Intending to break off the engagement
With Xie Zhuo's awakening, the long-quiet Prince Duan's mansion finally returned to its lively state.
The maids and servants each performed their duties, clearing away the weeds and dead branches in the courtyard before the winter snow. Cleaning and repairs began in all the courtyards of the Prince's Mansion.
The Prince's Mansion was peaceful and harmonious.
Even though Xie Chi repeatedly ordered that Xie Zhuo's physical condition not be discussed, news still spread that Xie Zhuo had not yet been cured of the remaining poison and would have difficulty having children in the future.
Enraged, Xie Chi flew into a rage in his study, declaring that he would thoroughly investigate the Prince's mansion and find the person who leaked the information, throwing them into the dungeon.
The servants in the Prince's mansion were terrified and lived in constant fear.
After searching around to no avail, unable to find the person who spread the news, Xie Chi vented all his anger on the Soul-Snatching Gate.
The Soul-Snatching Sect is also in a state of utter chaos.
Especially Master Song, he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
He was in charge of the branch in the capital. When the prince's son got into trouble in his jurisdiction, the leader summoned him and subjected him to a barrage of insults.
Master Song felt wronged. When had he ever poisoned the Prince Duan's son? This was slander, absolutely slander, blatant slander!
Even if you argued with him to the death, he wouldn't dare take on the job of assassinating the Prince Duan's heir!
"Your subordinate dares not, please understand, Sect Master."
"So, someone deliberately framed us?" The leader of the Soul-Snatching Sect glanced at him. "You'd better find out who's behind this trouble, or don't blame me for handing you over to the Prince's mansion."
Master Song made a harsh statement, vowing to find out who was behind it: "Don't worry, Master, I will definitely not let you down."
Upon returning to his headquarters, he immediately ordered all assassins to go into hiding and not to swagger around.
The HSBC Casino has closed down and dares not take on any more business. During this time, everyone in the Beijing branch of the Deadly Gate has been keeping a low profile.
Master Song was completely baffled. Why would the Prince's Mansion want to deal with them? The Soul-Snatching Sect never got involved in court affairs... Wait, a thought suddenly struck him. He found one of his men and asked, "Isn't the Prince Duan's heir the General of the Cavalry? Is the Valiant Cavalry under his command?"
"Yes, what's wrong?"
"Do you remember when we unexpectedly encountered the elite cavalry outside the city last time?"
Upon hearing this, the subordinate remembered: "That's right, I remember that last time we took on a job to assassinate a concubine's daughter. We ran into the Swift Cavalry on the way. Oh, and that job also got Erzhuzi from the Three Killers Group killed."
Erzhuzi was the man in black who was captured by the elite cavalry.
Master Song asked, "Who was the employer for that deal?"
The subordinate took out an account book from the cabinet, flipped through it, and replied, "The employer's name is Zhang Liangcai. He is the steward of the Zhang family in the north of the city. His purpose is to get rid of the concubine's daughter who is vying for favor in his family."
Zhang Liangcai was Sun Chi's alias. There was indeed a Zhang family in the north of the city, and there were indeed three or four concubine daughters in the family. However, the identity of the person in charge was fabricated by him. Sun Chi used someone else's identity half true and half false, so the Soul-Snatching Sect did not notice it immediately.
The Soul-Snatching Sect mobilized everyone to search for Sun Chi, unaware that he had already been imprisoned by Xie Zhuo.
*
The Ministry of Rites, Yu's family.
The wet nurse approached Yu Yadan and asked for leave: "Miss, I would like to ask for leave to go back to my hometown for a visit."
Yu Yadan asked with a puzzled look, "Why does the wet nurse suddenly want to go back to her hometown?"
"Sigh, it's all because of my son. He promised to write to me as soon as he got back to our hometown to let me know he was safe, but so much time has passed and I haven't received a single word from him. As his mother, I'm really worried about not hearing from him for so long."
The wet nurse's son was Sun Chi.
Sun Chi claimed to be visiting his family, but Yu Yadan knew he was going to avoid the limelight.
Sun Chi helped her contact the Soul-Snatching Sect to assassinate Fu Zhi Qiao, but he did so behind the nanny's back.
Yu Yadan panicked immediately when she heard that she couldn't contact Sun Chi. Her intuition told her that something had happened to Sun Chi!
She forced herself to remain calm: "Nanny, there's no need to worry. Sun Chi might be delayed on the way. Just wait a little longer, and perhaps his safe arrival letter will be delivered soon."
Yu Yadan did not grant the wet nurse's request for leave and made up an excuse to appease her. After seeing the wet nurse off, she paced back and forth in the room alone.
Sun Chi has disappeared? Why has she disappeared? Could she have been arrested? Or has someone found out that she wanted to get rid of Fu Zhi Qiao?
No, no.
Yu Yadan's mind was in complete chaos, and she remained absent-minded until nightfall.
With a creak, the maid Xiaodie pushed open the door and came in to report that the master and mistress seemed to be discussing breaking off the engagement.
Yu Yadan was stunned. After realizing what was happening, she asked, "Where did you get this news? Are you sure you didn't hear wrong?"
Xiao Die: "You heard right. Bai Rong heard it. When she went to the master's room to make tea, she heard the madam talking about breaking off the engagement with the Prince's Mansion."
Bai Rong and Xiao Die were from the same hometown. She told Xiao Die the news hoping to sell Yu Yadan to someone better. Being a maidservant to the young lady was a hundred times better than being a tea maid.
Xiaodie rushed over to tell Yu Yadan the news.
