Qin Lie had known from the very beginning that Arui’s name had never been entered into the Qin Family’s genealogy.
The Zhou Family had simply delivered her to the Qin household and washed their hands of the matter. As for the Qin Family, they treated her like an unwanted burden, passing the responsibility from one person to another.
Looking at the timid young woman before him, Qin Lie’s expression grew thoughtful.
“You’re still young,” he said quietly. “There’s no need to spend the rest of your life mourning Qin Song.”
Widows in the current dynasty were permitted to remarry. Some even married one of their late husband’s brothers.
But the moment he asked, Arui panicked.
“I’ve never thought about it.”
She hurriedly shook her head.
“Brother Lie, once I married into the Qin Family, I became a daughter-in-law of the Qin Family. How could I marry someone else?”
Ever since childhood, her father, Scholar Zhou, had taught his three daughters that a woman should remain faithful to her husband throughout her life.
She must never become the sort of woman people called fickle or unchaste.
So even though she had entered this marriage knowing she would live as a widow, the thought of remarrying had never crossed her mind.
“I understand.”
Qin Lie accepted the thin quilt from her and spread it over the wooden benches.
“It’s late.”
“You should get some rest.”
Although he accepted the quilt, he still rejected her suggestion that he sleep inside her room.
Arui wasn’t disappointed.
She simply smiled softly.
“Brother Lie, you should rest early too.”
“Mmm.”
She turned and disappeared into the inner room.
The sweet fragrance lingering around her still floated faintly through the air.
Qin Lie tugged the quilt over himself and stared up at the pitch-black ceiling.
A faint smile slowly tugged at his lips.
She had never considered remarrying.
Which meant she intended to remain his sister-in-law for the rest of her life.
Living together.
Day after day.
Year after year.
But…
That wasn’t enough for him anymore.
He was no longer satisfied with that relationship.
He had seen her.
He had touched her.
In his heart, she already belonged to him.
Arui had no idea how determined Qin Lie had become.
Lying in bed without one of her quilts, she felt colder than usual.
Still…
Once she sold the embroidered pouches, she would have enough money to buy cotton and make a thick winter quilt.
She was genuinely satisfied with her life now.
She could finally earn money herself.
Perhaps by next year, she would have saved enough silver to move out.
She knew widows were allowed to establish households in their own names.
Qin Song had left behind neither parents nor farmland.
If she moved away, she could become the head of her own household.
Though Arui appeared gentle and fragile, she was far from lacking her own opinions.
Living under the same roof as Qin Lie forever…
She knew it could never be a long-term solution.
…
Early the next morning, Qin Lie finished installing the new doors.
Now the old house would be protected from both cold drafts and unwanted intruders.
After working all morning, his clothes were covered in dust and wood shavings.
The clothes he had washed the night before still weren’t dry, while the set he was wearing had already torn again.
Arui came out carrying a needle and thread.
“Brother Lie…”
“Could you take off your shirt? I’ll mend it for you.”
She hadn’t started sewing his new clothes yet.
He couldn’t very well keep going out dressed in torn garments.
Qin Lie lowered his gaze to her.
The young woman held her needle naturally, without the slightest hint of embarrassment.
Silently, he removed his shirt.
Although it was a chilly autumn morning that made everyone else bundle themselves in thick clothing, heat radiated from his body like a blazing furnace.
The warmth rushed toward her.
Instinctively, Arui turned her face slightly aside.
He handed her the shirt.
Their fingertips brushed for only the briefest instant through the thin fabric.
Even that fleeting touch made Arui’s heart skip.
Pretending nothing had happened, she accepted the shirt.
“The wind is strong outside.”
“Go wait indoors for a moment.”
“I’ll finish quickly.”
One corner of Qin Lie’s mouth lifted slightly.
“Mmm.”
Arui had spent years sewing.
Repairing two holes took her less than fifteen minutes.
Once she handed the shirt back to him, she wanted to measure him for the new clothes she planned to make.
But looking at his calm, imposing expression…
She couldn’t bring herself to ask.
It didn’t matter.
She still had one of his old shirts at home.
She could simply use that as a reference.
After changing, Qin Lie headed back out.
Not long afterward, Cui Zhu came to visit.
Her little nephew had finally recovered from his fever and was running around energetically again.
After spending two full days taking care of him, Cui Zhu herself looked noticeably thinner.
“Raising children is exhausting.”
“Good thing there are so many people in our family.”
“My mother, my sister-in-law, and I took turns watching him.”
“If my sister-in-law had been doing it alone while also cooking and taking care of the house, she never would’ve managed.”
Cui Zhu wasn’t even engaged yet, but she was already worried about the hardships of having children.
Thinking of that reminded her of a juicy piece of village gossip.
“You know Village Chief’s daughter, Lihua?”
