Chapter 78: A vow was made by swearing a blood oath to observe three years of mourning and never remarry...

This marriage was the last gamble for both the Cui and Yan families.

But no one expected that Yan Ning would regain her senses at the last moment.

No one knew what was going on with him, but he had come to his senses. Faced with a house full of guests, amidst the hustle and bustle, he didn't hesitate or have any reservations. He tore off the red silk ribbon and refused them.

"I can't marry him!"

"What did you say!"

Lord Yan suddenly stood up from his seat and shouted angrily, "Say that again!"

The scene erupted into chaos. Cui Shi rose from her seat, walked to Yan Ning's side, and tugged at his sleeve, saying, "It's good that you're awake, it's good that you're awake."

She was delighted that her son was no longer in a state of mental confusion, but out of consideration for the family's reputation and honor, she advised him, "Stop making a fuss, Changjun. There are so many people here today. Don't disobey your father. Let's finish the ceremony first, and we can talk about it later."

"After that, when is that?" Yan Ning questioned, "Was this marriage a sham? Was it a joke? If you don't speak up now, what will you do later!"

Cui remained silent.

Lord Yan roared, "What kind of attitude is this!"

Yan Ning remained unfazed, head held high and resolute, saying each word clearly: "What attitude does Father think we should take!"

"Treason!"

Lord Yan was so angry that his whole body trembled, and his beard flew up. He said sternly, "This marriage is yours today, whether you like it or not!"

"Very well, then carry my corpse and let my corpse be the bride!"

At this moment, Yan Ning was no longer the refined and elegant young man he once was, nor did he possess the courteous demeanor of a gentleman. The father and son were now at each other's throats, neither willing to give way to the other!

Cui Wan covered her face with her fan, and upon hearing this, she slowly revealed her face from behind the fan, her eyes filled with tears, and called out in a soft, tender voice, "Cousin."

Yan Ning merely glanced at her indifferently before resuming her antagonistic demeanor towards Lord Yan.

He stood there with his back straight, like a green bamboo or pine tree, and everything around him seemed to pale in comparison.

She stood still for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, then removed the white jade hairpin that held her hair up. Her long hair cascaded down like a waterfall, fluttering wildly in the spring breeze, obscuring half her face. Yet, the unwavering determination in her dark, inky eyes shone even brighter.

Lady Cui was terrified by his sudden action; her heart pounded in her chest, and she cried out in a pitiful voice, "Changjun!"

Yan Ning responded to her.

"Mother."

Cui's eyes were red and swollen from crying. She softened her tone and said, "If you don't want to marry me, then don't. Stop making a scene, stop making a scene. Quickly tie your hair back up."

A gentleman straightens his clothes and hat.

At this moment, a person in this state is no different from walking naked.

His eyes were slightly red at the corners. He stared at Cui Shi for a moment, then knelt down with a thud, raised his hands above his head, and performed a very proper salute.

"Your unfilial son is ashamed of the kindness and guidance he has shown his mother in raising and educating him..."

"No, get up now!"

Cui cried as she tried to help him up, but she couldn't lift him; he stood firm as a pine tree, not moving an inch. "I will repay your kindness, Mother, one day when I grow up and return to you with my life."

The man kowtowed three times, then rose from the ground, holding a white jade hairpin, and cut his palm, shouting: "I ask you all to witness that today I, the Third Son of the Yan family, hereby swear in blood that from this day forward, I will no longer be a son of the Yan family. Apart from the surname, I will have nothing to do with the Yan family. I will bear all honor and disgrace myself, and I am willing to observe three years of mourning for my wife, Li, and will never remarry!"

"puff!"

Upon hearing this, Cui's vision went black, she coughed up blood and fainted.

Lord Yan cursed repeatedly, "You unfilial son! You unfilial son!"

Cui Wan never imagined that Yan Ning would go to such lengths to avoid marrying her. She was shocked and humiliated!

She heard various voices from guests and relatives, rustling and pointing, but she couldn't make them out clearly. She thought they were mocking her, laughing at her, a noble lady from a respectable family, for being rejected by her fiancé in public. They laughed at her, saying that no matter how well-read she was, she was still inferior to a commoner girl who couldn't read or write.

No!

She can't accept it!

How can someone who has been showered with applause, praise, and adulation since childhood accept this!

"ah!"

In an instant, Cui Wan felt dizzy and ran away, dropping her fan and lifting her skirt!

A highly anticipated wedding ended in farce.

...

"You're being too impulsive, Changjun."

The wedding banquet was called off, and everyone turned against him. Lu Wulang couldn't bear it, so he took his friend with him and tried to persuade him in the restaurant.

"Is it really worth it for Liyang, for a woman?"

He said, "You were in such a hurry back then, and things turned out like that in the blink of an eye. I didn't have time to tell you. Actually, before Lady Liyang left, she asked me to pass on a message to you. She said that if you couldn't bear the pressure from your family, you should accept the marriage. She doesn't blame you. It's not that people can't accept you marrying a girl from the Cui family..."

Lu Wulang sighed and said, "The county magistrate is a woman of deep feelings. On that day in the flower hall, she did not really intend to harm you, and she was honest with you afterwards."

"I know."

"Um?"

Lu Wu looked at him, puzzled. "You know?"

Yan Ning said, "At that time, I was completely unguarded with her. If she really wanted my life, that hairpin of hers should have pierced my throat, not my shoulder. She knew the pressure from the aristocratic families and me. She did it on purpose. She was sacrificing her own reputation to protect me, so that all the blame would fall on her instead of the aristocratic families. I only dared not agree because I could not bear the pressure from the jealous wife in my family."

"yes."

As she turned and left gracefully, Lu Wulang also realized this.

