At this moment, Madam Ruan's gaze fell on Ruan Xinchen, and she felt deeply displeased.
She had only acknowledged her as the legitimate daughter because she needed her to marry for good fortune.
Now that the marriage was called off, wasn't that letting her off too easily?
Madam Ruan wished she could immediately have the family tree amended by the family elders again, but issuing such contradictory orders would surely invite a torrent of scolding from them.
That little wench got lucky.
Such bad luck.
"Xinchen, your sister is marrying Prince Zhan to bring him good fortune. You can’t just sit idle."
Ruan Xinchen blinked her big, innocent eyes. "Mother, what should I do then?"
"Go to the ancestral hall and kneel there to pray for your sister and Prince Zhan."
'Tsk, that old witch. Her own daughter is marrying a scumbag, yet she still finds ways to torment me.'
Ruan Xinchen didn’t say much, obediently agreeing before quietly heading to the ancestral hall.
The ancestral hall felt like her second home. Lying on the prayer mat, nibbling on the offerings meant for the ancestors, she felt completely at ease.
"Second Miss."
Before long, the voice of a maid came from outside.
Ruan Xinchen hurriedly flipped over and climbed to her feet, using her sleeve to quickly brush away the crumbs scattered on the prayer mat.
Burp!
She had nearly finished all the offerings meant for the ancestors and let out a satisfied burp.
"Caoyu, what’s going on?"
Since maids weren’t allowed to enter the ancestral hall without permission, Caoyu had to speak to Ruan Xinchen from outside.
"Second Miss, the master and madam are summoning you to the front hall."
"Hm?"
By tomorrow morning, Ruan Yihe would be carried into Prince Zhan's manor.
The family should be busy with preparations today, so why were they summoning her now?
Ruan Xinchen stepped out of the ancestral hall and asked Caoyu, "Do you know what’s going on?"
"I’m not sure, but I saw someone from Prince Gong's manor arrive."
What?
Someone from Prince Gong's manor at this time? Could it be that something had changed regarding the auspicious marriage?
After all, the heir of Prince Gong's manor, Chu Xuanzhe, was engaged to Ruan Yihe.
In her previous life, it was she who had been sent to bring good fortune to Prince Zhan, while Ruan Yihe had married into Prince Gong's manor as planned.
This unexpected visit from Prince Gong’s manor before the wedding hadn’t happened in her past life.
The arrival of someone from Prince Gong's manor now made it hard for Ruan Xinchen not to suspect that it had something to do with the auspicious marriage.
That Chu Xuanzhe had a twisted mind and would go mad every now and then. In her past life, Ruan Yihe had suffered terribly in Prince Gong's manor, and in the end, she was drowned in the lotus pond by him.
The body had been found under the wooden bridge, already decayed when discovered.
That’s why Ruan Yihe had said that in this life, it should be Ruan Xinchen who ends up rotting in the gutter.
Madam Ruan had cried her heart out and gone to Prince Gong’s manor to demand an explanation.
Not only did she get nothing, but she was also thrown out and beaten.
Since Ruan Yihe was reborn, she would definitely never go back to Prince Gong's manor, not even if it meant death.
However, Prince Gong's manor was not to be underestimated. While they wouldn’t dare to challenge the Empress Dowager directly, it didn’t mean they wouldn’t take out their frustrations on the Ruan family.
Ruan Xinchen guessed that, given the Empress Dowager's already weak position, as long as Prince Gong’s manor didn’t go too far and didn’t cause any deaths, the palace would likely turn a blind eye.
With that thought in mind, Ruan Xinchen reached the door to the front hall.
Before she could see anyone, she heard the loud voice of the Princess Consort of Prince Gong’s manor shouting and scolding.
"Your Ruan family is treacherous, marrying your daughter to two men, and now that you have married the Zhan prince you look down on my son. This is simply too much. I tell you, our Prince Gong Mansion is not so easy to mess with. If you don’t marry your daughter into the palace, I will burn down your Ruan family.”
Hearing this, Ruan Xinchen was alarmed.
She thought to herself, with such a fierce and unreasonable Princess Consort, it’s no wonder that someone as devious as Ruan Yihe had been driven mad.
Unconsciously, Ruan Xinchen slowed her pace.
"The Princess Consort of Prince Gong, He'er was sent to the Zhan Prince's residence for a marriage to bring good fortune—this was the Empress Dowager's decree. We had no choice."
