Bride Swap Backfire: My Cousin's Rebirth Made Us a Power Couple-Chapter 51 - 40: Breaking Off the Engagement (Part 4)
Each lost in their own thoughts, the main hall fell quiet for a long time.
This time, it was Zhao Jing who stepped forward.
He bowed to the Old Madam. "When all is said and done, you believe the fault lies with me. It was wrong of me not to immediately agree to your request to break the engagement. But this is just a matter between me and your family. There’s no need to drag Wanqing into this."
Mrs. Zhao finally came to her senses. "I’ve lived for seventy years, and I’ve never seen an elder so willful and reckless. It’s true what they say: you’ll never truly care for those who aren’t your own flesh and blood. No matter how filial Chen Song and his wife are to you, you don’t show them an ounce of consideration. You’d push Wanqing out to be a scapegoat without a second thought."
As soon as the words were out, she realized she’d misspoken, as it sounded like she was slighting her own Jing. Mrs. Zhao quickly changed her tune. "Wanqing is a fine young woman with a bright future ahead of her. And my Jing is no slouch either! In terms of talent or looks, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in the whole county who can compare to him. You may be blind, unable to recognize a treasure when you see one, but there will always be others with a discerning eye."
The Old Madam retorted sarcastically, "Since Jing is so wonderful, then you can stop pursuing the matter of my family breaking the engagement. Your Jing won’t lack for a wife, so just find him a better one..."
The Old Madam deliberately avoided mentioning that she had promised one girl to two families. After all, it was a disgraceful affair.
She was trying to be evasive and gloss over the matter, employing all sorts of verbal gymnastics. Everyone present saw right through it, but by now, no one had the energy to call her out.
’This old madam was a piece of work, a regular "copper pea"—impossible to steam soft, boil tender, hammer flat, or roast till it burst.’
"He’ll find a good wife, of course. But you’ve humiliated the Zhao Family this way, so don’t even think you’ll get off so easily."
"So what do you want?"
The Old Madam’s face was a mask of vigilance, terrified that members of the Zhao Family would go gossiping to the Li family and ruin her granddaughter’s excellent match.
Mrs. Zhao saw right through the Old Madam’s thoughts and couldn’t help but feel contempt.
’Miaohua mentioned earlier that the Li family had hired a matchmaker specifically to propose a marriage to Wanqing. Chen Song and his wife must have felt something was off, so they never gave them an answer.’
’But it wasn’t as if they’d dragged their feet for weeks; it had only been a delay of four or five days. Couldn’t the Li family even wait that long?’
’The man is single, the woman is single. It’s not out of the question to choose another bride, but you should at least settle the previous proposal first.’
’Otherwise, what if the Chens had turned around and agreed? You would have already arranged another match, so where would that leave their young lady?’
’This incident just goes to show that the Li family is no good either. Wanqing really dodged a bullet by not getting engaged to them.’
Mrs. Zhao glanced at Chen Wanqing again. The young woman had such honest, refined features—lovely, but not in a flashy or seductive way. She was capable, courteous, and sensible, never growing arrogant or vain on account of her beauty.
’It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought about finding a good match for this young woman before, but after considering all the possibilities, not a single son or grandson in the Zhao family was good enough for her. But now that Jing’s engagement was off... wasn’t this a match made in heaven?’
An idea began to form in Mrs. Zhao’s mind.
When she turned back to the Chen family’s Old Madam, her expression hardened. "I won’t make things difficult for you. Just return all the gifts Jing has sent over these past years."
"In your dreams! Those things have all been eaten or used, how could we return them? Besides, Jing just said himself that those were compensation for delaying Wanyue’s marriage prospects, an apology gift to us. A scholar’s word is his bond; he can’t go back on it!"
"Jing only said that on the condition that your Chen family hadn’t done something as vile as promising one girl to two families! Since you’ve been plotting behind our backs, how dare you even think of keeping all those years of holiday gifts! If it were up to me, not only would you have to calculate the value of the gifts and return it in silver, but you’d also have to pay back the original betrothal gifts and even the tuition your grandson owes for his private schooling! Every last coin!"
"Don’t even think about it!" the Old Madam shrieked, practically hopping with rage.
’If they really added all that up, it would be at least twenty or thirty taels of silver, if not more!’
’Twenty or thirty taels! That’s enough to pay for wives for two of my grandsons.’
The Old Madam was about to say more, but Mr. Zhao cut in, his face grim. "Then it’s settled. Convert the items to their value in silver and return every last coin. DaLong, do you have any objections?"
Chen Dalong was Mr. Chen. At that moment, his face was downcast, his eyes filled with shame and indignation.
’Promising one girl to two families... Only his sister-in-law would be capable of something so outrageous.’
’If word of this ever got out, none of the young women of the Chen family would ever find a husband.’
He was seething. He didn’t think the Zhao Family’s request was unreasonable at all, so he agreed at once. "We’ll handle it that way. I’ll have the silver sent over by tonight at the latest."
"Don’t give it to Jing. Deliver it directly to the main household."
’This whole affair was upsetting enough. There was no need to put Jing through any more embarrassment. It was better for him to handle the transfer.’
