Chapter 1

Chapter 1

On the day my brother got married, Mother and I were so happy we could hardly describe it.

When he was fourteen, he followed some men from our village out to make a living. We all thought he would only ever do backbreaking labor, carrying sacks and selling his strength.

But fate had other ideas. On the road, he saved a military officer. That officer brought him into the army, and by the time my brother returned to bring us to the capital, he was already a fifth-rank Dingyuan General.

The day we first arrived at his residence in the capital, Mother’s smile nearly split her face.

The spacious courtyard, the elegant rooms, and all the expensive-looking furnishings inside them were enough for us to brag about back in the village for three days and three nights.

But as Mother smiled, she suddenly began to cry.

Under my brother’s clothes were scars layered over scars. One of them was only half a finger away from his heart. Anyone could tell how dangerous that wound must have been.

Mother said this wealth and honor had been bought with my brother’s life, so he ought to enjoy good days first.

And what were good days for a man? A wife, children, and a warm bed, of course.

The officer my brother had saved was surnamed Zhao. He had also been granted the title of fifth-rank general, half a rank above my brother. On the battlefield, the two of them had made a promise: if they both survived and returned, General Zhao would marry his youngest daughter to my brother.

The moment Mother heard that, she had barely warmed her seat before she began preparing for the wedding.

I secretly asked him, “Brother, do you like that Miss Zhao?”

He looked up at the sky. “When you are fighting a war, you do not think about whether you like someone or not. You just need a few more things to look forward to, so you can stay alive.”

His gaze was distant and empty.

I thought the battlefield must be terribly hard. Besides Mother and me, he had to imagine even more possible good days to keep himself going.

Then he added, “Whether I liked her before or not, once I marry her, I will like her. I will not let her freeze, I will not let her starve, and I will not let her suffer any injustice.

“Xiaozhi, remember this. That is what a man should be. If the man you marry one day cannot do that, tell your brother. I will go and snatch you back. Our family has money now. We can support you for the rest of your life.”

My brother had imagined everything so well.

But right at the final step, the bridal sedans were carried to the wrong places.

That day, a strange wind suddenly rose. When the sedans reached the street corner, the gusts blew them this way and that. As luck would have it, the Minister’s Mansion was also marrying off a daughter along the same road.

And by an even greater coincidence, a painter from the Temple of Marriage outside the capital had recently become famous for his miraculous wedding portraits. Every household holding a wedding had ordered the same style of sedan and wedding dress from him.

So none of the servants from either family noticed. After the strange wind passed, they had carried the wrong sedan away.

Only after the couple had bowed to Heaven and Earth and entered the bridal chamber, when the veil was lifted for the cross-cupped wine, did the Zhao family’s maid cry out, “Who are you? Where is my young lady?”

Mother and I hurried over at the sound. There, sitting on the edge of the bed in a bright red wedding dress, was a young woman with her head lowered. She clearly had no expression, yet somehow she seemed indescribably gentle.

My brother softened his voice and stammered, “M-Miss, do not worry. I have already sent someone to inform the Gu family. They will come very soon.”

I stood behind him and saw that the skin behind his ears had turned bright red.

After the maids explained everything in a flurry, Mother and I finally understood. She was not Miss Zhao. She was Miss Qiao Chujin, the eldest legitimate daughter of the Minister’s Mansion.

Unlike my brother’s quiet marriage, her marriage to Lord Gu Qing had recently been the hottest topic in the capital.

Even a country bumpkin like me, who had only just arrived, knew that the legitimate eldest daughter of the Minister’s Mansion had suffered through the first half of her life under a cruel stepmother. But perhaps her birth mother had blessed her from the heavens, because the son of the Chief Grand Secretary had taken a liking to her.

That Lord Gu Qing had not only an excellent family background but also outstanding talent. He had placed third in the imperial examination at seventeen, and in just four years he had risen to a fifth-rank civil post.

In the Great Zhao Dynasty, civil officials were precious. At the same rank, they were far more valuable than military officers.

Alas. My brother truly could not compare.

Even though I saw stars in his eyes, he only stood far away from Miss Qiao and kept comforting her, saying the Gu family would come soon.

But only an old nanny and a little maid came.

The old nanny wiped her tears and said, “Miss, the Gu family discovered it too late. Young Master Gu and that Miss Zhao have already completed the wedding night. The Gu family says this marriage cannot be switched back.”

The little maid was much more sharp-tongued. She opened her mouth and cursed, “Those heartless people in the mansion! The moment they heard the Gu family would not marry Miss, they lifted all the dowry away. They will not even come to bring Miss home. What are we supposed to do? Are we really going back to the Qiao Mansion? If we go back, who knows what filthy household they will marry Miss into next?”

At that point, Mother finally understood. She waved for the servants in our house to leave. She was still not used to ordering people around, and after a moment of hesitation, she was about to speak when the young woman spoke first.

She raised her head and looked straight at my brother. Her voice trembled slightly, but more than that, it carried a kind of force, a force that wanted to fight for herself just this once.

She said, “Young Master Song, what is done is done. Are you willing to accept this mistake and marry me?”

Many, many years later, my brother told me that when he lifted the veil and saw my sister-in-law, he thought he had married an immortal fairy. But after only one glance, the dream was shattered.

Fortunately, Heaven had eyes and gave him another chance.

So of course his answer could only be yes.