Breaking Off the Engagement

As the two of them discussed how to break off the engagement, their fine son happened to run into Pei Yezhu, who was out buying rouge.

"Big Brother Zhao?" Pei Yezhu asked, her face full of surprise mingled with a threefold shyness. In truth, Pei Yezhu had been waiting for over an hour simply to engineer this chance encounter with Zhao Qusheng.

"It's you? Why did you come out all by yourself? How dangerous is that?"

Seeing the delicate and fragile Pei Yezhu, Zhao Qusheng could not help a surge of protective affection.

"I... my family is facing some hardships right now, and I no longer have maids or senior nurses by my side."

Pei Yezhu spoke with a trace of hardship in her voice, projecting the aura of one who had suffered deeply in secret.

True to form, this only made Zhao Qusheng feel even more tender pity for the petite and pitiful young girl.

"Why are you buying this kind of thing?" Approaching her, Zhao Qusheng noticed she was purchasing a jar of rouge so poor that even his family's maids would reject it. It was far too inferior; it would ruin her tender skin.

"Come, let me take you to buy better rouge!" An impulsive urge arose within Zhao Qusheng to buy her the finest rouge available.

"Big Brother Zhao, no, it's too much trouble! I wouldn't even use this ordinarily; I only need a touch of cheek tint just in case I have to meet people."

Pei Yezhu shook her head quickly, her expression sincere.

"It's a gift from Big Brother Zhao, you are not allowed to refuse." Zhao Qusheng's protective instincts suddenly ballooned.

"This?" Pei Yezhu looked between him and his feigned sternness, caught in a dilemma, though her heart was soaring with joy.

Her maternal grandmother had taught her that nothing moves a man quite like a helpless young maiden, as it triggers his natural desire to be her protector—that was precisely how her grandmother had won her grandfather's heart all those years ago.

Now that Big Brother Zhao was treating her with such solicitude, if she could manage to marry him in the future, it would truly be the best path for her.

"Come, follow me!" Seeing such a hesitant and vulnerable little creature, Zhao Qusheng made a resolute and decisive move, taking her hand and leading her straight toward the rouge shop.

"Zhao Qusheng, who is this? Your cousin?"

The moment the two stepped into the shop, they ran into one of Zhao Qusheng's classmates—another youth of sixteen or seventeen, who was accompanied by a heavily stylized young woman looking very much like a courtesan from Yangzhou.

"My cousin!" Zhao Qusheng gave a vague reply. This "cousin" was actually the cousin of his betrothed, certainly not his own!

"Oh! A cousin, is she? You must take good care of her, take good care of her!"

The classmate winked at Pei Yezhu with an ambiguous smile before pulling the courtesan away.

Pei Yezhu instantly flushed crimson, too shy to meet Zhao Qusheng's eyes. Her bashfulness prompted him to affectionately flick the little thing's nose, filled with deep fondness.

Zhao Qusheng spent fifty taels of silver entirely on the pitiful little creature in his eyes. Not only did he buy her a box of top-quality rouge worth twenty taels, but he also selected a butterfly hairpin.

"Wear this; it will look lovely on you." Even though Zhao Qusheng knew a gentleman should not casually buy jade hairpins for women, he rationalized it to himself by telling her she was merely his pitiful cousin who deserved pampering.

"Big Brother Zhao, I... I already have one!" Pei Yezhu demurred with a bashful refusal.

"This isn't expensive, and it looks lovely. Just think of it as a plaything!" Zhao Qusheng coaxed her softly.

"Indeed, my lady, this jade butterfly hairpin suits you wonderfully!" the shop clerk chimed in with practiced perceptiveness.

Yielding to half-hearted persuasion, Pei Yezhu lowered her head timidly and let Zhao Qusheng slide the jade butterfly hairpin into her hair.

As he fastened it, a sudden notion blossomed within Zhao Qusheng—a desire to cherish her for a lifetime. Of course, he could only take her as a concubine.

With this thought, his pity for Pei Yezhu deepened. Emerging from the rouge shop, he insisted on taking her out for a delicate meal, packing up the leftovers so she could enjoy them slowly later.

Though the food and drink cost less than fifty taels in total, the profound indulgence it conveyed left Pei Yezhu profoundly happy.

