Chapter 1

Chapter 1

That was true.

Thinking it over carefully…

Xie Zhao had never once said that my stepsister Cui Yu was being childish.

In the past, Cui Yu had snatched my rouge, silk flowers, embroidered balls, rolling lanterns, and even an entire basket of bayberries.

Whenever the matter was brought out in front of others, Xie Zhao would only turn cold and impatiently scold me.

“You are the older sister. Why must you always fight with your younger sister over things?

“If you cannot even get along with your own sibling, how will you manage a household after you marry in?”

And Xie Zhao hated his younger brother. Back when they were at their maternal grandparents’ home in Luoyang, he was always cursing his brother for being unruly and immature.

Right!

It all matched up now!

Seeing that I had finally figured it out, the old man stroked his beard with a proud smile.

“Exactly!

“How could this old man have misheard?

“Then, my lady, is there anything you would like me to tell the Eldest Young Master?”

…

There was.

I still wanted to beg Xie Zhao.

I would not fight over the betrothal goose anymore. Could he please not make me marry someone else?

But when I looked at the old man before me, who had hurried here by water, travel-worn and dusty, I knew he supported a whole family and did the hard work of running boats for the Xie Family.

Xie Zhao had never liked me. If I asked this elderly man to plead for me, I was afraid I would only make things difficult for him in front of his masters.

I could not bear to put him in that position, so I forced out a smile.

“Then… then I will do as he says.”

The old man saw how upset I was, and a little pity rose in him.

“Marriage is a serious matter. It isn’t like a basket of bayberries, my lady. Are you really just going to give it up like this?

“If you beg the Eldest Young Master again, perhaps he will remember your old affection…

“Oh, perhaps this old man really did hear wrong! I can make another trip!”

I gently shook my head.

“Thank you, sir.

“I won’t ask anymore.”

I had asked before. I had begged before.

Five years ago, after Mother passed away, Father and my stepmother were biased, and my stepsister was spiteful.

My days at home were not easy.

To please my stepmother, Father had even considered sending me away to a country estate.

Fortunately, Mother had once arranged this marriage with the Xie Family for me. The Xie Family had a great fortune, and Xie Zhao had lived up to expectations by becoming a high-ranking official.

So I told a lie. I said, Don’t bully me. The Xie Family’s Eldest Young Master, Xie Zhao, likes me very much. He will always stand up for me.

That lie lasted half a year, and at least won me the treatment the Cui Family’s eldest daughter ought to have had.

But Xie Zhao did not like me. He would not even let me bask in the Xie Family’s reflected glory.

At my birthday banquet four years ago, Cui Yu intercepted a basket of fresh bayberries meant for me, and I once again brought up the Xie Family to back me up.

I did not know Xie Zhao was behind the curtain.

He quietly watched me finish crying, ignoring the plea in my eyes.

Then, in front of everyone, he exposed my lie.

“The Xie Family will not accept a fiancée who is greedy and petty.

“Since you are done crying, send the bayberries to your younger sister.”

The long, drowsy summer corridor was filled with the sharp, sour scent of bayberries.

The servants snickered and whispered among themselves. The setting sun burned on my face like a stinging slap.

All of it taught me a lesson.

Afraid that Xie Zhao would be displeased and cancel the marriage, I always listened to him. I did not dare fight anymore.

For clothes, I wore whatever Cui Yu had picked over and left behind. For jewelry, I waited until Cui Yu no longer wanted it before I put it on.

The children of Guangling were mischievous. Behind my back, they gave me the nickname Mud Doll Eldest Miss.

Rather than pursue the matter and humiliate myself twice over, it was better to listen to him and obediently marry where I was told.

After all, a mud doll was always something others could knead flat or round as they pleased. It had no temper of its own.

The old man scratched his graying hair and did his best to comfort me.

“Although the Second Young Master is a bit of a rogue and a scoundrel…

“And not as dependable as the Eldest Young Master…

“But, but…”

After saying a whole basketful of bad things, the old man finally slapped his forehead and thought of one small good point about Xie Qingci.

“He… he has eight hundred mu of bayberry groves in the suburbs!

“I guarantee you, my lady, you can eat until your belly is round, and you won’t have to give them up to anyone.”