Chapter 5

The Qin Family Girl

A carriage rushed along the nearby official road. Nan Yi wanted to run after it and seek help, but in her haste, her foot got caught in the snow-covered vines, and she stumbled, falling to the ground.

The people inside the carriage seemed to sense something. A slender hand lifted the curtain, and the man inside looked out. However, all he could see was a sea of white snow, and there was nothing unusual.

Cold wind blew in, and Xie Heng couldn’t help but cough a few times. His companion, Qiao Yinzhi, immediately became concerned and quickly lowered the curtain, adjusting his cloak for him, gazing at him with worry.

Xie Heng gave her a pale smile before holding her hand.

The carriage drove past.

Nan Yi struggled to rise from the snow. She caught a glimpse of the man in the carriage lifting the curtain and looking outside, but she didn’t even have time to run toward him before the carriage had already moved far away.

Nan Yi felt a wave of despair. Behind her were pursuers, and ahead was an open official road with no cover. She was almost completely isolated, with no way out. For a moment, she felt a pang of panic—could she escape from his grasp?

At this moment, Nan Yi did not know that the threads of time had already begun to close in, and that in the carriage she had brushed past, sat a person who could affect her fate.

Luyang Town is located at the shady side of Tiger Kneeling Mountain, and passing through a valley, one reaches Lidu Prefecture.

The Qin family’s ancestors were scholars, but none of their descendants managed to pass the imperial examinations. By this generation, the family had gradually declined. While they were not prominent in Lidu Prefecture, they were still considered a notable family in Luyang Town.

That day, the tightly shut doors of the Qin family estate were knocked on repeatedly.

The Qin residence, located in the heart of Luyang Town, occupied several acres of land, offering peace amidst the bustle. The heavy snow had led to sparse foot traffic on the streets, and at this hour, it was unlikely that anyone would come for a visit.

The housekeeper, exhaling warm breath in confusion, came to open the door, only to find a young beggar knocking. The beggar, filthy and unkempt, was unrecognizable in terms of gender, and her clothes were soiled with blood.

The housekeeper, with visible disdain, fished out a few coins from his sleeve and tossed them on the ground.

“Don’t beg at the Qin family gate. Go somewhere else.”

The half-dead Nan Yi grasped the housekeeper’s trouser leg.

“I’m looking for Qin Yue.”

The housekeeper paused, looking at her more carefully. “What do you need with our master?”

“Tell him, I’m the daughter of Xiao Yingxian.”

Upon hearing this, the housekeeper realized the gravity of the situation. He quickly turned around and rushed inside the courtyard.

Nan Yi was an illegitimate child, the daughter of a prostitute. Prostitutes did not have names; they only went by their stage names, and her mother was known as Xiao Yingxian.

When she was young, Xiao Yingxian was quite famous in the pleasure district, but she believed the lies of a wastrel who promised to redeem her and make her his concubine. She naïvely bore him a daughter.

However, the wastrel had a powerful wife who would not allow such a lowborn child to enter their household, so they had Xiao Yingxian and her daughter expelled from the town.

After giving birth, Xiao Yingxian had no money to recover, was beaten, and developed a permanent limp. She quickly aged, losing her beauty, and lived by washing clothes for a living, barely scraping by while raising her daughter.

But Xiao Yingxian’s love for Nan Yi was limited to keeping her alive, blaming all of her misfortunes on her daughter.

The most common phrase Nan Yi heard growing up was: “If it weren’t for you, I’d be living a carefree life right now.”

Nan Yi also often overheard Xiao Yingxian’s curses against Qin Yue. From those, Nan Yi learned that her father, whom she had never met, was living a respectable life in Luyang Town with a complete family.

Even though Nan Yi knew who her father was, she could never claim his surname. She had grown accustomed to floating like a piece of driftwood in this world. If not for being utterly desperate, she would never have dared to knock on the Qin family’s door. She was afraid and did not have high expectations.

But her strength had failed her, and she was terrified of being caught by Xie Que Shan. She had no choice but to cling to a thread of hope, hoping the Qin family would lend her a hand due to their shared bloodline.

The housekeeper cracked the door open, and Nan Yi peered through the gap, seeing the spacious Qin courtyard.

Outside, the snow was falling thickly, making it nearly impossible to move, but inside, people had cleared the snow from the yard, making it easy to walk. The world inside seemed so warm and welcoming.

She waited for a long time, and eventually, the housekeeper returned in a hurry.

“Miss, please come in.”

They were willing to help me? Nan Yi found it hard to believe, but her numb feet moved before her mind could catch up.

It was a blessing—she would survive.

