On the day her engagement was called off, Jiang Manzhi, the marquis’s falsely adopted daughter, was abandoned by her fiancé, humiliated by the true heiress, and then promised by the Marchioness to an old widower who had already buried two wives.
Jiang Manzhi knew that if she accepted her fate today, her life would be over.
In desperation, she rushed out of the marquis’s residence and clung to Xie Linyan, heir to the Duke of Zhenguo, who happened to be passing by. Tears streaming down her face, she cried, “Young Master, you said just last night that you’d marry me.”
The entire hall fell silent. Everyone expected the cool, noble young master, who kept his distance from women, to throw her off.
But Xie Linyan lowered his eyes and gazed at her for a moment before saying calmly, “Yes. She’s mine.”
From that day on, Jiang Manzhi went from being the marquis’s discarded daughter to the “fiancée” of Young Master Xie.
The Empress Dowager didn’t believe it, so an imperial edict ordering them to prove their betrothal was issued. For three months, Jiang Manzhi had to accompany Xie Linyan to palace banquets, poetry gatherings, and flower parties, and face the eldest princess’s probing questions. If their lie was uncovered, she would have deceived the imperial court and he would have defied the marriage decree. Neither of them would get away unscathed.
Jiang Manzhi was terrified, but she couldn’t bear to part with the five hundred taels Xie Linyan was paying her for her trouble.
In public, she coyly called him “Brother Linyan.” In private, she secretly counted her money, bought a house, and arranged travel papers, all while waiting to run away with her fortune after three months.
But the longer she kept up the act, the more the whole capital believed it.
The marquis’s family regretted their decision, her former fiancé went mad, the true heiress grew jealous, and the noble ladies grew envious. Even Xie Linyan himself began to believe it.
When the three months were up, Jiang Manzhi packed her banknotes and smiled as she said goodbye. “Young Master, we were only pretending.”
The usually composed young master finally lost control and blocked the door, saying each word slowly and clearly:
“Jiang Manzhi, I meant it.”
