"Second Girl, don't rush..."
His words of comfort were interrupted by Qingying's trembling voice: "How could I not be anxious? I went to the palace today to annul the engagement, and he readily agreed!"
"What?" Wei Dongchen was clearly not prepared for this.
He paused for a moment before asking, "Did the Crown Prince force you?"
Qingying nodded, rubbing her forehead. "He conspired with Liu Shushu to frame me for poisoning and forced me to agree to cancel the engagement."
She knew perfectly well that Wei Huaixu's suggestion for her to voluntarily go to the palace to annul the engagement was merely a way to save face, perhaps also because of that so-called debt of guilt. Otherwise, even if she stubbornly refused, they had plenty of ways to solidify her guilt, and then it wouldn't be as simple as just announcing the engagement.
The royal family would not accept a crown princess with questionable character, nor would the common people. In the end, she would be unable to defend herself, and even the General's Mansion would likely have nowhere to hide.
"How could he..." Wei Dongchen slammed his fist on the table, making the fine solid wood table rattle loudly.
Qingying was startled. "What are you doing? Doesn't your hand hurt?"
"Ouch—hiss—" He immediately clutched his hand and grimaced.
Only Wei Dongchen could still crack a joke at a time like this.
Qingying sighed and said, "Let's not talk about him for now. Do you have any way to get the Emperor to give up this idea?"
Wei Dongchen glanced at her, then looked away, appearing somewhat embarrassed.
"Just say it," she said.
"The only way is probably to arrange your marriage before the Emperor issues the decree."
"It's easy to say. Now that I've just broken off my engagement with the Crown Prince, which wealthy family in the capital would dare to marry me?"
“Me?” He pointed to himself.
Qingying was stunned.
“I’m serious, Second Sister. My father and mother are very open-minded. They will like any girl I like. My only worry is that you will look down on the family background of our Prince Yu’s Mansion.”
He actually said he was worried that she wouldn't be interested in the Prince Yu's mansion?
What merit does she possess to deserve this...?
"Do you think my eyes are on a mountaintop? How dare you look down on the Prince Yu's Mansion?"
"In that case... you agree?" Wei Dongchen looked at her with hopeful eyes.
Qingying looked away guiltily when she met his tender gaze, saying, "Let me think about it first."
"Okay, I'll wait for you." He grinned so wide his eyes disappeared.
Seeing his appearance, Qingying even began to doubt the truth of the Emperor's plan to bring her into the palace as a concubine, and reasonably suspected that this was a scheme by Wei Dongchen to get her to accept the marriage proposal.
...
She shouldn't stay here too long.
Wei Dongchen found a carriage and personally escorted Qingying back to the General's Mansion.
Just before entering the mansion, Wei Dongchen suddenly grabbed her hand. She turned around in confusion, and the next second she felt the coldness on her wrist.
Looking down, I saw a translucent jade bracelet slipped onto my wrist.
"This is……"
"I'm afraid you'll run away, so I'll use this bracelet to trap you first."
Qingying chuckled helplessly, "If I really wanted to run away, a bracelet wouldn't be enough to trap me."
“Then I’ll use a hundred, or a thousand if that doesn’t work. Anyway, our Prince Yu’s mansion has everything except silver.”
As expected of the emperor's nephew, he is indeed very wealthy and powerful.
"Fine, fine, you're rich and you can do whatever you want." Qingying waved her hand and walked into the mansion. Without even bowing, she casually tossed out a sentence: "Take care on your way back."
"Okay!"
Wei Dongchen's joy was palpable, and he couldn't contain his excitement all the way back to Prince Yu's Mansion.
He thought to himself that he had finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel.
Meanwhile, Qingying returned to her courtyard and saw Wei Huaixu standing with his hands behind his back as soon as she entered.
She frowned slightly, stepped forward, and curtsied slightly. "This humble woman greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Wei Huaixu turned around, looking down at her with his eyes lowered. "Where did you go that you came back so late?"
"This is my private matter."
"Private matters?" He scoffed, "I'm afraid it's more like a private affair."
Qingying raised her head, looked directly at him, and said, "Even if it is a private matter, what does it have to do with Your Highness?"
"you……"
"If Your Highness has nothing else, I'd like to rest. Oh, by the way, I just heard that my second sister's poison has been cured. You should go and see her now."
"In what capacity are you ordering me around?"
"Your Highness misunderstands. I have neither the courage nor the authority to order you around. I was merely making a small suggestion. You need not take it. You are the esteemed Crown Prince, and you can do whatever you want."
Seeing her distant attitude, Wei Huaixu felt uneasy. He suddenly leaned closer and teased, "Oh? I'll do whatever I want. Then I command you to kiss me now."
Qingying took a step back in fright, staring at him in disbelief, her voice trembling slightly with anger: "What does Your Highness take me for?"
"It was just a joke, Miss Liu, why are you so angry? Weren't you being quite unrestrained today, pulling and tugging at Prince Yu's son in the street?"
The next second, with a "smack," Qingying unexpectedly raised her hand and slapped him across the face. The force wasn't strong, but it still left a clear finger mark on his pale face.
He glanced at her sharply.
Qingying actually saw murderous intent in his eyes. Although it was fleeting, she still caught it. She was so frightened that her fingers trembled uncontrollably, and she immediately regretted her impulsiveness.
He pressed his tongue against his slapped left cheek, his eyes so deep they seemed to drip ink.
This was the first time Qingying had seen such a terrifying expression on his face, and she felt an overwhelming sense of fear.
He slowly raised his hand...
Just as she thought he would retaliate and subconsciously closed her eyes, he simply and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"It's not your fault, it's what I owe you."
That same phrase again...
When Qingying opened her eyes again, he was no longer there. She stared at the empty space in front of her for a long time before letting out a soft sigh.
At this moment, Yu Yue came out of the house. She had obviously been waiting behind the door for a long time. She had just been avoiding Wei Huaixu, afraid of causing trouble for Qingying.
"Miss, you're finally back! I was so worried about you."
"I'm fine."
She went inside and looked around, but couldn't see Tongxia. Just as she was about to ask, Yu Yue immediately said, "Tongxia was called away by the old lady."
As soon as she finished speaking, Tong Xia appeared at the doorway.
She walked quickly over, carrying a wooden box in her arms.
"What happened? Why are you in such a hurry?" Yu Yue asked.
Tongxia put down the wooden box she was holding, turned around and went back to close the door, then choked out, "This is something that Granny Zhang left for you, Miss. She passed away at noon today..."
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