The 99th Divorce

Ye Qianqian tugged Shen Zhilie up.

Shen Zhilie stood up, feeling a little weird.

“Lassie.” Uncle Blind Man’s voice was very hoarse and unpleasant, and sounded like wood rubbing against cement.

Ye Qianqian immediately replied, “Yes?”

“You’re intending to get married soon?”

Ye Qianqian felt her hair stand on end, and whispered in response, “How did you know?”

Uncle Blind man laughed and replied, “Don’t worry. It’s fine. I won’t harm you.”

“I know that,” Ye Qianqian chuckled awkwardly.

But she couldn’t help worrying!

“Give me your boyfriend’s horoscope details.”

Shen Zhilie’s horoscope details? She only knew the date and year of Shen Zhilie’s birth, but not the exact time.

Turning to Shen Zhilie, she asked, “What time were you born?”

“Twelve noon.”

“Okay. That’s the hour of Wu in Chinese terminology,” Ye Qianqian said to herself.

Ye Qianqian quickly conveyed the information to Uncle Blind Man and recited her own horoscope details.

Uncle Blind Man solemnly nodded his head. He gathered the fingers on his right hand together as if he were counting something. “The fifth day of the third month on the lunar calendar will be the best day for you to get married,” he said.

Ye Qianqian was caught by surprise and immediately crouched down to be at eye-level with Uncle Blind Man. “Uncle,” she said. “You once said that I would have a mishap at twenty-eight. Does that still stand?”

Uncle Blind Man chuckled when he heard this, but he didn’t give her a direct answer. Instead, he said, “That will depend on your fate, and the fate of your boyfriend.”

What was that supposed to mean? Ye Qianqian had no idea.

Refusing to leave it at that, Ye Qianqian asked another question. “So will I be able to bear a child?”

“That’s up to fate.”

Ye Qianqian was exasperated. She stood up with a frown on her face.

The woman to the side saw Ye Qianqian’s expression and said, “Don’t worry. There’s always a way to avoid misfortune. Sir, there is, isn’t there? This young lady brought you many valuable tonics. Her father is a good person, and so was her grandfather. That has to mean something…”

Uncle Blind Man just smiled, but didn’t say a word.

In this case, no news was bad news. Ye Qianqian felt her anxiety stir up again. She stomped her foot in frustration and looked at Shen Zhilie.

Their conversation was all Greek to Shen Zhilie, but when he saw Ye Qianqian’s demeanor, he asked gently, “What’s wrong?”

With reddened eyes, Ye Qianqian replied, “What are we going to do if I can’t conceive?”

Upon hearing this, Shen Zhilie assumed that Uncle Blind Man had said something to crush her hope. His heart aching, he looked at Ye Qianqian and said, “It’ll be fine. It’s not like I have an imperial throne to pass on or anything of the sort. Why do I need to have a child? It’s good enough that we’ll live happily together.”

Ye Qianqian felt her urge to cry intensify, and she responded, “But didn’t you always want children of your own?”

“No. Who told you that?” Shen Zhilie felt maligned and asked, “When did I ever say such a thing? Hey, stop imagining things. That never happened. What’s important is that we’re together.”

Ye Qianqian couldn’t restrain herself, and her eyes began to well up with tears. He had said so! He had said so in the hotel when they were in the capital! He had told her very clearly that he wanted a child! But now, the possibility existed that she might never conceive one. What was she to do?

“Besides,” Shen Zhilie continued. “Whether or not you’ll be able to conceive isn’t up to them. We can always go to the hospital for a checkup. As long as your body is healthy, it’ll definitely be possible to conceive.”

Shen Zhilie cupped Ye Qianqian’s face in his hands and consoled her earnestly, saying, “Listen to me. Don’t believe too much in all of this.”