Whoever saw the current chaos would be angry.

While Wei Yuewu hadn"t yet a.s.serted her rights as the real fiancée, these two outsiders had gone so far as to fight with each other out of jealousy to become the official wife.

From this point of view, even if Lady Tu uttered harsher words, Mo Huating could not refute any bit.

The Madam Dowager"s face was quite grim. She took out a red marriage contract from her clothes. The contract was signed by the mothers of the two sides to announce the engagement. In the current situation, she didn"t have to give any reason for breaking off the engagement. If Mo Huating did not have an affair with the two of them, such a quarrel would never have broken out.

Furthermore, it happened right in the presence of Wei Yuewu.

The Madam Dowager had made up her mind by now because Wei Yan was also involved.

“Marquis Jing Yuan, I don"t care whether you want to marry my Second Elder Sister or your cousin. It has nothing to do with me. Please take out the marriage contract my mother left, and the marriage engagement shall be terminated!”

Wei Yuewu looked coldly at Mo Huating. Faint disdain rippled across her watery, pretty eyes.

Mo Huating became inexplicably embarra.s.sed under the gaze of her clear and beautiful eyes. Under the present circ.u.mstances, there seemed to be no reason for him to refuse anymore, but in reality, he was just unwilling.

Gritting his teeth, he turned his eyes to Wei Yan and Chen Nianshan, both of whom were in a state of fury. These two women would always act in a dignified and tolerant manner and behave like a lady in front of him. Never had he expected that they would start a fight and drive him into such a situation.

His marriage was not just a common one, and he was unwilling to accept the current state of things. With a hint of cruelty flashing in his eyes, he made up his mind. He completely ignored the two young ladies on both sides, who were looking at him affectionately with handkerchiefs in their hands and tears in their eyes, both expecting him to defend them.

“Sixth Young Lady, I really knew nothing about this dispute between the Second Young Lady and my cousin. I didn"t know why they would have such ridiculous expectations of me either. I only want to marry you in my entire life, Sixth Young Lady. Our engagement was arranged by my mother and your mother. The will of the deceased should always be respected, Sixth Young Lady. Please think about the love and kindness of your mother and don"t let her down.”

The moment Mo Huating finished those words, everyone was stunned.

He implied that whatever Wei Yan and Chen Nianshan had done had nothing to do with him. Moreover, he was determined not to break off the engagement. He completely ignored the damage to the reputation of the two maidens and had not the slightest intention to consider their feelings.

Chen Nianshan collected her thoughts first. Tears immediately welled up in her eyes. Her body leaned softly on a maid. She looked pitiful and fragile, and her eyes were filled with expectation. She cried at Mo Huating in a delicate voice, “Cousin, cousin … how … how could you treat me like this…”

Now that things had been carried so far, if she still couldn"t become the mistress of the mansion of Marquis Jing Yuan in her current situation, she could only choose to die to make an apology.

Chen Nianshan was undoubtedly most pitiable when putting on such an appearance. She also knew very well that this trick had always been effective with Mo Huating. Men, especially men like Mo Huating, were born to pity weak girls!

Wei Yan was also stunned. She tried to support herself by pushing her hands against the table next to her. But after two attempts, she found that her limbs were too feeble to hold herself up. She could only cover her face with her handkerchief. Tears rolled down her pretty face. “You…didn"t you say you would marry me? How…how could you…”

Similarly, Wei Yan was also very confident in the effect of her present expression. Mo Huating loved her most in normal times. He would never be willing to make her distressed.

Unfortunately, at this moment, both of them wrongly guessed Mo Huating"s response!

Mo Huating didn"t seem to notice their performances. He lowered his head, drooped his eyes and stood up. Then, he bowed deeply to Wei Yan and Chen Nianshan. “If I did anything that made you misunderstand me in the past, I apologize. However, I have only one fiancée as always. The person I want to marry is of course Sixth Miss Wei. I never had any thoughts about others at all.”

“Cousin…didn"t you say that…” Chen Nianshan was genuinely anxious. She wasn"t Wei Yan. She didn"t have any patrons. Quite a few people had witnessed today"s event. If she left the mansion of Marquis Jing Yuan under such circ.u.mstances, how could she possibly have any chance to live on?

“Cousin, you are not a little girl anymore. Someone came again a few days ago to urge you to fulfil your marriage engagement. You can tidy up your dowry first in the next couple of days. When you came here years ago, my mother treated you as her daughter. Therefore, the mansion of Marquis Jing Yuan will prepare the dowry for you as a present from my mother and me.”

Mo Huating decisively interrupted her. Hearing his words, Chen Nianshan looked as if she had suffered a heavy blow. Her face instantly turned deathly pale. Her entire body trembled and she almost fainted. She could not believe that her cousin, who had always been affectionate towards her, actually said such words to her.

“Second Young Lady, I respect you as the elder sister of the Sixth Young Lady. I"ve probably kept close ties with you in order to inquire about the Sixth Young Lady, so that you misunderstood me. If that"s the case, I hope that the Sixth Young Lady will forgive me for my rashness. I, Mo Huating, declare here that I will marry no one but the Sixth Miss Wei in my life.”

Mo Huating looked at Wei Yan with a righteous expression.

With the affectionate and righteous expression on his face, Mo Huating looked as if he was the most infatuated man in this world. His expression made Wei Yuewu somehow recall that chilly night, when Qin Ruo died in the carriage with a sword piercing through her heart and her body impaled on the carriage wall. How cruel! How ruthlessly he had killed her! And now he was putting on such a face…

A cold, mocking smile appeared in Wei Yuewu"s eyes. She interrupted Mo Huating"s performance unceremoniously. By sliding her hand across the red marriage contract on the table, she held it in her hand. She stood up and resolutely said, “Since you"re unwilling to cancel the engagement, Marquis Jing Yuan, let"s settle our dispute in a way the folks would do. Let"s take the issue to the court.”

