Chapter 3: 002 Breaking the Engagement

Yun Buhui sat in the most remote seat in the Lou residence’s main hall, a smile on her face and her eyes cast downward, receiving the sympathetic gazes of the various young ladies and masters of the Lou family with a gentle and polite demeanor. Lou Zhentian did not dare to meet Yun Buhui’s smile directly, his face showing embarrassment.

The expressions of the Lou family’s young ladies and masters varied, and the hall fell into a deathly silence, not a sound to be heard.

Outside the gates, a gale howled and heavy snow drifted about. A few specks of snow splashed into the hall, melting into water stains in an instant, and a chill rushed in to meet them.

"I agree." Yun Buhui’s eyelids lifted slightly. Her gaze was as calm as still water, without a ripple, and she maintained a soft smile on her face as she looked directly at a man in the hall dressed in brocade and jade, who stood out from the crowd.

The man was dressed in brocade and jade, draped in a dark-patterned, gold-trimmed cloak embroidered with coiled dragons. His presence was imposing, his sculpted features three-dimensional and handsome, with sword-like brows and hawk-like eyes; there was an inherent air of grandeur and nobility between his brows. He was like an ancient, sharp sword whose edge was locked away by an even more ancient scabbard—his dominance was restrained, heavy like the sword itself. Such a man possessed three parts nobility, three parts arrogance, and four parts coldness.

"Many thanks, Cousin, for your understanding."

Cheng Youtian had come to break off the engagement.

Yun Buhui’s ancestral home was in the capital. Her father had been a General of the Cavalry, a man of high rank and great power, but he had been framed by treacherous villains and died tragically on the battlefield. Seeing that she and her mother were left helpless and alone, Lou Zhentian had brought them back to the Lou family to care for them.

A year later, Madam Yun followed her husband in death.

Yun Buhui had lived there for ten years.

The Yun and Cheng families were old family friends, and the two children had been betrothed at a young age. Yun Buhui and Cheng Youtian were childhood playmates, but they had not seen each other for over a decade; things had long since changed, and Yun Buhui was not surprised that Cheng Youtian was breaking off the engagement.

The Cheng family was of the Southern Kingdom’s royalty. Although Cheng Youtian was the eldest son of Prince Xuan, he was born of a concubine and had no power or influence. Prince Xuan’s heir, Cheng Mubai, was frail and sickly, and the sons of the Cheng family fought and schemed against one another for the position of heir, the situation treacherous and unpredictable.

The wife Cheng Youtian needed was a descendant of a prestigious and powerful family, not an orphaned girl like her, who had no one to rely on.

The Third Madam sneered slightly, her brows knitted with anger. "Young Master Cheng, it was your Cheng family that set this engagement, and now it is your Cheng family that wishes to break it. What do you take Buhui for? Someone you can summon at will and dismiss when you please? Is there really such a cheap deal in this world?"

Cheng Youtian gave a cold laugh, his arrogance tinged with disdain, and he did not shy away from the Third Madam’s questioning. "What would you have me do?"

The wind and snow poured wildly into the hall, adding an inexplicable chill. Everyone couldn't help but shiver. Yun Buhui stood up and offered a graceful bow, possessing the demeanor of a refined young lady. She smiled and said, "My Third Aunt is merely speaking up for me. If there is any offense, Young Master Cheng, please forgive her. Since Young Master Cheng does not want this marriage, then let it be over. From this day forward, Yun Buhui and Cheng Youtian shall have nothing to do with each other’s marriages."