When Qin Yue saw the person following behind his elder brother emerge from beside the courtyard wall, a flash of amazement crossed his eyes.
She wore coarse cloth garments and a simple braided hairstyle. No jewelry adorned her body, and she wore no cosmetics, yet her beauty remained impossible to conceal.
Her delicate brows and eyes were exquisitely refined. Her skin was smooth and fair as cream. A faint blush still lingered at the corners of her eyes, carrying traces of lingering tenderness, while her slightly lifted lashes revealed eyes veiled with a misty softness.
Who would have thought that his rough, uncouth elder brother would buy such a beautiful woman?
In an instant, Qin Yue imagined how this woman must have been worn down beneath Qin Xiao’s attentions, like a flower battered into withering.
At once, he thought that his brother truly lived well.
At the same time, he felt sorry for her.
How could Qin Xiao possibly be worthy of someone like this?
It was truly a flower planted in a pile of dung.
The moment Qin Xiao noticed Qin Yue’s gaze lingering on Qinghe, he ground his molars together.
His fists itched.
Without hesitation, he grabbed Qinghe’s wrist, pulled her to his side, and led her toward the house.
“What are you doing here?” Qin Xiao asked coldly.
Qin Yue quickly concealed the look in his eyes and forced his gaze away from Qinghe.
“Listen to you, Big Brother. I finally have a day off from the academy. Can’t I come visit because I missed you?”
Qin Xiao snorted.
Miss him?
Every visit ended the same way.
Qin Yue only called him “Big Brother” when he wanted money.
At other times, had he ever once come to see him?
The last time Qin Xiao injured his leg while hunting, his ankle had swollen terribly. He had only asked Qin Yue to support him for a short distance.
Yet the refined gentleman admired by outsiders had recoiled in disgust at the smell of sweat on him.
Covering his nose, Qin Yue had stepped back several paces.
“Big Brother, you smell too strongly of sweat. There’s blood on you too. Mother just made this outfit for me, and I need to wear it when meeting friends. If it picks up your smell, how embarrassing would that be?”
“Your leg still works, doesn’t it? Borrow a cart yourself. I have studying to do.”
Eight years of military pay and rewards.
All wasted.
Not enough to earn a single kind word.
Even worse, their parents constantly claimed that because Qin Xiao had killed men on the battlefield, he carried a heavy murderous aura. They warned him not to get too close to Qin Yue, lest he pass that aura on and ruin his younger brother’s fortune.
What a joke.
Without Qin Xiao risking his life in war, would Qin Yue have been able to hide behind books instead of working in the fields?
Leading Qinghe into the main hall, Qin Xiao deliberately positioned himself in front of her.
His tall, broad body completely blocked Qin Yue’s view.
Not the slightest glimpse of her was left visible.
“What do you want?” he asked again, his voice icy. “Speak quickly. I’m busy.”
Qin Yue glanced at the edge of the skirt visible near his brother’s feet and raised an eyebrow.
“Big Brother, what could you possibly be busy with in broad daylight?”
A teasing smile appeared on his face.
“That sort of thing shouldn’t be done day and night without restraint. You ought to take it easy.”
“I think she’s rather delicate. You’re built like an ox. Don’t wear her out. There’s plenty of time ahead.”
The words had barely left his mouth when Qin Xiao felt the small hand in his palm clench into a fist.
His eyes narrowed.
Anger darkened his expression, and fury blazed within his gaze.
“All that studying, and your head is filled with nothing but filth.”
“What exactly are you here for? Speak if you have business. If not, get lost.”
Qin Xiao rarely lost his temper with him.
No matter how unfairly their parents treated him in the past, he had always endured it silently.
Yet now, after a single vulgar joke, his reaction was so fierce.
Qin Yue became certain.
Just as their mother had said, this woman truly had methods.
If she remained by Qin Xiao’s side any longer, his brother would slip beyond their control.
Putting on a show of courtesy, Qin Yue bowed.
“Very well. I spoke carelessly. Please don’t be angry, Big Brother.”
Then he got to the real reason for his visit.
“Big Brother, have you been hunting lately? Have you caught anything valuable and earned some silver?”
“If I don’t pay my tuition soon, I’ll have to return home to study.”
“I don’t have any money.”
Qin Xiao cut him off before he could continue.
“Then go home and study. You’ve taken the exams for so many years that you probably have the questions memorized by now. Why do you still need a teacher?”
His expression darkened.
The implication was obvious.
Qin Yue simply lacked talent.
Paying for tutors and academies was a waste of money.
Especially Qin Xiao’s money.
Yet Qin Yue completely missed the contempt behind the remark.
Instead, he launched into a lecture.
