Qin’s mother looked at Yang Haiyan, her daughter-in-law, and thought: “What a good daughter-in-law, virtuous, filial, kind to her siblings. How could she…”

Thinking of this, Qin’s mother came up with an idea.

She said, “The nun said… said you would face a catastrophe this year. If you can make it through, everything will be fine. If not, then…”

In fact, what the nun had originally said was: “From these birth characters, the owner of this fate will not survive this year; it’s a short life.”

When Qin’s mother returned home and saw Yang Haiyan, she started to imagine.

Her imagination went like this: The borderlands were too dangerous, and there were barbarians who could sneak into the county.

She thought that perhaps the prediction of a short life for her daughter-in-law was related to this.

So, if her daughter-in-law didn’t go to the border this year and avoided certain dangers, wouldn’t that mean she’d be safe?

Qin’s mother decided to wait for her son to come back and suggest that the daughter-in-law stay at home this year.

The family would watch over her, and every time she left the house, her fourth daughter would accompany her.

This way, surely the calamity could be avoided.

Next year, the daughter-in-law could follow her son to the borderlands.

Qin’s mother was very pleased with her plan and decided to discuss it with Grandma Qin later.

Yang Haiyan was a bit surprised upon hearing this.

The birth characters the nun spoke of were the original owner’s, so was the prediction about the original owner?

In the original novel, there wasn’t much written about Qin Fang after he returned to his hometown.

It only mentioned that after Qin Fang retired from military service and returned home, Qin Fang never remarried.

His original wife had passed away early, and she hadn’t left him any children.

Could it be that the original wife died this year?

Qin’s mother looked at her daughter-in-law, worried that she couldn’t handle the news.

But to her surprise, Yang Haiyan was very calm.

Yang Haiyan was indeed calm. “This is not a big deal,” she thought.

She said, “Mother, don’t worry. Nothing is absolute. Since the nun said this, I’ll just be a little more careful. By the way, what did the nun say about my husband?”

When it came to this, Qin’s mother wasn’t as upset because what the nun said about her son was actually quite good.

What angered her was the prediction that such a good daughter-in-law had a short life. “The nun said Ah Fang would have a long life, but… but he would have no children and live a lonely life.”

Qin’s mother had her own imaginative explanation for this.

She thought that if her daughter-in-law died early, her son would never be able to move on, so he would spend the rest of his life alone.

Yang Haiyan didn’t know what Qin’s mother was imagining, but she had to admit that the nun was right about one thing—Qin Fang would live a long life.

In the original novel, The male lead Han Zhen returned home after retiring, and Qin Fang was still alive.

Both the male and female leads in the novel lived long lives, so Qin Fang living to that point certainly meant he had a long life.

Before Yang Haiyan could say anything, Qin’s mother grabbed her hand. “Yanyan, you must take good care of yourself. Even for Ah Fang’s sake, you must. If something happens to you, how will Ah Fang cope?”

Just thinking about it made Qin’s mother feel heartbroken.

Yang Haiyan: “…”

She silently squeezed Qin’s mother’s hand in return. “Mother, don’t worry. I will be fine. I still plan to have children with my husband.”

After saying this, she pretended to be shy and lowered her head.

Grandma Qin watched and wasn’t too pleased.

She said, “Yanyan, don’t overthink it. Maybe that nun just made a mistake.”

Qin’s mother added, “Exactly, don’t dwell on it.”

Yang Haiyan said, “Grandma, Mother, don’t worry, I won’t overthink it.”

Qin’s mother replied, “Alright then, you sit for a bit longer. I’ll go cook with your grandma.”

As she spoke, she exchanged a glance with Grandma Qin, and the two of them went into the kitchen.

Once inside, Qin’s mother said, “Mother, I have an idea that might help Yanyan avoid this life-threatening disaster. As long as she can get through this year safely, everything will be fine afterward.”

Qin’s mother really liked her daughter-in-law, but even more than that, she felt sorry for her son.

If the daughter-in-law died early, people might start saying that her son was cursed to harm his wife.

Grandma Qin quickly asked, “What’s your idea?”

Qin’s mother shared her analysis: “I was thinking, the nun said Yanyan won’t live past this year. But she’s a perfectly healthy young woman—under what circumstances could she die this year? After much thought, I think it’s related to the borderlands.”

Hearing this, Grandma Qin started to get the idea. “You mean…”

Qin’s mother said, “What I mean is, Yanyan and Ah Fang mentioned before that the borderlands are dangerous, with barbarians sometimes entering the city to harm civilians. A battle could break out at any time. So, could it be that Yanyan dies at the border, killed by the barbarians? Otherwise, Yanyan has a good temperament and is clever. I just can’t think of how else she could…”

Grandma Qin nodded. “That makes sense, but there’s also another possibility.”

Qin’s mother asked, “What possibility?”

Grandma Qin replied, “When a woman gives birth, it’s like walking through the gates of the underworld.”

