Chapter 3 003 Engagement Withdrawn by the Marquis

Chapter 3 003 The Marquis Household Breaks Off the Engagement

In the end, Qiao Wanyue decided not to see her elder sister and turned back halfway. Qiao Zhuofan had suddenly gone to the Qin residence, and her eyelids kept twitching, a bad feeling nagging at her. After some thought, she decided it was best to stay put in her own room.

If something truly happened, the fire would not reach her. Better to stay out of trouble. Qiao Wanyue lay quietly on the chaise lounge, reading a book for a while, sleeping when tired, eating when hungry—just passing the time like that.

Meanwhile, Qiao Zhuofan arrived at the Qin residence, full of anticipation along the way. The Ning'an Marquis residence was a prominent aristocratic family. The current marquis, Qin Yan, served as Minister of Punishments, wielding power and influence. Even though rumors about him were bad, power was what mattered most.

The Qiao family had no noble title, and he was merely a fourth-rank Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat, far inferior to Qin Yan. He was past forty and had no hope of promotion; retiring at the third rank would be lucky.

Back then, he’d asked a matchmaker to propose this marriage, without much hope, because previous matchmakers for the Qin family had been sent away, and fewer had come since. But surprisingly, this good luck landed on him, and Qiao Zhuofan was overjoyed and confused.

Later, when Qin Yan sent the betrothal gifts, he inquired tactfully. Qin Yan explained that his mother had been close friends with Qiao Zhuofan’s late wife, and he thought marrying into her family would gain his mother’s approval. That was why Qin Yan agreed to the marriage.

His answer surprised Qiao Zhuofan. He never expected it was for this reason, but he also felt fortunate—a virtuous wife is a true blessing.

The two families had been engaged last October, and after more than half a year, it was time for marriage. After all, Qin Yan was twenty-eight, nearly thirty; the Qin elders must be getting impatient.

Qiao Zhuofan mulled things over, and before he knew it, he arrived at the Qin family’s gate. The gatekeeper recognized him and led him straight to Qin Yan.

Even though he was about to be Qin Yan’s father-in-law, Qiao Zhuofan had to act respectfully. The servant led him to the study, where Qin Yan sat waiting. Qin Yan looked up at the sound, then rose casually to greet him.

The servant served tea and closed the door so they could talk privately. Seeing this, Qiao Zhuofan concluded that there were important matters to discuss, and for both families, the only important matter besides the marriage was nothing else.

“You called for me, Marquis. Is something the matter?” Qiao Zhuofan, unable to contain himself, spoke before Qin Yan finished his tea.

Qin Yan, unfazed, set down his teacup gracefully. “Yes, there is.”

Without giving Qiao Zhuofan a chance to speak, Qin Yan continued, “My mother was once close friends with Lady Qiao, so I took this match seriously. I’m much older than your daughter, so I thought everything through carefully, afraid of doing her wrong. But now it seems my worry was unnecessary—your daughter seems to have found someone else. If that is the case, I don’t want to be the one who breaks up a pair of lovebirds.”

When he finished, Qiao Zhuofan was stunned, his face white, his beard quivering. It took him a moment to snap out of it.

“Someone else? Where is this coming from? Could there be a mistake?”

Qiao Yingxin was somewhat willful, but she said yes to this marriage. How could she do something so shameful? If she had someone else, who was it?

The idiot! And Qin Yan found out. Qiao Zhuofan cursed inwardly, fuming with anger.

The excitement he’d felt on the way here evaporated, replaced by rage.

Qin Yan didn’t seem angry about his fiancée meeting another man; he stayed calm. That was the surface, but he still needed to handle it.

Qin Yan said calmly, “Yesterday at Qingxin Temple, Miss Qiao was seen privately meeting a man. His second aunt saw it with her own eyes. No mistake.”

His second aunt had gone to burn incense and saw Qiao Yingxin behaving intimately with a man. She immediately turned pale, returned without offering incense, and informed him and his mother. That was why he summoned Qiao Zhuofan to discuss it.

Qin Yan sipped his tea and suddenly recalled another Miss Qiao. His eyes narrowed slightly, unreadable.

He was firm and unwavering. Usually, Qiao Zhuofan wouldn’t dare argue, but now was different. He wanted to talk his way out of this, then go back and interrogate Qiao Yingxin.

“Are you sure it wasn’t someone else? The temple was crowded—it’s easy to mix up women who look alike. A woman’s reputation is not something to joke about.”

A sharp glance from Qin Yan made Qiao Zhuofan shudder. No one dared to contradict him except the emperor and a few senior ministers. And now Qiao Zhuofan was trying to brush him off? Who did he think he was?

The teacup landed with a heavy thud, hitting Qiao Zhuofan like a blow to the chest. Qiao Zhuofan broke into a nervous sweat.

Qin Yan’s deep, steady voice cut through the silence, “There’s still room to fix this now. If I found out after the wedding, the only option would be divorce, Lord Qiao. How about that?”

Divorce meant shame and disgrace for the Qiao family. Qiao Zhuofan couldn’t allow that, so he accepted Qin Yan’s words as fact.

Wretch! Qiao Zhuofan cursed inwardly.

A wisp of aloeswood smoke rose from the incense burner, floating in the air before slowly fading. The study fell into a deathly hush, the atmosphere oppressive. No one spoke for a long time.

Qin Yan let him ponder, then said, “Our families’ engagement is off. To protect your daughter’s reputation, I won’t say a word. Your family can be the ones to break it off.”

They were fellow officials, and even if the marriage fell through, they could still maintain their professional relationship. Letting the Qiao family be the ones to call it off gave them an out, saving Qiao Yingxin’s reputation.

