Grandpa Xie heard all this from Ruan Jiu for the first time.
Ruan Jiu had always been a calm and reserved girl.
From childhood to adulthood, whether she was happy or sad, she always kept her emotions to herself.
Now, she must be extremely heart - broken to finally pour out all these feelings.
Thinking it over, he realized that he had always been preoccupied with balancing the interests between the eldest branch and the fourth branch of the Xie family.
He had truly wronged Ruan Jiu!
He couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
Then he glanced at Ruan Jiu, whose eyes were dull, and said helplessly, "In that case, I'll call off your engagement with Yan'er."
"Thank you, Grandpa!" Ruan Jiu bowed her head and kowtowed.
But there was a flicker of excitement in her eyes.
Su Wan, who was standing beside her, was also happy for her. She quickly stepped forward to help Ruan Jiu up.
Excitedly, she whispered, "Ruan Ruan, you can finally be with Lord Fourth openly!"
Although her voice was soft, every word reached everyone's ears.
Even if Ruan Jiu wanted to stop her, it was too late.
"What do you mean by that, Miss Su?" Grandpa Xie asked in a stern voice.
Ruan Jiu quickly replied, "Grandpa, she misspoke just now. Don't take it seriously!"
"Miss Su, tell me." Grandpa Xie fixed his eyes on her.
As the head of the Xie family, his mere glance sent a shiver down Su Wan's spine.
Su Wan nervously bit her lips.
She looked at Xie Jingchu helplessly.
But Xie Jingchu remained calm, with the smile in his eyes undisguised.
Xie Jing and Xu Qing exchanged a surprised look.
They were completely taken aback.
Even the dull - witted Xie Jing understood that if Ruan Jiu and Xie Jingchu were truly in love, all the family assets of the Xie family would fall into Xie Jingchu's hands in the future.
"A Jiu, you and Uncle Fourth..." Xie Yanchuan hesitated to speak, his eyes full of disbelief.
"I have a pure and innocent relationship with Lord Fourth!" Ruan Jiu immediately denied it.
But this denial made Xie Jingchu unhappy. His eyes turned cold. "Are you in such a hurry to distance yourself from me?"
Hearing this, Ruan Jiu's heart tightened.
This was not the right time to talk about such things!
She glared at Xie Jingchu.
Xie Jingchu had no choice but to shut up, looking rather aggrieved.
Grandpa Xie saw the interaction between the two clearly.
His eyes turned pitch - black, hiding all his emotions.
After a moment, he said coldly, "Everyone, leave."
Ruan Jiu let out a sigh of relief.
But just as she turned around to leave, Grandpa Xie suddenly said, "A Jiu, stay."
Ruan Jiu stopped in her tracks.
She knew why Grandpa Xie had asked her to stay.
After all, she had just broken off the engagement with his grandson, and now she seemed to be involved with his son.
Anyone would be unhappy about this.
After everyone left, only Xie Jingchu remained sitting on the chair, showing no intention of leaving.
"Aren't you leaving?" Grandpa Xie asked coldly.
"Why should I?" Xie Jingchu raised his eyebrows.
Ruan Jiu frowned. She thought to herself, Why are you causing trouble at this time!
So she quickly gave Xie Jingchu a look.
Xie Jingchu shrugged helplessly.
He stood up and said to Grandpa Xie, "She's timid. Don't scare her."
Ruan Jiu was stunned.
With him saying this, how could she explain things clearly later?
After Xie Jingchu left, Ruan Jiu cautiously looked at Grandpa Xie.
Countless explanations flashed through her mind.
But before she could come up with the perfect one, she heard Grandpa Xie speak.
"You and the fourth son can never be together."
Although Ruan Jiu didn't understand why Grandpa Xie said this, this was not the time to ask.
So she said, "Grandpa, you've misunderstood. I and Lord Fourth..."
Before Ruan Jiu could finish her sentence, Grandpa Xie raised his hand.
