The servants knocked open the courtyard gate and went in to deliver the message.

Liu Yingqi put on a smiling face and said, “Then I, your uncle, shall leave first, so as not to disturb you young people talking.”

Yan Fu bowed in return, “Thank you, Uncle Liu.”

Liu Yingqi got into his opulent carriage and, escorted by two squads of guards, rode away in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Like the afterglow, it seemed brilliant, but who knew how long it could last?

Jiang Wang couldn’t help but transmit a question, “Marquis Xuan Huai is such a figure, how did your family ever arrange this marriage?”

Yan Fu quietly watched the half-open courtyard gate and transmitted back, “The marriage was arranged by my grandfather and Miss Liu’s grandfather. Moreover, Marquis Xuan Huai… wasn’t like this before.”

How many things have changed, all unspoken.

Not long after,

The courtyard gate opened.

No one spoke.

Behind the courtyard gate stood a woman with a fragile disposition.

Her willow-leaf eyebrows held three points of spring charm, and her autumn-water eyes held a touch of lingering sorrow.

She stood there like a wisp of wind, as if she might fly away at any moment.

Yan Fu opened his mouth but couldn’t speak a word.

Jiang Wang remained silent, and the servants of the Liu mansion made no sound.

Even the sunlight of the setting sun, which fell into the small courtyard, seemed to grow desolate.

Yan Fu moved forward a little, finally saying, “Miss Liu, I…”

“Young Master Yan, just stand there,” Liu Xiuzhang said. “Whatever you have to say, let us speak across the courtyard gate, lest others gossip.”

“I…”

“You came, isn’t it for this very reason?”

“…Yes. Very well.”

“What is Young Master Yan here for?”

“There are some rumors, I don’t know if you’ve heard…”

“Look at where I live.” Liu Xiuzhang’s gaze shifted left and right, looking at this lonely small courtyard. “What I see and hear daily are only the clear breeze and bright moon. How can it compare to the clamor of Linzi?”

Yan Fu lowered his gaze slightly, not daring to look directly at the woman across the gate, and slowly said, “Many people say, say since… after, you were overly sad, washing your face with tears every day…”

“Young Master Yan.” Liu Xiuzhang’s delicate melon-seed face didn’t show much emotion. “There’s nothing for others to gossip about. We knew each other when we were young, often playing together. From a young age, the adults would say that we… Even if it was a joke, it was a joke for too long and needs time to fade away.”

She cut short her memories and looked at Yan Fu, “You want to dissolve the marriage contract. I have already agreed. What, am I not even allowed the right to be sad?”

She didn’t ask if it was suitable or not, or if it was possible or not, only if it was right or not.

Only when she said these words did her voice show any emotion.

“That’s not what I meant.” Yan Fu’s expression was also extremely restrained, his voice trying to remain calm. “It’s just that some voices have reached Tinglan… She will be my wife in the future, and I must protect her reputation.”

“Yes. So it should be.” Liu Xiuzhang’s gaze also lowered. “I live my life behind closed doors, what my father has said outside… I don’t know.”

The two people facing each other across the gate were both looking at the ground.

As if some secret to solving the world’s problems was hidden on the ground.

The threshold was like a high wall, separating the two people inside and out, as if they were in different worlds.

“I cannot do anything to your father,” Yan Fu said, and only after saying it did he realize he shouldn’t have, adding, “After all, the Yan and Liu families are old acquaintances.”

Liu Xiuzhang only said, “You also know his situation. If he could listen to me… things wouldn’t be like this.”

Yan Fu sighed softly in his heart and said, “Therefore, I hope you can say something.”

“Say something?”

Liu Xiuzhang was intelligent after all. After the question left her mouth, she understood.

“You want me to say that I have no feelings for you at all? You want me to say that I wasn’t heartbroken by this?”

She gave a mournful smile, “Yan Fu, you are so cruel.”

Yan Fu stood outside the courtyard gate, like a silent tree.

Only when the wind blew was there a rustling sound.

After a long period of silence, he said, “Wen Tinglan is my betrothed wife. She has done nothing wrong and should not be slandered in this way. If I cannot settle this matter for her, I will have no face to stand between heaven and earth. Now, I only have two options. One is for you to speak out and dispel the rumors. The second is for you to say nothing. After I return to Linzi, I will take up my sword and go out. Anyone who says a word of gossip, I will strike them down. Regardless of kinship or enmity, regardless of nobility or lowliness. Even if I am considered a madman like Tian Anping, I will do it.”

Few people had seen Yan Fu take action, and it was almost unheard of for him to use force against anyone in public. Although Jiang Wuyou had chased and beaten him for a while in Linzi, he had only run away and never fought back.

But no one would doubt Yan Fu’s strength.

This was the first time Jiang Wang had heard Yan Fu speak with such harshness.

This refined noble young master, even when speaking of things like killing people, was gentle and restrained.

But the determination he showed was frighteningly firm.

“Do you know what you’re saying?” Liu Xiuzhang raised her gaze, looking at Yan Fu who had not raised his eyes the entire time. “For her, you would even give up everything?”

Yan Fu said, “Doctor Wen loves his daughter as his life. By protecting Wen Tinglan in this way, even if my future is ruined, it will not affect the relationship between the Wen and Yan families.”

“So, in the end, you care about the Yan family the most.”

“I was born into the Yan family, grew up in the Yan family, learned from the Yan family, and gained from the Yan family. Therefore…” Yan Fu finally raised his eyes and was able to look Liu Xiuzhang in the eye. “I will also die for the Yan family.”

Liu Xiuzhang averted her gaze, “This matter is my responsibility. It is I who have affected the harmony between you and your wife. I will handle it. Young Master Yan, please return.”

From beginning to end, these matters were because Liu Yingqi was unwilling to change the line of succession and stubbornly held onto the Yan family. First, he refused to break off the engagement. After Yan Fu personally came to break it off, he went around proclaiming the deep affection between Yan Fu and Liu Xiuzhang, which could not be severed. It was only due to Wen Yanyu’s power that the mandarin ducks wept blood…

It could hardly be said to be the responsibility of Liu Xiuzhang, who had been living behind closed doors.

But Yan Fu said nothing.

He just bowed deeply, deeply, paying such a great courtesy to Liu Xiuzhang before turning around and leaving.

“How was it?”

As soon as Yan Fu and Jiang Wang left, Liu Yingqi rushed back impatiently. “Yan Fu and you… Is there still a possibility?”

Liu Xiuzhang gave him a sorrowful look and walked inside without saying a word.

Liu Yingqi chased after her, “Xiuzhang, Xiuzhang. Hey, don’t be in a hurry to leave. Since Yan Fu is so heartless, we don’t need to remember him. What about that Jiang Wang, Jiang Qingyang, who was with him? He is now the most sought-after young prodigy in Great Qi. Defeating Wang Yi’wu in the same realm is already astonishing talent and brilliance. Furthermore, he gained fame in a battle overseas, silencing the cultivators of the same rank in the Fishing Sea Pavilion. This is a good match! If he can marry into the family…”

Liu Xiuzhang turned back indignantly, perhaps for the first time in her life, yelling at her father, “Haven’t I suffered enough humiliation!?”

Liu Yingqi was stunned.

Looking at his daughter, who was in tears and turned away in despair.

Suddenly, he lost all his strength.

“What… what can I do…”

That ambitious Liu Yingqi, that Liu Yingqi who vowed to revive the Liu clan, that Liu Yingqi who, due to the death of his eldest son, had angrily sworn not to share the sun and moon with the Tian clan… was already dead.

He died the day Tian Anping left alive.