Chapter 68

The young man gently lowered his gaze, letting her hold him. His hands fidgeted slightly at his sides. He worriedly said, “Buxun doesn’t understand what Second Sister is saying, but Aunt and elder cousin are very worried about you.”
His handsome, striking face was full of concern, even his pale lips pressed tightly. He looked entirely innocent, leaving no one knowing what mischief he had done.
Seeing the system’s prompt, Qin Jinxiu realized Wei Buxun had been reborn. Now, like a black-hearted sesame ball with pale skin, he looked utterly blank.
She smirked coldly, then grabbed his sleeve with a frantic air. “Quick, take me back to the mansion! The bandits will be chasing soon!”
Wei Buxun was startled, was it just his imagination earlier?
Yet around them were all Qin family servants, and Aunt didn’t know she wasn’t her biological daughter. Even if she did… after raising her for so many years, how could she not care?
So Wei Buxun hadn’t exposed this over the years. Yet Qin Jinxiu’s notorious reputation throughout Huaizhou Prefecture had some connection to him. Unexpectedly, Aunt and elder cousin seemed even more concerned for her.
“She’s found!”
“Quick! Go tell Master and Madam!”
The torch-bearing servants excitedly reported. Wei Buxun naturally couldn’t make any bold moves here.
Qin Jinxiu clutched her chest, complaining of discomfort. Wei Buxun looked at her and, though wanting to toss her away, could only carry her back.
Upon hearing their daughter was found, Madam Qin finally eased, sending her son to retrieve her sister.
When Qin Simiao saw his sister in his cousin’s arms, he instinctively furrowed his brows and moved his lips, lost in thought.
The next morning, when Qin Jinxiu awoke on her soft, high bed, she saw Madam Qin holding her with a worried expression, dark circles under her eyes. She had likely been awake all night searching.
“Cough… mother.”
“My precious jade, my jade. Why must your life be so hard? Born with weakness, and now this happens…”
Madam Qin truly cared. Even knowing she wasn’t her biological daughter, she couldn’t bear to abandon her after raising her with such care.
Perhaps this was why, after the male lead’s rebirth, he hadn’t immediately revealed that Qin Jinxiu wasn’t Madam Qin’s daughter.
Qin Jinxiu leaned against her, silent, which made Madam Qin even more heartbroken.
With Mid-Autumn approaching, she would normally visit Sanggong to pray and “serve” the gods who protected her life. But fate had other plans. Madam Qin spared her from this, letting her recuperate at the mansion.
One day, Qin Jinxiu set a feast in the backyard pavilion. She instructed a maid, “Go invite my cousin, tell him I’ve arranged this feast to thank him for rescuing me last time.”
The maid assumed she was still timid after escaping the bandit camp, wanting to treat her cousin well.
Wei Buxun hadn’t yet reached the pavilion when he saw her lounging lazily in the red-painted structure, resting her chin in her hand. From his angle, only the half-exposed pale neck and lightly swaying agate earrings in the breeze were visible. He paused, stunned, then approached.
She seemed unaware of him.
“Miss, your cousin has arrived.”
Qin Jinxiu turned. Wei Buxun noticed her still slightly pale complexion and wondered if her old illness had relapsed.
Though tempted to tease her, he hesitated, realizing she hadn’t really wronged him in this life.
She smiled innocently, “Cousin, come sit.”
Dismissed the surrounding maids, she continued:
“I heard from your attendant that you like braised ox tongue. I specially requested the kitchen prepare it from a calf’s tongue for you. Try it.”
He didn’t understand her intentions but played along, behaving obediently. “Thank you, cousin. That’s very thoughtful of you.”
“No need. Since you’ve arrived at our mansion as a guest, and you rescued me, it’s only right to treat you well.”
Hearing “treat you well,” Wei Buxun’s hand paused over the food, his gaze dropping, not meeting her eyes.
When he looked at her, she gazed at the pond. When she looked at him, his eyes were on the feast. These glances never truly met.
She rested her chin on her hand, scrutinizing him like a piece of meat on a cutting board, making him uneasy.
She toyed with a lock of hair, bored.
“You’ve grown into quite a fine young man.”
“I never realized such a handsome gentleman was in our mansion.”
“The day you came to fetch me, our skin brushed… and they say one must repay a life-saving favor with oneself. Cousin, when will you ask mother for permission to marry?”
With each word, Wei Buxun’s expression darkened.
“You joke, cousin. Buxun has nothing, only resides at the Qin mansion. I dare not reach for you.”
He lowered his head, looking pitiful. Qin Jinxiu didn’t believe him. The system showed he’d done quite a lot in the past two years, connected with the Fifth Prince, recently gained a rank.
Promising future, talented, well-positioned, perfect as an “ideal husband.”
If he hadn’t sent her a grand gift, she wouldn’t even know how to marry with her ruined reputation. A forced match is still a match, heh.
If she couldn’t handle the little prince, could she not handle the growing male lead?
