After Becoming the Hero's Ex-fiancée

Sweetheart (2)

“Does Father still remember the sudden snowstorm outside the city when I was three years old?”

“I remember.”

As Zheng Zhai recalled the incident, his expression grew grave.

“I’m glad that you do.” The corners of Zheng Wan’s lips curved upwards, but her eyes were unsmiling. “It’s similar to that year—no; it’s even more terrifying. Disaster will soon befall our entire family.”

“Wanwan, don’t talk nonsense.”

Zhang Wan grimaced.

“In the evening, the Ministry of Rites will send a letter to annul the engagement, written by His Majesty himself; and at the same time, a letter of mourning from the extended family will also be delivered.”

“A letter of mourning?”

“It’s the Second Uncle from the third branch. Second Uncle forced himself on his wife; the madam has a fiery-temper, and stabbed Second Uncle with a pair of scissors, and he died from blood loss.”

According to the book, this was also the first of the Zheng family’s torrent of crimes.

Zheng Zhai’s face darkened.

The second son of the third branch is indeed rather debauched; the concubines in his mansion had already become quite a crowd as he indulged in his pleasures. Zheng Zhai had even once sent him a letter of warning. However, he’d also hidden these sordid affairs from his innocent daughter, how did she suddenly know about all these…

“Father, if all these unfortunately unfolds as your daughter has described, then it will prove that my words are true; our Zheng family will really face great calamity soon. Father, you will have to listen to Wanwan then, alright?”

If none of what she said comes to pass, naturally, it would be a cause for celebration.

Zheng Zhai was silent for a long time; before leaving the room, he finally uttered, “Alright.”

Zheng Wan sat in her room and waited.

It had rained all night last night; the thumb-sized camellia buds were all blown off the branches, leaving them bare.

Luodai stood on the porch and gave directions to the maidservants as they swept.

The soft sunlight poured in.

Zheng Wan squinted; her gaze went past the dark brickwork and fell on a corner of the faraway Imperial City. Red walls, green tiles and angled cornices—it was clearly a magnificent, heavenly atmosphere, but she could smell the air of bleakness and slaughter of an oncoming storm.

The wind had picked up.

Pak!—— Zheng Wan got up and closed the window.

 

——————

 

“Lady, lady, Master wants you in the study.”

It was earlier than Zheng Wan had predicted. It was not yet sunset, but the letter of annulment and the letter of mourning had both been delivered, from either ends of the capital, to the Senior Grand Secretary’s residence at the same time.

The only difference was that the former came in by the front entrance, while the latter, by the side entrance.

The assistant minister from the Ministry of Rites carried the letter of annulment came swaggeringly through the main entrance; conversely, the nephew of the third branch crept in shiftily through the side entrance.

The two had unanimously each brought with them a piece of bad news.

When Zheng Wan stepped through the door, two letters of very different styles were spread next to each other on the long desk in the study; Zheng Zhai was seated behind the desk on an elegantly carved cedarwood chair, his eyes gleaming.

“Wanwan, it has all happened as you’ve said.”

Zheng Wan picked up both letters and read them word by word; there was not a trace of doubt left in her heart.

She had never seen the current emperor’s handwriting before, but every stroke and hook were exactly the same as what she had seen in her dream; even the tone of the rebuke was exactly alike.

And the letter of mourning with the seal of the old patriarch of the Zheng clan…

“Your Second Uncle is indeed dead.”

Zheng Zhai’s tone was gloomy, “I have sent the housekeeper to Xingyang with some men to deliver the funerary gift; with that, we have done our part. He has met with this end as a result of karma, so Wanwan, you don’t have to feel sad. Instead, why don’t you——”

“——tell Father, what you saw in your dream.”

Zheng Wan tried again and again, but found that she was still unable to utter a word.

After a pause, she phrased her words in a vague manner:

“The Dragon Kingdom made a winged snake its king, and boasted about his dragon descent. Under the serpent’s rule, the competent blind bear led the other beasts, and life was rather comfortable.”

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“But one day, a Black Dragon came to the country. The Black Dragon is the true descendant of the Divine Dragon, and had divine powers. The bear, who had been blinded ages ago, had unwittingly offended the Black Dragon before.”

“And what happened after that?”

“The winged snake desired to become a dragon, so he wanted to offer the blind bear to the Black Dragon as a sacrifice to gain his favour. As the blind bear usually acted recklessly, he’d made the winged snake scornful, and displeased the beasts long ago; in the end, he was pushed into a pit by all the beasts, and he died, his body dismembered and bones disintegrated.”

Zheng Wan’s story was pieced together from just the short dozen pages or so of the story; part of it was even her personal speculation.

There was very little about the Zheng family in the book; most of it revolved around the son of the Cui clan of Boling. But even by just looking at what little there was, Zheng Wan, who was directly, was already terribly frightened.