The merchant's rebirth led to the complete downfall of the Marquis's mansion.

Everything was under control, so Qin Yao wasn't in a hurry.

When Jiang Su arrived, she was sitting by the pond feeding the fish.

Having served as the Lady of the Marquis for ten years, she reminded herself to pay attention to her image every day, confining herself to a predetermined framework, which was rigid and boring. She felt that this was the kind of life she was living.

As the man drew closer, Qin Yao put the fish food aside, her interest waning.

Jiang Su was still wearing a gorgeous royal blue brocade. Qin Yao thought for a long time before finally remembering that it was a new fabric she had acquired last month. She had sent it to the Marquis's residence before even handling it.

It's true, the things I gave away are now making me feel uncomfortable.

With that thought in mind, Jiang Su had already entered the pavilion.

Qin Yao did not get up, and Qingzhi did not bow and step back as usual.

Jiang Su was preoccupied with his own thoughts and didn't pay attention to these details.

"Miss, I couldn't stop the young master..." the little maid who had just run in with Jiang Su said with a wronged expression.

Having learned from the previous lesson, everyone in the manor knew that Young Master Jiang was not someone he could just barge into, so they naturally became more cautious.

Today, however, the Crown Prince was in a particularly hurry. He had promised to inform the Crown Prince, but he completely ignored him.

The gatekeeper was restrained by the men brought by the prince. The maidservant from the inner courtyard wanted to stop them, but she was too frightened to step forward because of the prince.

That allowed him to enter without any hindrance.

"Go down!" Qin Yao waved her hand, signaling her to leave.

The maidservant immediately beamed with joy, bowed, and turned around.

Jiang Su didn't care about these things, and was even unhappy about being blocked. Of course, he didn't feel guilty for making things difficult for his servants or disrespecting the Qin family.

"Yaoyao, I have something to tell you. Tell everyone else to leave."

Jiang Su glanced at Qingzhi behind Qin Yao and the servant standing outside the pavilion.

"Your Highness, they are all people I trust. Just say what you have to say!" Qin Yao changed her posture and said slowly.

"Okay!" Jiang Su was originally thinking of Qin Yao's best interests. Since she didn't want it, why should he hide it from her?

"I've come here today to tell you that I want to marry the third daughter of the Vice Minister's family!"

"We were originally engaged, but Miss Xia is, after all, the daughter of an official, and cannot be a concubine. I do not want to let you down, so I will have to trouble you to enter the mansion as a concubine!"

Qin Yao was not surprised, and her face remained expressionless.

This same thing happened in my past life, except that Jiang Su came to her to ask her to agree to let Xia Qiutang enter the mansion as a concubine. A concubine is just a concubine, even if it sounds nice.

Last time, she naturally agreed.

As long as it doesn't affect her position, it's none of her business if Jiang Su wants to find any Tom, Dick, or Harry.

Unfortunately, Xia Qiutang did not want to be a concubine, and Jiang Su also thought that it was because of her unwillingness that Xia Qiutang did not choose to be with him.

Little did he know that Xia Qiutang had already found someone else, and since he couldn't rely on this person, she immediately turned to someone else.

“Yaoyao, I know this is unfair to you, but Miss Xia is, after all, the daughter of an official, and the wife of the Vice Minister has already decided to register her under her own name, so that she will be the legitimate daughter,” Jiang Su continued affectionately.

"How can a legitimate daughter become a concubine after marriage? Yao Yao, you can understand me, right?"

As he spoke, Jiang Su reached out to take Qin Yao's hand.

Qin Yao immediately withdrew her hand. "I understand, Your Highness. As long as you're happy, Qin Yao will do whatever you want."

Tears welled up in Qin Yao's eyes, and she made the perfect expression of a woman who had been jilted, which finally satisfied Jiang Su.

That's more like it! Although he couldn't bring himself to say the whole thing he had prepared to tell her to prioritize the bigger picture, wasn't the result what he wanted?

