who read aloud from the betrothal gift list, displaying each item they returned, making clear that the Anle Marquis’s household disdained to covet anything from the Meng family.
The stir this caused was even greater than the day the betrothal gifts had originally been delivered.
First, the young lord of the second branch of the Marquis of Ningguo’s household sent someone to break off the engagement; then, the Anle Marquis’s household made a grand spectacle of returning the gifts.
One juicy piece of gossip after another—the capital’s citizens said they could barely keep up.
Over at the Marquis of Ningguo’s residence, when she learned that the Anle Marquis’s household had come to return the betrothal gifts, Madam Liu thought she had misheard. “Nanny Zhang, are you sure you’re not mistaken? They really came to return the gifts?”
Nanny Zhang smiled bitterly. “Madam, how would I dare make up something like this? The people from the Anle Marquis’s household are almost at our front gate right now.”
Madam Liu’s eyes flew wide in shock. “Why? Weren’t things going well between them?”
Nanny Zhang had already found out the details, but she was hesitant to say. Seeing her hem and haw, Madam Liu slammed the table hard. “What did you find out? Speak!”
Not daring to delay any further, Mama Zhang immediately said, “It was the young master. He sent a registrar back to the capital, who went straight to the Marquis Anle residence and publicly called off the engagement…”
“…Publicly called off the engagement—how public exactly?” Though her son’s unilateral decision to break off the engagement had already shocked her greatly, Madam Liu still clung to a sliver of hope that her son would at least consider the family’s reputation and not go too far.
But Mama Zhang’s next words shattered her hopes completely: “He announced it right in front of the marquis’s gates. Many passersby heard it.”
That was no different from declaring it before the entire city.
Her vision went dark, and Madam Liu staggered and collapsed into a chair. Mama Zhang hurried to support her, but she shoved the woman away, pointing outside and shouting hoarsely, “Go find that unfilial son of mine and bring him back!”
Her son’s actions had made enemies for them in the capital. Forget being in-laws with the Marquis Anle household—from now on, they would likely be sworn enemies.
Was this what he had learned after all these years as an official?
In the past, they had paved too smooth a road for him, which had allowed him to grow so arrogant that he disregarded others’ dignity and thought he could offend anyone at will!
Mama Zhang knew her mistress was too furious to think clearly: “Madam, the second young master is still in Shenzhou and hasn’t returned yet.”
“What matters most now is that the other party is about to arrive. What should we do out there?” Mama Zhang asked for direction.
Madam Liu could only press hard against the throbbing vein at her temple, forcing herself to regain composure: “What about the master? Call the master back first.”
“Have you forgotten, Madam? The master went out of the capital with friends for an outing this morning and won’t be back for two days. I’ve already sent someone to find the eldest master, but he hasn’t returned yet,” Mama Zhang said.
Madam Liu had no choice but to stand and head outside.
She knew that going out now would mean facing the fury and ridicule of the Marquis Anle household, but it had to be faced.
At this point, the marriage between Ye Su and her son was certainly impossible. All she could do was offer her apologies.
Fortunately, she had heard that His Majesty was not particularly fond of this maternal cousin of his either. She could only hope this matter would not reach the palace.