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Join the ServerWhat a beauty, shedding tears like pear blossoms in the rain!
It was clearly the Zhang family that wanted to back out and break their promise, yet Zhang Lingyu was acting as if she were the one wronged.
Zhang Lingyu wept so sorrowfully that she seemed about to faint at any moment. Lin Qingshan couldn’t bear to make things difficult for her, so he kept silent.
Cry! Cry! Cry!
Lin Yaoyao couldn’t stand such an affectation. ‘Who are you putting on a crying show for? My eldest brother is the one who got jilted, and he isn’t crying, so why are you crying?’
“Uncle Zhang, Sister Lingyu is crying so bitterly that she must love my eldest brother deeply. As the saying goes, better to demolish ten temples than to break up a marriage. This engagement cannot be called off!”
The moment Lin Yaoyao finished, Zhang Lingyu’s weeping stopped abruptly. She realized she had gone too far.
“Right! Right! Lingyu is crying so bitterly that she clearly shares a deep bond with him. I don’t agree to annul this engagement!”
Lin Xuanzhong immediately backed her up. A settled engagement was not something to be casually broken. He had almost been manipulated by the Zhang father and daughter, but Lin Yaoyao had reminded him in time.
His eldest son, Lin Qingshan, was already gravely wounded. If he were jilted now, he might never recover from it.
Zhang Fengye shot Zhang Lingyu a hard glare. She had overplayed her act and shot herself in the foot.
“Family Head Lin, my daughter is a loyal and devoted person. But with the eldest young master’s condition now, not to mention cultivation, he can’t even walk normally. Truly, we shouldn’t hold my daughter back.”
Loyal and devoted?
Pah! They were the ones who had broken faith and shown no mercy!
After Lin Qingshan’s legs were crippled, Zhang Lingyu, his fiancee, had never once come to visit him. Even today, she had not offered a single word of concern.
This father and daughter were utterly hypocritical. Their earlier claim that they were too unworthy for Lin Qingshan had been nothing but an excuse. Lin Yaoyao had seen through their hypocrisy, and now they revealed their true colors.
Zhang Fengye had originally planned to have Zhang Lingyu coax the Lin father and son into voluntarily breaking off the engagement. That way, the marriage would be dissolved without leaving any handle for gossip.
The Lin father and son were easy to talk into things. Who knew a stubborn interloper like Lin Yaoyao would appear?
“Uncle Zhang, the engagement between my eldest brother and Miss Zhang has long been known to all. Are you now going to betray your word and break your promise?”
Before Lin Xuanzhong could speak, Lin Yaoyao shot back, sparing him no dignity.
A little girl daring to be so insolent? Zhang Fengye dropped the pretense.
The father and daughter both stood up, their earlier submissive manner completely gone.
“Let me tell you the truth. The Third Young Master of the Ye family, Ye Jienan, has taken a fancy to Lingyu. The two of them are deeply in love, and Young Master Ye will soon be coming to propose.”
The Ye family? The foremost of the Western great families of the Tian Dou Kingdom. So they had attached themselves to a higher branch.
Both the Ye and Lin families were great families in the west of Tian Dou Kingdom, and they had always kept their distance. The Ye family’s power was mostly in the south, while the Lin family’s holdings were mostly in the north. The two families had no conflicts of interest.
The engagement between Lin Qingshan and Zhang Lingyu was known throughout Tian Dou Kingdom. For Ye Jienan to dally with Lin Qingshan’s fiancee was to disregard the Lin family’s honor entirely.
What a fine Ye family, taking advantage of the fire to loot, snatching away the fiancee of his eldest son! Lin Xuanzhong was blazing with anger and insisted on going to the Ye residence to argue it out.
Zhang Fengye immediately stepped forward to stop him. “Family Head Lin, you can’t force a melon that isn’t sweet. Lingyu’s heart now belongs to Ye Jienan. They are in perfect harmony. Why make a fuss?”
