After my luck was stolen, I led my whole family to defy fate and change our destiny.

Li Xiaohan's slap stunned the little maid, who didn't understand how she had angered her mistress.

"Get out"

"Yes"

Li Xiaohan's face was peeled off by the maid, but she would never admit that she had such dark thoughts.

Only if the Li family pretends not to annul the engagement and outwardly stands with the Gu family, while the Gu family begs for the engagement to be annulled, can the Li family avoid even the slightest gossip.

Only with such a good reputation can she find her next good match.

She walked to the cabinet and took out a small booklet from a hidden compartment.

He turned to the column with Gu Yu'an's name, paused for a moment, picked up a brush, crossed out the circle he had drawn, and then put an X on it.

Li Xiaohan put down her pen and gently blew on the booklet until the ink dried before turning the page.

The son of the Vice Minister of Rites, aged 16, a student of the Imperial Academy...

Li Xiaohan shook her head. This won't do; he's 16 and still a novice.

She continued flipping through the pages: the second son of the Imperial Censor, aged 17…

She shook her head. This one won't do either. With the eldest son keeping him in check, what future will the second son have? Besides, he's already taken three concubines before even marrying a wife.

The second prince... years...

Li Xiaohan was flipping through the pages intently.

"Miss, Miss"

Li Xiaohan quickly closed the booklet. "Why were you so reckless? You scared me!"

"Excuse me, Miss, the servants in the side room said that Young Master Gu has arrived and is outside the door."

The maidservant presented the visiting card, which wasn't exactly legitimate, and at this critical juncture, Gu Yu'an could only wait at the back door.

Li Xiaohan looked at the elegant and flowing handwriting on the visiting card and sighed inwardly.

"Go, go."

The back gate of the Li residence was located in an alley, which conveniently avoided the crowds.

Li Xiaohan came out and stood ten steps away from Gu Yu'an, bowing.

"Brother Yu'an"

【Yue～】

Gu Yu'an glanced at Gu Linglong out of the corner of his eye. "Little sister ate too much today?"

"Miss Li, my mother came to break off the engagement today. I have let you down. I have come here to return the gifts I gave you."

Gu Yu'an handed the box to the maid but did not step forward himself. Li Xiaohan's eyes instantly filled with tears as she looked at the box.

“Brother Yu’an, I don’t want to break off the engagement, but Father…”

As she spoke, she touched the corner of her eye with a handkerchief. "I am willing to stand with you through thick and thin, and I believe that Uncle is innocent, but I cannot disobey my father's orders..."

Gu Yu'an was heartbroken; she was so kind!

"I'm so sorry, Miss Li..."

"Brother Yu'an, you haven't wronged me... I believe there will be a day when I can see the light again, I'll wait for you."

Gu Yu'an was deeply moved, and his eyes reddened slightly. Her character was truly noble!

Gu Liyao was almost moved to tears, and then he heard his little sister say "Yue~".

【Yue~ I'm so sick of hearing this】

How did Dongting Lake produce such a wonderful Biluochun tea?

Brother, don't believe him. It was she who begged her parents to break off the engagement, but we beat her to it.

Gu Yu'an shook his head secretly. How could that be? She had given him a token of their engagement.

Gu Linglong glanced at the box and sighed!

Hey... Big brother, you probably don't know yet, but Li Xiaohan gave away those engagement tokens to so many people.

[What Wang family young master... Zhou family young master... even gave gifts to the prince, but they were returned. None of the others who accepted gifts are as good-looking or from as good a family as my eldest brother.]

So Li Xiaohan set her sights on my older brother, this easy target.

[The older brother is just a fish she keeps.]

Gu Liyao's tears of emotion quickly receded, and Gu Yu'an was also somewhat incredulous. How could this be? This was someone Mother had personally chosen.

To be honest, Li Xiaohan is quite capable. Knowing that my mother was interested in finding a husband for my older brother, she had someone keep an eye on the Gu family's door.

