Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Married to the Dying Prince Chu as a Widow-to-Be! "What?" "Didn't you hear me clearly? I can say it again." "No need!" The husband who had been so devoted to her in her past life now gradually overlapped with the cold-hearted, indifferent man before her. Jia Qingcheng thought she had misheard. She stared blankly at the man before her. "Pei Wuliang, you really know how to play your cards well. You want to use me to curry favor with the royal family?" "Don't make it sound so ugly. Look at yourself—I'm fighting to secure you a high marriage. What more could you possibly want?" Jia Qingcheng slowly rose to her feet and let out a cold laugh. "My marriage is not for you to decide." Pei Wuliang said in a deep voice, "This was also your father's idea." Jia Qingcheng furrowed her brows, feeling as though something heavy was pressing down on her chest. Was her father planning to sell her off to bring prosperity to the Jia family? But why sacrifice only her? Why? "Your father and I have already discussed this. You know your own circumstances well enough. Don't worry—I'll arrange everything properly. Once you marry into that family, I'll take care of you. Consider it my way of repaying your years of devoted affection." Jia Qingcheng couldn't help but let out a scoff. All these years, she had revealed nearly every one of the family's medicinal formulas to him, and had secretly spent silver to help him secure a position in the Imperial Medical Academy. And this was how he repaid her? "Being able to marry Prince Chu is a blessing others can only dream of. Don't push your luck." Pei Wuliang's face darkened. He knew full well that he felt not a shred of affection for this ugly woman—only use. His purpose in marrying her in the previous life had been simple: to obtain the secret formulas of a medical dynasty. Most importantly, Jiaojiao was the jewel of his heart, his one true love. Unfortunately, she was born unable to bear children. How could the mistress of a prestigious family have no offspring? So his parents refused to let Jiaojiao through the door. To force his parents to yield, he turned his gaze to the ugly woman, Jia Qingcheng... Even her name struck him as ridiculous. An ugly woman, yet she bore the name "Qingcheng"—"Beauty That Topples Cities"? What irony! The man spoke with such conviction, and Jia Qingcheng's heart died in that instant. "Fine then. Have it your way." Receiving her affirmative answer, Pei Wuliang finally turned and left. ... On a hillside, a lone grave stood. Jia Qingcheng knelt beside her mother's tomb and gently traced the engraved characters on the headstone. In an instant, tears streamed down her face. "Mother, you always said a beautiful face would be deceived by men. But your daughter deliberately made herself ugly, and still she was deceived..." She didn't understand why everything after her rebirth was completely different. Or was it possible that Pei Wuliang had also been reborn? He regretted his choice, so he chose the woman who had been his first love in his past life? "Miss, why are you still here?" Behind her, her maidservant Chunyan had come looking for her. Jia Qingcheng quickly took a deep breath. "What's the matter?" "The eldest young master has sent people to deliver the betrothal gifts—twenty carriage-loads in total." Twenty carriage-loads? She remembered that at this time in her previous life, Pei Wuliang had also brought the Pei family servants to deliver betrothal gifts to marry her, but there had only been three small carts, pulled by donkeys. For that, her stepmother and father had been greatly displeased. It was she who had invited the neighborhood matrons to plead on his behalf before her father finally let the matter drop. "Return to the manor." Back at the manor, she indeed saw the entire courtyard filled with betrothal gifts from the Pei family. This was clearly an extravagant display, giving her cousin all the face in the world. Her stepmother was grinning from ear to ear. "Oh my, the Pei family certainly knows how to be generous. Jiaojiao, you're about to have a stroke of good fortune. Hurry and thank your sister—if not for her marrying Prince Chu in your place, how would you have such luck?" "What Aunt says is right." Song Jiaojiao, with her sweet-talking, hypocritical air, quickly moved forward as if to kneel. "Sister, this younger sister thanks you for your selfless sacrifice. Rest assured, I will remember your sacrifice for Jiaojiao in my heart, and I will be grateful to you in the future." Jia Qingcheng found Song Jiaojiao's fake, honeyed demeanor utterly nauseating—though of course, she was long accustomed to it. Song Jiaojiao was her cousin, orphaned at eight years old when both her parents died, and was eventually taken in and adopted by her stepmother. Strangely enough, though she was only a cousin, her stepmother treated her like her own flesh and blood. Not only that, but she also urged her father to teach Song Jiaojiao the art of medicine. Thus, although Song Jiaojiao was said to be an adopted daughter of the Jia family, she had also learned no small number of the Jia family's medical skills. "No need to kneel. How could I possibly deserve such courtesy?" Hearing this, Song Jiaojiao immediately played the victim. "Uncle, Aunt, sister is angry." "Qingcheng, stop making a scene. If you have any grievances, tell your father. Why take it out on Jiaojiao?" Looking at her father's blatantly biased face, she thought again of her deceased mother. Her mother had been the legitimate wife—a woman her father had once spent a fortune to win in marriage. Everyone had envied her mother, saying she had found a good husband who truly loved her. But after marriage, a man's promises were as casual as eating and drinking—once he'd had his fill, they no longer counted. Later, her father set his sights on other women. Over the years, women had come and gone in the manor, and she couldn't be bothered to pay them any mind. As long as her own interests weren't affected, she turned a blind eye. But now, since her father favored an outsider over her, she would no longer be polite. "Father, I want to take the Thousand Gold Ten Thousand Prescriptions with me when I marry." Father Jia was displeased. "What did you say?" Jia Qingcheng sneered, "If not, then let Cousin marry Prince Chu herself. You know I mean what I say." Song Jiaojiao looked as if she were about to cry. Father Jia stared hard at Jia Qingcheng's ugly, repulsive face. "Fine! I agree to your terms!" ... Inside the room, Jia Qingcheng was still embroidering her bright red wedding dress. Only one sleeve remained to be finished. In her past life, she had embroidered her wedding dress just like this, full of anticipation, counting the days until her wedding. But now... If Pei Wuliang had changed his heart, then she would simply change the groom. "Miss, why are you still working on the wedding dress? Young Master Pei won't marry you anymore." "Whether he marries me or not doesn't stop me from marrying someone else." "Miss, are you really going to marry that dying Prince Chu? I heard he was coughing up blood again last night and doesn't have many days left. If you marry him, you'll be a widow." A widow? That wasn't necessarily so! "Chunyan, go notify all the shops under my name. Have them send over a total account of all the medicinal herbs Pei Wuliang has used over the years." "Miss, what are you planning to—" "Take medicine, pay money. It's only natural." Chunyan understood immediately. After Chunyan left, she murmured toward the window outside. "The window is open." "Meow!" A big orange cat squeezed through the gap in the window and leaped onto her desk. "How did it go?" The big orange cat spat out a piece of gauze stained with black blood. Big Orange Cat: "Fresh, he just coughed it up." Seeing the black blood all over the gauze, Jia Qingcheng's brows furrowed. She then took out the dried fish she had prepared long ago... Big Orange Cat: "Good heavens, this dried fish is too fragrant! I could swallow my own tongue..." Meow, meow, meow! After eating its fill, the big orange cat stretched lazily, arching its sexy little honey-colored rump. "So delicious. Bring two more next time." Jia Qingcheng reached out and gently stroked the cat's head. "That depends on your performance." She had a secret no one knew—she could understand animal language and could use small favors to command them to do her bidding. After the big orange cat left, she fell into deep thought. In her past life, Prince Chu had died of illness around this time, and afterward, Pei Wuliang's future had been bright... In this life, since she was starting over, she would not let herself become a widow. She gently picked up the gauze and sniffed it, only to discover that Prince Chu's grave illness was not so simple. "So that's how it is."