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Chapter Four Brothers

Between Qi Long and me, A Yan is closer to me, firstly because I've been with Qi Long for two more years than he has, and secondly because of our childhood friendship.

I watched him being born.

When I was five years old, I could remember things and knew that my mother was pregnant with a little brother or sister. I longed for someone to play with and take care of me, instead of being taken care of by everyone in the family like I am now, even Qi Long, who is less than half an hour older than me.

My mother gave birth to Ayan at my maternal grandparents' house. Men weren't allowed in the delivery room, so my maternal uncle and my father-in-law waited in the outer hall. I saw that my father-in-law was extremely anxious, pacing back and forth in the yard like a headless fly. I had never seen him like that before, so I wanted to help him. I volunteered, "Father-in-law, I'll go check on Mom and my little brother." I didn't know if it was a little brother or a little sister, but children are really good at guessing.

I was six years old. Although my brother and I were twins, I was shorter than him, so it wasn't difficult for me to sneak into the inner courtyard delivery room. When I squeezed through the crowd of servants' legs, my mother hadn't given birth to Ayan yet. She lay on the bed with her legs bent, her face and head covered in sweat despite it being the dead of winter. A midwife was saying, "Madam, if you're in pain, just cry out, it will help you push." But my mother didn't make a sound. I saw blood flowing from under her skirt and became frightened. I grabbed her arm and cried, "Mother! Mother!" She turned her head and saw me, giving me a weak smile. She said, "Wu'er, this isn't a place for you." Another midwife saw me and exclaimed, "Oh dear, Miss, you should leave quickly. How can you be here?" I shook my head and held my mother's arm tightly. "I don't want to go, Mother, I want to stay with you!" My mother nodded.

I could feel my mother clenching her teeth and the stiffness in her arm muscles. The midwives put ginseng slices in her mouth and kept telling her to "push." Finally, I heard one of the midwives say, "Madam, push a little harder, the head is coming out."

When I let go of her arm and turned around, the little baby had already slipped out of the uterus. My mother was bleeding a lot, but in her extreme excitement, I was completely unaware of fear. Instead, I happily jumped around, saying, "Mom, Mom, I saw my little brother!"

The midwife had already taken the baby into her arms and said, "Congratulations, madam, it's a little boy."

I went over to take a look, and there he was, crying loudly with his eyes closed, his whole body red and very delicate, with long eyelashes. They washed him clean and wrapped him up, and he stopped crying.

I called out from the side, "Take it to Kun's dad to see, Kun's dad is so anxious."

The midwife, the servant, and the mother all laughed.

Kun's father said that I don't have any special feelings about blood, which stems from witnessing the entire process of my mother giving birth to Ayan. This trait could be cultivated to be an assassin, but I like to sympathize with the weak and I'm sure I can't be an assassin. Maybe I could really be a female knight-errant or something.

I remember when my brother and I were twelve years old, my fourth uncle started teaching him the Blood Soul Claw. My father and fourth uncle had been slowly teaching us their kung fu, but my mother was always worried that my brother would learn the Blood Soul Claw from the Si Xie Palace, which she thought was too evil and bloody. Although my father believed that kung fu couldn't be considered evil as long as it didn't harm others or oneself, and that whether something was evil or not depended on the perpetrator's intention, my mother still couldn't accept my brother learning the Blood Soul Claw.

So I joined in the protest, and whenever my brother started practicing with the chickens and ducks, I pretended to be nauseous, vomiting, and about to collapse. My father had said that women should know how to show weakness, and that fainting a little would garner more sympathy. Actually, I was too afraid of the pain to actually fall to the ground, and it was impossible for me to fall anyway, as my brother had already come over to help me up.

But after I pretended to wake up, he said coolly, "Wu'er, stop pretending. I know you're not afraid of blood or these things, but I'm afraid you'll be more ruthless than me when it comes to killing chickens and ducks."

I jumped up and said, "I do help Grandma Mei kill chickens and ducks, but I never do it in such a barbaric way. Why are you torturing them? Just give them a quick death!"

My brother said, "Once I've mastered it, I'll feel great."