Once she completed the main task and storyline, she could leave with success, and she doubted the male lead could torment a corpse, if he did, it wouldn’t concern her.
Besides, audiences loved watching aggressive, forceful dramas.
She opened the live comments and saw everyone spamming 666. Satisfied, she smiled.
“Cousin was foolish before, now still pretending? Afraid of me? Don’t worry, I have a good temper. After marriage, I’ll be gentle, caring, unlike those fierce wives who beat their husbands. And I’m beautiful, the magistrate’s daughter, lucky you, poor boy.”
His temple twitched as if holding back something. After a pause, he murmured softly:
“Aunt and uncle are healthy… both with phoenix eyes. Uncle has a hump nose, aunt’s straight and tall… how could my cousin be born weak, with almond-shaped eyes…”
“Because I’m not my parents’ own.”
She leaned forward slightly, smiling at her young cousin.
So close, she could clearly see his pale lips, white teeth, and the shock in his suddenly changing eyes.
She curled her lips disdainfully, he’s a prime minister, and this is his mindset.
In a flash, the innocent little dog lunged, grabbing her neck and pressing her against the marble table. The cold surface brushed her cheek, making her shiver.
The pavilion was draped with moon-white silk for elegance. The maids didn’t notice the commotion, only faint figures. They blushed, assuming the young master was getting too close to the famed Qin Jinxiu.
"Were you reborn too?!" Wei Buxun’s expression darkened, looking like a completely different person from just moments ago.
"Cousin, what are you talking about? I don’t understand… cough, cough…"
Qin Jinxiu collapsed onto the stone table. Choked as she was, her slender neck shifted from jade-white to a flush of crimson, and the corners of her eyes were also tinged red, like a blooming water lotus, radiantly beautiful.
But unfortunately, there was no one here to admire the flower.
"How do you know you aren’t the aunt’s biological daughter?"
His dark eyebrows arched slightly as he looked down at her from above, a mix of scorn and disbelief in his voice.
"Will you marry me or not? Cough…"
"Crazy woman."
He glanced around and saw the maids whispering behind the curtains. "Do you think I wouldn’t dare kill you in broad daylight?"
"You wouldn’t… right? Don’t you feel your knees go weak, your head spinning… cough, cough…"
Before she could finish, Wei Buxun smelled a sticky, metallic stench from his nose and said with certainty, "Did you poison me?"
"Can you let me go now?"
He shoved her away, trying to cover his nose. Qin Jinxiu handed him a piece of silk; he glared at her fiercely. "Feigning innocence."
"Will you marry me or not?"
"So you really came back, Qin Jinxiu! You actually have the face to let me marry you!"
"Do not address your cousin by her personal name."
Wei Buxun clenched his fists for a while, but having weathered the storms of a previous life, he soon calmed down. "Fine. I will marry you."
The commotion inside grew louder. The maids peeked in and saw the two sitting side by side, appearing intimate.
In reality…
The man frowned: "Even if I asked your aunt for your hand, she wouldn’t agree. Your health suddenly improved overnight, and your aunt believes it’s divine intervention; she insists you follow the rules of Sanggong Palace."
Qin Jinxiu served him some food, tilting her head and smiling: "That’s your business then, cousin."
Wei Buxun’s eyelids drooped halfway, showing a pitiful look as if she were toying with him, but Qin Jinxiu hadn’t forgotten how ferocious he had been earlier, like a little wolf cub.
"Actually, I don’t quite understand… Cousin, you neither like Buxun nor…"
He wanted to ask: Now he had no power or status. Even if she feared his revenge in the future, she could destroy him now. Why insist on marrying him?
Of course, he had his own plan.
"You don’t read minds, cousin. How could you know I don’t like you? I do enjoy handsome men."
"Judging people by appearances brings harm to oneself and others!" he said, no longer pretending, his tone carrying a somewhat pedantic, scholarly rigidity.
Her so-called “liking” made him feel slightly disgusted, shallow enough to be laughable.
"But life is short. One must enjoy it while one can. What’s wrong with admiring someone’s looks?"
Wei Buxun recalled how in his previous life, this cousin’s mistreatment of him seemed to stop when he grew into a handsome youth, yet later she still insisted on marrying him.
He felt a complicated, indescribable emotion. Such a person, so shallow, so overtly proud, he had only ever met one in both his past and present lives.
That night, Wei Buxun tossed and turned. Sometimes he pondered what poison this crazy woman had given him; other times, he was certain she knew who had trapped her in the bandits’ den.
He had been outwitted by such a fool. No, he couldn’t blame himself, even if the emperor himself came, he would never imagine someone brazenly hosting a feast to poison others!
This crazy woman, this foolish woman!
Having weathered years in officialdom, called an old fox, the prime minister suddenly thumped his bed, revealing a hint of youthful temperament.
"Light the lamp!"
"Huh?"
The dozing night servant came in to light it, puzzled. "Young master, it’s late… why light a lamp?"
Wei Buxun’s face showed no expression. "To read."