Yan Shouyi, divorcing Li Qing'er?
This sudden turn of events left everyone from the Li family at a loss.
Li Qing'er's face turned ashen, and she asked with a trembling voice, "What did you say?"
"I want to break off the engagement," Yan Shouyi stated calmly. "Your Li family is too noble; I, a mere descendant of Lu Ban, am not worthy. Therefore, I will not go through with this marriage."
Li Qing'er stood frozen. Her emotions were incredibly complex. In the span of a single day, the two men she admired had both deceived her.
What does it feel like to be heartbroken twice in one day? Li Qing'er was the perfect person to answer this question.
Li Peizong, with a stiff expression, asked, "Wait, Yan Shouyi, if you also came to break off the engagement and never intended to marry our Qing'er, why insist on it earlier? Why not just agree to our Li family's proposal from the start?"
Yan Shouyi retorted coldly, "What makes your Li family so special? You say break the engagement, and I should just agree without any convincing reason? I, Yan Shouyi, will be the one to divorce Li Qing'er, not your Li family kicking me out!"
Li Peizong took a deep breath.
He finally understood. Yan Shouyi had never intended to marry Li Qing'er; he was merely fighting for his pride.
If the Li family had treated him with a little more politeness from the beginning, and listened to Yan Shouyi's words, there might not have been any conflict. Even if the marriage couldn't happen, they could have at least parted as friends.
However, their condescending attitude and disregard for Yan Shouyi had ultimately angered him.
Li Peihua couldn't help but say, "Since you didn't plan to marry Qing'er, why bother helping us expose Gao Zizhen's true face? You clearly like Qing'er!"
For some reason, Li Qing'er's hope rekindled at this moment. Perhaps Yan Shouyi did like her, which was why he stepped in to expose Gao Zizhen's deception. He was just still angry and deliberately causing this scene.
However, Yan Shouyi's reply shattered Li Qing'er's hopes once more.
"My conflict with Gao Zizhen and his group was purely because they slandered the reputation of the Lu Ban lineage. It had nothing to do with anyone else," Yan Shouyi stated.
At this point, Li Peihua was speechless.
The Li family's pride was worthless in front of Yan Shouyi. He didn't care about the Li family at all, nor did he care about Li Qing'er. He even valued the reputation of the Lu Ban descendants more than Li Qing'er and their supposed engagement. Otherwise, Yan Shouyi could have simply stood by and watched Li Qing'er throw herself into Gao Zizhen's arms, only to be harmed by him.
Yan Shouyi placed the torn bamboo engagement contract on the table in front of Li Qing'er and said softly, "If you hadn't thrown my shoe last time, I wouldn't have made you so embarrassed today."
Li Qing'er trembled all over.
So, Yan Shouyi had known her identity for a long time and knew that she was the one who threw his shoe back then. This meant that she had left a very bad impression on Yan Shouyi before they had even met. Would Yan Shouyi still marry such a woman?
Born into a wealthy family, Li Qing'er had lived a life of pampered ease. No one had ever dared to defy her. Now, Yan Shouyi seemed like a sharp sword, shattering all her external armor, forcing Li Qing'er to recognize herself and realize that without the Li family's halo, she was nothing.
Suddenly, Li Qing'er became anxious and grasping. She couldn't help but grab Yan Shouyi's hand and say, "You can't break the engagement, you have to marry me! If you marry me, you'll gain the Li family's wealth, enough for you to spend for generations!"
Upon hearing this, Yan Shouyi burst into laughter. "If I wanted money, how many noble families in this world would line up to give it to me? Do you think I care?" Moreover, Yan Shouyi was destined to be short of wealth; money never stayed warm in his hands. Therefore, money held no allure for him.
Li Qing'er then asked, "Am I not beautiful? Do you not feel anything when you look at me? Do you know how many men pursue me, yet I pay them no mind?"
This time, Yan Shouyi truly looked Li Qing'er up and down. "You are very beautiful, truly beautiful. But what of it? A beautiful exterior will eventually age, only the heart is eternal," Yan Shouyi smiled, revealing a set of white teeth. "Besides, the girl in my heart is no less beautiful than you."
"You... you already have someone in your heart?" Li Qing'er released his hand, looking at Yan Shouyi in disbelief. She wasn't angry that Yan Shouyi liked someone else, but rather that the person he liked was even more outstanding than she was. In Li Qing'er's world, she was always first and had never lost.
"Who is that person?" she asked coldly.
"There's no point in telling you. You are from different worlds."
Anger welled up in Li Qing'er's eyes. "I must know who she is! Why is she better than me?!"
Sensing Li Qing'er's emotional breakdown, Li Peizong quickly admonished her, "Qing'er, that's enough! If Yan Shouyi doesn't want to marry you, then let him go!"
