“You can’t let Grandma Qin see you looking like this. Second Miss, you need to get dressed or you won’t make it to the bridal sedan chair in time!” a woman said, hurrying into the room. This was Nanny Fang. She stretched out her arm, showing off the fine red wedding dress and hoping the sight would tempt Qin Wanru into getting ready. “Have a look, Second Miss. This is the wedding dress that you sister prepared for you. Isn’t it beautiful? You should try it on!”
Qin Wanru looked at Nanny Fang, then the dress in her hands, and sneered.
“Second Miss… is something wrong?” Nanny Fang stammered.
The normally sweet and naive young lady seemed to have bloodlust in her eyes. Nanny Fang felt like that icy, black glare could see her soul.
“Qing Yue, hurry up!” Qin Wanru ordered coldly, ignoring Nanny Fang.
Qing Yue rushed over, taking a comb off the dressing table. She arranged Qin Wanru’s hair in double ringed buns suitable for a girl of her age.
“Second Miss, why are you messing around?” Nanny Fang asked. “Old Grandma Qin will be angry if you don’t hurry up!”
She tried to pinpoint what about Qin Wanru was so different today.
The little girl still held a teacup in her hand. She looked around the room and, when her icy glare landed on Nanny Fang, she threw the cup at her.
Nanny Fang dodged without thinking. The teacup smashed against the wall, pieces falling at her feet, and the whole room went silent.
“Give me the scissors!” Qin Wanru ordered coldly. She pointed at the dress.
“Uhm…” Nanny Fang couldn’t manage any more than that. She tried to avoid looking at Qin Wanru.
Qing Yue took a pair of scissors off the desk near the window and handed them to her mistress.
Qin Wanru took them, stood up, and reached out to grab the dress. She held it out and drove the scissors through the fabric, dragging them down to leave a gaping hole in the dress. She showed no intention of stopping their either.
Qing Yue was shocked, but once she understood, she set to helping Qin Wanru tear the dress apart.
“Second Miss…!” Nanny Fang rushed over. She grabbed for Qin Wanru’s hands, hoping to grab the scissors from her.
Nanny Fang had no idea the sedan had been smashed. She simply knew the wedding dress was now unwearable. Without it, Wanru could not get married and their plan to frame Wanru would be ruined. Lady Yuru would be forced to marry Qi Tianyu or lose face. Lady Yuru and Madam Di would have her cast out for this failure.
When she saw Nanny Fang grab the scissors, Qin Wanru met her eyes and threw her arm into Nanny Fang’s way. The scissors plunged into Qin Wanru’s arm and the blood started to rush out in torrents.
Nanny Fang’s eyes widened in fear and her hands started to spasm. Her legs gave out and she fell to her knees.
As the pain spread, Qin Wanru could no longer stand either. She took two steps backwards and fell heavily, eyes closed. She tried to fight the dizziness, listening to the approaching footsteps.
Old Grandma Qin had arrived.
“Second Miss,” Qing Yue screamed. She ran to Qin Wanru’s side.A crowd of people stood at the door, including Grandma Qin and her servants. They saw Qin Wanru lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Grandma Qin’s face changed from scolding to horror.“Hurry! Somebody get a doctor!” she screamed.The servant girls rushed to obey as Grandma Qin picked up her half dead granddaughter.“Zhuozhuo! Zhuozhuo, what happened?” she asked, voice trembling on the edge of tears.Zhuozhuo was Qin Wanru’s nickname, but nobody called it with love like Old Grandma Qin.“Grandma, big sister wants me to marry brother Qi, but… but I don’t want to marry him! She won’t let me just… I don’t want to marry him! Please don’t let her kill me…” Qin Wanru said, words broken and faint. Her hands went slack and she lost consciousness.It was a risky move, letting herself get injured so severely, but Grandma Qin would remember her tantrum when she insisted on the marriage. W
“I want the engagement nullified. This wasn’t my idea. Big Sister talked me into it. She couldn’t take it when I backed out of her plan at the last minute, so she had Nanny Fang attack me with a pair of scissors! Is she trying to force me to marry him no matter what?” Qin Wanru asked. She pushed Qin Yuru’s hang away and ran into Qing Yue’s arms where she could hide her cold eyes.Hearing that, all the people watching felt the blood drain from their faces. Qin Wanru was still at the age where she spoke her thoughts openly, so it felt reasonable for her to say something so bold. They all turned to look at Qin Yuru.Qin Yuru stepped back, face falling.“W-what did you say, Second Sister?” Qin Yuru blurted, pointing at her sister with a trembling hand. She felt her panic rising.“What are you saying, Wanru? You forced your sister to let you marry him. How can you say she forced you into it? As for the injury, it’s just an accident! You never change. You always bl
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
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.