Looking back now, all the womanly tricks I learned from my beautiful father were only used on my own family. When it came to actually using them on Bai Yifei, I forgot them all. Nan Ya, on the other hand, was clearly much more skilled at using them than I was.

That's a digression; let's get back to Ayan.

Ayan became very difficult to care for later on, and quite fussy. My mother said it was all because I liked to hold him. Whenever he cried, I wanted to hold him. He was small, so they usually wouldn't let me hold him, but I succeeded a few times. Most of the time, I directed the wet nurses to hold Ayan. So later, whenever Ayan cried, it would take a long time for someone to hold him to calm him down. When Ayan and I were both a little older, I had a little stumbling tail following me around.

If Mom and Dad went out at the same time, the three of us little tails would usually follow us. Later, we had Ah Xu too.

When I was about to go down the mountain, Ayan was the most unhappy. He said, "Sister, can't you wait two years, until I'm older, so I can go with you?"

I said, "Didn't you see that it was Mother and Father who wanted me to come down the mountain? Besides, Sister Yimei is getting married, so I have to go and congratulate her, right?"

Miss Shen is getting married in October, and my mother and father asked me to deliver the wedding gifts to Longcheng. My mother said that once I delivered them, I could go wherever I wanted; it would be a good experience. This is my first time traveling alone in the world.

I packed my bags, took my Swift Shadow, and strode confidently down the mountain. Ayan followed behind, almost in tears: "Sister, are you not coming back after delivering the gifts?"

I replied, "Of course not. But I'm going to make my way in the world before I come back, and I don't know when I'll be back."

Ayan said, "My elder brother said the same thing when he went down the mountain, and he hasn't returned in two years. Sister, what are you going to do in the martial world?"

I pondered for a moment and said, "Let's venture into the martial world. After all, it's all about fame and fortune. It's all about finding treasures, secret manuals, and weapons. I don't aspire to be the best in the martial world, but perhaps I can find a peerless sword for you, and also make a few close friends." Biyue is in Si Xie Palace, and Yingri is in Brother Yuan's hands. I've also looked through old martial arts books and know that besides these two swords, there's also the Zhu Hong Sword recorded in old martial arts tales. Among the weapons that have been passed down in the world, swords are more common, and truly fine swords are hard to find.

Ayan, however, said from behind me, "I believe in finding the knife, but it's too far-fetched. And you mean by 'three or five close friends'—you're not looking for a husband, are you?"

I spat at him and said, "A true friend is a true friend. Why would I need three or five husbands?" Actually, I was a little annoyed that he had seen through me.

Ayan, however, showed no mercy and said, "You don't need to hide it from me. I heard what my cousin and Sister Yimei were saying when they came last time. Didn't you say you wanted to go to the martial arts world to find a peerless hero?"

Granny Mei, who was following behind to see me off, chuckled. I'm usually thick-skinned, but being exposed like this still made my face burn a little. I replied, "What do you know? You can't find a peerless hero so quickly. You naturally need to find good friends in the martial arts world first, and you'll have more connections."

So Ayan wiped away her tears and said, "Oh, sister, then be careful. Avoid fighting. Uncle Ziyin said that a woman's most important thing is her face. A hero needs a beauty, otherwise even a peerless hero won't be interested in you."

Ugh, what a jinx! Sigh, karma really hits. Just like I warned Qi Long, Ayan warned me the same way!

Twelve-year-old Ayan was no longer as prone to tears as he had been a year or so ago; he was quite decisive. Seeing that he really didn't want to return to the Prince Huaiyi's Mansion, I spoke with Brother Xuan and Brother Yuan and let him stay in my Qingxin Palace.

I rushed off to the Prince Huaiyi's residence.

I need to discuss with my brother a way to deal with our parents.

Qi Long said, "You're starting to feel nervous now? A little late, aren't you?"

I said, "Actually, I've been a little nervous. Hey, do you think I should tell Mom that it was love at first sight?"

Qi Long chuckled and said, "You fell in love at first sight so much that you didn't even get a good look at her?"

I was shocked: "How did you know? I didn't even tell my husband."