She relaxed for a moment, but then her vision went black, and she collapsed, losing consciousness.

Xie Que Shan returned to the military camp, and behind him, He Ping brought a blurred, dead female body.

“We got her back, killed her.”

He briefly informed Gusha.

Gusha didn’t bother to look at the girl’s face. He briefly glanced at the corpse, confirming that she had just died, and then instructed the body to be thrown in the mass grave without further inspection.

After returning to the empty tent, He Ping, confused, asked Xie Que Shan: “Young Master, why did you go to such lengths to save that little thief? What’s so special about her? Why bring back a body from the mass grave to cover up the truth?”

“The game must follow the rules,” Xie Que Shan replied as he carefully washed his hands by the water basin, using soap to clean the blood from beneath his fingernails.

He Ping handed him a towel, looking perplexed.

“It’s not over yet,” Xie Que Shan said with certainty.

When Nan Yi woke up, she felt as if she had entered an immortal paradise. The room was fragrant, warm as spring, and the bedding beneath her felt as soft as clouds.

She moved slightly, and only then did the soreness in her body surge up. She tried to sit up, but had no strength at all.

“Are you awake?”

A woman helped Nan Yi sit up. Her hand was soft. Nan Yi instinctively flinched, afraid that her dirty hands might soil the well-maintained hand.

Nan Yi scooted to the edge of the bed, nervously watching the woman. The woman’s smile was meticulous, and though there were some wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and a few strands of white in her hair, she still exuded the beauty and grace of a noble lady.

“I am your stepmother. You can call me mother. What is your name?”

Nan Yi’s mind was buzzing, and after a moment of hesitation, she replied, “Nan Yi, Nan from the south, Yi from clothes.”

Qin Da Niang (Lady Qin) looked at Nan Yi.

When Nan Yi had first arrived, she was filthy and reeked of dirt, but now, after being cleaned, her delicate face fully revealed its beauty.

Her large, dark eyes flickered nervously, but the depth of her gaze seemed to hint at a vast ocean. Even Qin Da Niang had to admit that this was a beautiful girl.

“Nan Yi, the doctor said that it seems you’ve traveled for a long time on mountain roads, exhausting yourself. You’ll need to rest for some time to recover.”

Nan Yi shook her head, kneeling and speaking softly, “Qin… Qin Da Niang, I didn’t mean to trouble you, and I don’t ask for any status or title. I just want to go to Fufeng County to find my friend, but I’m really at my wit’s end… You don’t need to take me in, just lend me some silver. I’ll repay you later.”

Madam Qin continued to smile softly, her gaze unhurried as she observed Nanyi.

“A friend? Is it a young man or a young woman?”

“He is a reliable young man, named Zhang Yuehui. I met him in Lujiang, and three years ago he went to join the army. He should be stationed in the Fufeng County camp now. As long as I can find him, he will take me in.”

“Is he your lover?”

Nanyi hesitated for a moment before nodding.

Indeed, there was no formal engagement or solemn vow between her and Zhang Yuehui. When he left, it was sudden, and all he left behind was a valuable jade bracelet and a few words. Yet, she was certain that in those years by the riverside, there was an unspoken affection between them. Otherwise, why would he give her such an expensive token?

Even though she was still somewhat naive about love, she was convinced that she wanted to marry Zhang Yuehui—he was the only close kin she had in this world.

Clinging to this belief, she had traveled countless miles to find him. Without this hope, she would have nowhere to go.

She didn’t want to explain too much to Madam Qin, so she simply acknowledged him as her lover to avoid further discussion. No matter how pleasant or repulsive the Qin family appeared, she didn’t want to get too involved with them.

“Then Mother will send someone to find him. You can stay here and rest at Qin Manor,” Madam Qin said, reaching out to gently stroke Nanyi’s face. “When I was young, I was too impulsive and wronged Xiaoyingxian. I let the Qin family bloodline be scattered for many years. Fortunately, you have grown up safely, becoming a beautiful young woman. Now... I want to make amends. Would you give me the chance?”

Nanyi instinctively recoiled from this gentle, well-mannered woman. In her mother’s years of curses, this Madam Qin had the appearance of an old witch with a heart as venomous as a snake’s. Nanyi only trusted half of what she said, but Zhang Yuehui was her weakness.

“Can you really help me find him?”

“Of course. Your father has agreed. Whatever you want, he will help you achieve it.”

Nanyi remained cautious, but the bait was too tempting to resist. She nodded.

“Madam Qin, there is one more thing. I want to go to Lidu Prefecture.”

