Chapter 1 I Won't Marry These Five Men
"I will not marry any of these five men."
Xie Qingran's voice was clear and melodious, but in the solemn main hall of the Xie family, it was like a heavy stone falling into a lake, causing a great uproar.
"What nonsense are you talking about? According to the laws of the Great Jin Dynasty, if a woman is over twenty years old and still unmarried, she will be punished with twenty strokes of the cane for minor offenses and exiled for serious offenses, which will also bring disaster to her family."
Madam Wang, with her eyebrows raised and her well-maintained, beautiful face contorted with anger, glared at Xie Qingran and said, "You'll be twenty in two months. Are you trying to jeopardize your father's and brother's careers by not getting married?"
The aggressive accusations sound all too familiar.
Xie Qingran sat in the chair, her expression momentarily dazed.
It's not a dream.
She was truly reborn.
She returned to the age of nineteen, the day after the Xie family had brought her back to the capital from the old nanny in the countryside.
"Ran'er, don't be willful."
At that moment, Xie Yankang, the father, spoke up.
Unlike Wang, he was not angry. He just sighed, like any loving father who was worried sick about his daughter. He pointed to the portrait in the hall and said earnestly, "These are five men that your father and mother carefully selected. Don't you like any of them?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Qingran followed her father's gaze and swept over the five portraits in front of her.
Every handsome face is like a key, unlocking the bloody shackles of past lives.
They were all incredibly handsome, with tall and slender figures.
However, their methods were increasingly ruthless.
Their hearts were with Xie Hanyue, the adopted daughter of the Xie family.
In her previous life, Xie Qingran longed for family ties and feared that her marriage would implicate the Xie family, so she hastily chose one of them to marry.
However, she inexplicably lost her innocence and was rejected by her fiancé five times in a row.
Little did they know that they were all deeply in love with their adopted daughter, Xie Hanyue, and that Xie Hanyue's tears would captivate them.
Just to win Xie Hanyue's favor, they led the way in isolating and bullying her in the capital, plotting to ruin her reputation, and breaking off their engagement with her five times.
Ultimately, her reputation was ruined, leaving her with no other choice but to marry a widower who had caused the deaths of three wives the night before she turned twenty, in order to save her life.
As a result, they bribed the widower to send her to a group of beggars, where she was tortured to death!
On his deathbed, he learned that it was all the work of the young master from the Dragon and Phoenix families among those five people. Even the widower had been bribed by them, just to win Xie Hanyue's favor.
Xie Hanyue's single tear encapsulates her entire life.
Seeing that she remained silent for a long time, Wang Shi was so angry that she twisted the handkerchief in her hand tightly. She almost lost her usual proud noblewoman demeanor and scolded, "I think she has been spoiled by that old whore from the countryside! She is even more unruly than when she was a child. She is unwilling to marry any of these five excellent young men. She has not a bit of Yue'er's sense of propriety!"
Xie Qingran snapped out of her daze and turned her gaze, her cold and calm eyes landing on Wang Shi's undisguised resentment and irritation. A sense of absurdity and ridiculousness rose in her heart.
Yes, she was the legitimate daughter of the Xie family, but because of a mischievous incident in her childhood where she "pushed down the imperial concubine," her parents hurriedly sent her to the countryside and left her to be taught by an old nanny sent by the imperial concubine for many years. She missed her parents every single day.
However, the day after she left home, her parents adopted Xie Hanyue, taking her place and enjoying all the love and care that should have belonged to her, citing excessive grief.
Now that Heaven has eyes and she has been given a second chance at life, Xie Qingran is unwilling to have any connection with any of them again!
Including the Xie family.
The tragic ending of her past life made Xie Qingran fully understand that sometimes even the strongest blood ties cannot compare to the affection of being together day and night.
"Is the mother blaming her for her daughter's mischievousness when she was young?"
Xie Qingran stood tall and straight, her figure graceful and elegant, her demeanor flawless. She met Wang Shi's eyes frankly and openly: "Mother, have you forgotten that back then, it was you who was harassed by the Imperial Concubine and knelt for half an hour in the dead of winter? I was worried about you, so I pushed the Imperial Concubine."
Wang's face stiffened, and she said angrily, "Are you blaming me? I have already tried my best to make it up to you. Even these five sons were obtained by me by swallowing my pride!"
