Young Master Qiu couldn't bear to see a beauty shed tears. He didn't care about anything else at the moment and hurriedly took out his handkerchief to wipe Qinglan's tears. If it were any other time, Qinglan would have dodged away long ago, but today Qinglan did not dodge and just let Young Master Qiu wipe her tears.

Young Master Qiu seemed to have noticed the change in Qinglan's attitude towards him, so he mustered up his courage and said:

"Qinglan, but there are rumors circulating that you are extremely fond of General Ning, and that you even asked the Empress Dowager to grant you a marriage."

Upon hearing this, Qinglan pushed away Young Master Qiu's hand and said angrily:

"Hmph, all these rumors were spread by Jiang Yuwei. She's deliberately trying to ruin my reputation so that I can only marry General Ning and become a pawn in their general's mansion, helping General Ning rise to power!"

Upon hearing Qinglan's words, Young Master Qiu believed her without a second thought. He slammed his hand on the table and angrily exclaimed:

"Such a thing actually happened! It's outrageous! I always knew you weren't that kind of person, Qinglan. These rumors are really harmful!"

As he spoke, Young Master Qiu grew even bolder, directly grabbing Qinglan's hand.

"Qinglan, this General's Mansion is simply a den of monsters that devours people. How dare they take advantage of your family background like this? If you really marry into it in the future, who knows what kind of suffering you will endure!"

When Qinglan's hand was grasped by this young master Qiu, she felt an immediate sense of disgust. She quickly and discreetly pulled her hand away, turned her head to the side, and sobbed, wiping tears from her cheeks.

"I...I don't know what to do either. The Empress Dowager has already arranged this marriage for me, and it's not something I can easily go back on. Now I can only leave it to fate, sob..."

Seeing Qinglan like this, Young Master Qiu felt even more distressed and couldn't help but sigh:

"Alas, it's also because I wasn't firm enough. If I had confessed my feelings to you earlier, you wouldn't have had to go through such a detour. Even if the Empress Dowager hadn't granted us a marriage, I would still have treated you a thousand times better."

As he spoke, Young Master Qiu grabbed the wine pot on the table and poured it into his mouth in great annoyance.

Upon hearing this, Qinglan turned around, her eyes red as she looked at Young Master Qiu.

“If Young Master Qiu had told me earlier, I would never have agreed to my marriage with General Ning. Although the Empress Dowager has given me the title of his principal wife, the General’s Mansion is controlled by Jiang Yuwei. I’m afraid that in the end, I will only have the title of General’s wife in name only.”

As she spoke, Qinglan began to choke up again.

When Young Master Qiu saw that Qinglan also had feelings for him, he regretted even more his cowardly behavior of not daring to propose to Qinglan back then.

Thinking this through, Young Master Qiu began to slap himself repeatedly in the face.

Seeing this, Qinglan quickly reached out to stop him.

"Young Master Qiu, for your sake, I will utter a rebellious word today: if General Ning dies on the battlefield, then the Empress Dowager will surely dissolve my engagement..."

Upon hearing Qinglan's words, Young Master Qiu immediately stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her.

"Qinglan, are you serious?"

Qinglan nodded shyly.

"The Empress Dowager told me this herself. I was thinking that if General Ning could die on the battlefield, I wouldn't have to marry into the general's mansion..."

Upon hearing this, Young Master Qiu was immediately moved and hugged Qinglan tightly, saying:

"Qinglan, don't worry. Even if Ning Huaizhi really dies, I will never let you remain a widow. In the future, I will marry you into our Qiu family in a grand and proper manner, and there will never be any concubines competing with you!"

Just then, the waiter downstairs delivered wine to the private room and saw the two embracing as soon as he opened the door. Coincidentally, Ning Zixuan was also in Jingweifang on business that day and happened to pass by Qiu Gongzi's door, witnessing the whole scene.

Upon seeing someone enter, the two hurriedly released their grip. The waiter, flustered and unsure of what to do, put down the wine without daring to raise his head and rushed out.

Ning Zixuan strode into the house and glared at the two of them with murderous intent.

Upon seeing this, Young Master Qiu quickly stood up to explain.

"Your Highness, why are you here? It wasn't what you thought just now. I... I was with Princess Qinglan..."

Before Young Master Qiu could finish speaking, Ning Zixuan said coldly:

"Don't you have anything to say, Princess Qinglan?"

At this moment, Qinglan was also in a panic. She had clearly told Yang Liu to guard the door, but where was she now? How could she let the waiter in so easily? That wretched girl has really ruined my life.

Thinking this, Qinglan clenched her fists, determined to teach Yang Liu a lesson when she got back.

Seeing that Qinglan remained silent, Ning Zixuan said coldly:

"Playing dumb won't work now. I saw everything you two were doing. Either you go and beg the Empress Dowager to cancel the arranged marriage, or you can prepare to be disgraced. In that case, General Ning will not marry you!"

Qinglan naturally understood what Ning Zixuan meant by "ruined reputation," so she quickly stood up and waved her hand, saying:

"No, don't let this get out. I... I will talk to the Empress Dowager. I will do my best."

Ning Zixuan frowned.

"What I want is the result. If the Empress Dowager cannot cancel the marriage within seven days, then I will order people to spread the news of today's events far and wide. At that time, General Ning can still use the excuse of not being a virtuous woman to refuse to marry you. In any case, the result will be the same."

Upon hearing Ning Zixuan's words, Qinglan's face turned deathly pale. She knew that Ning Zixuan never spoke lightly; he was the universally acknowledged mad prince of the capital, and whatever came out of his mouth, no matter how crazy he was, he would definitely do it.

Young Master Qiu was also in a bad situation. He had always been afraid of Ning Zixuan, and now that Ning Zixuan had spoken to Qinglan like this, he didn't dare to stand up for Qinglan. After all, he had made a mistake first, and now he deeply regretted his impulsive behavior just now.

If Princess Qinglan were truly ruined by Ning Zixuan, the Qiu family elders would certainly not agree to him marrying Princess Qinglan.

Not only would it be a disgrace to the family, but more importantly, if he were to marry Qinglan by then, it would be a clear indication that he would be standing against the Crown Prince and the Prince Jing's Mansion, which would likely make his own business difficult.

The Qiu family would never allow itself to be destroyed because of a woman.

Thinking this, Young Master Qiu hurriedly said to Qinglan:

“Princess Qinglan, I think you should do as the young master says. It will be better for all of us.”