Upon hearing this, Yu Yadan felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. She knew about Zuo Murui's visit yesterday, but hadn't the Princess and her mother been discussing postponing the wedding? How did it suddenly turn into annulment? Did the Prince's mansion want to annul the engagement? Did the Crown Prince find out about her sending someone to assassinate Fu Zhiqiao, which is why the engagement was annulled?
Yu Yadan was extremely flustered.
Hiring someone to get rid of Fu Zhi Qiao was the most outrageous thing she had ever done. If Fu Zhi Qiao died, it would be fine; it would be over and done with, and no one would know about her evil deeds. But what if she survived... what if someone discovered what she had done...
Thinking of this, Yu Yadan felt a wave of fear and a little regret. She had been blinded by greed. Given her status and the princess's affection for her, she had no reason to take a merchant's daughter seriously.
Now that things have come to this, it's too late for her to regret it. She can only hope that Fu Zhi Qiao has fallen off the cliff and died. Only if Fu Zhi Qiao is dead can she be at ease, with no one to testify, and no one will know what she did.
In fact, not long after the assassination attempt, she inquired about Fu Zhi Qiao's whereabouts. The maids in Fu Yun Pavilion all said that their boss had not shown up for a long time. When asked where their boss had gone, they all said they didn't know.
As time passed, Fu Zhi Qiao never appeared at Fu Yun Pavilion again, and no one in the entire capital could find any news about her. Only then did Yu Ya Dan's heart slowly settle down.
Fu Zhi Qiao is really dead. No one will compete with her for the title of heir anymore. She is the ultimate victor.
With the engagement drawing ever closer, just as she was beautifully preparing her wedding attire at home, news came that the Crown Prince had been poisoned and fallen into a coma.
The two families discussed postponing the wedding by two months. Yu Yadan was very unwilling, but there was nothing she could do. Without a groom, the wedding naturally could not be held.
Why did the agreed-upon postponement of the wedding turn into annulment? She did so much to marry Xie Zhuo, and her parents are actually discussing breaking off the engagement for her?
How can this be?
A chill ran through my body.
At this moment, Yu Yadan is like a string stretched to its limit; any external force could break her.
Upon hearing that her father intended to dissolve the engagement with the Prince's Mansion, Yu Yadan became extremely anxious. She suddenly threw off the covers, sat up in bed, and ran towards Guo Sulan's courtyard, her steps quick and rapid.
"Girl!" Xiaodie called out, chasing after her with her outer garment in hand.
The main courtyard of the Minister's Office.
Guo Sulan and Yu Haoying sat together to discuss breaking off the engagement. Guo Sulan dismissed all the servants and had her trusted nanny stand guard by the door.
Yu Yadan jogged through two courtyards, and because the servants had all been dismissed, she arrived smoothly at Guo Sulan's door.
Just as her trusted nanny was about to speak up to stop her, Yu Yadan glared at her fiercely, and she immediately shut her mouth.
Yu Yadan waved her hand, signaling her to give up her seat. Seeing Yu Yadan's gesture, the old woman hesitated, but ultimately remained silent.
Yu Yadan pressed her face against the door, her heart pounding.
Guo Sulan was talking to Yu Haoying in the room, her tone quite urgent: "Master, what should we do?"
After listening to Guo Sulan's words, Yu Haoying remained silent for a while before saying, "Life is truly unpredictable."
He had also vaguely heard rumors in the court that it was no secret that His Majesty had sent the imperial physician to the Prince's residence. After court, officials would talk about it privately, but they would only touch on the topic briefly. They were all high-ranking officials who would see Xie Chi and Xie Zhuo father and son all the time, so it wouldn't be proper for them to gossip about their family affairs.
Yu Haoying knew that Xie Zhuo had been poisoned and was in a coma, and she also knew that he had woken up from his coma. She did not expect that Xie Zhuo's condition would be so serious.
"Upon careful consideration, this marriage is actually an honor for our family. We had hoped that when the Crown Prince inherits the throne, he can also look after the Yu family... We cannot back out of this marriage..."
Guo Sulan immediately objected: "But the Crown Prince is already like that, we can't jeopardize our daughter's lifelong happiness!"
Guo Sulan's only ambition was for Yu Yadan to marry into a wealthy family and live a better life. She and Zuo Murui were best friends, and she believed that marrying her daughter into the royal family would ensure she would not be mistreated. Therefore, she had been working hard to make the marriage happen, and in the end, she got her wish.
But life is unpredictable, and things can't always go as she wants. Xie Zhuo is excellent, with impeccable status, looks, and abilities, but she can't accept the fact that he has difficulty conceiving.
This one drawback is enough to negate all the advantages.
Guo Sulan herself became pregnant with Yu Yadan two or three years after getting married. In the following years, she did not get pregnant again. She visited countless famous doctors and took countless kinds of medicine, but none of them worked.
Sometimes, the more anxious you are about getting pregnant, the less likely you are to conceive.
To ensure the continuation of the Yu family line, Guo Sulan took the initiative to arrange for her husband to take a concubine. The concubine quickly became pregnant and gave birth to a son. As the mistress of the house, Guo Sulan naturally registered the child under her own name. She convinced herself to treat the child as her own mother, but there was still a distance between them as they were not her biological children.
Not having a son is Guo Sulan's biggest regret in life, so she reacted very strongly when she heard that Xie Zhuo might not be able to have children. In her opinion, it is absolutely impossible to live without children. Without children to rely on, how will Yu Yadan live the rest of her life?
She only had one daughter, Yu Yadan, in her entire life. If Yu Yadan hadn't given birth to any children either... Just thinking about how others would be surrounded by their children and grandchildren in their old age, while she herself would be desolate and have nothing, Guo Sulan couldn't help but feel a deep sadness.
In any case, she couldn't let her daughter follow in her footsteps.
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