"I would rather die than marry Chen Feng!"
Lin Mengyao pressed the three-foot Jade Ripple Sword to her own neck, tears of bitter resentment streaming down her cheeks.
The main hall, crowded with clan members, erupted in an uproar.
"Mengyao, don't be impulsive! It's my fault. I shouldn't have forced you."
Panic seized Lin Tiancheng, and he struggled to keep his voice calm.
"Ten years ago, Chen Feng's father saved Old Master Lin's life. Out of gratitude, the old master promised that you two would marry when you turned eighteen."
"If you break the engagement, we'll be called ungrateful."
"And now that you've finally caught the eye of the Azure Mist Sect and are set to become a Legacy Disciple… if they learn of this, and some elder takes offense, your position could be revoked!"
Lin Mengyao's expression faltered, but she stomped her foot. "I don't care!"
"I won't marry Chen Feng, but I can't have my reputation ruined. Father, you have to think of something!"
A headache split through Lin Tiancheng's skull. His gaze drifted unintentionally to the young man in the corner, Chen Feng.
He was handsome, tall and slender, with calm, insightful eyes that gave him an air of graceful indifference. A fine-looking young man.
But tragically, he was a mute.
A mute who, after multiple tests, had been found to possess no Spiritual Vein.
His daughter, by contrast, was a genius with a Sixth Grade Spiritual Vein, favored by the elders of the Azure Mist Sect. She was to be accepted as a Legacy Disciple, her future limitless.
One was a star in the heavens, the other dust on the earth. A chasm separated them.
"Husband," his wife, Zhao Lirong, sighed from beside him. "If there's no other way, let Shuyue marry in Mengyao's place."
Every head in the hall swiveled, every pair of eyes landing on Lin Shuyue at the back of the crowd.
She was a graceful young woman in green robes, her temperament as tranquil as a still lake.
Her beauty was the kind that captured the eye and refused to let go.
As the elder sister, she was far more striking than Lin Mengyao.
But she was the daughter of a concubine, and her status in the Lin family was a world away from her sister's. The suggestion that she be married off to a mute in her sister's stead unsettled many in the family.
To see a woman as beautiful as Lin Shuyue shackled to a mute like Chen Feng would be a waste, her life ruined.
"Father, I only wish to serve you. Please don't marry me away."
At the suggestion, the color drained from Lin Shuyue's face.
She bit her lip, her voice a helpless plea.
But Lin Tiancheng ignored her desperate expression, stepping forward to grip her shoulders.
"Shuyue, our Lin family has been in decline for a century. It has taken us everything to produce a genius like your sister. The future of our entire family rests on her!"
"Please, I am begging you as your father. Marry Chen Feng in your sister's place!"
Seeing her hesitate, Lin Tiancheng’s jaw tightened, and he began to lower himself to his knees. "Must you force your father to kneel before you?"
Startled, Lin Shuyue scrambled to help him up.
"Father, don't!"
"I'll marry him. I'll do it. Is that enough?"
The moment the words left her lips, her eyes filled with a fresh wave of despair.
Only then did Lin Tiancheng straighten up, the weight that had been crushing his chest for years finally lifting.
A relieved smile spread across his face as he turned to Chen Feng. "Feng, what do you think?"
Chen Feng sat calmly in his corner, taking a slow sip of tea.
He lifted his gaze at the question.
His eyes fell on Lin Shuyue, who stood with her head bowed, silent tears tracing paths on her skin. Poor girl, he thought, a silent sigh in his heart. Being manipulated by her own family.
The Lin family had never intended for their prodigy, Lin Mengyao, to marry him.
This was all a pre-arranged performance, with Lin Shuyue as the intended sacrifice.
From Lin Mengyao's dramatic threat to Zhao Lirong's timely suggestion and Lin Tiancheng's emotional blackmail, it had all been a play.
And Lin Shuyue, pure and kind, had walked right into their trap.
How could he stand by and let them harm her?
He picked up the pen and paper he always carried and began to write.
"Uncle, there is no need to trouble Shuyue. The Lin Manor has cared for me for ten years, and that is more than enough to repay the debt for my father saving a life. Let us annul the engagement today."
Even without factoring in Lin Shuyue, Chen Feng had planned to end the engagement.
He had lived in the Lin Manor since his father saved Old Master Lin a decade ago.
