Break off an engagement

The three days after Mu An Ning returned home were unexpectedly peaceful, and in the blink of an eye it was the fifth day of April, Mu Wan'er's coming-of-age ceremony.

However, the excitement and celebration in the courtyard had nothing to do with the three people in the inner courtyard at that moment.

Mu Jingyue sat upright in the simple and elegant house. Bursts of laughter and drum music came from outside and floated into the house through the window, making her heart seem as if it was shrouded by an invisible dark cloud.

She stared gloomily at the exquisite hairpin that Mu Wan'er had given her. The gleaming light was like needles piercing her heart.

They are obviously their father's biological daughters, so why are they treated so differently?

Mu Wan'er had countless pieces of jewelry, and she just casually said it was beautiful, and Mu Wan'er gave her the hairpin without hesitation.

In contrast, her jewelry is so few that you can count them on one hand.

This treatment is even worse than that of Mu An Ning's adopted daughter!

After a while, she threw the hairpin onto the dressing table, her tone filled with resentment and resentment: "Mother, why is father like this? Are we so shameful to others?"

Today, everyone in the Marquis's Mansion can attend Mu Wan'er's coming-of-age ceremony, except them.

All the preparations she had made in the past few days now seemed like a joke.

Her father obviously had no intention of letting her integrate into the Beijing circle, but in less than two years, she would be looking for a marriage.

If this situation continues, she will probably become someone else's concubine like her mother.

In front of her children, Yunniang was not at all as gentle and respectful as she was in front of other people.

She lay on the couch leisurely, raised her eyes lazily, looked at her daughter whose features were very similar to hers, and chuckled, "What's so surprising? And how many times have I told you that I am your aunt, not your mother? Don't let others hear it."

She knew it all when she took her two children to the Marquis's residence.

Even though Lord Chongde felt a little guilty about them, it did not change the fact that he felt they were not worthy of being in a good position.

If not...how could he have been so cruel as to abandon her at that time?

It is said that one would rather be the wife of a poor family than the concubine of a rich family. Her decision may be difficult for some people to understand, but she will never regret it.

Glancing at his sister with her red lips pouted, Mu Jingrui, who had been concentrating on reading, put down the book, a sinister look flashed across his eyes, and he smiled softly: "Don't be angry, sister. Rui will teach them a lesson for you."

*

The banquet has not yet started, but many people have already taken their seats.

A lady sitting at the women's table, with a trace of inquiry in her eyes, asked in surprise: "Madam Hou, so the girl who sat with you at the Hundred Flowers Banquet last time was the Second Miss?"

If both of them were Xu's children, it would be hard to believe.

How can there be sisters who are only half an year apart in age?

Xu nodded with a smile, her eyes revealing an expression of joy that was difficult to conceal.

She was finally able to reveal her biological daughter to the public.

Today, there was a constant stream of traffic and guests in front of the Mu Mansion. Almost all the prominent and powerful families in the capital were invited to attend this coming-of-age banquet.

The lady was about to say more, but at this moment she saw Princess Luo of Anqing slowly stepping into the courtyard, so she had no choice but to stand up and greet her like everyone else.

Luo smiled and nodded slightly with the others, but the women's eyes did not fall on her, but on the tall young man behind her.

Prince Gu seemed even more handsome today than ever before. His black hair was tied up high with a red headband. He was wearing an eye-catching scarlet brocade robe with cloud patterns, and his slender waist was outlined by a black belt.

He just stood there with an expressionless face, like a carved jade figure, and the cheeks of the noble ladies present couldn't help but turn slightly red.

Xu walked forward with a smile on her face: "Princess, Wan'er is still dressing up."

Luo nodded slightly with a faint smile on her face.

She didn't want to come at first, but after all, Xu was her close friend in the past and future relative, so she couldn't bear to deny Xu's face.

Before this, she had only performed the ceremony of adding a hairpin to a bride's head for Mu An Ning, and she originally thought that she would only do so for her future daughter-in-law.

Thinking of this, she looked at Xu with a smile: "Is An Ning here?"

Originally, Mu An Ning would visit the palace at the beginning and middle of every month, but last month he did not come once.

Even if the Wang Mansion sent a visiting card to her, the Marquis' Mansion would only say that she was ill and could not go out.

Xu knew that Luo loved her adopted daughter, so she said apologetically, "Princess, please forgive me. An Ning should be with Wan'er at this time."

Luo nodded thoughtfully, turned around and said to the young man behind him: "Ahuai, you go to the men's seat first."

She originally wanted to see the two young men talking with her own eyes so that she could feel at ease, but now An Ning couldn't come for a while, and it would be useless to trap her son with her.

Gu Huaizhi's eyes moved slightly, and he silently gathered his sleeves. After making sure that the things inside were still there, he strode towards the men's seat.

Xie Yunting, who had always been on good terms with him, saw him coming and waved to him: "Brother Gu, this way!"

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Gu Huaizhi had the urge to pretend that he didn't know this person, but he still walked quickly to the seat that his friend had reserved for him.

Xie Yunting is the same age as Gu Huaizhi and they have a life-long friendship.

Back then, he was tricked into a gambling house by a few playboys and almost lost the Xie family's house. It was Gu Huaizhi who stepped forward and saved him.

