Breaking Off the Engagement

Isn't it hot wearing a veiled hat?

"Xiruo, make tea for Madam Dong."

Xiruo said, "Yes."

Once she left, only Lin Yunwan and Dong Shuangshuang remained in the room.

Dong Shuangshuang adjusted the veil on her head, but still refused to take it off.

Lin Yunwan lowered her eyes slightly, her hands holding a string of coral beads that she had been wearing frequently lately.

Dong Shuangshuang whispered, "... I'm afraid I'll scare you."

Lin Yunwan sighed and said, "Why would I be afraid of that?"

Dong Shuangshuang removed her veil, revealing a face covered in bruises and swollen eyes, making her unrecognizable.

No matter how prepared she was, Lin Yunwan was still frightened.

She frowned and asked, "Have you seen Physician?"

This is enough to cause internal injuries!

Dong Shuangshuang pursed her lips and remained silent.

Lin Yunwan felt very sorry for her, but was also angry that she didn't take care of herself.

Dong Shuangshuang said gently, "Don't worry! I... I'll take the Little Miss to annul the engagement in a little while, and then we'll call Physician."

"Break off an engagement?"

Dong Shuangshuang said, "My husband lost the bet, so he used my Little Miss's marriage as collateral. He regrets it now and has promised me that he will break off the engagement tomorrow."

"What about the money he owes? Will you use your dowry to pay it off?"

Dong Shuangshuang smiled bitterly, "Yun Wan, I'm not afraid you'll laugh at me. Besides leaving some dowry for my Little Miss, my dowry... has long been emptied out."

She has been openly and secretly spending a lot of money on her husband, who knows how much?

"My mother-in-law runs the household. We don't have much money. But... this time, my mother-in-law isn't interfering."

As for the money owed...

She said, "My husband said he would figure something out and told me not to worry about it."

Dong Shuangshuang pursed her lips and said, "Yun Wan, I know I'm useless."

"But as long as my Little Miss is safe and sound, I'll be content."

Lin Yunwan calmly asked, "Do you really believe your husband will call off the engagement?"

"Shuangshuang, you really believe in a gambling addict who can't control himself?"

Dong Shuangshuang lowered her head and remained silent. She said helplessly, "What can I do if they don't believe me?"

She was truly at a loss. "What can I do...?"

"Of course there are solutions."

Lin Yunwan said calmly.

A strange glint flashed in Dong Shuangshuang's eyes.

She was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yun Wan, I came to tell you that I'm fine, so don't worry about me. Everything you asked me to do for you is written in this booklet."

"My Little Miss is still waiting for me at home, I'll head back now."

Lin Yunwan could only stand up and say, "I'll see you off."

He personally helped Dong Shuangshuang put on her veil and saw her out the Second Gate.

Xiruo made tea, but Dong Shuangshuang didn't get to drink it.

She put down the tea and offered it to Lin Yunwan, then asked, "Does Madam Dong have any injuries on her face?"

Lin Yunwan nodded. "He was severely injured."

Xiruo clenched her fist and said, "Men who hit women are truly useless!"

This is the kind of man she despises the most.

Xiruo asked angrily, "Miss, didn't Madam Dong resist?"

Lin Yunwan touched the coral bracelet on her wrist and said gently, "Her daughter is her lifeline, and her husband can easily ruin her daughter's life. With her life in someone else's hands, how can she resist?"

Xiruo silent.

If it were her, she wouldn't let that kind of person go even if it meant dying together with him!

Lin Yunwan sighed softly, "... But she didn't realize that the more she backed down, the more she would harm her daughter."

Xiruo walked over and asked, "Does the young lady have a good idea?"

"What good is it for me to have an idea?"

"She has to be ruthless herself."

Xiruo seemed lost in thought.

Lin Yunwan opened the booklet that Dong Shuangshuang had left her. It was filled with dense writing about the background of the Jiangqian prominent families and eligible bachelors.

"You have beautiful handwriting."

Exquisitely beautiful small regular script.

Xiruo know what was in the booklet, so she asked, "Is it better than you, Miss?"

Lin Yunwan smiled and said, "My handwriting isn't as delicate as hers."

Xiruo understood. "Each has its own merits."

Lin Yunwan smiled, becoming increasingly satisfied with the contents of the booklet. Jiangqian was a place of outstanding people and abundant resources, and there were actually more suitable matches than she had imagined.

She is a capable and competent wife. If she can find a man who is ambitious and dedicated to his career, they will surely live a life of mutual respect and harmony.

"Young lady, will Madam Dong come again?"

Xiruo suddenly asked.

Lin Yunwan's eyes brightened slightly. "Yes."

She smiled faintly and said, "Maybe he'll come tomorrow."

Lin Yunwan was right. The next day, before noon, Dong Shuangshuang arrived, carrying her child. She was crying hysterically, not even bothering to put on her veil. She took it off as soon as she entered the door, her lips bleeding from biting them. She was gasping for breath, saying intermittently, "He... he lied to me! He lied to me! I brought my daughter there, not to annul the engagement..."

He took his wife and daughter with him; if it wasn't a broken engagement, what were they doing there?

Lin Yunwan was full of doubts, but she first instructed Xiruo, "Bring Madam Dong a hot towel. Take the Little Miss next door to sleep."

The Little Miss was also crying, as if she was tired from crying and wanted to sleep, sobbing with her eyes closed.

Xiruo took the child out first, and instructed the maid to fetch water, but said, "Put it at the door, don't go in."

"Yes."

The maidservant agreed, and she took the Little Miss next door to find a kind-hearted person to coax her. Then she went to the door to get water, brought it in, and gave it to Dong Shuangshuang to wash her face, listening to her explain what had happened.

In the morning, Dong Shuangshuang was overjoyed to go and call off the engagement, and she even brought her daughter with her.

She initially didn't want to bring her daughter, thinking it would be too much trouble. Besides, she felt that marriage was a serious matter for the parents, so what was the point of having a daughter involved?

Husband Lu Rong said, "If you don't bring your daughter, how will people believe you went to call off the engagement?"

When Dong Shuangshuang tried to argue, Lu Rong impatiently said, "Are you going to back out or not?"

"Back off!"

He took his daughter and went to the creditor's house.

Lu Rong seemed genuinely there to annul the engagement, announcing as soon as he arrived, "We've come to annul the engagement!"

The creditor hadn't intended to pursue the matter further and was willing to back out if he wanted, but upon seeing the little girl, who was incredibly cute, his attitude suddenly changed.

"Return the money, exchange cash for the IOU, and destroy it in return."

However, "Lu Rong, you owed me money a month ago, so you can't only repay me three thousand taels."

The creditor slammed his hand on the table, announced a number, and looked at Lu Rong with a smile.

They were determined that Lu Rong, that gambling addict, couldn't pay back his debts.

Dong Shuangshuang had no idea what her husband was planning, and assumed he would agree.

Lu Rong sneered, "When I owed you money, you didn't mention that your son was born disabled."

Dong Shuangshuang turned pale with fright.

He's disabled!

If this marriage isn't called off, won't her daughter end up marrying a disabled person?

He was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat.

The creditor looked embarrassed and didn't know how to argue.

Lu Rong said arrogantly, "So what if we go to the yamen (government office)!"

The creditor's eyes darted around, glancing at Dong Shuangshuang's daughter. He felt a pang of regret, but ultimately had no choice but to agree, "Alright, alright, three thousand taels it is."

Borrow the same amount and repay the same amount.

Lu Rong, however, refused to comply.

He didn't really come to break off the engagement.

Trading a four-year-old daughter for three thousand taels of gambling money—how could that not be a good deal?