Meanwhile, Madam Zhao had arrived at the Xie residence in a murderous rage, demanding an immediate annulment of the marriage on the grounds that she had heard rumors from Hangzhou concerning Xie Wenjing's improper interactions with other men.

"Old Madam, the Zhao family cannot afford such a fine daughter! Let paths diverge and bridges part ways once and for all!"

Madam Zhao's momentum was overwhelming, radiating a sense of righteous indignation.

Xie Wenjing's grandparents felt nothing but utter contempt. Wasn't it simply that the Zhao family now looked down upon the declining Xie clan?

Yet, once such rumors attached themselves to a young woman, no one could reasonably fault a prospective family for withdrawing from a match.

If the maternal family were to make a fuss, matters of this sort—whether true or false—would invariably be blamed on the female. The louder the uproar, the more thoroughly a woman's reputation would be ruined.

While the Old Madam wanted to stand up for her good granddaughter and give the Zhao family a fierce piece of her mind, doing so would drag Xie Wenjing's name through the mud and destroy her for life.

Moreover, there was an attached risk: the marriage prospects of her own biological granddaughter would suffer collateral damage. To aristocratic families, familial reputation was paramount.

In the eyes of society, if a family could produce one improper daughter, they could produce a whole nest of them due to lax discipline.

"Madam Zhao, please calm yourself. Wenjing has been away from Yangzhou for several months, and we lost track of her discipline; if something went wrong, it is indeed our fault.

"Now that her branch of the family is still in Hangzhou, if we are to truly dissolve the engagement, we must inform them as well. However, my third son has recently returned to Yangzhou for the examinations, and he can speak on behalf of his eldest brother and sister-in-law. Shall I call him over so we can settle this together?"

Since they could not afford a bitter public feud, they would default to Madam Zhao's narrative and accept the premise that Xie Wenjing had compromised herself. Staining her reputation in this manner was unfortunate, but tolerable—though it was a pity her own granddaughter could no longer marry into the Zhao family alongside her.

"Very well! I shall return tomorrow! I hope to meet the Old Madam's third son!"

Madam Zhao arrived in a storm of fury and departed in the same manner, acting as though she were the aggrieved party.

The Xie grandfather's expression shifted repeatedly before he finally turned and walked away without a word. He wanted nothing to do with tomorrow's affairs; let them toss and turn as they pleased!

Upon returning home, Madam Zhao was quite pleased; naturally, resolving the matter with such ease was ideal.

She had deliberately put on a fierce front to cow them into submission. Look at how the Xie Old Madam had been left speechless, accepting her fabricated tale without protest.

That evening, with the entire Zhao family gathered, Madam Zhao announced to everyone that she had agreed with the Xie Old Madam to dissolve the engagement.

"Father, Mother! Why is this? I will not agree!"

Zhao Qusheng suddenly felt this would not do. If the engagement were broken, what excuse would he have left to dote on Pei Yezhu, that pitiful little cousin?

He had harbored thoughts of marrying Xie Wenjing while taking Pei Yezhu as a concubine. But if they made enemies of the Xie family, would he ever have the chance to take Pei? And Pei Yezhu might even hold a grudge against him.

With this realization, Zhao Qusheng flatly refused.

With a helpless, hardened expression of forced necessity, Madam Zhao declared, "That Xie Wenjing had a private affair with another man in Hangzhou; she is unworthy of you! Do you wish to be mocked for the rest of your life?"

Hearing Madam Zhao's reprimand echoing through the main hall, everyone present took note, though Madam Zhao cared not a whit. What did Xie Wenjing's reputation matter to her? The more thoroughly ruined, the better! If the maids and nurses spread the word, so be it; destroying the girl was the only way to secure her son's future.

"I do not agree!" Zhao Qusheng turned on his heel in a huff and stormed off.

Enraged, Master Zhao hurled his bowl and plate to the floor with a sharp crash, turning the faces of all the wives, concubines, children, and maids in the room as pale as paper.

Madam Zhao hurried out after her son. What ailed the boy? Judging by his eyes previously, he hadn't seemed particularly fond of that Xie girl anyway.

Could it be that little girl? The cousin whom she had once used to stall Xie Wenjing—what was her name again?

"Qusheng, look at what you've done—you've nearly frightened your father to death! Your eldest brother may not be as skilled in scholarship as you, but he has never angered your father. Your father dotes on you so; you must not anger him to death!"