"Don't worry, Yao Yao, I will make it up to you after we get married. Miss Xia is a kind person and will not mistreat you in the future."

Perhaps because Qin Yao's reaction pleased him, Jiang Su didn't mind giving her more incentives.

Qin Yao is not bad-looking, and she has the entire Qin family as her dowry, so he can accept her as a concubine.

After comforting her, Jiang Su saw that Qin Yao was still looking down and looked aggrieved, so he said a few more words of comfort. When she still didn't respond, he lost his patience.

He also wanted to go back and tell Qiutang the good news, and also tell his grandmother.

Anyway, as long as Qin Yao marries into the family, what difference does it make whether she's a wife or a concubine? As long as Qin Yao agrees, I'm sure her grandmother won't have any objections.

"Alright! I'll come see you again in a couple of days!" Jiang Su said, then turned and left without looking at Qin Yao again.

Watching him walk away, Qingzhi, who had been holding back for a long time, finally spoke up urgently.

"What a piece of trash! Does he really think that no one can live without him? To be a concubine? Bah! Someone like him? Does he even deserve it?" Qingzhi pointed at him, feeling a surge of anger in her chest that she couldn't vent.

If the young lady hadn't already instructed her not to say too much, she would have cursed him like that shrew in their village.

You have nothing, yet you still dream on!

"Miss! How can you still laugh?! If it were me, I would definitely find out the adulterer that Xia Qiutang seduced and make him see his cuckolded hat!" Qingzhi stomped her foot, very dissatisfied with Qin Yao's reaction.

"What's the point of that?" Qin Yao stood up. "What if he finds out Xia Qiutang is in trouble and comes back to bother your young lady?"

Qingzhi thought about it and agreed, "But this is too stifling!"

Just then, Qin Yao saw Qiu Liu walking towards her from a distance and happily responded to the sullen Qing Zhi.

"How do you know they're not holding back a big surprise? Let's go! Let's move on to the next scene!"

At this moment, a large crowd had gathered outside the Qin residence, and Qin Yao made her appearance.

"Dear fellow villagers, I have invited you all here today to bear witness!"

Qin Yao had a jade lion carried out from behind her.

"When the Marquis arranged my marriage to the Crown Prince, it was a grand affair with music and everyone present as witnesses."

"But today, the Crown Prince personally came to tell me that I, Qin Yao, am unfit to be a wife, and that he wants to demote me to a concubine and marry the third young lady of the Vice Minister's family instead!"

"Although I, Qin Yao, am a woman, I know that a promise is of utmost importance. Furthermore, my Qin family has a rule that a woman of the Qin family cannot be a concubine. Therefore, today, I will return this lion to fulfill the marriage between the Jiangxia and Qin families. Please bear witness!"

As she spoke, Qin Yao bowed gracefully, and tears streamed down her face.

Qingzhi and Qiuliu stood behind, marveling at their young lady's acting skills. If she hadn't been smiling when she left, they would have thought she was really that sad.

Especially Qiu Liu, who had gathered the people, when she returned, she saw that her young lady seemed to have just met with Prince Jiang!

When she saw the young lady, there wasn't a trace of sadness on her face.

"I knew I saw Prince Jiang go in, beat up the Qin family's servant and rushed in. I wondered what he was up to. Turns out he just came to show off!"

"Honestly, everyone knows how his father arranged the marriage back then, but now he's really good at sabotaging it!"

"That's right! The Qin family has helped them so much, yet they still humiliate Miss Qin like this!"

"Don't worry, Miss Qin! We're here to vouch for you!"

……

The old nanny sent by Old Madam Jiang happened to witness this scene and knew in her heart that it was all over.

Amidst the murmurs of the people, two servants carried the jade lion onto the main street.

Along the way, the common people who had come along, as well as the newly joined ones, arrived at the gate of the Marquis's mansion in a grand procession under the leadership of Granny Zhao.