Shen Yu has always called Bai Yehua "Brother Bai," but now she has changed how she addresses him?
Bai Yehua looked at Shen Yu in astonishment. Shen Yu was the daughter of his mentor and a female imperial physician favored by the Empress. Only a woman of such noble status and high esteem could be befit the demeanor of the eldest daughter-in-law of the Bai family. More importantly, Shen Yu was broad-minded and never constrained him; she would certainly not prevent Liu Yao'er from entering the family in the future. If Shen Yu were to break off the engagement, wouldn't that ruin the future he had meticulously planned for Liu Yao'er?
Even when facing hundreds of thousands of enemy troops, Bai Yehua remained calm and composed, but now he was panicked. He tried to grab Shen Yu's hand and persuade her with kind words. Unexpectedly, Master Mu stood between him and Shen Yu.
Looking up, she saw that Master Mu's face was full of anger. Master Mu loved his daughter dearly, and he would do everything in his power to satisfy whatever Chen Yu wanted.
When Shen Yu was eight years old, she started calling Bai Yehua "husband," and at thirteen, she wanted to get engaged to him. However, the Mu family had other candidates: Gu Dalang was gentle and humble, and Bao Qianshan was shrewd and capable, both more reliable than Bai Yehua. But Shen Yu was stubborn and insisted on marrying no one but Bai Yehua, so Master Mu gave in to her wishes.
Now that Shen Yu wants to break off the engagement, even if it violates social norms, Master Mu will definitely protect her. "Ye Hua, you and I both know Yu'er's temperament. Tell me the truth, have you done anything to wrong Yu'er?"
Bai Yehua grew increasingly flustered, recalling the wrongdoings he had committed. Several years ago, he had drunkenly taken advantage of Zhao Shuyuan, a maid in the Duke's mansion; he had secretly kept Liu Yao'er as a concubine...
Just as he was wondering how to answer, a voice came from outside the door, "It was your daughter Chen Yu who wronged my son Ye Hua!"
Madam Bai slowly walked into the hall, sat down in the center, and gestured for Master Mu to sit down as well. "Master Mu, please sit down. Now that you're here, let's speak frankly."
Master Mu pushed Chen Yu to the left side of the hall and found a round chair near her to sit down.
Bai Yehua sat on the right, right next to Madam Bai.
Madam Bai showed no smile. She glanced at Chen Yu, her expression growing increasingly gloomy. Even her speech was slurred and inflected, revealing her displeasure.
"Master Mu, my son Ye Hua is the Great General Protector of the Nation. When the Emperor bestowed this marriage upon him, Ye Hua refused the Emperor's own sister in order to wait for your Shen Yu. Who would have thought that after waiting for two years, two years, Shen Yu would suddenly want to break off the engagement? Isn't this mocking my son Ye Hua and deceiving my Bai family?"
As Madam Bai spoke, she covered her face with her handkerchief and sobbed pitifully. This scene made Master Mu look embarrassed and he looked at Chen Yu with difficulty.
Chen Yu shook her head, naturally not changing her mind.
In the past two years, Bai Yehua wasn't waiting for her at all! He was waiting for Liu Yao'er, the little dancer of the Jia family.
The fact that Liu Yao'er was able to deceive Bai Yehua and court officials by using her identity as a dancer suggests that she must have powerful backers within the court.
How could she possibly get involved in the power struggle between the Mu family and Liu Yao'er's faction, who was operating in the shadows?
Enough, taking a step back opens up a whole new world.
She didn't want to take the blame for Liu Yao'er while bearing the title of Bai Yehua's fiancée, and she certainly didn't want to be implicated by Bai Yehua and die a gruesome death.
She gripped the wooden ox's handrails tightly, propped herself up, and stood up shakily. Her legs were weak and powerless, and she knelt down on the ground with a thud.
Master Mu was heartbroken and hurriedly helped her up to sit back on the wooden ox. "Yu'er, speak your mind. Your father won't blame you."
"Father, please don't blame me for acting first and reporting later. Please send someone to return the betrothal gifts to the Bai family. If the Bai family does not agree, you can go to the county government to seek an explanation."
She knew that if she broke off the engagement, the Bai family could sue her in the county government, and she would be flogged sixty times and forced to fulfill the marriage contract; only if Bai Yehua concealed the fact that he was "old, young, sick, disabled, caring for others, or a concubine" when they got engaged could she successfully dissolve the engagement.
Since the Bai family refuses to annul the engagement, she has no choice but to take the matter to the county government. If Bai Yehua is worried about Liu Yao'er being exposed, he will naturally back down.
Bai Yehua lowered his head and remained silent, caught in a dilemma. He didn't want to lose Chen Yu, but he also didn't want to abandon Liu Yao'er.
Unaware of the situation, Madam Bai was furious and righteous. She slammed her hand on the table, stood up, and pointed at Chen Yu, yelling, "Mu Chen Yu, you've gone too far! Don't think that just because your father is Ye Hua's master, Ye Hua won't dare to take you to the county government. Since your Mu family is so unjust, don't blame my Bai family for being unjust!"
"It was your Bai family that acted unjustly, betraying Miss Chenyu's sincere feelings."
The clear and melodious voice was truly pleasing to the ear. Shen Yu looked in the direction of the sound and saw Liu Yu striding into the hall. He was dressed in a white robe, with a yellow flower in his hair, and stood beside her, fanning himself with a folding fan. He first bowed to Master Mu and Madam Bai, then closed his fan and turned to Master Mu to tell him the story.
“Master Mu, I just saw the Mu family’s carriage pass by in a hurry. Liu Yu was worried that something had happened to Miss Chenyu, so he came to check on her.”
After Liu Yu finished speaking, he opened his folding fan to cover his face, revealing only a pair of peach blossom eyes as he looked at Chen Yu.
The familiar fragrance of peonies still lingered, delicate and subtle, just like Chen Yu's appearance—fresh, refined, and radiant. However… after a few days, Chen Yu's complexion had become much more haggard, her full lips were dry and pale, and looking down her shapely figure, why was Chen Yu sitting on a wooden ox?
Liu Yu was surprised. He put away his folding fan and tucked it into his waistband. He bent down to check Chen Yu's leg. "Miss Chen Yu, what happened? Which leg is injured?"
Shen Yu leaned forward and took the opportunity to pull out Liu Yu's folding fan, pressing it against Liu Yu's chest. "Shen Yu is fine. She just had a nightmare... In the dream, she lost both legs and was frightened. She will recover after a day or two of rest. Young Master Liu, there is no need to worry."
As she spoke, Chen Yu kept her eyes downcast, not daring to look Liu Yu in the eye.
In his previous life, the emperor's brother-in-law formed a clique to murder loyal officials. Liu Yu had been fighting openly and secretly with Bai Yehua. He relentlessly pursued Chen Yu to marry him, but to no avail.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com