Madam Zhao grabbed her pouting, fleeing son by the arm.

"Mother, I do not want to break the engagement!" Zhao Qusheng could hardly tell his mother about his desire to take Pei Yezhu as a concubine; keeping Xie Wenjing as his primary wife would make acquiring Pei as a concubine infinitely easier.

"My good son, tell your mother why you refuse. Didn't I know you weren't particularly impressed with Xie Wenjing when you went over there last time? Now that she has turned out like this, can you still fancy her?

"Tell your mother honestly: is it that gentle cousin of the Xie family you have set your eyes on? You must know that a family of our standing cannot possibly marry a destitute, unbacked orphan as a proper wife—at most, she can only be a concubine."

Shrewd as she was, Madam Zhao hit the nail squarely on her son's head.

Zhao Qusheng's expression stiffened, a guilty conscience striking him, yet he caught a glimmer of hope in his mother's tone.

"Mother, would you agree to let her become my concubine?"

"A mere concubine, what does that matter? If you like her, I can bring her into our household as your concubine right now. But your studies must remain your priority this year; pass the provincial examination this year and the metropolitan examination next, and our family's rise depends entirely on you!

"When that time comes, let alone one concubine, I will find you ten!"

Madam Zhao immediately coaxed her son. So she had guessed correctly indeed! Her son had set his sights on the Xie family's cousin. The girl was still young; even for a concubine, the timing wasn't right yet, especially since her son was in such a crucial period of his studies. She would pacify him first.

Hearing his mother's words, Zhao Qusheng's furrowed brow smoothed out.

"Mother, when you go to dissolve the engagement tomorrow, I am coming too!"

Zhao Qusheng needed to see Pei Yezhu and promise her personally that he would take her as a concubine in the future, assuring her he would never break his word now that his mother had consented.

"Very well! We shall go together. Mother promises you! I promise you everything!" Seeing her son agree to break off the match with the Xie family, Madam Zhao was naturally delighted.

As for the Xie family's cousin, since her son only intended to take her as a concubine rather than making an unseemly scene to marry her as a wife, it was a non-issue.

In the eyes of aristocratic families, a concubine was merely a plaything, easily dismissed if one grew tired of her. As long as her son did not throw tantrums, she could grant him a favored concubine.

That same night, the Third Uncle received a messenger sent by his stepmother at the inn, instructing him to return home the following morning to discuss Xie Wenjing's marriage. Nurse Li, the messenger, did not specify the exact nature of the business, only emphasizing that he must arrive by morning or things would go awry.

Tossing and turning, the Third Uncle barely closed his eyes all night, turning over every possible scenario in his mind—naturally including the possibility that the marriage might be annulled.

Could it be true, as Wenjing had predicted, that the Zhao family was so snobbish and cold-blooded that they were rushing to break the engagement the moment the Xie family fell on hard times?

Yet marriages between gentry families were not so easily dissolved; a mishandled breakup meant turning two families into enemies.

If they were dead set on breaking it off, what excuse would they use? Unmatched horoscopes? Unlikely; their horoscopes had been matched long ago.

Surely they wouldn't be depraved enough to ruin Wenjing's reputation simply to force an annulment?

At this thought, the Third Uncle grew frantic with anxiety. If that were truly the case, his niece's entire life might be ruined by the Zhao family!

***

Fret as he might, morning came, and the Third Uncle had no choice but to return to the Yang family household he so detested.

He performed the required bows to the stepmother he despised; his father was not at home.

Before long, Madam Zhao arrived in the main hall of the Xie residence, flanked by her son Zhao Qusheng and a retinue of maids and nurses, her bearing haughty and overbearing.

The moment Zhao Qusheng stepped into the hall, his eyes locked onto the distressed little creature whose complexion was so wretched she looked as though a breath of wind could topple her, stirring a deep ache of tenderness in his chest.

Spotting Xie Wenjing's Third Uncle, Madam Zhao went straight to the point.

"Our Zhao family will never welcome a shameless woman of such loose morals through our gates! Today we dissolve this engagement, and from this day forward, let paths diverge and bridges part!"

Madam Zhao's posture remained formidable and overbearing.

*Crack!* A sharp sound rang out as the Third Uncle, consumed by fury, slammed his teacup down onto the table beside him.

