Chapter 9 His gentleness is a knife

Dou Mingxiu stared intently at Xie Guidu, unable to bear his calm and composed demeanor.

"What are you so smug about? Fourth Sister doesn't want to marry you anymore."

Dou Mingxiu and he had grown up together since childhood, and Dou Mingxiu had never been careful with his words, so he didn't notice the coldness gathering in the man's eyes.

“Our engagement was arranged by our elders, and no one can break it off.”

Xie Guidu took a deep breath, his voice cold and clear, "She's blaming me for neglecting her recently. She's always had me in her heart."

“I won’t visit her during the marriage negotiations. Don’t mention the betrothal gifts yet, lest it cause any complications.” He handed the gift box to Dou Mingxiu and turned to leave.

The thought of her resolute attitude when she proposed, and the fact that she had genuinely wanted to break off the engagement, made Xie Guidu's entire demeanor change.

If she insists on not marrying him, shouldn't he feel relieved?

Why does he still feel disappointed?

Dou Mingxiu was clearly unaware of all this.

He was certain that Dou Wenyi refused the marriage proposal because her reputation was damaged and she didn't want to implicate others. But now that the truth was out, even someone as proud as Xie Guidu had bowed his head and given in, yet she was still throwing a tantrum. She was really being unreasonable.

She's just being coy and trying to get more attention.

Dou Mingxiu carried a pile of gift boxes and pushed open the door to enter. Old Madam Dou and her entourage had already left.

"These are all things sent by Xie Guidu, and they are all good things. Fourth sister, I can see that he cares about you."

Dou Wenyi glanced at the brocade box on the table. It contained not only top-quality medicinal herbs but also jewelry from the Treasure Pavilion. Although these gifts were not particularly precious, they were impeccable.

Xie Guidu is meticulous in every aspect; no wonder even his grandmother thinks he is a good man.

Dou Mingxiu patiently coaxed, "He even brought you lychees. Are you blind? If you miss him, who else do you want to marry?"

Dou Wenyi smiled, "Brother is right, but I get rashes after eating lychees, so I really can't enjoy them. Third Sister loves lychees the most, so you should send some to her instead."

The words had barely left his mouth when silence fell.

Dou Mingxiu was stunned at first, then exclaimed in surprise, "You can't eat lychees? How come I didn't know that?"

Lychees are rare, as they have to be transported from Lingnan, thousands of miles away. Even the imperial family has very few of them. Xie Guidu's maternal grandfather lived in Lingnan, and his uncle had close ties with the canal transport. Every time the lychees ripened, he would send two large baskets of lychees to the mansion.

In the past, whenever Dou Wenyi received lychees, she was always overjoyed.

Dou Wenyi didn't want to argue. "Brother, if you don't believe me, do you want me to eat it to show you?"

Dou Mingxiu was a little annoyed, "If you can't eat it, why didn't you say so? You made him send it to you every year!"

"Yes, I should have made things clear a long time ago, including this marriage." Dou Wenyi was in a daze for a moment, and suddenly felt a pang of heartache for her past self.

That was one of the few gifts he gave her; how could he not treasure it like a precious gem?

Even just smelling the aroma of lychees makes her feel that life is worthwhile.

But why was he giving it to me?

He clearly intended to give it to Dou Mingyan!

If the gifts were given to Dou Mingyan alone, rumors of their secret affair would probably have already spread. So they had to use her as a cover and send two large baskets instead.

Dou Mingxiu felt irritated and uncomfortable staring at the lychee, so he simply turned and left.

Dou Wenyi pointed to the pile of gift boxes, then sneered, "Cuizhi, return all these things, along with the ones Xie Guidu brought when he proposed marriage last time, to the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence."

Cuizhi was incredulous, while Bihe, standing beside her, panicked completely, her eyelids twitching. "Miss, think it over!"

Returning these things would be a blatant slap in the face to the Crown Prince.

If the Marquis of Dingyuan's family is angered, the marriage will truly fall through.

Bihe saw a long brocade box. She took out a painting from it, and the painting slowly unfolded, revealing a beautiful woman under a magnolia tree.

"My goodness, young lady, look! The prince has painted you! You're so beautiful!"

Dou Wenyi stared straight at the drawing paper, feeling as if the person in the painting was laughing and mocking her.

Xie Guidu was famous for his paintings of flowers, birds, and landscapes. His paintings were highly sought after in the Zhou Dynasty and were extremely valuable, regarded as treasures by scholars and literati.

After she married him, she couldn't escape the common practice of begging him to paint her portrait.

Even after waiting for ten years, their wish still hadn't come true.

She often went to tidy up his study and discovered that he would occasionally sketch portraits of beauties when he was in the mood, but his portraits of beauties always lacked eyebrows and eyes when he was finishing them.

Even more outrageous is that no matter how well they were drawn, they could not escape the fate of being ruthlessly torn to shreds by him.

He would always smile gently and reassure her, "I'm really not satisfied with this painting, I'll paint it for you next time."

She believed him, but his gentleness was a knife!

Little did she know that the portrait of the beauty he painted day after day for ten years was not originally of her, but of Dou Mingyan.

Dou Mingyan is the Crown Princess, a high and mighty figure in his heart, a white moonlight that he cannot defile. How could he dare to make any advances towards her? That would only bring trouble upon her!

It was something she longed for but could not obtain in her past life.

In this lifetime, he actually fawned over me and presented himself to me.

She was no longer an innocent young girl; now, even a glance from her made her feel disgusted.

"What are you all standing there for? Go back, all of you!" Dou Wenyi's eyes were full of disdain.

Suddenly, with a tearing sound, the scroll was torn in two by Dou Wenyi. Then, several more tearing sounds were heard, the crisp sounds were very jarring in the room, and a painting was torn to shreds.

Cuizhi was horrified, realizing that her daughter would never marry Prince Xie.

The Marquis of Dingyuan's residence.

Xie Guidu sat at his desk, lost in thought, the image of the beautiful woman beneath the magnolia blossoms lingering in his mind. The scene in the painting was actually his private residence, but there wasn't a single magnolia tree there now...

He admitted that she was even more beautiful than Mingyan. He considered himself a gentleman, not a lustful person, and would never be fickle.

Why does he feel such tender thoughts about her every night?

"Your Highness." Mo Yu strode in.

"What is it?"

"Miss Dou, the things you sent over have all been returned."

A hint of irritation flickered between Xie Guidu's brows as he raised his eyes and coldly glanced at Mo Yu. "Where is that painting?"

Mo Yu hung her head dejectedly, "They were all returned, but they were torn to shreds! They also said... Fourth Miss never liked lychees, and they said..."

"What else is there to say?"

"You also said that it's not the act of a gentleman to steal paintings of women in their boudoirs without permission. You love to paint, so let you paint more of other things, like dragons, tigers..." Mo Yu's voice trailed off.

Xie Guidu's face turned cold. It's easy to draw a dragon or a tiger, but hard to draw their bones; it's easy to know a person's face, but hard to know their heart.

She even dared to indirectly insult him; he really spoiled her too much!

Sure enough, it was his imagination that caused him to confuse the person in his dream with her in reality...

It's just a marriage, isn't it?

Whether she resists or dislikes him, she can only marry him in this lifetime!