I'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.
“What did you say?”
Xiao Yichen could hardly believe his ears.
Because of the merging of memories with the original self, he had developed feelings for Chu Aoshang and hoped to spend his life with her.
He never expected that the very first time Chu Aoshang returned to see him, she would declare she had fallen in love with someone else.
The three women, Su Lingxue and the others, exchanged glances.
The matriarch, Liu Jin’e, and the rest of the Xiao family women all froze in shock.
From the eldest son to the ninth, all had fallen in battle, leaving no heirs to continue the Xiao family line.
Everyone pinned their hopes on Xiao Yichen, wishing that Chu Aoshang would return to marry him and bear descendants.
They had all held a good impression of Chu Aoshang—generous, bold, and well-suited for the General’s Mansion.
Never had they imagined that she would come back to break the engagement at their most sorrowful moment.
It was like adding insult to injury.
Chu Aoshang wore her armor, her usual feminine grace replaced by a heroic aura. Looking at the Xiao family members, she emphasized her words.
“I said I’m going to marry someone else!”
Xiao Yichen clenched his fists, locking eyes with her, his voice low and steady.
“Who?”
Chu Aoshang did not flinch. “General Fu Chenxing. He saved my life on the battlefield, and we are truly compatible.”
Xiao Yichen sneered coldly. “Fu Chenxing? That defeated subordinate?”
Chu Aoshang’s expression turned cold. “Do you still think you’re the Xiao Tenth of old? General Fu has won great honors on the battlefield and will surely be promoted. You, however, are nothing but a useless man.”
“Compared to him, what do you have now?”
Xiao Yichen’s eyes darkened. “So you despise me now?”
“A phoenix will not perch on any tree but the wutong. Your Xiao family was once that wutong, but now it’s nothing but rotten wood. Why shouldn’t I despise you?”
The moment she spoke, the women of the Xiao family glared at Chu Aoshang in anger.
None had expected the woman they admired to speak so harshly.
Xiao Zhantian had just been laid to rest, and Chu Aoshang was already eager to break the engagement, even calling the Xiao family rotten wood. Not only the Xiao women but also Su Lingxue, Han Ziyun, and Luo Wanying were furious.
Su Lingxue spat disdainfully. Both she and Chu Aoshang hailed from military families, were young and beautiful, and were known as “South Snow, North Frost” in the capital.
She had once admired Chu Aoshang and looked forward to becoming sisters-in-law, but now she saw her as someone who struck when others were down.
Xiao Yichen restrained his anger and said, “A phoenix will not perch on any tree but the wutong? Have you forgotten what’s between us? Does Fu Chenxing know about this?”
Chu Aoshang’s expression faltered.
A year ago, to show she would not despise Xiao Yichen despite his condition, she consummated their marriage before they were officially wed, prompting the Xiao family to offer a generous bride price to the Chu family.
Hearing Xiao Yichen mention this, she retorted angrily, “Do you think Chenxing is as shallow as you? He wouldn’t care.”
Xiao Yichen took a deep breath. “Have you told your father? Does he agree?”
Before coming here, Chu Aoshang’s tone rose slightly. “I already informed him. Naturally, he agrees.”
Xiao Yichen frowned. Even Chu Weiming had agreed.
Over the past year, he had gotten along well with Chu Weiming, believing he had been fair to the Chu family, but this was the result.
Seeing Xiao Yichen silent, a trace of disgust appeared in Chu Aoshang’s eyes. Coldly, she said, “I’ve made myself clear. From now on, we have no ties.”
She turned her horse to leave.
“Wait.”
Liu Jin’e stood up, her eyes red but filled with icy resolve.
She could no longer bear to see her son treated like this.
“If you want to marry someone else and break the engagement, fine. But before that, the accounts between our two families must be settled.”
There was a hint of anger in Liu Jin’e’s voice.
“What accounts?” Chu Aoshang frowned.
