Xue Yinuo was stunned, frozen in place by Xue Xiaochun's sudden outburst, completely bewildered.
Fortunately, Madam Xue reacted quickly, grabbing Xue Xiaochun before she could rush after the carriage. "The Eldest Daughter of the Ji family is our Xue family's benefactor! How can you be so unruly here?"
Xue Xiaochun spat on the ground. "Benefactor? She never saved my life! I said it before, she doesn't want to save our family, she wants to ruin it! You all didn't believe me, but now the evidence is clear, what else do you have to say?"
Madam Xue was completely taken aback.
What was all this about?
Xue Yinuo regained her senses and quickly called out to her mother, "Mother, let's take her inside first."
Madam Xue nodded and, without further ado, pulled Xue Xiaochun towards the mansion.
Xue Xiaochun was not about to comply obediently. She immediately flopped to the ground, throwing a tantrum.
In the end, Madam Xue had to call for the gatekeepers. It took everyone working together to drag Xue Xiaochun into the mansion.
Upon hearing that her daughter had been wronged, Xue family's concubine also rushed over. Seeing her daughter being dragged by the First Madam, she sat down on the ground and began to wail, "Oh heavens, open your eyes! You're leaving no way out for us mother and daughter! I know I am of low status and my words carry little weight, but my daughter is the flesh and blood of the Xue family! Madam, how can you treat Sister Chun like this and still have the Master in your eyes?"
Hearing this, Xue Yinuo's temper began to flare.
Madam Xue, fearing her daughter might cause further trouble, quickly sent her towards her courtyard. "Listen, go back to your own courtyard. Your father is still in the mansion. You absolutely cannot act impulsively."
With that, Madam Xue had the household servants escort Xue Xiaochun to the main hall.
The wails of the Xue family's concubine's distress even alerted the Xue family's Old Madam.
Seeing her grandmother's somber expression, Xue Yinuo turned and walked towards her own courtyard.
As soon as she returned to her courtyard, her maid rushed over anxiously. "Miss, someone from the Eldest Daughter of the Ji family is at the mansion gates, inquiring if something has happened to you."
Not only was Xue Yinuo still unsure of what was happening, but even if something had happened, she felt embarrassed to trouble Ji Zizhao. "Go back and tell them that everything is fine at home. Be polite, don't let them see anything amiss."
The maid nodded and hurried off to deliver the message.
Xue Yinuo sat restlessly in her room, the sounds of commotion from the main hall periodically reaching her, causing her to feel even more agitated.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Madam Xue entered the room, looking utterly exhausted.
Xue Yinuo quickly helped her mother to sit down. "What exactly happened?"
Madam Xue looked at her daughter's anxious expression and remained silent for a long moment before sighing and saying, "From what Sister Chun said, Sun Lu wants to break off the engagement."
"But it was already settled, how can he just cancel it?"
"It seems Sun Lu knew the Eldest Daughter of the Ji family before, but the Eldest Daughter of the Ji family apparently doesn't think highly of him and even said she would never let him have an easy life. Sun Lu said he didn't expect our Xue family to have such a deep connection with the Eldest Daughter of the Ji family and feared being implicated, which is why he is unilaterally breaking off the engagement."
Xue Yinuo: "..."
She found it utterly ridiculous!
"Let alone me not believing Zizhao is that kind of person, even if Zizhao did say something like that, so what? Sun Lu has no power or influence in our imperial city. He's just using his silver tongue to bewitch Sister Chun. Is it not laughable for such a person to talk about self-respect?"
The more Xue Yinuo spoke, the angrier she became. She wished she could catch Sun Lu right now and beat him until his head swelled!
"In my opinion, Zizhao was being lenient. If Sister Chun didn't insist on marrying Sun Lu, and Father hadn't agreed to this marriage, I would have kicked Sun Lu out of the Xue family gates long ago!"
Madam Xue knew this was the truth of the matter. But now, with Sister Chun threatening to die, and the Xue family's concubine crying and making a scene, they could only suppress the matter for the time being.
"I've already had someone escort Sister Chun back to her courtyard. You must not let anything slip to the Eldest Daughter of the Ji family. The Eldest Daughter of the Ji family is our Xue family's benefactor; there is no reason to repay kindness with resentment."
"Daughter understands, Mother. Please don't worry."
Madam Xue sighed heavily again, hoping that the matter could be resolved easily.
Ji Zizhao had sent someone to inquire, so she must have heard the commotion from her carriage.
However, because she was too far away, she didn't hear clearly. By the time she looked back, there was no one at the Xue family's gates.
Now, upon hearing Fu Bao's report, although Ji Zizhao was still a little uneasy, since the host had refused, she could not intervene further.
When she returned to the Ji family, her grandmother's courtyard was bustling with activity.
After returning to her courtyard, Ji Zizhao sent someone to inquire and learned that the Old Madam had agreed to use her private funds to supplement Ji Renran's dowry, and the amount was a staggering million taels of silver.
This greatly stimulated the other madams in the mansion.
One had to wonder, the Old Madam had been in the mansion for so long, and even when the sky fell, she hadn't asked a single question. The younger generation of the mansion had grown up, and the Old Madam constantly claimed to be poor. Had she ever even given them a piece of candy?
And now she called this being poor?
Yu Fenglan, who had always been competitive, directly fell ill.
To think that her daughter was still fighting desperately for the Ji family on the battlefield, yet the Old Madam was so biased?
Hearing that her second aunt had fallen ill, Ji Zizhao knew it was due to anger. She quickly prepared medicine and had Nanny He personally deliver it, instructing her second aunt to relax and that the last laugh was the best laugh.
"Wouldn't it be best if Miss went herself?" Shui Ling naturally hoped her young lady would appear in person, so that Madam Yu would remember her young lady's kindness even more.
Ji Zizhao shook her head. If she went now and managed to persuade her second aunt, it would only alert the enemy.
The elaborate plans she had painstakingly laid out, leading to this point, could not be thwarted here.
As she was contemplating, there was a sudden commotion in the courtyard.
Ji Zizhao looked out the window and saw Tang Di.
However, with Mo Hen present, Tang Di couldn't even get close to Ji Zizhao. He hurriedly left after saying a few words.
Mo Hen stared intently at Tang Di's departure before entering the room. "Miss, a letter from the Fourth Prince."
Ji Zizhao's heart trembled as she looked at the words "Open by recipient" on the envelope.
She felt like she had developed a problem. Now, whenever she saw anything related to the Fourth Prince, she became uneasy.
Suppressing her racing heart, she opened the letter. It contained only a single, brief line.
After reading it, Ji Zizhao smiled silently.
This was truly good news.
As for Ji Renran, let her laugh as much as she pleased.
After all, her spring and autumn dream would likely not last much longer.