The clingy concubine ran away, and the sickly prince lost control.

Luo Qingyan glared at Luo Haitang again. Luo Haitang's eyes held a sinister smile, as if mocking Luo Qingyan for being unable to clear her name no matter what.

"Sister, just admit it! Don't disrupt the bloodline of the Duke's mansion."

Sun was terrified, and Luo Haitang added fuel to the fire. Luo Qingyan probably guessed that Luo Haitang had told Ye Hui, but she didn't know why.

Luo Qingyan clenched her fists. She was going to take a gamble because Ye Hui hadn't seen the birthmark on her body in person: "Ye Hui, tell me what my birthmark looks like?"

"Heh, what else could it be? Didn't I tell you? It's a heart shape, a love heart! Qingyan, just admit it in front of the Duke's family! Come back and I'll marry you."

Ye Hui proudly shook her leg. Luo Haitang had told her that Luo Qingyan had a heart-shaped birthmark that was very beautiful, and that he was lucky to have such a good look at it.

"Love?" Upon hearing this, Luo Qingyan suddenly looked up and smiled. Granny Liu also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Granny Zheng, Liuyue, you haven't seen my birthmark before. Why don't you come inside and take a look so you can see if what Ye Hui said is right?"

Granny Zheng nodded. This was the best way to prove innocence.

Ye Hui didn't take it seriously. He thought Luo Qingyan was just too embarrassed to admit it in front of everyone, so she ran inside to beg for forgiveness!

Granny Zheng and Liu Yue accompanied Luo Qingyan into the house, one on each side.

A moment later, the three of them came out.

Granny Zheng gave Ye Hui a sly look.

"Granny Zheng, is the birthmark on my waist heart-shaped?"

Luo Qingyan asked.

"No," said Granny Zheng solemnly.

Ye Hui raised her face again and said loudly, "Impossible. You're all in cahoots to fool me, aren't you?"

Anger surged within Ye Hui, and he didn't even notice Luo Haitang, who was giving him meaningful glances from the side.

When Ye Hui said it was "love", Luo Haitang deflated, and her lie was exposed.

"What's on my sister's body...?"

"Miss Luo, it's best not to talk about a young lady's privacy. This old servant has already seen the birthmark, confirming that what Young Master Ye said is false," Zheng Mama interrupted Luo Haitang.

Before we arrived, the old lady had instructed us that if anything happened, we should protect Concubine Luo, as continuing the Duke's family line was of utmost importance.

"I don't believe it, I want to see for myself."

As Ye turned to pull at Luo Qingyan, she was firmly blocked by Granny Liu.

"Get out of my way, you old geezer! I'm Luo Qingyan's fiancé, what's wrong with looking at me?"

Ye Hui shoved Granny Liu to the ground.

Luo Qingyan went to help Liu Mama, but Zheng Mama and Liu Yue blocked Ye Hui's way. In the scuffle, Ye Hui shouted, "Luo Qingyan, you are my woman!"

"Slap!" A large hand flew out of nowhere and slapped Ye Hui away, sending him flying several feet away.

"Ouch!" Ye Hui cried out on the ground.

Yuan Qing landed steadily, and the sound of a wheelchair rolling came from behind him.

"The Crown Prince?"

Everyone spoke in unison.

When Pei Shiyuan returned to the capital in triumph, he rode his horse through the streets, and everyone in the capital saw this imposing young general, who was the heir of the Duke of Xun's mansion.

"Ms. Sun, is Luo Qingyan engaged to Ye Hui?"

Pei Shiyuan's cold and aloof eyes were like ice.

No, no, yes.

Sun's legs trembled, and she knelt directly in front of Pei Shiyuan.

"Is it there or not?" Pei Shiyuan's face was gloomy, as if the bright sun was about to bring a torrential downpour.

"Look at my memory, I forgot about annulmenting the engagement." Madam Sun slapped her head hard. "Young Master, please don't be angry, I'll have someone return the betrothal gifts to the Ye family right away."

"Madam Sun, you're still trying to deny it." Ye Hui covered her face and crawled in front of Pei Shiyuan: "Your Highness, you must stand up for me. Madam Sun deceived you and sent her daughter to the Duke's mansion without announcing the engagement with me."