His hands shaking with rage, the Third Uncle glared venomously at Madam Zhao.

"How dare you hurl such insults at my niece? If you truly wish to discuss this matter using such pretexts, let us take it to the yamen and fight a proper lawsuit!

"Doesn't your Zhao family simply know that our Xie family has fallen into decline, and feel my niece is no longer worthy of your son? In my eyes, however, your son is the one entirely unworthy of my niece!

"To support my eldest brother, my niece spent her tender youth living in the village near Fajing Temple, offering incense and prayers for him day after day.

"My brother's recovery from his sickbed to walking and smiling again is entirely due to my niece's filial piety, which moved the heavens!

"If you dare to slander my niece and ruin her reputation in this manner, then let us strip away all pretenses of decency and tear off the masks so the people of Yangzhou know the truth:

"That the Zhao family, despising the Xie family's decline and wishing to cast off this marriage without being branded as ungrateful opportunists, cruelly destroyed the lifelong reputation of a daughter of the Xie family!

"Furthermore, my niece's reputation is not yours to ruin on a whim. In the eyes of the people of Hangzhou, my niece is celebrated as a paragon of filial piety.

"If you despise our fallen fortunes, our Xie family will not cling shamelessly to your doors. I can dissolve this engagement on behalf of my niece.

"However, we each know the true reasons in our hearts. If you dare to shamelessly slander my niece, we will take this to the yamen and let the world see the venomous hearts of the Zhao family! To abandon a family in decline by using a young woman's lifelong reputation as an excuse—bah!"

Driven to the extreme of anger, the Third Uncle spat fiercely toward Madam Zhao.

Though he had anticipated various ugly possibilities the previous night, dreading precisely this kind of slander, he had not expected the Zhao family to actually stoop to it.

Wenjing was right: while the Zhao family was of gentry stock, they were shameless gentry, heartless and ungrateful. Wenjing must never marry into such a household!

"You—you are bullying people!" Experiencing such humiliating disgrace for the first time, Madam Zhao shook with rage. The shame of being exposed made her yearn to pounce and tear the man apart. *How dare you treat me this way? What sort of thing are you?*

"Very well, as you wish. Both families shall dissolve the engagement without any pretexts. We each know the truth in our minds. As the saying goes, the pure remain pure and the turbid remain turbid; there is no need to account to the world—let our two households understand the truth between ourselves."

Zhao Qusheng was likewise turned pale with anger by the Third Uncle's words. Clearly Xie Wenjing was shameless, dallying with men in Hangzhou, yet the Xie family had the audacity to shield that woman by slandering his mother?

Even so, going to the yamen was out of the question. Regardless of the pretext, a public scandal would inevitably reflect poorly on him. Besides, he still intended to take Pei Yezhu as a concubine; he could not afford a messy scandal.

Therefore, just as the Third Uncle and Madam Zhao nearly came to blows, Zhao Qusheng stepped forward and uttered this face-saving compromise acceptable to both sides.

The Third Uncle assumed Zhao Qusheng was merely condoning his mother's shameless tactics—disgusted by the Xie family's ruin.

Hearing her son's intervention, Madam Zhao snapped back to her senses. Her primary objective today was to break the engagement; with or without an excuse, as long as the other side agreed, it mattered little.

Besides, once the match was severed, she could freely spread gossip about Xie Wenjing's promiscuity behind closed doors.

At that point, she wouldn't need to beg the Xie family for an annulment anymore, and there was nothing they could do to her.

A woman's reputation, no matter how solid in reality, could never withstand a torrent of gossip. Thinking thus, Madam Zhao ceased her trembling and merely glared malevolently at the Third Uncle.

The engagement was successfully annulled, and the betrothal documents were torn to shreds on the spot. These documents existed in duplicate—one held by the Zhao family, and the other by the Xie Old Madam.

When Xie Wenjing had departed Yangzhou in such haste earlier, she had paid no mind to these betrothal papers, which she had long despised.

Now the Third Uncle had taken it upon himself to tear them up for Wenjing. Knowing full well that Wenjing had never wished to marry into the Zhao family in the first place, he figured she would be delighted to see this match shattered.

With the annulment complete, the Third Uncle departed the Xie residence without a backward glance. Though this had once been his home, today, when the Zhao family came to bully Wenjing, neither his father nor his second brother had been present.

