Elder Chen remained silent.
Outside the room, the tray in Chen Danyan’s hand fell to the ground, shattering the porcelain plate into pieces.
Tears streamed down her face.
What she had thought was her true love turned out to be nothing but a scammer.
She stepped into the study and knelt before Elder Chen, "Grandfather!"
Elder Chen looked at his granddaughter.
She was the most obedient, understanding, intelligent, and clever among all his granddaughters.
"Grandfather, since he has no heart for me, let us call off the engagement!" Chen Danyan said, taking a deep breath, "If he is heartless, then I, Chen Danyan, shall not pester or cling to him!"
After saying this, she knocked her head heavily on the ground, "I beg you, Grandfather, to grant this!"
Chu Yu raised his hand to cover his lips.
What a mess this all was. Just you wait, there will come a time when Renzhi will regret this.
"Good child, stand up. Your maternal grandfather will comply with your wishes!" Elder Chen helped Chen Danyan to her feet, "Go back!"
Chen Danyan obediently left the study.
Only then did Elder Chen say to Chu Yu, "Your Highness Prince Rui, Elder Residence will call off the engagement. There won’t be any issues, right?"
"No, no, no issues at all!" Chu Yu hurriedly replied.
How could there possibly be any issues at this point?
"In that case, shall Elder Residence wait until after the New Year to call off the engagement, is that possible?" Elder Chen asked again.
"Yes, yes, of course!"
He had immense respect for Elder Chen, yet here he was, making a fool of himself because of that scoundrel Renzhi.
"Since it is possible, then please, Your Highness Prince Rui, take your leave!" he dismissed his guest directly.
Chu Yu touched his nose as he left Elder Residence, feeling both angry and annoyed. He went straight to Chu Renzhi’s home and upon finding Chu Renzhi, beat him up again.
"Uncle Emperor!" Chu Renzhi called out in a pitiful voice.
"Shut up, you’ve lost all face for me and your father, my brother!" Chu Yu roared in anger.
He never should have agreed to look after this troublesome kid.
Chu Zhaowei remained silent on the side.
He thought to himself that he should never hurry into an engagement; once engaged, one must follow through with the marriage.
The Uncle Emperor sure had a heavy hand!
But then, a man obsessed with his thoughts wouldn’t have a gentle touch.
Chu Renzhi looked to Chu Zhaowei for help, but Chu Zhaowei just gave him a look that said you’re on your own and quickly turned his head away.
Chu Renzhi inwardly cursed Chu Zhaowei for not coming to his aid.
"You’ll regret this one day, just wait and see!" After Chu Yu said that, he returned to Prince Rui Residence.
This past year, he did not know how he had survived it.
It always seemed as though he had become especially good at acting.
The Capital City had seen great changes, yet not so significant.
For example, Princess Yijia’s Princess Residence was awarded to her, conveniently located next to the two grand five-entry mansions given to her by the Commandery Princess of Zhen Guo.
Suddenly, everyone in the Capital City knew that Princess Yijia was an incredibly wealthy lady.
Three five-entry mansions along with a small mountain, all surrounded by high walls, set a standard larger than that of a Princess Residence. Even the Commandery Princess of Zhen Guo Residence wasn’t as large in terms of area.
The Emperor also granted her thirty palace maids, thirty eunuchs, fifteen guards, five maidservants, a butler mama, and a butler eunuch.
Coincidentally, these fifteen guards and five maidservants were the same people who had initially escorted Yun Jinnian to Nanjiang. The butler mama was Qian Mama, and the butler eunuch was Dengzi, now called Eunuch Deng.
And these people, over the past year, had still been receiving their monthly silver from the palace.
Such favoritism was indeed unprecedented.
There were objections raised, but the Emperor would just respond with "Contributed to saving my chariot!" and shut down the dissent.
The surface of the Capital City appeared calm, but underneath, the undercurrents were surging.
The silent struggle between the Emperor and Prince Rui had already begun...