Chapter 11: A Failed Endeavor

Chapter 11: A Failed Endeavor

The man's gaze, lingering on Su Youyue's face for a while, finally shifted to the medicine box in her hand. He expressed gratitude with an enigmatic tone, "Thank you, Miss, for your generosity. However, Xie Yuan can no longer bear the title of 'Young Master'."

Su Youyue stopped Jin'er, who was about to scold him for his ignorance, and cleared her throat. "Titles don't matter. But you must recover for this lady before the plum blossom banquet. If you can't push me then, you'll have to answer to me!"

There were still more than half a month until the plum blossom banquet. Due to the heavy snowfall, the accumulated snow would make the roads difficult to traverse. Even Jin'er and the other maids would struggle to lift her over thresholds.

In the past, Su Youyue used to chase after Lu Song, who enjoyed attending such banquets. Hence, despite her mobility issues, she insisted on participating.

Xie Yuan had been given to Su Youyue as a slave under the pretext of pushing her wheelchair, courtesy of Princess Three. It was a reasonable explanation for her actions.

Many in the household were still unaware of her broken engagement. Upon hearing this, they imagined a scenario where the young lady pursued her fiancé even in the coldest winter months and through deep snow. Thus, they didn't find her behavior strange.

For that destitute fiancé of the young lady, any absurd act could be justified.

Xie Yuan gazed intently at Su Youyue, seemingly weighing the sincerity in her words.

The young lady's acting skills were commendable. Her bright, expressive eyes conveyed genuine concern, as if she truly wished for his swift recovery so he could push her wheelchair.

Had it not been for her intimate knowledge of her personality, she might have truly been deceived by her.

She despised him the most, the son of a traitor, being near her. Perhaps she was merely playing another trick.

After a moment, Xie Yuan reached out and took the medicine box from her soft, fair palm. "I've taken note, Miss. Please return. Si'an Garden is disordered and unsuitable for your presence."

With that, the man didn't wait for Su Youyue's response before turning and closing the door behind him.

"..."

Silent after experiencing such rejection for the first time, Su Youyue pondered for a while. It seemed her initial attempt to win over Xie Yuan had failed, and he had surely held a grudge against her now!

But... did his fingers just brush against her hand?

Would someone as skilled in martial arts and meticulous as he make such an error?

Suppressing her doubts, Su Youyue shook her head, thinking she was probably overthinking it.

Regardless, she mustn't provoke Xie Yuan anymore while dealing with the Lu family matters!

Despite his seemingly obedient demeanor now, she knew better than anyone the treacherous nature that lurked beneath his surface.

At this thought, she let out a deep sigh and suddenly found this man far more difficult to deal with than the shameless Lu family.

As Su Youyue had predicted, the Lus were indeed shameless. After being humiliated when they went to call off the marriage, the more they thought about it, the angrier they became. The elderly Lady Lu smashed several teacups and cursed endlessly before Kang Yun, who had rushed over from afar, managed to calm her down.

"Yun Niang, you're still the one who understands me best. That wretched girl Su Youyue, that little curse, why doesn't she just die and leave us all in peace? Even with her crippled legs, she has the audacity to torment me!"

Yun Niang was secretly thrilled to hear of her cousin's decision to break the engagement, but dared not show it on her face. Instead, she tried to soothe Lady Lu. "Aunt, it seems those rumors about Su Youyue are true. She has a destiny to harm her kin; she killed her own mother and ruined the health of Old Lady Su and Lord Su. In the future, she'll surely harm her husband. It's for the best that the marriage was called off."

Lady Lu held her niece's hand tightly. "It's good that this marriage was ended anyway. Who knows if she would have brought ill fortune to our Lu family? But Aunt is still furious that such a lowly wench dared to defy me. If only you, Yun'er, could be Shou'er's wife. Although that second Miss Su is said to be a fortunate star, nothing compares to our blood ties. It's a pity..."

Yun Niang froze upon hearing this, hardly believing that Lady Lu would still consider marrying her cousin to the second Miss Su. But soon enough, she realized what Lady Lu regretted.

She regretted that Yun Niang was born into a merchant family and was now an orphan, unable to provide any support to her cousin!

The Lu family's glory days were long gone, and their ancestors' wealth was almost depleted. Nowadays, the family relied solely on her cousin's position in the capital's military to maintain their status.

From the start, Aunt had wanted to find a high-born lady to aid her cousin, not because he was already betrothed!

Yun Niang staggered, her face turning deathly pale. Lady Lu's words were a subtle way of informing her that although her cousin had withdrawn from the engagement, he had no intention of marrying her.

But they truly loved each other!

Why couldn't her aunt help bring their love to fruition? She had already given birth to Wen Ge three years ago for her cousin! He was their son!