The Duke's Unwelcome Cousin Bride

Jiang Xuesui lost her mother at age three. As the saying goes, "When the mother dies, wait for the uncles."

Sure enough, three days later, her three uncles from the distant capital came to fetch her. Jiang Xuesui was a young girl, and her father found it inconvenient to raise her alone. Her maternal grandfather's mansion, the Xiang Duke's Estate, had several female cousins to play and study with. Her aunts and grandmother were all kind and loving. With Xuesui gone, her father could focus on being a good magistrate for the people.

So little Jiang Xuesui bid farewell to her father and entered the capital. On her first day at the Duke's Estate, everything was wonderful. Her grandmother was loving, her aunts warm, and her cousins delighted in her. Only the taciturn, cold-looking eldest cousin, Wen Qiao, was unpleasant. He would rather play with a dog than exchange a single word with her, nor did he deign to look her in the eye. Such a dull, boring person—Jiang Xuesui couldn't be bothered with him.

* * *

Jiang Xuesui lived at the Duke's Estate until she reached the age of coming of age. That year, her father rose to Grand Secretary and was granted a large mansion in the capital by the emperor. She now had a home of her own in the capital and naturally returned to her father's side. As the daughter of a Grand Secretary, raised in the virtuous, poetry-loving Duke's Estate, the nobles in the palace took an interest in her marriage.

One day, Jiang Xuesui went to Bodhi Temple to offer incense. She first encountered the Crown Prince, then Prince Cheng. Two marriage proposals were handed to her, but she rejected both. Pointing at Wen Qiao standing under the mountain gate, she said, "Your Highnesses, I have long admired my cousin. If I marry, it will be only him."

In Jiang Xuesui's view, this was merely a jest to politely refuse them.

But after Wen Qiao came first in the imperial examinations and proposed to her father, he said, "By order of my grandmother, father, and mother, and also to fulfill my cousin's long-standing admiration for me, I come to ask for Xuesui's hand."

Hiding behind the screen in the hall, Jiang Xuesui panicked. Forgetting all shame, she rushed out and said sharply, "Wen Qiao, saying this makes it seem like I begged Grandmother, Uncle, and Aunt to force you to marry me!"

"Is that not the case?" Wen Qiao looked confused. "How about I repeat what my cousin said to Their Highnesses that day to Uncle? If it was insincere, let's clarify it today."

Fine, fine, fine! What a mess.

Jiang Xuesui had to swallow this bitter pill. If she admitted it was insincere, her father, with his loyal and upright nature, would certainly take her to the palace to confess to the emperor and empress. So she said defiantly, "Father, I accept this marriage." After the wedding, she would make him pay.

* * *

After marriage, every night was short, and the embroidered curtains swayed. Jiang Xuesui sensed something was off. She sat up, lifted the curtain, and stared at Wen Qiao, who was tying his sash. "That day, you deliberately provoked me into accepting the marriage, didn't you?"

Wen Qiao gazed at her and slowly uttered, "Yes." He sat by the bed to cover her with a robe. "We grew up together; I know your temperament better than anyone in this world."

I love you, but a lifetime is too short.

Theme: In the world of mortals, the four seasons are warm.