Xie Yankang departed for the palace with an urgency that bordered on desperation, terrified someone else would beat him to it and snatch this excellent marriage alliance.
A faint, mocking smile touched Xie Qingran’s eyes. She had no worries at all that her plan would fail.
The Zhen Guo Duke Manor’s status was plain for all to see. To appease the orphaned child of a meritorious official and display his heavenly grace, the emperor would certainly not arrange a marriage carelessly.
But which truly high-ranking and noble family would push their legitimate daughter into such a hopeless pit of fire?
Only the Xie Family, whose title had been demoted and whose merits were gradually fading, would come up with the idea of selling their daughter in their single-minded desire to curry favor with the emperor and restore their family’s prestige.
“Ran’er,” Wang Shi said, looking at the placid and unruffled Xie Qingran. Her expression was no longer one of deep-seated resentment, but her lips parted as she spoke with immense complexity, “Why… why must you do this? If you regret it, Mother will send someone to stop your father right now…”
“Mother, you worry too much,” Xie Qingran interrupted her coolly.
If she had truly cared, she would have stopped Xie Yankang when he was on his way out.
Who was this act for now?
Xie Qingran simply gave Wang Shi a proper curtsy. “Your daughter genuinely wishes to marry into the Zhen Guo Duke Manor and will have no regrets. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave and not disturb Mother’s rest.”
Her tone was distant and indifferent.
An inexplicable pang struck Wang Shi’s heart. Especially as Xie Qingran turned to leave, she was overcome by a strange terror of loss and couldn’t help but blurt out, “Wait!”
Xie Qingran paused and turned back to face Wang Shi, bowing slightly. “Does Mother have any other instructions?”
Wang Shi choked, her gaze shifting away in slight unease. “I received a few new sets of head ornaments two days ago. I noticed two red gold inlaid ruby hairpins and a pair of jade bracelets that would suit you very well. I’ll have a maid send them over to you in a moment. You… now that your engagement is to be set, you should start dressing yourself up properly.”
Xie Qingran was momentarily stunned.
Red gold inlaid with gems, jade bracelets…
In her previous life, these were jewels she wasn’t even qualified to touch.
Instead of feeling moved, Xie Qingran found it even more laughable.
Here it was again…
This same old trick.
In her past life, Wang Shi had done just this, using a marriage to write off years of neglect towards her.
When she was schemed against and bullied by Xie Hanyue, Wang Shi had naturally sided with Xie Hanyue, scolding her for already having a top-tier marriage and questioning what more she could possibly want.
But in this life, Xie Qingran had chosen a different path, selecting the “excellent husband” who was a hot potato—the heir of the Zhen Guo Duke. Not only had she prevented Wang Shi from successfully compensating her, but she had also made her mother even more indebted.
This was an unexpected gain.
Xie Qingran sneered inwardly, but her face remained impassive.
There was no reason to refuse money that was delivered right to her doorstep.
“Thank you, Mother.” She curtsied again, her voice flat and devoid of any discernible joy.
The guilt in Wang Shi’s heart was replaced by an indescribable annoyance. With a cold expression, she ordered a maid to fetch the jewelry box.
After receiving the gift, Xie Qingran headed straight back.
From a distance, she heard the sound of suppressed sobs, mingled with a man’s gentle words of comfort.
“Yue’er, don’t cry. I know what’s on your mind… It’s just that Father and Mother insist on compensating that country bumpkin! But don’t you worry, your elder brother will always be on your side…”
Xie Qingran’s steps faltered.
Besides Xie Yankang, the only other man who could move freely about the inner courtyard of the Xie Family was—
The legitimate son of the Xie Family, Xie Zhaoye.
Xie Qingran’s full-blooded biological brother.
Unfortunately, the two had never gotten along since they were young.
Xie Zhaoye always loved to play pranks on Xie Qingran, snatching her pastries, pulling her braids…
However, Xie Qingran had a fiery temper. Whoever provoked her, she would provoke them right back.
Thus, whenever the siblings met, one of them was bound to end up with a bloody head.
Over time, their relationship became extremely poor.
When Xie Qingran was sent away to the countryside back then, no one had laughed more gleefully than Xie Zhaoye.
The moment Xie Qingran heard his voice, her brow furrowed, and she planned to bypass them by taking the covered corridor on the other side.
“Stop!”
A cold shout suddenly rang out from behind her.
Xie Qingran feigned ignorance and continued walking forward.
But in the next instant, a shadow fell over her.
Xie Zhaoye strode over and blocked her path. His tall frame completely enveloped Xie Qingran in a chilling shadow. “I told you to stop. Didn’t you hear me?”
Xie Qingran lifted her gaze, her tone just as strong as she retorted, “The dogs outside are barking so happily, but no one pays them any mind. I don’t see them biting just anyone they catch.”
“Xie Qingran!” Sparks instantly flew in Xie Zhaoye’s eyes. “Don’t think you can swagger around the manor just because you have Father and Mother’s guilt on your side!”