Qi Long said, "Do you think I don't know you? You pointed at him most likely because the colorful ball in his hand was particularly eye-catching. If you ask me, it would be more accurate to say that the colorful ball was thrown to him!"

I nodded vigorously: "Didn't young ladies used to throw embroidered balls? Luckily, I didn't point to a bald, fat man."

Qi Long retorted angrily, "Do you think I'd choose a bald, fat man to row the dragon boat? Besides, even if you made up an excuse about throwing an embroidered ball, it wouldn't work. Throwing an embroidered ball is something Mother can't accept, let alone the fact that you practically threw it with your eyes closed. At least the young lady would aim carefully from her boudoir before throwing it, right?"

I added, "Brother, do you think those girls might try to throw one but miss and end up throwing the other? If I were to throw it, I'd definitely be very accurate."

Qi Long's face twitched: "Wu'er, you're going too far again. Are we discussing how to throw the embroidered ball accurately? I don't think you're as nervous as you say. Never mind, if Mother gets angry, I'll take care of it."

I know this marriage was orchestrated by my many brothers and my own dishonest actions. Xuan-ge is the emperor, and Yuan-ge is the crown prince; Mother can't very well scold them, so Qi-long is bound to be the one punished. Although it hasn't happened that many times, from childhood to adulthood, it's always been the two of them being naughty, and he being the only one punished. But given the current situation, I guess I won't escape a scolding either.

My parents didn't really hit us much; they were just a bit stricter when we were practicing martial arts. But as children, we always got into trouble sometimes, and since we were inseparable, we were always involved. For example, if we scared someone's chickens or pigs in Zhangjia Village halfway up Xuefeng Mountain, stole someone's sweet potatoes, broke my grandmother's jade hairpin at my maternal grandparents' house, or ruined my uncle's flower garden, we'd get a scolding. But when it came to Qilong, we'd get a few lashes.

The only time my mother hit me was by accident.

That year, I was eight years old. My mother and father took us to my maternal grandmother's house for the New Year. There were many playmates at my grandmother's house, so I naturally wanted to go. That time, my father and fourth uncle gave us the New Year's money and gifts in advance. So I showed off in front of Xin Zibu and Xin Ziqian. Perhaps it was my mentioning this father and that father that provoked Xin Zibu, because he said with a disdainful look, "Everyone else only has one father, but you guys have so many fathers. Only a lewd mother would say that." How dare he say that about my mother? I was naturally furious and kicked him. Zibu was two years older than me, so he naturally wouldn't let it go, and we started fighting. Although we both practiced martial arts, at this time we fought like hooligans, wrestling together.

Ziqian and I are the same age, and he has a gentle nature. Unable to separate us, he went to call Qilong. Qilong was practicing calligraphy at the time, and he threw down his pen and ran over. In my anger, I was quite strong, and Qilong couldn't separate us for a moment. Afraid that Zibu would hit me, I blocked him with one hand. In the chaos, I kicked Zibu into the lotus pond next to the pond. It was the dead of winter, and Zibu couldn't swim. By the time the servants arrived and rescued him, he was already on the verge of death.

Mother was furious, but she refused to believe I had kicked Zibu into the lotus pond. Because Qilong was naturally strong, she assumed he must have pushed him. So she punished Qilong by making him kneel in the hall, then took a rattan cane, stripped off his shirt, and prepared to beat him. Even my father couldn't stop her. I never dared to say what Mother had said about Zibu, so after scolding me, Mother made me copy the Xin family precepts. Although I said several times that I had kicked him, Mother ignored me and was about to strike Qilong with the cane. Thinking of Mother's strength, I lunged at Qilong. Mother's first lash landed solidly on my back. Luckily, I was wearing a thick cotton-padded coat, but it was torn with a long rip.

When my mother saw that I was the one who had been hit, she was slightly taken aback, but she had the servants lift me away. After my father picked me up, he advised my mother, "The child is still young, so don't use so much force. A light punishment will suffice."

