Chapter 1: The World of Cultivation

"What did the Heir of Duke Yan send you?"

"The Heir of Duke Yan sent Qin He agate, jade headpieces, and even a second-grade spirit beast crystal. The colors of that jade and agate are exquisite; they would definitely make a beautiful set of hair ornaments."

Spirit beast crystals could be used for cultivation, while agate and jade were as good as money. Both were things that made people envious and covetous.

"Cousin, what did the Heir of Duke Yan send you?"

Two young girls in summer dresses, Qin Yan and Qin Cui, chattered away. As soon as they entered the courtyard, they began discussing the gifts from the Heir of Duke Yan with lingering excitement. After all, for a concubine-born daughter, even becoming a concubine for a Duke’s heir required the support of one's brothers.

He Yan, the Heir of Duke Yan, was handsome and resourceful. Whether in terms of family background or status, he was the most prominent among his peers. Countless noble ladies secretly longed to marry such a powerful official who stood in the Emperor’s favor.

Did the women of the Qin family want to marry him?

They did. They could even come to blows just to secure such a good match.

But while Qin Yan and Qin Cui were tempted, they dared not marry this powerful heir who was fated to bring misfortune to his wives.

When Qin He was originally betrothed to the Heir of Duke Yan, she had nearly lost her life.

It wasn't until the engagement was annulled that Qin He recovered, a time that had terrified the second branch of the family.

"Cousin." Qin Yan, wearing a lotus-colored summer dress, blinked her eyes and asked cautiously, "The Heir of Duke Yan didn't send you books again, did he? He gave Qin He jade and pearls—pearls as big as this."

Though she asked carefully, Qin Yan thought of the value of those pearls and gestured with her hands in envy.

Qin Bi was stunned.

Second-grade spirit beast crystals for Qin He?

And jade and pearls?

Even without going to the main hall in the front courtyard, Qin Bi could imagine the value of the gifts He Yan bestowed. He was the Heir of a Duke’s estate; his gifts were bound to be precious. And apparently, He Yan had already gifted these jade pieces and pearls to Qin He before.

Her own marriage to He Yan had been finalized, and they were currently in the process of exchanging betrothal gifts.

He Yan was her fiancé. They had been betrothed not long ago—a previous attempt years ago had failed, but this time the engagement was set, and they were in the stage of preparing for the wedding, with both families exchanging gifts.

The fact that the Heir of Duke Yan was sending all sorts of jewelry to Qin He left Qin Bi bewildered. She needed to think carefully about what this meant.

What was He Yan trying to do?

"Cousin." Qin Cui, wearing an elegant summer dress, saw that Qin Bi was silent and peered at her, asking, "What did the Heir of Duke Yan send you? He came today to set the wedding date."

Qin Cui didn't have malicious intentions; she was simply jealous that a concubine-born cousin from the fourth branch could marry into a Duke’s estate.

They were all concubine-born daughters, but Qin Bi’s "marrying up" was extraordinary—frighteningly so.

He Yan was fated to be a widower without heirs, but if that were not the case, wouldn't this cousin have hit the jackpot, soaring to the heavens and becoming unimaginably noble? Just thinking about it made her chest feel tight.

In noble families, legitimate daughters married into high-ranking households, while concubine-born daughters married merchants.

Qin Yan and Qin Cui would likely marry merchants in the future, or perhaps become concubines to the legitimate sons of noble families, or even marry secondary sons. If they had spiritual roots, they could change their fate.

Thinking of this, Qin Yan pouted. She had no spiritual roots, and neither did Qin Cui.

Qin Bi was heavy-hearted and twitched the corner of her mouth: "He sent books."

"Books?! But he gave Qin He jade and agate."

The two cousins' eyes widened. They were young and didn't understand the need to hide their emotions, nor did they feel the need to mask them; they held this concubine-born cousin in some contempt.

Books for Qin Bi, but jade and pearls for Qin He?

The disparity in weight was immediately apparent.