"My daughter wouldn't dare."
Xie Qingran smiled faintly, remaining calm and composed: "Mother has given me life, and I have no complaints about protecting you from disasters and difficulties. However, Father, Mother, it's not that I'm ungrateful, but I feel that there are better options in the capital besides these five gentlemen."
“A better option?” Madam Wang was taken aback, then her expression changed drastically as if she had realized something. “You don’t mean to…enter the palace? Xie Qingran! Are you out of your mind!”
Xie Yankang's face also darkened, clearly having the same thought as Wang Shi. "You're foolish! Everyone knows that His Majesty now dotes solely on the Consort, their love is unbreakable, and the harem is practically nonexistent! If you have such thoughts now, you'll only bring trouble upon the Xie family!"
"Wrong." Xie Qingran gently shook her head, a faint, ambiguous smile playing on her lips: "What my daughter said is—"
She paused deliberately, and under the impatient stares of Wang Shi and Xie Yankang, she opened and closed her lips and said, "The Duke of Zheng's Mansion."
"What?!"
These four words were like a thunderclap from a clear sky!
Not to mention Madam Wang, even Xie Yankang stood up abruptly, his face filled with shock and disbelief. "You...you want to marry into the Duke of Zhenguo's family?"
"That's right, my daughter wants to marry into the Duke of Zhenguo's family."
Xie Qingran repeated it slowly and deliberately, a calm and composed smile playing on her lips.
She believed Xie Yankang would definitely agree.
Although the five young men chosen by the Xie family came from prominent families, none of them could compare to the distinguished family of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
Most importantly, no one will accuse Xie Qingran of being delusional and trying to climb the social ladder.
because……
As everyone knows, the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion has just fought an extremely fierce battle, and almost all the men in the family have been killed!
Now, the once magnificent Duke Zhenguo Mansion is left with only a once exceptionally talented heir, now crippled in both legs and disfigured.
Xiao Jue.
It is said that he was gloomy and unpredictable, and was bedridden for many years.
He is a living Yama who has truly returned from the brink of death.
He also has two younger brothers who are only eleven or twelve years old, a younger sister who is still nursing, and the widows and children left behind by his three brothers who died in battle...
A large family of orphans and widows—it's an absolute disaster!
"This won't do!!"
Madam Wang stood up agitatedly, her last shred of madam demeanor completely destroyed. She cried out anxiously, "The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion is a pit of fire! Marrying into it would ruin your life!"
For the first time, genuine disapproval and a hint of heartache appeared in her eyes.
Xie Qingran couldn't help but glance at Wang Shi, her heart filled with a chilling indifference.
Perhaps, Wang did not completely disregard her biological daughter.
But this meager mother-daughter bond, compared to Xie Hanyue's years of favoritism and the future of the Xie family father and son, is ultimately—
The difference is like heaven and earth.
A glint of shrewdness and excitement flashed in Xie Yankang's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it and feigned agreement, saying, "Your mother is right! With the Zhenguo Duke's mansion in such a state now, how can my Xie family push our own daughter there? No, this marriage is absolutely not going to happen!"
Xie Qingran sneered inwardly, but her face grew even more submissive. She rose and walked to Xie Yankang and Madam Wang, resolutely kneeling down and saying, "Father, Mother, the Xie family has raised me for many years, and I have no way to repay you. Right now, His Majesty is worried about comforting the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and settling the young master Xiao. If our Xie family were to volunteer to marry our daughter to him, it would surely relieve His Majesty's worries, win his favor, and greatly benefit our family. I... am willing to go through fire and water for the Xie family without hesitation!"
She spoke with deep emotion.
The calculation in Xie Yankang's eyes finally outweighed that little bit of feigned fatherly love. After a moment of contemplation, he put on a look of deep remorse and nodded, saying, "Since...since your mind is made up, your father...will grant your request. My daughter Xie is indeed a woman of great virtue!"
When the head of the household spoke, Wang's lips trembled, and she couldn't utter a word of objection for a long time.
Xie Qingran had expected this. She lowered her head, concealing the barely perceptible mockery in her eyes: "Thank you, Father and Mother, for your kindness."
The law was against her, so she had no choice but to marry.
But now that she has a choice, Xie Qingran will never again be someone who lets others trample on her.
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