Mother still slapped Qilong, but only with three or four tenths of her strength. This time I really felt guilty; it had nothing to do with Qilong. Qilong and Zibu spent the New Year in bed. But later, my uncle finally learned the truth from Ziqian. After Zibu recovered, he was severely beaten by my uncle. When my father found out the reason, he hugged me and said, "Our Wu'er is usually all smiles, but she has quite a temper."

Thinking back on the past, I still wanted to reduce Qi Long's responsibility, so I said, "No matter what, I chose this person myself. Brother, call Yi Ge over, just in case you mistake him for someone else."

Qi Long sent someone to fetch him, but said to me, "He's been by my side for two years. He's calm, steady, and extremely meticulous in his work. Actually, putting aside your identities, he's a pretty good husband candidate, and you're not too bad either."

I nodded: "Now that you've said that, I'm at least a little more confident."

A moment later, there was a knock on the study door, and a cold voice said, "Your Highness!"

Qi Long said "Come in," and a tall man in black stepped in.

Author's Note: I knew it would be lukewarm at first, but seeing the reviews and collections is really making me tremble. If you're reading this, please leave a comment and add it to your favorites!

Chapter Five Joint Trial

This is my third time meeting Yi Ge. I've finally decided to take a good look at my future son-in-law.

My husband has always had good taste.

He really is a handsome man, handsome in a very low-key way, unlike his father, who has an aura that attracts people at first glance. He is a handsome man.

He had pale golden skin and thick, long eyebrows. Perhaps because of his prominent brow bones, his eyes appeared somewhat deep-set, which made his nose seem even more prominent. What I found most attractive were his lips. His upper lip had distinct angles, while his lower lip had a beautiful curve. They were of suitable thickness, and although the color wasn't particularly vibrant, it was still rosy.

I heard him say, "Yi Ge greets the Prince and Princess." But I didn't pay attention until Qi Long called my name, which brought me back to my senses. I awkwardly turned my eyes away; staring at someone's mouth was really strange, making me look like a pervert. Although I'd seen plenty of perverts in Jin Chun Garden and Jin Xin Tower when I was little, it was still shameful to act like one myself. I wanted to slap myself; my mind had wandered off somewhere. Yi Ge might be good-looking, but could he be better than Kun's father or Mei Ren's father? Actually, Qi Long and Bai Yifei were both better looking than him.

Qi Long said, "Yi Ge, the weather is nice, why don't you accompany the princess for a walk along the Jing River?" How could he even think of that? In the July sun, going to the Jing River to dry people off?

Yi Ge responded and stood behind me. Reluctantly, I asked him to fetch some ice water so I could take it with me to the Jing River to dry the oil. The Jing River wasn't far, and since I didn't want to ride a horse or take a carriage, I left the palace, found a shady spot, and slowly strolled towards the river. Yi Ge followed about three feet behind me, neither too close nor too far. Reaching the riverbank, I stood under the willows and looked at the river view. The water rippled, and a river breeze blew, but unfortunately, it was all hot air, making me sweat profusely. I couldn't help but pull out a silk handkerchief to wipe the sweat, and then pulled out a folding fan to fan myself vigorously.

Fishermen were on the riverbank, finishing their work and heading home. They glanced at me a few more times. It was indeed strange that a woman was looking at the river view in this heat, and that she was holding a man's folding fan. I turned and looked at Yi Ge. He came forward, took my fan, and fanned me from behind. His movements were natural, without any hint of flattery.

I turned around and said, "It's still hot by the river. I should have stayed here."

His lips curled slightly, and he said in a cool voice, "It gets cool by the river at night. I know a place that might be cool; the princess might as well give it a try."

He led me to a bend in the Jing River on its north bank, where there was a large poplar grove. It was shady, and the river breeze was indeed cool. The river was gentle and shallow, and the ground was covered with fragrant grass. I was delighted by the sight and, without a care for decorum, sat down on a stone by the river. He stood silently beside me and handed me a pot of ice water.

I said, "You sit down too." He then silently sat down on another rock next to me.

I casually asked him about his background, such as his hometown and family. These were all in the information Uncle Mo had given me, but I really had nothing to say, so I had to find something to talk about. He said he was from Duwang Village in Qianzhou, had never met his father, and lived only with his mother. His mother passed away when he was thirteen, and he lived alone ever since. Until Uncle Mo took him in.