“Lidu Prefecture has already been occupied by the Qiyi people, and the troops are scattered throughout Huguishan. With the heavy snow these days, it won’t be easy to travel there. Tell me, why do you want to go to Lidu Prefecture?”

Nanyi blinked, quickly thinking of an excuse, and then made up a story: “Before my mother passed away, she had one last wish. She wanted to buy a snack from the Guoyu Tower in Lidu Prefecture. I think it was an important memory for her, and I want to fulfill that small wish and taste it for her.”

“How about this: tell me what you want to buy, and I’ll ask your father to send someone to get it for you.”

“Madam, could you write it down for me? I’m afraid I might forget because it’s a bit complicated.”

Madam Qin kindly fetched paper and pen.

Nanyi repeated, “I want to buy a batch of Chengsha rice dumplings, shaped like peach blossoms. Normally, peach blossoms have five petals, but I want six petals.”

A few days later, when Nanyi saw her father, Qin Yue, she finally understood why she didn’t have any tokens but the Qin family never doubted her identity.

The neighbors used to say that she resembled Xiaoyingxian, but in truth, she only had a similar face shape. Her brows and eyes were more like Qin Yue’s—high brow bones, deep and upright eyes. She didn’t have Xiaoyingxian’s beguiling allure.

This was the power of bloodline. Even though they had never met, it had left a stubborn mark on her.

Unfortunately, they were still strangers, and meeting was awkward.

Qin Yue seemed a little nervous as he opened the food box in front of him, a stiff smile on his face.

“The Chengsha rice dumplings you wanted—I ordered someone to bring them from Lidu Prefecture. However, the trip was long, and the dumplings are cold now.”

“Did they come from Guoyu Tower?”

“Yes, your mother specifically gave instructions. Look, the box even has the Guoyu Tower’s seal on it. But the six-petaled peach blossom shape was hard to make, so the filling leaked out.”

Leaking filling? Perhaps the six-petal peach blossom Chengsha dumplings were too hard to make, symbolizing the leak of the plan. The thought flashed in Nanyi’s mind. She glanced at the words on the box, pretending to understand, nodding, thinking that the message had been conveyed, and the heavy stone in her heart was now lifted.

“Thank you, Qin Lord.”

The formal “Qin Lord” made Qin Yue stiffen even more. He didn’t have his wife’s skill in smoothing things over, so he could only awkwardly laugh it off.

“Nanyi, there’s one more thing, quite a coincidence. I was about to send someone to Fufeng County to search for your fiancé when I learned that a team from Fufeng County had arrived at Huguishan. I have a good relationship with the governor of Lidu Prefecture, and I asked him to inquire. It turns out that one of the officers in that team is named Zhang Yuehui.”

“Really?”

Nanyi jumped up in surprise, then realized she might have been too sudden, awkwardly sitting back down, but her face was full of hope.

Qin Yue quickly glanced at her face and then looked away, pointing to the bracelet on her wrist.

“Of course, it’s true. I even met him in person. He said he gave you a bracelet as a token—this one you’re wearing, right?”

A radiant smile broke out on Nanyi’s face, the brightest smile she had shown in days. “Yes! It’s really him. Can I meet him?”

“You two are about to get married, so how could you meet privately?”

Before Qin Yue could respond, Madam Qin’s voice floated into the room. Hearing this, Qin Yue seemed to relax, hurriedly getting up to greet his wife.

“What marriage?” Nanyi was puzzled.

“Come, let your mother explain it to you.”

“First, he’s in the army, so it’s inconvenient for him to leave alone, but he has a break in three days.”

“Then I’ll go see him in three days.”

“This child, why are you so impatient? Second, your mother thinks that in this chaotic world, meeting is already rare, and there might be no tomorrow. Why not take advantage of his break to marry him now? You’ll have the status of husband and wife, and in the future, it’ll be easier to meet.”

Nanyi’s eyes widened in surprise. The story about her lover was fabricated, so how did it suddenly jump to marriage? Was this really Zhang Yuehui’s intention? Did he actually want to marry her?

Seeing that Nanyi’s expression hadn’t relaxed, Madam Qin gently took a Chengsha rice dumpling from the plate and handed it to Nanyi.

“Here, eat some snacks, and we’ll talk slowly. When you leave the Qin family, we’ll prepare your dowry, so you won’t be looked down upon by his family.”

Nanyi was about to say something when she suddenly sensed something was off.

The Chengsha rice dumpling in her hand still had a soft surface. After traveling from Luyang City to Lidu Prefecture, passing through Huguishan with such heavy snow, even though the food box was wrapped in cotton, the dumplings should have been frozen solid. How could they still be soft?