Chapter 204 Annulment of the Engagement and the Proposal
Despite it being a lively New Year's Eve, the Shen family home appeared unusually quiet.
It wasn't exactly deserted, just a bit less crowded. But that didn't stop Yu Shu and Shen Hanzhi from arguing: "It's all your fault! Yingying is right here in the capital, but you forced her to go to the Zhao family. Now it's the New Year, and Yingying can't even go home to visit."
She also has a child with her, so how can the Zhao family treat her well?
"Oh, my poor daughter, how did she end up with such a snobbish father?"
Shen Hanzhi looked annoyed: "Can you say less?"
I arranged for her to marry into the Zhao family—what a wonderful marriage! If she hadn't been messing around outside, things wouldn't have come to this. How can you blame me? Did I tell her to go out and mess around?
Take her affair with the Jin family, for example. If she had told me earlier, would I have let her marry into the Zhao family?
"Things aren't even settled yet, and you've already given birth to someone else's child? How could my Shen family have such a self-degrading daughter?"
Yu Shu was furious that Shen Hanzhi wouldn't listen to reason: "Don't talk so rudely! What era are we living in? Yingying, she..."
"Master, Madam, Miss is back." The butler's voice came from outside while the two were still arguing.
Shen Hanzhi rolled her eyes again and said impatiently, "Isn't it back now? You were so proud to leave home for the Zhao family back then, but now you're slinking back home."
Yu Shu couldn't care less about arguing with Shen Hanzhi at this moment. She jogged out to greet Shen Ying, but her steps faltered when she reached the door. She hadn't expected Zhao Chengmo to return with Shen Ying, and asked in surprise, "Young Master Zhao, what brings you here?"
"Who's here?" Shen Hanzhi was indifferent when he heard Shen Ying return, but as soon as he heard Yu Shu call Zhao Chengmo, he quickly came over and said warmly, "Nephew, you're here! Come in quickly."
He had heard that Zhao Chengmo intended to marry Shen Ying, and now that the other party was coming over on New Year's Eve, there might still be hope for his marriage to Shen Ying.
Zhao Chengmo glanced back at Shen Ying before reluctantly following Shen Hanzhi into the room. Yu Shu then supported Shen Ying's arm, saying, "Have you eaten? Are you exhausted? You love Mom's dumplings the most. I'll go cook some dumplings for you now."
"Wait a minute, Mom, don't bother." Shen Ying called out to her, glancing at Shen Hanzhi and Zhao Chengmo who had already taken their seats.
She did want to eat the dumplings Yu Shu cooked, but since it was ultimately not her turn to eat this meal, Shen Ying didn't want to see Yu Shu work so hard for nothing.
Shen Hanzhi addressed Zhao Chengmo with the same enthusiasm: "Nephew, did your parents finally agree to set a wedding date for you and Yingying?"
It's no wonder Shen Hanzhi asked that question; since the other party chose such an auspicious time as New Year's Eve to come, there must be good news to tell.
Zhao Chengmo hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself: "Uncle Chen, you've misunderstood. I've come here to break off the engagement."
"What did you say? Break off the engagement?" Shen Hanzhi's smile froze, and her voice rose considerably.
Zhao Chengmo nodded: "Uncle Shen also knows that Shen Ying gave birth to a child of the Jin family, and now the Jin family clearly wants to take the child back. This is a hot potato, and my Zhao family naturally dares not keep it. You..."
"You dare not keep her? Why didn't you say so earlier? Instead, you let my daughter stay at the Zhao family's house for so long, and now you want to send her back without any explanation. Do you really think my Shen family is easy to bully?" Shen Hanzhi slammed the table, furious.
His attitude seemed to be supporting Shen Ying, but his words also seemed to hide another meaning, which was basically an implication that the Zhao family wanted to take advantage of her.
Zhao Chengmo said, "Uncle Shen, please don't be angry. My parents also know that this matter is considered a breach of contract by the Zhao family. The Zhao family will not be shortchanged in terms of the explanation that is due. Please take a look at these two contracts first."
Shen Hanzhi's face was originally ashen, but when she saw what Zhao Chengmo handed over, the corners of her mouth curled up into a smile again: "Is this for real? Your Zhao family really wants to compensate us with a piece of land and a project?"
Shen Han knew in his heart that it was the Zhao family that broke off the engagement, but his own daughter was also at fault. If things really got out of hand, no one would be happy. Zhao Chengmo's two documents were a huge surprise to him.
Zhao Chengmo said, "This is my parents' idea, and also Miss Shen's idea. As long as you agree to annul the engagement, the land in the south of the city and the amusement park project will all belong to the Shen family."
Shen Hanzhi's eyebrows were filled with joy, and she had already made up her mind, but she still tried to make amends by saying, "This... never mind, I'm not an unreasonable person. Considering how sincere your Zhao family is, let's cancel this marriage contract. Bring me the marriage certificate."
Yu Shu was satisfied when she heard that Shen Hanzhi was finally no longer hiding his marriage from Shen Ying. She took out the marriage certificate herself and tore it up in front of Zhao Chengmo.