"I won't!" Li Qing'er, in front of everyone, grabbed Yan Shouyi, preventing him from leaving. "Tell me who she is!!"
Yan Shouyi, who rarely interacted with girls, hadn't expected Li Qing'er to be so persistent. But as a man, he couldn't possibly push Lin Zitong out as a shield. So, he ruthlessly shook off Li Qing'er's hand.
Shaken off, Li Qing'er lost her balance and fell to the ground. Her hair became disheveled, making her look somewhat deranged.
"Yan Shouyi, you're just a poor boy, a bumpkin who knows a bit of Feng Shui, and you think you're someone important?!"
"That woman you're talking about must be like you, poor and ugly, with the strong scent of poverty on her!"
"That's right, birds of a feather flock together. You look down on me because your taste is poor, not because I, Li Qing'er, am not good enough!"
Li Qing'er's sudden insults made Yan Shouyi's gaze turn increasingly cold. Insulting him was one thing, but insulting the Lu Ban descendants was unacceptable, and insulting Lin Zitong was touching his inverse scale. Furthermore, Li Qing'er was saying these things merely to protect her pathetic self-esteem and maintain her Li family's superior facade.
Yan Shouyi stared at Li Qing'er, his eyes chilling. "Do you have to insult people like this? Everyone is born equal, without distinction of nobility or lowliness. Li Qing'er, have you truly come to believe you are superior to others?"
Li Qing'er sneered, "Isn't that true? Do you know how high the status of my Li family is in Rongcheng?"
"You're forcing my hand." Yan Shouyi glanced at Li Qing'er, then turned to Li Peizong. "Li Peizong, I believe you've had a question in your heart for many years – why is Li Qing'er's destiny completely different from the fate described by the fortune tellers you hired!"
Upon hearing this, Li Peizong's pupils contracted. His wife, Li Fen, who didn't understand, asked, "Husband, what is he talking about?"
Li Peizong lowered his head and said, "That's right. Every year, our Li family invites skilled fortune tellers to divine the fate of our family members, predicting their fortunes for the year to mitigate harm and seek benefits. But for some reason, no matter how skilled the fortune teller, they could never accurately predict Qing'er's fate."
Li Fen exclaimed, "How come I never knew about this?"
Since such a strange occurrence had happened to their daughter, and Li Peizong was the head of the family, how could he casually tell others? He knew how many people around him coveted his position. If he revealed this matter, someone might exploit it and speak ill of him to the ancestors. Thus, for many years, Li Peizong had never told anyone.
In fact, when Li Qing'er was just born, a fortune teller had told Li Peizong that Li Qing'er's destiny was the "Moon Born Sea" (月生沧海格). The corresponding destiny to the "Moon Born Sea" was the "Sun Brilliant Sky" (日丽中天格). The "Sun Brilliant Sky" destiny formed when the sun was at its peak, indicating a destiny of wealth and prosperity. The "Moon Born Sea" destiny, however, formed when the Taiyin star fell into the Zi palace, making it the most lowly destiny! According to this destiny, Li Qing'er should have had a miserable childhood, possibly not even surviving to adulthood! Yet, she was the eldest daughter of the Li family, not only alive but living a life of luxury and ease, completely contrary to her "Moon Born Sea" destiny! This was the strangest part!
Yan Shouyi said, "Li Peizong, didn't the fortune teller also tell you that Li Qing'er would face a life-or-death crisis at the age of six? If she survived, she would be safe for life, but if she didn't, she would surely die?!"
Li Peizong's expression changed. "How did you know that?"
Upon mentioning the specific age of six, Li Qing'er's face also turned extremely grim.
Yan Shouyi turned to face Li Qing'er. "When you were six years old, you were kidnapped by human traffickers and taken to the area around Licheng. One time, while the traffickers were asleep, you secretly jumped from a second-floor window and broke your leg. The noise attracted the attention of the traffickers. Fortunately, a passing boy rescued you and hid you in a roadside trash can, allowing you to escape the traffickers' pursuit. The next day, the entire human trafficking den was raided. The boy took you to the police and left. You were then brought back to the Li family! Li Qing'er, is what I'm saying true?!"
Li Qing'er trembled all over at Yan Shouyi's words and then nodded. "You... how do you know?"
"It's simple, because the boy who saved you that year was me."
After speaking, Yan Shouyi exhaled deeply. That year, he was in Licheng with his grandfather, working on a house for the Lin family. Saving Li Qing'er was an unintentional act; he didn't know the girl was Li Qing'er at the time. He only found out about all this when he was on his way to the Li family, calculating it on the bus. But what he calculated was not just this; what he calculated was enough to strip away everything Li Qing'er currently possessed!!