Xie Qingran raised an eyebrow. “Then you should go stay in the countryside for a decade or so too. Let Father and Mother feel guilty about you for a change.”
“You…”
Xie Zhaoye couldn’t win a war of words against Xie Qingran, and his face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
The siblings were clearly fifty percent similar in appearance, yet one’s expression was as indifferent as ice, while the other burned with a murderous aura. Just as they were locked in a stalemate, a young lady in a goose-yellow dress suddenly rushed between them, her face streaked with tears.
“Elder Sister, please don’t scold Elder Brother. It’s all Yue’er’s fault. I’m sorry,” she said in a delicate, soft voice.
As she spoke, the young lady lifted her misty, tear-filled eyes to look at Xie Qingran.
Her palm-sized face was pure and lovely, with a delicate nose and rosy lips. Her eyes, however, were slightly upturned, and their shimmering depths added a touch of pitiful charm.
No wonder so many men were infatuated with her, driven mad by her.
Xie Qingran felt a sense of inferiority.
In terms of looks, she truly couldn’t compare to Xie Hanyue.
The old governess who had disciplined her since childhood, under the pretext that “a lady of a great house is best when plain and simple,” never allowed her to wear rouge or powder. Even her attire was dominated by dark colors.
Xie Qingran hadn’t thought much of it when she was in the countryside.
But upon returning to the capital, she realized that her style was considered rustic, that she was seen as a wooden post devoid of charm.
“Yue’er, why are you apologizing to her?”
Xie Zhaoye protectively pulled Xie Hanyue behind him. When he turned back to Xie Qingran, his face was once again filled with disgust as he berated her harshly, “You stole Yue’er’s marriage prospect, and now you’re flaunting it in our faces. You must be thrilled, aren’t you? Let me tell you, those five men are all good brothers of mine, and not a single one of them is willing to marry you!”
Xie Qingran found this utterly absurd.
Her Ying Xing Pavilion was not far from Xie Hanyue’s Lan Yue House; this small courtyard was merely a necessary path.
As for those five men…
Xie Qingran sneered. “Elder Brother, you worry too much. Not everyone is like you, thinking of Sister Hanyue at every moment. And not everyone is like Sister Hanyue, who insists on choosing a husband from those five men.”
“How dare you!”
Xie Zhaoye flew into a rage, his face flushing red as if some hidden thought had been exposed.
“Did I say something?” Xie Qingran feigned surprise. Her eyes swept over the overly intimate posture of the two, and she smiled in sudden realization. “Elder Brother’s anger reminds me. My marriage is imminent, so I must ask you two to mind your distance and avoid suspicion. After all, you’re not true siblings. If rumors were to spread, it would be damaging to my reputation.”
In her past life, Xie Zhaoye had ruined every single marriage the Xie Family had arranged for him because of his unspeakable feelings for Xie Hanyue.
He was only able to get away with it because the Great Jin Dynasty had restrictions on the marriageable age for women, but not for men.
“Elder Sister…”
Xie Hanyue’s face instantly turned pale. Her delicate body swayed as if she had suffered a tremendous blow.
“Yue’er!” Xie Zhaoye was so anxious he was about to pull her into his arms, but a sudden glimpse of Xie Qingran’s mischievous smile made him freeze. His face turned ashen as he said, “To a person with a filthy mind, everything looks dirty! My bond with Yue’er is that of a deep brother-sister affection. How dare you slander it!”
“Then I wish you two good ‘siblings’ will end up together.” Xie Qingran couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. She rolled her eyes discreetly and turned to head back the way she came.
“Elder Sister, if you’re angry with me, I can just leave the Xie Family. Why must you say such things to humiliate me…” Xie Hanyue’s tears fell even faster.
Seeing this, Xie Zhaoye was overcome with rage. He took a step forward and violently grabbed Xie Qingran’s arm. “Xie Qingran! Are you looking to die?!”
Xie Qingran winced in pain, the curve of her lips completely vanishing. “Let go!” she said coldly.
“Hah, scared now? Today, I will exercise my right as the eldest brother and teach you a lesson on Father’s behalf!” Xie Zhaoye’s grip tightened.
In the struggle, the two of them had neared the edge of the pond.
Xie Qingran tried to break free, but Xie Zhaoye refused to let go.
In the chaos, Xie Qingran’s foot slipped—
Splash!
Water sprayed everywhere!
A chill enveloped Xie Qingran as she plunged into the bone-chillingly cold pond water of early spring.
She choked on a mouthful of water and struggled to the surface, just in time to meet the look of undisguised glee in Xie Hanyue’s eyes on the bank.
However, that trace of glee turned to astonishment in a blink.
“Xie Qingran!”
Xie Zhaoye burst out from the water right beside Xie Qingran, his eyes even colder than the pond.
“You actually dared to drag me into the water with you!”