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Chapter 5: Thinking It Over
🕑 Added 2025-01-21 12:29:28 +0000 UTC"It’s absolutely true, Master," the butler said in a frightened tone, "It’s news from the palace! I heard that the eldest princess even defied His Majesty in public, all for the sake of a marriage proposal!"
Qiu Chudong was shocked and anxious. He asked urgently, "And then?"
"I don't know how His Majesty reacted, but he hasn’t agreed to the marriage yet..." The butler wiped his sweat, speaking cautiously, "But I heard Princess Lehe insists on the imperial decree... Old servant believes that with His Majesty's affection for the princess, this matter... most likely will succeed."
Qiu Chudong suddenly stood up. "If the news you received is true, then that is..."
That would be really... unfortunate.
He had just had an argument with Qiu Che, and he feared that the brat wouldn't easily listen to him and marry the princess.
But that’s the eldest princess! The highly favored eldest princess!
Even after being relegated to the cold palace, she was brought out again, the only illegitimate daughter of the emperor who was recognized as the legitimate daughter, and also the first official first-rank princess in the history of the Great Xia Dynasty.
If the eldest princess truly married into the Qiu family, without Qiu Che having to put in much effort, the Qiu family would rise again and restore the glory they had lost years ago.
Qiu Chudong’s expression alternated between joy and worry, his face contorting in a way that was somewhat terrifying.
Muttering to himself, he paced back and forth a few times before suddenly raising his head, urgently asking the butler, "Quick, check if Qiu Che has ever met the eldest princess?"
The butler shook his head. "Old servant has already checked. According to the second young master’s personal maid, Yun Yan, no. She’s always been by the second young master’s side, and before those two girls were bought by him, she rarely left him."
This is strange.
Since Qiu Che hasn’t met the princess, why would she have her eye on him?
Qiu Chudong, who had been excited, felt his mood gradually sink.
Could it be something that happened in the last couple of days?
Qiu Chudong scratched his head in frustration, about to dismiss the butler when a figure suddenly appeared at the door, and an unhappy voice said, "Father, I heard everything!"
Qiu Chudong froze, waved for the butler to leave, and then asked, "What are you doing here?"
Although his tone carried a hint of reproach, he unconsciously smiled.
Qiu Zhe, dissatisfied, said, "I came to find you, of course, but who knew I would overhear you talking about that fool Qiu Che... And I also heard you say the princess has taken a liking to him? Which princess?"
Qiu Chudong grabbed Qiu Zhe and motioned for him to speak more quietly. After looking around to ensure no one was nearby, he let his expression relax and whispered:
"Don’t speak so loudly, this matter isn’t confirmed yet. If His Majesty hears us gossiping about the eldest princess, it could cost us our lives!"
Qiu Zhe’s eyes brightened, his focus shifting to something else: "The eldest princess? You mean the one... He Yue, right? Is that the princess you’re talking about?"
Qiu Chudong groaned, "It’s Lehe!"
Qiu Zhe waved dismissively, "Who cares if it’s He Yue or Lehe? It doesn’t matter. Just tell me if it’s her."
"...It’s her."
Seeing that he couldn’t hide it any longer, Qiu Chudong sighed and said, "If she really likes Qiu Che and wants to marry into the Qiu family, it’s a huge blessing. But I’m afraid... I’m afraid Qiu Che won’t agree."
"Qiu Che, Qiu Che, always Qiu Che!" Qiu Zhe’s focus was absurdly off track.
He ground his teeth, muttering angrily, "It’s bad enough that she’s better than me at studying, but why does she always have to meddle with the women I like!"
"Why?" Qiu Chudong keenly picked up on the key information, quickly asking, "Do you know the eldest princess... as well?"
At the expectant look from his father, Qiu Zhe recalled the embarrassment of being rejected last time and found it hard to speak.
After a while, he averted his eyes and impatiently said, "I just liked her face. I met her once, tried to make her follow me... but she didn’t know what was good for her and ran away."
It was only later that he realized that the woman was the eldest princess, Lehe.
Qiu Chudong was horrified upon hearing this, and the smile of a loving father disappeared from his face. He scolded angrily, "How dare you provoke her? Are you out of your mind! If Lehe reports you, the entire Qiu family could be finished!"
