Chapter 66

“Since I’m opening a teahouse and need silver, rather than let those other sisters interfere, I’d rather it be her.”
Her words made sense to the maid.
Suddenly, she seemed to remember something. “Miss, lately Madam has been selecting a future husband for you. I heard recently Mr. Zhang from the rice shop on East Street visited the house.”
Upon hearing that Madam Jiang was selecting a husband for her, Jiang Linlang’s brows furrowed. She wasn’t ready to marry yet, but as a young woman, and a concubine’s daughter, the matter of marriage rested entirely in Madam Jiang’s hands.
She had to find a way to deal with it.
Meanwhile, Qin Jinxiu, hearing that Jiang Linlang was being matched with someone, felt a subtle pang in her heart. She was bound by that absurd divine decree to never marry, yet Jiang Linlang, the same age as her, was already having suitors considered.
She tentatively asked Madam Qin, “Mother, I heard Sister Jiang is having a match considered?”
Hearing this, Madam Qin smiled wryly. She had previously told Madam Jiang that she would also keep an eye on Linlang’s marriage prospects. Now, seeing Madam Jiang arranging matches, it was clear she hadn’t regarded her at all.
“This girl hasn’t had it easy. Her mother’s favored concubine is gone, and now the misfortune falls upon her.”
Madam Jiang had always been jealous of how Jiang Linlang’s mother had been favored. Killing the woman wasn’t enough, she even despised the daughter she left behind.
The Qin household, however, had no such worries. Madam Qin was capable and methodical, and Master Qin was not the type to harm wives or concubines. In their household, wives and concubines had clear roles, and the children, two sons and a daughter, were orderly. Among them, one son and one daughter were born of Madam Qin; the others, being children of concubines, had no inheritance and dared not harbor selfish thoughts.
Even the concubine Lady Liu, who had borne a son, was treated with respect. Madam Qin ran the household well and never skimped on the food or clothing of her concubines.
At that moment, when Qin Jinxiu came in to greet her mother, two concubines were inside embroidering handkerchiefs for the sons and daughters. Seeing their skill, Madam Qin didn’t stop them.
Qin Jinxiu’s eyes glinted. “Mother, I’ve seen Madam Jiang. She’s got a horse-like face, sharp lips, arched eyebrows, triangular eyes, and a very sharp tongue. How could she find a good match for Jiang Linlang? I think she’ll just send her off casually and swap a bit of silver for the dowry.”
Madam Qin laughed, surprised. Today, Jinxiu was defending Linlang. She teased, “Didn’t you always say I favored Jiang Linlang over you? You hated her! Now you’re worried about her marriage? If she married poorly, wouldn’t you be happier?”
Jinxiu was stumped. She hated Jiang Linlang because the plot demanded it, but Linlang’s proper match wasn’t some son of a rice shop on East Street.
“I… she’s my mother’s recognized foster daughter. If she’s married off carelessly to someone lame, where would that leave the Qin family’s face?”
“Oh, so it’s our Yunu worried about the family’s reputation. I thought it was Sister Jiang you were worried about.”
“I’m not worried about her. I care about our family’s honor. I’m going to play with big brother now. He said he’d take me horse riding in the outskirts today.”
She paused, pouted, and shifted the topic. “Anyway, Mother, you must keep an eye on this!”
She hadn’t found her own ideal husband yet. Why should Jiang Linlang marry first? She was supposedly involved with the little prince. What business did the son of the rice shop have? Though Jinxiu couldn’t stand Jiang Linlang, she never wished her hardship.
It was a May day, the outskirts’ horse pastures lush and sunny. Qin Jinxiu chose a chestnut mare, gentle in temperament, not running wildly.
Seeing her listless expression, Qin Simiao reined in his horse and rode over. “Jinxiu, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
A year ago, a fall into the lake nearly cost Jinxiu her life, terrifying him. He hadn’t expected his sister to be so fragile.
Seeing her languid today, he assumed her body wasn’t well again.
“No, big brother…”
“I…”
She hesitated. Qin Simiao found it novel, the first time he’d seen her act shy. “What’s the matter? Did you get into trouble again?”
“Big brother! Do you think I’m always so foolish in your eyes?”
Jinxiu clenched her fists, met with silence. She wasn’t wrong, he thought of her this way because she was his younger sister, delicate and pitiful, having endured much hardship.
He remained quiet. Jinxiu already knew his thoughts and huffed in indignation. “Big brother, you hurt me so!”
She flicked her whip, urging the horse forward. Qin Simiao followed. “Will you speak? If not, I’ll go hunting in the woods with them. Tomorrow, if you look for me at the academy, I won’t answer.”
