“What if I refuse to comply, Brother-in-law?…”
The black and white chess pieces landed on the horizontal and vertical grid lines with faint, delicate clicks, much like silk threads on a spider’s web. Each move tightened the encirclement, where every subtle thought determined the outcome of the entire game.
Tian Qin considered herself quite skilled at chess. Initially, she could engage Xie Tanwei in a fierce battle, breaking through encirclements or forging new paths, relying on her cleverness to remain undefeated.
But gradually, she realized something was amiss—he was deliberately toying with her, keeping her chess game trapped in a stagnant position where she could neither be completely defeated nor achieve victory. Even after a hundred more moves, it would remain this deadlocked.
When she grew disheartened, he lazily granted her leniency; when she felt confident of success, he ruthlessly delivered a sobering blow. Fast or slow, loose or tight, releasing or seizing—the rhythm was always subtly controlled in his hands. In other words, he could let her win or make her lose as he pleased.
Tian Qin, disheartened, disrupted the chessboard. “I’m tired, little sister.”
Xie Tanwei chuckled lightly. “Giving up already?”
Unable to conceal her displeasure, Tian Qin adopted a coquettish tone laced with sarcasm. “Brother-in-law’s chess skills are exceptional. I truly cannot hope to match them and admit defeat.”
“Then it counts as your forfeit,” he said calmly as he gathered the pieces. “Though you didn’t lose, you didn’t win either. I cannot grant your condition.”
“Does Brother-in-law even know what condition I want?”
Tian Qin’s eyes grew warm, her lips downturned, wearing an expression of having been wronged. “Brother-in-law is the one toying with me, predicting the situation, meticulously setting up the board, and now you won’t even allow me to blame you? My chess game is already trapped like prey in a net, circling endlessly in a dead-end alley. There’s no point in continuing.”
Xie Tanwei remained indifferent, the chess pieces clinking crisply in the chess container as he collected them. “Playing chess requires patience, as does life. Mastery comes gradually—clothes are better when new, but people are better when familiar. Haste makes waste; rushing for success often backfires.”
His words carried profound meaning, referring to chess yet extending beyond it.
He and she had known each other for two lifetimes—they were old acquaintances. One shouldn’t always seek novelty, for old acquaintances understand far more than new ones, and the stakes they hold far surpass those of newcomers.
The unspoken depths of this were clear to both.
Tian Qin fell silent for a moment, clutching her brocade handkerchief tightly before mustering the courage to tentatively ask, “Can Brother-in-law truly not grant me this?” If you do, I would gladly play chess with you every day. Or, if there’s anything else Brother-in-law wishes of me, I will certainly comply.”
“Grant you this?” Xie Tanwei shed all subtlety and pretense, letting out a cold, faint laugh. His lake-deep, bright eyes sharpened like blades. “So you can engage in illicit dealings with that Private Tutor?”
Tian Qin’s heart skipped a beat, silently acknowledging it.
But the term “illicit dealings” was too harsh, instantly casting the matter in an ugly light.
“It’s not illicit dealings…”
“Brother-in-law knows full well I refuse to be a concubine, yet you deliberately chose me—you’re intentionally making things difficult for me.”
She shifted the blame onto him, her eyes glistening like small boats docked in watery bays, tears spilling out and darkening her pale gauze skirt.
“That day in the carriage, Brother-in-law promised to help me choose a husband. I was filled with anticipation, but after waiting and waiting, it all came to nothing. Brother-in-law, who claims to embody Confucian ideals and saintly virtues, is secretly pressuring his wife’s younger sister and going back on your word.”
“If I were to reveal Brother-in-law’s true nature to the world, could his brilliant image in the eyes of the imperial court and scholars across the land be maintained?”
Her tone was soft yet firm, carrying hidden sharpness beneath its gentleness.
“Brother-in-law—” she called out unwillingly, her voice winding like a lingering melody.
“It’s not too late to retract the decision. Brother-in-law has many other choices—after all, they’re all daughters of the Yu family. Ku Ju also adores Brother-in-law, crying daily about wanting to serve Elder Sister and Brother-in-law.”
She poured out these grievances in a long, circuitous speech, all to dissolve the engagement. “…Tian Qin has received years of generous care from Elder Sister and Brother-in-law, revering you as parents. I don’t wish for unpleasantness, so I beg Brother-in-law to reconsider.”
She didn’t hate him—she simply didn’t want to waste this lifetime.
A single word from him could make Elder Sister, Father, and Mother change their minds and select Ku Ju instead, sparing her months of exhausting schemes and calculations.
Why must he insist on making things difficult?
She would even agree not to marry Xu Junzheng, but wed whomever he designated, completely submitting to his arrangements.
If only he would let her go.
He could either be her benefactor or push her into the abyss. Before the benevolent, bowing Buddha, she hoped he would show mercy.
Whether he loved Xianqiu or sought a concubine to bear him sons—none of it concerned her. Since he possessed memories of their past life, he ought to know she had died unjustly then, a truly aggrieved party. By both sentiment and reason, she was the wronged one—canceling the engagement was the only compensation she asked from him.
If he spared her this once, she would wipe the slate clean—not only holding no grudge but feeling grateful.
Tian Qin gazed steadily at him, her eyes glistening with profound longing—the most sincere plea she had ever made in her life.
Yet Xie Tanwei’s response proved disappointing.
He ignored her nearly negligible threat, his expression instead tinged with casual mockery.
“Why must it be this way? Do you no longer like Brother-in-law? What has Brother-in-law done wrong?”
“If you say nothing, how can Brother-in-law improve?”
He took her hand.
His perfectly measured regret, his elusive emotional fluctuations—like the lingering warmth swept away by the west wind carrying spring snow.
