Seeing Miss suddenly dazed, Ethan Bolton pondered for a moment, then, without a word, got up and left.

When he did this, Emily Brooks couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed.

He got the information he wanted and just left her there—how could this Ethan Bolton be so ungrateful!

But in just a moment, Ethan Bolton returned, holding two large leaves in his hand. He went to the pond to wash the leaves clean, then rinsed them again with spring water. After that, he fashioned the emerald green leaves into two delicate little cups, poured spring water from the clay pot into them, and handed one to Emily Brooks.

“Thirsty? Have a cup of spring water to soothe your throat. Thank you for earlier—truly, hearing your words was better than reading for ten years.”

Emily Brooks was used to days surrounded by servants, where even without a glance someone would attend to her needs. But here in the countryside, after a unique meal and now receiving a timely cup of sweet spring water from Ethan Bolton, she accepted it in a daze, her mood suddenly brightening.

So she had wrongly blamed him… Well, people in the capital are so slick, but in the countryside, folks are naturally honest.

Ethan Bolton, sipping spring water himself, thought to himself that pretending to be coerced and bringing Emily Brooks here for a picnic to dissolve the awkwardness of the so-called engagement, while also gathering plenty of information, was indeed the right choice.

Now that everything was clear, it was time to annul the engagement.

As he was thinking this, he suddenly sensed something odd. Looking up, he saw Emily Brooks holding the delicate green leaf cup, sipping daintily like a lady while studying him. Even when he noticed, she just smiled at him, completely at ease, without a hint of shyness.

Faced with such a bold gaze, he couldn’t help but find it amusing. Just then, he heard Miss Emily’s crisp voice: “By the way, when is your birthday?”

Of course, Ethan Bolton remembered the date Mrs. Smith often mentioned and answered casually, “The tenth year of Yongchen, the fifteenth day of the eighth month.”

“Huh?” Emily Brooks exclaimed in delight, “We were born on the same day—Mid-Autumn Festival!”

Ethan Bolton looked up sharply. After staring at Emily Brooks for a moment, he had to admit that, in ancient times, it was entirely possible for elders to arrange a betrothal between two children born on the same year, month, and day.

However, now that this body was under the control of his new soul, he certainly had no intention of fulfilling such an arranged marriage. He chuckled.

“What a coincidence… Anyway, if you’re worried about the engagement, Miss, I’ll think of a way. I’ll see if my mother really has the contract hidden away—if so, I’ll just steal it and burn it. As for your side, I’m sure you’ll figure something out when you get home, right?”

Burn the marriage contract? How could that be! I haven’t even figured out the details yet! Besides, with Grandmother’s personality, she’s not the type to stubbornly insist on Father’s strange engagement. There must be something fishy here—I have to investigate myself!

At this moment, Emily Brooks had completely forgotten that her original purpose in coming was to determine the authenticity of the engagement and hopefully negotiate terms to call off the marriage—she didn’t want to marry into the Lu family, but that didn’t mean she’d blindly accept her father’s odd arrangement.

“That won’t do. A person is nothing without integrity. If we do that, wouldn’t my family be seen as untrustworthy?”

Ethan Bolton hadn’t expected that now he was the one willing to break off the engagement, but Emily Brooks was the one objecting. He was a bit surprised.

He was just a poor country lad, even if he had a good-looking face. Surely Emily Brooks wouldn’t really be interested in him?

“If you’re worried people will say your family looks down on the poor, Miss, then I’ll be the one to break off the engagement. That way, your family won’t get blamed.”

Oh no, oh no, oh no! It’s all because she can’t talk her way out—now she’s cornered herself!

Emily Brooks was getting anxious, but just as things were about to get out of hand, she suddenly had an idea: “How about this! Grandmother has the marriage contract hidden away and never let me see the actual text. If your mother really has a copy, I’ll stay and help you look for it. I want to see what’s actually written on it. Once we find it, we can burn it together, right?”

Ethan Bolton never expected the plot to take such a wild turn and was caught off guard: “You? Want to stay at my house? Isn’t that inappropriate…”

Seeing Ethan Bolton flustered for the first time, Emily Brooks beamed.

“This is your home, but it’s also mine. Don’t forget, that Charles Brooks said this land and house all belong to my father, so I’m half the owner too. So I have a ready-made excuse to stay—just say I’m inspecting my father’s property!”

Seeing the usually reasonable and elegant Miss suddenly twisting logic, Ethan Bolton was left speechless.

We were supposed to break off the engagement—how did it turn into you moving into my house? Even if I can’t refuse, will that Charles Brooks of yours agree?

Chapter Six: Not Treating Herself as an Outsider

Watching helplessly as Emily Brooks took Ethan Bolton away, Mrs. Smith finally couldn’t help but struggle free from Charles Brooks’s hand on her shoulder, only to find two burly guards suddenly blocking the main room’s door. At this, her face immediately turned furious.