Fei Pin Ying Qiang

Qi Yunruo sat on the bed in his room dressed in green, the firecrackers outside suddenly increasing in volume. His head rested on the edge of the bed, long lashes casting shadows.

There were no servants left in the house. Today was the wedding¹ of Count² Ziyang estate"s³ sole legitimate daughter. Earlier, an older female servant⁴ had called for two of the little servant girls⁵ to help outside. Not long after, Cuìyu, the mistress"⁶ personal maidservant, knocked on Qi Yunruo"s door before entering. She seemed a little happy because of the joyous occasion, but when speaking to him her tone was neither warm nor cold. "The mistress has an order for you. Third young master⁷ is to go to eldest miss"⁸ courtyard."

Raising his head to glance at her, Qi Yunruo nodded. "Understood."

Although the eldest miss" East Courtyard⁹ was not especially large, Count Ziyang and his main wife had doted on their daughter since childhood. Currently, her courtyard was the picture of festivity, red silk draping from every surface, charming and exquisite throughout.  Count Ziyang waited outside of his beloved daughter"s room. It was inevitable he would come visit her as the time for the wedding drew near. As such, he happened to meet Qi Yunruo.

"Master," said Cuiyu as soon as she laid eyes on him. "Mistress has called for third young master to come over."

After Qi Yunruo entered the door, he tried to kotow. But Cuiyu quickly held him up and frowned. "Careful of wrinkling your clothes, third young master."

Distracted, he reacted just in time to change his course, and quickly made his way before the mistress. He saluted.

The eldest miss, Qi Niqun, appeared close to tears, leaning on the countess without a sound. She seemed distracted and did not look at anyone. The countess, maiden name Zhao¹⁰, caressed her hand, a soft sigh escaping her lips. Then without turning to Qi Yunruo, she said, "You"ve been called because I have some orders for you."

"What are the mistress" orders?" His voice was soft. Light.

"I"ve told you this before, but Prince Chen"s¹¹ estate already has two secondary consorts¹². There"s also a few lower-ranked concubines. The harem isn"t small. Although your elder sister Niqun has a n.o.ble birth, the prince already has an eldest son¹³…You must always remember that your elder sister is also your master. Always be alert and protect her. Do not imitate those vixens and their vulgar behavior."

From Qi Yunruo"s mouth came one word. "Understood."

"As a person coming from my household, your status will not be low. Not only that, you"re the younger brother of the princess consort. No one will bully you,” said the countess. “In fact, your situation right now is better than if you marry a girl from a small family in the future, once our household has been split¹⁴. Your birth mother had pa.s.sed on early. The count and I will not treat you poorly. Once you"re older, you"ll be able to leave the prince estate, and both the prince estate and ours will compensate you with shares. If you"re lucky, wouldn"t serving the prince be better than a few years of hard study?"

Although Qi Yunruo listened, he did not respond.

The countess had said these words several times before. As Qi Yunruo listened distractedly, she sent him out and continued to comfort her daughter.

This translation is the property of Sleepchaser at . If you read it anywhere else, it"s stolen.

A red veil had already covered Qi Niqun"s face, her makeup perfectly applied and her attire masterfully adjusted. After observing it from multiple angles, Countess Ziyang decided there was nothing wrong with her daughter"s appearance. "Once you step foot into the prince estate, there will be no one around to help you. The people there won"t be ordinary. I"ve carefully picked the servant girls who will follow you and made sure none of them are too eye-catching. But if you have a sister to accompany you, or more specifically your brother, you"ll be more secure. Even if the prince favors him in the future, he will never be able to give birth to a child. No matter what, his status will not threaten yours."

Softy, Qi Niqun said, "Mother and father are so thoughtful toward me."

"If that child doesn"t follow customs, just let me know. I"ll give him a strict warning."

"If he accompanies me to the prince estate, he won"t dare cause any trouble," said Qi Niqun.

Countess Ziyang beamed. "My darling Qun is blessed. The second prince is the most likely to become the next emperor. So in the future…" She leaned closer to her daughter. "Darling Qun will become the Mother of the World¹⁵." 

Qi Niqun kept silent for a moment. Then she said, "Mother, didn"t you just say there are many people in the prince estate?"

