Chapter 198 still has some bottom line.
"The princess has no further use."
His words seemed to freeze the air around him.
Qin Yalin looked at Xie Ning'an through teary eyes, trying to see from his face that he had been forced to say those words, and trying to see that he still had feelings for her.
But there was nothing, not even a trace.
Xie Ning'an watched her, tears streaming down her face, her expression as calm as if she were facing a stranger. She gripped the sedan curtain tightly, her tear-filled eyes fixed on Xie Ning'an. For a long time, Xie Ning'an's expression remained unchanged.
"Hehehe..." Qin Yalin laughed self-deprecatingly, then swiftly lowered the sedan curtain.
Xie Ning'an silently let out a breath. "Let's go."
Several sedan chair bearers carried the sedan chair, with Xie Ning'an following beside them, all the way to the Yong Prince's Mansion. When they arrived, the entire Yong Prince's Mansion was brightly lit. The guards at the gate were stunned when they saw Xie Ning'an, and then when they saw the sedan chair beside him, several of them surrounded them, and some even ran inside.
Xie Ning'an stood there straight. Soon after, Prince Yong and his wife ran over. They didn't even look at Xie Ning'an and went straight to the sedan chair.
Qin Yalin lifted the sedan curtain and stepped out. When the Prince and his wife saw that it really was her, they wanted to scold her, but when they saw her tear-streaked face, they swallowed all their words of scolding.
King Yong lowered his voice and said, "It's alright, it's alright, it's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."
Princess Yong pulled him into her arms and cried, "You're going to kill me!"
Only then did Qin Yalin truly realize that her parents were the best people to her in this world. She nestled in Princess Yong's arms, sobbing and saying, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."
Prince Yong looked at his wife and daughters, who were crying uncontrollably, and his eyes also welled up with tears. When he caught sight of Xie Ning'an out of the corner of his eye, his face instantly turned cold, and he turned around to look at Xie Ning'an as if she were his enemy.
"Prince Yong." Xie Ning'an bowed respectfully to Prince Yong. Prince Yong raised his foot and kicked Xie Ning'an in the chest. In his anger, he used much more force. Xie Ning'an stumbled back a few steps and fell to the ground, his tailbone throbbing with pain.
He stood up despite the pain and bowed deeply to Prince Yong, saying, "It's all Ning'an's fault. Please punish me, Your Highness."
Prince Yong glared at him, his eyes blazing with fury. He had agreed to the marriage initially because his daughter had worn him down, and also because of Xie Ning'an's good reputation. Everyone said the eldest son of the Xie family was exceptionally handsome and talented, with impeccable character. Now it seemed the Xie family had been using his daughter from the very beginning. He wanted nothing more than to kill this man right now.
However, he didn't know what the Emperor was thinking, so he could only remain silent. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Tomorrow, I will send someone to the Xie family to annul the engagement."
"Alright." Xie Ning'an bowed to Prince Yong again, then turned and strode away.
When Qin Yalin saw that he left without even glancing at her, she cried even louder, and Yong Wang clenched his fists so tightly they cracked.
"Alright, alright, it's cold outside, hurry back inside," Princess Yong said, patting Qin Yalin on the back.
At this moment, King Yong felt both hatred and heartache. He walked up to the mother and daughter and softened his voice, saying, "It's a good thing that the engagement has been broken off, so they won't suffer later."
Princess Yong glared at him and helped Qin Yalin into the mansion.
......
On the deserted streets at night, Xie Ning'an walked home step by step. The December weather was bitterly cold, but the coldness emanating from him seemed to surpass even the December wind.
Two attendants hunched their shoulders and followed cautiously behind. They wanted to go forward and let their eldest son ride in the sedan chair, but they didn't dare.
The short journey took Xie Ning'an nearly half an hour. Upon returning to the manor, he did not go to his bedroom but instead went to his study. His attendant immediately lit a large charcoal fire and had ginger soup cooked and brought over.
"Young Master, have some water to warm yourself up."
Xie Ning'an sat there, gazing at the darkness outside the window, neither moving nor uttering a sound. His attendant, feeling sorry for him, advised, "Young Master, your health is important."
After a long while, Xie Ning'an finally said, "You can leave now. Let me have some peace and quiet."
Chang Sui sighed inwardly, tiptoed out, and then stood guard outside, remaining there all night. Just as dawn broke, Xie Ning'an appeared at the study door, "Change your clothes, I'm going to see my grandfather."
The servant glanced at his pale face and said cautiously, "Young Master, why don't you eat something first?"
"No need," Xie Ning'an said as he walked towards his bedroom. His attendant quickly instructed two maids to help him change. A short while later, Xie Ning'an emerged from the courtyard with a normal expression.
When he arrived at Xie Yun's courtyard, Xie Yun was practicing boxing. Upon seeing him, Xie Yun asked, "Why did you come so early?"
"Grandson has something to tell you," Xie Ning'an said.
Xie Yun stopped what he was doing, looked at him intently, and then said, "Let's go to the study."
The grandfather and grandson entered the study, and Xie Ning'an said directly, "Today, the Prince of Yong's mansion will come to annul the engagement."
"What?" Xie Yun looked incredulous.
Xie Ning'an calmly recounted how Qin Yalin had sought out Jiang Yu yesterday, how Prince Yong had entered the palace, and how Qin Yalin had run to the Xie family in the middle of the night. She then said, "The annulment of the engagement should have been the Emperor's hint, and the Emperor and Empress Dowager had never agreed to this marriage in the first place."
Xie Yun frowned and remained silent for a while before saying, "Princess Yalin is so infatuated with you; if you were to take advantage of her..."
“Grandfather,” Xie Ning’an interrupted him, “Don’t say that Princess Yalin is just a princess. Even if she were a princess, could she change the Emperor’s mind?”
Xie Yun frowned as he looked at him, "There's always more room for maneuver."
Xie Ning'an clenched her fist. "She is innocent."
Xie Yun opened his mouth as if to say, "At this point, let's not talk about gentlemanly ethics anymore." But seeing Xie Ning'an's calm expression, he knew that saying anything wouldn't change his mind, so he swallowed his words back.
"Since you've made up your mind, let's call off this engagement." Xie Yun sighed. "But if we call off the engagement, the outside world will think that our Xie family has lost power, and the road ahead will be even more difficult."
Xie Ning'an lowered her eyes and remained silent. At this moment, the butler's voice came from outside, "Master, people from the Prince Yong's mansion have arrived."
Xie Yun let the steward in, gave him a few instructions, and then left. He looked at Xie Ning'an and said, "This afternoon, we will go to the Duke of Chu's mansion."
Xie Ning'an clenched her fist slightly again. "Okay."
........
Upon hearing the news that the Prince Yong's mansion had broken off the engagement with the Xie family, Jiang Yu was stunned for a moment before saying, "Princess Ya Lin has escaped a calamity."
The old Duke of Chu said, "Xie Ning'an still has some principles."
Jiang Yu agreed with this statement. At least Xie Ning'an hadn't completely exploited Princess Yalin. Although Prince Yong didn't hold a position in the court, the Emperor had always shown him great favor. Based on this alone, if Xie Ning'an married Princess Yalin, many things would be much easier to accomplish.
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