Qin Yulan settled into the Jiang Family residence. Grandpa Jiang had his youngest son add another wooden plank bed to the girls' room, causing Jiang Sui to stomp her foot in anger.
"Grandpa, the three of us are already cramped in this room. Why are you letting Qin Yulan move in too?"
Grandpa Jiang said, "Make do for now. After we finish the fieldwork, I'll hire someone to build more rooms. Then each of you sisters can have your own room."
"Really!" Jiang Sui's eyebrows lifted with delight.
Qin Yulan secretly looked down on her. She had always had her own room since childhood, unlike these country girls who had to squeeze together to sleep. If not for her goal of marrying into the Qi Family as the Second Young Master's wife, she would never have come to this place.
Qin Yulan's plank bed was placed in the left corner near the entrance, facing the three sisters' beds. Not wanting them to see her while sleeping, she took out a pink bed curtain and asked Sixth Uncle Jiang to hang it for her. Jiang Lao Liu put up the curtain and then left the girls' room.
Qin Yulan laid down a thick mattress, covered it with soft bedding, and arranged her fragrant, pink-and-white quilt.
The pink curtain was both fragrant and soft—things these country girls had never seen before. Qin Yulan asked the three sisters proudly, "Have you ever seen a curtain like this? It's been scented with incense—smell how fragrant it is. Young ladies from wealthy families all use these scented curtains."
Jiang Nian ignored her and sat by the window reading. Jiang Xiaomai picked up an old garment, gave it a light shake, took a needle from the bamboo basket, and began sewing with her head bowed. Jiang Sui mocked, "We're poor country folk. You, a wealthy young lady, shouldn't stay here. Hurry back to town—don't suffer here on our account."
"Jiang Sui!" Qin Yulan stamped her foot angrily.
Jiang Sui picked up a broom from the corner and started sweeping, deliberately directing the dust toward Qin Yulan, who jumped and shrieked.
"Jiang Sui! You're bullying me again! I'll tell Second Uncle and have him discipline you!"
"All you know how to do is tattle to my father," Jiang Sui sneered.
"Hmph!" Qin Yulan took off her shoes and got into bed, closing the curtains on both sides to separate herself from the three sisters. The sisters exchanged glances, and Jiang Sui shook her fist toward Qin Yulan's bed.
At Qi Manor.
As the wedding day drew nearer, the Crown Prince had even sent someone to inquire about the wedding preparations. Yet Qi Heng still hadn't convinced Jiang Nian to marry him. The Qi Family felt increasingly anxious.
Liu Shi could no longer find anything to laugh about—her very life depended on this future sister-in-law's marriage.
"Husband," Liu Shi said, her face pale. "Do you think Second Brother's bride will marry into our family smoothly?"
"I don't know."
Before, Qi Ji might have thought a farmer's daughter would jump at the chance to marry into a noble family. But after seeing how his mother and brother gained no advantage in their dealings with the Jiang Family, he realized—they simply had no interest in climbing social ranks.
The ones who should be anxious were the Qi Family, not the Jiangs.
Liu Shi was so frightened she wanted to cry. "If she doesn't marry him, will our family really be executed and our home confiscated by the Crown Prince?"
"I don't want to die," Liu Shi whispered, covering her mouth with a handkerchief as she wept.
Madam Qi was also in the courtyard, her eyes red with anxiety. "Send someone to ask Second Young Master whether the wedding can proceed as scheduled!"
"Yes," a maid replied, hurrying to Second Young Master Qi's courtyard. "Second Young Master, Madam sent me to ask if the wedding can take place as planned."
In the study, Qi Heng held a piece of wood in one hand and a carving knife in the other, meticulously shaping it. Before long, the form of a plump, charmingly naive rabbit began to emerge, clutching a round carrot in its arms.
As he gazed at the chubby rabbit, Qi Heng’s mind conjured Jiang Nian’s round, soft face—her eyes wide with anger, strikingly similar to this plump little rabbit.