After hearing this, Qin’s mother exchanged a glance with Grandma Qin. “Since Yanyan just returned, she probably hasn’t conceived yet. So we’ll have Yanyan and Ah Fang avoid having children this year. Plus, if Yanyan stays home, we can avoid this disaster. If she does get pregnant, and something goes wrong during childbirth, the child will be left without a mother, which would be devastating…”

She paused, then continued, “The nun said that Ah Fang would be lonely all his life without children. If Yanyan really dies in childbirth, wouldn’t it be a tragedy of two deaths?”

Grandma Qin was also frightened. “How can we get Yanyan to stay? We need a good reason, or else gossip might hurt her feelings.”

Qin’s mother said, “I’ve already thought of a solution.”

Grandma Qin asked, “What’s your idea?”

Qin’s mother explained, “We’ll say that this afternoon we went to the temple in town to find a monk to calculate a lucky date for Ah Fang and Yanyan.

The monk said that from my appearance, I’ll face a major calamity this year, but I can survive it if a blessed person stays with me for a year. And that blessed person is Yanyan.”

Grandma Qin smiled. “That’s a clever plan. It not only builds up Yanyan’s reputation but also keeps her here. But we should also let Ah Fang know so he doesn’t worry about you when he’s at the border.”

Qin’s mother agreed, “Of course, we’ll tell him.”

Grandma Qin nodded. “And to be safe, only the two of us will know about Yanyan’s birth characters. Mother, we can’t tell anyone else. Yanyan’s marriage to Ah Fang was arranged by the imperial court, so if rumors spread, it could bring trouble to Ah Fang as well.”

Hearing this, Grandma Qin couldn’t help but say, “You’ve thought everything through. I didn’t even consider that.”

Qin’s mother smiled. “I’m just worried about her second aunt running her mouth. Who knows what could happen if she starts gossiping.”

Speaking of the second aunt, Grandma Qin also felt troubled by her.

After the two women finished their discussion, Grandma Qin began preparing dinner, and Qin’s mother went to the fields to find Qin Fang. “Ah Fang… Ah Fang…”

Qin’s mother called out from the edge of the field.

This matter was only for the four of them to know—her, her mother-in-law, her son, and her daughter-in-law.

If more people knew, gossiping women would definitely say unpleasant things. And Qin’s mother had no intention of letting the second branch family mock her.

Qin Fang climbed up from the field’s edge. “Mother.”

Qin’s mother pulled him aside, making sure no one was around, and whispered, “Your grandma and I went to the temple today and had the monk calculate the closest auspicious date. It’s in five days, and we plan to host a wedding banquet for you and Yanyan.”

Hearing this, Qin Fang was overjoyed. “I understand.”

Although they had already celebrated with his colleagues in the family quarters, Qin Fang valued the family banquet more.

It held a different meaning when witnessed by elders.

Seeing her son so happy, Qin’s mother felt reluctant to bring up the rest of the matter. But she continued, “Your grandma and I also asked for peace charms for you and Yanyan. We were worried about the dangers at the border, so we thought having a peace charm would bring us some comfort.”

Qin Fang was touched. “Thank you, Grandma and Mother.”

Qin’s mother sighed, “But when we were asking for the peace charms, something happened…”

She then told him everything the nun had said—about one being short-lived and the other living a lonely life.

Qin Fang was stunned.

It took him a long time to process the information.

The thought of Yanyan having a short life made his heart ache.

He opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t find the words.

Finally, he said hoarsely, “If Yanyan really goes… I’ll never want to marry again in this life.”

His voice was filled with emotion.

He knew that if his wife died this year, he would rather live the rest of his life alone.

Hearing her son say this, Qin’s mother’s heart ached, and her eyes reddened. “That’s why your grandma and I came up with a plan.”

Qin Fang asked in a choked voice, “What’s the plan?”

Qin’s mother said, “We figured that Yanyan is still so young. If she can’t make it through this year, it’s likely because of two reasons: either the dangers at the border or childbirth. So we thought, if Yanyan stays home this year, where we can take care of her, she should be able to avoid this disaster. What do you think?”

Qin Fang listened to his mother’s analysis and thought that the possibility of Yanyan dying from childbirth was impossible, given that they hadn’t even consummated the marriage yet.

So, the greater danger seemed to be from the barbarians infiltrating the city and harming the people.

He decided that when he returned to the border, he would closely monitor the barbarians’ movements.

In his mind, Yanyan’s calamity was tied to the barbarians.

However, he didn’t let this show on his face and simply said, “Thank you, Mother, for thinking of me and Yanyan.”

Letting Yanyan stay home in this way was indeed the best solution.

After all, everyone liked a blessed person.

Seeing that her son agreed, Qin’s mother was relieved.

But she then brought up another matter. “Now that you’ve become an official and started a family, what are your thoughts on the family affairs?”

Qin Fang didn’t immediately understand.

Qin’s mother hinted, “Dividing the family.”