Only his stepmother and second sister-in-law remained—too cowardly to face the humiliation and unwilling to trouble themselves over Wenjing, they had summoned him instead.

It was just as well. Had he remained ignorant, his stepmother might well have tacitly endorsed Madam Zhao's shameless accusations and allowed Wenjing to bear a ruined name.

Fortunately, he had come, and the Zhaos, knowing their own guilt, dared not risk a lawsuit, forcing them to retract their shameless slanders.

Wenjing's reputation was thus preserved.

The only reason the Xie Old Madam had summoned the Third Uncle to handle the matter was in the hope that upon learning of the broken engagement, his convalescent stepbrother would be angered to death—all without her hands getting dirty. Ideally, her newly recovered stepson would drop dead from the shock upon hearing the news.

Madam Zhao stalked off in a huff as well, her liver and lungs aching from the Third Uncle's stinging insults. Still, the engagement was broken.

Zhao Qusheng deliberately lagged a few paces behind, and Pei Yezhu instinctively trailed after him as if seeing him off.

At that moment, Pei Yezhu felt her heart shattering into pieces. Just as her painstaking efforts were on the verge of winning Big Brother Zhao's affection, such a calamity had struck. What was she to do now?

Where else could she find an aristocratic family like this? Where else could she find a legitimate scion of such high birth who would cherish her?

"Yezhu, follow me," Zhao Qusheng murmured quietly to guide her along. He knew the pitiful little thing must be terrified right now, needing his comfort and assurances lest her imagination run wild with worry.

Hope flared anew in Pei Yezhu's breast. Could it be that Big Brother Zhao had no intention of casting her aside?

One behind the other, they walked out of the Xie estate and turned into a secluded alleyway.

"Yezhu, do you blame our family?" Zhao Qusheng probed cautiously. If she blamed his family, things would become difficult; he could only hope she was sensible enough to distinguish right from wrong.

Pei Yezhu said nothing, her lips pressed tightly together, tears streaming down her face as she shook her head.

"Don't cry. Talk to me, please? Do you blame me?"

Though the pitiful creature was shaking her head, her weeping was so desolate that it tugged relentlessly at Zhao Qusheng's heartstrings. He desperately wanted to hear her say with her own lips that she did not blame him.

"N-no, I don't blame you... It's my eldest cousin who didn't cherish you properly, it's her fault, wuwu... I, I can't even call you Big Brother Zhao anymore! Wuwu..."

Pei Yezhu wept as though her heart were breaking. Her words were choked and fragmented, yet entirely clear.

Deeply moved, Zhao Qusheng realized the little darling understood everything—she understood it all.

"Don't cry. Let me be your big brother for the rest of our lives, all right?"

Gently wiping away her tears, Zhao Qusheng coaxed her with soft words.

Pei Yezhu suddenly raised her head, her face a mask of utter disbelief. "Is that truly allowed? B-but... but I still can't... wuwu!"

Pei Yezhu was far too clever to utter those words herself; the declarations she longed to hear were best spoken by the man.

"Yezhu, you may call me big brother for a lifetime. Listen to me: while the best status I can offer you is that of a favored concubine, I promise to cherish you alone for the rest of my days. Even the wife my mother chooses for me will not receive my affection—only you.

"If you are willing, I will wait for you to grow up, take you into my home, and cherish you body and soul for a lifetime. My mother has agreed as well; she likes you too.

"Yezhu, are you willing? Are you willing to let me cherish you for a lifetime?"

Zhao Qusheng coaxed her gently, knowing full well that a girl of her background could neither match the status of a primary gentry wife nor shoulder the management of such a vast aristocratic household.

Yet he could cherish her tenderly for all his days.

Pei Yezhu lifted her tear-streaked face once more, gazing at Zhao Qusheng in feigned disbelief. A second later, her cheeks flushed rosy, her tears ceased, and her eyes gradually filled with surprise and gratitude.

Even so, Pei Yezhu refrained from speaking immediately. Her lips trembled silently for a moment before she let out a desolate sigh and dropped her gaze once more.

Her performance made it clear to Zhao Qusheng that she was willing; she must merely be harboring some worry or fear.

"What is it? Are you unwilling, or are you worried about something?"

Pressing further, Zhao Qusheng lifted her drooping chin and forced her to meet his eyes.