Holding her hand, Countess Ziyang said, "My darling Qun, as long as your father is here, you won"t have to worry about this." Countess Ziyang had wracked her head to help her only daughter survive in the next household. Although Qi Niqun"s appearance did not err on the side of being vulgar, life was not without setbacks¹⁶. There were people around her that could steal the second prince"s affection. By chance, Countess Ziyang overheard that the second prince had stayed overnight at a male brothel. Recalling Qi Yunruo"s appearance, which resembled his low-born mother"s, she couldn"t help but frown.

As a member of the imperial family, the second prince Li Chen did not come to personally receive Qi Niqun for their wedding¹⁷. There was no need to show off to others. As Qi Niqun saluted and bid farewell to her parents, Qi Yunruo boarded the carriage meant for dowry maids. His father, Count Ziyang, did not come see him again. Meanwhile, a few of his brothers and sisters went to see off Qi Niqun.

Trailing after Qi Niqun were four personals servant girls who had been attending to her since childhood. Since Qi Yunruo"s current status was just a dowry maid, there would naturally not be too many people waiting on him. One of those was Countess Ziyang"s personal servant girl, Liusu. As a personal maid of the countess, Liusu received a lot of face from the other servants. The countess had also prepared in advance a small child, about eight to nine years old, to prepare Qi Yunruo"s brushes and grind ink. Xiao Siqing was the name.

Qi Yunruo examined the carriage. Including him, there were three people sitting within. He secretly lifted the curtain to peek outside. Immediately caught sight of the corner of the groom"s wedding robes, just as the heir of Count Ziyang"s estate, Qi Yunshan, lifted the newlyweds into their designated carriage.

As Qi Yunruo tried to stick his head out of the window, to see more clearly, Liusu snorted. "Young Master!"

Her words prompted Qi Yunruo to return to his seat, his expression now betraying disinterest. Not a word left his lips.

Of Count Ziyang"s three sons and three daughters, only the heir Qi Yunshan and the young miss Qi Niqun were born from Countess Ziyang. The mother of the second young master, Qi Yunying, died early. She had also been Countess Ziyang"s maidservant originally. The mother of the second young miss, Qi Danxia, was the daughter of a small official from the Ministry of Revenue. Maiden name, Gu. Count Ziyang doted on her. After the emperor appointed the marriage between Qi Niqun and the second prince, Count Ziyang finalized the marriage proposal between Qi Danxia and the Minister of Revenue"s eldest son. It was said to be a good match.

Then there was the odd one out, Qi Yunruo. Whose birth mother had been a prost.i.tute from the pleasure district. Once she had become with child, Count Ziyang redeemed her from the brothel. Before the age of six, Qi Yunruo lived with his mother in a house on Qingzhi street. After she pa.s.sed away, Count Ziyang brought him back to the estate.

But there was no concubine willing to raise him. Count Ziyang later summoned an old female servant for that purpose. Just to fulfill his obligations as a father. And she was stern, not the type to get close to others. Later, when Qi Yunruo reached marriageable age, the old female servant returned to her hometown, to be waited on by her grandchildren.

The screeching of wheels filled the carriage. After a while, Qi Yunruo felt bored. To relieve said boredom, he attempted to strike a conversation with the little servant boy, Xiao Siqing. "Are you literate?"

"Yes," Xiao Siqing cautiously said.

Qi Yunruo smiled, shuffling closer. "What books have you read?"

"Just a bit of the "Three Character Cla.s.sics¹⁸." Roughly skimmed it. This one did not really read any books."

This translation is the property of Sleepchaser at . If you read it anywhere else, it"s stolen.

Somewhat disappointed, Qi Yunruo did not respond. Instead, he leaned against the wall of the carriage, lethargic. He lacked any great ambition in his life. In the eight years he had lived in the count estate, because of the count and countess" neglect, he didn"t even have the chance to meet guests. In fact, his name had only been added to the genealogy list two years ago.

It had been his birth mother who taught him how to read and write. And how to play the guqin¹⁹. The mother and son pair had been inseparable. Later on, when he became alone, Qi Yunruo dreamed of taking the imperial examinations. Of becoming a small official, compile books for his whole life, or perhaps copy cases. Now the last embers of his own dreams had been snuffed out.

