1965, Nancheng Hutong
In the innermost courtyard, the gate stood wide open, decorated with a large red "Double Happiness" character. Many people were coming and going.
Children kept setting off firecrackers at the entrance, and more than ten banquet tables filled the courtyard. Guests drank, chatted, and laughed noisily.
But inside the main house, the atmosphere was eerily quiet.
Nearly seventy-year-old Tang Yaozong sat with a livid face. The medicine he had just taken could not suppress his anger.
However, with so many guests outside, he could not vent his rage openly.
"Qiyue, why do you have to cause trouble at a time like this? Look how angry your father is!"
The woman beside Tang Yaozong spoke softly, trying to persuade the girl kneeling on the ground.
But it had no effect.
Holding her forehead, Tang Qiyue stubbornly stared at her father. Her gaze swept over the People's Liberation Army calendar on the wall and the large red "Double Happiness" character hanging behind him.
The throbbing pain in her forehead reminded her of one thing—
She had returned to the past.
Today was the day her elder sister ran away from her arranged marriage, and the day her family forced Tang Qiyue to marry in her sister's place.
In her previous life, after leaving here, she had been sent away by sea. Before even reaching land, she encountered a typhoon and died.
After that, her soul wandered through the apocalypse, struggling for survival.
Just when the apocalypse finally ended and her life was beginning to improve—
She returned to this moment.
"Father," Tang Qiyue said coldly, "it was my sister who ran away from the wedding. The Tang family is the one that lost face. What does that have to do with me?"
"Now you want me to marry in her place. Shouldn't you at least ask for my consent first?"
At home, Tang Qiyue had always kept a low profile and never argued with her elders.
That was why her refusal today made Tang Yaozong even angrier than when his eldest daughter ran away from the wedding.
"Yaozong, don't make yourself sick with anger," the woman beside him said gently. "Qiyue isn't an unreasonable child. Talk to her calmly."
The woman was Tang Yaozong's second wife, once his concubine. After the new Marriage Law was implemented, Tang Yaozong divorced Tang Qiyue's mother and officially married her.
Tang Qiyue had originally lived with her mother in another courtyard.
If her eldest sister had not run away from the arranged marriage, Tang Yaozong might never have remembered he even had another daughter.
"Now I'm asking you one last time," Tang Yaozong said coldly.
"Do you agree to this marriage or not?"
He finally realized that Tang Qiyue was the only daughter left who could save the family's reputation. If she refused to cooperate, the Tang family would be finished.
They might even be sent to the cowshed for political punishment.
Right now, the most important thing was to survive this crisis..
But Tang Qiyue was no longer the timid girl who once longed for her father's affection.
After experiencing the apocalypse, she had long since lost that weakness.
She stood up suddenly.
Through the window, she glanced at the bustling courtyard outside. Then she noticed the servants her father had stationed at the doorway, watching her carefully to prevent her from escaping.
"I can marry the man you arranged in my sister's place," Tang Qiyue said calmly.
"But I have two conditions."
Tang Yaozong's eyes narrowed.
"First, my younger brother's household registration must be transferred to my mother's name. And you must publish a notice in the newspaper severing the father–son relationship between you and him."
"Second, you will give me ten thousand yuan as my dowry."
Tang Qiyue's voice was gentle and pleasant.
But to Tang Yaozong, it sounded like the voice of a devil.
"Are you insane?!" he roared.
In Tang Yaozong's mind, anyone with the Tang surname belonged to him and could never escape his control.
Yet this daughter was daring to make demands of him.
Tang Qiyue sneered.
"Father, are you sure you won't agree?"
"If I remember correctly, the man you arranged for this marriage is a military officer. I've heard he's ruthless and extremely powerful."
"The Tang family is relying on this marriage to save itself."
"If you offend him, forget about my brother's household registration."
"The entire Tang family might end up being paraded through the streets."
Tang Yaozong's face turned pale.
