Chapter 1.2

Since Qi Tianlei was born from a difficult labor, fearing he wouldn’t survive, they had taken the elders’ advice and raised him as a girl, even piercing his ears! Truly, Qi Tianlei had inherited his mother’s beautiful features and had no trouble passing for a girl. His father, in his lifetime, loved showing him off, earning the affection of many elders and even causing fights among young boys over the chance to play with him! This shows just how captivating Qi Tianlei was! It wasn’t until he was seven, when he began to protest, that the elders allowed him to wear male clothing again. But even after reaching adulthood, there were always women’s clothes ready in his room; after his second brother died, had he not resisted with all his might, he might have been forced to wear women’s clothing again! Three years ago, when Liu Ruoqian first met him, he was lying in bed, weak and pale from long-term bed rest, with his hair let down and his mother placing earrings on him. And then this young doctor appeared!

At the time, Liu Ruoqian thought he had seen a beauty, albeit a bit tall; but on second glance, he realized he was facing a man in drag! Just as he was about to weasel out of the job, he saw the embarrassment and humiliation in the eyes of the handsome man on the bed, clearly a trapped beast! He immediately decided to have some fun and actually proposed marriage, loudly declaring he wanted to marry such a great beauty…

This nearly caused the elders of the Qi family to faint from shock! They wondered if they had hired a man with strange preferences. Amid their uncertainty and shock, the two men burst into laughter, becoming fast friends from that moment on.

Only in front of Liu Ruoqian did Qi Tianlei feel like a normal person! Honestly, someone forced to lie in bed for so long would end up sick, no matter how healthy they originally were, no amount of tonic would help!

Liu Ruoqian’s treatment was simple: let him get out of bed, teach him exercises and breathing techniques.

At least Qi Tianlei’s health had indeed improved, so the old madam followed Liu Ruoqian’s arrangement and built a house outside the city, by the mountains and water, for Qi Tianlei to recuperate in periodically. He would stay there for a month or two every six months.

During those months, Qi Tianlei fully enjoyed the free air and roamed with Liu Ruoqian.

If there was anything wrong with Qi Tianlei’s health, it was entirely the wishful thinking of the Qi family elders. After hanging out with Liu Ruoqian for three years, how could he have any hidden ailments! But the excuse of “illness” gave him the chance to go out.

As for dragging on a winter cold, that was just nonsense! Nonsense that led to his marriage being inexplicably arranged. Wasn’t it his old madam, eager to have a great-grandchild, who feared he wouldn’t live past twenty-five and started looking for a bride last year, building a new house and not allowing him to recuperate in the other garden? He had planned to visit Luoyang with Liu Ruoqian to see the grand event of the martial arts competition, but now he couldn’t go! He had to pretend to be ill and was hurriedly sent to the other garden, allowing them to sneak off to Luoyang to see the show. Little did he know that the joke was on him now!

This time, he really couldn’t escape!

Liu Ruoqian genuinely consoled him, “Look on the bright side! I hear your bride is a famous beauty from Yangzhou, talented, virtuous, and elegant, a true lady from a prominent family. Many men are envious of your good fortune…”

“Then why did you run away?” Qi Tianlei cut off his consolation, casually throwing back a line, successfully silencing him.

As a renowned doctor and wandering hero, Liu Ruoqian, the only son of a powerful clan leader, had roamed the world for the past eight years to avoid a forced marriage by his parents. Free-spirited and unrestrained, he occasionally sent letters home but dared not return, fearing a wedding feast awaited him, trapping him forever.

People only knew Liu Ruoqian as a famous doctor with some martial arts skills, unaware of his illustrious background. This allowed him to live freely and casually, and he only confided in Qi Tianlei because they were like brothers.

They shared a similar sense of desolation, deepening their bond. However, the fact that Qi Tianlei was to be a groom tomorrow was unchangeable!

Qi Tianlei sighed again. Marrying a wife wasn’t bad, but it meant having a woman intrude into his life, sharing his privacy! It also meant he couldn’t enjoy two different kinds of life in the future! He knew those so-called ladies were always proper and dignified, their every action measured, with no spontaneous joy! A husband and wife treating each other like guests, if he dared to act improperly, she would feel offended… An offending husband? Sigh… The bright starry sky tonight did not match his sorrowful mood!