“She was sent back to her parents’ home two days ago.”
“She’d been married in Xiaohe Village for three years without having any children.”
“Her mother-in-law kept calling her a hen that couldn’t lay eggs.”
“Yesterday, Village Chief and his two sons went over there to demand justice, but that family refused to take her back.”
Cui Zhu sighed.
Lihua had always been proud because she was the village chief’s daughter.
When she married, her family had chosen carefully.
Who would have guessed she’d be driven out by her husband’s family after only three years?
“What will happen to her now?”
As a widow herself, Arui couldn’t help sympathizing whenever she heard of another woman’s suffering.
Cui Zhu shook her head.
“Who knows?”
“Her two sisters-in-law aren’t easy to get along with.”
“They definitely won’t let her stay at home forever.”
“They’ll probably marry her off again.”
If Lihua truly couldn’t bear children, however, finding a good husband would be difficult.
Both girls fell silent.
Life was already harsh enough for women.
Arui could practically see the rest of her own life stretched out before her, living forever as a widow.
Cui Zhu wasn’t married yet, but if she ended up with the wrong husband…
Her future might be no better.
The two young women lowered their heads and quietly returned to their embroidery.
…
Meanwhile, Qin Lie had just reached the entrance to the village when someone stepped into his path.
He had been away from the village for more than ten years.
Many of the villagers had become strangers to him.
Especially the woman now standing before him.
Frowning, he stepped aside to pass.
She immediately blocked his path again.
Lihua had been waiting there specifically for him.
His cold expression didn’t intimidate her in the slightest.
Instead, she smiled brightly.
“Brother Lie.”
“I didn’t expect you’d come back to the village too.”
Qin Lie narrowed his eyes.
“You are?”
Lihua’s smile froze.
She quickly forced another one.
“It’s me, Lihua.”
“We used to play together when we were children.”
She was the village chief’s daughter.
All the village children had tried to curry favor with her.
The “playing together” she referred to was nothing more than the children bullying young Qin Lie while she stood nearby clapping and laughing.
“I don’t remember.”
“I have somewhere to be.”
“Move.”
Qin Lie had always been cold toward women.
Over the years, Arui was the only exception.
Embarrassment flashed across Lihua’s face.
But after waiting here for two days just to intercept him, she wasn’t about to give up.
“I heard from my father that you go hunting in the mountains every day.”
“Could I come with you sometime?”
Deep in the wilderness…
It would be much easier for something romantic to happen.
She had already made discreet inquiries.
Qin Lie had never married all these years.
He had probably never even been with a woman.
Men like that were usually the easiest to tempt.
But before she could continue her fantasy, Qin Lie walked around her without the slightest hesitation.
He never even looked at her.
Lihua stamped her foot in frustration.
“He’s just a scarred hunter!”
“The fact that I even noticed him should be his good fortune.”
“What an ungrateful man!”
Unfortunately, Qin Lie’s long strides carried him away in moments.
Soon, he was completely out of sight.
Still fuming, Lihua had no choice but to return home.
Her sister-in-law, Chen Shi, was sweeping the courtyard when she arrived.
The moment she saw Lihua, she rolled her eyes dramatically.
“I’ve never seen a sister-in-law who contributes absolutely nothing.”
“Everyone else gets up early to cook.”
“But you?”
“You don’t crawl out of bed until the sun’s already high.”
“And after eating, you don’t even wash your own bowl before running off.”
“What, do you think you’re still living at your husband’s house?”
Other people avoided mentioning Lihua being cast out.
Chen Shi, however, stabbed directly where it hurt most.
She also came from Qinghe Town and had disliked Lihua since childhood.
After marrying into the family, she had endured two years of being ordered around by her younger sister-in-law.
Just when Lihua finally got married and moved away…
She was divorced and sent right back.
“This is my home!”
“I’ll wash my bowl or not, that’s none of your business.”
“I eat my parents’ food, not yours!”
Lihua shot her a glare before storming into the house.
The room she had once occupied before marriage now belonged to her nephew and niece.
After being sent back, she had no choice but to squeeze in with the children.
Outside, Chen Shi continued shouting insults.
Annoyed, Lihua stuffed a pillow over her ears.
It wasn’t her fault she couldn’t have children.
The real problem was her useless husband.
He looked handsome enough, but he couldn’t perform as a husband.
Yet somehow they had turned around and blamed everything on her.
Lihua knew her parents would eventually marry her off again.
Given her damaged reputation, her only options were becoming someone’s second wife or marrying an elderly widower.
She refused to accept either fate.
She still dreamed of having two children within three years and proving the Zhao family completely wrong.
That meant…
This time, she would choose her own husband.
And she had already set her sights on Qin Lie.
That man…
Looked every bit like someone who could truly satisfy a woman.