He clearly knew yet feigned ignorance, softly twisting right and wrong until it made her gnash her teeth.
Tian Qin’s face tightened in silence. Faced with such a maddening opponent impervious to both soft and hard approaches, she had exhausted her arguments. Nothing remained but to tear off all pretenses and fight.
Xie Tanwei leisurely admired her icy expression, speaking with unshakable calm: “Third Sister keeps asking Brother-in-law to help select a husband for you, but have you considered that as an illegitimate daughter, all you’ve ever sought is a good man and a stable life? If so, why can’t it be Brother-in-law?”
“Brother-in-law will treat you well forever. Everything you desire, Brother-in-law will lay before you without fail.”
“Who else could guarantee that?”
Under the transparent, lightly cold sunlight of early spring, snowflakes drifted into the Treasure Hall. His sleeves fluttered gracefully, his demeanor elegant and charming, his bones steeped in boundless tenderness that transcended the world of prostitution.
His appearance was unmatched under heaven.
He was a deeply learned and upright scholar, a Brother-in-law who cared excellently for his wife’s family and younger siblings, a household head to entrust one’s life to.
Her entry into Xie Manor would not merely be a marital union—it would bind them as Brother-in-law and sister-in-law, kin connected by unbreakable ties.
This marriage would reinforce their existing family bonds.
The black and white chess pieces in the bamboo basket reflected faint light as he murmured, “You wouldn’t? Brother-in-law can teach you.”
Chess skills, or other things.
Tian Qin furrowed her brows fiercely, abruptly shrinking back, forcibly swallowing the violent emotions stirred by his words.
“That’s different.”
“How is it different?”
Xie Tanwei didn’t hesitate to confront her directly, his attitude remaining calm though his tone cooled several degrees: “That day’s agreement itself stated that Brother-in-law would take care of you for life. Younger sister misunderstood.”
“Younger sister’s marital fate drew the worst lot, full of misfortunes and disasters. It would be better for Brother-in-law to personally take care of you, don’t you think?”
Tian Qin stared at him fixedly.
Her demands were being refuted one by one.
He was determined to make her a concubine.
“What if I refuse anyway? What will Brother-in-law do then?”
Her tone suddenly tightened, the undercurrents long hidden beneath the thin ice of her heart bursting forth, confronting him head-on.
“If Brother-in-law attempts to force his sister-in-law, you’d better first consider how to explain your actions to the world.”
She had a mouth and would shout it out.
“Must it come to this?”
Xie Tanwei also stared fixedly at her, his eyes glinting with frost, but only for a moment before returning to feigned gentleness.
“What can I do then…”
He sighed with a laugh, as if indulgent, “With you pressing like this, I’m at my wit’s end. What I said earlier was merely the best option, not the only one.”
“If younger sister insists on refusing, then so be it.”
His peripheral gaze lingered on the gradually cooling candles in the Buddhist hall, where melted wax dripped like burnt coral.
Quiet regret echoed through the still room.
“Just… what a pity.”
Tian Qin didn’t know whether Xie Tanwei’s words were genuine, but she finally heard him relent.
Of course she wouldn’t soften now, pressing her advantage: “Good, thank you, Brother-in-law. Please inform the Yu family elders and my sister. Tian Qin is endlessly grateful.”
She admitted she was being somewhat impatient, but he made her too wary, too dangerous. She couldn’t wait to draw boundaries with him.
Xie Tanwei responded with a soft, gentle hum, rubbing her hair with a profound tenderness that still maintained the relationship of brother-in-law and younger sister.
Distracted, Tian Qin failed to avoid his touch in time. His faint, snow-laden fragrance sprinkled through her hair, mingling with the incense of ancient Buddha halls – a forbidden yet restrained scent.
“Younger sister is truly obstinate.”
…
After the meeting in the Buddhist hall, Tian Qin had thoroughly offended Xie Tanwei.
She would have preferred gradual tactics, but his words were too sharp, constantly pressuring her to become a concubine. She could no longer control the situation and had to abandon her plan to seek examination questions for Xu Junzheng, directly refusing instead.
He shouldn’t bother her again.
He held no obsessive desire for revenge toward her, nor any lingering affection, and probably little interest in her body either.
Since she repeatedly refused to recognize his goodwill, rejecting the “overwhelming” wealth of Xie Manor, he naturally saw no need to keep humoring her.
The following days unfolded exactly as Tian Qin predicted – Xie Tanwei treated her like a stranger, their relationship cold as winter frost.
While she attended Buddhist ceremonies with the Yu family, he exchanged pleasantries with them, maintaining clear boundaries. He even responded when Ku Ju eagerly greeted him, yet pointedly ignored her.
He Shi and others, sensitive to such shifts, noticed the strangeness.
Everyone knew Tian Qin was Xie Tanwei’s chosen honored concubine. What was happening now, with Xie Tanwei paying her no attention? Had he changed his mind?
He Shi and the others found it strange, while Yao Yiniang and Ku Ju secretly rejoiced. Perhaps Lord Xie had truly seen through Tian Qin’s disguise and was going to change his choice.
Xianqiu seized an opportunity to ask Xie Tanwei, but received an ambiguous answer—neither confirming nor denying a change.
Xianqiu felt smug inside; after all, her husband favored no one but her.
Xianqiu’s enthusiasm gradually cooled.
Gazing at the similarly subdued early spring snowscape in the mountains, Tian Qin couldn’t help but think it was best to let things fade away like this. In his previous life, he had been just as aloof, keeping everyone at arm’s length—she was never indispensable to him.
The twisted entanglement spanning two lifetimes between a brother-in-law and his wife’s younger sister ought to come to an end.