Qiu Zhe was unusually subdued, lowering his head without retorting.
But soon, he grew defiant again, muttering, "What’s there to be afraid of? She’s just a woman. I don’t believe His Majesty loves her so much that he’d destroy the entire Qiu family for her."
"Besides," Qiu Zhe rolled his eyes, scoffing, "When I found out her identity after I returned, I was scared too, but it’s been half a month now, and no news has leaked from the palace... I think she must have kept it quiet to protect her reputation."
"That’s good, that’s good!"
Qiu Chudong listened and thought that what Qiu Zhe said made sense. He stopped being anxious and patted his chest, relieved.
Qiu Zhe snorted, "Then why are you so troubled, father? Didn’t you say it’s a good thing that the princess likes Qiu Che, that bookworm?"
"You don’t understand," Qiu Chudong said with a troubled expression, "What I’m worried about is, what if the news isn’t true? What if... Qiu Che refuses to marry the princess?"
"Why would she refuse?"
Qiu Chudong muttered a few words, lost in thought, as if in a trance.
Qiu Zhe looked puzzled, then thought of Li Qingwu’s delicate face. He licked his lips and grinned, "I don’t understand, but that face of the eldest princess, she’s the most beautiful woman in the capital. No man can resist her. Marrying Qiu Che would be too much of a bargain for her..."
He mumbled, "Since you’re so worried she won’t marry her, why don’t you give her to me as a concubine instead?"
His words were outrageous. The princess liked Qiu Che, not him. Even if she married him, she wouldn’t become his concubine.
If someone with ill intentions heard this, it would be a crime punishable by death.
But Qiu Chudong’s admonishment was suddenly caught in his throat.
He grabbed Qiu Zhe’s hand and said excitedly, "What did you just say?! Say it again!"
Qiu Zhe was startled by his father’s sudden outburst, stammering, "Uh... I said, marrying Qiu Che would be too much of a bargain for her, so it’s better... better to make her my concubine."
Qiu Chudong paused for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter, patting his son’s hand. "Look at me! Why didn’t I think of that! Zhe’er, you’re so clever! Thanks to you, I’ve figured it out!"
Seeing Qiu Zhe’s confused expression, Qiu Chudong stopped laughing and gestured for him to come closer, whispering a few words in his ear.
Moments later, Qiu Zhe looked shocked, "…He… she, father, are you saying, she is... she is..."
Qiu Chudong smiled and nodded. "What else did you think? How else would I be so sure she’ll agree to my request?"
Qiu Zhe was dumbfounded.
"Being in power really makes a difference," Qiu Chudong said with an implied meaning. "If His Majesty finds out... the crime of deceiving the emperor could cost her, her life."
Qiu Chudong smirked, his gaze flicking between his son and Qiu Che’s nearly identical face. A flash of cruelty crossed his eyes. "If she still wants to live, she’ll have to make way for you."
...
The next day, Qiu Che’s Lianzhu Pavilion was once again visited by the uninvited guest, Qiu Chudong.
She was organizing old books on the desk, not turning her head as she said, "Father, what brings you here this time?"
Before Qiu Chudong could speak, she cut him off. His initial intention to gently persuade her vanished, and with a cold face, he asked, "Do you know Princess Lehe?"
Li Qingwu?
Qiu Che paused, her voice neutral, "Of course, His Majesty dotes on Princess Lehe greatly, everyone knows... but what does this have to do with me?"
She silently counted to three in her mind.
Sure enough, the next moment, Qiu Chudong said exactly what she remembered from her past life.
Even the tone was identical—if it weren’t for the fact that this incident occurred half a month earlier than she remembered.
"I want you to marry Princess Lehe. Become the Prince Consort of the Eldest Princess."
After a long pause, Qiu Che turned around, her eyes filled with doubt and amusement. "Are you joking with me, father?"
She casually shoved the book in her hand into the basket beside her. "You know I can’t marry."
Yes, Qiu Chudong knew about her true gender.
Qiu Che had been dressing as a man since birth—Qiu Chudong had always been biased toward sons, and at that time, the Qiu family had few male heirs. Qiu Chudong urgently wanted more sons to secure the family’s power and gain the approval of the Qiu family’s matriarch, his mother.
