“It’s actually you!” Seeing Ethan Bolton smile and nod in greeting, Emily Brooks couldn’t help but stare at his face for a few more moments. But after the initial surprise, remembering his identity, her feelings became complicated, and she sized him up from head to toe.

Although it wasn’t the first time he’d been stared at with such a burning gaze, how could the dull, lifeless women or the fresh, pretty girls of the countryside compare to a dazzling young lady like her?

After giving her a slight smile, Ethan Bolton looked away and raised his eyebrows at the man sitting below her, whose face was as dark as the bottom of a pot: “Uncle, truly, there’s nowhere in life you can’t run into someone again.”

Charles Brooks was fuming with anger at this moment. He had compared a country bumpkin boy—whom he thought to be illiterate—to himself, only to be mocked with a poem in return. That was bad enough, but what was worse was that this country boy turned out to be the very person he had brought the young lady to find!

Now, even though he knew Ethan Bolton’s words were sarcastic, he had to suppress his anger and stand up to cup his hands in greeting: “Young Master Ethan, I spoke out of turn earlier.”

“Heh.” Ethan Bolton had no intention of saying any polite words like ‘no offense taken,’ but instead lightly changed the subject: “My mother and I have lived here for so many years, with no relatives or connections. Aside from the peddler who comes by once or twice a year, we’ve never seen any outsiders, let alone guests from the capital. May I ask who you two are, and what business you have with us?”

Charles Brooks’s expression was cold, and his tone even colder: “If there were no business, we would never dare disturb Young Master Ethan and Aunt Smith.”

He had spent a hefty sum to get this information from someone close to the Dowager Madam. The young lady despised those noble families with many wives and concubines. Knowing that Ethan Bolton was a concubine’s son, possibly born to a woman from another household, with an unclear background, surely she wouldn’t be so infatuated anymore, right? Yet, to his disappointment, Emily Brooks still stared intently, as if she hadn’t even noticed his deliberate emphasis on those three words.

When Ethan Bolton heard the words Aunt Smith, he caught a glimpse of Mrs. Smith’s struggling expression from the corner of his eye, and finally, she lowered her gaze in silence. Countless scenes of internal strife among noble families flashed through his mind, but he quickly pushed aside these chaotic thoughts.

He had already disliked this person who had been rude to him at their first meeting, and now he was even more displeased: “If you have something to say, please say it directly!”

“Indeed, I suppose Aunt Smith never told you, Young Master Ethan.” Seeing Mrs. Smith falter as expected, Charles Brooks sneered, “My master is the current Duke of Zhao. I am merely a humble adviser in the household, of no importance. As for our young lady… Young Master Ethan, have you never heard that you and the Duke of Zhao’s daughter have been betrothed since childhood?”

Although Ethan Bolton knew that in these times, marriages were arranged by parents and matchmakers, when he heard that this beautiful young lady before him was actually his fiancée, even after living two lifetimes, he was still startled!

And Emily Brooks finally snapped out of her daze from admiring his looks. She knew full well that Charles Brooks was deliberately trying to provoke her, but upon learning that her fiancé was the handsome young man she had just decided to visit often in the countryside to feast her eyes on, her heart couldn’t help but waver.

Especially when she saw Ethan Bolton’s utterly surprised expression after hearing Charles Brooks mention the engagement, a bold idea suddenly sprang to her mind.

After that initial moment of shock, Ethan Bolton couldn’t help but laugh wryly: “As the saying goes, marriages should be between families of equal status. She’s a noble young lady, and I’m just a country boy. Why would the Duke of Zhao arrange such an ill-matched engagement?”

That was exactly what Charles Brooks was waiting for. But fearing that Ethan Bolton might try to retreat in order to advance, he unhesitatingly revealed another layer of the truth.

“You may not know, Young Master Ethan, but the nearby fields, the house you and Aunt Smith live in, and all your food, clothing, and expenses over the years have all come from my master. Even the servants in your home were carefully selected by him. If not for this engagement, why would my master care so much for you and your mother?”

Instinctively, Ethan Bolton turned to look at Mrs. Smith beside him, and saw that the handkerchief in her hand was about to be torn to shreds. He felt as if his entire worldview had been upended once again.

So that’s why his family’s lifestyle didn’t match their apparent wealth—turns out the land belonged to his future father-in-law!

And he had actually been raised by his future father-in-law since childhood. What was this, a child bridegroom… no, a child son-in-law?

Chapter Three: Hostage

Hearing Ethan Bolton admit the mismatch in status, and seeing Charles Brooks press harder, even exposing the fact that her father had been supporting the mother and son all along, Emily Brooks couldn’t help but feel sorry for the refined young man who had made such a perfect first impression on her. The bold idea she’d just had instantly became a firm resolve, and she stood up abruptly.

“What engagement? I don’t acknowledge it!”

As soon as she stood up, Emily Brooks noticed that Charles Brooks indeed showed a trace of secret delight, clearly thinking his words had succeeded in angering her. She was happy to let this lackey, blind enough to be her second brother’s lapdog, remain deceived, and walked straight over to Ethan Bolton.

Ethan Bolton had been lost in thought, but at her sudden exclamation, he snapped back to reality and realized the light in front of him was suddenly blocked. Looking up, he saw that Emily Brooks had somehow come to stand right in front of him. As their eyes met, he could even see the deep black pupils in her eyes, and feel the surge of emotion within them.