Chapter 579 The engagement was annulled

"What does Ouyang Xu's success as the third place in the imperial examination have to do with you?" Lin Hao said calmly.

"What do you mean?" Zhao Pan'er, who was still in excitement, was shocked when she heard the words. She asked back as if she didn't understand Lin Hao's meaning:
"What were you talking about just now?"

"I say, aren't you happy too early?" Lin Hao looked at the lost Zhao Paner with pity.

Then Lin Hao took a sip of Huadiao wine, and then he said slowly:

"It's true that Ouyang Xu won the third place in the imperial examination, but this matter has nothing to do with you, Zhao Pan'er!"

"Why is it okay?" Zhao Pan'er replied calmly:

"Ouyang and I are engaged."

"Heh~engagement?" Lin Hao sneered and said:
"If I'm not mistaken, you and Ouyang Xu only have a verbal agreement, right?"

"So what if it's a verbal agreement?" When Zhao Pan'er said this, her tone seemed a little unconfident.

"You have neither the permission of your parents nor the words of a matchmaker, nor the three books and six ceremonies. In addition, considering your own background, do you think Ouyang Xu will really fulfill his promise?" Lin Hao said lightly.

"Yes, he will definitely do it. I believe in Ouyang's character!" Zhao Pan'er said with her neck stiff, and looked at Lin Hao with a somewhat unfriendly look.

She was originally very happy and excited when she heard that Ouyang was admitted to high school, but this guy named Lin poured buckets of cold water on her one after another, and she lost all her good mood.

Even the delicious food and wine in front of her seemed to become tasteless. Although Zhao Pan'er spoke toughly, she felt a little weak in her heart for some reason.

"Then how about we make a bet? Let's bet whether Ouyang Xu will fulfill his promise and come back to marry you in a grand sedan chair!"

"Bet~, I don't bet!"

Zhao Pan'er originally wanted to make a bet, but her reason told her not to. Don't forget that Lin Hao came from the capital and was a marquis. He must know something, which is why he wanted to bet with her.

I absolutely cannot be fooled, but if that is the case, doesn’t that mean Ouyang might really have changed his mind?

Thinking of this, Zhao Pan'er felt heartbroken.

"What? Do you have so little confidence in Ouyang?" Lin Hao teased.

"I have confidence in Ouyang!" Although she was confused, Zhao Pan'er still insisted.

"Then let's take a gamble?" Lin Hao tempted like a devil's whisper.

"No bet!" Zhao Pan'er was indeed a sober person. No matter whether Lin Hao was seducing or provoking her, this woman was not right, so she said without interest:
"Tch, boring."

Seeing that Zhao Pan'er refused to be fooled, Lin Hao could not help but complain:

"Do you know that if a woman wants to be loved by a man, she must show her soft side. A woman who is too strong will not be pitied by a man."

"As for whether Ouyang Xu will marry you, I think you already know it in your heart. Cry if you want to!"

"What's it to you?" Zhao Pan'er shouted angrily, then walked away with a cold face.

However, Lin Hao noticed that the moment Zhao Pan'er turned around, a crystal tear slid down her face.

Fairy sister is really sad.

Zhao Pan'er just didn't want Lin Hao, an outsider, to laugh at her, so she tried hard not to cry in front of Lin Hao.

She had just walked out of the teahouse and was jogging all the way to the river. When there was no one around, she burst into tears, her cry was so heart-wrenching.

Little did she know that no matter how far she ran, for those who were locked in Lin Hao's mind, everything seemed to be happening right before her eyes.

Therefore, Pang'er's crying voice still reached Lin Hao's ears clearly, but Lin Hao knew that this girl was very proud and did not go over to comfort her.

And he believed that Zhao Pan'er would not be defeated by such a small matter.

About half an hour later, Zhao Paner, who had calmed down, came back with two jars of wine in her arms.

Bang.

Zhao Paner put the wine jar on the table, then with a swipe of her little hand, she put aside the Huadiao wine that she had bought for Lin Hao at a high price.

Then he pushed the two jars of wine in his arms forward and said harshly:

"You want to drink good wine? Drink this!"

It was obvious that Zhao Pan'er had just dug this wine out of the ground, as there was still dirt hanging on the jar.

"Have you been out for most of the hour to get some wine?" Lin Hao asked as if he didn't notice.

"What else?" Zhao Pan'er broke the seal and poured a bowl of wine directly for Lin Hao.

