The Reason for Breaking It Off

The truth Chacha revealed overturned everyone's earlier guesses.

The melon-eating crowd stared at the subjects of the gossip, utterly dumbfounded.

The people at the center of it, however, wore very different expressions.

The old madam couldn't hear the inner voices and had no idea what was going on.

Marquis Chengping's face went blank, evidently unable to digest what had just been exposed.

Yan Xuetong's eyes widened, her face full of disbelief as she looked at Su Xue'er.

Su Xue'er and her son Zhuo Lingqi looked nothing but shocked. Once again, they couldn't resist trying to find the source of the voices.

Shen Anxin was still marveling.

[This could go straight into the "Never Saw That Coming" series. Chacha, quick, tell me everything.]

Chacha: [I'll have to start at the beginning. The Su sisters came from a scholarly family, and their grandfather was once the late emperor's grand tutor.

After their grandfather withdrew from court, none of the younger generation stood out, so the Su family's standing in the capital gradually declined.

Then Su Lingyu grew up, inherited her grandfather's teachings, and received an excellent upbringing. Not only was she exceptionally talented, well-read and reasonable, dignified and steady, she also frequently did good deeds and had an excellent reputation.

Old Marquis Chengping was a close friend of Su Lingyu's grandfather and had a very sharp eye. While others hesitated over a marriage alliance with the declining Su family, worried that their in-laws might be unable to help them, he took a liking to Su Lingyu's talents.

He knew perfectly well that his son's future achievements would be ordinary. If he found him a virtuous wife, she would surely be a great help to the marquis's household in the future, and their children would surely turn out well too.

Marry a virtuous wife, and three generations would prosper. So he swallowed his pride and begged again and again until the Su family agreed to the marriage.

To show how much he valued Su Lingyu, he even went to request an imperial decree from the late emperor granting the marriage. That was how Su Lingyu became bound to Marquis Chengping.]

The older members of the melon-eating crowd were familiar with the story. That was indeed how things had been.

Hearing this, Marquis Chengping fell into a daze.

Hearing the story of those days from someone else's perspective, he could only feel that his father really had considered so much for his sake. No wonder his father had been so angry that he had beaten him half to death after the marriage fell through.

As Yan Xuetong listened to her mother's past, her eyes gradually reddened.

But resentment flashed in Su Xue'er's eyes. In her mind, the old marquis had been despicable. His son clearly wasn't worthy of her sister, yet he had pulled strings to secure the engagement. Her sister clearly deserved better, so why should she have to "alleviate poverty" for his son?!

"Alleviating poverty" was one thing, but had his son cherished her?!

Shen Anxin: [Someone as muddleheaded as Marquis Chengping actually had such a shrewd father. What a pity his son didn't live up to expectations.

But... since Su Lingyu didn't want to marry Marquis Chengping, why didn't the Su family refuse at the start? And what about Su Xue'er? What was her situation?]

Chacha: [Host, you've misunderstood the sequence of events. When the engagement was made, Su Lingyu had no objections. Women of ancient families were expected to obey their parents' wishes.

Marquis Chengping wasn't particularly talented, but he wasn't a mediocre good-for-nothing either, and he was quite a handsome man.

He was also set to inherit a marquisate. Taking his family background into account, by ancient standards, Su Lingyu was actually marrying up.

Of course, only Su Xue'er thought Marquis Chengping was reaching above his station by marrying her sister.

Su Xue'er was different from her sister. She wasn't dignified or virtuous, but a pampered, willful young girl who needed others to dote on her.

Perhaps because their mother had died young, the sisters were extremely close. Su Lingyu spoiled her, and she had worshipped Su Lingyu since childhood, almost blindly.

To put it in terms you'd understand, Host, she was practically a toxic solo stan.]

Shen Anxin: [It reached that point? Was it really that extreme?]

Chacha: [Otherwise, why would she have taken matters into her own hands and deliberately seduced Marquis Chengping, whom she utterly looked down on, just to free her sister from that wretched engagement?]

The others might not have understood "toxic solo stan," but they could at least tell that Su Xue'er was fiercely protective of her sister, to the point of stopping at nothing.

Hearing the voice say again how Su Xue'er looked down on him and plotted against him, Marquis Chengping's brain finally began to work.

He couldn't bear to lose face like this in front of the entire court, and wanted to quickly prove that everything the two voices had said was false.

Still kneeling on the ground, Marquis Chengping turned to pull Su Xue'er toward him.

Instead, he met the indifference in her eyes.

In that instant, Marquis Chengping was stunned.

"Xue'er, why... why are you looking at me like that?" Their feelings for each other had been so deep back then.

Su Xue'er took a deep breath. Listening to the voices talk about her past with her sister, she no longer wanted to pretend.

She could see it now: almost everyone present could hear that voice, and even His Majesty wasn't stopping it. That meant there was no need to hide anything.

"My lord, whether we divorce by mutual agreement or you repudiate me is up to you. I'll take Xuetong and Lingqi with me."

The moment Su Xue'er spoke, everyone was shocked.

The old madam, who still didn't understand what was happening, was even more bewildered. "Madam Su, what are you saying?! Have you gone mad?!"

