Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I am a disgrace of an eldest sister.

Of the two younger sisters I raised with my own hands, one became a wealthy household’s concubine for money. The other took up with a penniless scholar and eloped overnight on the eve of her wedding, without even leaving me a pair of cotton trousers to cover myself.

Worse still, the brother-in-law who came storming to our door did not let me off just because I went limp and refused to resist. At his order, a pack of burly house servants rushed in from outside and carried me away, quilt and all.

The carriage jolted and swayed the entire way.

By the time I arrived, I had already been rocked to sleep.

When I opened my eyes again, the first thing I saw was a blue bed curtain embroidered all over with scrolling vines, brocade drapes hooked back with jade. It was lavish beyond belief.

Two identical-looking young girls sat along the edge of the bed. When they saw I was awake, they shouted toward the door, and in the blink of an eye, a crowd of young women flooded into the room.

I counted roughly…

There were nine of them.

I was stunned. “A-Are you all Lord Yan’s concubines?”

The woman at the front was a little older than the rest, with almond eyes, peach-blossom cheeks, and bright, glistening eyes. At my question, she stared at me in surprise. “Yes. Aren’t you one too?”

“Hiss…”

I looked past her again. Slender as swallows, full-figured as beauties of old, tall, short, plump, slim-every kind of beauty was gathered here. There was even a little girl who looked so young she could not possibly be older than twelve.

As it happened, my brother-in-law’s surname was Yan. In court, he served as the Deputy Commander of the Northern Pacification Office. You could call him a close servant of the emperor and a major official in his own right. I had not expected him to be so sordid as a person.

My head instantly swelled with panic. I wrapped myself in the quilt and rolled toward the inner side of the bed.

Forget it. I might as well sleep a little longer.

Before I could come up with a plan, someone outside the door delivered a message with perfect respect.

“Miss, my lord requests your presence.”

The words had barely landed when a chorus of sweet voices rose around me. Several girls descended on me at once, dragging me out from the bed. Some pressed me down to comb my hair; others dressed me.

A moon-white winter cap, a small sable-and-fox-trimmed jacket, and a twenty-four-pleat patterned skirt-they arranged me properly from head to toe.

Then I looked outside. The snow beyond the door was already knee-deep.

A young manservant was standing beneath the corridor, hands tucked into his sleeve warmer as he smiled at me. “Miss, you truly have a fine temper. To think you could sleep in a situation like this.”

I seemed to glimpse my own future-being dragged through the snow by someone-and my legs began to tremble. “C-Can I walk there myself?”

The manservant did not make things difficult for me. He led me through gates and courtyards until we arrived at a spacious side room.

The doors stood wide open. Inside, the walls and room were piled high with books, paintings, archives, and official documents. On the west wall hung a painting by Xu Wei, Snowy Bamboo amid Cloudy Mountains. A man stood with his hands behind his back, wearing a Flying Fish Uniform and an Embroidered Gold Blade, as though lost in thought before the snowy landscape in the painting.

It was none other than that fine brother-in-law of mine who had forcibly abducted his wife’s elder sister, Yan Luoxi.

Perhaps he heard the sound of me brushing the doorframe. He turned his head and glanced over. Seeing me looking somewhat constrained, he pointed at the pearwood armchair before him. His red lips parted, his words concise.

“Sit.”

I put on an awkward smile and only dared perch on half the chair.

After all, this man was nominally my brother-in-law, and also one of the most infamous ruthless officials in the Great Jin Dynasty. He was not someone ordinary people could afford to offend.

Judging by appearance alone, Yan Luoxi was not frightening. He was tall and slender, with pale skin, a cinnabar-red mole beneath one eye, and a delicate, exquisitely carved face, as if he had stepped out of a painting.

But his evil reputation preceded him. Whenever I met those deep, still eyes, I always felt as if a violent stench of blood lingered beneath my nose. I could only brace myself and first put on the airs of an elder sister-in-law.

“Brother-in-law, when you behave like this, is it any wonder my sister does not like you?”

“How so?”

“I have already seen the nine concubines in your chambers. Taking concubines before taking a wife-this is a grave disrespect to the wife who has yet to enter your household, is it not?”

“Nine concubines?”

Yan Luoxi repeated those two words in surprise, then suddenly laughed.

His laughter made my scalp prickle. Before I knew what was happening, he suddenly raised a brow and pointed at me. “Then you are the tenth.”

“…”

As he spoke, he picked up a slip from the desk and flipped through it idly. “As the old saying goes: betrothed by rites, she is a wife; one who elopes is a concubine… If the younger sister elopes, the elder sister bears the burden. This is only the justice of Heaven and earth.”

Seeing my face gradually flush all the way past my ears, he rose with great interest and circled halfway around me.

“Does Elder Sister object?”

“O-Of course I object!”

Those words were far too ugly. There were limits to what a person could endure.

When it came to arguing, I had never feared anyone. At once, wickedness rose from my heart and courage surged through my veins. “Brother-in-law, be reasonable! The one who ran off with someone in the night was my sister, not me. If you insist on having me take her place, then of course you must receive me with the rites due a wife!”

After hearing this, he looked thoughtful.

“Oh… That does make some sense.”

I hurried to argue further. “Moreover, not only did I not elope, I was abducted here. Since you committed such a crude act, you naturally have to compensate me in other ways. Otherwise, even if we are forced together as a pair, we will only become resentful spouses!”

“Then what do you say should be done?”

“If I am to say, then naturally there should be the full formalities-matchmakers, proper negotiations, a grand bridal procession and dowry, and an auspicious date chosen with care. You should solemnly marry me into the household. Only by turning hostility into harmony can this be considered a sound plan.”

Before my words had even faded, Yan Luoxi clapped his hands, the corners of his lips lifting slightly. “I once heard that the Yu Family had an eldest daughter who could compose essays at three and was famous throughout the capital. It seems the rumors were true after all.”

I could not tell whether that speech was praising me or mocking me.

Before I could react, he suddenly leaned close to my ear and spoke in a soft, sweet, lilting murmur. “In that case, we shall do everything as Elder Sister says.”

With that, he straightened his robes, tightened his fitted sleeves, and strode out of the side room.

I was left standing there in a daze, one hand on the doorframe, staring blankly for a long while in the howling draft that swept through the hall.

Then I touched the clothes on my body again. They seemed to have been prepared long ago. From hat to shoes, everything was cut to fit. Not only were they light and warm, even the colors were the muted lotus-root shades I liked.

Hiss…

Something seemed wrong here.