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 engagement.
"Then is it alright if we search your room, Big Sister?" asked Qin Wanru.
"How ridiculous! Your sister's room is not somewhere you can go and snoop around in whenever you like," cried Mrs. Qin in rage.
"How about if grandma sends someone in to search?" Qin Wanru said calmly. She blinked her long lashes.
Qin Wanru's composed manner made Qin Yuru even more anxious and she turned to her mother.
"Mother, Sister Wanru‘s gone mad! She's trying to ruin my reputation."
"Ruin your reputation? How does getting someone to search your room ruin your reputation? What are you afraid they’ll find, Big Sister?” Qin Wanru laughed coldly, turning her sister’s words back against her.
The crowd began to cast skeptical glances at Madam Di and Qin Yuru. Could this be true, considering the looks of panic on their faces?
"Grandma, please send someone into Big Sister's room to search her dresser. There's a rosewood box in the lowest drawer on the right. It contains the letters our cousin wrote to Big Sister. I think the letters contain information on their engagement!" said Qin Wanru, still calm.
The description was so detailed. Would she really make that up? If it was true, it would mean the truth was the opposite of what they’d thought.
This would not be a story of a second sister trying to take a marriage by force. Instead, it would be the story of the older sister deserting the son of the magistrate to marry into a wealthier family. It would be the older sister who had tricked her innocent younger sister into "snatching" the initial marital arrangement.
If this were the case, Qin Yuru was both unfaithful and despicable. She was obviously trying to ruin her own sister's life. Looking at the younger Miss Qin, it was hard to believe she had any knowledge about feelings between men and women.
Qi Tianyu'a eyes turned cold. The entire day had so many shocks he was only now starting to think clearly. He started to think through Qin Yuru’s actions with a new suspicion. Looking over, he saw the determination of Qin Wanru’s tiny face. She really was just a child, not some scheming puppetmaster.
Old grandma nodded and indicated for two maids to enter Qin Yuru's room to search. While Qin Yuru tried to block them, one of the maids held her back while the other searched her room. In a matter of minutes, the maid emerged with the rosewood box.
The crowd outside Qin Yuru's room began whispering.
When Qin Yuru saw the rosewood box, she was no longer worried about letting the maid who held her inside. She pushed free and threw herself at the other maid, snatching the rosewood box, then turned and darted back into her room, slamming the door behind her.
The crowd was stunned into silence, faces leaden.
"Yuru, Yuru, don't be rash. Your little sister is still young and she did not mean to humiliate you. What she says isn't true, so don't do silly things!" Madam Di said, pushing past the two maids. She banged on the door and wailed as if Qin Yuru was trying to take her life.
"Mother, look at how Sister and Grandma doubted me and even took my box. How can I face the rest of the world?" said Qin Yuru from inside her room, quickly picking up on her mother’s tone and starting to wail as well.
She would not allow those letters to be exposed. She intended to imply Grandma Qin was playing favorites again, taking the box out to humiliate her.
Madam Di heaved a sigh of relief. Her eyes were filled with pride for Qin Yuru's wit. She was sure this would put both Qin Wanru and Old Grandma on the defense. No one would be able to bear the consequence if Yuru committed suicide.
Even Old Grandma Qin could not bear driving her own granddaughter to her death.
"You do need me to tell you what you need to do, do you Master Qi?" Qin Wanru retreated a step and shot Qi Tianyu a mocking look. He was frozen.
She glanced at him, then, young face scornful, looked pointedly over to a bystander in a green headscarf. Her meaning was clear. If he stood outside, he was a man “wearing a green hat”. A cuckhold.
The green headscarf was like a sharp blade to Qi Tianyu's pride and cut right through his carefully maintained composure.
Qi Tianyu's face drained of blood, his eyes turning bloodshot. His hands tightened into fists as he strode towards the door of Qin Yuru's room.
Madam Di thought he wanted to speak to Qin Yuru, so she wiped away her tears and moved aside. As she turned away, she heard a loud bang and turned back to find the door to Qin Yuru’s room had been kicked open.
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
"You want that Fenghua glass light?" marveled Mrs. Qin. "Yes!" Qin Wan blinked and nodded. "You really want it?" Mrs. Qin asked again. "I really want it!" Qin Wanru said with resignation. Actually, it was not what she wanted, but Prince Chen who wanted it. Even if she did not ride on his coattail, she dared to offend him. Since a Fenghua glass light could satisfy him, why not giving it to him! "Why does Prince Chen want the Fenghua glass light? His role is so extravagant. He must have seen all the good products, so why does he want my Fenghua glass light? There must be something to do with it." "Fenghua glass light is certainly precious. As a prince, what treasures cannot he own?" Now look at grandmother's behavior, Qin Wanru gained a deep understanding that this Fenghua glass light was probably not simple. But she did not want to ask! "Grandmother did not have the Fenghua
"Qin Wanru, you want to go out to fetch Fenghua glass light?" Prince Chen said in a mild tone and raised his black eyes with his customary elegance. He turned over and coughed weakly and sickly. One day was enough for him to know Qin Wanru. Of course, Qin Wanru knew that the so-called gentleness was actually an illusion. "Yes, I hope that the prince can help!" Qin Wanru requested sincerely though she was nervous. If there is anyone in the house who can persuade father to let me go, he must be prince Chen in front of me. "Is this related to me?" The young man raised his beautiful eyes and looked at her with his head tilted. His smile was still elegant but his tone was a bit of ironic. "It is the Fenghua glass light that the prince wants." Qin Wanru said respectfully with her fist clenched. It seemed that she did not see the irony in his eyes. "I wanna see whether you can go out on your own or not!" Pr