The engagement between the two families was broken. The eldest daughter of Ningyuan Army General did not guard her chastity. She had such a malicious heart that while she was impregnated by another man, she devised an evil plan for her younger sister to take her place in marriage.
This piece of news was snowballed as it spread.
Within half a day's time frame, the entire Jiangzhou was talking about this. In a matter of hours, the eldest Miss Qin was spurned and despised to be the most shameful girl. Some even weaved her story into a song to sing. When news reached Qin Huaiyong, he quickly sent men to suppress the news, but it was impossible to completely silent the people because the Qi family secretly interfered with the matter.
By this time, the news had even spread far beyond Jiangzhou…
The Ningyuan Army General was furious. Qin Yuru wailed and cried and even tried to commit suicide. She had caused an upheaval in the entire household.
In contrast to the rest of the house, Qin Wanru still enjoyed some quiet in the old grandma's house. However, Qin Wanru's heart was not at peace, although what was troubling her was not the things concerning Qin Yuru.
Frowning slightly while seated beside the old grandma's bed, she wondered if she had been seeing things. Was it really him?
In her dreams, she only had a glimpse of him when he also looked her way.
But why would he be here? Considering his status, should he not be far away in the capital city right now, while under house arrest?
In her dreams, she did not remember seeing him from her house…
"Miss, there's a guard at the gates, asking to meet you, but I've never seen him before!" Qing Yue came into the room quietly to pass the message.
Qin Wanru took in a deep breath as she tried to suppress the thrill in her heart. "Where is he?" she lifted her pale countenance and inquired.
"He's just outside the gates," replied Qing Yue.
"Let's go and have a look!" Qin Wanru made sure old grandma was properly covered by her blanket before she stood up and turned to walk out of the room.
There was indeed a guard standing outside. He looked to be around 17 or 18 years old and was smiling as he stood there and watched Qin Wanru approach. "Second Miss Qin, my master had asked for you!"
"Who is your master, may I ask?" said Qin Wanru as she took a deep breath, and she balled up her trembling hands into fists.
"You will find out when you're there!" said the guard with a smile as he directed the way with his hand, then continued, "My master is residing in Lanxiang Pavilion within your family grounds, but please don't be wary of my master. It was Ningyuan Army General who invited my master to stay here. However, please keep this a secret from others!"
After finishing explaining, the guard stood beside her to wait patiently for Qin Wanru's response.
It seemed to Wanru that she had no other choice but to follow him.
Although the guard was polite in his manners, he was obviously assertive in his request. Even though Qin Wanru was in her own home, she was unable to find an excuse to turn the invitation down, but could only nod her head in agreement as she held on to her injured arm.
Lanxiang Pavilion was adjacent to Qin Wanru's room on the right and was the pavilion closest to the corner of the wall of the back garden. The pavilion was usually unoccupied because of its location near the wall, and few people visited it. For this reason, no one had discovered that there were people staying in there these few days.
Strangely, while Qin Wanru was within the family grounds, she did not hear any news about this matter, so she supposed her father had kept this a secret deliberately.
She was puzzled why this man wanted to meet her since she had no business with him or the fact that he was staying here.
Although she felt rather uneasy, she decided to follow the guard to Lanxiang Pavilion.
When they arrived, the guard went in first to inform his master while she waited outside the door. After a while, the guard emerged and politely invited Qin Wanru into the pavilion, but stopped Qin Yue from entering.
"Miss…" Qing Yue cried out anxiously.
Qin Wanru took a deep breath to calm her nerves, then turned to Qing Yue and comforted her, saying, "You remain here and wait for me!"
In the middle of the room sitting on a chair was a young man around the age of 14 to 15. The first thing Qin Wanru noticed was his eyes. The pupils of his eyes appeared to be filled with tiny pieces of sparkly precious stones which emitted strange but mesmerizing lights. He was clad in a purple coat with embroidered patterns of dragons on the sleeves. One the whole, the young man was exuberating a strange charm.
Below the purple crown flowed his thick hair which was tied up neatly. The young was indeed stunning. However, Qin Wanru could smell danger in his mysterious charm.
His eyes were sinister and eerie but on the contrary, the moment his face broke into a smile, it gave Wanru a very comfortable feeling.
His face was exceptionally pale and not only that, his lips were in a much lighter shade than other people. He looked frail but somehow there was beauty in his frailness. For this reason, there was an air of elegance about him which was indicative of his superior status.
When Qin Wanru met him in her previous life, he was a grown young man, but she could still recognize him now, even though he was a few years younger!
He was none other than Prince Chen, Chu Liu Chen, who used to be the crown prince!