"Who accepted the decree?"
Ruan Hong and his wife: "..."
"Regardless, the ones who accepted the decree were either you, Cui Yun, or Ruan Hong. Knowing full well that your daughter was already betrothed, yet still accepting it—this is nothing short of betrayal."
"No, Princess Consort of Prince Gong, it was the Empress Dowager's decree! Even if we had ten heads, we wouldn't dare refuse!"
"So, you think the Empress Dowager's decree is something you dare not disobey, but when it comes to breaking off an engagement with our Prince Gong's residence, you do so without hesitation? Huh?"
"Hmph! Do you dare claim this isn't bullying the weak while fearing the strong? Do you dare say this wasn't an intentional insult to Prince Gong's residence?"
Madam Ruan said, "Heaven and earth can bear witness, Princess Consort of Prince Gong! Even if we were given ten times the courage, we would never dare to insult Prince Gong's residence. Besides, the engagement... the engagement was never annulled. The marriage between the heir and our daughter is still valid!"
"Yes, yes, it's still valid," Ruan Hong hurriedly agreed. Then, noticing someone outside the door, he called out loudly, "Xinchen, come in quickly."
The Prince Gong couple watched as a young woman entered. Her features bore some resemblance to Ruan Yihe, but she was even more elegant and striking.
"And this is...?"
Ruan Hong smiled and said, "This is my younger daughter, Ruan Xinchen. Xinchen, quickly greet Prince Gong and the Princess Consort."
Ruan Xinchen stepped forward and said, "This humble girl, Ruan Xinchen, greets Prince Gong and the Princess Consort."
The Prince Gong couple widened their eyes in shock and exchanged a glance. When had Ruan Hong gained another daughter?
If she didn’t resemble them, they might have suspected he’d brought in a maid to pose as his daughter. But with those features, it was clear at a glance—she was unmistakably a biological child of the Ruan family.
At this moment, Madam Ruan added, "The marriage agreement made with Prince Gong's residence during my mother-in-law's lifetime was for my younger daughter, Xinchen, not my eldest daughter, Yihe."
"Even though the Empress Dowager is anxious about the Zhan Prince's injuries, she would never forcefully take someone else's fiancée."
"Exactly. Otherwise, the Empress Dowager wouldn’t have arranged for Yihe to marry the Zhan Prince."
"Huh?" The Prince Gong couple were dumbfounded, utterly speechless.
It didn’t end there. Madam Ruan even instructed the maid beside her to fetch the birth charts of both Ruan Xinchen and Ruan Yihe to show Prince Gong and the Princess Consort. This was to prove that the one betrothed was indeed Ruan Xinchen, not Ruan Yihe.
The Prince Gong couple were completely stunned, rendered speechless by the revelation.
But it wasn’t just them who were astonished—Ruan Xinchen was even more taken aback.
She knew the engagement with Prince Gong's residence had been arranged by her grandmother before her passing, but she had no idea that it was herself, and not Ruan Yihe, who had been betrothed.
She still remembered how her grandmother had told her before passing away that she had found a good place for her, entrusting her to someone reliable for care.
She had assumed it meant her grandmother planned to leave her in the care of a trusted friend to protect her from being mistreated by her stepmother.
But when no one came for her afterward, she gradually forgot about it.
So, was this "good place" actually referring to this marriage arrangement?
But… dear grandmother, are you really sure that marrying into Prince Gong’s residence is a good place?
You passed away so early—perhaps you didn’t know that the heir of Prince Gong’s residence is a madman.
You’ve pushed me from one pit of fire straight into another!
Ruan Xinchen’s face was full of sorrow.
On the other side, Ruan Hong and Cui Yun were still explaining the circumstances of their younger daughter to the Prince Gong couple.
They explained that they already had a younger daughter, Ruan Xinchen, but she was introverted and didn’t like to go out, which was why others didn’t know about her.
They presented her birth chart, appearance, and even the servants as witnesses… they were just short of bringing out the family registry.
Of course, they had already altered the family registry, so even if they showed it, they had nothing to fear.
So, despite the Prince Gong couple feeling that something was off, they had no choice but to accept the marriage arrangement.
As soon as the Prince Gong couple left, Madam Ruan's expression darkened. "Hmph, you’ve really benefitted from this."
Ruan Xinchen frowned and asked, "Father, Mother, was it really me who was originally betrothed to the heir?"
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