After this incident, he completely changed his mind about the usually unruly Gu Huaizhi and became his little follower.

After Gu Huaizhi sat down, Xie Yunting asked curiously, "Brother Gu, did you know that there is another girl in the Mu family?"

Gu Huaizhi nodded slightly and poured himself a glass of wine.

Brother Gu, why are you so quiet today?

Xie Yunting secretly wondered if he had something on his mind, and shook his head with a little embarrassment, preparing to say something to ease the atmosphere, and then smiled and said: "The eldest lady of the Mu family is so beautiful, I believe her sister will not be inferior, maybe Brother Gu and I can be brothers-in-law in the future..."

Before Xie Yunting could finish his words, he saw Gu Huaizhi put down his wine glass and glanced at him coldly, as if his joke had touched something sensitive.

His smile froze on his face immediately and he poured himself a glass of wine to ease the embarrassment.

Brother Gu doesn't seem to be in a good mood today, so it's better not to provoke him.

*

About half an hour later, the coming-of-age banquet finally began.

After Mu An Ning and Xu accompanied Mu Wan'er into the courtyard, they quietly stepped aside and stood there.

[In one word, tired!!!]

Even though they were some distance apart, Mu An Ning could still hear Mu Wan'er's thoughts.

She couldn't help but nod slightly in agreement.

Mu Wan'er couldn't persuade Xu today, so she spent nearly an hour on dressing up and another hour on choosing clothes.

After Lord Chongde's concise resignation, it became clear that Mu Anning was an adopted daughter.

She lowered her eyes and did not react much, because her adoptive father had already discussed this with her before.

Many people had already guessed it and were not surprised.

As for those who had not expected it, each had their own reactions. Among them, the Duke's daughter Liu Qingyue's eyes lit up.

Accompanied by the elegant sound of the piano, Princess Anqing walked forward with a complicated expression and put a hairpin on Mu Wan'er.

An Ning was indeed not the daughter of a marquis. She now only hoped that Prince Anqing would not want to cancel the children's marriage.

When the song ends, the ceremony is over.

【Finally freed! 】

Looking at Mu Wan'er's smile, Mu An Ning also felt happy.

She vaguely remembered that she was extremely excited when she came of age, because she was finally old enough to marry Gu Huaizhi.

Suddenly, a sharp voice interrupted the conversation.

"The imperial edict has arrived!"

Everyone sighed and knelt down in astonishment.

"The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, proclaims: We have heard that the daughter of Marquis Chongde, Mu Wan'er, is skilled, generous, kind, honest, and of outstanding character and appearance. The Empress and I are very pleased to hear this. Now that the Crown Prince has reached the age of 20, it is time for him to marry, and we should choose a virtuous woman to be his wife. Mu Wan'er is a good match for the Crown Prince, and you are a perfect match made in heaven. In order to make this beautiful woman a perfect match, we hereby betroth you to the Crown Prince as his consort. All the ceremonies will be handled by the Ministry of Rites and the Qintian Supervisor, and we will choose an auspicious date for the wedding. I hereby declare."

The noble ladies almost immediately looked at Mu Wan'er, but more of their eyes were focused on Mu An Ning.

Two happy events happened in the Marquis' Mansion in succession. However, for Mu An Ning, an adopted daughter, these two events were not happy events.

Marquis Chongde and Xu, who were lying on the ground, were already prepared in their hearts, but they were so happy that they forgot to accept the order for a moment.

Eunuch Wang reminded in a sharp voice: "Lord."

Lord Chongde then hurriedly pulled Mu Wan'er beside him to receive the order: "Thank you, my Lord, for your grace. Long live the emperor."

When the imperial edict was handed over, Eunuch Wang smiled flatteringly, "Congratulations, Lord Marquis, and Miss Mu." His shrewd eyes fell on the future Crown Princess, and he said with a smile, "Miss Mu, His Highness asked me to tell you that he is busy with official duties today, so he cannot come. He will personally present you with the coming-of-age ceremony on another day."

When everyone heard this, they took a deep breath.

The second young lady of the Marquis's Mansion is truly extraordinary. She could actually make the handsome and elegant prince fall in love with her.

After Eunuch Wang left, many people came forward and congratulated him.

And Mu An Ning, who had just been standing beside Xu, had disappeared.

*

Gu Huaizhi put his hands behind his back, raised his eyebrows slightly, and deliberately spoke sparingly: "What do you want from me?"

He guessed that after Mu An Ning learned that he would come to the banquet, she would be restless as usual and would take the initiative to look for him.

As expected, she had just ordered Baoqin to invite him to this deserted pavilion.

Mu An Ning turned around when she heard the voice and met the boy's peach blossom eyes that had once captivated her.

He hadn't changed at all, and his attitude towards her was still so nonchalant.

After being stunned for a moment, she handed over the heavy Eight Treasures Box in her hand.

Gu Huaizhi frowned and stared at the box, then reached out to take it, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised: "What do you mean?"

What gift did she prepare for him?

Sure enough, she ignored him in Wutong City, but it was just a momentary anger, and in the end she would still revolve around him.

However...this time was different from usual, he prepared a return gift.

The smile on his lips deepened. Just as he reached his hand into his sleeve, he heard the girl say, "Prince, cancel the engagement."