“Hmph, you’re like Mother, never really caring for me. No, you’ve never cared. If not for being full siblings, you’d pretend I didn’t exist.”
She pouted, eyes glistening with unshed tears. Qin Simiao groaned. “Nonsense. You’re my only sister. Last year, your health was weak. Mother treated you like the apple of her eye. I was studying in the outer courtyard, so our sibling bond was a little distant. But think: since last year when you fell in the lake and caused trouble outside, who cleaned up after you every time? Now Mother wouldn’t dare punish you. Without me, you’d be kneeling on the bricks in the ancestral hall until your skin peeled.”
“You! Big brother, I’m annoyed, and you say that to pierce my heart.”
She pouted, on the verge of tears.
“Annoyed? You’re healthy now, can eat, ride horses, who’s as lucky as you?”
“I… I heard Sister Jiang is going to be married…”
At mention of Jiang Linlang, a poised, flawless, graceful girl appeared in Qin Simiao’s mind, the image he had imagined of his sister before Jinxiu was born. But after meeting Jinxiu, that image changed. Those perfectionist lives were too constricting, always bending words in conversation.
With Jinxiu, it was simple. A glare meant anger, a pout meant grievance, a flick of the whip was all bluff. Qin Simiao smiled, thinking of the “messes” he supposedly cleaned up: forgetting silver at the Treasure Pavilion, squabbles with the Li family girls, slapping them when necessary.
Those Li girls bullied concubines but blamed Jinxiu. She couldn’t argue and instead defended the concubine with a few slaps.
Returning his thoughts, he heard his sister sulking about Jiang Linlang’s impending marriage.
“You’re reluctant to see Sister Jiang married?”
“Not at all. She’s younger than me…”
Seeing her hanging head and fidgeting fingers, Qin Simiao suddenly understood, she was eager to marry.
“Brother, among your friends, is there anyone handsome, well-mannered, wealthy, gentle, and considerate…”
Listening to her long list of ideal husband traits, Qin Simiao groaned. Never mind Jinxiu’s reputation in town.
“You promised not to marry at Sanggong. I fear…”
“Brother, do you really believe in such absurd gods? If there were any, why stop me from marrying? Are the gods trying to wed me themselves?!”
“I only ate the Tianshan Snow Lotus to recover. Mother sent me to Sanggong. Perhaps Jiang Linlang poisoned me, then gave the antidote… tricked us.”
“Linlang isn’t that bad.” Qin Simiao pressed his lips, hearing his sister’s increasingly outrageous speculations.
“She’s not bad. I’m the worst, right? You just have to see me become a temple maiden to feel satisfied.”
Qin Simiao found the Sanggong “never marry” rule absurd, yet Jinxiu’s weak body was truly better. Still, he remained unsure, he had never believed in gods.
“What are you panicking about? You’re of marrying age; it’s normal to talk about marriage.”
“Don’t forget tomorrow’s Sanggong ritual.”
“I won’t go! I don’t believe a clay god can harm me!”
With that, she spurred her horse away. Qin Simiao pressed his brow. A voice beside him asked, “Cousin, what’s wrong with Cousin Jinxiu? She’s seemed irritable lately.”
He wanted to say she had been moody and hard to handle.
As marriage between cousins was allowed, he gave a casual excuse: an old illness made her unhappy.
Wei Buxun clearly doubted it but smiled in secret. Even if this wicked woman had survived some accident this life without touching him, he wouldn’t forgive her. In the previous life, his body and remaining years owed their survival to her.
To forgive her generously? That was a bodhisattva’s work. He had come for revenge.
Originally, seeing her suffer brought him satisfaction, but she recovered. He wasn’t here to watch her live a peaceful, wealthy life.
Once she left the horse grounds, someone would come to fetch her.
“Buxun, I heard you’ll sit the exams this year?”
Qin Simiao asked. The two brothers chatted for a while. Then, Qin Simiao noticed his sister was gone and panicked. “Where’s the second miss?”
The groom said she had ridden furiously into the woods in anger.
Wei Buxun, feigning concern, said, “Send someone to find second cousin.”
Qin Simiao nodded grimly. Wei Buxun lowered his gaze, realizing this cousin deeply cherished his malicious cousin. He couldn’t understand what made this woman so likeable.
Everyone searched and searched. Night had fallen, yet torches were still held high as they scoured the area. Wei Buxun, not wanting to disappoint his aunt and cousin, pretended to join the search as well. He thought that after letting that woman stew in the bandits’ den for a while, she would return to find she wasn’t Madam Qin’s biological daughter, what a spectacle that would be!
There would be no chance for her to turn the tables.
When Qin Jinxiu woke up, she found herself surrounded by mountain bandits, her face filled with confusion. This scene wasn’t in the script! She quickly summoned her system.