Wang Shi feared that if she was a girl, Qiu Chudong would reject her, so she bribed the midwife and lied that she was a boy.
Fortunately, Qiu Chudong had been busy with family affairs and rarely visited Wang Shi, and she had been raised solely by Wang Shi without anyone else’s help, so the deception continued.
Her true identity was discovered by accident.
It was after that accident that Qiu Chudong’s attitude toward her changed drastically.
Before, although he didn’t dote on her, he at least cared. But after, it was nothing but scolding and disdain.
Qiu Che thought of this, lowered her head, and subtly glanced at the hand hidden in her sleeve.
At the spot where her forearm met her wrist, there was a faint purple butterfly mark, but it rarely showed, so almost no one knew about it.
Not even Qiu Chudong.
She slightly moved her fingers and then thought back to her past life.
Although Qiu Zhe and she were not born of the same mother, they both resembled Qiu Chudong in youth, especially after Qiu Che dressed as a man. Their appearances were nearly identical.
Even Wu Yi said that they were just completely different in temperament, and if one didn't look carefully or try to imitate and disguise themselves, no one would recognize them as two different people.
But Li Qingwu recognized them.
Someone who had been neglected by her for ten years, someone she had barely seen a few times, a person who could be considered a stranger, when she later saw the person disguised as Qiu Che, she immediately recognized that the other person was an imposter.
How did she do it?
Qiu Che was a little lost in thought, rubbing her wrist.
Qiu Chudong's disdainful voice interrupted her wandering thoughts: "If I tell you to marry, just marry. Why so many useless words? I have my own ways of solving this."
A solution?
Was she talking about having Qiu Zhe impersonate her and become the new "Qiu Che"?
Qiu Che smirked mockingly, then coldly said, word by word: "Dream on."
"I'll just say it directly," her tone was calm, "I will never marry Li Qingwu, whether she's a princess or not, whether in the past, present, or future—"
"Especially not with any method you use," Qiu Che paused, then said, "In short, I will never marry her."
The implied meaning was clear: you can give up now.
No matter what Li Qingwu's feelings for her were in the past life, now that Qiu Che had been reborn, she had already made up her mind. Even if it was to repay the grudge of the past life, she could never involve the other party.
The best and simplest solution was to cut off their connection as quickly as possible, before anything started.
With the salary of a sixth-rank official and the rewards of the top scholar, Qiu Che could already afford a villa in the capital, though the salary hadn't been paid yet, but there would always be a way to solve it.
She had planned to leave the Qiu family soon to avoid any complications. One day, if her name was used by the Qiu father and son as a weapon, she would have no way to protest.
If it weren't for her mother's indecisiveness, they would have left yesterday.
But it didn't matter, Qiu Che thought.
Anyway, if she wanted to leave, even if Wang didn't agree, she would still follow her.
The future could be dealt with later; after all, now that she had been reborn, Qiu Che was tired of being used by others.
Whoever used her, she would go crazy on them.
She'd take care of herself first, after all, she had already died once.
—The key was that going crazy made her happy, and she would close her eyes and not care about the consequences.
Qiu Che glanced at the basket on the ground, ignoring Qiu Chudong's dark face, calculating how many important things she still needed to take.
Qiu Chudong stared at her for a moment, seemingly wanting to get angry, but held it back.
He looked disappointed: "This is your last chance from your father, are you sure you want to do this?"
Qiu Che ignored him, turned her back, and signaled that she didn’t want to engage.
Qiu Chudong patted his chest, laughed angrily: "Alright, you're really something! Since you're so determined, then don't stay in the Qiu family! Go to the Ganyu Temple outside the city to reflect on yourself! Come back when you’ve thought it through!"
Qiu Che paused for a moment, but her reaction was unexpected to Qiu Chudong.
She quickly agreed: "Alright."
She had just been wondering how to buy a house without her salary.
Compared to sleeping on the street, she would rather stay in a clean and quiet temple.
And she wouldn't have to pay. How wonderful.
Qiu Chudong couldn't understand what she was thinking, stared at her for a moment, then cursed: "You fool who doesn't see the big picture! You'll regret it sooner or later!"
With that, he angrily left.