Lin Hao took a look at the clear wine in the bowl, then looked into Zhao Pan'er's eyes and said:
"I thought you ran to the river, found a place where no one was, and cried bitterly!"

"Tsk, I won't cry!" Zhao Pan'er said proudly:
"Besides, these are just your one-sided words. I will never believe them before I meet Ouyang!"

"You really didn't cry?" Lin Hao teased.

"Hey, do I look like I've been crying?" Zhao Pan'er said with forced composure.

At this time, Zhao Paner's expression had returned to normal. Judging from her expression, it was hard to tell that she had just cried bitterly.

But girl, what do your red eyes mean?

Are you thinking I'm blind? But Lin Hao is not stupid enough to expose her at this time, so he follows her words and says:
"Hmm~, it certainly doesn't look like you just cried!"

"That's right!" Seeing that Lin Hao didn't notice, Zhao Pan'er breathed a sigh of relief and quickly changed the subject:
"Okay, stop talking about this and let's drink!"

That day, the two of them drank from noon until dark, and as expected, Zhao Pan'er got drunk, the kind that was unconscious.

So Lin Hao acted like Liu Xiahui again and did not take advantage of the situation to kill the man.

Actually, it wasn’t that Lin Hao had a change of heart, but that a drunk person was completely unconscious and had no sense of pleasure, just like a corpse.

The most important thing is that Zhao Paner vomited in the end, and it was a mess. Lin Hao really couldn't eat it.

······
The next day.

"Hiss~, my head hurts!"

Zhao Paner woke up with a splitting headache. She shook her head and muttered to herself:

"I won't drink so much next time."

"and many more!"

"drink wine?"

Zhao Pan'er suddenly remembered that she had been drinking with Lin Hao yesterday, but she only remembered that Lin Hao hinted that Ouyang Xu would not marry her, and then she ran to the river and cried bitterly.

Then, he didn't know what had gone wrong for him, but he actually dug out the daughter's red wine that he had buried in the backyard, and even asked Lin Hao to drink it with him.

You have to know that it was brewed by myself and buried in the backyard when I was sixteen years old, after I was pardoned by the prefect and returned home.

Originally, she was going to dig it out and drink it on her wedding day. Thinking of this, Zhao Paner wanted to slap herself. What stupid thing had she done?

In fact, this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that she can't remember anything about what happened after drinking.

Besides, that guy wouldn't do anything bad to me while I was drunk, right?

Thinking of this, Zhao Paner, who was still a little sleepy, suddenly woke up and started to check her body immediately.

"Huh~!" After a moment, Zhao Pan'er breathed a sigh of relief, then murmured to herself:

"I didn't expect that this guy, although he looks a bit unreliable and his behavior is a bit frivolous, is still a gentleman."

At least I didn't take advantage of her being drunk~!

At this moment, Lin Hao came over with a bowl of soup. Seeing Zhao Paner's actions, he knew what she was worried about.
"Why? Are you worried that I will take advantage of your drunkenness and do something bad to you?"

Lin Hao immediately became unhappy. Is he, Mr. Lin, the kind of person who would take advantage of others in distress?
Okay, indeed, it seems, probably, maybe, it is possible!
But the problem is, Zhao Pan'er didn't know, and her actions showed that she was such a person. Shouldn't Zhao Pan'er feel ashamed of her actions?

"I'm sorry, I judged you by my own standards!" Zhao Pan'er apologized embarrassedly.

"Forget it, I forgive you!" Then Lin Hao pretended to be magnanimous and said:
"Since you're awake, drink this bowl of soup while it's hot!"

"Did you do this?" Zhao Pan'er stared at Lin Hao with her beautiful eyes and said in great surprise.

"If it wasn't me, then was it a ghost who did it?" Lin Hao said unhappily, and then handed the bowl to Zhao Paner.

"No, that's not what I meant!" Zhao Pan'er held the bowl and did not drink it. Instead, she smelled the clear and transparent soup in the bowl. What was it?
Looking at Zhao Pan'er's actions, Lin Hao said unhappily:
"So, what do you mean? Are you afraid that I put drugs in it?"

"I~!" Zhao Paner curled the corner of her mouth and glanced at Lin Hao, thinking that she just smelled something, but this guy reacted so strongly.

I was just asking a random question, why is the nose not a nose and the face not a face, as if he had eaten gunpowder!

Zhao Pan'er was originally quite touched by Lin Hao's act of making soup for her, thinking back to how she had taken care of Ouyang Xu for three years. But when she was sick, Ouyang Xu refused to help her boil medicine, saying that a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen, so in the end it was Sanniang who took care of herself.

