"Chu Xuan, how dare you!"
Lu Xueqing smashed together a pair of silver hammers, each larger than her own head, producing a deafening crash.
"Lu Xueqing, your Lu Family dared to withhold the betrothal gifts, so why wouldn't This Prince dare to do this?"
At this, Lu Xueqing laughed loudly. "I knew it," she said. "Everything you've done today is just an attempt to make me change my mind. But what a pity—you and I are simply people from two different worlds. No matter how you pester me or resort to desperate measures, I will never marry you."
These words instantly pulled everyone present back to their initial conclusion.
So Chu Xuan really had done all of this today just to make Lu Xueqing take him back.
Besides, he must have known that given Lu Xueqing's resolute nature, she would never be swayed unless he resorted to some extraordinary methods.
That was why he had acted with such madness, behaving like a completely different person, all for the sake of making Lu Xueqing look at him with respect.
Yet killing members of the Lu Family, setting fire to the General's Estate, publicly forging an imperial decree, and proclaiming himself the Nation-Guarding Prince of Langya—wasn't this madness going a bit too far?
Even if Lu Xueqing really yielded to his madness and agreed to continue this engagement, could he possibly survive the wrath of the imperial court?
Let's just hope he didn't end up ruining his own life in an attempt to secure his goal.
"Lu Xueqing, today is the first time This Prince realized you are such a blindly conceited person."
Lu Xueqing wore an expression of haughty pride as she retorted, "Chu Xuan, stop putting on an act! If you weren't trying to win me back, why else would you come to my General's Estate and pull off all this nonsense? It's just a pity that everything you've done is in vain. Even if your title as the Nation-Guarding Prince of Langya were self-proclaimed, suppose Your Majesty actually let you inherit the position of Nation-Guarding Prince of Langya—do you really think someone with your naturally crippled martial vein is worthy of me? What kind of help can you possibly offer me or the Lu Family?"
At last, Lu Xueqing finally blurted out those words: "You are not worthy of me."
The pretense she had maintained yesterday completely crumbled at this moment.
Yet Chu Xuan couldn't be bothered to argue with her anymore. From the moment she demanded the cancellation of their engagement yesterday, her actions had ceased to matter to him. He simply wanted to take back the betrothal gifts and keep them from benefiting the Lu Family.
"No matter what you think, This Prince came today solely to reclaim the betrothal gifts. If your Lu Family fails to return every last one of them, I'll repeat what I said before: I'll wash the entire General's Estate in blood."
"Talk is cheap! I already told my father to return the betrothal gifts to you. You're still bringing up the betrothal gifts now—trying to make yourself look smart, aren't you?"
Regarding this matter, Lu Xueqing had indeed instructed Lu Youwei to handle it.
Only, she had no idea what those betrothal gifts meant to the Lu Family, nor did she know how Lu Youwei had gone about returning them.
"Returned to me? Then let's ask your good father how he returned them."
Lu Xueqing was utterly confident that her Lu Family would never take such petty advantage of Chu Xuan. Given her current status, she held those betrothal gifts in even greater contempt.
"Father, tell him—weren't the betrothal gifts returned in full?"
Faced with Lu Xueqing's question, Lu Youwei froze completely, not knowing how to reply.
After all, everyone present was a witness to this entire affair.
They had all seen that his Lu Family had not returned the betrothal gifts at all beforehand.
Otherwise, how else could these chests right before their eyes be explained?
His mind racing, Lu Youwei suddenly recalled that after Chu Xuan arrived, he hadn't mentioned Lu Tao, nor had he brought up the begging three-piece set.
From this, it was clear that Lu Tao must not have reached the Langya Prince's Estate yet, which meant he still had an excuse.
"Xueqing, Father did indeed instruct your eldest brother to go to the Langya Prince's Estate and return the betrothal gifts. It's just that your brother was probably delayed by something along the way and hadn't managed to deliver the gifts to the Langya Prince's Estate before Chu Xuan came here leading a force!"
Lu Xueqing raised an eyebrow and said with a gloomy face, "Father, Eldest Brother has always been unreliable. How could you let him handle returning the betrothal gifts?"
"It is true that Father didn't consider this thoroughly, but even so, we never said we weren't going to return them! What right does this Chu Xuan have to come to our General's Estate, kill people, and commit arson?"
Lu Xueqing declared, "That's right! Chu Xuan, we were merely a little late in returning the betrothal gifts, yet you came running to my General's Estate to murder and burn, and you still claim you aren't using desperate measures to make me take you back."
Chu Xuan had anticipated this exact turn of events. The reason he hadn't mentioned Lu Tao and the begging three-piece set upon arrival was specifically to let this shameless family lift a rock only to drop it on their own feet.
"Since that's how you want to put it, I won't bother arguing. I'll just find a few commoners to clarify this matter."
Right as he left the Langya Prince's Estate, Chu Xuan had instructed Heiyun to spread the news that Lu Tao had used the begging three-piece set to humiliate the Langya Prince's Estate.
This was precisely why the people throughout the entire city knew about it.
Yet Chu Xuan was certain that the news couldn't have reached the General's Estate this quickly.
"What do you mean?"
Chu Xuan swept his gaze across the surroundings and spoke in a booming voice to the commoners present, "Citizens, the military exploits established by my Langya Prince's Estate for Dayuan are known to all. This Prince also believes that the people of Dayuan hold a scale in their hearts, and they know what is right, what is loyalty, and what is true righteousness!"
"Yet now, someone dares to humiliate my Langya Prince's Estate in broad daylight! Such behavior is no different from denying the glorious military achievements my Langya Prince's Estate has earned for Dayuan. How can this allow my parents and nine elder brothers to rest in peace!"
"Therefore, my visit today is not only to demand that the Lu Family and the General's Estate return the betrothal gifts. At the same time, I am acting in the capacity of a son and a younger brother to do what must be done, so as to comfort the spirits of my parents and nine elder brothers in heaven!"
With that, Chu Xuan looked toward Lu Xueqing and the other two once more, his eyes filled with murderous intent, as if he were looking at three dead people.
"Chu Xuan, stop trying to confuse the public here! I have always respected the Prince and Princess of Langya, as well as the nine Marquises of Zhenyuan. My unwillingness to marry you is solely due to your personal flaws and has nothing to do with anyone else."
Lu Xueqing subconsciously assumed that the humiliation Chu Xuan referred to was her breaking off the engagement.
While that was indeed humiliating, it was still far from enough to make the commoners feel deep empathy.
Only by striking directly at the hearts of the people, letting them know that heroes who traded their lives for a peaceful era were being so humiliated and trampled upon after their deaths, could she stir up the fury within them.
Sure enough, the moment Lu Xueqing's voice trailed off, a commoner stepped forward on their own accord and rebuked her: "General Lu, while we respect you, you have no right to rely on your meager achievements to humiliate the Prince of Langya, who rendered truly monumental service to the nation!"
"That's right! Across the entire Dayuan, who doesn't know about the battle five years ago between our army and the Xiliang forces? If not for the sacrifice of the Langya Prince's family, how could the people of Dayuan have enjoyed five years of stability? How could the Dayuan military have had five years to recuperate, let alone given you, General Lu, the opportunity to achieve merits on the battlefield!"
"The family of the Langya Prince are the true heroes of our Dayuan. Now, a mere five years have passed, and yet someone dares to humiliate our Dayuan's heroes—we, the people of Dayuan, will never agree to this!"
"The members of the Lu Family must kneel before the spirit of the Prince of Langya and kowtow in apology for this! Otherwise, we, the people of Dayuan, will never forgive them!"