Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I knew the old man was only trying to advise me out of kindness.

After all, Xie Qingci had an awful reputation.

Even Xie Zhao, who was upright, modest, and fair by nature, would grit his teeth whenever he mentioned this younger brother who had been raised by their maternal grandmother in Luoyang.

Because Xie Qingci had not grown up by his parents’ side, Master Xie and Madam Xie always felt they owed him. If he had asked for the stars or the moon, they would have tried to pluck them down for him.

That might have been fine, except Xie Qingci did not want the stars or the moon.

He only wanted whatever belonged to his elder brother, Xie Zhao.

Xie Zhao had a pair of priceless jade cicadas. He wanted them.

Xie Zhao had a worthless clay ewer. He wanted that too.

Even at family banquets, the maids pouring tea and wine had to be careful.

If there was the slightest difference between the two brothers, the Second Young Master would throw a fit again.

I had thought I would only meet Xie Qingci once I married into the Xie Family, when we offered the wedding toasts.

Who would have known that three months ago, after the mourning period for his maternal elder ended, he returned to Guangling.

At first sight, he took a liking to Fangyuan, the estate the Xie Family had prepared for Xie Zhao and me.

Xie Zhao truly despised this spoiled, unruly, willful younger brother whom their parents had indulged rotten.

He was away on imperial orders investigating a case, so he wrote me a letter urging me to refuse him.

“Father and Mother are biased. All they think about is adding to his wardrobe. Fine, let them make him summer robes.

“But Fangyuan is for our marriage. How can it be given to him?

“Ah Ying, you are the future mistress of the Xie Family. Naturally, you should be able to discipline him.”

Ah. What a difficult thing to ask of me.

How was I supposed to ask the Second Young Master to give something back?

Was I to say, Second Young Master, this estate belongs to your elder brother. Don’t fight him for it?

But in the past, when Cui Yu snatched my jewelry and I got into a fight with her, pulling each other’s hair,

Xie Zhao would only turn cold and say that as the elder sister, I should give way to my younger sister.

Or should I say, Second Young Master, if you take the estate, your elder brother will be heartbroken?

But in the past, when Cui Yu snatched my mother’s keepsakes and I cried from grief,

Xie Zhao only scolded me, asking why I always had to make the household restless.

All these years, I had grown used to yielding.

I truly did not know how to open my mouth and ask for something back.

And yet I was afraid Xie Zhao would be upset, so I meekly cut and sewed a few summer robes and sent them along with a letter.

In the letter, I wrote:

“Father and Mother are not biased. These are for you.

“I will wait for you to return to Guangling, and together we will discipline the Second Young Master.”

Perhaps because the wedding date was drawing near, or perhaps on account of those summer robes,

Xie Zhao did not berate me. He merely failed to hide his disappointment.

“If it were your younger sister, clever and quick-witted as she is, she would surely think of a way.

“These days, I often find myself wondering why I became betrothed to you.”

Not wanting Xie Zhao to be disappointed, I still forced myself to hurry to Fangyuan.

There, I happened to see Xie Qingci rolling about on a chaise longue, throwing a tantrum.

“Father and Mother are biased! Eldest Brother has such a fine estate, so I want it too!”

Master Xie and Madam Xie could not bear to scold Xie Qingci.

When they saw me, it was as if they had found their savior.

“Good Ah Ying, hurry and help us talk some sense into this little wretch.”

I looked at the face before me, one that was eight-tenths similar to Xie Zhao’s.

Then I thought of how, every time my stepsister and I argued, Xie Zhao always blamed me first.

Afraid that Xie Qingci might feel wronged, I asked carefully,

“Mm… it really isn’t very fair for this estate to be given only to the Eldest Young Master.

“But the Xie Family has many other estates. Qingci, why do you want this one?”

Seeing that Xie Qingci had stopped making a fuss and was quietly listening to me reason with him,

Master Xie and Madam Xie exchanged a glance and smiled in relief.

“In the past, Ah Ying had such a fiery temper and was so reckless.

“Now she is gentle, composed, and dignified. She truly has the bearing of an elder sister-in-law.”

Who would have thought that before they had even finished speaking,

the quiet Xie Qingci would suddenly lift his head, clasp my wrist, and refuse to let go, all while smiling sweetly.

“Father and Mother are biased. Eldest Brother has such a wonderful wife, so I want her too!”