Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The biting chill in his voice made me shudder.

Subconsciously, I loosened my grip.

Doubt began to creep into my heart.

Was that Danmaku reliable?

What if he actually wasn’t my brother?

At that thought, I looked up again to study him. The man before me was tall and slender, possessing a pair of exceptionally elegant and beautiful eyes. His lips were pale, his chin sharp, and there was a small mole on the bridge of his nose.

He looked… extraordinary.

As for me… well, I looked rather ordinary.

In my fading memories, my brother’s appearance had become a blur. I only remembered that when we were young, our family was incredibly poor. Because he always gave the little food we had to me, he was roughly the same height as I was, despite being four years older. He had a gentle, quiet personality. He was also a total crybaby.

But this man before me…

He held absolute power over the court and killed without blinking. No matter how I looked at it, he didn’t look like he belonged to the same family as plain-looking me.

Retreating in my heart, I took two steps back and gave a sheepish smile.

“My apologies. I’ve mistaken you for someone else.”

The Danmaku grew frantic.

[Why is the villain scaring his sister like this? She’s right in front of him!]

[You can’t blame him. He spent years searching for his sister, but his political enemies found out. They took advantage of his weakness and sent an impostor to poison him.]

[Exactly! If the female lead, the Divine Physician’s Direct Disciple, hadn’t happened to be practicing medicine in the Capital back then, the villain probably wouldn’t have survived!]

Amidst the chatter of the Danmaku, I quickly learned more.

Mujin had been an official for ten years. He was cold, detached, and used ruthless methods. Consequently, he had offended many people.

Three years ago, he was poisoned. Although he survived thanks to the female lead’s treatment, his body had been frail ever since, and he was exceptionally sensitive to the cold. Even now, in the height of spring, he remained wrapped in a thick cloak, coughing from time to time.

The Danmaku lamented:

[The villain is actually a good official; he was just forced by his political position to kill the female lead’s senior brother.]

[At the flower-viewing banquet the day before yesterday, the female lead said the thing she regretted most in her life was saving him. He looked like his heart was breaking.]

[Sister, think of something! Isn’t there some little secret between you two that only you know?]

I quickly racked my brain.

It seemed there actually was one.

So, I shouted loudly, “Brother, do you remember? When we were little, I made a bet with someone that my brother would dare to eat a booger. The stakes were a stick of candied haws.”

“To make sure I got those candied haws, you actually-“