Chapter 31 Farewell.

Meanwhile, undercurrents were brewing at the Dingbei Prince's New Year's Eve banquet.

Despite the old lady's advice to the princess regarding the birth of her child, a rift still arose between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and the princess also harbored considerable resentment towards Qin Lie.

Qin Ying and her husband were also at the banquet. Since that incident, when Qin Lie attacked Hengzhou, he brought only his close subordinates, but he left his brother-in-law behind. While others reaped the rewards of the war, her husband got nothing. Qin Ying felt both resentment and fear towards her third brother, and she ate her meal without tasting a thing.

Qin Xu and Zhen Shi already knew about this from the Princess Consort, but they remained silent.

Only the Prince of Dingbei and his second brother and his wife, who were kept in the dark, and the other younger members of the family continued to eat, drink, and laugh foolishly.

The old lady, seemingly unconcerned, was still concerned about the marriages of her younger generation. She said to her second son, Qin Shilei, "Hong'er will be twenty-three after the New Year. His second and third brothers, who are the same age, already have sons born. As his father, you should also worry about his marriage. In the families of officials in Da Han, daughters are often pampered, so the husbands are usually younger than the wives. At his age, it's just right for him to marry a wife who is eighteen or nineteen. In two more years, she will be a bit too old, and the woman's family will have concerns."

Before Qin Shilei could speak, his second wife said, "My husband and I have been worrying about him, but he's always busy with something outside, and he doesn't even come back for the New Year. No matter how much we care, we can't help him! Please, Madam, persuade him to come back to the mansion if he has time, so we won't be anxious every day."

As she spoke, she wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, looking as if she had suffered a great injustice.

No one present was a fool; everyone knew that she was all smiles on the outside but bitter on the inside. It was because of her that Qin Hong had fallen out with his father.

At this moment, listening to her affected manner was also helpless. It was hard to say about the younger generation. The old lady had not agreed to Qin Shilei marrying her from the beginning. Now, Qin Shilei, who was instigated by her, only thought that his mother had a prejudice against her. The Princess of Dingbei had long since stopped caring about worldly affairs. As for the Prince of Dingbei, he couldn't very well go and teach his younger brother and sister-in-law a lesson.

Qin Shilei, however, was most susceptible to her charms. As soon as his second wife started crying, anger flashed across his face: "That unfilial son! He doesn't even respect his mother. What decent woman would marry him!"

The second wife gently advised, "I come from a humble family, unlike my sister who comes from a prestigious one. It's understandable that Hong'er looks down on me. Master, you must not let this cause you to become estranged from him. Since Hong'er left home, I have been anxious and often unable to sleep at night. I only want to do everything I can to help him and Master resolve their differences as soon as possible. If this can be achieved, I would not complain even if I were to be divorced."

Qin Shilei was both moved and angry, the former towards his young wife, and the latter towards the unfilial Qin Hong.

Everyone watched silently as one acted and the other became fully immersed in the role.

Qin Lie said calmly, "Since you have such a wish, and Qin Hong is fighting on the front lines, I will send someone to take you there. People are most likely to see each other in the face of life and death. When Qin Hong sees that you are still going to see him, he will surely be moved and will be willing to go home immediately, so that you can be a loving mother and son and create a beautiful story."

He glanced at her only as he spoke, but the second wife broke out in a cold sweat. She remembered when Qin Lie was around ten years old, after giving birth to her son, she harbored murderous intentions towards Qin Hong. That day, she deliberately fell into the water with Qin Hong, secretly ordering those people to assassinate Qin Hong under the guise of saving him. Unexpectedly, she encountered Qin Lie, who jumped into the water to rescue Qin Hong, and without saying a word, pulled Qin Hong away.

A few days later, those people died one after another in the water, including her cousin who had helped her with the matter.

She was terrified and begged Qin Shilei to investigate the matter.

Qin Shilei was the prefectural governor at the time, and he investigated with great care, but he still couldn't find any clues.

By any measure, these people must have accidentally fallen into the water, as if it were divine retribution for their evil deeds.

In her constant fear, she suddenly dreamed one day that Qin Lie rescued Qin Hong and looked at her with that one glance. From then on, she began to fear Qin Lie, who was ten years younger than her.