He didn’t care much—he was a man, after all. If he wanted to marry, it would be easy. But he no longer felt like marrying. Maybe the rumors were true—he was fated to end up alone.

Qin Yan gave the pale-faced Qiao Zhuofan a look and said, “Lord Qiao, go back and prepare.”

Qiao Zhuofan sat still, his body stiff, his lips trembling. “Marquis, you’re very generous. I really admire that. But please hold off on breaking the engagement. Let me go back and get to the bottom of this, and I’ll give you an answer.”

He wouldn’t give up without a fight. Qin Yan wasn’t in a hurry. If things got out, the Qiao family would be the ones to suffer, not him.

Qin Yan gave a cold “Mm,” not wanting to waste more words, and ordered the servant to show the guest out.

Qiao Zhuofan, his legs numb, was too ashamed to stay and rushed out of the Qin residence, heading straight home.

Afternoon was the quietest time at the mansion. The masters were napping, so the servants slacked off—some napped, others gathered in small groups to chat.

-

Qiao Wanyue was still deep asleep. She didn’t know how long she’d been asleep when someone shook her shoulders and started babbling.

So annoying. She hated being woken up.

“Stop it,” she muttered, turning over.

Zhu Qing and Hong Mei were frantic. The whole mansion was in chaos, but their mistress was asleep. They had to wake her.

“Miss, wake up! Something huge happened! Wake up!”

She covered her ears, but Hong Mei pulled her hands away and practically shouted in her ear, “It’s serious! The master wants to beat Eldest Miss to death. He’s already brought out the family discipline tools!”

At the mention of Qiao Yingxin, she snapped awake, opened her eyes, and rubbed them. “He wants to beat Big Sister to death? Why?”

Her heart pounded—she had a terrible suspicion, but she hoped it was something else. She’d only found out yesterday; her father couldn’t already know. Please let it be something else.

“Not sure. We just heard shouting, then he wanted to use the family punishment,” Hong Mei said. “I only heard from the steward.”

Qiao Wanyue dressed as fast as she could and hurried to the main hall, asking, “Where’s Mother?”

“Madam is there, but she can’t stop him.”

If even her mother couldn’t stop him, it had to be serious. Could it really be about yesterday?

Soon, Qiao Wanyue reached the main hall but didn’t go in. She stood listening outside. All the maids and servants had been sent away; Zhu Qing and Hong Mei waited outside too.

She stood alone under the eaves and peeked inside. Now that it was happening, she felt oddly calm.

Qiao Zhuofan’s furious voice rang out, “Say one word: cut ties with him, and I’ll forget everything. Otherwise, I’ll beat you to death right now.”

Qiao Yingxin knelt on the ground, her back stinging from several hits, too sore to straighten. But she was stubborn, talking back to her father.

“I won’t marry Qin Yan! He’s way older than me, and he’s a widower who jinxes wives. I want to break off the engagement!”

The man she wanted to marry was Ding Chengyou, the new top scholar.

"You're being unreasonable. Who is Qin Yan? Can that Ding guy compare to him? Don't be stupid. How many people wish they could marry him but aren't even considered."

"Then let someone else marry him. You only care about his power and influence. If he had no family background, would you still want me to marry him?"

Qiao Yingxin's words struck a nerve with Qiao Zhuofan. She was right—he did covet the Qin family's power. Who wouldn't care? Only a fool wouldn't.

"Stubborn. Fine, from today onwards, you're not allowed to leave the house. You can go out when you've figured things out."

Seeing that Qiao Yingxin was determined not to marry, Qiao Zhuofan had his own way of dealing with her. He would keep them apart and wait it out.

Qiao Wanyue listened from outside, clenching her sleeves, too scared to go in. What a scary scene. She had guessed right—Father knew about older sister's affair. Who told him?

"If you sneak out, I'll break your legs."

Qiao Zhuofan struck Qiao Yingxin hard on the back. "Did you hear me?"

The kneeling figure remained silent. Qiao Zhuofan waved his hand in exasperation, signaling for someone to take her away. Hearing people approaching, Qiao Wanyue hurriedly ran off, not wanting her sister to see her.

Her sister was beaten badly and could only walk with the help of the housekeeper. Sigh, this is a huge mess.

Qiao Wanyue peeked from a distance and was spotted by Madam Wang as she came out. Madam Wang frowned, pulled her aside, and warned her: "Your sister has caused big trouble. Your father is furious. Don't go out for the next few days. Stay put and behave."

"Why is he so angry?"

Madam Wang sighed. "She started seeing Ding Chengyou. The Qin family's second branch caught them red-handed yesterday. The Qin family wants to break off the engagement."

Good heavens, the sky really is falling. So the Qin family found out. No wonder Father was so angry. He must have been humiliated at the Qin residence and now can't hold his head up in front of Qin Yan.

"Is it really going to be called off?"

"If your sister comes to her senses, there's still a chance to turn things around."

Qiao Wanyue didn't say anything. She felt that, given Qin Yan's temperament, even if her sister now cut ties with Ding Chengyou and agreed to marry, Qin Yan wouldn't want her.

Su Su says Qin Yan can't stand any flaws.

What a wonderful marriage it could have been, but her sister had ruined it herself. Qin Yan was right to say it was too early to call him brother-in-law. He was right about that.

"Your marriage can wait until your sister's issue is resolved."

She wasn't in a hurry anyway, so of course she agreed.

Qiao Wanyue obediently stayed inside for three days. Even when Lin Susu came to invite her out, she refused. It wasn't the right time; she would go out some other time.

Five days went by like this. Things were calm at home. Although Qiao Yingxin hadn't given in, she hadn't argued with Qiao Zhuofan either. Perhaps she had come to her senses?

Qiao Wanyue stayed out of it. After being stuck inside for days, she snuck out today and went straight to find Lin Susu.