Chapter 4
For a moment, everything fell quiet. A bird gave a few harsh cries.
The Third Prince stood before the carriage, extending a hand to help my sister down.
Xiao Yichi also reached out, smiling.
“Third Brother, allow me.”
The Third Prince gave him a strange look.
“I’m helping my own fiancée. There’s no need to trouble yourself, Sixth Brother.”
My sister rested her hand on the Third Prince’s arm and stepped down.
Xiao Yichi’s expression stiffened.
Then he recovered and smiled at her again.
“Third Brother, Mother’s marriage decree hasn’t even been issued. Are you so certain the elder Miss Song chose you?”
Neither my sister nor the Third Prince cared to argue with him.
They walked toward a peach tree nearby.
When my turn came, Xiao Yichi looked indifferent, a trace of irritation in his eyes.
Xiao Shengjing stepped forward of his own accord.
“Second Miss Song.”
I looked at his arm and was about to place my hand on it.
Xiao Yichi frowned and gave a cold snort.
“Your elder sister chose Third Brother. Have all your maids died, that you need Eighth Brother to help you?”
“Or is your fiancé dead, that you have to seek another man’s help?”
I paused for a moment.
Then I continued reaching for Xiao Shengjing’s arm.
Someone yanked my arm so hard that I pitched helplessly toward the ground.
“Second Miss Song!”
“Sister!”
I squeezed my eyes shut in fright, but the pain I expected never came.
When I opened them, Xiao Shengjing’s worried face was close before mine.
“Song Yueying! Is Eighth Brother on fire or something, that you have to fling yourself at him without a shred of decency?”
Xiao Yichi’s face was ugly with anger.
His words were ice-cold.
My heart pounded so violently that, though my lips parted, all I could do was gasp for air.
Smack!
My sister stood before me, glaring at Xiao Yichi in fury.
The Third Prince came over too and stood in front of her, his face livid.
“Sixth Brother, has every lesson in manners and every book you’ve studied gone to waste?”
“I will tell Father every last detail of what happened today.”
My sister gathered me into her arms and gently patted my back.
“Your Highness, what have we done to offend you? Ever since the empress’s banquet, you’ve been making trouble for us at every turn.”
Xiao Yichi opened his mouth.
When his eyes met mine, a flicker of awkwardness crossed them.
“I didn’t mean to do it. But Song Yueying is my fiancée. Why does she need Eighth Brother for everything?”
His implication was clear.
I had shamelessly tried to seduce the Eighth Prince first.
The others looked at Xiao Yichi, their expressions difficult to read.
My sister scoffed, her face full of contempt.
“Where did you hear that my sister chose you that day, Your Highness?”
“The empress’s decree has already been issued. My sister and the Eighth Prince are to be married in the twelfth month.”
Xiao Shengjing looked at him too.
“Sixth Brother, what is wrong with helping my own fiancée?”
“Are you delusional?”
Xiao Yichi’s expression shifted slightly. He looked at me, shielded behind the others, and gave a cold laugh.
“Song Yueying, you really are becoming more resourceful by the day.”
I caught my sister’s hand as she tried to speak up for me.
I looked at Xiao Yichi with disgust.
“Persuading Third Brother and your sister to play along is one thing. Now you’ve even won over Eighth Brother, who never goes near women?”
“What remarkable tactics.”
With that, he swept his sleeve aside and strode toward his horse.
He had behaved exactly like this whenever he lost his temper in our previous life.
And I had coaxed him out of it, time after time.
But now, he was not even eligible to become heir to the throne.
Who would bother with him?