A middle-aged emperor, childless, was blessed with a beautiful and pregnant concubine who entered th

Mingyi also presented the tokens that belonged to the Cen family back then.

Just then, a casual voice suddenly rang out.

"Mother, how could I not know about something so important?"

Madam Cen suddenly stood up. "You debt collector!"

"A marriage arranged by parents and matchmakers—how could it be your turn?"

Cen Shaoyuan didn't care at all. He stared at the slender girl in the blue dress in the flower hall and raised his eyebrows slightly.

"You're the Zhou family's younger sister?"

"You want to break off our engagement?"

He paused for a moment, his voice clear and melodious, typical of a young man.

"I won't agree to this!"

Madam Cen immediately became anxious. In a fit of rage, she slapped her son, "Since ancient times, marriages between children have always been arranged by parents and matchmakers! You little devil!"

"Your marriage certificate with the Zhou family is here, and the engagement tokens have been returned to the Zhou family's daughter. This marriage is naturally null and void, and it's no use if you disagree."

Cen Shaoyuan snatched the marriage certificate from the servant's hands.

"The marriage is in my hands now, and it hasn't been torn up yet, so the marriage is still valid."

"Rip!"

Just then, everyone saw that Zhou Mingyi had already torn up the marriage certificate.

Marriage is a union between two families, therefore marriage certificates and tokens are made in duplicate.

The marriage certificate in Mingyi's hand had already been torn up, and the tokens had been retrieved, so the marriage agreement was no longer valid.

"Young Master Cen, Mingyi is not worthy of you. Mingyi takes her leave."

"etc!"

Cen Shaoyuan was taken aback, and hurriedly chased after him.

Madam Cen was unable to stop him in time and could only watch helplessly as her son chased after her.

"What a tragedy! This wretched creature!"

"I finally got that Zhou family woman to come and annul the engagement, and now he's acting like this... Is he trying to drive me crazy!"

Madam Cen thought for a moment and said to her trusted nanny, "Do you think this woman surnamed Zhou is deliberately trying to sow discord between my son and me?"

The trusted nanny's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this.

"Madam, why would you think that?"

"The second young master... has always been carefree and unrestrained, disliking being controlled; this is merely a rebellious streak..."

"You tried to match him with Miss Zhou, and he probably saw through it all. It just so happens that Miss Zhou came to break off the engagement, so he's using her as a pretext to make trouble for you!"

Madam Cen was taken aback.

The trusted nanny said, "Don't you remember? The second young master has been like this since he was a child."

"We prepared salted duck for him, but he wants to eat pickled goose..."

Madam Cen's expression softened somewhat.

"That's right, this brat just loves to mess with me, trying to drive me crazy!"

She clutched her chest.

Suddenly, she thought of her sister-in-law and niece. "That brat, he dared to run away when he was supposed to be with his aunt and cousin?"

Just then, a servant came to report that the young lady had climbed up a tree and couldn't get down.

Madam Cen's expression changed drastically. "What?"

"How could Xiuyun...?"

"Quickly, take some people to see this!"

Before long, Zhao Xiuyun covered her face and threw herself into Madam Cen's arms, crying uncontrollably. Her makeup was ruined from crying, showing how heartbroken she was.

Kim's face also looked very unpleasant.

While comforting her niece, Madam Cen kept scolding her son.

"That brat, that troublemaker! How could he do something like this? Does he still think he's a child? That he can tease his sister like that?"

"If anything happens to Xiuyun, I'll skin him alive!"

Jin's expression softened slightly.

However, she also knew that her aunt was just being polite, and that her words implied an attempt to exonerate that wretched child.

Just now, she and her daughter were in the back garden with that wicked man when he suddenly said that there was a peony in full bloom in the back garden and invited the two of them to come and admire it.

Ms. Jin naturally intended to create opportunities for her two children, so she deliberately said that she was tired from walking and wanted to rest.