However, she never had any evidence. Later, Qin Lie kept to himself and she kept to herself, and gradually her fear faded away.

Even today, I see that indifferent glance from him again.

No one knew what she was thinking at that moment, but although Qin Lie's words were satisfying, they were somewhat inappropriate in front of an elder. Zhen Shi smoothed things over with a smile and said, "Since Fourth Brother is not here, there's no use in us being anxious. Right now, there's someone who needs our attention, so we can't forget about him."

After saying that, she looked at Qin Shen with a smile and said, "It's my fault. With the fourth prince blocking the way, I almost forgot that Shen'er is eighteen after the New Year." She smiled and said, "There are no outsiders here. Tell your grandmother if you have a girl you like. Your grandmother will personally come to ask for your hand in marriage."

Qin Shen had been teased a lot in the past two years, and he would usually blush and beg for forgiveness. But today he was different. Although he was still blushing, he looked shy and awkward. Everyone had been through it, so how could they not know that this was the appearance of someone who was just beginning to fall in love?

Madam Zhen laughed and said, "There really is one... Tell me quickly which family's daughter she is, I might have seen her before."

Qin Shen hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Yes... Grandmother knows him."

The old lady was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and an ominous premonition rose in her heart.

Madam Zhen asked curiously, "My grandmother rarely leaves her home, yet she knows a girl I don't recognize?"

The old lady's forehead twitched slightly, and before she could speak, Qin Shen said, "It's that girl who lives in Grandmother's courtyard!"

Madam Zhen's face changed color, and she dared not ask any more questions.

The old lady's smile faded, Qin Xu put down his silver chopsticks, and the princess closed her eyes, muttering "Amitabha" twice.

Qin Ying was overjoyed and looked at Qin Lie. She saw that the wine cup in his hand had been crushed and blood was flowing from his fingers, but he seemed to feel nothing. He just stared at Qin Shen with a gloomy expression.

The Prince of Dingbei, unaware of the strange atmosphere, asked in surprise, "When did a young lady start living in your grandmother's courtyard?"

Qin Shen said, "When I went to Dabeisi Temple before, I rescued a girl from the hands of villains. I didn't have time to ask her name at the time, and I haven't been able to find her since. Unexpectedly, a few days ago when I went to pay my respects to my grandmother, I saw that girl in her courtyard. I... I think she must be a relative or acquaintance of our family. I..." He pursed his lips, shy yet determined, and said, "Only when something is lost and then found do we realize its value. I want to marry this girl, and I hope the elders will grant my request!"

When he first saw her, he thought she was already married. When he saw her again, she was not wearing her hair up. Qin Shen thought wishfully, if she were someone else's wife, why would she live in his grandmother's courtyard? He figured that her guard had just said that on purpose to make him back down.

It makes sense; with her looks, how could she possibly scare away those lecherous men without some tricks?

Since that day, he had been thinking about her for two years and was unwilling to let her slip away again. These were his family members who loved him the most. He didn't care about being shy and asked her to marry him directly.

"No!" the old lady blurted out.

"Why not?" Except when he was leading troops into battle, his family never rejected his requests, which puzzled Qin Shen.

Seeing that the old lady was speechless and Qin Lie's face was ashen, Qin Ying felt a surge of anger. Since her elder sister's death, she had been spoiled and arrogant, and had suffered such grievances at Qin Lie's hands. How could she not fan the flames now? "Do you know who that person is?"

"Who is it?" Qin Shen sensed something was wrong and asked blankly.

Qin Ying laughed: "That person is the princess that Third Brother brought back from the capital! She is the daughter of the enemy who harmed Third Uncle!"

Qin Shen stiffened, looking at the old lady with a bewildered and vulnerable expression.

The Prince of Dingbei frowned: "Why is the princess in the Prince's residence?"

Qin Ying said, "Naturally, it's because..."

She might indulge her own pleasure, but her husband couldn't let her do as she pleased. He had once served as Qin Lie's deputy general, and seeing Qin Lie's expression and back soaked with cold sweat, he quickly pulled Qin Ying's hand under the table.

