Chapter 5: I will marry

Qin Bi understood very well that the Marquis of Qinyan’s manor had to rely on either the Prince of Rong’s manor or the Duke of Yan’s manor.

Her father, Qin Di, protected her. He had pointed out that divorcing after the marriage would not be cost-effective; the marriage was intended to secure an alliance, and bringing up divorce would only offend the Duke’s manor, leaving her elder brother’s future prospects in limbo.

Therefore, regardless of the circumstances, Qin Di and his son had done their best to protect her.

As for the Marquis’s manor, it hadn't fared well with the Duke of Yan either.

Qin Bi sighed. Once He Yan married Qin He, the Marquis of Qinyan could finally breathe a sigh of relief. At the very least, the Marquis’s manor would have married off one daughter to someone He Yan liked. It was just that the fourth branch would gain nothing, and her stepmother, Madam He, would no longer be welcome at her maiden home.

In the afternoon, just after lunch, He Yan arrived.

The man was tall, handsome, and dressed in brocade robes. He Yan sat on the edge of the bed and spoke in a gentle tone: "Qin Bi, it hasn't been easy for Qin He to wait for me all these years. Why must you be so calculating? She has always wanted a life of 'one life, one pair,' yet she is even willing to be a secondary wife. Your fussing is unreasonable."

"One life, one pair?" Luo Bi sneered. She wanted that too, but this was the ancient world. Even for women who cultivated immortality, there was little status to be had. After the marriage had been dragged out for so many years, wanting to marry someone who only had eyes for her was nothing but a pipe dream.

"Qin He is just afraid of dying!" Qin Bi said bluntly.

Did Qin He not want to be the primary wife? She just didn't have the fate for it.

She was afraid of being cursed to death, yet she wanted to marry into the Duke’s manor. She wanted to have it both ways.

He Yan sighed, his sharp demeanor softening as he said gently, "Let’s stop this. She’s not young anymore after waiting for me; it’s not easy for her to marry. I am only taking her as a secondary wife; no one can touch your position as the primary wife."

Qin Bi felt exhausted. Saying these things was meaningless. "If that’s the case, you should just marry Qin He directly, so we can avoid the divorce later."

"My fate is unfavorable to her, but you are not affected," He Yan said, then told Qin Bi, "I will not divorce you."

"I'm not affected? I'm being cursed by you right now!" Qin Bi was so angry that her head felt dizzy. She snapped, "Can you have some shame? You like each other, so you should just get married regardless of the curse. I don't want to marry you. Don't you know you're a 'wife-killer'? I don't care for the position of primary wife."

Qin Bi cursed in her anger; if she didn't speak viciously, it wouldn't be enough to vent her hatred.

The Duke’s heir was arrogant and had never been treated with such disdain. He Yan’s face darkened, and he adopted the air of a powerful official: "Have you ever thought about who would dare to marry you after a divorce?"

Qin Bi was not afraid. "At worst, I just won't marry."

"Fine." He Yan sneered and stood up. "I agree to the divorce."

He Yan flicked his sleeves and left. Qin Bi let out a long, weary breath.

In the following days, both manors prepared for the wedding. When the second branch of the Marquis’s manor heard that it was settled for Qin He to be a secondary wife, they were indescribably happy. Qin He, however, could not be happy; she only wanted a life of "one life, one pair," not to be a secondary wife.

But when she thought of the dizzying, world-spinning sensation she felt when she was first betrothed to He Yan, Qin He felt a lingering fear, her heart pounding in her chest. Seeing her looking dejected, her younger sisters tried to persuade her.

"The heir doesn't like Qin Bi, so what are you worried about? A secondary wife is the same as a primary wife."

"That's right, that's right. The heir favors you in his heart."

"The heir has gone to such great lengths for you; don't think about anything else."

Listening to her sisters, Qin He still felt uncomfortable.

While the Marquis’s manor and the Duke of Yan’s manor were preparing for the wedding, Qin Bi’s health neither improved nor worsened, so no one could tell if she was being affected. After some thought, Qin Di wrote a letter to Rong Jun, the heir to the Prince of Rong, who was stationed outside the city.

If the fourth branch took Qin Bi back, it would be equivalent to falling out with the Duke’s manor. The fourth branch could only rely on the Prince of Rong’s heir.