"I'm not mad. I never loved your son. It was all an act!" Su Xue'er said it all without holding back, then let out a long breath.

Yan Xuetong hadn't expected everything the voices said to be true, and was completely stunned.

Zhuo Lingqi, on the other hand, didn't seem surprised. He merely sighed softly, then silently shuffled a little closer to his mother on his knees.

The sudden turn of events startled Shen Anxin. [What's going on? Why are they suddenly fighting?]

The melon-eating crowd was instantly alarmed. Had she noticed something?

Chacha: [Maybe it's because her sister has already passed away, and Yan Xuetong now has merit and the emperor's protection, so she doesn't need the marquis's household as a backer. That's why Su Xue'er has simply stopped pretending.

Besides, Marquis Chengping tried to steal Yan Xuetong's credit earlier. Su Xue'er cares so much about her sister, so how could she tolerate him any longer? It was inevitable that she'd cut ties with him.]

Shen Anxin: [Oh, I get it. She wants to take advantage of Yan Xuetong's recent achievement and Emperor Hongyao's good mood to ask for a divorce by mutual agreement.]

The melon-eating crowd: ...That's right! An excellent analysis. That's exactly it!

Emperor Hongyao also breathed a sigh of relief and didn't intervene for the time being.

Marquis Chengping, meanwhile, had completely fallen apart, and for a moment even wondered if he had imagined what he heard.

"Xue'er, you're joking with me, aren't you? Are you angry because I appropriated Xuetong's credit without discussing it with you? How could you never have had real feelings for me? Acting? How could that be possible? Back then..." Marquis Chengping's eyes trembled as he desperately tried to remember.

"Back when I spent time with you as your future brother-in-law, you were always throwing little tantrums, looking as though you wanted to go against me and couldn't stand me. You were clearly a young lady trying to catch my attention, playing hard to get. You..."

Shen Anxin: [So his confidence was already that inflated back then! Wasn't she simply disgusted with him? If that doesn't count as dislike, what behavior would count in his eyes?]

Unable to bear it, Marquis Chengping roared, "No!"

Shen Anxin jumped, but didn't realize he was shouting at her, because Su Xue'er happened to respond just then.

Su Xue'er said, "I did dislike you, because you were going to marry my sister, which meant taking her away from me. But at the time, I wasn't targeting you specifically. I was targeting anyone who would become my brother-in-law."

Marquis Chengping couldn't believe it. "No! Impossible! That day, you were drunk and confessed to me with red eyes. You said everything you'd done before was to make me pay more attention to you..."

Su Xue'er stared blankly for a moment, then couldn't help snorting with laughter. "Oh, that was because I'd started plotting against you by then. Isn't that the sort of woman you like—a silly, simple little thing who adores you, looks up to you, and depends on you? Of course I had to put on a show for you. If I didn't make you transfer your affections, how could I break up your engagement to my sister?!"

Marquis Chengping's eyes gradually turned bloodshot with anger, and his whole body began to tremble.

"You... you... why would you? How dare you! This was sabotaging a marriage granted by the late emperor! Enough, Xue'er. You must have lost your head to talk such nonsense."

But Su Xue'er's eyes sharpened. "Weren't you the one who broke his promise first?!!!"

Marquis Chengping was instantly struck speechless, as though he had remembered something.

The old madam hadn't understood before, but at this she too froze.

The melon-eating crowd was somewhat bewildered. Had there been another secret back then?

Shen Anxin: [There's a melon inside this melon! From what they're saying, Su Xue'er simply hated someone taking her sister away at first and didn't want to break the engagement. Something must have happened to make her suddenly change her mind, take such a desperate risk, and sacrifice herself!]

Chacha: [That's right. Outsiders don't know much about this, but the reason the old marquis managed to get the Su sisters' grandfather to agree to the marriage was that he made a promise.

After Su Lingyu married into the marquis's household, Marquis Chengping would only be allowed to take a concubine if she had no children by the age of thirty.

And the marquis's household would never stand in the way of the good deeds Su Lingyu had always carried out.

The young Marquis Chengping readily agreed at the time, but broke his word not long afterward.]

Shen Anxin: [Did he take a concubine early, or keep a mistress outside?!!!!]

Chacha: [You could say he kept a mistress, and the circumstances were very disgraceful.

To explain, I have to start with Su Lingyu's good deeds. Because the Su sisters' grandfather had been the late emperor's teacher, he lived by the principle of imparting knowledge, teaching, and resolving doubts, and hoped that everyone under heaven would have the chance to read.

So after retiring from court, he established Vetch Hall, taking in children from disadvantaged backgrounds and helping them begin their education.

Later, he grew old and frail, so Su Lingyu took over.

She continued teaching children at Tiny Grass Hall, and also took in homeless women and taught them to read and write so they could make a living in the future.]

Shen Anxin: [Good heavens, I thought her so-called good deeds meant setting up porridge shelters and the like. I never expected it to be this! Su Lingyu...

A teacher of lofty virtue!]

