Old Lady Zhao lost her husband early on and managed to raise two sons by selling tofu. She had twins; the elder, Qin Qi, was exceptional, while the younger, Qin Ke, was dull and incompetent.
Qin Qi never married in his life.
Qin Ke married twice. His first wife didn't bear children after two years, and Old Lady Zhao, uneducated and having lived in the mountains most of her life, was lacking in knowledge and full of feudal superstitions. Thinking of her daughter-in-law as a hen that couldn't lay eggs, she had someone check their compatibility and adopted a child to secure her lineage.
This child was He Dongzhou, who was originally surnamed Zhou. After coming to the Qin Family, they changed his surname to Qin.