Lin Qingshan’s face went pale. His hands were clenched tightly as he held back his anger. “Fine, since you’re so perfectly matched, I end this engagement…”
“Not one bit!”
Lin Yaoyao immediately cut off Lin Qingshan. She gently pressed his shoulder and whispered into his ear, “Big Brother, trust me.”
“Little girl, what right do you have to speak here?”
Seeing that Lin Qingshan had been about to relent but was stopped by Lin Yaoyao, Zhang Fengye flew into a rage.
Lin Yaoyao ignored him. She turned to Lin Xuanzhong and said, “Father, Big Brother says this marriage is now my responsibility.”
Lin Xuanzhong was startled. He looked at Lin Qingshan, who silently nodded.
With her father’s and brother’s approval, Lin Yaoyao could finally act with full freedom and tear this pretentious pair of father and daughter apart.
“Family Head Zhang, you heard it just now. My eldest brother’s marriage is entirely in my hands. So do I have the right to speak now?”
Zhang Fengye had lived for so many years, but this was the first time he had seen the matter of a marriage between two families turned over to an unmarried young lady.
“You… what do you intend to do?”
Before him stood a girl of remarkable beauty, but Zhang Fengye felt a little daunted. For someone so young, she had even more presence than Lin Xuanzhong.
“Family Head Zhang, it all depends on your choice and Miss Zhang’s. If you wish to continue honoring the engagement, then let it proceed as originally planned. After the new year, Miss Zhang will marry into our family. My eldest brother needs someone close at hand to care for him, wiping his body each day. No matter how well maids and servants attend to him, none can compare to a wife.”
“No! I won’t marry him! I want to break the engagement!”
Zhang Lingyu looked disgusted, and her tearful eyes turned vicious and sharp.
“Breaking the engagement is fine too. So long as you accept our terms, the marriage can be annulled.”
“What terms?”
Zhang Fengye grew uneasy. Lin Yaoyao raised three fingers.
“First, your Zhang family signs and seals the annulment document we have prepared, as proof of dissolution. After that, the men and women of both families are free to marry, and we will have no further connection.”
Zhang Fengye nodded and agreed immediately. With the annulment in hand, his daughter’s future marriage to the Ye family would not invite gossip.
“Second, return all of our Lin family’s betrothal gifts. Anything lost must be compensated at full value or replaced with items of equal worth.”
Returning betrothal gifts was standard procedure in annulling a marriage, so Zhang Fengye made no objection.
“Third, Zhang Lingyu broke the engagement and wasted my eldest brother’s precious youth, causing him severe harm. She must compensate him for his lost youth and mental anguish. One million spirit stones per year, for five years, totaling five million spirit stones.”
Five million spirit stones? That was almost half of the Zhang family’s entire fortune. Zhang Fengye had never expected the Lin family to demand compensation in spirit stones.
“Fifth Miss, five million spirit stones is too much. Your Lin family has vast resources. Could you lower it a little?”
‘Old bastard, still bargaining? Do you think I’m selling my brother?’
Lin Yaoyao smiled without warmth. “Not a single one less. Family Head Zhang, you are advanced in years and perhaps hard of hearing. This is my brother’s compensation, his personal property.”
“I have laid out the conditions. Family Head Zhang, take your time to discuss them with Miss Zhang.”
After a short while, Zhang Fengye agreed to the terms. His daughter now had the support of the Ye family, the top family in Tian Dou Kingdom, so money would come in time. As for today’s humiliation, he would get it back sooner or later.
Lin Yaoyao had already drawn up the annulment agreement in duplicate. Zhang Fengye glanced at it, sighed, and stamped his seal as the Zhang family head.
Some of the Lin family’s betrothal gifts had already been used, so the Zhangs made up for them with items of equal value or converted them into spirit stones. Together with the five million spirit stone compensation, the Zhang family was scoured clean by Lin Yaoyao.
A single annulment stripped the Zhang family of its entire foundation. But Lin Yaoyao wanted far more than that. Dare to hurt her big brother? The Zhang family would soon face ruin and disgrace.
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