It had been Countess Ziyang who proposed Qi Niqun"s dowry. The count had not objected. By having their daughter marry into the second prince"s estate, their family was now pressed towards his side. Having multiple bargaining chips was always a smart move. Additionally, the matters regarding Qi Yunruo"s marriage had brought the count worry. Although the status of illegitimate children from his household was not humble, just hearing about Qi Yunruo"s life would spoil others" mood.

In the countess" eyes, Qi Yunruo looked weak. However, she was afraid that his heart harbored evil intentions. For this reason, Countess Ziyang sent one of her second-rank servant girls, Liusu, to monitor him. It helped that Liusu was intelligent and always looked after Qi Niqun. However, Liusu found this powerless²⁰ young master was incomprehensible.

After riding for about one hour, Qi Yunruo heard someone knock twice on the carriage. Though busy attending to Qi Yunruo, Liusu lifted the curtain, and a few rough-labor servants came to view. In front stood a young woman who said, "May the young master please disembark from the carriage."

Only the main wife had the privilege of stepping through the main door. Concubines were relegated to the doors on the side of the estate. Yet the door in front of Qi Yunruo was not even that. Small, with a rusted knocker. The sight of it caused Liusu some discontent, but she merely frowned. Qi Yunruo remained silent, holding a small hand brazier as he walked.

There was no one to even lift a palanquin through the door. Further up ahead, a group of older female servants surrounding someone pa.s.sed through a moon gate²¹. Then a woman with a yellow flower tucked into her hair appeared. She touched Qi Yunruo"s hand, a smile tugging on the corners of her mouth. "How old is this little young master²²?"

A slight smile graced Qi Yunruo"s lips. "Fifteen."

Hearing his response, some people helplessly sighed as they indulged in chit chat. Qi Yunruo stood close enough to pick up on some of their gossip. Apparently, the Li family"s daughter had also been fifteen years old when she first entered this estate. After that, they mentioned how the princess consort was sixteen. That the then-fifteen-years-old Li family daughter and the currently sixteen-year-old princess consort were both naive and ignorant starting out. However, the side consorts had already controlled the inner courtyard for three years. In the future, who would come up on top was anyone"s guess.

To enter the inner courtyard, one must start by walking through the right corridor lining a lake. Five to six yards from the left corridor stood a few servant girls pointing and laughing. The target of their mockery: Qi Yunruo.

Yet he was not mad. He found their actions interesting. Although their eyes reflected contempt, these servants did not carry any malice toward him.　

Suddenly, the servants went quiet. Standing by the side, Qi Yunruo stared blankly at a crowd of people pa.s.sing by the left corridor. Led by a man dressed in red wedding attire, a high crown perched on top his head. He seemed to be aware of someone watching him from afar.

Across the water, Qi Yunruo watched carefully, emblazoning the image in his mind.

(For aristocratic women in imperial China to marry into a family part of the upper n.o.bility, they must be of the legitimate line and must also have an escort/dowry maid that married into that family. That escort would be a "ying" (媵) and could be considered a concubine.)

Ah, I couldn"t help myself. Yunruo"s just too precious.

So yea, having your future basically snuffed out like a candle and marrying into another man"s household? Yikes. I feel so bad for him. Don"t get too turned off by the beginning though. There"s tons of sweet moments between the main couple. I think chapter seven was what sold me on the novel. My heart"s still clenching… oh no…

I just can"t believe the nerve of Countess Ziyang, telling Yunruo that accompanying her daughter to Prince Chen"s household was better than studying to be an official. What a b.i.t.c.h! Yunruo"s just trying to live his life quietly! Now he"ll be among the wolves.

Thanks miii from CG for helping me with that confusing line! I didn"t have a TLC for half the chapter so it was pretty intense. I should have proper TLC for the next chapter, unless someone else wants to take this off my hands *wink wink*

No seriously. I probably shouldn"t be doing this since I don"t have a good track record of finishing projects. But I just COULDN"T HELP MYSELF! Maybe consider this release as an extended teaser? Idk.

If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a like or a comment below, or rate this novel on NU ?

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