No one would say that Miss Du was a bad choice. After all, the old madam had carefully selected her from thousands of beauties over a year. Everyone knew how picky the old madam was!

It’s just that he wasn’t in the mood to marry; yet, the reality was that the old madam had

even chosen two girls as concubines for him, fearing an accident. No man could tolerate being treated like a stud horse! But, alas! The men of the Qi family had inexplicably died young for three generations. If he claimed he would live to seventy, people would think he was delusional!

No wonder he had to fake illness to get some fresh air! In the Qi family, he couldn’t do anything; even holding a fruit knife, his family feared he would stab himself. Wherever he went, a group of servants followed, ready to rescue him at any moment!

The woman entering his life tomorrow was probably already counting down the days to his funeral!

A flood of irritating thoughts filled his mind. If he could still smile about tomorrow’s event, then he truly was sick!

Look at him, for the sake of this charming night with moonlight, tea, and a refreshing breeze; to enjoy the night scene, he had to climb out the window, sneak past the dozing servants at the door, just to drink tea and chat with Liu Ruoqian under the moon!

Yes! As the rumors said, he was the delicate third young master Qi, the lifeline and hope of the Qi family elders! As delicate as a prisoner—another wave of boredom swept over him. Qi Tianlei suddenly whispered, “Think of a way to let me die, to fulfill their wishes.”

“Only after your wife carries your seed,” Liu Ruoqian tossed a peanut into the air, catching it perfectly in his open mouth.

Sighing again like a trapped beast.

Tomorrow, the world would witness yet another reluctant marriage.

However, he really didn’t understand what kind of woman would be willing to marry a man who was about to die. And she was a noble lady! It seemed that the problem wasn’t just with him! Then, Qi Tianlei raised his sharp eyebrows and laughed, “Could it be that the noble lady got pregnant and had to marry me? That way, I wouldn’t even need to ‘try’ and could just ‘die’ directly.”

This time, Liu Ruoqian splashed a cup of tea towards him, trying to cool his head. But Qi Tianlei quickly opened his folding fan and deflected the tea to either side, leaving his white robe untouched. It seemed that three years of training had paid off.

“You’re the only groom in the world who would hope that his wife had been impregnated by someone else, you’re too generous! I’m starting to think you really are sick!” Liu Ruoqian glanced at him maliciously. “You’re not, uh, having problems down there, are you?”

After a moment of silence, the shadows of cups, plates, and teapots flew back and forth in the air, accompanied by the sound of fluttering sleeves. As usual, when words failed, the two of them began their training session, disrupting the serene spring night…

It was indeed a busy and exhausting day!

Early in the morning, the wedding procession arrived at the inn to pick up the bride. Through her veil, Li Yuhu couldn’t see any of the festivities; she could only hear Matchmaker Lin’s vivid descriptions of the groom, who had arrived on a white horse, his face as handsome as jade, standing tall and graceful. His exceptional looks made everyone else pale in comparison.

But Li Yuhu was surprised that the groom could ride a white horse instead of being carried in a sedan chair! Wouldn’t that be too strenuous for the sickly third young master Qi? She hoped he would faint halfway and die right there, sparing her from the whole ordeal! Unfortunately, eight strong men on horseback surrounded his horse to prevent the young master from falling.

What a useless person, Li Yuhu cursed silently, deciding to despise the third young master Qi forever! If it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t be in this impossible situation!

After parading through the streets, the wedding procession finally arrived at the Qi family’s mansion, with its red walls and black tiles, an entrance so deep it felt like entering the ocean.

The rituals of wealthy families were more numerous than the hairs on an ox! All to display their extraordinary status.

Although it was spring, sitting in the stifling bridal sedan, wearing the cumbersome and lavish bridal gown, surviving an hour without suffocating was a miracle! Yet, upon arrival, she couldn’t be helped out of the sedan, which meant she had to continue suffering. Frustrated, Li Yuhu tugged at her collar, trying to catch her breath. Outside, some elderly men and women of high status were murmuring a series of vague exorcism and blessing chants. Sigh!

How much longer would she have to wait!

Heavens! She was starving! Were these people trying to kill her? Luckily, it was her strong self here today; if it had been the real Bingyan, she might have been half-dead by now!

Finally, the noise outside ceased, signaling the groom’s arrival!

Then came the custom of kicking the sedan door to assert dominance.

Li Yuhu clenched her fists, almost wanting to tear apart the foot that kicked the door!