His personal attendant Changfeng entered to report. "Second Young Master, the madam has sent a maid to ask whether the wedding can proceed as scheduled."
"Of course it will proceed as scheduled." Qi Heng didn’t look up, continuing to carve the plump rabbit.
"Has the Second Young Mistress agreed to marry you?" Changfeng looked up at him in pleasant surprise.
Qi Heng’s hand, holding the knife, paused. The corner of his lips lifted slightly in a light, self-mocking smile.
"No."
After spending the entire night carving, Qi Heng began painting the rabbit, his focus so intense that he didn’t even notice Prefect Qi entering the room.
"My son can even carve rabbits, haha." Prefect Qi stroked his beard and laughed heartily.
Qi Heng looked up at him. "Father, what brings you here?"
Prefect Qi teased him gleefully. "Just checking to see if you’ve managed to win over your bride yet."
Qi Heng: "……"
Prefect Qi took a seat, and Changfeng served him tea.
"What, is my future daughter-in-law that hard to win over?" Prefect Qi took a small sip of tea.
"When I was recuperating at the Jiang Family, that girl left quite an impression. She asked me for a hundred taels outright. At first, I thought it was just a country girl’s greed and lack of worldly experience. Only now do I realize she had already guessed my identity was unusual. She was afraid of causing trouble and wanted to use those hundred taels to sever any debt of gratitude, to avoid any connection with us."
Prefect Qi laughed approvingly. "She’s a clever girl."
Qi Heng’s eyebrows lifted. "She truly is remarkable. I don’t know why, but I feel an inexplicable familiarity with her, as if we’ve met before."
Qi Heng couldn’t quite describe the bond that seemed to resonate from the depths of his soul. Though it was their first meeting, why did it feel like a long-awaited reunion, as if two parted souls had finally found each other again?
"Perhaps you were connected in a past life," Prefect Qi joked lightheartedly. "And not just with you—she seems destined for our Qi Manor. That girl was born to enter our household."
"She refuses. Last time, she even scolded me and told me not to seek her out again." Qi Heng complained to his father with a hint of grievance.
Prefect Qi raised his eyebrows with interest. His son had become so much more interesting since encountering Miss Jiang. He used to be too aloof, almost lifeless, unlike now—vibrant and full of spirit.
Before leaving, Prefect Qi said to his son:
"If you can’t win your bride over, come find your old man. I’ll swallow my pride and plead on your behalf. That girl Jiang Nian seems like she’d give me some face."
Qi Heng glanced up at him. The old man, now middle-aged, still had a strong, handsome face, with traces of the striking looks from his youth.
"No need."
Qi Heng lowered his gaze and continued painting the plump rabbit.
Prefect Qi shook his head with a smile, clasped his hands behind his back, and left.
The next day.
Qi Heng brought the carved plump rabbit to find Jiang Nian, but he was greeted by an unfamiliar young woman.
Qin Yulan, dressed in a flowing pink gown with her dark hair cascading over her shoulders, shyly and timidly placed a cup of tea before the man.
"You must be Second Young Master Qi. I am Qin Yulan. Grandpa Jiang is my maternal grandfather. My third uncle and aunt have taken me in as their daughter, so I am also a daughter of the Jiang Family."
Qi Heng indifferently avoided her. Due to her connection with the Jiang Family, he couldn't bring himself to drive her away.
"Where is Jiang Nian?"
"She went to the back hill to gather wild vegetables," Qin Yulan replied reluctantly.
Qi Heng stood up to look for her, but Qin Yulan anxiously blocked his path.
"Young Master Qi, Jiang Nian doesn't wish to marry you. Yulan is willing. Third Uncle cares for me deeply. If Prefect Qi wishes to repay Third Uncle's life-saving grace, I could marry instead. I'm willing to marry the Second Young Master with all my heart."
"What did you say?" Qi Heng's face turned ashen, darkening like spilled ink.