Quan Heng had imagined several possibilities but hadn’t expected Quan Rui to come today just to apologize.
For a moment, a mix of emotions rose in her heart.
Eventually, she sighed deeply, took Quan Rui’s hand, and said earnestly, “It’s alright, Little Rui. I never held any of that against you. I only hope you don’t walk down a dead-end road.”
Seeing Quan Rui’s reddened eyes, Quan Heng thought of yesterday’s events and still felt uneasy. She reminded her gently, “That Jiang Suifeng really isn’t a good person. You must judge him carefully.”
Unexpectedly, upon hearing that, Quan Rui finally looked up and met Quan Heng’s gaze with firm determination. “Older sister, I came today not just to apologize—I also wanted to ask for your help.”
“After I got home last night, I couldn’t swallow this indignation. That Jiang Suifeng dared to treat me like this—I must take revenge with my own hands and see to it that he’s thoroughly ruined!”
Seeing the resolve in her eyes, Quan Heng finally felt at ease.
She could tell that her younger sister had truly woken up this time, and would no longer do anything to hurt the family for the sake of a mere man.
“Older sister, tomorrow is an auspicious day. I will invite Jiang Suifeng to visit the temple with me to offer incense. At the same time, I’ll write to Chen Qinghuan and deliberately let her hear about it.”
Her voice now bitter and eyes filled with disappointment, Quan Rui continued, “All these years, I thought Chen Qinghuan was my best friend. I never imagined she’d do something so disgusting behind my back. No wonder she always came to every banquet I attended—she must have gotten wind of it from me just to meet Jiang Suifeng!”
Quan Heng knew she must be feeling awful. In just one night, the man she loved and the friend she trusted had both betrayed her. But what’s done was done. Dwelling on the past was useless. People had to keep moving forward.
“Little Rui, through this ordeal, you’ve shaken off a man who was never any good and seen through a false friend. That’s a good thing, really. At least now we know to guard against them, and won’t have to worry about when they might stab you again, don’t you think?”
Quan Rui took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. “You’re right.”
Then she looked up hopefully at Quan Heng. “Will you come with me tomorrow? After all… I’m going to catch them in the act. I’m still a little scared going alone. Having one more person will give me more confidence.”
Quan Heng nodded. “Of course I will!”
That evening at dinner, Quan Rui mentioned the plan to visit Baita Temple in the outskirts of the capital, and that Quan Heng would go with her.
For a moment, Zhao Qingrong and Quan Minghao were both surprised.
After all, everyone knew these two had been on bad terms lately. Now, seeing them reconcile and even go out together brought them great relief.
Quan Minghao slapped the table and cheerfully said, “I happen to have tomorrow off. Why don’t I come along with you?”
Zhao Qingrong nodded happily. “Mother will go too! Let’s all go together!”
Very quickly, what was originally a plan for two became a group outing involving the entire marquis’ household.
Although Quan Rui was a little overwhelmed by the attention, she figured the more people, the better—so she accepted.
The next morning, the entire Quan family set out in grand fashion.
Perhaps because the day truly was auspicious, the road to Baita Temple was crowded with people and carriages.
Halfway up the mountain, they found they could go no further.
From up ahead, the voice of a coachman came, “Marquis, Madam, the road is too crowded. Our carriage is blocked. The one in front of us belongs to the Fifth Princess. We can’t push forward.”
Hearing that, Quan Minghao said helplessly, “Alright, then we’ll wait. Once the road clears, we’ll continue.”
After the group stopped, Quan Heng and Quan Rui exchanged a glance, confirming that their plan was about to begin.
Quan Heng handed over the jade pendant and earring she had acquired earlier. “Take these with you. They might come in handy.”
Quan Rui accepted them, thanked her sister, and stepped off the carriage, heading toward the spot she had arranged to meet Jiang Suifeng.
As soon as they met, Jiang Suifeng eagerly rushed forward and wrapped her tightly in his arms.
“Rui’er, you’re finally here! You were upset yesterday and wouldn’t let me near you—I missed you so much.”
In the past, such words would have made Quan Rui’s heart flutter.
But now, knowing his true nature, being close to him only made her feel disgusted to her core.
So much so, she wanted to vomit.
Quan Rui closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and told herself the time wasn’t right yet—she had to endure a little longer.
Breaking away from his embrace, she held her head and acted dizzy. “Brother Suifeng, I caught a chill yesterday and got up too early today. I’m feeling dizzy. Now that we’ve met, I’ll go back to the carriage first.”
Hearing this, Jiang Suifeng’s smile froze.
She’d been acting oddly since yesterday. He had planned to coax her sweetly today, but she was so cold and dismissive, leaving after just one greeting.
He clenched his teeth to suppress his anger and forced a smile. He pulled out a letter and handed it to her.
“Rui’er, I wrote this for you last night. Since you’re leaving early, take it with you and read it back in the carriage.”
Quan Rui nodded, accepted the letter, and turned to leave.
To keep up the act, she pretended to stumble unsteadily as she walked away.
Seeing this, Jiang Suifeng hurried forward. “Rui’er, you look so weak. Let me carry you back?”
