Chapter 5
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside.
My sister strode in carrying a food basket. Sweat beaded her forehead; she had clearly run all the way home.
“Mother, you sent me to the east side of the city for osmanthus cakes. I…”
Her words stopped short when she saw the scene inside.
Her gaze swept from the betrothal gifts covering the floor to our parents’ livid faces, then to Xiao Chengxiao standing protectively before me, and finally to my swollen, reddened cheek.
My sister went pale.
She dropped the basket, rushed over, and cupped my face.
“Who hit you?”
Her voice trembled.
Mother looked away, unable to meet her eyes.
No explanation was needed.
Understanding what had happened, my sister turned and placed herself between Mother and me.
“Mother, what exactly are you trying to do? Sell off your own daughter just to curry favor with the powerful?”
“I’m doing this for your sake!”
Stung by the truth, Mother’s voice rose to a shriek.
“Do you know how important Prince Su’s heir is? Countless families would beg for a marriage like this!”
“For our sake?”
My sister laughed in anger. Pointing at my face, she challenged her, stressing every word.
“For our sake, you hit Qingyao without even asking what happened? For our sake, you treat her like goods you can trade for wealth?”
Mother faltered under her questions, her face turning a dark, mottled red.
At last, she clutched her chest, went limp, and collapsed.
The hall erupted into confusion as servants scrambled to catch her.
My sister glanced at the chaos, drew a deep breath, and turned to dismiss Xiao Chengxiao.
“We cannot receive guests today. Please leave, my lord.”
Her voice was ice-cold.
“Whatever you came here for, I will not agree.”
After that day, I fell ill.
My fever would not break. I drifted through each day in a haze, as though I were once again suffocating in the fire of my previous life.
Through the haze, I heard Mother and my sister arguing.
“…Why must you force her? You know what Qingyao is like!”
“I’m doing this for your sake! You’re too fierce. What if you angered his lordship and brought trouble on the whole Shen family? Qingyao puts up with anything. She’s the right one to marry him!”
“The right one? She’s a person, not a dress you can change at will! If the marriage is unsuitable, refuse it. Why must you send one of your daughters?”
“What do you know? This match is so important to our family…”
Mother’s voice caught, and she said no more.
Yes. If it was for our sake, why did she never ask what we wanted?
In my feverish haze, tears slipped from the corners of my eyes.
A cool hand wiped them away.
It was my sister.
She sat beside my bed and sighed, her voice very soft.
“Don’t be afraid, Qingyao.”
“I’m here. I’ll protect you.”