Overwhelmed and bashful under such intense scrutiny, Pei Yezhu tried slightly to pull away before murmuring timidly, "I... I worry that your mother won't agree."

"Haha! Are you worried my mother won't agree, or your mother?" Zhao Qusheng burst out laughing. The little thing secretly wished for his lifelong devotion after all.

As long as she was willing, his mother would find a way to grant him his heart's desire—his mother had promised him as much.

Thus, hearing Pei Yezhu's indirect consent put Zhao Qusheng in an exceptionally buoyant mood, prompting him to tease the adorable little creature playfully.

"Big Brother Zhao? You? I'm not speaking to you anymore!" Startled by his teasing, Pei Yezhu felt a rush of joy and cast him a coquettish, reproachful glance that sent Zhao Qusheng into another fit of delighted laughter.

"Pay no heed to such worries; leave everything to me. As long as you are willing, you need fear nothing—I will handle it all. Whether it is your mother, your maternal grandfather, or that shameless eldest cousin of yours, you need not fret. Just be a good girl at home and wait for me to come and fetch you, understand?"

Hearing Zhao Qusheng's tone brimming with indulgence, Pei Yezhu bloomed into a shy, radiant smile.

That very day, upon returning home, Pei Yezhu confided Zhao Qusheng's promises to her frail mother.

"Mother, grandmother taught me long ago that to win Big Brother Zhao's affections, I should accompany Eldest Cousin into marriage and become his most cherished woman.

"Once Eldest Cousin eventually dies, I could step into her shoes just like grandmother and become the mistress of the Zhao household. In this lifetime, not only would I enjoy a husband's love, but I would also attain the respect of a primary mistress.

"I have already won Big Brother Zhao's heart. Although he has broken the engagement with Eldest Cousin, he cannot bear to part with me. Today he proposed giving me the status of a favored concubine and vowing to cherish me for a lifetime.

"Mother, I accepted. With my background, entering such an aristocratic family is only possible as a concubine. As long as I firmly hold onto Big Brother Zhao's heart, whoever becomes his primary wife will never dare to bully me."

Nodding in approval, Pei Yezhu's mother said, "You have done well, and your reasoning is sound. A woman's life is attached to her man.

"A husband's affection is a woman's everything. Your mother once enjoyed the glorious status of your father's primary wife, but what good did a primary wife's title do me when your father proved useless and died young?

"Didn't I suffer worse than a concubine within the Pei family? Had your grandmother not brought us back to the Xie residence, the two of us would still be living in cold and hunger.

"Your mother desires nothing more now than for you to live well, comfortably, and prosperously—that is my greatest joy. Does your maternal grandmother know of this?"

Drawing from her own bitter experiences, Pei Yezhu's mother saw nothing wrong with being a concubine. What fault was there in being a concubine who ate well, dressed well, lived comfortably, and held a man's affection?

"Grandmother knows and has agreed. She also taught me many principles: once inside the Zhao household, I must win not only Big Brother Zhao's affection, but Madam Zhao's as well.

"I will accomplish this. Big Brother Zhao already dotes on me deeply, and Madam Zhao treats me quite well. As long as I carefully secure their favor, I too will have the chance, just like grandmother, to become a revered and envied gentry matriarch."

Pei Yezhu's confidence was absolute.

Two days after the dissolution of Xie Wenjing's engagement, the Third Uncle's spirits sank even lower. It was the day of the examination results: while his son had successfully passed as a child scholar, he himself had failed the provincial exams once again.

Zhao Qusheng had likewise failed this time around, remaining merely a junior scholar.

Upon checking the list, Xu Yin felt a bitter taste in his mouth. Emerging from the examination hall, he had sensed he would fail to secure the title of scholar.

And true to his prediction, he had indeed failed.

*Wenjing, if you knew of this, would you be terribly disappointed in me?*

Plunged into predictable despair, Xu Yin returned home, threw himself dejectedly onto his bed, and tightly gripped the jade hair bead Xie Wenjing had inadvertently left behind.

*Wenjing, I have missed you so. You have been gone for so long—will you ever return to this place?*

*I hear the Xie family has partitioned their estate, and nothing here belongs to them anymore. Are you faring well now? Do you still have silver of your own to spend?*

*Wenjing, I miss you, oh how I miss you! Please come back soon!*

For the first time, the young Xu Yin was consumed by bone-deep yearning, so much so that he failed to notice his younger sister, Xu Cai, slipping quietly into the room.

