Originally, after her strong hints, her aunt promised to get most of the betrothal gifts back from Song Wanchu and secretly send them to the Yu family to serve as her dowry.
With excitement, she went home waiting for good news. Instead, she heard that the Qi family had returned the betrothal gifts to the Duke's Mansion in a grand manner!
It was like a thunderbolt out of the blue.
The actions of the Princess Jiahe were so absurd and disgraceful that the whole town was talking about it. Everyone was laughing at her.
Yu Huiyan complained about her aunt's incompetence, thinking her as stupid as a pig. At the same time, she worried that Liang Yuzhou might suspect her after he heard about this.
The more she thought about it, the more restless she became. She rushed straight to the Qingya Zhai where Liang Yuzhou often came.
She heard that Liang Yuzhou had gone to the Qi family to find Song Wanchu before coming to the Qingya Zhai. This made her even more anxious.
She must clear herself of any suspicion.
"Cousin, don't blame aunt. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have told her that I didn't have a dowry. She loves me like her own daughter. She just couldn't stand that Song Wanchu had more betrothal gifts than me, so she lost her head and went to ask for them. I tried to persuade her hard, but she was determined and I couldn't stop her..."
Tears welled up in her eyes instantly. She looked pale and haggard, extremely pitiful.
Her eyes were red from crying, but Liang Yuzhou only showed her a cold profile.
"If you're sincere, you should explain this clearly in front of the old lady and my father."
Instead of getting comfort, Yu Huiyan felt as if she was being mocked. Her heart sank.
Cousin, did he no longer believe her?
"I wanted to explain, but the old lady won't let me enter the Duke's Mansion."
The words were insincere, but her aggrieved tears flowed even more uncontrollably.
Every time Liang Yuzhou met Song Wanchu, his attitude towards her would decline sharply.
She gritted her teeth in hatred. Even though Song Wanchu was no longer by Liang Yuzhou's side, she could still influence him.
What the Duke's Mansion needed was a dignified and elegant mistress like her, not a seductive fox like Song Wanchu!
She was banned from entering the Duke's Mansion by the old lady because of Song Wanchu!
Hatred welled up in her eyes. Yu Huiyan had never been so eager for Song Wanchu to die.
Liang Yuzhou finally turned to face her.
With a cold snort, he said, "Yes, you can't even enter the Duke's Mansion, but you're already busy preparing your dowry?"
His eyes were so cold that they seemed to pierce through Yu Huiyan's body like ice blades.
Yu Huiyan felt a chill run down her spine and turned as pale as death.
After a moment of silence, her legs went weak and she fell to the ground. Crying loudly, she pleaded, "Cousin, do you not want me anymore? I'm even willing to tolerate Song Wanchu being a concubine. I'm willing to share the man I love most with her. But cousin, do you still choose her over me?"
"Huiyan, your mother asked me to take good care of you before she died. This is my promise, but I never said I would marry you. You've always lived in the beautiful love stories woven by storytellers, but stories are just stories. They won't become reality!"
Liang Yuzhou's tone was very calm. There was no trace of anger in it, but to Yu Huiyan, it was more cruel than being cut into pieces!
In fact, she had long suspected that Liang Yuzhou didn't have romantic feelings for her.
The story of their childhood sweethearts and mutual love spread in the town was deliberately spread by the Yu family.
Liang Yuzhou didn't seem to stop the spread of this beautiful love story.
As time went by, Yu Huiyan had the illusion that Liang Yuzhou also loved her.
This illusion reached its peak when Liang Yuzhou pleaded with the emperor for her father's pardon.
Now, the man she had been infatuated with for many years was standing in front of her, looking down at her arrogantly. His handsome face was cold, without a trace of tenderness.
Facing the tearful Yu Huiyan, Liang Yuzhou's black eyes were cold. He was unmoved by her crying.
"I'll take you home. In the future, if you have something to say, just send someone to tell me. Don't come to me in person."
Yu Huiyan swallowed hard. Her body was shaking. More than Liang Yuzhou not loving her, she was afraid that the Princess would completely abandon her after she found out.
She must marry Liang Yuzhou, and Song Wanchu must die!
...
Zhou Yan came to the Xunxiang Ji as Liang Yuzhou had ordered and bought two catties of date paste cloud cakes.
Liang Yuzhou didn't like sweet food, but he was a regular customer of the Xunxiang Ji. The shopkeeper naturally recognized Zhou Yan. He wrapped the cakes carefully himself and sent a waiter to deliver them to the Qi family.
