The male supporting character was actually myself.

This is a luxurious airship built with the utmost effort by the Yunmeng family. How could such an obvious safety hazard be left in the bathtub of a second-class guest room?

Moreover, the excruciating pain in my buttocks felt more like being stabbed by something like a hairpin...

After pondering for a long time, Ji Ningyu guessed that Ye Qingqing's hairpins and other ornaments had probably fallen into the water in the heat of the moment, and he had been accidentally stabbed.

The physical pain is a minor issue; being caught red-handed is a much bigger one!

Although the man had been kidnapped and imprisoned in the woodshed under the pretext of theft, it showed he didn't want anyone to know he was a spinster. How could he use this to get himself out of trouble?

First of all, Ye Qingqing was not married, and both of them were still virgins, which could be easily verified by examination. Strictly speaking, it was not a crime of adultery.

Moreover, nowadays, most people pursue true love. In countless legends and stories, men and women who are in love with each other are destined to be together for life. Even if a woman is forced into an engagement by her family, she will fight back desperately to seek true love. In the end, she is always pitied and sympathized with by the public.

She and Ye Qingqing had a prior engagement, and they were deeply in love and determined to stay together. In a relationship, the one who is not loved is the third party, so her fiancé should let go of her, both morally and logically.

If he insists on killing himself, the only way is to use public opinion to make him a despised villain...

"Squeak!"

Ji Ningyu was indulging in unrealistic fantasies when he suddenly heard the sound of the woodshed door opening, which startled him so much that he quickly shrank into a corner.

Two figures, one tall and one short, entered carrying lanterns; the one in front appeared to be a middle-aged woman.

He dared not look up, cowering in the corner, barely daring to breathe.

"Lift your face up!" The woman's voice was serious and somewhat anxious, yet it sounded somewhat familiar.

Ji Ningyu, filled with doubt, slowly raised her head. After seeing the other person's appearance clearly under the lamplight, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Mrs. Ye!"

"You are... Ji Ningyu?!"

The lamp flickered and almost fell to the ground. Madam Ye gasped and carefully examined the young man, who was soaking wet and shivering. She confirmed that he was the young master of the Ji family that she had met when she came to break off the engagement.

"You two know each other?" Duan Lang was quite surprised and sneered, "So it wasn't some random man after all. Madam Ye probably knew about it too, didn't she?"

Madam Ye composed herself, ignoring the other party's sarcasm, and demanded, "What exactly is going on between you and Qingqing? Tell me the truth!"

She had long heard that the young master of the Ji family liked to mingle in the inner chambers, and that he was spoiled and timid and afraid to take any responsibility. She casually picked up a piece of firewood as thick as her wrist from the side and sternly said, "Speak!"

"I...I'll tell you, Madam Ye, please don't be angry, I'll tell you everything..." Ji Ningyu was so frightened that she shrank her neck and trembled all over.

Faced with this great calamity, he didn't want to argue with anyone or defend anyone.

He had no choice but to tell her everything: how he met Ye Qingqing, how they talked under the moon, how Ye Qingqing cried about how her family was selling her off and forcing her to marry someone she didn't love, how they met again, how they painted, and why she hid in the wooden tub.

After listening to his detailed account, Duan Lang narrowed his eyes and sneered, "So you two only got together after Young Master Luo broke off the engagement? If you weren't cuckolded, why did Young Master Luo break off the engagement?"

Could it be that before Ji Ningyu, Miss Ye had been involved with other men?

"No, no, no, Lord Duan has misunderstood." Madam Ye hurriedly waved her hand and explained, "Young Master Luo broke off the engagement because he heard Qingqing crying that she did not want to marry a merchant. Young Master Luo felt that Qingqing was arrogant and proud, so he forcibly broke off the engagement."

Qingqing did not cross the line at that time!

Even though she painted such shameless pictures and was caught red-handed by the adults, Qingqing did not lose her virginity. What the adults do not know is that a betrothal was arranged between Qingqing and Ji Ningyu when Qingqing was one month old.

The two had never met, and I was the one who insisted on calling off the marriage.

Who could have imagined that this ill-fated relationship would end up like this…

Duan Lang remained cold, "I don't care whether those two have met or not, and I don't care whether Ye Qingqing has lost her chastity. If you want to be the mistress of my Duan family, you must be a lady of high moral character, well-mannered, and shameful!"

Ye Qingqing is such a slut, let's just forget about her.

