Pei Yuan blushed with embarrassment after Qiao Xiuyuan's words, wishing he could disappear into the ground.
The last time he met Qiao Zixi was at the Marquis of Anyang's residence.
That time, he couldn't help but hug Qiao Zixi and kiss her lips...
I never expected that Qiao Xiuyuan knew all this...
Seeing the mockery in Qiao Xiuyuan's eyes, Pei Yuan began to have second thoughts.
He did take advantage of Qiao Zixi before, so should he still insist on announcing the engagement?
Qiao Xiuyuan ignored Pei Yuan and left the mansion with a sneer.
A mere child!
Is this an attempt to talk to Qiao Zixi about announcing the engagement?
Oh!
That's really wishful thinking!
Thinking of Qiao Zixi's various slanders against Su Muxi, Qiao Xiuyuan felt no pity for Qiao Zixi at all; on the contrary, he felt a strong sense of schadenfreude.
Of course, Pei Yuan also shared in this schadenfreude!
Led by a servant, Pei Yuan arrived at the gate of Qiao Zixi's courtyard. Looking at the locked gate, Pei Yuan couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Why is your young lady's courtyard locked?"
The servant did not answer Pei Yuan's question, but instead took out a key, unlocked the gate, and slowly opened it a crack.
"Please, Young Master Pei, I will not go in."
Although Pei Yuan found it strange, he hesitated for a moment before pushing the door open and going in.
Weeds had grown in the yard, which looked like it hadn't been cleaned for several days.
Although the weather was starting to warm up, Pei Yuan felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the empty courtyard.
"Miss Qiao?"
Pei Yuan tentatively called out, and after a moment, a sound came from inside the house.
Qiao Zixi, wearing a veil and with her hair disheveled, opened the door and appeared very excited upon seeing Pei Yuan.
"Pei Lang!"
"Pei Lang, you've come to see me!"
After saying that, she ran barefoot to Pei Yuan and, before Pei Yuan could react, threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly.
"Pei Lang, take me away now! I don't want to stay in this house for another second!"
Qiao Zixi must have not bathed for several days, as she smelled rather unpleasant, causing Pei Yuan to wrinkle his nose and show a look of disgust.
After forcefully pushing Qiao Zixi away, he saw Qiao Zixi wearing a veil and remembered the rumors about Qiao Zixi's face being ruined.
In an instant, the look of disgust on his face deepened.
“Miss Qiao, please have some self-respect. I’ve come to you today to make things clear. You are not the woman who saved me, and the purse embroidered with money plants is not yours either. Yes and no!”
Pei Yuan immediately launched into a barrage of questions at Qiao Zixi, which instantly calmed her down from her earlier excitement and joy.
Qiao Zixi did not answer Pei Yuan's question, but asked with sorrow in her eyes, "Pei Lang, what do you mean? Do you not like me as a person, but an old purse?"
After our meeting at Huguo Temple that day, it was you who had Madam Pei come to my house to propose marriage. Did you even ask for my opinion then? Now I have entrusted my whole heart to you, and yet you come here to question me like this!
Pei Yuan looked embarrassed upon hearing this.
He did indeed feel somewhat guilty about proposing marriage.
Can…
"If you hadn't said that the purse was yours, how could I have mistaken you for someone else? And I certainly wouldn't have come to propose marriage!"
"But we had only just met. The purse had fallen from my arms. You picked it up and handed it to me, so all I could do was accept it and thank you. What else could I say?!"
Pei Yuan recalled everything that day, and it was indeed as Qiao Zixi had said. So Qiao Zixi had never said that the purse was hers, and it was all a misunderstanding on his part...
But he was still unwilling to give up!
"Why did you then claim the purse was yours, and even admit that you were the one who saved me?!"
Qiao Zixi shed tears of grievance and said with a sob, "We're already engaged. If I don't say that, won't you break off the engagement with me? Wouldn't I become the laughingstock of the whole capital then!"
“Young Master Pei, you are the son of a high-ranking official, but I am also the daughter of a high-ranking official! People outside say I am willful, capricious, and domineering, but what about you? Aren't you the same? To put it bluntly, we are actually the same kind of people, the most compatible match!”
Upon hearing this, Pei Yuan fell into self-doubt.
People used to say he was gentle and refined, a true gentleman; this is the first time someone has called him willful, capricious, and domineering…
But no matter what, he and Qiao Zixi are different! They are not the same kind of people at all!
"I would never order someone to break a little beggar's limbs for no reason! We are different!"
Thinking of all the things he had found out about Qiao Zixi, and looking at Qiao Zixi's disheveled appearance, a look of disgust resurfaced in his eyes.
He had no reason to pity or feel guilty or remorseful towards such a vicious woman!
Thinking of this, Pei Yuan's eyes hardened, and he looked at Qiao Zixi coldly, saying, "Qiao Zixi, I've come today to talk to you about annulling the engagement! If you're willing to persuade your father to cancel the engagement, you can say anything bad about me to others, but if you're not willing to cancel the engagement..."
"Oh!"
"Anyway, the wedding date is still undecided, and I'm not in a hurry to get married. Let's just drag it out like this. Even when you're seventy or eighty, you'll still become the laughing stock of the capital!"
Qiao Zixi never expected Pei Yuan to be so ruthless. Her aggrieved expression vanished instantly, gradually replaced by resentment.
"Is it because of Su Muxi?! Tell me! Did you break off our engagement because of Su Muxi?!"
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