Qiu Che silently watched his back, then looked up at the plaque at the door: "Lian Zhu Pavilion," and after a long time, she let out a soft laugh.
Lian Zhu, Lian Zhu.
When Qiu Chudong had named her courtyard with these two characters, she had thought it was meant to signify love for jewels, a metaphor for her, and had been happy for a long time.
Now, after being reborn, when she looked at these three characters again, she realized it was a symbol of pity and mockery.
Pity that her eyes were clear but her heart was blind, mockery that she had been overly sentimental.
Fatherly love was a strange thing, sometimes present, sometimes absent, as if it were charity, as if it were a gift.
When you expected it, every move would feel restrained and awkward.
When you no longer expected it, everything around you would become clear.
What she saw now was all evidence of not being loved.
How could a parent not love their own child?
Qiu Che thought.
So, Qiu Chudong was not a human, and he wasn't worthy of being her father.
In an unnoticed corner, a figure stood silently for a moment before quietly leaving.
In the palace, at Fengyang Hall.
Li Qingwu held a half-finished handkerchief and was suddenly pricked by a needle on her fingertip.
Fu Ling gasped and quickly moved forward to check the injury.
But Li Qingwu just pinched her finger and shook her head, signaling that she was fine.
Then she turned to look at the usually sharp-tongued, but now very silent, Fu Feng, with an ambiguous tone:
"He... really said that?"
"Yes," Fu Feng lowered his head even more, his tone filled with dissatisfaction, "That second son of the Qiu family is truly arrogant, how dare he speak so wildly!"
"If it weren't for the princess, how could he be so picky about the princess? There are so many excellent young men in the capital, don't they all flock to be chosen by the princess?"
Li Qingwu murmured, "There is no one better than him."
Fu Feng couldn't help but raise his voice, dissatisfied: "But he looks down on Her Highness! Besides, if Her Highness is looking for a good man, why not choose someone else?"
"He must have his reasons for saying that. If we don't get to the bottom of it, I won’t easily give up," Li Qingwu said softly.
Fu Ling exchanged glances with Fu Feng, who was a bit anxious: "Sister, you should advise Her Highness!"
Fu Ling hesitated: "Although what you said is true, Her Highness rarely likes someone this much, I... can only try my best to help Her Highness get what he wants."
Fu Feng: "..."
Li Qingwu chuckled.
She thought for a moment, then softly instructed Fu Feng: "Right now, you're the only one who can leave the palace. Please find out what kind of girl the second son of the Qiu family likes, if he has someone in mind."
Fu Feng frowned: "Do you think..."
"Not necessarily," Li Qingwu hesitated slightly, but it wasn't obvious. She still appeared calm, "Just find out, do as I say."
Fu Feng reluctantly agreed and was about to leave when the palace door was suddenly opened.
He reacted quickly, retreating behind Li Qingwu and adopting the posture of a secret guard.
Li Qingwu exchanged a glance with the others, her intuition telling her something was wrong.
She pressed her eyelid, which was twitching uncontrollably, and quickly put away the handkerchief in her hand. She stood up, lifted the curtain, and walked out.
As she stood, her knee, still sore from being punished yesterday, buckled slightly.
She winced in pain, instinctively curling her fingers, then straightened up and asked without changing her expression:
"Who is it?"
After a flurry of footsteps, the head eunuch, Fu Zi, stood at the door and sighed deeply as he saw Li Qingwu coming out to meet him.
"I've come to deliver His Majesty's imperial edict. Considering that Her Highness the Princess fainted yesterday due to illness, you need not kneel this time."
Although he said that, Li Qingwu saw the sympathetic expression on his face, as if to say: You'll still have to kneel plenty in the future.
Li Qingwu's gaze flickered, and she lowered her head respectfully, exposing her delicate neck.
As she had done countless times before, she lowered her head and behaved with proper etiquette, without a single flaw.
"Princess Lehe has committed an offense in the presence of the emperor, and has been ordered to reflect at the Ganyu Temple outside the city. During the reflection period, her whereabouts must not be disclosed. This is the decree."
"Your Highness," Fu Zi stepped aside, revealing two rows of imposing Golden Guard soldiers outside the palace.
"Please.”
