Who cares about this engagement?

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Qiao Xian furrowed his brow tightly, then turned around and spat toward the attendant, “The Marquis of Huainan truly has no sense of responsibility. Leaving their daughter here to freeze to death, who’s going to be held accountable?”

The attendant cowered, not daring to reply.

Qiao Xian’s cold gaze fixed on the shadowy figure not far away, his impatience growing. He felt as if he had been cursed on this bitterly cold day.

The attendant cautiously glanced at his expression and whispered, “Young master, shall we find a doctor for Miss Meng?”

“Her own father and mother don’t care whether she lives or dies; why should we bother ourselves with such trivial matters?”

Qiao Xian turned away indifferently, his voice trailing off into the misty night, “Take her inside. Just make sure she doesn’t die.”

The next day, Meng Qingyue awoke groggily, feeling as if her head was about to split open.

The Duke’s residence attendant greeted her politely but coldly, “Our Young Master has instructed that he will no longer fuss over the parrot’s matter, but please convey to your father that such pointless actions must cease to avoid causing trouble.”

Meng Qingyue obediently nodded. The attendant then urged, “If you have no further matters, please feel free to leave.” It was, in essence, a dismissal.

Her legs had been soaked in the freezing wind all night. It took her nearly the length of an incense stick burning before she could muster the strength to stand.

Naturally, the Duke’s residence would never provide her with a carriage.

So, she dragged her stiff, aching legs, each step heavy as if filled with lead, as she walked over the snowy ground.

By the time she reached the Huainan Marquis’s mansion, the sun was already high in the sky.

From a distance, she could see the stern expressions of the Huainan Marquis and his wife inside the main hall.

She had been freezing in the daylight for who knows how long, her mind still sluggish, but instinctively she moved toward the warm brazier in the hall.

No sooner had she entered the room than the Marquis’s face darkened sharply. “Kneel!”

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Meng Qingyue’s knees buckled, and she dropped to the ground.

Her mind was still foggy; she barely understood why she was being made to kneel, and she could hardly make out the anger etched on her father’s face.

Almost instinctively, she said mechanically, “Father, please calm your anger.”

The Marquis sneered coldly, “Do you even know what your mistake is?”

Meng Qingyue did not.

All she wanted was to return to her room and rest on the warm bed by the brazier, but the Marquis made it clear she would not get her wish. “If you don’t know, then kneel here until you do!”

It was the Marquis’s wife who sighed and, with a softer heart, gently reminded her, “Qingyue, your father wants to ask why it was the Young Master who personally brought you inside.”

Why was it the Young Master who brought her in?

Meng Qingyue still felt a bit confused when Meng Xingzhou’s furious voice struck her like a blow, “What else could it be? She’s jealous of Changle, who has such a prominent fiancé now!”

“She deliberately fainted in the snow, right in front of the Young Master, pretending to be weak and fragile to win his pity!”

Meng Xingzhou’s face was full of disdain; he opened and closed his mouth, condemning Meng Qingyue without hesitation.

The fierce snowstorm last night nearly froze Meng Qingyue to death, but the chill raging through her body now was even more bitter.

Yet when she looked up, she saw the Marquis and his wife merely regarded her coldly, clearly agreeing with Meng Xingzhou’s words.

They believed she had fainted on purpose to garner sympathy and to have that worthless Young Master rescue her.

A wave of overwhelming helplessness suddenly surged within Meng Qingyue.

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They were so focused on this matter that they even knew the Young Master had brought her in, yet not once did they bother to send someone to inquire just how cold the night had been. They never considered how long a person could endure the freezing weather without outerwear. Nor did they care to question whether fainting after kneeling for three hours was an act of weakness or mere pretension.

They cared about nothing. Their instinct was only that Meng Qingyue was trying to steal everything from Meng Changle again.

Utterly disappointed and feeling the absurdity of it all, Meng Qingyue suddenly laughed aloud. As she laughed, hot tears streamed down her face.

“Father and brother, do you think I shouldn’t have fainted? Or that I shouldn’t have been brought in by the Young Master?”

“Of course not!” Meng Xingzhou glared at her, his eyes scanning her from head to toe with contempt. He was more convinced than ever that Meng Qingyue was scheming down to every strand of her hair.

Meng Qingyue rubbed her stiff knees and slowly rose to her feet, her eyes blazing with fierce coldness. “Go apologize to the Duke of Zhen Guo’s residence. It was not my intention, but you tore off my clothes and left me in the snow to bear the consequences of Meng Changle’s mistakes.”

“If you think it was wrong for me to faint, then let Meng Changle kneel in the snow for three hours — no, she doesn’t even need to kneel, just have her sit on a stool and then take off her outerwear. Let’s see how long she can endure!”

Meng Xingzhou’s brow twisted into a knot, his anger intensifying. Just as he opened his mouth, Meng Qingyue cut him off coldly, “You don’t need to tell me how different Meng Changle and I are, or how I owe her everything. Though I may owe my parents for raising me, I have never owed Meng Changle even a single cent!”

“So what exactly do you want from me? Should I become like iron, like stone, kneel for three hours as if nothing happened, beg the Young Master for forgiveness, never glance at him again, then walk back to the Marquis’s residence alone in the snow, and tell you all that your daughter has perfectly completed your orders?”

Her chest heaved violently, and her tone finally grew sharp with bitterness. “As for why the Young Master brought me in... yes, even that arrogant Young Master feared I might freeze to death in the snow and showed mercy by bringing me inside...”

Meng Qingyue did not continue her words, but everyone understood her meaning.

—Even a stranger like the Young Master showed her some compassion, yet her own parents and brother’s first reaction was to accuse her of trying to steal Meng Changle’s engagement!

The entire room fell silent.

The Marquis’s wife’s eyes soon reddened. Only then did she realize how neglectful she had been toward her daughter. But a lump caught in her throat, and she was momentarily speechless, tears brimming as she gazed at Meng Qingyue. “Qingyue...”