There was no moon or wind tonight. The weather was extremely stuffy. Zhou Yan seemed to be affected by Liang Yuzhou and was in a low mood.
He had been with the Second Master all the way. He knew how much the Second Master loved his wife.
Thinking of the cruel words his wife had said to the Second Master, he really felt sorry for him.
As soon as he walked out of the Xunxiang Ji, Zhou Yan saw Nan Zhi enter.
"Shopkeeper, pack two catties of date paste cloud cakes."
The shopkeeper also knew Nan Zhi. He walked down from behind the counter with a big smile on his face. "Miss Nan Zhi, I'm sorry. The date paste cloud cakes have been sold out."
Nan Zhi sighed with regret.
The young lady had cried her heart out and was in a very low mood. She knew that the young lady's favorite cake was the date paste cloud cake. She rushed here before closing time to buy some, but now she had to go back empty - handed.
Other cake shops also sold date paste cloud cakes, but the young lady only liked the ones from the Xunxiang Ji.
The Xunxiang Ji used golden silk dates for the date paste. They were soft, sweet, and had a unique flavor.
The shopkeeper once said that the golden silk date trees were very delicate. It was extremely difficult to grow them in the capital where the summers were hot and the winters were cold. Only one out of the twenty saplings transplanted had survived.
The date paste cloud cakes in the Xunxiang Ji were also more expensive than those in other shops.
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Miss, don't worry. Just now, Young Master Zhou beside Lord Liang the Second has bought some and sent them to your mansion. Lady Liang the Second may already be enjoying them."
It was no secret in the capital that Liang Yuzhou had indulged Yu Huiyan to frame Song Wanchu and that Song Wanchu had returned to her natal family in anger. The shopkeeper also knew about it.
He thought that the two catties of cakes were bought by Lord Liang the Second to make his wife happy.
However, instead of being happy, Nan Zhi's face darkened.
"Humph, our young lady doesn't care about the Second Master's cakes!"
Hearing this, Zhou Yan turned around and went back into the Xunxiang Ji.
"Miss Nan Zhi, you and the lady have misunderstood the Second Master!"
Nan Zhi looked at him coldly. Her eyes were quite similar to the lady's.
"What misunderstanding? The Second Master will soon marry his childhood sweetheart. Don't tell me he was forced?"
Nan Zhi had witnessed all the things Liang Yuzhou had done to hurt her young lady.
She had served the young lady since she was eight years old. She had experienced how difficult the young lady's life had been, how humbly she had loved, and how heart - broken she was.
She had felt sorry for her young lady for a long time and still hadn't recovered. She couldn't even imagine how painful her young lady was.
Nan Zhi snorted at Zhou Yan again and turned to leave.
Zhou Yan caught up with her and quickly explained, "Miss Nan Zhi, please go back and tell the lady that the Second Master really doesn't want to marry Miss Yu. It's the old master and the old lady who forced him. In the Second Master's heart, there's only the lady!"
Nan Zhi seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. But when she thought that her young lady was also in this joke, she couldn't laugh.
"You're lying through your teeth!"
"If I'm lying, I'll turn into a turtle right away!"
Zhou Yan had been holding back a lot of words. Now that the floodgates were opened, the words rushed out like a flood. "That red agate bracelet was originally a birthday gift from the Second Master to the lady, not for Miss Yu!
Also, after the Second Master found out that Yu Rongbai had ordered someone to hit the lady's carriage, he put Yu Rongbai in a sack and beat him up. The Second Master gave Yu Rongbai as many wounds as the lady had!
Oh, yes, the Second Master didn't deliberately leave the lady behind to replace Miss Yu to appease Princess Lingyang. As soon as he left the Fenjin Tower, he sent my elder brother to the nearby Fanxing Tower. Because he knew that the Crown Prince was in the Fanxing Tower. The Second Master asked my elder brother to find two women to gossip in front of the Crown Prince by chance. That's how the Crown Prince found out that Princess Lingyang wanted to take her anger out on the lady!
And today, when the Second Master sent silver notes to the lady, it was because he heard that the lady had sold a lot of land. He was afraid that the lady would be short of money, so he took out all his savings and gave them to the lady. The Second Master didn't mean to compensate the lady for returning the betrothal gifts with money!"
After he finished speaking in one breath, Nan Zhi was stunned.