To save face for both sides, from now on, Madam Ye should publicly declare that Miss Ye is seriously ill and unable to serve the Emperor, and the two families will thus annul the engagement and sever all ties. Once the airship arrives at the Glazed Tower, Madam Ye, please accuse this thief of stealing valuables and, according to the common practice across the twelve continents, punish him severely in the immediate vicinity!

"I will follow Lord Duan's orders." Madam Ye breathed a sigh of relief.

If this matter comes out, the Ye family will lose face, and the Duan family will also suffer. Lord Duan is indeed very thoughtful. If it's just a matter of annulment, even if Qingqing's reputation is bad, her serious illness can cover it up, which is still acceptable. It's much better than the world knowing about her harlot behavior!

The only problem is that we can no longer arrange marriages for her, otherwise, something terrible will happen sooner or later.

Why not wait until we reach the Glazed Pagoda, then disembark together and take another airship back to the Huan Dynasty? At that time, let Qingqing become a nun and live a quiet life of seclusion with a Buddhist lamp and a Buddhist temple.

In the dead of night, the housekeeping manager, who had already gone to bed, was a little dazed when he was woken up.

Just two hours ago, the Duan and Ye families were very close, a perfect couple that everyone envied. How could they announce the annulment of their engagement before the wedding night was even over?

Miss Ye suddenly fell seriously ill and could not get out of bed?

Chapter Thirty: No secrets stay hidden forever.

"This is the fastest couple I've ever helped matchmake, and the fastest they've ever broken up. It's really strange!" The head of the guest rooms looked suspicious and whispered to his personal maid, "Is it possible that Miss Ye has some kind of strange illness?"

Previously, Young Master Luo broke off their engagement immediately afterward, claiming that she was unwell or something.

But I saw that Miss Ye's complexion was rosy and her posture was light; she certainly didn't seem to be ill. Now, Lord Duan also broke off his engagement immediately after it was arranged. Once might be understandable, but twice is definitely suspicious!

The maid replied softly, "When I saw Miss Ye earlier, she didn't seem seriously ill. However, many people on the airship saw that while Lord Duan was entertaining various dignitaries at the engagement banquet, Miss Ye was seen arguing with a handsome man on the main deck."

In the end, it was Lord Duan who personally stepped in to resolve the situation.

According to Zhou, who was trying to stop them, Ye Qingqing was going to take the man from the last class to a banquet and even told Lord Duan that he was from the same hometown.

Not long after Lord Duan vouched for him and brought him up, the man in the last class was arrested and imprisoned in the woodshed, supposedly for stealing valuables.

But I heard from the logistics supervisor, Master Niu, that the thief was beaten black and blue, and he was barefoot and completely soaked!

I could faintly smell his scent, like the bath fragrance used in second-class guest rooms.

"Oh? Is that so?" The housekeeper immediately perked up, looking gossipy. "No wonder, when she told me about breaking off the engagement, Madam Ye's attitude was practically humble."

I assume that since she just broke off her engagement with Young Master Luo yesterday, and now she's broken off the engagement with the newly appointed top scholar, Madam Ye must be feeling incredibly embarrassed.

It turns out there was something else going on in between!

Soaked to the bone? Did he completely crawl into the bucket? Ha, perhaps to hide himself?

"I just overheard the servants whispering among themselves. According to one of the housekeepers who cleans the guest rooms, before Young Master Luo broke off the engagement, he was cleaning the guest room next to where the Ye family mother and daughter were staying. He heard that the Ye family mother and daughter seemed to be arguing about something."

Although it was against the rules, he was so curious that he opened the back window and listened in.

From what I vaguely heard, it seemed that Miss Ye enjoyed meeting with poor scholars at night and looked down on Young Master Luo for coming from a merchant family. Unfortunately, Young Master Luo and Old Master Ouyang overheard this clearly, and Young Master Luo immediately broke off the engagement.

It was only after the matriarch of the Ye family begged Young Master Luo to save face for the Ye family that Old Master Ouyang publicly claimed that Miss Ye was unwell.

The third-class passenger that Miss Ye hooked up with tonight was someone Zhou Dianchi had never seen before; the two probably didn't know each other before.

After all, one lived upstairs and the other downstairs; who knows when they fell for each other...

Not long passed between the man being arrested and imprisoned in the woodshed and Lord Duan announcing the engagement.

The maids and servants said they had only heard Miss Ye crying, but didn't know what was wrong.

