“Second Miss,” Qing Yue screamed. She ran to Qin Wanru’s side.
A crowd of people stood at the door, including Grandma Qin and her servants. They saw Qin Wanru lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Grandma Qin’s face changed from scolding to horror.
“Hurry! Somebody get a doctor!” she screamed.
The servant girls rushed to obey as Grandma Qin picked up her half dead granddaughter.
“Zhuozhuo! Zhuozhuo, what happened?” she asked, voice trembling on the edge of tears.
Zhuozhuo was Qin Wanru’s nickname, but nobody called it with love like Old Grandma Qin.
“Grandma, big sister wants me to marry brother Qi, but… but I don’t want to marry him! She won’t let me just… I don’t want to marry him! Please don’t let her kill me…” Qin Wanru said, words broken and faint. Her hands went slack and she lost consciousness.
It was a risky move, letting herself get injured so severely, but Grandma Qin would remember her tantrum when she insisted on the marriage. Without the injury, Madam Di and Qin Yuru could easily paint her as a liar. She had to get Old Grandma Qin and Qi Tianyu on her side. Qi Tianyu, betrayed on his wedding day, was bound to come to question her soon.
"Zhuozhuo, Zhuozhuo, Zhuozhuo, wake up." Seeing Qin Wanru lose consciousness, Grandma Qin’s voice became more urgent. Qin Wanru looked a broken porcelain doll, little face bloodless. The blood pooled around them. “Hurry up! Go and see if there’s a doctor here!”
Qin Wanru woke to muffled sounds outside her door. She could hear loud voices. At first, the words were indistinct, but as her head began to clear, she started to make out words. The man was clearly outraged.
“Lady Qin, I don’t understand what kind of game Second Miss Qin is playing. Previously, she was willing to force me to marry her. Now she wants to smash the sedan chair to avoid it. Either way, I never wanted to marry her. I will not agree to this union! If she wants to marry, she can have my second brother.”
She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She was alone in the room. It was not her death bed either. It seemed to be the inner room of her grandmother’s chambers.
She recognized the angry voice outside. It was Qi Tianyu.
Sure enough, Qin Yuru must have told him Qin Wanru had stolen the engagement from her. He didn’t admit that he’d only escorted the bridal sedan to humiliate Qin Wanru at the gate. He’d wanted to break things off as publicly as possible to further disgrace her.
She scowled, struggling to grab the bed rail. She levered herself up, teeth gritted in pain. Last time, she’d been a nervous and childish girl, but now she was filled with rage.
Her injured arm was nothing compared to the scars her last life left on her heart.
She had been reborn, so she would not fall for these people’s charming traps a second time. She’d tear off Qin Yuru’s mask for everyone to see.
To start with, she would be the one to break off the engagement, not Qi Tianyu.
“Young Lord Qi, were you so set on not marrying my Zhuozhuo that you had to send Nanny Fang to take her life?” Grandmother Qin slammed her hand against the table. She couldn’t stay calm when her beloved granddaughter was at the gates of death.
A smashed bridal sedan meant nothing to her. She was thinking about the words Qin Wanru had said before she fainted. They stung her like thorns. She’d been too focused on Qin Wanru to deal with it, but now that the girl was stable, she could question Nanny Fang. Instead, Qi Tianyu had walked in, so he became the target of her rage.
Qi Tianyu had brought a crowd in with him. Originally, he’d invited them along to further humiliate Qin Wanru. He’d made sure to bring as many relatives as possible in the wedding escort, so when he rushed inside, they’d come as well.
Now Grandmother Qin said a Nanny tried to kill Qin Wanru. Qi Tianyu didn’t believe it at all. This was part of her game! He just didn’t know what she was trying to do.
“Take her life?” Qi Tianyu repeated skeptically. He looked over to Qin Yuru who was sitting with her head down, letting her tears fall. His heart ached for her. “Grandmother, it’s likely your granddaughter found out I didn’t want to marry her, so made an excuse to cause me trouble.”
“All this to cause you trouble? Mister Qi, you really… overestimate me!” Qin Wanru said. Her voice was weak, but still stubborn.
Hearing her, everyone looked over to the doorway where the pale girl stood, eyes dark, lips snow white. Her arm was wrapped in a thick, white bandage but blood still showed through. It was clearly a serious injury.
Wasn’t she pretending? The injury looked far too severe for that. Qi Tianyu’s escort couldn’t help being shocked.
Qin Yuru, who’d been watching quietly from the side, was hit with a feeling of dread. She grabbed a handkerchief and stood up, hurrying to her sister’s side.
“Little sister, you’re hurt! Why’d you get out of bed?”