Although Qin Ying was greatly pampered, she was now a wife and mother. In order to get her husband to go to war, she had pleaded with her mother and second brother, but military affairs were always in the hands of her third brother, and she had repeatedly run into obstacles, which was why she was so resentful today. When her husband pulled her, she realized the importance of the matter and regretted it in her heart, remaining silent.

The Prince of Dingbei, however, was enraged: "Speak!"

Her father held absolute authority at home, not to mention he was a prince. Qin Ying swayed and was about to speak when she heard the old lady sigh, "The princess fell seriously ill a few days ago. I took pity on her and brought her to the manor for treatment. She is almost fully recovered now, and I was planning to have her move out in the next few days."

The Prince of Dingbei glanced around, taking in everyone's expressions. He formed a guess in his mind, his gaze sweeping over his eldest daughter-in-law's grief-stricken face before finally settling on Qin Lie. He said solemnly, "She is your lawfully wedded wife. We cannot ignore her being so young and critically ill in Jizhou. Now that she is better, we should send her away as soon as possible; she cannot remain in the Prince's residence. Although she is innocent, her father has a blood feud with my family. Since she was once your wife, it is inappropriate for her to continue living in Jizhou. Now that the Great Han Empire is fragmented, no one can use the imperial decree anymore. In my opinion, it would be better to treat her as a distant relative, send her a dowry, and marry her off, then have no further contact."

Qin Lie lowered his eyes: "Your son obeys."

After the banquet, the Prince of Dingbei came to the old lady's courtyard and looked at the baby in swaddling clothes, saying, "These eyebrows and eyes are exactly the same as Lie'er's when he was a child, only the mouth is smaller and the skin is much whiter than Lie'er's."

The old lady said, "She looks like her mother in this respect. She has a Jiangnan complexion, and it's rare to see such a skin tone in the North."

Unlike the Princess Consort, the Prince of Dingbei, though also hating Emperor Jiahe, hated him far less. He not only had three sons and two daughters born to the Princess Consort, but also children born to his concubines and maids. With so many children, the burden on each individual became thinner. He was certainly heartbroken by the death of his eldest son, but the loss of an excellent heir was an even greater blow. However, Qin Lie's unexpected rise to prominence and his superior performance even surpassed that of his eldest son. He felt a faint sense of relief—in such chaotic times, it was clear that only Qin Lie could lead the Qin family to greater heights and further.

Therefore, he did not dislike the child born to the princess and Qin Lie. As long as the princess left, the child would simply be a member of the Qin family, no different from the child left behind by the concubine who died young in his harem.

The baby in the swaddling clothes opened his eyes. He was born as thin as a monkey, but after careful nurturing, although he could not be called fat and fair, he was no longer wrinkled. Now he looked at the Prince of Dingbei with his bright eyes, sticking out his tongue.

The Prince of Dingbei laughed and said, "I was mistaken just now. His eyes are bigger than Lie'er's."

The old lady said, "All our children are good-looking, but none of them can compare to this one."

It wasn't that she was biased. Qin Lie and the others were all exceptionally handsome, and their wives were also beautiful, so their children were naturally more attractive than others from a young age. But the most outstanding was this one, who, even at such a young age, was already different from the others. Emperor Jiahe may not have many other skills, but he was a master at hunting for beauties; all his princesses and princes were stunningly beautiful. With such parents as Lingyi Shuli and Qin Lie, it would be strange if they had an ugly child.

The Prince of Dingbei asked, "Has a name been chosen?"

The old lady deliberately said, "How could I dare to name it without your permission?"

The Prince of Dingbei thought to himself that the child had been born behind his back, so this was just to coax him. He didn't take it to heart and pondered, "What about Qin Huan?"

All members of the Qin family in this generation have chosen names with the fire radical, and choosing this name signifies that the Prince of Dingbei has accepted the child.

The old lady read it twice, nodded approvingly, and then turned to look at Qin Lie beside her: "What do you think?"

Qin Lie said, "It is naturally excellent that Your Highness has bestowed a name upon me."

The Prince of Dingbei glanced at him and said, "Since the child is left behind, the person needs to be sent away as soon as possible. Remember to apologize to your sister-in-law later. She is sensitive and you must not let her become cold-hearted."

