Bride Swap Backfire: My Cousin's Rebirth Made Us a Power Couple-Chapter 43 - 38: Calling Off the Engagement (Part 2)

His expression betrayed no joy; in fact, a closer look revealed more sorrow than anything.

"Wanqing, about breaking off the engagement—was it Zhao Jing’s idea, or did Wanyue come to suggest it?"

Xu Suying quickly stepped in. "Father, it doesn’t matter who brought it up. We’re at this point now. Why don’t you all go inside and decide whether you’re breaking it off or not."

Then she muttered, loud enough for Chen Dachang to hear, "Why are you asking Qing’er? This has nothing to do with her. What would a child like her know about these things?"

Chen Dachang knew those words were meant for him, and he looked awkward for a moment.

Because he had favored his third son and felt he owed a great deal to his eldest’s family, Chen Dachang found it hard to assert himself in front of his eldest daughter-in-law.

He said nothing more, simply sighing as he put away his pipe and shuffled toward the main hall.

Once Chen Wanqing saw her grandfather enter the house, she pulled her mother toward the kitchen. "He’s still my grandfather, Mom. And he’s getting on in years..."

"Does getting old give him the right to turn a blind eye? Does it give him an excuse to be so shamelessly biased? Hmph! I hold a grudge. I’ll remember the things they did for the rest of my life. Don’t be fooled because I treat that old couple with some semblance of filial piety now. That’s as far as it goes. I couldn’t care less what happens to them when they’re old and dying. I won’t give them a single cent more than I have to!" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

’If she weren’t concerned about her two sons studying for the exams and her daughter’s marriage prospects, she wouldn’t give that old couple a single cent of support, not after the way they behaved in the past.’

’But, as always, it was all for her children.’

’Otherwise, if she earned a reputation for being unfilial, her own children would be the ones to suffer for it in the end.’

Xu Suying cursed "Damned fate!" under her breath, then deftly prepared some tea and carried it toward the main hall.

Chen Wanqing followed close behind with a teacup. As the mother-daughter pair reached the door, they ran into Zhao Jing and De’an, who were coming to get tea.

The two men offered to take the cups, but Xu Suying and her daughter refused.

They entered the room. The atmosphere inside was heavy.

The room reeked of dry tobacco, and the faces of the senior elders were shrouded in curling plumes of blue smoke.

Just as Chen Wanqing and her mother stepped out of the room, they heard Mr. Zhao say, "The engagement between Jing and your family’s young lady... it’s not suitable. Let’s just call it off."

Chen Wanqing started to head for the kitchen, but Xu Suying grabbed her by the hand.

Her mother shot her a look that clearly said: ’Where do you think you’re going? Stay and eavesdrop! Aren’t you curious about something this important?’

Chen Wanqing was curious, but she couldn’t just stand brazenly by the door listening in. That would be far too improper.

She pulled her mother into her own room. After pushing open the latticed window, they sat down beneath it, from where they could hear everything happening in the main hall with perfect clarity.

"The soundproofing in this house is awful. You can tell they used cheap materials when they built it. Good thing I’m saving money. We’ll buy a house in the county town and move the whole family over. I just wonder if you’ll be married by then..."

"Mom, be quiet! I can’t hear them in the main hall anymore."

Inside the main hall, Mr. Zhao was sighing, his brow deeply furrowed with sorrow.

He had gone to the county town that morning to meet with the County Magistrate. He was there to propose that the Zhao Village be a test site for new crop seeds, which led to the whole "treasure chest" incident.

Thanks to this wonderful news, the County Magistrate had been ecstatic. He not only made an exception and approved their request to test the new crops, but he also generously granted them a large supply of seeds.

Even though he had braved a heavy downpour to get back to the village from the county town, and was now soaked, shivering, and congested, Mr. Zhao was happy.

Who would have thought that just as he was about to ask his wife to warm a bit of wine for a celebratory drink or two, Jing would show up.

Mr. Zhao had heard whispers that the Chen family intended to call off the engagement.

Zhao Jing’s mother couldn’t keep a secret to save her life, and Xiang’er was young and spoke without a filter. Clansmen only had to visit their household—the ninth branch—a couple of times before they’d pieced together most of what the two were hiding.

But for the Chen family to actually break off the engagement? That was something Mr. Zhao had not anticipated.

In his eyes, even though Old Ninth had passed away, Jing was on the rise.

He would be out of mourning this year and could take the Child Examination next year. At his level, there was no doubt he’d pass and become a Scholar.

If the Chen girl married him, she would instantly be a Scholar’s wife. A wonderful life was right around the corner, so why on earth would they break off the engagement?

Besides, the Zhao Family was the dominant power in the Zhao Village. For the Chen family to call things off so abruptly showed a complete disregard for the honor of the Zhao clan. Did they really think they could live peacefully after this? That was just wishful thinking.

He thought of the old Chen couple; they weren’t reckless people. They had to understand something so obvious. That being the case, this talk of breaking the engagement was probably serious.