"Men, take Madam Sun to the Jingzhao Prefecture for punishment," Pei Shiyuan ordered. Two guards entered and dragged Madam Sun out by the arm.

"Your Highness, I didn't mean to! Qingyan, save me!"

Sun's shouts faded into the distance.

According to the laws of Dasheng, Sun was guilty of fraudulent marriage and should be punished with caning followed by one year of hard labor.

"Ye Hui, are you willing to break off your engagement with Luo Qingyan?" Pei Shiyuan asked.

"Your Highness, please grant my wish to be with Qingyan."

Ye Hui kowtowed, his eyes flashing with smugness as they touched the ground. In broad daylight, the Duke's heir wouldn't dare steal his fiancée!

Pei Shiyuan paused, his hand gripping the wheelchair, his fingertips turning white, and he felt blood rising in his throat. He tried to suppress the metallic taste.

But then, Luo Qingyan knelt down with a thud and said in a firm voice, "Young Master, because my mother harbored ulterior motives and did not dissolve the engagement in advance, she almost brought the Duke's Mansion to ruin. Now that the truth has come out, I want to immediately dissolve the engagement with Ye Hui. Everyone saw it just now. Ye Hui only deceived me and had no feelings for me. He even stole back the token of our love. I will not marry such a person."

Turning to Ye Hui, she said, "If word gets out that you stole a token of love, the merchants who do business with your Ye family will laugh their heads off." Luo Qingyan's words carried a threat.

Whether or not this gets out depends on her decision.

"You." Ye Hui choked, threatening him.

"Ye Hui, what are your plans? Luo Qingyan doesn't want to marry you."

Pei Shiyuan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Fine, I'll leave then." Ye Hui said, got up and left. When he reached the door, he turned back and stared at Luo Haitang for a long time. Luo Haitang was so frightened that she clutched her chest and took a half step back. His eyes seemed to want to devour her. It was all because she hadn't explained the shape of the birthmark clearly that day. Otherwise, Luo Qingyan wouldn't be able to explain it even if she had a hundred mouths today.

"Return to the residence."

Pei Shiyuan turned his wheelchair around.

Luo Qingyan stood still. After this incident, she didn't know Pei Shiyuan's attitude or whether he wanted her or not.

Pei Shiyuan took a few steps and then stopped: "Take Concubine Luo back to the manor and await further instructions."

She still needed her, so Luo Qingyan quickly followed.

They boarded the carriage.

"Young Master, there really is nothing between Ye Hui and me. Granny Zheng examined the birthmark; you can ask her if you don't believe me. Before, when I was working odd jobs at the clinic, Ye Hui couldn't stand the smell of medicine and would always stay far away from me, never even getting close."

Luo Qingyan forced an awkward smile as she explained.

"This old servant confirms that the birthmark on Consort Luo's body is the 'star' of 'starry sky,' not the 'heart' of 'love' that Young Master Ye mentioned," Zheng Mama bowed and reported.

"How did he know you had a birthmark?" Pei Shiyuan's face remained gloomy.

"Ye Hui knows, but he has never seen it. Someone else told him, but didn't explain clearly. Only Granny Liu, my mother, and my sister know that I have a birthmark. With your intelligence, Your Highness, you should be able to guess who it is, right?" Luo Qingyan was betting that Ye Hui couldn't explain the details of the birthmark, which was a risky move. At that moment, she was also sweating for herself.

"Don't be glib; you're bound to be punished."

Pei Shiyuan lowered his eyes and gave Luo Qingyan a cold glance.

The Emperor summoned him to the palace today. On the way back, they passed by the Luo residence, and Yuan Qingfei urged him to get out of the carriage and see Luo Qingyan.

Thank goodness we came, otherwise we wouldn't have known that Luo Qingyan was actually engaged. It's ridiculous.

A woman who has broken off an engagement will have a hard time getting married in the future. It's better to stay by his side as a shield and wait for him to die so that he can arrange a place for her or give her a new identity.

That awful place, Luofu, is not a place I can go back to.

"Your Highness, your nose is bleeding?"

Luo Qingyan looked at Pei Shiyuan's fair nose, where blood was gushing out.

"Your Highness, what's wrong?"

Pei Shiyuan was momentarily stunned, then fell straight into Luo Qingyan's arms.

"Yuanqing, hurry."