"How about it?" the housekeeper sneered. "The Ye family hasn't been gone for long. What a fine young lady. She looks respectable on the surface, but she's actually so dissolute in private."

What else can we do?

What can she do besides cry when caught in the act of adultery?

If she had a strong personality, jumping off the airship and ending it all would at least leave her with a reputation as a virtuous woman and not bring shame upon her family.

Judging from her behavior, she cries and acts weak whenever something happens; she's probably a repeat offender!

If Madam Ye is sensible and doesn't let her get married in the future, that's fine. But if she finds another husband and acts so restless, who knows what big news she might cause.

What bad luck! How could I have become a matchmaker for someone like that!

"Young Master Luo and Lord Duan are really unlucky."

The little girl pouted and sighed, "Young Master Luo has such a good appearance and character, a grand engagement ceremony, and priceless tokens of love. He even specially asked Mr. Ouyang to be the matchmaker, but he was still rejected because of his merchant background."

Lord Duan was even more unlucky!

The newly crowned top scholar was riding high, thinking he was about to get married, but who would have thought Ye Qingqing would bring another man directly to the bedroom! Even if the engagement was called off, he would still feel uneasy!

This matter cannot be told to anyone; I'll just have to swallow my pride and keep it to myself.

The housekeeping manager thought for a moment and then instructed, "Go and tell the people below not to gossip anymore."

"Whether it's Young Master Luo or Lord Duan, they are both our honored guests. We absolutely cannot allow rumors to spread on the airship and tarnish their reputations."

"Yes, I'll go right away!" The maid accepted the order and left.

The housekeeper took off his clothes and lay on the bed, tossing and turning for a long time without being able to fall asleep. If this matter was not handled properly, the two victims, Young Master Luo and Lord Duan, would be the subject of gossip, and the good reputation of the Cloud Deep Dream City's maiden voyage would be ruined!

The next morning, Jiang Chen had just gotten up when he heard his maid, Yan'er, knocking on the door.

"Young Master Luo, have you heard?" she exclaimed in a low voice as soon as she entered the room. "I got up early this morning to fetch hot water and overheard the servants talking about it in the kitchen."

It's said that Miss Ye was jilted by Lord Duan again, and she was even carried out of the room!

She claimed to be seriously ill and unable to get out of bed, but I heard that she brought a stranger she had just met into Lord Duan's room!

When that pretty boy was caught, he was soaking wet and barefoot, and his body was still covered in flower petals and the scent of cosmetics from the bathtub!

They all say... they say Miss Ye and that man were in the wooden tub...

They even said that your annulment of your engagement with Ye Qingqing was because you caught her meeting with a man in secret!

Jiang Chen: ...

The people on the airship are really gossipy!

It seems that Duan Lang's attempt to cover it up was not very effective. Those servants love to gossip when they have nothing better to do, and they will probably make up all sorts of stories and spread rumors about it.

“She wasn’t having an affair when I broke off the engagement.” He explained, half-laughing and half-crying, “The matriarch of the Ye family and Mr. Ouyang were both present at the time, how could she have done such a thing?”

Alright, stop listening to their nonsense.

Go back and tell your young mistress to convene a meeting of all the stewards immediately to suppress this evil trend. Otherwise, even if rumors fly everywhere, I'm secondary; what will Lord Duan think?

Yan'er hurriedly stood up, "I'll go tell my young lady right away!"

"As expected, there are no secrets that stay hidden forever." The little white cat stretched and yawned, then rubbed its paws on the carpet before jumping onto its host's shoulder and sighing, "No matter how hard the top scholar tries to hide it, others still find out. Now even the host is involved. You guys are so pitiful."

Jiang Chen said dismissively, "It's just some rumors circulating in private. It's better than the news of being cuckolded coming out after the wedding. I wonder how Duan Lang will retaliate. I don't think a top scholar like him would swallow this insult."

"Snapped!"

Having not slept all night, Duan Lang slammed his teacup down on the table, took a deep breath, and instructed his page: "Don't blame yourself. The thief has been caught. I will personally interrogate and deal with him when we get to the Glazed Pagoda."

You must have been too tired to fall asleep. Be more careful when you come with me to my post next time, and don't make the same mistake again!

"Yes, I will definitely learn from this lesson and will never mess things up for you again!" The kneeling page hurriedly kowtowed.

"Alright, go get some money and find the housekeeper. Ask her to find me another room to change my accommodation." He glanced at the messy room with disgust and said angrily, "I don't want to stay in such an unlucky room anymore."