"Since you understand this, why did you impulsively reject the marriage proposal?"

The engagement was called off at the wedding.

Where does this leave the family, and the Cui family women?

That's absolutely outrageous!

"Changjun, to be honest, as your friend, I hope you've come to your senses about this marriage and know what you're doing. But given the current situation, I really can't accept it. Liyang has already accepted it and doesn't care about you anymore. I don't understand what you're so fixated on. Is it worth going against your family for her sake?"

Yan Ning did not answer him immediately, but took a long sip of wine. The bitter wine soaked his throat, and he slowly said, "If this matter is to be attributed to Liyang, then the crime is too heavy. She is not worthy of such a crime. My refusal to marry her was because of her, but that was only a very small factor. Rather than saying it was for her, I should say it was for myself."

Lu Wulang was puzzled.

Yan Ning was also extremely patient, without the slightest impatience of those who had different views. He said, "Do you remember that I once told you that I had a little white dog that I loved very much when I was young?"

"Yes, you said you liked it very much, but Uncle Shi thought it was a waste of time and wouldn't allow you to keep it. After that, he sent you to Qinghe to be raised and educated by Old Master Cui until you were seven or eight years old."

Upon returning to Jiankang, he stunned everyone at a gathering of aristocratic families, thus elevating the reputation of the Cui and Yan families. The patriarch of the Cui family was considered to be a great Confucian scholar, and many aristocratic families would send their most valued children to the Cui family's clan school in Qinghe for their upbringing.

This is one of the reasons why the marriage between the Cui and Yan families received so much support from prominent families.

Nowadays, those in this aristocratic family who are well-known and have some status and prestige are all students of Old Master Cui.

We should always give them this much face.

That's why he felt that Yan Ning had acted too impulsively this time, and he was afraid that he would be criticized for forgetting his ancestors and being ungrateful.

There may be even worse ones.

Those worldly arguments are like a knife that kills without drawing blood.

Yan Ning continued, "Yes, that's right. But I've never told you anything about what Father did after he forbade me to raise the child."

That was a past he was reluctant to recall.

The puppy was locked in a cage. The father handed him a knife and told him, "Go, kill it. Kill this thing that's bothering your mind!"

The older brother was crying, kneeling on the ground and begging his father not to let his younger brother play with it anymore.

But the man remained unmoved and insisted that he take action.

His parents, relatives, and the entire Yan family stood there, watching a child who was just over three years old and could barely walk steadily, urging him step by step to walk to the cage and stab the puppy that was not even as big as him.

It sensed the danger and struggled to break free of the cage that had trapped it, trying to escape.

But humans are so wicked; they used their pre-developed intelligence to bewitch it.

The puppy thought it had turned the corner and was safe, and happily rubbed against his hand. When the puppy was most relaxed, he plunged the knife into its throat.

Blood stained his hands, his tender face, and his snow-white clothes. Then, countless cheers erupted, deafeningly loud.

They praised him as a divine child, saying that at such a young age he already understood the art of war—deception and surprise—and that he would surely achieve great things in the future.

“I killed it and ate its flesh.”

Lu Wulang was horrified, unable to imagine the immense psychological trauma this would inflict on a three-year-old child.

Too.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to remember these things at such a young age. People are precocious, but who knows if it wasn't forced upon them?

"So...you're using this to get revenge on Uncle?"

Yan Ning scoffed and said, "If I were seeking revenge, I would have done so long ago. Why would I wait until today?"

Lu Wulang didn't understand his words. "If it's not revenge, why do you have to do it this way, going to such extremes?"

Yan Ning said, "Because I want to... break free from this cage."

“I am like that little white dog trapped in a cage. Everything I do exists only to please and amuse. Each of them holds the power of life and death over me. They can bind me with family, reputation, prestige, filial piety... and then... kill me.”

He was trapped for a very long time. At first, he struggled, but later he was gradually tamed and even began to be assimilated. As a result, he gained a lot of things: flowers, applause, and all sorts of additional accolades.

Is this what he wants?

He knew perfectly well that it wasn't true.

He understood even more clearly that these things were shackles; they could elevate you to the heavens today, but they could also drag you down into the mud tomorrow.

But their tamed hands and feet have forgotten how to resist, and can only do what they want day after day.

Until one day, an unlucky fellow was also locked in this cage.

She found herself trapped and tried to run away, but he told her it was no use. She was going to stay there, and if she wanted to live a better, more comfortable life, she should listen and obey...

But she didn't listen and continued to struggle, refusing to back down an inch even though she was covered in wounds.

Looking at the injured, suffering, and barely alive man who was still trying to break through the window to get out, he was reminded of himself many years ago.

New flesh and blood began to grow on his hands and feet, and he developed sharp claws to struggle, but he was discovered. So they attributed everything to the unlucky woman who had appeared, and believed that everything would be alright and things would be back to normal once she disappeared.

But then they found out there wasn't one, so... they came up with a new idea: while he was weak, they would find him a new hunter and re-tame him.

He originally only wanted to break out of that cage and have more space; nothing would change. But now he realizes that as long as he's inside, it's impossible to break out of the cage. So, he has no choice but to take a desperate gamble.

"But... what about the Cui family's daughter?"

Lu Wulang roughly understood what he was saying. As a fellow scion of a prominent family, he also deeply felt these things, but he didn't have the courage to do so. He still preferred to... follow the rules and regulations.

For someone like Yan Ning, the issues before her are very real, and there's also Cui Wan, an innocent victim who suffered because of the broken cage.

"If you reject her in court and word gets out, her reputation might suffer. What if she does something rash..."

Yan Ning sighed and said, "Everyone has to pay the price for their choices. No one can cover for someone else for a lifetime."