Chapter Three: The Frail and Beautiful Youth

As soon as Qi Tianyu said this, someone immediately stepped forward to stop those smashing the bridal sedan.

"Our eldest miss doesn't want to marry and wants to push this engagement onto our second miss, but she doesn't wish to marry either. Then why bring the bridal sedan here at all?" someone among the group destroying the sedan shouted loudly.

"That's right! Our eldest miss would rather die than marry. Of course, our second miss won't take her place and marry for her. Young Master Qi, you should just give up on this idea!" another voice called out.

"Smash the bridal sedan! Then our eldest miss won't have to marry!" This time, the shout was even louder.

Qi Tianyu's face turned livid with anger. He yanked over a man, jostled forward and holding a large broom, and shouted furiously, "So now your second miss doesn't want to marry either? What do you mean by this—marry if you want, and if you don't want to, then you just don't? Is that how it works?"

The man with the broom was Wang Feng, the son of Madam Yu. He shot Qi Tianyu a sideways glance and replied with a loud, cold laugh, "What a strange thing to say, Young Master Qi! The engagement was made with our eldest miss, so why blame our second miss? Surely you haven't confused who you're supposed to marry today?"

Then he gave Qi Tianyu a hard shove, waved to the others, and the whole group quickly melted back into the crowd, leaving only the overturned bridal sedan behind. Several of its bars had been broken, and the red silk draped across it had been torn to shreds, strewn messily all over the ground.

"Qin Wanru... you... what trouble are you stirring up this time..." Qi Tianyu gnashed his teeth in fury, convinced that Qin Wanru was behind this chaos yet again. He no longer cared about the smashed sedan—he strode straight into the General’s Mansion of Ningyuan, determined to see just how shameless she could be to dare pull such a stunt.

Not far from the gate of the General’s Mansion stood a tall building. At a window on the second floor, a handsome young man in a purple robe leaned against the sill. His features were exquisite and refined, though his lips and face bore a hint of pallor, lending him a fragile elegance. Even so, he possessed an otherworldly charm that made hearts race at first glance.

At this moment, he leaned lazily by the window, his beautiful eyes narrowed as he watched the commotion below. The corners of his lips curved up, showing he was clearly enjoying the spectacle.

"My lord, should we be going back now? The wind here is rather strong," the guard behind him glanced nervously at the window and asked in a cautious tone.

"I'm not so delicate as to be blown over by a bit of wind," the young man replied with a slight, graceful smile, though his words were anything but gentle.

"But... my lord shouldn’t stand in the wind for long. If you fall ill, it would be—" the guard said uneasily.

"Enough, the show’s over. Let's go," the youth replied, a touch of boredom and regret on his pale but striking face. He turned and walked away at a measured pace, a trace of amusement at his lips. It was the first time he had ever seen a bridal sedan smashed at the bride’s door. It seemed this trip to Jiangzhou would not be so dull after all.

After all, it was precisely because of boredom that he had taken on such a harmless and unremarkable errand...

After waiting a short while, Qin Wanru saw Qingyue return, breathless.

"Has grandmother arrived yet?" Qin Wanru asked calmly, her rosy lips pursed slightly.

"Having heard there’s trouble here, the old madam is hurrying over as we speak," Qingyue replied softly, pausing to catch her breath. She had rushed back ahead to deliver the news.

"Then we should hurry as well," Qin Wanru said. Through her dressing mirror, she caught sight of a maid peeking around the doorframe, and a cold smile flickered at the corner of her lips. As soon as she made a move, the news had clearly reached Qin Yuru’s side, who wasted no time in sending someone over. "Just tidy my hair a little, that’s enough. I have something urgent to discuss with grandmother!"