Taking her into his tent, he incurred the wrath of a powerful and mad minister, from which he could

The news of the general's family announcing the annulment of the engagement spread like wildfire.

Princess Jianing was devastated when she finally learned the news. Her engagement, which she had been so happy and looking forward to, was now null and void?!

"Father! Why did you ask His Majesty to annul the engagement?!"

Jia Ning, lifting her skirt, stumbled into the main hall, tears streaming down her face, and tearfully accused, "I wanted to annul the engagement before, but you all refused. Now that I've accepted my fate and am willing to marry into the Zong family, why did you secretly annul the engagement without my knowledge?!"

The General of Zhenbei was already overwhelmed with problems, and faced with his daughter's crying and nagging, he completely lost his patience and angrily rebuked her: "Isn't it because you are jealous and narrow-minded, and only agreed to marry Zong Xian because you wanted to get rid of the woman beside him!"

"Your dear second brother went to the Zong family mansion to assassinate someone to fulfill your wish, and now he's been imprisoned by Zong Xian, his fate unknown. He used your second brother's life to force us to break off the engagement. Do you understand?"

"Now that the engagement has been broken off, it's all your own fault. Blame yourself!"

Upon hearing these unfounded accusations, Princess Jianing's face turned deathly pale.

...

On the other side, the ancestral mansion was brightly lit.

Zong Xian pushed open the door and went inside, where he saw a figure sitting quietly on the bed.

With a gentle smile on his face, he strode over.

Mingyi had a thin red veil covering her head, which served as a headscarf.

Ordinary concubines did not receive such treatment; they were usually dressed in red and sent to the man's room. This veil was specially added at Zong Xian's request.

Through the red veil, Mingyi also saw the man walking towards her. Her heart beat fast for a moment before returning to calm, and she closed her eyes.

Until that slender, jade-like hand lifted her veil.

Mingyi slowly raised his eyes.

He was dressed in a scarlet official robe, which looked exactly like the wedding attire one would wear on a grand wedding, and it was unclear whether he had deliberately not changed out of it.

Zong Xian stared at her quietly for a few moments, his eyes gradually growing hotter, as if he wanted to devour her.

Mingyi felt burned by his intense gaze, lowered her eyes, and said, "Why did you come here like this, sir?"

Zong Xian sat down beside her, still staring at her, and said gently, "I wanted to see you as soon as possible, so I rushed back."

After a moment of silence in the room, he said again, "My engagement with the princess has been called off."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and gently covered her hand that was resting on her knee, carefully observing every change in her expression.

Mingyi was somewhat surprised, not expecting a result so quickly.

She asked curiously, "His Majesty just agreed like that?"

Zong Xian nodded: "The General of Zhenbei proposed to annul the engagement, and at his advanced age, he shed tears before the Emperor, leaving His Majesty no choice but to agree."

Mingyi glanced at him and said, "You were the one who wanted to back out, but you had the General's Mansion do it, making you the good guy. Let me guess, His Majesty must have given you some benefits as compensation, right?"

A smile spread across Zong Xian's eyes.

"You're quite sharp-minded; you guessed that."

As he spoke, his burning body pressed closer, his voice low and tender, "But tonight is a fine night, with red candles burning brightly. Are you sure you want to discuss court affairs with me at this moment?"

Mingyi was intentionally stalling for time because she didn't want to do intimate things with him.

Her eyes flickered, trying to look away, but the man pulled her into his arms, trapping her there with no way to escape.

"You've done it so many times, why are you still so shy?"

A faint blush rose to the tips of Mingyi's ears, and a light rouge spread across her cheeks, making her appear even more beautiful and charming in the flickering candlelight.

With the warm fragrance of the jade in his arms, Zong Xian could clearly feel that the mass of flesh in his chest was vibrating more intensely than usual.

Just as his lips were about to press down, Mingyi hurriedly raised her hand to push him away, "Wait, let's drink the nuptial wine first."

Zong Xian's eyes held a lustful glint, and something else seemed to be there as well.

Upon hearing that it was about drinking nuptial wine, he raised an eyebrow, took a deep breath, and barely suppressed his desire.

It wasn't a wedding, so there wasn't any nuptial wine prepared in the house. It was just wine that the servants prepared to add to the festivities.

