Chapter 296 A son of the Zhou family will never marry into another family.
Zhou Congxian listened to his mother's words, but his face showed no sign of relief.
"Mother, things are not that simple."
"You know Shi Lan's personality. Today, she publicly said that she wanted to break off the engagement. I'm afraid... she's made up her mind."
Madam Zhao quickly replied, "That won't do! Tomorrow morning, you must prepare generous gifts and personally go to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to apologize!"
"Women are easy to coax. Lower your stance, say nice things, and you can always win her back."
Zhou Congxian remained silent for a moment before slowly nodding.
"My son understands."
"Tomorrow, I will go to the Meng residence again and have a proper talk with her."
Zhou Congxian returned to his courtyard.
When Wei Xun saw him enter, he stepped forward and said, "Your Highness."
There were no lights in the room, only moonlight streaming in through the window, casting flickering shadows on his face.
The dejected and disheartened young master of the daytime now had clear eyes, without a trace of sorrow.
"Is everything arranged?" he asked casually.
Wei Xun said, "Everything has been arranged. Rumors have already spread throughout the capital."
He hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn't help but speak.
"Your Highness, the matter of marrying into the family is of utmost importance."
"Although marrying into the Meng family is a plan devised by His Majesty and Lord Meng, if word gets out, it will damage your reputation..."
For a scion of a prominent family, marrying into another's family is a great disgrace.
That means the man is far inferior to the woman in terms of family background and ability, which is why he needs to depend on someone else.
Zhou Congxian, a prodigy, had never suffered such injustice.
Under the moonlight, Zhou Congxian's profile softened.
He suddenly chuckled softly.
The laughter was soft; he didn't turn around, but the sound clearly reached Wei Xun's ears.
"If you can't even protect her, what's the use of this reputation?"
"What does it matter if I marry into her family, as long as I'm with her?"
He paused, a relieved smile playing on his lips.
"Besides, I am not the only son in the Zhou family."
“My younger brother has waited so many years, it’s time to give him a chance.”
Wei Xun was startled, then lowered his head, no longer harboring any doubts.
"Understood."
The next day.
The gates of the British Duke's Mansion were still chilly with the early morning air.
A servant scrambled in, his face filled with shock and panic.
"My lord! Your Highness! Something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!"
The British judge emerged from the main hall and immediately frowned.
"What kind of behavior is this, all flustered and disrespectful!"
The servant knelt on the ground, unable to speak properly.
"Your...Your Excellency!"
"The Duke of Zhenguo... he personally brought the betrothal gifts..."
"They've blocked the gates of our British Duke's mansion!"
One hundred and twenty bright red betrothal gifts.
The vermilion wooden boxes were all decorated with large "Meng" characters painted in gold.
The Duke of England's face turned ashen.
When he saw the scene outside the door, he felt a rush of blood to his head and his vision went black.
Meng Yushan was dressed in a black casual suit, holding a cane in his hand. His head was full of silver hair, and his weathered eyes were calm and still, yet they exuded an aura of authority without anger.
"Lord Meng!"
The British public forcefully suppressed the turmoil in his heart.
"What...does this mean?"
Meng Yushan didn't even lift his eyelids, merely glancing indifferently at the vermilion boxes.
"Lord Zhou, I have come today with two matters to discuss."
His voice wasn't loud, but it reached the ears of everyone present clearly.
"Firstly, we will return the betrothal gifts sent by your family intact."
The Duke of England's face instantly turned from ashen to deathly pale.
The surrounding crowd erupted in a chorus of barely suppressed gasps.
Return the betrothal gifts!
This is really a case of breaking off the engagement!
Secondly.
He paused, his gaze finally settling on the Duke of England's bloodless face.
"This is a betrothal gift presented to my Meng family."
After these words were spoken, a deathly silence fell over the surroundings.
Sending betrothal gifts?
Who is it for?
Meng Yushan slowly raised his hand and pointed to the betrothal gift boxes with the gilded character "Meng".
"This betrothal gift is for my granddaughter Shi Lan to marry Zhou Congxian, the heir of the Duke of Yingguo's mansion, into my Zhenguo Duke's mansion."
The crowd erupted in chaos!
"What? Marrying into the family?"
"This...this has never been heard of before!"
"Has the Duke of Zhenguo's family gone mad? They're returning the betrothal gifts and then want the couple to marry into the family?"
The commotion nearly lifted the lintel of the British Duke's mansion.
The Duke of England felt dizzy and swayed, almost falling over.
He had schemed and plotted his whole life, but he never imagined that such an absurd and bizarre day would come!
This is an absolute disgrace!
"Meng Yushan!"
Zhao was so angry that she trembled all over. Her well-maintained face was now covered with hideous lines.
She stretched out a trembling finger and pointed it directly at Meng Yushan's nose.
"You...you're abusing your power!"
"Do you think you can do whatever you want just because you hold military power?"
"Let me tell you, our British Duke's Mansion would rather die than suffer such humiliation!"
“My son is a dignified seven-foot-tall man, a pillar of the nation. How can he become a lowly son-in-law!”
She was so angry that she started cursing, completely losing her usual dignified demeanor as a noblewoman.
"Is your Meng family on the verge of extinction, that you resort to such a despicable method to steal the Zhou family's lineage?"
Just then, an old and weak voice came from inside the mansion.
"Cough...cough cough..."
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw an old lady with a full head of white hair, leaning on a dragon-headed cane, walking out step by step with the help of her maid.
It was the elderly lady of the British Duke's mansion, who had been bedridden for a long time.
The old lady's health was not as good as before; she was already panting after walking just a few steps.
She pounded the ground heavily with her cane, making a "thump-thump" sound.
"My Zhou family has been a family of loyal and virtuous officials for generations, and you dare to humiliate my family name like this!"
"Your Meng family only has two younger generations left, and it looks like the family line is about to end. Now, you've got your eye on my grandson!"
The old lady became more and more agitated as she spoke, her chest heaving violently.
"I'm telling you, as long as these old bones of mine are still alive, you can forget about it!"
"I...I'll go and beat the drum to appeal right now! I'll go and lodge a complaint with His Majesty!"
"I want the whole world to see how your Zhenguo Duke's Mansion bullies others and forcibly seizes other families' descendants!"
The Duke of England's face was as white as paper.
He schemed and plotted, thinking that if his son married Meng Shilan, he would have the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion as a backer, and then he could gradually make plans for a bright future.
And what was the result?
Instead of finding a powerful backer, he ended up losing his son!
He was filled with remorse. If he had known this would happen, he should have agreed to the marriage with the Li family back then!
If he had married a woman from the Li family, he might already have several grandchildren by now!
Why should we suffer such humiliation today!
"This is... absolutely impossible!"
The Duke of England gritted his teeth and said, word by word, that this was his final bottom line.
"No man of the Zhou family will ever marry into another family!"
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