After Zhao Chengmo finished his business, he left without saying more than a few words to the Shen family. Only then did Shen Ying tell Shen Han, "I got the land you wanted the most for you. Plus the amusement park project that the Zhao family gave us, it's worth at least 300 million. That should make up for your loss of not being able to sell your daughter, right?"
Her words were anything but polite, and her eyes were fixed coldly on Shen Hanzhi. Ignoring Shen Hanzhi's astonished expression, she continued, "After today, we are even. Whether I get married or not, or what I do, is none of your business."
“Yingying, what are you doing? We’re all family, why are you doing this…” Yu Shu sighed, trying to persuade her, but Shen Ying sneered: “Family? Curse me. I still remember how he hid my daughter to force me to submit.”
That's his granddaughter, and he doesn't care about her at all. Such blood ties are far too weak.
Yu Shu knew that Shen Hanzhi's actions had indeed hurt Shen Ying. She sighed again, unsure of what to say, and simply changed the subject: "Let's not talk about this now. Sit down for a while, and Mom will go cook you some dumplings."
"No need to bother anymore, I'm going back to Hong Kong," Shen Ying said.
"In such a hurry, you..."
"Master and Madam, someone else has arrived. It's the eldest son of the Jin family."
Before Yu Shu could finish her attempt to persuade him to stay, the housekeeper announced something.
"What's he doing here?" Yu Shu muttered to herself. "Let him go."
She had never met Jin Yanzhou, but since he was the one who had hurt her daughter, she instinctively disliked him.
"Please invite them in," Shen Hanzhi said.
"Why did you let him in? You know Yingying doesn't want to see him, you..." Yu Shu was a little anxious. She wanted to stop Shen Hanzhi, but the housekeeper had already brought Jin Yanzhou in.
Jin Yanzhou was carrying a bunch of bags and packages, followed by the butler of the Jin family's old mansion, who was also covered in all sorts of gifts.
Upon seeing this, Shen Ying felt a sense of foreboding.
After greeting Shen Hanzhi and Yu Shu, Jin Yanzhou's gaze fell on the ground.
There were scattered fragments of the marriage certificate on the floor, which the servants hadn't had time to clean up yet. Jin Yanzhou saw them clearly and felt a little smug.
Fortunately, he followed, and only then did he realize that Zhao Chengmo had come to annul the engagement.
"What are you doing here?" Yu Shu asked irritably, raising her hand to cover Xiao Shuijing's face, clearly afraid that Jin Yanzhou would come to snatch the child.
Jin Yanzhou said, "Aunt, I've come to propose marriage. I was wrong before; I didn't handle things properly and made some mistakes that hurt Yingying's feelings. I know I've wronged Yingying. This time, I'm sincerely here to marry Yingying. This is the betrothal gift list prepared by my Jin family. Please take a look, Uncle and Aunt."
The betrothal gifts he mentioned were prepared by the old man after he learned about his relationship with Shen Ying.
The old man also wanted to treat everyone equally. When Jin Qingyu married Jiang Xingyao, he gave a dowry of 500 million yuan. Now that he is marrying Shen Ying, the items on the dowry list are also worth 500 million yuan.
Jin Yanzhou returned so much later than Shen Ying because he went back to the old house first to get this gift list.
"Take your things and leave. I'm not marrying Jin Yanzhou. I've already said it, we have nothing to do with each other anymore," Shen Ying said.
When she saw the long list of gifts, her ominous premonition intensified. She reached out to snatch the items from Shen Hanzhi, but Shen Hanzhi had already seen them. The first line of the list showed a total value of 500 million.
He carefully put away the gift list and looked at Shen Ying: "You're not going to marry? You've already given birth to a child of the Jin family. What else can you do if you don't marry into the Jin family?"
Do you really want my granddaughter to live in a single-parent family for the rest of her life?
Yan Zhou has already come over to apologize to you and shown such sincerity, so what reason do you have to disagree?
"I've made the decision about this marriage today. You have to marry me, whether you like it or not."
He had never acknowledged that Xiao Shuijing was his granddaughter, but upon seeing the betrothal gifts today, he immediately changed his tune, even altering how he addressed Jin Yanzhou.
Shen Ying was so angry she almost laughed. She said, "I've already made myself very clear. We're even. My marriage has nothing to do with you."
"A clean break? I've never agreed to that. You're my daughter, so of course I get to decide your marriage. You've already given birth to Yan Zhou's child, so why wouldn't you want to marry him? Even if it's just for the sake of the child, I have to agree to this marriage," Shen Hanzhi said.
Shen Ying's breathing became labored: "Dad, you can't be this greedy. You blame me for losing the Zhao family's engagement, and I've given you the benefits you wanted. Now you want to send me away for the Jin family's betrothal gifts. What? Do you want to sell your daughter twice?"
"Nonsense. The Zhao family is compensating me because they were in the wrong for breaking off the engagement. What does it have to do with you? As for the Jin family, I'll say it again: even for the sake of the child, you have to marry into the family," Shen Hanzhi said.
The dowry list was still warm in his palm. As long as he married Shen Ying off, he would have gained eight hundred million in just one day. Wouldn't it be a pity to lose such a huge profit?
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