Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The engagement was finally broken. My mother personally handed the marriage contract to me. It was a thin sheet of paper, somewhat worn with age but preserved with great care. I had heard that when Shen Guichi first arrived in Shangjing, despite his destitute state, he had protected this contract close to his heart.

I turned it over in my hands for a long time before asking Xiao Mian to bring a charcoal brazier. Without a hint of lingering attachment, I tossed it in. The paper curled and shriveled, turning into ash bit by bit.

Xiao Mian looked even more relieved than I did. In her eyes, I was perfect in every way, and a man like Shen Guichi was nowhere near worthy of me. Suddenly, she let out a small gasp and said hesitantly, “Miss, why are you crying?”

I was startled as well. I reached up and touched my face; a single tear had indeed fallen. I smiled and said, “The smoke from the brazier is too thick. It stung my eyes.”

She hurriedly moved the brazier away. When she returned, she looked at me earnestly and said, “Miss, I don’t know why, but from the first moment I saw that Young Master of the Shen Family, I didn’t like him. Even the way he agreed to break the engagement was annoying. It’s as if he held some great grudge against us in a past life. A man like him… whoever he likes will probably end up miserable.”

I listened with a smile, though my heart felt heavy with melancholy. How could I not feel hatred? But the current Shen Guichi had done nothing yet. I had to suppress all those emotions. Now that the marriage contract was destroyed, this ill-fated connection was severed at the root. There was no better way for things to end.

Xiao Mian changed the subject. “But if you ask me, the Young Prince is quite wonderful. The women who like him could form a line from here to Jinling.”

My eyes widened and I feigned surprise. “Why are you constantly talking about marriage? Could it be that you’re the one who wants to get married?” Xiao Mian grew embarrassed upon hearing this and turned away, ignoring me.

However, the matter of the Song Family breaking the engagement was ultimately scandalous. Whether people knew the details or not, they all cursed the Song Family for being cold-hearted. To show his apology, my father prepared a very generous gift and offered other benefits, but Shen Guichi held his head high. He refused every penny and requested to leave the manor.

When he left the manor, I went to see him one last time.

I asked, “Where are you going?”

I expected him to be extremely impatient with me, but he answered surprisingly, “To an old residence left behind by one of my father’s old friends.”

I gave a small nod, unable to think of anything else to say. He, however, asked softly, “Where is the marriage contract?”

I smiled. “Burned.”

His lips curled into a contemptuous arc. Suddenly, I wanted to ask him one more thing. I called out, “Shen Guichi.”

This was likely the first time I had addressed him this way. He seemed slightly dazed. I asked, “If one day you marry the woman you love and she loves you in return, will you lift her bridal veil and raise her face-screen on your wedding night?”

It was a strange, nonsensical question, but a very easy one to answer. Shen Guichi said, “Naturally.”

My hands, which had been clenched tightly inside my sleeves, suddenly relaxed, as if I had found closure upon receiving the answer. A decisive “naturally,” a matter-of-fact “naturally.” Yet on my wedding night in my previous life, I had been so full of joy, but no one ever lifted my veil. I finally had the answer from his own mouth-it was simply because the woman he married, me, was not the one he loved.

I took out the silver I had hidden in my sleeve, grabbed his hand, and pressed it into his palm. I wasn’t pitying him; it was just that in a place as expensive as Shangjing, if he suffered any more grievances, it would all be blamed on my Song Family in the end. I said, “Take this. It’s my personal allowance to support you. Shen Guichi, you don’t need to pay me back. You owe me too much; you could never pay it all back.”

Shen Guichi was speechless, likely unable to figure out exactly what he owed me. He looked down at the mundane pink silk pouch.

I called his name once more. “Shen Guichi.” The silver hairpin in my hair swayed in the wind as I said softly, “No one believes more than I do that you will soar to the heights. No one believes more than I do that you have a magnificent future ahead of you. I didn’t break this engagement because I looked down on you. It’s just that I made a mistake once before, and I cannot let history repeat itself. It was far too painful.”

Shen Guichi’s eyes widened slightly. The wind and snow brushed past his temples. He had always prided himself on his talent since youth; I had rarely seen him look so lost, or carry a sense of panic that seemed to come from nowhere.

He reached out his hand as if he wanted to touch me, but I took half a step back and gave a shallow bow.

“May you soar to the clouds, with a beautiful lady by your side and unparalleled wealth and honor.”

It simply has nothing to do with me anymore.