As soon as she saw my mother leave, Li Xiaohan immediately followed to impress her, hoping to win my mother's favor. She was really going all out to marry into a wealthy family.

Gu Yu'an stumbled and almost fell.

"Brother Yu'an, what's wrong?"

Gu Yu'an waved his hand: "It's nothing, I just didn't stand firmly."

Li Xiaohan covered the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief. She realized that she was so charming that she could hardly stand up straight.

So she performed even more energetically, saying, "Brother Yu'an, you should also take good care of yourself..."

Gu Yu'an agreed, but he still couldn't believe it. How could someone who could write such magnificent poems be so dark?

But she also knew that her younger sister wouldn't lie.

Hey... Big brother, you probably don't know this, but she stole that poem back then.

[Otherwise, why haven't I written any good works in so long? Is it because I don't like them?]

Li Xiaohan is still willing to pretend; she's probably the kind of person who wants to have her cake and eat it too.

Gu Yu'an completely broke down. He said goodbye and left immediately, afraid that he would lose control and want to confront him. He stumbled along the way.

Gu Linglong sighed as she looked at her elder brother.

【Why does turning around bring another wave of heartache?】

Love without material support is like a pile of loose sand; it doesn't even need the wind to blow it apart, it'll scatter after a couple of steps...

Or perhaps it's just because I don't like it.

Gu Yu'an paused, then walked even faster.

Li Xiaohan covered her mouth and chuckled behind her back. Sigh... I never expected that I was so charming that the other person was so infatuated with me that I could hardly walk straight.

Perhaps it's not impossible to win the position of Crown Princess...

Gu Yu'an returned to the mansion and immediately began to busy himself. Gu Liyao held Gu Linglong and watched his elder brother in the kitchen.

She was boiling water, kneading dough, and then running into the study.

Gu Ziming scratched his head: "What's Big Brother doing? He seems really busy."

Gu Liyao shook his head and answered with utmost sincerity: "Just like my life, I feel very busy, but I don't know what I'm busy with."

Gu Ziming: "..."

I know, my older brother is heartbroken after a breakup...

Men, it's not a sin to cry...

[Father hasn't even been rescued yet, and my eldest brother is already collapsing...]

Gu Yu'an's hand, which was handing over firewood, suddenly paused. Yes, his father hadn't been rescued yet; what was he doing?

Gu Yu'an clapped his hands and straightened his clothes.

"I'm just boiling some water to take a bath."

Gu Ziming stepped forward and hugged Gu Yu'an's leg: "Big brother, are you alright? Don't be sad. I'll definitely find you a better sister-in-law than Miss Li."

Gu Liyao chimed in, "That's right, brother, you're still young, you can't find any good girl."

Gu Yu'an smiled with relief, "It's alright, don't worry."

Gu Liyao was worried that Gu Yu'an would be affected by Li Xiaohan's annulment of the engagement, so he decided to spend some time with his older brother.

He ran excitedly into Gu Yu'an's study. "Brother, I'm practicing acupuncture. Would you be willing to let me try it?"

Gu Yu'an held a book, then shifted his gaze from the book to Gu Liyao.

"How to try?"

"I can tell you've been feeling down lately, let me give you a couple of acupuncture treatments."

Where to puncture?

"leg"

"Can you do it?"

Gu Liyao rolled his eyes. "Why can't I? I've been reading medical books for years!"

Gu Gu'an thought about it and agreed. His younger brother cared so much about him, so he couldn't spoil his mood. He put down his book and rolled up his trouser legs.

"Go for it, I believe in you."

Then he picked up the book and continued reading. With two brothers like these in life, what more could one ask for?

With his elder brother's approval, Gu Liyao spread out the silver needles, rubbed his hands together, picked up one, and traced it over the fire a few times.

After locating the acupoint, I carefully inserted the needle.

"Zi"

Blood spurted two meters away

In a panic, Gu Liyao grabbed him and held him down.

Gu Yu'an felt a slight pain. "What's wrong?"