“I want the engagement nullified. This wasn’t my idea. Big Sister talked me into it. She couldn’t take it when I backed out of her plan at the last minute, so she had Nanny Fang attack me with a pair of scissors! Is she trying to force me to marry him no matter what?” Qin Wanru asked. She pushed Qin Yuru’s hang away and ran into Qing Yue’s arms where she could hide her cold eyes.Hearing that, all the people watching felt the blood drain from their faces. Qin Wanru was still at the age where she spoke her thoughts openly, so it felt reasonable for her to say something so bold. They all turned to look at Qin Yuru.Qin Yuru stepped back, face falling.“W-what did you say, Second Sister?” Qin Yuru blurted, pointing at her sister with a trembling hand. She felt her panic rising.“What are you saying, Wanru? You forced your sister to let you marry him. How can you say she forced you into it? As for the injury, it’s just an accident! You never change. You always bl
The Qin Mansion was relatively small, so it did not take long for Qin Wanru to lead the group to Qin Yuru's room. When she saw Qin Wanru about to let them through the door, Qin Yuru lost her nerve. Casting her other concerns aside, she walked up to Qin Wanru and put out her arms out to block her."What do you plan to do in my room, Second Sister?" said Qin Yuru and she glared fiercely at Qin Wanru, her face drained of color."Not much. I just want to look at the letters our cousin wrote you!" replied Qin Wanru calmly, staring back at Qin Yuru."Letters... what letter?" Qin Yuru was so terrified that she almost bit her tongue. She had no idea how Qin Wanru had found out about the letter.When Madam Di had first begun trying to set up the match with Duke Yong’s family, Qin Yuru had started corresponding with Di Yan. Their letters expressed their mutual commitment to make their relationship work. It was, in fact, Di Yan who had urged his mother to agree to their
Inside, Qin Yuru sat paralyzed on the floor, overcome by shock. She stared blankly at Qi Tianyu, who forced his way in by kicking down the door, shaking like a leaf. She looked so frail and pathetic.On any other day, Qi Tianyu would be pained to see Qin Yuru in such a state. At this moment, however, Qi Tianyu's eyes were filled with violence.He snatched the rosewood box from Qin Yuru's hand, opening it without hesitation. He pulled out the letter and a quick glance told him what Qin Wanru had said was true."Alright, the Qi family is not worthy of you. If we are not worthy, you could have just broken off the engagement amicably..." Qi Tianyu scoffed. He looked ready to slash the delicate Qin Yuru into a thousand pieces."Brother Tianyu, it's not what you think..." Qin Yuru said, panicked. She reached out her hand to touch his leg and began to weep.Consumed with rage, Qi Tianyu kicked Qin Yuru away. He thought of the years he’d spent dreaming of their
The engagement between the two families was broken. The eldest daughter of the Ningyuan army general did not guard her chastity. She had such a malicious heart that, pregnant with another man’s child, she devised an evil plan for her younger sister to take her place in marriage.The news snowballed as it spread.Within half a day's time, the entire city of Jiangzhou was talking about it. In a matter of hours, the eldest Miss Qin despised, universally agreed to be the most shameful girl they’d ever heard of. Some even weaved her story into a ballads. When the news reached Qin Huaiyong, he quickly sent men to suppress the rumor, but it was impossible to completely stop people from talking. The Qi family was secretly protecting and spreading the story. By now, the news had even spread far beyond Jiangzhou...The Ningyuan army general was furious. Qin Yuru wailed and cried and even tried to commit suicide. She had shaken the foundation of her entire household.
Chu Liuchen was the crown prince when the late emperor was still alive. He was only a few months old when his uncle usurped the throne and scraped his status as the crown prince. He became Prince Chen, half locked up under house arrest in the South Court in the palace. This was why he was also known as the Crown Prince of South Court.She remembered hearing about him in her previous life. Some said he was a handsome, distinguished gentleman. Other claimed he was a sly and bloodthirsty man. Either way, Qin Wanru didn’t see it as any of her business who he was. She’d only seen him once from far off.Back then, he was the high and mighty crown prince, looking down at her like she was some kind of lowly creature.Right now, on the other hand, she had no choice but to face up to this younger version of Prince Chen.She wanted to keep her distance from him as much as possible, but she couldn’t help but perk at the chance to be recognized by somebody so powerful.
By the time Qin Wanru regained consciousness, it was evening. An old woman bent over the lamp, holding scissors to cut the wick.This was her grandmother, the only member of her family who doted on her. The bandages on her arm had been rewrapped."Are you feeling better, Grandma?" she said, almost in a whisper. Old grandma looked up and saw that Qin Wanru had opened her eyes, her face brightened immediately and she got up to walk toward Wanru, and with a gentle voice, she said, “Zhuozhuo, you're finally awake. Quick, will someone prepare her dinner?"Qing Yue emerged from behind the screen and came up to Qin Wanru help her sit up on her bed and slipped a cushion behind her for support. Her injured arm seemed to have been re-bandaged and so she could not see any blood soaking through the gauze, and it was not hurting as much as before.Another maid came into the room to place a bowl of porridge and some dishes in front of Qin Wanru.Qin Wanru was indeed
"Don't meddle with this affair, you're just a kid..." Qin Huaiyong said as he frowned and waved his hand as if to dismiss what Qin Wanru said. "Asking a kid not to meddle with this affair. How about me? Am I too old to meddle with this?" Old grandma cut in. Qin Wanru indicated for Qing Yue to help old grandma to the chair to sit down. "Mother, something did not add up here..." Qin Huaiyong tried to explain when he heard old grandma's angry tone of voice. "What are you doubting? As a father, would you rather believe the words of an old maid or your own daughter?" said Qin Wanru as she looked up at Qin Huaiyong with a pair of bright eyes. Mammy Fang followed Mrs. Qin when she married into the Qin family. Qin Wanru would like Mammy Fang's arm to be severed by Mrs. Qin personally. She wanted to see how many maids would remain faithful to their mistress if the mistress could not even protect her own henchmen.
Aunt Shui was none other than Shui Ruolan, Qin Huaiyong's cousin, the daughter of old grandma's younger sister. She had come to take shelter under the Qins from a young age when old grandma's younger sister passed away. When she came of age, she got married, but her husband passed away later on before they bore any children. For this reason, old grandma brought her back to the Ningyuan Army General's house to be with her. Shui Ruolan was a woman with a gentle spirit who had never said a word of complaint even though she had a sad life. Qin Huaiyong had always had a soft spot for this cousin of his. Unfortunately, they each had their prearranged marriages respectively since young for this reason, they kept their distance in honor of their commitments. When Shui Ruolan returned to Qin Huaiyong's house as a widow, they continued to treat each other honorably. In fact, they did not see each other much within the manor grounds. Even when the need arose, they a