this wasn't my idea. Big Sister talked me into it. She couldn't take it when I backed out of her plan last minute, so she had mammy Fang hurt me by piercing me with a pair of scissors! Is she trying to force me into this marriage no matter what?" Qin Wanru said, concealing her chill in her eyes as she forcefully pushed Qin Yuru's hand away and ran into Qing Yue's arms.
Her pale face was drained of color, as she cast a wary look at Qin Yuru.
There was only one sentence to describe the reaction of the people all around, which was that all of their faces turned ashen.
However, she was at a tender age when she spoke her mind whenever she felt like it. This seemed reasonable to the people all around, so they turned their eyes to look at Qin Yuru at that instant.
"What did you… you say, Second Sister?" Qin Yuru blurted out, as her face fell and she retreated a step, pointing at Qin Wanru with a trembling finger. She was beginning to panic.
"What are you saying, Wanru? You were the one who took this from Yuru by force, how could you say it's your sister who forced you into it? As for the injury, it's just an accident! You never change. You are always pushing the blame to your older sister when things go wrong," scolded Mrs. Qin, who was sitting beside old grandma, as her face fell.
Mrs. Qin was not Qin Wanru's real mother. Qin Wanru was merely taking shelter under her. However, Qin Wanru was not aware of this fact at this time in her previous life.
"I… How could I be unwilling to marry elder brother Tianyu…" said Qin Yuru, twisting the handkerchief with her fingers and trying to look as if she had been wronged. Her eyes were turning red and Qi Tianyu was almost heartbroken at the sight of her.
Qi Tianyu would never believe the statement made by Qin Wanru, saying the Qin Yuru was not willing to marry him. They had always got along well. They grew up knowing they would marry each other, so Qin Yuru had always treated him with kindness. They had been secretly in touch all these while and had even gifted each other many gifts.
"Didn't our maternal grandmother send men to ask for Elder Sister's hand in marriage to her cousin, the son of Duke Yong. Wasn't that just ten days ago? Has Mother rejected the proposal?" Qin Wanru enunciated her words while holding on tightly to Qing Yue's hand. There was a subtle mocking look on her curled up lips as she made the most weighted statement.
The entire crowd was stunned when they heard the rhetorical question being asked.
Even the old grandma was not aware of this incident. Her brows were knitted upon hearing what Qin Wanru said, and her chest tightened.
Qi Tianyu was not dull-witted. After he was taken aback for a moment, he recovered and turned to look sharply at Qin Wanru. "Is this true?" he asked with a severe tone.
He initially thought what Qin Wanru said sounded ridiculous.
How was it possible that Qin Yuru did not want to marry him? Just last night when they met, she was crying in his arms and telling him it was not because she did not want to marry, but rather, Qin Wanru insisted that she be the one to marry him. There was nothing she could do since old grandma doted on Qin Wanru.
She claimed that she had even jumped into the river in a suicide attempt but failed when she was rescued. Thereafter, she fell ill and kept under surveillance. It was only until the night before that she managed to divert the maid who was watching over her so she could sneak out to meet him.
Although her words sounded very sincere and earnest, how was she going to explain the proposal from the son of Duke Yong in the capital city? Qi Tianyu was after all a scholar, which was why he was able to figure out the truth after pondering for a bit.
"I… I'm not aware of such an arrangement!" Qin Yuru said. Her face was drained of colors and she retreated nervously, but she reacted quickly by lowering her head and wiping her eyes with her handkerchief. "How would I know about such things," she cried out.
At the same time, she wondered with resentment as to how Qin Wanru had round out about this? She clearly knew that there were only a few who were aware of the proposal, so how did she find out? Whoever was it who leaked the information?
However, she did not dare to deny this out-rightly because she was indeed going to be engaged to the son of Duke Yong.
"So is it true?" said Qi Tianyu, shooting a killer look at Qin Yuru as he tightened his fists in rage.
"Big Sister doesn't know about this? Don't tell me even mother didn't know about this. Mother, are you sure you didn't know about this? Can you be certain that Big Sister will never be engaged to my cousin?" Qin Wanru raised her eyes brows and looked to Mrs. Qin.
How would Mrs. Qin dare to make such a promise? Everyone would find out the truth once the engagement was firmed up. She could by no means keep this a secret.
"I… I am not even aware that there were any letters sent from the capital city. How did you know? Are you trying to get Ruyu in trouble by your antics again?" Mrs. Qin did not dare to answer the question directly but diverted everyone's attention to Qin Wanru, who was now put on a spot. Mrs. Qin was sure that now one would have access to the letter.
"Brother Qi, how could you have doubts about me?" Qin Yuru and Mrs. Qin complemented each other well. With tears, she lifted her eyes to Qi Tianyu and cried. Thereafter she quickly turned to leave the room.
The series of events that happened today was beyond imagination. Firstly, Qin Wanru was being pierced by a pair of scissors by mammy Fang, then Qin Wanru raised the matter concerning her and Di Yan. Although she managed sooth things over with regards to her mother's words, she could not put the anxiety in her completely. She was worried about people discovering that letter, which was lying in her room. She had to check it out just to be sure.
When Qi Tianyu the love of his life looking so distraught, his anger subsided and the expression in his eyes turned to that of guilt, "Sister Yuru, I… I will definitely break the engagement. I will by no means marry this spoilt, willful girl, who is also secretly in a relationship with Second Brother."
In Qin Wanru's nightmare, this was the casual statement that ruined her honor as a virgin and subsequently led to her cruel punishment of being cut in half at the waist at the golden gates of the capital city, because she became a scapegoat for someone else's sin.
"Please be reminded of your status as a respected scholar, Master Qi. What you say must be substantiated with evidence, so please do not pass your casual judgment as fact. What you saw with your eyes now may just be what some people wanted you to believe," Qin Wanru said coldly. She may appear frail and about to fall over, her voice, however, was cold and sharp.
As Qin Wanru scanned the crowd who followed Qin Tianyu here, her lips curled up into a sinister smile. She knew Qi Tianyu had come purposely to humiliate her today, which was why he had so many men accompany him. He must have wanted these men to be witnesses for him. However, it seemed that these witnesses did not belong to him alone now.
"Follow me and I'll show you the evidence!"
The young girl scanned her eyes across the faces of the spectators and eventually came to rest on Qi Tianyu's face. She smiled a despicable smile with her pale lips. The hatred in her eyes was not fitting for her age and it pained the hearts of people to see it in such a young girl.
"What nonsense are you sprouting, Wanru?" roared Mrs. Qin. She walked briskly towards Qin Wanru, intending to grab hold of her.
"Will grandma please ask Mother to step aside," said Qin Wanru as she stepped back to dodge Mrs. Qin's hand. She lifted her eyes to look at old grandma expectantly, as she was the only one here who could keep her mother at bay.
Old grandma looked at Qin Wanru, who was holding herself up with effort, gritting her teeth, as well as the blood stain on her arm.
Old Grandma Qin was pained. She sighed and instructed a nearby maid to hold on to Mrs. Qin while she began to persuade her by saying, "Since the Qi's had falsely incriminated Wanru, you should at least give Wanru a chance to explain herself. I'm sure justice will prevail."
Although she tried to sound as tactful as she could, she had reached out her hand to forcefully pulled Mrs. Qin away from Qin Wanru.