The Prince of Rong’s heir did not reply, but Qin Di did not mind; he was merely informing the man who was the Marquis’s manor’s intended noble son-in-law. Qin Tang and his younger brother were quite worried, fearing they wouldn't be able to rely on either side.

In the days leading up to the wedding, the younger generation of the Marquis’s manor came to offer gifts and sit for a while. It wasn't for any other reason than that He Yan was a "wife-killer," and even if he weren't, the fact that he was taking a secondary wife right after the wedding made her truly pitiful.

The sisters who had had their own little schemes all kept them to themselves.

Qin Bi didn't want to deal with these trivialities. Her sister-in-law was busy running around, and Qin Bi saw it all. When she saw her father, Qin Di, she said, "Father, you won't deceive me about the divorce after the wedding, will you?"

Qin Di looked at this child a little longer. He hadn't realized before that she saw things so clearly.

"I won't deceive you." Seeing his daughter’s eyes turn red again, Qin Di said, "I will send your brother to pick you up later."

Only then did Qin Bi set her mind at ease. The younger generation had been coming to offer gifts these past few days, and for some reason, Qin He also came. As soon as the sister-in-law saw her, she immediately sent someone to find Qin Tang while she went up to speak with her.

Qin Tang and Qin Xun hurried over. They blocked Qin He, thinking that their sister might have been cursed to death, only for this concubine-born cousin Qin He to benefit. Both of them felt that their own futures could be put aside for a moment.

"Qin He, it’s not appropriate for you to be here!" Qin Tang did not give Qin He any face.

"We are sisters, after all." Qin He felt the fourth branch was truly ridiculous, not even bothering with the most basic decorum.

"Sisters like you?" Qin Xun glanced at Qin He. "Forget it, go back. Qin Bi doesn't want to see you."

Qin He left in anger. Qin Bi heard this from her bedroom and sneered—who was she putting on this hypocritical act for?

On the day of the wedding, the younger generation of the Marquis’s manor was full of joy. The dowry followed Qin Bi, and everything He Yan had sent was packed up and returned in its original state. The fourth branch understood, and the old Marquis and the Marquis of Qinyan understood, but the others were unaware.

Qin Bi married over safely. She had been worried about being affected, but by the next day, she was perfectly fine. The entire Duke of Yan’s manor, which had originally disapproved of taking Qin He as a secondary wife, no longer stood in the way.

In the morning, Qin Bi asked He Yan for the divorce papers, but He Yan ignored her.

Qin Bi’s heart skipped a beat. Fortunately, around noon, Qin Tang came to pick her up: "He Yan, the divorce papers."

He Yan narrowed his eyes and said to Qin Tang, "Have you ever thought about who would dare to marry her after she has been married to me?"

Qin Tang didn't want to waste words with his cousin, fearing that even if He Yan married Qin He, he wouldn't look after him, his cousin. "Qin Xun and I will support her."

He Yan was silent for a moment, then stood up and wrote the divorce papers. Qin Tang took them, and then Qin Bi left. The Duke of Yan’s manor was a first-rank ducal manor, the kind that did not have its title downgraded. As Qin Bi walked out, she felt completely out of place in the Duke’s manor.

Returning to the fourth branch’s courtyard at the Marquis’s manor, Qin Bi met with her stepmother and then went back to her own room to sleep.

Qin He, however, felt a great loss. Perhaps the dizzying, world-spinning sensation she felt when she was first betrothed to He Yan had been due to other reasons. If she had known the fate wouldn't have cursed her, she would never have let Qin Bi marry He Yan. Now that Qin Bi had been married to him, she felt a level below Qin Bi.

When Qin He’s stepmother spoke to her sisters-in-law about this, she sighed, "In Qin Bi’s situation, who would dare to marry her?"

The third branch’s Madam Zhu also sighed. Next was Qin He’s wedding, and the younger generation all flocked to the second branch to curry favor. Qin Lang did not go; he was sulking at home. Qin Bi had been with the third branch for several years and was closer to them than Qin He.

The day after Qin Bi returned from her divorce, the Prince of Rong’s heir, Rong Jun, who had been stationed outside the city, rushed back.

In the main courtyard of the fourth branch, Rong Jun said, "I will marry her."