“You were away at war for a year, and the Chu family borrowed a considerable sum from the Xiao household.”
“The borrowed money is recorded in the family ledgers, with signatures from the parties involved. If I’m not mistaken, your family borrowed a total of 118,327 taels.”
Chu Aoshang’s face darkened upon hearing this.
Liu Jin’e continued, “Our family was never wealthy. The money your family borrowed was painstakingly saved by the elders and the children.”
“You never once mentioned repayment.”
“Since you had a marriage arrangement with the Tenth, I didn’t dare ask you.”
“But since you want to break the engagement, and the Xiao family is in such hardship, then the Chu family must repay what you owe.”
Chu Aoshang’s gaze grew colder as she looked at Xiao Yichen.
“Is this also your stance?”
Xiao Yichen nodded. “Debts must be repaid. It’s only right.”
Chu Aoshang was instantly furious and humiliated.
“Xiao Yichen, I never expected you to be so heartless. Didn’t you say you liked me? Isn’t spending money for my family the least you could do? Asking me to repay the debt—are you even a man?”
“You claim to love me, but this is how you show it?”
Her voice rose sharply.
“You’re disgusting, the son of a general acting so lowly. You deserve to be a cripple!”
“Good thing we never married, or a lifetime with someone like you would make me sick to death. You can’t even compare to one finger of Fu Chenxing.”
“I was blind to agree to marry you in the first place. Ugh!”
The matriarch, already deeply grieved by Xiao Zhantian’s death, nearly fainted from Chu Aoshang’s harsh words.
Outside, the common folk were abuzz with gossip.
“Sigh, the Xiao family is already in such a state, and now the Chu family wants to break the engagement. That’s a bit much.”
“It’s natural for people to seek better prospects. I understand General Chu; as a fifth-rank general, she need not marry beneath her.”
“Exactly, especially since Xiao Yichen is a cripple. They could have relied on the Chu family, but now that’s gone.”
“Looks like the Xiao family is truly falling. The once-glorious General’s Mansion is becoming a thing of the past.”
The crowd shook their heads in regret. The once-flourishing Xiao family was in decline.
Chu Aoshang’s sharp voice cut like a blade.
“Look at your cursed family, destined to be widows!”
“A bunch of petty hypocrites. With such stingy family values, whoever marries into the Xiao family is doomed.”
“Shouldn’t two allied families support each other? Keeping accounts like this is disgusting.”
“Your Xiao family is nothing but rotten fish and foul shrimp. Xiao Yichen is a cripple. I won’t marry him, and don’t even think someone else will!”
“Your Xiao family can just wait to be wiped out!”
Her venomous words made the Xiao women tremble with rage.
Su Lingxue could no longer hold back. She stepped forward and shouted angrily,
“Chu Aoshang, you’ve gone too far. You know how the Grand General treated you. What right do you have to humiliate the Xiao family here?”
“If you break the engagement and refuse to marry, then I will!”
“I, Han Ziyun, will marry him too!”
“And I, Luo Wanying, am willing to be the Tenth’s wife!”
The three women stepped forward together, standing before Xiao Yichen and glaring fiercely at Chu Aoshang.
Suddenly, silence fell both inside and outside the mansion. Everyone stared in disbelief, hardly daring to believe their ears.
These three women came from families far more prestigious than Chu Aoshang’s.
Su Lingxue’s father was a second-rank general, Han Ziyun’s father was a deputy minister of rites, also second rank.
Luo Wanying’s father was not an official, but Luo Yan was a renowned physician in the capital, with many nobles seeking his favor.
Though the Chu family had produced generals in the past, they had declined. Even with Chu Aoshang’s status, she could not compare to these three.
And now, these three were willing to marry Xiao Yichen, the crippled son of the Xiao family.
Such a scenario would be unthinkable even in novels.
Even Xiao Yichen was stunned.
Three sisters-in-law want to marry me?
Is this for real?
Could it possibly be a joke?