Knowing the results were posted today, Xu Cai had gone out immediately after her elder brother left and seen the notice of his failure.

Though disappointed, she knew her brother studied with unremitting diligence. Failing today meant trying again tomorrow; as long as he did not lose heart, he would surely pass eventually.

She had hurried home intending to comfort him and spare him from brooding.

True to her fears, upon entering she found her brother sprawled rigidly in the shape of a giant character across the bed, his complexion ghastly and tear tracks still staining his cheeks—a sight that squeezed Xu Cai's heart with sharp pain.

Then she noticed her brother clutching something tightly in his fist.

Peeking through his fingers, a glint of white resembled jade. Where would their impoverished family ever acquire such fine white jade?

*Something is wrong.* Though only twelve years of age, Xu Cai had endured hardship since childhood. With their father dead and their mother nearly blind, the family's burdens fell heavily upon her shoulders alongside her brother's studies, maturing her mind far beyond her years.

Whose white jade was this? A dark premonition arose in Xu Cai's mind: *Could my brother have been engaging in illicit exchanges with the Xie eldest miss?*

With swift, decisive motion, Xu Cai pried open her brother's clenched fist and found a white jade hair bead tightly imprisoned within.

Reflexively, Xu Yin snatched his hand back, clutching the bead back to his palm as if guarding a priceless treasure.

Xu Cai's face flushed crimson with anger. She had thought her brother was heartbroken over failing the exam, but he was still obsessing over the Xie eldest miss at a time like this!

She could wager her toes that this jade bead had been a gift from Xie Wenjing to her brother. That woman was truly dissolute—how dared she corrupt her elder brother so?

Though she had heard rumors regarding Xie Wenjing two days prior, Xu Cai had kept them from her brother for fear of distressing him. But today, she was determined to tell him just how despicable the woman he was pining over truly was!

"Brother, get up! Sit up right this instant!"

Blazing with fury, Xu Cai grabbed her brother by the shoulders and forced him upright. Dazed, Xu Yin stared at his usually gentle sister, who was now blazing with unfamiliar rage.

"Listen to me well: because Xie Wenjing had a private affair with another man in Hangzhou, the Zhao family found out and were so disgusted they refused to have such a bride. Xie Wenjing's engagement has been broken off by the Zhaos, and all of Yangzhou knows what a shameless wretch she is now!

"Do you still yearn for a creature like that? Wake up from your delusion! A woman of that sort—let alone a gentry family like the Zhao clan—even our Xu family would never touch!

"Forget her at once! Focus on your studies so you can justify the father who died before his time, our mother, and my back-breaking toil running this household!"

Consumed by rage, Xu Cai forgot her station as a younger sister. Her brother had clearly lost his mind, and she needed to shake him awake.

"What? Wenjing's engagement was broken?"

Flashes of brilliant light burst in Xu Yin's eyes as his earlier dejection vanished instantly. Goggling at his sister with wide, hopeful eyes, he seemed to demand confirmation.

*Splendid!* As long as Wenjing's engagement was severed, he no longer had to rush quite so desperately, nor fear that Wenjing would be forced to marry into the Zhao family before he attained the title of top scholar.

Now Wenjing had regained her freedom, giving him far greater prospects! Wonderful!

Xu Cai felt as though the very marrow of her bones was catching fire. She had spoken with crystal clarity, yet her brother's reaction was one of sheer jubilation? How could he rejoice over a woman whose reputation was utterly ruined?

"Yes! She was dumped by the Zhao family because she had a private affair with another man—with another man in Hangzhou, not you! What on earth are you celebrating for?

"If anyone has reason to celebrate, it should be that man in Hangzhou who shared her affair, not you! What is wrong with you?"

Desperate to jolt her brother back to his senses, Xu Cai lashed out with brutal honesty, bewildered by the ecstatic look on his face. She longed to crack open his skull to see what nonsense filled it.

Straightening his creased garments and meticulously smoothing out his bedding, Xu Yin picked up his book with buoyant spirits. Rather than arguing with his sister while her temper ran hot—which would only provoke her further the more he praised Wenjing—he decided to read.

If he read, his sister would calm down. If he read and passed the scholar, provincial, and metropolitan exams—perhaps even without needing the top spot—he might win Wenjing's hand.

