Want to pursue him?

Does he think he can catch up with someone he wants to?

Chu Yuning took bigger steps and strode out of the Jixiang Inn. He walked very fast, as if he wanted to deliberately torment Shen Yuan, making her unable to catch up with him and forcing her to run harder.

Chu Yuning walked quite a distance, but did not hear any woman's panting or footsteps behind her.

Could it be that he walked too fast and Shen Yuan couldn't catch up?

Chu Yuning stopped and looked back, only to find that Shen Yuan had not followed at all, but was instead helping Liu Mama up the stairs of the inn.

Did she not see him and think he was upstairs?

Chu Yuning frowned slightly, seemingly a little impatient. This Shen Yuan was even more foolish than he had imagined. Fine, he'd give her face and go back to find her!

Shen Yuan tripped on the steps when she went upstairs, but luckily Liu Mama helped her and she didn't fall. So Shen Yuan didn't dare to be impatient anymore and slowly walked up the stairs while holding onto the railing.

As she approached the second floor, someone suddenly called her name from behind.

Shen Yuan turned around and saw Chu Yuning standing at the corner of the stairs. She couldn't help but frown. How could she run into him as soon as she entered the city? What bad luck!

"Yuanyuan, when did you arrive? How long have you been waiting?" Chu Yuning asked as she walked up to Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan rolled her eyes. "What's it to you? Are we that close?"

Chu Yuning was speechless at Shen Yuan's words. How come this was different from what he had expected?

Didn't she come to the city today specifically to apologize to him and admit her mistake?

“Yuanyuan, as long as you say sorry to me, I can forgive and forget what happened last time. After all, we have known each other for ten years, and I know how much you care about me.”

Chu Yuning stood with her hands behind her back, slightly raising her chin as she looked down at Shen Yuan.

He wore the robes of Ziyun Academy, the blue inner lapels and plain white robes making him appear even more elegant and distinguished, with an innate scholar's arrogance in his eyes.

However, in Shen Yuan's eyes, this arrogance was nothing but an empty shell.

Her face turned cold. "Chu Yuning, our engagement has been dissolved, and we have no further connection. If you dare to spout nonsense again, I will report you to the authorities for defaming a woman's reputation."

The laws of the Great Yan state that if a man defames a woman, he will be punished with ten strokes of the cane and a fine of one hundred.

Upon hearing Shen Yuan's words, Chu Yuning's face instantly darkened. Shen Yuan actually wanted to take him to the authorities? Had she lost her mind? Also, annulment? When did he annul his engagement with Shen Yuan?

Even if he doesn't like Shen Yuan, she shouldn't be the one to break off the engagement!

Chu Yuning said, "What did you say? My engagement with you..."

"Our engagement has long been dissolved. Your mother agreed to the dissolution, and the village head wrote the dissolution document himself. Our engagement was null and void several days ago. Don't bring it up again!" Shen Yuan interrupted Chu Yuning without any mercy.

"What? That's impossible! I disagree!"

Whether you agree or not, nobody cares!

Shen Yuan was too lazy to waste any more words with Chu Yuning. She pulled Liu Mama upstairs, but Chu Yuning blocked their way.

"Yuanyuan, you're not allowed to leave. You clearly like me. I don't believe you would willingly break off the engagement. Did my mother force you? Tell me what's going on, okay?"

Shen Yuan was amused and annoyed by Chu Yuning's words, "Chu Yuning, it's one thing if your two ears are useless, but is the part between your ears meant to be eaten as a snack? Can't you even understand human speech?"

“Yuanyuan…”

Before Chu Yuning could say anything more, Granny Liu pushed him aside.

He was already thin, and when Granny Liu pushed him hard, he almost lost his balance.

Granny Liu shouted downstairs, "Waiter, this person is blocking our way! Are we not allowed to stay here?"

Hearing the shouts, the waiter immediately scrambled upstairs. Upon seeing that it was Chu Yuning blocking his way, he immediately cursed with a dark face, "Get out of here! Get out of here! Our boss has already said he doesn't want your calligraphy and paintings anymore, and you still won't leave! How can you be so shameless!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Yuning's face immediately turned ashen.

If he hadn't borrowed ten taels of silver from a classmate and was in a hurry to pay it off, he wouldn't have come here to sell his calligraphy and paintings at such a low price, only to be humiliated by these people who don't understand refinement! His calligraphy and paintings should be framed and displayed for people to appreciate!

Seeing the disheveled and unwilling look in Chu Yuning's eyes, Shen Yuan smiled knowingly, "Oh right, I forgot to congratulate you!"

"What do you mean?" Chu Yuning looked up at Shen Yuan, instinctively sensing that her smile didn't carry any good intentions.

"Congratulations on having a father! Don't you know your mother found you a father? I advise you not to waste time here, hurry back and congratulate your mother on her new marriage!"

After saying this, Shen Yuan pulled Liu Mama away without looking back.

Liu Chuyuning stood there, feeling as if she had been struck by lightning.

Without giving it much thought, he packed his things and rushed back to Chu Family Village that very night.

Chu Yuning returned home on the evening of the following day.

He was penniless and had no money for transportation, so he had to walk back to Chujia Village, a journey that took him a day and a night.

Chu Yuning then realized that Chu Family Village was so far from Jian'an City that he almost collapsed by the roadside several times.

Fortunately, just as the sun was about to set, he finally saw the boundary marker of Chujia Village.

Chu Yuning staggered into the village, his legs feeling like they were made of lead. As he passed the fenced courtyard at the village entrance, he suddenly remembered that when Shen Yuan came to the city to see him, she used to carry a basket of medicinal herbs and walk step by step into the city.

She was a girl, and should have been more delicate than him.

Doesn't she find this path very difficult?

What gave her the perseverance to travel to the city to see him again and again?

Chu Yuning didn't know what was wrong, but it felt like a big stone was stuck in his chest. He couldn't pick it up, and he couldn't put it down. It was stuck in his chest and made him feel extremely frustrated.

"Brother Yu, you're back!"

When Chu's relatives saw Chu Yuning return, they rushed forward and said, "Brother Yu, you're finally back! The clan chief has been waiting for you for almost three days. Go and see your mother! She's still kneeling in the ancestral hall and hasn't eaten for three days!"

"Auntie, why is my mother kneeling in the ancestral hall? What happened?"

"This... how can we say this! You should go to the ancestral hall and ask your mother yourself!" The speaker's face was gloomy, as if he was having difficulty speaking.

Chu Yuning's heart sank to the bottom. Could what Shen Yuan said be true?

No! Impossible! His mother did not remarry after his father passed away. The chastity memorial arch awarded to his mother by the clan elders is still displayed on their family's altar. How could his mother have done something so shameful?

That's absolutely impossible!

Chu Yuning ran towards the ancestral hall.

Chu Family Village is a village formed by people with the surname Chu who settled here. Most of the villagers are from the Chu family, and there is only one ancestral hall in the village, which is the ancestral hall of the Chu family.

As Chu Yuning entered the ancestral hall, she saw Zhao kneeling before her father's memorial tablet, her hands and feet bound, her face obscured by her hair, making it impossible to tell whether she was awake or asleep.

Kneeling beside her was another person, Chu Xiaoshan, the village head of Chujia Village.

The lover who had an affair with his mother turned out to be his own uncle!

"You beast! You beast!" Chu Yuning swung her fist and rushed forward, punching the village headman in the forehead.