“Su Jinyu” sat quietly in her seat and listened to the end, feeling her grandmother’s hand trembling slightly as it gripped her wrist.
A sense of surreal daze rose in her heart, as if these events were separated from her by a thin membrane—visible, yet untouchable.
She had originally thought she would be heartbroken, grieved, and desperate to demand answers from Xie Tianci. Yet at this moment, she merely sat there quietly, her gaze resting on Xie Tianci’s flushed face, as a strange thought bubbled up in her mind: she did not seem to care all that much about this matter.
Why should she grieve over a man who did not care for her at all? Why should she bear the brunt of all this when she had done nothing wrong? Why should he be the one to break the engagement and go back on his word, while the ruined reputation fell upon her head? No, this was not right.
A voice in her heart told her over and over: Su Jinyu, this is not your fault.
Gently slipping her hand from her grandmother’s palm, she stood up.
Her light red, broad sleeves fell to her sides with her movement, and the dangling hairpins in her hair swayed slightly.
When she spoke, her voice was not particularly loud, yet it carried far in the quiet hall. “Heir Xie, you say you do not care for my temperament as a well-bred young lady. I would like to ask, how have I ever inconvenienced you? I have followed the rules, treated others with humility, and always treated this engagement with the utmost gravity, never making things difficult for you in the slightest. The rules are the foundation of my character taught by my elders, not a shortcoming for you to look down upon.
“If your heart lies elsewhere and you are unwilling to fulfill the agreement, you could have simply said so. Why must you deliberately disparage the upbringing I have cultivated for years just to justify your own backpedaling? I agree to annul the engagement. However, I will remember your words today: maintaining propriety and self-control is never a flaw; it is the foundation upon which I stand. Today, you abandon me because of decorum, but in the future, there will surely be others who cherish my steady and proper nature.”
Having finished her speech, she stood quietly in place, her gaze passing through the hall full of guests to land on the stone-blue figure in the center. Only after speaking these words did she realize that the heavy boulder pressing down on her chest for so long seemed to have lightened slightly.
Xie Tianci looked at her, and the forced composure on his face showed a tiny, subtle crack.
He had originally thought Su Jinyu would shrink behind her grandmother and cry, or that an elder would stand up for her and pressure him to take back his words. He had never expected her to stand up herself and deliver such a speech—without tears, without losing her composure, and without even much visible sorrow, as if this engagement held far less weight in her heart than he had imagined.
The silence in the hall lasted for a moment before several noble ladies began to whisper among themselves, their gazes darting back and forth between Su Jinyu and Xie Tianci.
Her grandmother, Madam Qian, leaned against the back of her chair and slowly caught her breath. Looking at her granddaughter’s straight back, she did not say anything more, but her fingers gripping her handkerchief loosened slightly.
“Su Jinyu” stood in place, not sitting back down, nor looking at Xie Tianci again.
She turned and walked a few steps toward the lower seats, kneeling down properly before Minister Su.
She knelt in the center of the hall, her light red skirt spreading across the blue brick floor. The pure gold kingfisher-feather dangling hairpin in her hair swayed gently as she lowered her head, then stilled.
When she spoke, her voice was not loud, but it carried clearly to every corner of the hall. “Father, since Heir Xie has publicly declared that he does not care for me and is unwilling to fulfill the agreement, then I shall also state my position—I, too, wish to annul this marriage.
“Heir Xie says he does not care for a well-bred young lady like me, and likewise, I do not care for his habits of idling away his days in pleasure quarters and taverns, showing no desire to make progress. Since this marriage is to be annulled, let it be because Heir Xie and I are incompatible, and we are mutually dissolving the engagement.”
The hall fell silent for an instant.
Minister Su froze with his wine cup poised over the table, his gaze falling upon the daughter kneeling before him as if looking at someone he had never truly examined before.
He fell silent for a moment, not replying immediately, but he did not speak to stop her either.
Her grandmother, Madam Qian, leaned against the back of her chair, her lips moving slightly, but she made no sound.
Marquis Weiyuan stood in place, his expression shifting from his previous anger to a trace of complex surprise, which then melted into gratification as he gave a slight nod.
The ladies who had originally been waiting to enjoy a spectacle now wore various expressions. Some lowered their heads to sip tea to hide the surprise in their eyes, while others lightly tapped their lips with their handkerchiefs, clearly not expecting this annulment to conclude in such a manner.
The guests who had been whispering in the hall mostly fell quiet now. Their gazes rested on the straight back of the kneeling “Su Jinyu,” and no one uttered any more thorny gossip.
Standing in the center of the hall, Xie Tianci’s face had changed color from the moment Su Jinyu spoke.
He watched her kneel and deliver those words, feeling as though the very trap intended to humiliate her had been turned around and pressed against his own neck.
He wanted to say something, but his lips merely trembled twice without making a sound, leaving him to stand there stiffly in place.
In the middle section of the lower seats, Su Qing’er’s knuckles turned white as she gripped her handkerchief.
The corners of her mouth had been curving upward ever since Xie Tianci entered the room, a smugness that had surfaced prematurely in anticipation of Su Jinyu being publicly rejected and utterly humiliated.
Now, the smile froze on her face, neither retracting nor widening, like a bowstring suddenly released halfway through a draw. Her entire expression became completely frozen.
“Su Jinyu” knelt on the ground without raising her head, waiting for Minister Su’s response.
The sunlight streamed diagonally through the doorway, falling upon her shoulders and head, casting a warm, soft glow over her light red dress.
Minister Su remained silent for a while before finally speaking, his tone a bit deeper than usual. “Since you have put it that way, then this marriage shall be dissolved here and now. The daughters of the Su family do not worry about finding suitors.”
His voice echoed in the hall for a moment, like ripples spreading after a pebble is dropped into water, suppressing all the prying eyes and unspoken gossip.
“Su Jinyu” slowly stood up and turned to face the crowd in the hall, not sparing another glance at Xie Tianci.
Outside the window, the sunlight was at its peak, and the cups and utensils in the hall gleamed warmly under the light.
The guests picked up their wine cups once more, and the laughter gradually returned. The direction of their whispers had shifted from mockery to a complex, watchful curiosity.
Su Jinyu sat back down between her grandmother and maternal grandmother, taking a sip of the now lukewarm fruit wine.
She lowered her head, looking at the moisture clinging to the rim of her cup, thinking to herself that this was fine. Yet, deep in her mind, something blurry seemed to be churning. She shook her head and thought no more of it.
A maid beside her poured her some warm wine. Raising her cup, she nodded slightly to a lady who was raising a cup in her direction, a perfectly measured smile gracing her lips.
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