But Lin Hao, a dignified marquis, actually made a bowl of soup for her personally because she had a hangover and was afraid that she would feel uncomfortable. How could she not be moved?
But Lin Hao's attitude at this moment immediately wiped out the slight good impression she had just had on him.

Zhao Pan'er was secretly complaining in her heart, not knowing that Lin Hao was indeed a little angry at the moment.

Last night, Zhao Pan'er vomited all over him after getting drunk, and it was when he was kissing, um, no, it should be when he was taking care of Zhao Pan'er. If Lin Hao hadn't reacted quickly, she would have almost vomited in his mouth. How could he not be angry?
At this time, Zhao Pan'er saw that this bowl of so-called soup looked clear and transparent, and thought it should not be poisonous, so she gritted her teeth and took a sip.

Hmm~, it's sweet, and seems to taste like honey. It turns out that this is the honey water I made for myself.

Now that I knew what it was, I put my worries aside and swallowed it in small sips until I drank it all in one breath.

After drinking the honey water, he felt relaxed all over, so he handed the bowl to Lin Hao, who took the bowl speechlessly and said:

"Okay, drink the soup and get up and clean up. You reek of alcohol and someone is looking for you outside!" Lin Hao said as he got up and left.

"Who is looking for me so early?" Zhao Pan'er asked suspiciously.

"An old man, he was already wandering outside the tea shop before daybreak!"

"And that old man looks exhausted, and he's carrying a bag. If I'm not mistaken, he must be someone Ouyang Xu sent from the capital!"

Watching Lin Hao leave with an unhappy look on his face, Zhao Paner felt that it was because Ouyang Xu sent someone to find her and he was jealous.

Well, it must be like this.

No wonder this guy was so angry just now, thinking that his nose was not a nose and his face was not a face. This explains it.

At this time, Zhao Pan'er didn't notice it, but a barely noticeable smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

But then Zhao Pan'er thought about the person who came looking for her outside, and for some reason, she had a bad feeling in her heart.

Then Zhao Pan'er simply washed up and opened the door of the tea shop.

Sure enough, as soon as I opened the door, I saw a dusty old man waiting outside.

Zhao Pan'er recognized this man. He was Ouyang Xu's servant, Uncle De.

To be honest, Zhao Pan'er felt complicated when she saw the visitor. If Lin Hao had not lied to her, then the purpose of Uncle De's return this time might not be to inform her of the good news and take her to Beijing to get married.

She came to cancel the engagement, but in her heart she hoped that Lin Hao was lying to her.

But why would he, the Marquis of Wu'an, deceive a little girl like her?
"Uncle De?" Zhao Pan'er pretended to be surprised and said:

"Why are you back? Where's Ouyang? Why didn't he come back? Did he fail the exam again?"

"Madam Zhao, what you said is really amazing. My young master is extremely talented, how could he fail the exam?" Uncle De was unhappy when he heard this. A country woman is just a country woman, she doesn't know any etiquette at all.

Uncle De looked unhappy, and then said proudly:

"Let me tell you, my son not only passed the imperial examination, but was also chosen by the current emperor as the third place winner!"

That smug look gave off a feeling of a villain having succeeded.

"Tanhua? Did he really win the title of Tanhua?"

After hearing Uncle De's words, Zhao Pan'er was not happy, but her heart sank to the bottom.

As expected, she won the third place in the imperial examination. It seems that Lin Hao really did not lie to her, so~.

"Absolutely true!" Uncle De didn't care about the change in Zhao Pan'er's expression. He thought that Zhao Pan'er, who had never seen the world, was shocked by hearing that their young master had won the third place in the imperial examination.

She was indeed a country woman who had never seen the world. Fortunately, her husband had foresight and married Zhao Pan'er before the imperial examination.

Otherwise, you won’t be able to marry Miss High Observer.

"So, is Uncle De coming back this time to take me to Beijing to marry Ouyang?" Zhao Pan'er didn't care about anything else and asked directly.

"Ah, this~!" Uncle De was speechless for a moment when he heard this, although he felt that his son's decision was very wise.

But after all, the master and servant had been living and eating for free in Zhao Pan'er's house for three whole years, so they were somewhat unable to complain.

So Uncle De looked evasive and said:
"There's no rush. Let's take a long time to discuss the matter of going to Beijing. Look, I've been waiting outside the teahouse for most of the night. I'm thirsty and hungry!"

