After the Prince of Ding and the Princess's carriage left, the last rays of the setting sun sank behind the mountains, and a deep darkness surged up like a tide, instantly engulfing the capital city.
Ye Cunjin let out a long breath and was about to turn around and go back when another carriage came from the darkness and stopped in front of the Marquis's mansion.
A girl dressed in a pale yellow dress and a matching cloak jumped down from the carriage and ran straight toward him.
"Brother Jin!" The lanterns at the gate of the mansion were already lit, illuminating the person who had arrived. It was none other than the third young lady of the Wei family.
Her face was beaming with joy, and she was radiating excitement. If it weren't for the servants and maids all around her, she probably would have already thrown herself into Ye Cunjin's arms.
"Why are you coming at this time? Aren't you afraid of encountering danger on the way?" Ye Cunjin frowned slightly when he saw her, not liking her for coming to his door so ostentatiously.
He turned and walked into the courtyard, signaling the others to stay put. Miss Wei immediately followed and stood with him in a corner of the courtyard to talk.
"I have good news at home, and I couldn't wait to tell Brother Jin!" Miss Wei said, explaining why she came to the Marquis's residence so late.
She asked again, "On my way here, I saw the carriage of Prince Ding's mansion pass by. Did His Highness Prince Ding come to annul the engagement with Ye Qingxue?"
Ye Cunjin believed there was nothing to hide about this matter, since Ye Qingxue had made a serious mistake first and was subsequently jilted.
Even if word got out, it wouldn't affect Prince Ding's reputation. Besides, Miss Wei had already heard about it, so he just grunted and admitted it directly.
"It seems I was right. No man can tolerate his fiancée having a secret rendezvous with another man all night. Not to mention His Highness Prince Ding, even our Wei family cannot tolerate such a thing."
"So, Brother Jin, after learning that Pan Heng and Miss Ye had a secret rendezvous all night, my mother and elder brother took me to the Pan residence to annul the engagement. The marriage certificate was torn up in public, and now I have no marriage relationship with Pan Heng."
Miss Wei was overjoyed and leaned into Ye Cunjin's arms as she spoke. Ye Cunjin did not dodge but instead embraced her.
Although Wei Jingtong was very honest and upright as Minister of War, he was a high-ranking official with a lot of influence in the court and was highly valued by the emperor. If Wei Jingtong were to become his father-in-law, it would be entirely beneficial to his career.
He was able to become the Vice Minister of War at such a young age, and besides Prince Ding, Wei Jingtong also secretly helped him.
"Is this true? You're not lying to me? If you're this good, how could that Pan guy bear to break off the engagement with you?" Ye Cunjin asked, feigning disbelief.
“He was unreasonable first, so whether or not to annul the engagement is not up to him!” Miss Wei snuggled against him, feeling quite content.
“Brother Jin, I am no longer engaged, you must send a matchmaker to propose marriage as soon as possible... Last time you invited her out to burn incense, and you did that to her in the temple... If she gets pregnant and can't marry you, I won't be able to live!”
"Don't worry, I will send someone to propose marriage tomorrow. Since I have made you my woman, I will definitely marry you. Go back now and don't let anyone know that you came to my house at night. It will not be good for your reputation."
"Brother Jin, you must come! I'll be waiting for you at home!" Miss Wei said, her head bowed and eyes lowered, her face full of shyness.
Ye Cunjin kissed her cheek: "Of course, you should go back quickly, it'll be late later, I'm worried about you."
Miss Wei was completely satisfied by his kisses and sweet words. Her heart felt like it was soaking in honey, and she left happily and shyly.
As Miss Wei's carriage entered the road in front of her house, she sensed something was wrong. It sounded like some noisy noise was coming from the direction of her house.
As the carriage drew closer, Miss Wei noticed that the lights in front of her house were on full display.
"What's going on?" Miss Wei's heart skipped a beat. Why were there so many soldiers surrounding her Wei residence? And the soldiers were carrying torches, illuminating the night sky.
Miss Wei urged the driver to hurry on their way. The carriage finally arrived at the gate of the mansion. She immediately saw the Pan family father and son standing at her gate. She sneered inwardly, "So it's them!"
She got off the carriage and stormed up to the Pan father and son, saying rudely, "It's so late, Uncle Pan and Young Master Pan have come to our door and made such a commotion. What are you trying to do!"
Pan Heng was about to bow to her in greeting, but Miss Wei did not give him the chance and said directly, "Could it be that Young Master Pan was upset about being jilted, so he came to my Wei family to cause trouble as soon as it got dark?"
"Since Young Master Pan feels that being jilted is shameful, he should have restrained his behavior earlier and not had a secret rendezvous with another woman all night before the wedding! And he made it known to everyone!"
"Don't forget, my father is the Minister of War, an official of the same rank as Minister Pan! Even if you come to our door with so many guards, you can't force my parents to agree to this marriage!"
"The engagement is annulled. Even if you bring your guards to my door to force me, or even if Young Master Pan and Minister Pan kneel before me, I will not agree to this marriage! Please leave with your guards immediately!"
Miss Wei's voice was cold and angry, showing no politeness whatsoever. She had just returned from the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion and was in high spirits, but seeing the Pan family father and son here made her feel disgusted.
Pan Heng and his father exchanged a glance, both knowing that Miss Wei had misunderstood. But what shocked them even more was that the gentle and virtuous Miss Wei could speak so harshly.
It seems that when she went to the door with her mother and elder brother to annul the engagement at noon, she did not fully reveal her true colors.
"You've misunderstood, Miss Wei..."
Pan Heng had just started speaking when she interrupted him: "I thought that when the two families broke off the engagement this morning, they had already made things clear. I didn't expect that Young Master Pan would be such a persistent person. Is this how Minister Pan teaches his son?"
“You are utterly shameful and despicable! If you don’t leave, I will have my father and brothers come out and drive you away!”
Pan Yuanzhou and his son had initially felt sorry for the Wei family's descendants who had been implicated by Wei Jingtong, but after hearing what Miss Wei said, their pity vanished completely!
“Please forgive us, Miss, but we are here on the Emperor’s orders and cannot leave like this!” Pan Heng’s tone became forceful.
Enraged, Miss Wei immediately shouted, "Tsk! You made a mistake and were jilted, so you went to complain to the Emperor? Do you want the Emperor to order me to marry into the Pan family? You are utterly shameless!"
Pan Heng was furious. He grunted and said, "The Emperor has ordered my father and me to lead the soldiers to search the residence of Wei Jingtong, the Minister of War!"
What?! Miss Wei thought she had misheard. How could this be? Was Pan Heng just trying to scare her?
"My father is an honest and upright official. How could the Emperor possibly order the search of our Wei family mansion? Do you think that by threatening me like this, I will agree to marry you again? You're dreaming!"
Miss Wei spat at his face, and Pan Heng was so angry he had no temper left. He wiped the spit off his face, crossed his arms, and said coldly, "Go into the courtyard and take a look!"
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