“Big Brother, you’ve never studied and you’ve never sat for the examinations. It’s understandable that you don’t know.”
“The questions change every year.”
“My failures in previous years were simply bad luck. The topics tested just happened to be things I hadn’t learned.”
Qin Xiao lowered his eyes and said nothing.
It was true.
He had never studied.
He had never entered an examination hall.
He didn’t understand the rules of that world.
Meanwhile, Qin Yue continued boasting about examinations and scholars, showing off at every opportunity.
And Qin Xiao couldn’t refute a single word.
The hand hanging at his side tightened around the fabric of his clothes.
Even his normally straight back seemed to sag ever so slightly.
Qinghe looked up at him.
She saw him turn his head away, refusing to watch his younger brother’s animated performance.
His lowered lashes trembled faintly.
The muscles near his jaw tightened.
Then a cool, clear female voice interrupted Qin Yue.
“Examination questions may indeed vary, but the scope of what is tested has remained the same throughout history.”
“It all comes down to the Four Books, the Five Classics, and the teachings of the sages.”
“If one truly understands them, if their meaning has been thoroughly absorbed and mastered, then no matter how the questions are altered, they ultimately remain rooted in the same principles.”
Her voice wasn’t loud.
Coming from behind Qin Xiao, it sounded clear and composed.
There was no deliberate mockery in her words.
She spoke as though stating the most ordinary truth in the world.
At her words, a spark flashed through Qin Xiao’s eyes.
The tension in his features melted away.
Surprise gave way to pride.
His back straightened once more.
“Did you hear that?” he said. “It was never about the exam questions.”
Qin Yue froze.
What did that mean?
That he wasn’t suited for studying?
That he hadn’t truly understood the books?
What a joke.
He could recite any classic backward if asked.
Yet Qinghe’s reasoning was perfectly sound.
He couldn’t find a single flaw in it.
His face alternated between pale and red.
“You… you…”
His finger shook as he pointed at her.
“I’m talking to my elder brother. Since when does a purchased slave like you get to interrupt?”
Qin Xiao’s temper exploded.
“After reading so many books, you can’t even debate a woman with reason?”
“The only thing you know how to do is attack her status?”
“If that’s the best you’ve learned, then stop wasting my money.”
“I need to live too. I need clothes and food.”
“In another month, autumn will arrive. Qinghe and I only have thin clothes and light blankets.”
“Have you ever thought about me?”
“Qin Yue, I don’t owe you anything.”
“Our parents brought you into this world.”
“The people who will care for me in my old age and bury me when I die will be my own children.”
“I have no obligation to support you.”
With that, Qin Xiao shoved him toward the door.
Qin Yue spent his days reading and avoided physical labor entirely.
His body was thin and weak.
How could he possibly withstand Qin Xiao’s strength?
Qin Xiao barely used a fraction of his power.
Qin Yue stumbled all the way outside and nearly fell before finally regaining his balance.
The front door slammed shut with a loud bang.
Jumping up and down outside, Qin Yue cursed like a scorned woman.
“Fine! If Big Brother won’t give me money, so be it!”
“He even let a criminal slave humiliate me!”
“I’m going home to tell Mother. I’ll have her come demand it from you and see if you dare refuse!”
The moment he returned home, Qin Yue ran straight to Madam Qin to complain.
With his hands on his hips, he paced back and forth while angrily describing how Qin Xiao had thrown him out.
As for the part where Qinghe had rendered him speechless, he conveniently omitted every detail.
He feared his parents might conclude that he simply lacked talent for studying.
If that happened, they might stop supporting him.
Then he would have no choice but to work in the fields.
“Mother, he pushed me!”
Qin Yue’s voice trembled as he acted aggrieved.
“He actually pushed me. He was so fierce to me.”
Madam Qin’s heart ached immediately.
Patting his chest, she comforted him repeatedly.
“How could your brother have become like this?”
“It’s all because that criminal slave has been poisoning his mind.”
“Once she’s dealt with, everything will return to normal.”
The upturned eyes she shared with her son shifted thoughtfully.
A cunning gleam flashed through Qin Yue’s gaze.
An idea had already formed.
“Mother, I think we should do this…”
…
Qin Xiao applied medicine to Qinghe’s finger and wrapped it until it looked like a tiny hammer.
It was such a small wound that Qinghe couldn’t help laughing.
Qin Xiao, however, sat beside her with lowered eyes.
His head drooped.
After remaining silent for a long while, he finally spoke.
“Qinghe, I’ve wronged you.”
Qinghe blinked in surprise.
She had just defended him.
Shouldn’t he be thanking her?
Why was he apologizing instead?