*No, I must still aim for the top scholar position; Wenjing likes that.* But at least the pressing panic was gone.

Guided by this soothing thought, Xu Yin sat before his furious sister, gripped his text firmly, and began to read aloud with ringing, cheerful clarity.

*Eh? Has my brother lost his mind from the shock? What kind of reaction is this?*

If he still fancied Xie Wenjing, he should have refuted her words; if he had lost interest, he should have agreed. Why was he reading aloud in high spirits as if nothing had happened?

*Fine.* Since her brother finally understood that studying was the only true path, she would not disrupt him further.

Turning on her heel, Xu Cai stamped her foot in exasperation. *Wait—while one hand held the book, his other hand was still clutching that jade bead!*

"Hand it over!" Turning back, Xu Cai glared at her brother with unyielding disapproval.

Ignoring her outstretched hand, Xu Yin simply continued reading aloud!

"Cai'er, your brother is studying—why are you making such a racket?"

Xu Yin's mother shuffled slowly toward the room, having heard the noise of their dispute from the corridor.

Her son had returned in low spirits, and one could not expect him to pass examinations on the first try. Knowing how hard-working Yin'er was, he would succeed eventually; Cai'er was simply too impatient!

Thus surmised the uninformed mother, whose protectiveness toward her son was absolute.

"Mother, you know your eyes can't take crying, don't you?"

Swiftly slipping the jade hair bead into the inner pocket of his tunic over his heart, Xu Yin stood up to greet his mother, whispering a gentle warning to his sister not to upset her or risk damaging her weak eyesight with reckless words.

"Mother, let me help you!" Stepping forward swiftly, Xu Yin dutifully took his mother's arm, intending to escort her into his quarters.

"Yin'er, just focus on your studies; Mother won't disturb you. Cai'er, come outside—don't bother your brother while he's studying. Examinations are terribly difficult; who passes on the first try?"

Realizing she could not speak the truth without risking her mother's fragile eyes, Xu Cai swallowed her fury, shot her brother one last murderous glare, replaced his hand with her own on their mother's arm, and led her away.

Xu Yin watched his sister's retreating, huffy figure with an amused smile. *In time, Cai'er will meet Wenjing and realize what a wonderful person she is. Mother will surely love her too.*

Returning to his desk, Xu Yin resumed his loud, cheerful reading, his voice ringing with lightness and ease.

"You child... I know your temper is impatient and you desperately wish your brother had passed. But examinations don't yield to impatience. Your father sat for them for so many years and only ever earned the rank of a junior scholar.

"Your father at least studied in the clan school, whereas Yin'er has had no such privilege, relying entirely on the books your father left behind.

"Our family conditions are harsh, and we cannot afford to send your brother to the Yangzhou Academy. For him to succeed, he relies solely on his own diligence. We must not pressure him too harshly, or it will backfire.

"Even if we must endure hardship for a few more years, we must ensure your brother can study with a steady, unhurried mind. Studying is not only exhausting, it tests a man's endurance.

"Only those who can resist outside temptations, endure solitary and monotonous study, and weather the repeated agony of failing examinations can ever rise above the crowd.

"Ah, I only pray your brother attains the rank of provincial graduate while I still draw breath so I can face your father below with a clear conscience."

Patting her daughter's hand, Xu Yin's mother urged her to understand her brother's hardships.

"Mother, I understand now. I won't disturb his studies again. Don't worry, Big Brother will certainly pass the provincial exams; Father will be very proud when he knows."

Though Xu Cai knew precisely why she had shouted at her brother, she was grateful her mother's hearing was poor enough to miss the details—otherwise, had her mother known her brother was currently dallying with Xie Wenjing's tokens rather than enduring solitary toil, she would have been heartbroken.

Her opinion of Xie Wenjing cooled further.

Initially, when Xie Wenjing had rescued their family from destitution with a fortune sufficient to sustain them for years during their darkest hour, Xu Cai had been profoundly grateful.

Yet if this gratitude meant ruining her brother's life, she would rather beg for a living than accept a single copper from the Xie eldest miss.

Sadly, her brother appeared utterly bewitched, and this was merely in her absence. Xu Cai shuddered to imagine what would happen if the Xie eldest miss still lived next door—would her brother spend his entire day simply gazing at her?