If I were born again, I would marry a strong but short-lived husband.

"Break off the engagement?" Shao Guanming's eyes widened, and he looked at Master Shao in disbelief, "How is it possible..."

Snapped!

Lord Shao was furious and slapped his son hard in the face.

"What on earth did you say to Miss Ruan? I said all the nice things to Prime Minister Ruan today, but I couldn't change his attitude."

"You are just a woman. Is your future important? Now, even if you become an official in the future, how far can you go?"

Shao Guanming covered his face, his face pale.

"I'll go find Ruan Zhaoxia and explain things to her."

"How are you going to explain it clearly?" Madam Shao said calmly, "Since you said in front of her that you wanted to marry Ruyan as your co-wife, this result was already determined."

Lord Shao was furious. "Where are the family rules? Family rules!"

"Father, I was wrong..." Shao Guanming begged for mercy, "I just felt sorry for my cousin."

"She is either lacking food and clothing or being abused in the Shao family. Why does she need your pity?" Lord Shao scolded.

"You should have some pity on yourself. You have no future now."

Shao Guanming looked at Mrs. Shao for help, "Mother, I will go find Ruan Zhaoxia. As long as I show weakness and plead with her, she will definitely change her mind."

"Son, you still don't know what you did wrong, nor do you know what you missed." Mrs. Shao shook her head and smiled bitterly.

"The Prime Minister has given the token of love and the letter of withdrawal of engagement to your father. I'm afraid there is no room for maneuver in this matter. Don't you want to marry Ruyan? Okay, I'll grant your wish." Mrs. Shao was disheartened and extremely disappointed with her eldest son.

The son that the entire family had raised with all their efforts was ruined because of a woman.

The disappointment is beyond words.

Lord Shao took a deep breath and said, "Let Yanming come to the capital, and you go back to Donglin."

"Father, Mother!" Shao Guanming couldn't believe that he was abandoned like this.

"Even if the Ruan family cancels the engagement, can't I still take the imperial examination with my own efforts? I don't need the Ruan family to become an official."

Madam Shao said: "Almost everyone knows about your marriage with the Ruan family. Now that the Ruan family wants to cancel the engagement, what will others say?"

"Guan Ming, the Shao family is gradually declining. We originally placed all our hopes on you, but..."

Ruan Xinglin really disdained to deal with Shao Guanming, but the Ruan family had so many disciples and former officials, how could they not know that Shao Guanming had let down the Ruan family's eldest daughter?

As long as they make things difficult for Shao Guanming, it will be difficult for him to advance in his official career.

"Why do we have to rely on the Ruan family? I think Prime Minister He is a good person too." Shao Guanming said.

Lord Shao covered his chest and said, "Get out! Get out!"

"Father!" Shao Guanming was unconvinced.

"Do you still want to piss your father off to death?" Mrs. Shao shouted angrily.

Shao Guanming left reluctantly and met Shao Baozhu outside the yard.

"Brother, is father back? Did Ruan Zhaoxia give in?"

"Ruan Zhaoxia used to try every possible way to please me, but today she's like a completely different person. She must be trying to attract your attention."

"She must be trying to compete with her cousin on purpose."

Shao Guanming's heart was slightly moved, "Are you saying that Ruan Zhaoxia did this on purpose?"

Before her sister could answer, Mrs. Shao appeared with a sullen face and looked at her daughter angrily.

“Shao Baozhu!”

"Mother." Shao Baozhu was silent and timidly came to Mrs. Shao.

Mrs. Shao: "Let me ask you, is your family short of food and clothes, or jewelry?"

"No..." Shao Baozhu replied in a low voice.

"A gentleman does not take away what others like. What does this mean?"

"Do you think the eldest daughter of the Ruan family needs to please you? Why should she please you and let you do whatever you want?"

"Do you know how others see your behavior? You are uneducated, shallow-minded, and have no dignity at all. If word gets out about you, who would want to hire you as a clan wife? Is this what I usually teach you?"

Shao Baozhu's cheeks flushed. Her mother had never scolded her harshly, but today she scolded her in public.

Mrs. Shao felt extremely regretful. She shouldn't have kept Zheng Ruyan at home. In just three short years, she had led her two children astray.

"Because of your and your cousin's foolish and childish behavior, your brother's good marriage was ruined. You will never be able to marry into a higher class in the future. Any family in the royal capital better than the Shao family will not look down on you."

Shao Baozhu's face turned pale, "Mother, I...I was just joking with Ruan Zhaoxia."

"Is this a joke? If it were you, would you find it funny?"

"Mother, please stop scolding my sister. She is also trying to protect her cousin." Shao Guanming said with a frown.

Mrs. Shao looked at Shao Guanming with disappointment.

Now she just wanted her youngest son to come to the royal capital as soon as possible, as she was afraid that she would be angry to death.

"Mother, I know you have always favored my younger brother, but just wait and see, even if I don't rely on the Ruan family, I can still make a name for myself." Shao Guanming vowed.

"..." Mrs. Shao closed her eyes, "Okay, I'll wait."

……

"Hahaha, I feel refreshed." Ruan Zhaoxia couldn't wait to find Shen Sui'an and told her about the broken engagement.

"I thought my father would definitely not agree, but I didn't expect him to write the letter of divorce without saying a word."

"My grandmother and mother didn't say anything. They just told me to stay out of the house and not to have conflicts with the Shao family."

Ruan Zhaoxia sneered, "Without this lousy engagement, I would have pretended not to have seen anyone from the Shao family when I met them."

Shen Sui'an said with a smile, "My uncle and grandmother love you very much and don't want you to marry into the Shao family and compete with your cousin's wife and concubine. The girl from the Ruan family won't suffer this injustice."

The Ruan family already has the precedent of Queen Ruan. Within their ability, they will definitely not let the girls in their family fall into the miserable life of favoring concubines over wives.

"But my father and mother still scolded me for taking you to the opera theater." Ruan Zhaoxia touched Shen Suian's belly carefully.

"Cousin, is there any news about your cousin? He should be able to come back by the time you give birth."

Shen Sui'an's eyes were filled with tender anticipation, "Of course I hope he can come back safely soon."

As their first child, she wanted him to be by her side.

"Of course it will." Ruan Zhaoxia lowered her voice, "When I went out, I heard my grandfather talking to my father in the study. It seems that my cousin the prince is doing well."

"My father's original words were: I didn't expect the prince to be so clever. Even I didn't expect it. I don't know if the emperor will be unable to sleep for three days and three nights after returning this time."

"..." Shen Sui'an coughed lightly, "You can't say this outside."

Ruan Zhaoxia whispered, "I'm only telling you this, you're not an outsider."

Shen Sui'an has never received any letter from Fu Jinyuan, and doesn't know how he is doing now.

"Is there anything else?" Shen Suian asked in a low voice.

Ruan Zhaoxia shook her head. "My father found me outside and chased me away."