She had no choice but to be silent, feeling extremely nervous.
She waited for Grandpa Xie's next words.
"Remember your own identity. Don't ever have feelings for someone you shouldn't."
Ruan Jiu bit her lips. Her nose felt sore and her eyes turned red.
"If I'm of low status, then why did you arrange for me to marry Xie Yanchuan before?"
"Because Jingchu..." Grandpa Xie quickly swallowed the rest of his words.
He immediately changed his tone. "Jingchu is different from Yan'er."
"Just because he's going to be the future head of the Xie family?"
"Anyway, if you really have feelings for the fourth son, I'll have to send you out of Qinzhou." Grandpa Xie's voice was choked with emotion, but his determination was unwavering.
These words made the bitterness in Ruan Jiu's heart overflow.
She looked at Grandpa Xie in disbelief, her voice trembling. "Send me out of Qinzhou?"
She had lived in Grandpa Xie's courtyard for ten years.
Even if it were a cat, one couldn't just send it away.
Moreover, she was a living, breathing person.
Was all the affection of these ten years just a lie?
Tears finally welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.
They dripped onto her clothes, leaving mottled marks.
Grandpa Xie finally couldn't bear it. He let out a long sigh. "A Jiu, Grandpa can't let you become a stain on his reputation."
"Stain?" Ruan Jiu sneered. "Although I'm not a great saint, I've never done anything immoral.
Although I'm not extremely learned, I'm familiar with poetry and literature.
I'm just an orphan without parents.
How could I be such a disgraceful stain?"
Why could everyone use her background to hurt her?
Her shoulders trembled involuntarily. Her heart felt like it was carrying a thousand - jin weight. Every word she said caused a sharp pain in her chest.
It felt as if her heart was being torn apart.
Was it her fault that she was abandoned by her parents?
She had never talked about these things, but it didn't mean her heart was made of steel.
Her heart could also be sad and hurt!
"A Jiu, Grandpa didn't mean that..." Grandpa Xie looked at Ruan Jiu with heartache.
After all, he had raised her in his own courtyard and had long regarded her as his own granddaughter.
"Then what do you mean, Grandpa?" Ruan Jiu stubbornly raised her head.
Grandpa Xie frowned, looking embarrassed.
"I've never minded your background. I just don't want you to be with him..."
"Is it because of Uncle Eldest?" Ruan Jiu sniffed.
After all, Grandpa Xie had arranged for her to marry Xie Yanchuan in order to balance the eldest branch and the fourth branch of the family.
Grandpa Xie shook his head.
After a moment of silence, he said, "You'll know in the future. But I hope some things will never be known by anyone." He had his own difficulties.
These words made Ruan Jiu even more confused.
What on earth was it?
"A Jiu, you'll marry Yan'er in ten days." Grandpa Xie also couldn't bear to send her away.
"What?" Ruan Jiu widened her eyes.
"Grandpa is begging you..."
Grandpa Xie had seen Xie Jingchu's reaction today.
Even if Ruan Jiu had no such feelings, Xie Jingchu might have already developed them.
At present, the only way to dispel Xie Jingchu's thoughts was to marry Ruan Jiu to Yan'er.
Ruan Jiu never expected that the tough - minded head of the Xie family would be pleading with her like this.
For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
Seeing that she didn't say a word, Grandpa Xie continued to persuade her, "You and the fourth son are from completely different worlds. If you still remember the Xie family's kindness in raising you, just agree."
Suddenly, Ruan Jiu felt a buzzing in her ears.
Her body became as stiff as a dead tree, and she felt completely empty inside.
Looking at Grandpa Xie's determined expression, she knew that if she didn't agree, she would be sent out of Qinzhou immediately.
She forced a smile, but there was no warmth in her eyes.
She felt as if she had been thrown into the cold lake in winter.
She was suffocating and completely chilled to the bone.