I asked, "At thirteen, how did you manage to live alone?"

He said, "I perform on the streets. Sometimes, the villagers also help me out."

When I was little, I accompanied my father on patrols of the Jinzi store and I saw street performers. Thinking of that boy's frankness and pride, I felt a bit more sympathy and understanding for Yi Ge.

I asked again, "Your appearance seems somewhat exotic."

He replied that my mother had both Nandan and Darul countries in her blood.

I said "Oh," and added, "I thought your father wasn't from the Central Plains."

He replied, "I don't know who my father is; my mother never mentions it."

I said apologetically, "I'm sorry."

He shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter, as long as the princess doesn't mind."

I really don't have anything to mind.

Being a man of few words, we returned to the Prince Huaiyi's residence at noon, had lunch, and then leisurely returned to the palace.

After dinner, I wanted to find Ayan to ask about Mother and Father Kun's recent situation, but I couldn't find him. I asked Chunman, and Chunman said that after dinner, Young Master Yan went ahead, seemingly towards the palace gate. So he really was going back to the Huaiyi Prince's Mansion, and he really did go at night. I waited until Hai Shi (9-11 PM), but he still hadn't returned. I guessed that Qi Long had kept him there.

The next morning, before I could even send someone to investigate, Qi Long brought a dejected Ayan into the palace. I then learned that the brat had sneaked into the Prince Huaiyi's residence last night by scaling the wall, supposedly to test Yi Ge. I wanted to ask about the result, but seeing his appearance, there was no need to.

After lunch, Ayan came up to me and said, "Sister, that future brother-in-law is not bad."

I scoffed and said, "If it's good enough that anyone can capture you, then any of the palace's secret guards could easily become your brother-in-law."

He replied, "That's different. The palace's secret guards always move out in groups, while the Prince Huaiyi's mansion usually only has one shadow guard on duty."

I was also a little surprised: "So, you just happened to run into him?"

He said somewhat dejectedly, "It was fate. And he appeared without making a sound; I only noticed him when he was right next to me."

Although Ayan was only twelve years old, he was exceptionally skilled and had a particularly keen sense of perception. He was so close to someone that he didn't even notice until they were right next to him. I couldn't help but wonder what I would have done if it were me.

Qi Long and I speculated about when Mother and Father would arrive. Logically, since Ayan had sneaked out, his parents would be anxious and would hurry on their way, perhaps arriving sooner. But Father was no ordinary man; perhaps he would take the opportunity to test Ayan and deliberately arrive at a leisurely pace. So we estimated two times: either they would arrive tonight, or in five or six days.

Neither of us guessed the exact date. This was because Mother wanted things to get done quickly, while Father Kun, just as we thought, figured that since Ayan had already set off alone, he might as well let him go on his own. The result of this back-and-forth was that we neither rushed nor let him go completely; Father Kun himself assigned Uncle Fang to keep an eye on Ayan.

That day, when the Prince Huaiyi's mansion sent someone to deliver a message saying that the princess wanted to see the princess, I was still somewhat caught off guard.

When I arrived at Zerun Hall in Size Garden, what greeted me was a scene of a three-way trial. My mother and father sat in the middle, with my father and fourth uncle on either side. Qi Long, A Yan, and A Xu were standing, and outside the hall stood my two uncles, Mo Qi and Mo Fang.

I obediently greeted my father, mother, father of a beautiful woman, and fourth uncle, then stole a glance at my mother and found her face to be relatively calm. She spoke first: "Qi Wu, tell me, what's going on with your marriage?"

Hearing her address like that, my heart skipped a beat, but I still cleared my throat and said, "Mother, it's like this. During the Dragon Boat Festival, I watched the dragon boat races from a high platform with Brother Xuan. Brother Xuan said I should choose a suitable husband, and I took a liking to Yi Ge, so I threw the embroidered ball. Brother Xuan then arranged our marriage." My story was a mix of truth and falsehood; just think of me as the young lady who threw the embroidered ball.