He quickly took out a medicine bottle from his pocket, swallowed a calming pill, and struggled to steady his breathing.
His wife stood beside him, trying to soothe him while glaring resentfully at Tang Qiyue.
Tang Qiyue remained completely calm.
"I only have these two requests," she said slowly.
"If you agree, I'll change my clothes immediately and go to the wedding obediently."
The blatant threat made Tang Yaozong want to strangle her on the spot.
But after a moment's thought, he suppressed his anger.
He had many sons.
What difference would it make if he sacrificed one?
Besides, it would only be a public statement. His son still carried Tang blood. How could he truly abandon him?
At that moment, someone outside shouted,
"The auspicious hour has arrived!"
The wedding ceremony could not be delayed.
Otherwise, it would bring bad luck to the bride's family.
Tang Qiyue spoke again.
"Father, if you force me to marry today without agreeing to my conditions, I will kill myself the moment I arrive at the wedding."
"If that terrifying man becomes enraged because of my death, do you really think the Tang family can survive the consequences?"
She remembered clearly—
After she died in her previous life, her spirit lingered here briefly.
When the groom discovered that she was only a substitute bride, he eventually took his own life as well.
Before dying, he used all his connections to bring down the Tang family.
Their once-glorious property was confiscated, and the entire family fell into ruin.
Only the eldest sister who had run away from the marriage managed to escape that fate.
Tang Yaozong's hands trembled.
Finally, he gritted his teeth and walked to a cabinet.
Opening it, he took out a small wooden box.
"I can give you the money," he said coldly. "But I can't fulfill everything immediately."
Tang Qiyue nodded calmly.
"That's fine."
"The man I'm marrying doesn't live in this city. Today is only the ceremony at my in-laws' house."
"A boat will take me away in three days."
"Three days should be enough for you to handle everything, right, Father?"
This time she cooperated without resistance.
Leaving in three days would also help her avoid the typhoon that destroyed her life in the past.
"Tang Qiyue," Tang Yaozong said coldly, "don't forget that you still carry the Tang surname. Without the Tang family, you are nothing."
Tang Qiyue smiled faintly.
"Father, a married daughter is like water spilled from a cup."
"Once I marry, I will no longer belong to the Tang family."
Tang Yaozong was furious, but he forced himself to remain calm.
To avoid losing his sanity, he pointed at the wedding dress.
"Go change."
"I'll have someone draft the newspaper statement immediately."
"Your brother's household registration will be transferred to your mother tomorrow."
Tang Qiyue nodded.
She took the small box from his hand and opened it.
Inside were stacks of brand-new banknotes.
After confirming the money, she closed the box and walked into the inner room with her wedding dress.
Tang Yaozong's wife stared at the money unwillingly and opened her mouth to protest.
But Tang Yaozong slapped her hard across the face.
"Shut up!"
"If you hadn't caused trouble behind the scenes, would Meilan have run away from the wedding?"
Tang Yaozong was not a fool.
He had always known about his wife's schemes but usually ignored them.
He had never expected her to create such a huge disaster this time.
A short while later, Tang Qiyue finished changing.
The bright red wedding dress was simple compared to traditional phoenix robes, but it suited her perfectly.
Holding the small box tightly, she walked toward the door.
She didn't even look at her father.
She had long since given up on him.
Only money could give her a sense of security now.
The door opened.
Sunlight fell directly on Tang Qiyue's face, making the wedding guests gasp in surprise.
"Sister! Where is my sister?!"
A young boy rushed through the crowd into the courtyard.
It was Tang Xiuyuan.
The moment he saw Tang Qiyue standing there in the red wedding dress, he froze.
Bathed in sunlight, she looked almost unreal.
He hurried over, grabbed her arm, and tried to pull her away.
"Sister, come with me!"
Tang Qiyue gently stopped him.
"Xiao Yuan," she said softly.
"I agreed to this marriage willingly."