Princess Huayang left the palace as dawn broke, her face pale and her body swaying as if about to collapse.
Granny Yu supported her arm. "Princess, are you alright?"
"Granny, it's done! I am well, and I have no more worries," Huayang said with a smile.
Yu Mingyue was having breakfast when Chihua rushed in. "Miss, the Seventh Prince is here."
Before the words had even fallen, he was already inside.
The young maids in the outer courtyard couldn't stop him.
Yu Mingyue sat at the table, a half-eaten osmanthus and chestnut cake on her chopsticks, staring blankly at Xiao Che standing at the doorway.
Xiao Che was clearly in a hurry. A fine sweat beaded on his forehead. It had rained all night, and the ground was still damp. His pale beige brocade robe was speckled with dirt at the hem.
Xiao Che was not someone who lacked manners. Even in storybooks, when he disliked her arrogance and wanted to defend Su Wanqing, he would send a message through a palace nanny. He wouldn't barge in so carelessly like this.
The osmanthus and chestnut cake on Yu Mingyue's chopsticks dropped with a plop. She quickly regained her composure and stood up. "Greetings, Your Highness."
Xiao Che glanced at the maids in the room. "All of you, withdraw!"
Chidan and the others, unsure of what had happened, looked at Yu Mingyue with worried expressions.
"Withdraw!" Yu Mingyue repeated.
Since Xiao Che could enter the inner courtyard, her mother and the others must have known and permitted it.
Chidan and the others then bowed and withdrew, but they didn't dare to go far, standing in the corridor.
"Sister Yue'er," Xiao Che's voice was hoarse, filled with deep apology. "Imperial Father wants to annul our engagement."
Truthfully, when his Imperial Father first betrothed him to Yu Mingyue, he had felt some resistance. After all, Yu Mingyue was only a ten-year-old child back then.
Over the past two years, he had finally come to accept her as his future Princess Consort. Though young, she was always composed, her words and actions proper, and she was exceptionally intelligent.
Especially after the incident with Madam Luo, the wife of Marquis Chengen, he felt even more strongly that only she was worthy of the position of his Princess Consort.
He had wholeheartedly waited for her to grow up, and he would achieve great deeds during these years. He never expected Luo Yuan Niang to appear out of nowhere.
He knew that marrying Luo Yuan Niang would bring him many benefits, including the full support of the Grand Princess.
With careful planning, he could even reclaim the military power of Youzhou without bloodshed.
But he didn't want this. A man should conquer the world with his own abilities, not through women.
Yet, he had still underestimated the situation.
Yu Mingyue's eyes widened, then slowly lowered, her long eyelashes obscuring the emotions in her eyes.
Princess Huayang was indeed Princess Huayang; she never disappointed.
"I'm sorry." Xiao Che was dejected, like withered autumn leaves in the wind.
He had pleaded with his Imperial Father, but his Imperial Father, as both ruler and father, was someone he had to obey regardless of which role he was in.
He wanted to quell the rebellion with his own strength, but it would only be more difficult.
However, his Imperial Father said that every soldier of Great Wei was precious and not meant to be sacrificed with him.
He felt ashamed of his own thoughts.
He was too weak.
Yu Mingyue shook her head. "Seventh Prince, you are too kind. Our engagement was merely a verbal agreement from the Emperor and cannot be counted as binding."
"Sister Yue'er, are you willing to wait for me?" Being jilted by the royal family would ultimately damage one's reputation. He was aware of the recent gossip in the capital.
"Ah?" Yu Mingyue didn't quite understand.
"Sister Yue'er, are you willing to wait for me?"
Wait for him to quell the border conflicts, reclaim the military power of Youzhou, and earn military merit, so that he could make his own decisions.
Yu Mingyue shook her head. "This humble subject is unwilling! Your Highness is of noble status and should not make promises lightly. This humble subject is young, and even if I agree now, it may not hold true in the future."