The Heir of Duke Yan was still thinking of Qin He. It was clear that his engagement to this concubine-born cousin was merely a forced choice due to his "wife-killing" fate. Qin Yan and Qin Cui, who had previously felt a bit of resentment, now felt much more at ease.

Qin Yan and Qin Cui had only come out of curiosity. Upon learning that the Heir of Duke Yan had sent Qin Bi books, the two cousins exchanged a look—a mix of slight surprise and expected reality—and quickly found an excuse to leave.

There was no need to ask; they were certainly going off to gossip behind her back.

Qin He was a little "wealthy woman" in the Qin Yan Marquis estate. Ever since she transmigrated, she had lived a flourishing life. All the siblings in the family relied on her, so almost all the younger generation favored her.

Qin Bi had been unable to stay in the capital and had followed her third uncle to serve as a county magistrate for many years. She had no contact with the younger generation of the family, and the young sisters had no affection for her; everyone felt distant from her.

Qin Bi felt a surge of anger. She was a "rebirth" transmigrator, and her transmigration had been truly worthless.

This was a fictional world, somewhat similar to cultivation, but the cultivation here was completely different from what Qin Bi knew. This world was centered on "blessings," "fortune," and "destiny."

Destiny and fate were almost the same. The Great Yan Kingdom’s destiny was at the maximum level, as was its fate.

Both destiny and fate were capped at 240, representing the prosperity of the Great Yan Kingdom.

The Great Yan Kingdom’s fate and destiny were fine, both at the maximum of 240, reaching the "Red" tier. Cultivation levels were divided primarily by Red, followed by Yellow, Purple, White, Green, Cyan, Orange, and Blue.

The maximum value for "blessings" was 120, but the Great Yan Kingdom only had 80.

The Great Yan Kingdom had two powerful heirs who assisted the Emperor. Both came from prestigious families and possessed the ability to strategize, but they had been cursed by fate: being childless hindered the national fortune of Great Yan.

He Yan, the Heir of Duke Yan, was fated to be a widower without heirs, which cost the Great Yan Kingdom 20 points of blessings.

Rong Jun, the Heir of the Prince of Rong, was also fated to be a widower without heirs, costing another 20 points of blessings.

Thus, the Great Yan Kingdom’s blessings were left at only 80.

Compared to the surrounding countries, their blessings were much lower.

The maximum value for "fortune" was also 120. Because of the two heirs' fates, each had stripped away 20 points of fortune, leaving the Great Yan Kingdom with only 80 points of fortune as well.

The entire Great Yan Kingdom’s fortune and blessings relied on the deeply blessed Emperor to sustain them.

Fortunately, this Emperor was not fated to be childless.

Since this world allowed for cultivation, one needed spiritual roots. Unfortunately, Qin Bi had none. The only reason she was favored by the Duke of Yan’s estate was because a mystic had prophesied that He Yan would only avoid his "wife-killing" fate if he married a woman from the Qin Yan Marquis estate.

The Heir of the Prince of Rong had once been betrothed to Qin Bi’s legitimate older sister, but unfortunately, she had died young.

So, this prophecy was hardly worth believing.

The reason the Heir of Duke Yan had circled back to marry Qin Bi was that they had discussed a marriage years ago. Qin Bi had no "hindrances," and they were about to be betrothed when Qin He transmigrated.

Later, He Yan became betrothed to Qin He.

That slap in the face had made it impossible for Qin Bi to stay in the capital, so she had followed her third uncle to his post. After three years, and then another three, Qin Bi returned to the capital, and the Duchess of Yan immediately came to propose.

Qin Bi was naturally unhappy, but she couldn't make the decisions, so she had to accept the marriage.

This was ancient times; even with cultivation, it was unacceptable for a woman not to marry.

No matter how she looked at it, Qin Bi was angry that He Yan sent gifts to Qin He. After hesitating, she went to the front courtyard to find He Yan. She had transmigrated into this life, yet she couldn't even control her own marriage. Someone like Qin He lived like a true transmigrator, focusing only on each other.

Heh, "only each other."

(End of chapter)