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main hall.

Upon seeing Qin Xi arrive, Lu Huai immediately stood up. Although he had never met Qin Xi before, he had met Shu Hua, so he was not mistaken for someone else.

When Shu Hua saw the person next to Lu Huai, her eyes widened in surprise, and she tentatively asked, "Brother?"

Shu Zhan, who was called out, wanted to hide, but Shu Hua had such sharp eyes that she spotted him immediately. Shu Zhan could only come out from behind Lu Huai, wipe the mud off his face, and said guiltily, "Zi Hui, you're here too."

Shu Hua was quite surprised to see him covered in mud. "Brother, how did you get yourself so dirty?"

Shu Zhan sighed with frustration, "This is a long story..."

Lu Huai interrupted him, "Then let's not talk about it." He looked at Qin Qi, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Miss Qin."

Qin Qi's eyes flickered, and he curtsied, "Greetings, Young Master Lu. May I ask what brings you here today?"

Lu Huai scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Miss Qin, to be honest, I came here about the matter of the arranged marriage."

Qin Xi scrutinized the man before her. He was covered in mud, but it was easy to tell he was wearing a long white robe. Standing face to face, he was about a head taller than Qin Xi, likely over eight feet tall. Though climbing the wall had dirtied his face, it couldn't hide his handsome features. All of this slowly overlapped with the image of the white-robed youth in her dream. Qin Xi couldn't help but pause, momentarily stunned.

She looked up. "Young Master Lu, are you perhaps going to break off our engagement?"

Qin Xi's words immediately exposed his thoughts, so Lu Huai stopped being coy and said directly, "That's exactly right."

Shu Hua exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? Second Young Master Lu, are you sure? Yizhi isn't an ordinary woman. Won't you regret this?"

It turns out her nickname was Yizhi.

Lu Huai nodded. “Miss Qin is stunningly beautiful and exceptionally talented; while I am merely a playboy, unskilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, only knowing how to eat, drink, gamble, and whore. I am truly unworthy of Miss Qin, so let’s cancel this marriage.”

Prime Minister Qin glanced at him, probably not expecting him to say such a thing.

Qin Xi looked at Lu Huai in front of her, smiled gently, revealing a shallow dimple at the corner of her mouth, and said to him in a gentle tone, "No."

Lu Huai was stunned. He had already said all that, yet Qin Qi still refused to break off the engagement?! He had assumed she wouldn't even consider him, but she actually rejected him. This was completely different from what he had imagined!

Lu Huai said anxiously, "No, Miss Qin, I'm a playboy. What's so good about marrying me? If you marry me, I'll only neglect you. Maybe in a few days I'll bring back a bunch of concubines!"

"Smack—"

Prime Minister Qin slammed his hand heavily on the tea table. "Insolence!"

Qin Xi found it quite amusing and couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Young Master Lu, this is a marriage bestowed by His Majesty. You must have received the imperial decree, right? Do you have any way to make him take it back?"

Lu Huai was speechless. Even though he was a playboy, he knew the saying "a ruler's word is law."

"Then you just wait and see, you'll be living a miserable life after marrying me!" With a flick of his sleeve, Lu Huai angrily left these words and departed from the Prime Minister's residence without looking back.

Shu Zhan also took his sister home; he had really embarrassed himself in front of her today.

After they left, Prime Minister Qin stepped down from his seat, walked to Qin Qi's side, and sighed, "I'm really afraid you'll be wronged if you go there."

Qin Qi comforted him, "It's alright, Father. I actually think this Second Young Master Lu is quite interesting."