As soon as she finished her words, the whole room quieted down. Only Lady Tu maintained calm. Even the Madam Dowager narrowed her eyes nervously. If such a matter were taken to the court, Wei Yan would have no chance to live anymore. Wei Yan was the Madam Dowager"s dearest granddaughter and was brought up in an extravagant lifestyle. The Madam Dowager certainly cared much more about Wei Yan than about Wei Yuewu, who had just been back not long ago.

Wei Yan and Chen Nianshan didn"t look at Mo Huating anymore. They both stared at Wei Yuewu.

Mo Huating"s words were choked at his throat. He stared at Wei Yuewu in disbelief, his eyes wide open. He did not believe that a delicate-looking girl would be so merciless and decisive. What a mess, he thought.

“Madam Dowager, since the Second Young Lady takes a fancy to Marquis Jing Yuan, it"ll be fine to take this issue to the court. In no way shall I allow Yuewu to be treated unfairly. As for Marquis Jing Yuan, he"s really not worthy of Yuewu.”

Lady Tu expressed her support unceremoniously, even mocking Wei Yan and Mo Huating at the same time.

“Marquis Jing Yuan, let"s go to the court now. Who"s in the right and who"s in the wrong, I believe we will have a result about that in the end.”

Wei Yuewu looked coldly at Mo Huating. Her eyes were filled with determination and she had not the slightest hesitation at all.

“Sixth Young Lady, the Second Young Lady is your sibling. Are you trying to force her into despair?”

Mo Huating"s face suddenly turned black. He glared at Wei Yuewu with angry eyes. If the situation really escalated, it would be of no benefit to his career and future plans.

“I don"t want to die a mysterious death someday. I was lucky last time, but who knows what will occur the next time.”

Wei Yuewu replied leisurely as she looked up at Mo Huating"s face calmly.

Her crystal-clear eyes were filled with coldness. Normally, such a harsh expression would not be seen on a maiden"s face, especially this little girl in front of him, who hadn"t grown up yet. However, Mo Huating somehow felt a chill in his heart.

“Marquis Jing Yuan, just cancel the engagement. If this kind of thing goes out of control, it won"t be good for both mansions.”

The Madam Dowager glanced at Wei Yan, her eyes filled with disappointment. No matter what, she couldn"t allow the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang to suffer the humiliation along with Wei Yan.

“Grandmother…” The situation developed so suddenly that Wei Yan didn"t dare to make any fuss now. She sat there rubbing her handkerchief. Her face was full of grievance. When she saw Wei Yuewu out of the corner of her eyes, a vicious light of extreme hatred flashed in her eyes.

In Wei Yan"s opinion, Wei Yuewu was the reason why she had fallen into this dilemma. Sure enough, Wei Yuewu was not a sibling raised by her own family. No wonder she was so ungrateful.

However, Wei Yan never thought that she herself had never deemed Wei Yuewu her younger sister when she conspired with Mo Huating to kill her. She had never thought of leaving Wei Yuewu a chance to live.

Things had gone so far. Besides, Wei Yuewu had made it clear that she must cancel the engagement and she had Lady Tu"s support. The Madam Dowager was unable to cover up the matter even if she wanted to. No matter what, Wei Yuewu was Marquis Hua Yang"s legitimate daughter. Her ident.i.ty was enough to make the Madam Dowager take her seriously and think twice before taking actions.

There were some things that, if they were made public, would cause an earthquake that would even shake the entire mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. The Madam Dowager knew too well of her eldest son"s temper. If they were really to take the matter to the court, he would not care if Wei Yan was his niece or not. The event that took place twenty years ago still produced fear in the Madam Dowager"s heart when she recalled it.

“I believe Marquis Jing Yuan is well aware of the situation. If Yan"er really lost her life because of this incident, although some things happened in places a little far away, it is not impossible to obtain evidence. At that time, Marquis Jing Yuan, your mansion will not be able to get away with it. I ask you to think twice about it.”

The Madam Dowager said to Mo Huating with a sullen face as she coldly narrowed her eyes.

Her words implied a threat.

If the matter was really brought to the court, Wei Yan would not be able to live, and Mo Huating would not have a good end either. The murder of Wei Yuewu, if it was interpreted to the serious side, meant the murder of the daughter of an important official of the imperial court. Wei Yuewu"s father was guarding strategic border towns, so there might be enemies who came to kill his family members. Following this line of thought, the matter would be turned into something serious.

Mo Huating would not be able to completely get out of trouble once he was convicted of committing such a crime, even if he was extremely powerful and left no evidence at all.

Either both sides suffered great losses or they compromised and settled the issue peacefully!

The Madam Dowager gave Mo Huating these two choices! Furthermore, she believed that Mo Huating would make the right decision!

As expected, uncertainty was writ plain on Mo Huating"s face after he heard the Madam Dowager"s words. He raised his eyes to look at Wei Yuewu, who was standing there in silence as if she had nothing to do with the whole matter. He stamped his feet and then said hatefully, “Alright, alright, alright, I will cancel the engagement. However, this marriage was arranged by our mothers. My father and Marquis Hua Yang were also witnesses. Although my parents and Marquis Hua Yang"s wife have pa.s.sed away, Marquis Hua Yang is still alive. It is more appropriate that Marquis Hua Yang should cancel it in person.”

Because of what happened today, he could no longer stick to his reason of refusal. After all, in the present situation, even if he didn"t consider Wei Yan and Chen Nianshan, it would be very disadvantageous to him if the situation escalated into a big issue. There was still more than one month before Marquis Hua Yang returned to the capital. Actually, a lot could still be done in that period of time…