Mentioning this granddaughter-in-law, the old lady's expression turned cold. While she grieved for her granddaughter-in-law when Qin Xi died on the battlefield, she also felt she was too weak-willed, losing her six-month pregnancy and leaving Xi'er childless. When the Princess wanted to marry her nephew to Qin Xi, the old lady disapproved, not because of her family background, but because her timid nature was unsuitable for a military family's wife. Yet, she coveted the wealth and status of the military household and was determined to marry into it. Afterwards, every time Xi'er went to the battlefield, she would weep and wail.

Throughout her life, the old lady saw her husband off to the battlefield, then her son, and finally her grandson. Each time she saw them off, she never showed any reluctance, and while waiting, she never uttered a sound of weeping. Even when she lost her son and grandson, she would weep bitterly, but she would grieve only in private. In public, the princess could not manage affairs of state, yet she still had to support the household and endure the excruciating pain to entertain those who came from the capital to offer their condolences.

In this respect, the eldest granddaughter-in-law is not as good as the seemingly delicate princess.

When she first arrived at the Prince's mansion, she insisted on seeing Qin Lie. After seeing him, she realized she couldn't rely on him, so she behaved herself and quietly copied Buddhist scriptures in order to gain some favor with him.

Forced to separate from her child, she was heartbroken, but after realizing that the situation was irreversible, she stopped crying, did not blame fate or wallow in sorrow, and began to busy herself with making clothes, shoes and hats for the child and other things she could do.

Seeing her resilience, the old lady felt some pity and tacitly allowed her to occasionally sneak a peek at the child.

She had been careful enough, only coming over at noon, but unexpectedly ran into Qin Shen, which caused this whole commotion.

It's not necessarily a bad thing; the child has passed the legal test. However, she can neither stay in the Prince's mansion nor in Jizhou.

He cannot appear anywhere Qin Shen might be.

Upon receiving the news, Lingyi began packing her things.

She came without taking anything with her, and left with only a small bundle, leaving behind a chest full of clothes, shoes and socks she had made for her children.

Upon learning that the child had been named Qin Huan and would remain in the Prince's mansion, she breathed a sigh of relief. Staying in the Prince's mansion meant having a proper family and living a life of luxury, which was better than not knowing which peasant family he might be sent to.

Unfortunately, she didn't have time to make him more clothes, and he never even glanced at his mother.

Perhaps this is for the best; if he can't remember, he can live better in the Prince's mansion. She comforted herself with this thought as she shouldered her bundle and left.

When they reached the courtyard gate, Granny Shen suddenly ran up to her and said, "Please, Madam, have mercy and go see the child before you leave."

She followed Granny Shen to the side room of the old lady's residence. The wet nurse was standing there holding Qin Huan. Lingyi took the child from the wet nurse with trembling hands. The child was awake, looking at her blankly, his little mouth opening and closing.

Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. She quickly stepped back to avoid them falling on him, and after a long while, she managed to hold them back. She hugged the child tightly in her arms, staring at him intently, wishing she could etch the child's image into her eyes and heart.

Although she didn't say a word, Granny Shen and the wet nurse watching from the side felt heartbroken.

Even though she couldn't bear it, Granny Shen still spoke up: "Princess, it's time to go."

Lingyi reluctantly handed the child to the wet nurse, turned around and knelt down, kowtowing three times towards the direction of the old lady's main room, and said to Granny Shen, "From now on, I entrust Huan'er to the old lady."

After saying that, he looked at Qin Huan with lingering affection one last time, then got up, slung his bundle over his shoulder, and left.

Inside the main room, the old lady watched her retreating figure and asked Qin Lie, "Where do you plan to take her?"

Qin Lie said, "The government office will register and record everything. Go wherever you need to go. I won't interfere."

The old lady sighed: "After all, we were husband and wife. If you care about our relationship, you should send her back to the capital. Otherwise, not to mention that she has never lifted a finger, how can she live a peaceful life with her appearance?"

Marriage? When she said those insulting and trampling things on him, did she ever think about the relationship between husband and wife?

He spared her life for the sake of the child, which is already more than enough.

Qin Lie said, "If she is fortunate enough to return on her own, I will not stop her."

The old lady had already learned from Granny Shen about their argument that day, and hearing the anger still lingering in his voice, she decided not to try to persuade him further.