But in the three years since his father's death, the Lin family's warmth had slowly turned to ice.
Chen Feng understood. Their patience had run out.
If not for the damage it would do to their reputation, they would have thrown him out of the Lin Manor long ago.
It was time to leave.
As Lin Tiancheng read the note, a jolt of excitement shot through him.
Having Chen Feng in the Lin Manor was a constant, suffocating reminder of the immense debt he owed the Chen family.
It was a thorn in his throat, impossible to dislodge, day after day.
Chen Feng wanting to leave was the best news he could have hoped for.
But unexpectedly, Zhao Lirong spoke, her tone dripping with false sincerity. "Feng, how can you say such a thing?"
"The engagement was made by the old master himself. How could we defy his wishes? If he returns from his travels and learns we failed to honor the agreement, neither your uncle nor I could bear his wrath."
"If you truly appreciate the care the Lin Manor has shown you, then marry Shuyue. We will all be one family."
Some of the sharper clan members saw her true motive at once.
She wanted to marry Lin Shuyue to the mute Chen Feng to shatter any chance she had at a happy life, thereby eliminating a potential threat to her own daughter.
Lin Shuyue, with her serene bearing and stunning beauty, was known throughout the region.
Countless young men from powerful families coveted her.
If she were to marry into a great house, or become the wife or concubine of a powerful figure, she would undoubtedly become a rival to Lin Mengyao.
By wedding her to Chen Feng—a useless mute with no Spiritual Vein—they could neutralize that threat completely.
Chen Feng saw it all with perfect clarity. He looked at Lin Shuyue, who was crying silently, and sighed.
Even if I help her today, she won't be able to escape Zhao Lirong's clutches after I'm gone.
Her fate could be far worse than simply marrying a mute.
In all his years here, Lin Shuyue was the only one who had ever shown him genuine kindness.
The year his father died, he had fallen gravely ill from grief, confined to his bed for seven days and nights.
The Lin family had ignored him, but Lin Shuyue had stayed by his side, nursing him without sleep for a week until he recovered.
He couldn't bring himself to abandon this pure, kind girl in this den of vipers.
After a long moment of contemplation, he reluctantly picked up his pen and wrote a single word for Zhao Lirong.
A triumphant smile bloomed on Zhao Lirong's face. "Shuyue, quickly, take Chen Feng to have his wedding clothes measured. The two of you will be married in a month."
She was eager to finalize things, lest any complications arise.
Lin Shuyue wiped her swollen, red-rimmed eyes and walked over to Chen Feng. "Come with me. I have something to say to you."
Her room, though called a boudoir, was barely nicer than a servant's quarters, furnished simply.
Lin Shuyue opened a drawer in her dressing table and retrieved a small pouch from a hidden corner.
Inside were silver fragments of various sizes.
"Little mute, you shouldn't have agreed," Lin Shuyue sighed. "They don't really want you to marry me. They just want to avoid being called ungrateful."
"The moment my sister joins the Azure Mist Sect, they'll start mistreating you. They'll find a way to make you leave."
Chen Feng offered a faint smile. She wasn't as naive as she seemed.
Lin Shuyue pressed the pouch of money into his hand. "Take this and leave the Lin Manor," she said softly. "Leave Willow Creek City."
"I don't want you to live a life like mine."
Chen Feng wrote on his paper, "What about you?"
A bitter smile touched Lin Shuyue's lips. "This is my home. No matter how badly they treat me, I can't leave."
Suddenly, the sound of maids chattering and laughing drifted from outside as they went to the storeroom for satin.
Her voice grew urgent. "You have to go, now. Don't hesitate."
But at the thought that this might be the last time she ever saw him, that the companion she grew up with would be gone forever, a wave of unexpected sadness washed over her.
"Out there," she said, her voice growing hoarse, "don't trust strangers. Don't eat their food or drink their water."
"And… don't try to speak to just anyone. If they find out you're a mute, they'll bully you."
"Do you understand, little mute?"
As she spoke, her voice began to crack, and fresh tears welled in her eyes.
Chen Feng stepped forward and gently patted her on the head.
"From now on," he said softly, "you should call me husband."
Lin Shuyue's head snapped up. Her eyes went wide with shock, as if she were looking at a ghost. "You… you can speak?"