Mingyi walked to the table, poured two glasses, and then turned around to hand one to him.

After drinking the "nuptial wine," Mingyi noticed that the time had not yet come, and on a whim, he proposed "tying the knot."

These are things that couples do only on their wedding day.

Zong Xian completely complied with her, took out scissors, cut off a strand of black hair, and handed it to her.

Mingyi also cut off a lock of her own hair, tied it with a thin thread, and put it into her purse along with his.

Having done all this, Zong Xian had long since exhausted his patience. He reached out, grabbed her waist, and gently pulled her down onto the soft bed.

Mingyi braced herself against the bed, trying to back away, but she panicked a little: "Wait, I still want to..." go out to admire the moon.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow."

He was interrupted before he could finish speaking.

Zong Xian leaned down, his warm, wet kisses landing on her neck, moving upwards until he finally took her earlobe into his mouth.

Mingyi was instantly aroused and couldn't help but let out a soft moan.

In the blink of an eye, her elaborate wedding dress was stripped off layer by layer and thrown out of the bed, scattered all over the floor.

In contrast, Zong Xian was still dressed neatly in his crimson official robes, looking impeccably dressed.

He straightened up slightly and looked at her dark hair spread across the pillow.

The beautiful woman lies prone, like a ripe fruit on a branch, waiting to be picked; her beauty is beyond description and breathtaking.

A strong possessive desire surged within him, and he wished he could tear her apart and devour her whole, making her belong entirely to him.

But the moment his fingertips touched her cheek, his movements were tender and affectionate, and he whispered, "My darling is so beautiful tonight."

Mingyi was already too weak to struggle, lying limply on the bed, her chest heaving, her breathing disordered, her eyes misty, looking pitiful.

Just as Zong Xian was about to take off his clothes, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.

The servant said anxiously, "My lord, someone from the palace has come urgently, summoning you to the palace immediately for a meeting!"

There was a moment of silence in the room.

Zong Xian was immediately annoyed. Why did it have to be at this time?

He lowered his head and kissed Mingyi's rosy lips, taking a light kiss before gently saying, "I'll be right back. Wait for me to return."

Mingyi breathed a sigh of relief and nodded obediently.

Zong Xian left with a sullen face.

Mingyi asked the servants outside the door through the window what time it was.

The servant replied that it was exactly three-quarters past midnight.

It was exactly right...

Mingyi put on her clothes one by one, but not her wedding dress. She found the medicine box, her eyes filled with a desperate determination.

Without hesitation, I ate it.

...

After an unknown amount of time, the door creaked open and then carefully closed again.

A series of restrained footsteps approached.

The person who arrived was not Zong Xian, but Chu Lianyue.

She deliberately wore a maid's clothes and sneaked in while Zong Xian was away.

His eyes were filled with venom as he slowly walked towards the bed, his gaze fixed on the bulge behind the bed curtains.

She couldn't wait any longer; she was going to kill Ji Mingyi!

But when she lifted the bed curtains and was about to make her move, she discovered something terrible!

Ji Mingyi is dead!

Chu Lian Yue couldn't believe it. She reached out to check her breathing and pulse. She was really dead!

The woman who was about to rise to a high social status died so quietly? How could this be?

Chu Lian Yue was so shocked that she backed away repeatedly. Without thinking, she quickly turned around and ran away.

In the chaos, he accidentally knocked over a candlestick, but without picking it up or looking back, he hurriedly fled the house.

Not long after, cries of alarm came from Songhe Garden: "Fire! Quick, put out the fire!"

"It's Second Master's room!"

Zong Xian had specifically instructed the servants not to stand guard outside, which led to the fire getting out of control and being discovered by the servants.

Hearing the commotion, A-Qing rushed over. Looking up, she saw flames shooting into the sky and was startled. She cried out urgently, "Where are Second Master and Miss? Are they still inside?"

The servant, looking flustered, said, "Second Master went to the palace by imperial decree earlier and has already left the manor. Miss...Miss seems to still be inside..."

Like a blow to the head, Ah Qing froze, her hands and feet turning ice cold.

"Quick! Go in and save them!!"

"No, the fire is too big; we can't get in at all!"

Songheyuan was in complete chaos.

Just when everyone was helpless and watched the fire escalate, a figure jumped into the raging inferno without hesitation...