"Madam Zhao, can you prepare some tea and snacks for me first? We can talk while we eat."

With Zhao Paner's intelligence, how could she not notice Uncle De's abnormality?
If Uncle De had come to pick her up to go to Beijing to get married, he would definitely not have avoided her gaze as if he had done something wrong.

If that's the case, then you must be here to break off the engagement. Thinking of the efforts you've made over the past three years, Zhao Pan'er's pretty face darkened and she said:

"Uncle De, why don't you make it clear first? Will Ouyang Xu take me to Beijing to get married?"

Uncle De thought that he would have to say it sooner or later, so he might as well make it clear directly, so he straightened his back and said indifferently:

"Okay, since you're so anxious, I'll just tell you straight away!"

"My son is fortunate to have the marriage granted by the virtuous concubine. When the Grain Rain comes, he will marry the daughter of the Gao family!"

"So, I'm not here to take my wife to Beijing to get married, but to cancel the engagement!"

Zhao Pan'er held onto the door frame. Although she was mentally prepared, she still felt dizzy when she heard Uncle De say that he wanted to cancel the engagement. She almost fell down because her vision went dark.

What Lin Hao said was indeed correct. His taste in judging men was not much better than Song Yinzhang's.

Just thinking about it made her feel ridiculous. Her three years of sincerity had been wasted. How come she hadn't realized that Ouyang Xu was such an ungrateful person?

It was me who saved Ouyang Xu's life three years ago, and in the past three years I not only provided him with food, clothing and education.

In order to allow him to take the imperial examination in Qiantang, he even helped him buy land. However, after he won the third place in the imperial examination, he turned against him and refused to recognize him.

At this moment, Zhao Paner felt that she was really blind!

Seeing that Zhao Pan'er didn't say a word and her expression was changing, Uncle De was still a little worried.

Of course, he was not worried that Zhao Pan'er would be depressed because of this. If Zhao Pan'er really was depressed, it would be none of his business, and it would have nothing to do with his Uncle De.

What he was worried about was that he would not be able to complete the task assigned by his master.

After all, he came all the way from the capital to Qiantang not just to break off the engagement with her in person, and he was not that bored.

In order to gain Zhao Pan'er's trust, Ouyang Xu gave her the ancestral heart-shaped pendant as a token of engagement.

The main purpose of his return to Qiantang this time was to get back the heart-shaped pendant in Zhao Pan'er's hand.

"Madam Zhao~!" Uncle De called out cautiously.

At this time, Zhao Pan'er, who was disheartened, looked at Uncle De coldly and said:

"I know that your Master Ouyang is now a new top scholar in the imperial examination. I, a country girl, am no match for him."

"Since he wants to dissolve the marriage, I, Zhao Pan'er, am not the kind of person who would shamelessly refuse to give in."

At this point, tears welled up in Zhao Pan'er's eyes, but she still tried to hold back her tears and said:

"I agreed!"

"From now on, Ouyang Xu and I are no longer related!" Zhao Pan'er said expressionlessly.

"Thank you for your understanding, Miss Zhao!" Uncle De smiled and said,
"However, my young master has never been the kind of ungrateful person. He always remembers how good Madam Zhao has been to him over the past three years!"

As Uncle De spoke, he took off the bag from his shoulder, opened it to reveal eight golden ingots, and said:

"I specially asked this old servant to bring eighty taels of gold to my wife!"

Then he took out eight gold ingots from the bag, each weighing ten taels, which was exactly eighty taels of gold.

"Tsk tsk, a full eighty taels of gold, it's enough to repay Madam Zhao for the past three years of kindness!" He pushed it in front of Zhao Pan'er and said shamelessly:

"Please, Madam Zhao, return the Heart-to-Heart Pendant to my young master!"

Looking at the shameless Uncle De in front of me, no, it should be said that he is a dog-like servant. It is true that like master, like dog.

The engagement was already called off, and Zhao Pan'er had no intention of pestering Ouyang Xu, just as Lin Hao had said before.

There was no parental permission, matchmaker's words, or three letters and six ceremonies between her and Ouyang Xu. If Ouyang Xu really denied it, what could she do to him?

In the end, you can only be unlucky.

But Uncle De’s words completely angered Zhao Paner.

　I originally wanted to write only 4000 words, but now that I have written this far, I will not deliberately control the word count, nor will I divide it into two chapters. I will just post it directly.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)