She watched helplessly as her daughter went with that wicked man.

Not long after, that wretched creature walked away on its own.

Jin was still puzzled. She went over to look and saw her usually gentle and quiet daughter standing on the tree, clinging tightly to a branch. She was so frightened that her face turned pale.

Kim's vision went black for a moment, and she almost fainted.

When asked, the daughter was also sobbing. Later, she learned from her daughter's personal maid that it was that wretched man who had coaxed her daughter up there, saying there was a bird's nest up there...

Do they still think of themselves as little children?

They're really naughty!

Jin's tone was also straightforward, and she immediately said in an unfriendly tone, "Sister, if A-Yuan really doesn't like my Xiu-Yun, in my opinion, let's just treat what we talked about before as a joke."

Madam Cen's face stiffened.

"Don't be angry, Yao. It's your older sister who has wronged you."

"Don't worry, I will make that wicked child give you and your daughter an explanation!"

Jin snorted coldly.

Madam Cen coaxed her niece in her arms until she finally stopped crying and started smiling.

To ease the tension, Madam Cen's substitute nanny said with a smile, "Miss Cen is still the same as when she was a child. She likes to go to our Madam when she is wronged. It can be said that she is destined to be with Madam."

"Anyone who didn't know better would think that she and our lady were actually mother and daughter!"

Madam Cen had no daughter, but she always regarded her niece Zhao Xiuyun as her own daughter.

Since ancient times, nephews have been likened to their maternal uncles, and nieces to their paternal aunts.

Zhao Xiuyun's appearance did indeed bear some resemblance to Madam Cen in her youth.

She was increasingly pleased with it.

Jin knew her sister-in-law's thoughts earlier, and she pretended to be jealous.

"I risked my life to give birth to her, but I never imagined that my sister would benefit from it."

But Jin was in a bad mood and kept a straight face without saying a word.

……

Mingyi hadn't expected Cen Shaoyuan to chase after her.

However, this troublemaker never followed any set rules, so even if he didn't come after her, she would still try to see him before entering the palace.

In his past life, he was completely captivated by her beauty.

But men are particularly pragmatic creatures. Which is more important, the woman they love or their future? They have their own scale in their hearts.

However, what Mingyi wanted was not Cen Shaoyuan's repentance.

He was nothing more than a dog she had her eye on.

A mad dog.

"Hello!"

Cen Shaoyuan, being tall and strong, caught up with the petite and delicate Mingyi in a few steps.

Mingyi was walking in a hurry, and he grabbed her wrist.

In her panic, a corner of Mingyi's veil was suddenly lifted.

Cen Shaoyuan originally thought that the woman wearing a veil must be a mysterious person, but little did he know that under the veil was a breathtakingly beautiful face.

He was stunned for a moment.

Zhou Mingyi took the opportunity to break free from his grasp and ran away.

She curled her lips into a smile.

The fish has taken the bait.

……

Madam Cen had already sent a servant to "fetch" her son, but after waiting and waiting, she heard from the servant that the second young master had already returned to his own courtyard.

Jin's face darkened further. She stood up, took her daughter's hand, curtsied, and said, "The Cen family is far too prestigious for us. My daughter and I are not worthy of their status. We shall take our leave now!"

Madam Cen immediately stood up and grabbed her sister-in-law's hand.

"Ah Yao, don't be angry!"

With a stern face, she ordered her personal maid to personally fetch that scoundrel, specifically instructing, "Bring him here even if you have to tie him up!"

The personal maidservant accepted the order, and Madam Cen patted her niece on the back to comfort her, saying, "Don't worry, your aunt will definitely stand up for you!"

Zhao Xiuyun, her face streaked with tears, raised her fair cheeks and said, "Aunt, maybe we should just forget about it? My second cousin doesn't seem to like me very much..."

Madam Cen said, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"You and your second cousin grew up together, how could he not like you?"

"That brat is just being reckless!"