Those in the melon-eating crowd who knew what had happened back then nodded repeatedly. Over the years, quite a few noblewomen had done good deeds, but most had simply contributed money, and not often.

Of course, that too was a meritorious deed.

But people like Su Lingyu, who devoted themselves wholeheartedly, giving their own money, time, and energy without seeking any return or good name, were few and far between.

Su Lingyu had not only kept at it, but had also expanded it more and more.

Hearing this, Yan Xuetong choked up. There was a Tiny Grass Hall in Huai City too.

Zhuo Lingqi took a deep breath, an unusual touch of emotion in his eyes.

Su Xue'er's eyes had already grown wet. Yes, that was how good her sister was, but some people didn't deserve her goodness!

Chacha: [She was indeed admirable. She did this all her life and never stopped.

At the time, she was busy with Tiny Grass Hall, so if Marquis Chengping wanted to spend time with her, he often had to accompany her there.

At first, Marquis Chengping went there often, but he couldn't endure that kind of hardship and didn't much want to lend a hand, so he went less and less.

Su Lingyu didn't take it to heart. She quietly carried on with her own affairs and waited for the wedding.

But before long, something came to light. One of the young women taken in by Tiny Grass Hall suddenly knelt before Su Lingyu one day, her belly swollen, and begged her in tears.

She hoped Su Lingyu could accept her and the child.

It turned out that while Marquis Chengping had been visiting Tiny Grass Hall, he had become involved with one of the pitiful young women there.

Marquis Chengping had been keeping her outside, while Su Lingyu had assumed the young woman had found somewhere to go. She never expected to encounter such a situation.

Both families naturally found out soon afterward. The Su family was naturally furious, and the old marquis was ashamed. He beat and punished Marquis Chengping.

The old marchioness, however, thought nothing of it and even went in person to persuade Su Lingyu.

She said the woman was of humble status, had no one to rely on, and was carrying a child. She only wanted the status of a concubine in the future and wouldn't enter the household early. Outsiders wouldn't know either, so there was no need to make a fuss.

She told Su Lingyu to be magnanimous. The marquis's household had few descendants to begin with, and she couldn't cause a death before she had even married into the family.

If this led to unpleasantness, outsiders would call Su Lingyu jealous.

Another point was that the original agreement had been a verbal one between the old marquis and the Su sisters' grandfather.

It had not been reported to the late emperor, so keeping a mistress and having an illegitimate child beforehand did not count as defying the imperial decree.

That meant the Su family couldn't use it as grounds to break off the engagement.

On top of that, the Su sisters' grandfather had already passed away by then, and the other members of the Su family couldn't bear to give up the marriage into a marquis's household. No one stood up for Su Lingyu, and the old marquis humbly apologized.

Su Lingyu could only swallow the bitter loss in silence and resign herself to her fate. She only hoped that after the wedding they could live in peace and let her continue running Tiny Grass Hall. Her heart was in that work, so she felt it would be all right.]

The melon-eating crowd: That happened too?!

Emperor Hongyao's expression turned cold. Although the imperial decree hadn't mentioned it, Marquis Chengping's actions had still sullied the late emperor's goodwill.

Besides, how could a woman as righteous as Su Lingyu be subjected to such mistreatment by him?!

If the matter had come to light back then, he surely would have stood up for Su Lingyu!

Unfortunately, it had been kept tightly under wraps.

Feeling the piercing stares of the people around him, Marquis Chengping's face gradually turned livid.

That was... that was... an accident! Besides, Su Lingyu had clearly accepted it!

Shen Anxin: [I'm disgusted! Couldn't he control himself at all? And he even chose someone from Tiny Grass Hall, carrying on an affair right under his fiancée Su Lingyu's nose!

How could he have the nerve? Didn't he feel even a little guilty? Disgusting, absolutely disgusting!

Why did Su Lingyu still have to marry him? How could she put up with that?! Even by ancient standards, wasn't this bullying her?]

Chacha: [There was nothing she could do, not with the imperial decree. Anyway, she didn't love Marquis Chengping.]

Shen Anxin: [No, no, no, the method of spiritual victory isn't the answer!]

Chacha: [Uh... don't worry. In any case, Su Xue'er couldn't tolerate it at all. In her eyes, someone who broke his word and betrayed his obligations was even less worthy of her wonderful sister.

Not to mention that after the wedding, her sister would have to face the young woman she herself had saved.

She had also seen through her future brother-in-law's true nature and thought that her sister would surely suffer if she married him.

To keep her sister from being held back for life by such a wretched man, she was willing to sacrifice herself and take on the engagement.

Su Lingyu was busy and didn't know what Su Xue'er was plotting behind her back. Once it happened, she saw the state her younger sister was in and instantly understood the truth.

She was angry and distressed for her, but could do nothing about Su Xue'er. After all, her sister had already falsely claimed to be pregnant. Things had come to that point, so she could only accept it. That's how the later events came about.]

Shen Anxin: [Su Xue'er was standing up for her sister, but sacrificing herself like that... wait! I think I just heard something incredible!]

[Falsely claimed? Pregnant! The pregnancy was fake? Then Zhuo Lingqi!!!!!]