Quan Rui frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean? There are so many high officials and noble people offering incense today. This road is lined with eyes. If you carry me back, are you trying to ruin my reputation?”
Jiang Suifeng laughed awkwardly and didn’t insist.
Not until Quan Rui was far away and out of sight did he spit viciously on the ground.
“Pah! What a joke. If not for the glory and wealth of the Quan family, who’d want such a pretentious woman?”
Just then, a woman stepped out of the nearby grove. Upon seeing Jiang Suifeng, she beamed and threw herself into his arms.
“Brother Suifeng, I missed you so much since yesterday! Did you miss me?”
Jiang Suifeng hugged her and breathed in her scent, clearly intoxicated. “Of course I missed you. You’re the woman I love the most.”
Chen Qinghuan giggled and lightly punched his shoulder. “How annoying! You say I’m your favorite—then between me and Sister Rui, who do you like more?”
Thinking of how Quan Rui had treated him earlier, Jiang Suifeng sneered inwardly.
Compared to Chen Qinghuan, Quan Rui was just a smelly, stubborn rock.
“You, of course. I like you the most. She’s nothing.”
Hearing that, Chen Qinghuan was overjoyed and threw her arms around his neck for a kiss. The two quickly became entangled, kissing so wildly the trees around them began to shake.
Just then, Quan Rui stepped out of the grove and found a secluded spot to open the letter.
As usual, it was full of sweet nothings, laced with obscene language.
She didn’t think twice—she ripped the letter to shreds, lit a fire starter, and burned every last bit.
Then she pulled out the jade pendant and stared at it quietly for a moment.
Finally, she headed back toward the grove. Today, she would expose this man’s disgusting nature and sever all ties with him.
Sure enough, as soon as she stepped in, she heard movement.
Walking closer, she saw Jiang Suifeng and Chen Qinghuan tangled on the ground, passionately kissing. Their outer garments had already been removed—it was an appalling sight.
At that moment, her heart ached with both sorrow and rage. She shouted out loud—
“Young Master Jiang! Miss Chen! What are you doing?!”
Her shout was extremely loud. Very quickly, people from all directions began hurrying over.
At that moment, Quan Heng had been chatting idly inside the Fifth Princess’s carriage. Upon hearing the commotion, she knew the plan had succeeded and immediately headed toward the forest.
The Fifth Princess was usually fond of watching a good spectacle. Seeing that something must have happened, she too got off the carriage and followed along.
But she hadn’t expected to walk into such a disgraceful and indecent scene. She quickly raised her sleeve to shield her eyes.
“You two—you two dare to commit such a shameless act in broad daylight?! Have you no shame?!”
Just then, people from the Yongning Marquis Manor also arrived.
Seeing the scene before her, Zhao Qingrong was so frightened she nearly fainted.
Jiang Suifeng was a distant cousin of the marquis’s family. Though there was no blood relation, he lived in their manor. For such a thing to happen—it was a complete humiliation to the household.
When Quan Minghao saw what was going on, he roared in fury: “Suifeng, what do you think you’re doing?!”
The two people on the ground were already frozen in shock.
Chen Qinghuan hadn’t come alone. To have a proper excuse to leave home, she had begged her father and mother to accompany her.
At this moment, the Minister of Personnel stood before her, his face already red with shame.
How had he raised such a daughter?! She had utterly disgraced him!
What was worse—this entire scene had been witnessed by the Fifth Princess. The current emperor was extremely fond of this daughter. If the Fifth Princess reported this matter to him, the shame wouldn’t fall on Chen Qinghuan alone.
The entire Chen family could be implicated!
With that thought, his anger surged uncontrollably. He charged forward and gave Chen Qinghuan a hard slap across the face, splitting her lip.
“You disgrace! Drag this girl away—don’t let her continue shaming us here!”
Chen Qinghuan looked at the dark crowd around her, filled with immense fear.
She knew—she was still unmarried, and there was no engagement between her and Brother Suifeng. Now that so many people had seen this scene, her reputation was ruined!
Her father had always valued his career. For the sake of the Chen family’s clean name, he might even force her to commit suicide tonight.
Thinking of this, she trembled all over with fear.
When the servants stepped forward to drag her away, she suddenly clung tightly to Jiang Suifeng’s leg, pleading bitterly, “Brother Suifeng, please save me! If they take me home, I might die! I’m begging you!”
But at that moment, Jiang Suifeng withdrew his leg and even stepped back a few paces.
Now that this woman had ruined the plan, he couldn’t afford to be dragged down with her.
For women, such things were devastating. But for men, it was merely a flirtatious scandal—nothing serious.
So what if he lost Chen Qinghuan? Didn’t he still have Quan Rui?
Thinking this, he raised his head and searched the crowd for Quan Rui.
At last, he saw her behind Quan Heng.
In the past, Quan Rui’s eyes had always held gentle affection, but now, all he saw on her face was disgust.
Even more terrifying, Yongning Marquis stood nearby, staring down at him with a look as if he were already a dead man.
In that moment, he felt like he’d fallen into an icy pit.
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