Chapter 49 Are You Going to Call Off This Engagement or Not?

Jia Yibo kept talking relentlessly.

"If your mother had any awareness in the netherworld and saw you being so utterly disrespectful to your elders, I wonder how heartbroken she would be."

The moment he spoke, he brought up Xie Ning's deceased mother, slapping Xie Ning with the accusation of being unfilial.

Xie Ning narrowed his eyes and sneered inwardly.

You? You are even worthy of uttering my mother's name?

Before Xie Ning could reply, the Dowager Madam Wang let out a cold snort and began to speak.

Her voice carried the ingrained authority of someone accustomed to holding power for a long time, sounding somewhat hoarse.

"Enough."

She raised a hand, stopping Jia Yibo from continuing his performance.

"His mother passed away early, and no one taught him proper manners. He cannot be entirely blamed."

Her words sounded as though she were making excuses for Xie Ning, but the contempt and disgust in her tone were completely unmasked.

It was as if she were saying that a wild child without a mother could hardly be expected to understand any notions of propriety.

Having spoken, her sharp gaze once again locked onto Xie Ning.

"You are Xie Ning?"

She asked a question to which she already knew the answer.

"Yes."

Xie Ning replied indifferently.

"Humph."

The old lady let out another cold snort.

"You still know how to come back? I thought that since you managed to climb up to the Eldest Princess as a high branch, you would have forgotten your own surname and forgotten this family."

These words were rather harsh.

Every single sentence oozed with a bitter and acid sarcasm.

The other family members in the courtyard, upon hearing the old lady speak thus, all revealed expressions of watching a good show.

Far from being angry upon hearing this, Xie Ning actually found it somewhat amusing.

This old lady was being used as a tool by others yet remained entirely oblivious to it; truly both pitiful and pathetic.

"You flatter me, Grandmother."

Xie Ning the corners of his mouth twitched, revealing a rather insincere smile.

"This is my home, so naturally I must return. As for you, after spending all these years practicing asceticism outside, why did you suddenly think of coming back?"

His words were both a counter-question and a probing test.

Sure enough, the moment these words left his mouth, the old lady's expression darkened instantly.

The corners of Jia Yibo's eyes also twitched imperceptibly.

"Audacious!"

The Dowager Madam slammed her hand down on the table so hard that the teacups on it jumped.

"Is this how you question me?"

She demanded sharply.

"When I return to my own home, do I still need your permission? Xie Ning, do not think that just because your wings have grown stiff, you can afford to disregard your elders! Let me tell you, as long as I, this old woman, am alive for one more day, the Marquis of Dingyuan's Estate will still be run by my word!"

The old lady's presence was formidable, and her words were spoken with resounding force.

Jia Yibo and Jia Huizu watched from the sidelines with immense satisfaction.

The two men exchanged glances, both seeing smiles in each other's eyes.

That was right, it should be just like this!

Teach this unbridled, ungrateful little beast a proper lesson.

Xie Ning could not be bothered to look at the smug, petty-minded expressions of this father-and-son duo. Watching the old lady's exasperated and flustered state, his own guess was further confirmed.

This old lady was indeed a reinforcement summoned back by Jia Yibo.

"Please calm your anger, Grandmother."

Xie Ning said blandly.

"I had no intention of questioning you; I was merely concerned about your health. You are advanced in years, yet you spent all those years lingering in the harsh and austere environment of a Buddhist temple. Your grandson was simply worried that your physical frame might not be able to endure it."

Though his words spoke of concern, his tone sounded thoroughly like mockery.

The old lady's expression grew even uglier.

She took a deep breath, seemingly trying to calm her surging emotions.

Then, she changed the subject and cut straight to the core matter.

"Xie Ning, the reason I summoned you here today is because I have serious business to ask you about."

She narrowed her eyes, staring fixedly at Xie Ning.

"I ask you, what on earth is going on with this marriage between you and the Eldest Princess? Why did you make such a monumental decision entirely on your own without consulting the family beforehand? Do you still hold me in your eyes? Do you still care about the ancestors of the Marquis's Estate?"

This rapid-fire series of accusations came hurtling toward Xie Ning like a string of cannon fire.

Seeing that the timing was ripe, Jia Yibo immediately began to fan the flames from the side.

"Indeed, Ning'er."

He spoke in a deep, earnest tone.

"You were truly far too reckless in your actions this time. For a matter of marriage, one should follow the commands of one's parents and the words of matchmakers. Although your mother is no longer with us, I am still here, and the Dowager Madam is here as well. How could you quietly and unilaterally settle your lifelong matters without a single word?"

"If this gets out, what will outsiders think of our Marquis of Dingyuan's Estate? What will they think of you?"

Xie Ning was left entirely speechless, a living proof of the saying: *if you are determined to condemn someone, you can always trump up a charge.*

"Unilaterally settling my lifelong matters?"

Xie Ning raised an eyebrow, watching the two of them put on a coordinated double act, finding it supremely ridiculous.

"My dear Marquis Jia, where on earth did you pull that theory from? My marriage to the Eldest Princess was decreed personally by the reigning Emperor himself."

"The imperial edict was proclaimed aloud in the imperial garden just yesterday, witnessed with their own eyes and heard with their own ears by all the civil and military officials of the court, as well as the imperial royalty and nobility."

"You seemed to have been present at the scene as well; how did it suddenly become a matter of unilaterally settling a lifelong match by this point?"

Xie Ning's voice was not loud, but every single word clearly reached the ears of everyone present.

"Besides, the Marquis's Estate forming a marital alliance with the royal family—shouldn't our ancestors be so overjoyed they are jumping for joy? Why would they be unhappy?"

"Or could it be that it is actually you who are questioning the Emperor's decision, and you yourselves who are unhappy?"

"Or perhaps you feel that the imperial edict of the royal family requires the prior consent of the Marquis of Dingyuan's Estate before it can take effect?"

Xie Ning unleashed a triple combo of rhetorical questions, every single word striking straight at the heart.

Jia Yibo's expression changed instantly.

He had not expected Xie Ning's tongue to be so sharp, elevating the issue to such a dangerous height in just a few brief sentences.

"You... you nonsense!"

Jia Yibo hurriedly argued to defend himself.

"I did not mean that at all. I merely meant that you should have given the family a heads-up beforehand..."

"A heads-up?"

Xie Ning sneered and interrupted him.

"I would have liked to give a heads-up, but who was I supposed to consult? Should I have consulted you, Marquis Jia?"

He looked at Jia Yibo, his eyes filled with mockery.

"You were just praying for me to die early outside so that your worthless son could legally inherit the title of nobility. Consulting with you would simply be seeking my own death."

"You!"

Jia Yibo was choked so badly by these words that his face turned green.

He had never imagined that Xie Ning would dare to expose all of this right in front of the Dowager Madam.

"You unfilial wretch, what utter drivel!"

Jia Yibo trembled all over with rage.

"Mother, look at this! Just look at what kind of attitude he has!"

He immediately sought help from the Dowager Madam.

By the time Xie Ning finished speaking, the Dowager Madam's complexion had already turned as dark as water about to drip.

She glared fiercely at Xie Ning, her chest heaving violently.

"Enough!"

She shouted harshly.

"Xie Ning, stop trying to twist logic and argue for the sake of arguing here! I care not whose decree it was; I will ask you only this one thing."

Her voice was so ice-cold that it lacked a single trace of warmth.

"This marriage—will you call it off, or will you not?"

The Dowager Madam's words exploded like a heavy bomb within the Hall of Fulsome Life.

The atmosphere instantly plummeted to freezing point.