Bride Swap Backfire: My Cousin's Rebirth Made Us a Power Couple-Chapter 46 - 39: Breaking off the Engagement (Part 3)
In truth, the old madam had secretly worn it quite a few times and was even caught by Chen Wanyue.
Furious, Chen Wanyue had a massive argument with her grandmother over it.
She’d told her grandmother that if she loved gold so much, she should get married again before she was buried up to her neck. Perhaps her new husband would give her a gold hairpin as a betrothal gift, which would save her the trouble of always hogging Chen Wanyue’s and never giving it back.
The vicious words nearly made the old madam faint with rage.
But since the old madam was in the wrong to begin with, and Chen Wanyue didn’t want to earn a bad name for herself, the two of them tacitly agreed to pretend it had never happened.
Now, seeing the gold hairpin she had dreamed of day and night, only to know it would soon no longer be hers, Chen Wanyue’s dejection and resentment were palpable.
The old madam felt terrible as well. She held the gold hairpin, stroking it over and over. "This was the engagement token from the Zhao family," she said. "We may be a humble family, but we don’t covet what isn’t ours..."
Her words sounded noble, but her heart was bleeding.
The gold hairpin was precious. In all her long life, she had never brought herself to buy one.
If the family calling off the engagement had been poor and powerless, she would have simply kept the hairpin. But the Zhao family was not one she could afford to cross; she had no choice but to return it.
The gold hairpin was lost to her. As for the other gifts—the wine, tea, pastries, meat, and bolts of cloth—they had long since been consumed or used up over the years. She had no intention of compensating for any of it.
The old madam looked expectantly at Mr. Zhao, who in turn looked at Zhao Jing.
Zhao Jing pursed his lips slightly and handed a sapphire-blue pouch, embroidered with a crane soaring to the heavens, to his uncle.
"Once we exchange the engagement gifts, the betrothal will be officially broken. As for the holiday gifts sent over the years and the other items from the engagement, please consider them an apology for having delayed the second young lady’s marriage prospects."
Upon hearing this, the old madam’s face instantly lit up with a smile.
Hearing this, Mr. Chen and his wife also breathed a sigh of relief.
"They say scholars are reasonable men," the old madam said with a smile, adding a few more words of praise. "Our Li’an hasn’t studied enough; he’s not nearly as thoughtful as Jing."
Mr. Zhao had no patience for her chatter. He simply exchanged the engagement gifts from both sides and then produced the marriage contract signed years ago.
After each party confirmed the contract was genuine, Mr. Zhao sighed and tossed it into the brazier at his feet.
Flames shot up like a striking snake, quickly reducing the marriage contract to ash.
Seeing the matter finally brought to a satisfactory conclusion, the members of the Chen family could no longer hide the delight in their eyes.
Mr. Zhao, however, was lost in his own melancholy. "And with that, the engagement is broken. Jing, go tell your father at his grave, so he can rest easy... We all live in the same village. We’re bound to run into each other, so let’s part on good terms..."
"Part on good terms? Impossible!"
The door to the main hall was suddenly thrown open from the outside.
Everyone in the room looked up at the sound and saw the normally gentle and approachable Mrs. Zhao storming in, her fists clenched.
She glared at the old madam, gritting her teeth, looking as if she wanted to tear her apart.
Seeing his wife, Mr. Zhao immediately stood up. "It just rained; the roads are slippery. What are you doing out here?"
"If I didn’t come, were you just going to let this room full of men get swindled by this old hag from the Chen family?"
"Swindled? What swindling? Madam, if you have something to say, please speak plainly."
The one who spoke was one of Chen Wanqing’s granduncles.
This granduncle came from a large, thriving family. He was also a skilled carpenter, so his household was quite prosperous.
Because the granduncle was quick-witted and eloquent, he had become the de facto head of this branch of the Chen family, despite being younger than Chen Dachang.
The granduncle looked at Mrs. Zhao with bewilderment. "Madam, if you have something to say, just say it. There’s no need for such barbed words. The Chen family and the Zhao family can no longer be in-laws, but that’s because the two children’s fortunes are incompatible, not for any other reason. We regret this as well, but it’s the will of heaven. What can be done? So please, tell us, how has the old madam swindled you? If she truly meant to deceive you, wouldn’t it have been more beneficial for our Chen family to hide the incompatibility and let the children marry?"
The granduncle thought it over and over, but he still couldn’t understand where this talk of "deception" was coming from.
Mrs. Zhao scoffed. "Becoming our in-laws wouldn’t be beneficial for you, it would be a disaster! As for what was hidden... that’s a good question. It’s the very thing I’d like to ask *her*."
Mrs. Zhao pointed at the old madam, who was trying to slip out while everyone was distracted.
Miaohua and her husband, Zhao Tang, blocked the old madam’s path. Her face was a mask of guilt and anxiety. Anyone could see at a glance that something was definitely wrong.
