Volume 1, Chapter 17: Where Did the Heir Apparent Arrange to Meet Me?

"I have disturbed your peace, Second Sister; Ruyue knows she is at fault."

Xie Ruyue knelt on the ground, looking pitiful. The sight of her tear-streaked face only stirred annoyance in Xie Jiaoyue.

Why was it always like this?

Ever since she had returned, this younger sister had always worn such expressions whenever they faced each other—as if she had committed some heinous crime. Yet, all she wanted was a little peace and quiet.

Xie Jiaoyue looked down at her. "If you truly know you are wrong, do not come here again."

Xie Ruyue looked as if she had been struck by a thunderbolt. Her expression froze, then she lowered her eyes, her lips trembling slightly. "Yes."

"Why shouldn't she come here! This isn't your courtyard! You wicked woman! My sister can go wherever she wants! Who are you to tell her what to do!"

The little girl’s voice was sharp, as if it would pierce through the rafters.

Xie Jiaoyue looked at her. "And why is this not my courtyard?"

The young girl’s face was twisted with unconcealed malice toward Xie Jiaoyue. "Your place is at the nunnery! You should have stayed there as a nun for the rest of your life! Never come back to bully my sister and Mother again!"

Xie Jiaoyue felt as though her heart had turned to ice. Although she had long known that this younger sister had no affection left for her, she had not imagined the malice would run this deep.

Was she truly destined to suffer in a nunnery for her entire life?

Xie Jiaoyue looked toward Nanny Li, who stood to the side. "Nanny Li, throw them out."

She was truly exhausted.

Kneeling on the ground, Xie Ruyue clearly saw the slight tremor in the fingers beneath Xie Jiaoyue's sleeves. She knew that her second sister was hurt.

She looked up at Xie Jiaoyue, feeling a sense of satisfaction in her heart. No matter how glorious she had been in the past, now she was living even worse than she had—like a punching bag.

She slowly stood up, took the little girl's hand, and said in a gentle tone, "Xinyue, don't say any more. If you keep talking, Second Sister will be sad. Let's go."

"I don't care if she's sad! She's a wicked woman! A shameless, disgraceful, cheap woman!"

A child’s mouth is the most unrestrained; even Zhiqiu, standing by Xie Jiaoyue’s side, could not bear to listen. She stepped forward, seemingly wanting to speak, but the next moment, Xie Jiaoyue brushed her hand aside and walked slowly toward the fourth sister.

Xie Xinyue watched Xie Jiaoyue approach, her delicate brows furrowed tightly. She stared viciously at her, and just as she was about to lash out with more insults, a slap landed hard on her delicate face.

After the strike, Xie Jiaoyue’s entire arm was trembling, yet she looked at the little girl with chilling calm. "This slap is for your repeated insults toward me."

***

The slap did not bring Xie Jiaoyue much relief; she only felt a profound fatigue.

The little girl, unrepentant, gnashed her teeth in fury, her eyes filled with such hatred that it seemed she wanted to tear a piece of flesh from Xie Jiaoyue.

Xie Ruyue glanced at the cold, detached Xie Jiaoyue and suddenly sensed something was wrong. She felt that the person before her was different from the one she had seen just days ago.

In the past few days, even when Xie Jiaoyue was calm and composed, there had always been an unmelting sorrow in her eyes—the grief and pain of being betrayed by kin. But now, she looked at them with such cold indifference, as if nothing mattered anymore.

The sense of achievement in Xie Ruyue’s heart vanished without a trace. If the person before her no longer cared, then what was the point of all the effort she had spent snatching these things away?

Xie Ruyue panicked for a moment, then immediately turned to the little girl. "Xinyue, go outside and wait for Sister, would you? Sister only needs to say a few words to Second Sister and then I will come find you."

Just as the little girl was about to resist, Xie Ruyue pleaded, "Consider it a favor to me."

The little girl gritted her teeth and allowed Nanny Li to lead her out.

Xie Ruyue looked at Xie Jiaoyue. "Second Sister, could you ask your people to step back? What I have to say next should not be overheard by outsiders."

Xie Jiaoyue glanced at her. "Zhiqiu, you may leave."

"Yes."

Once Zhiqiu and Xie Ruyue’s attendants had left and closed the door, the two remained alone in the room.

"What is it you want to say?" Xie Jiaoyue asked.

Xie Ruyue paused for a moment before saying slowly, "Yesterday, the Heir of Jingyang came to the Prime Minister’s residence."

Xie Jiaoyue lifted her eyes to look at her. "What does that have to do with me?"

"...Did he not come to see you, Second Sister? I had assumed he came to..."

"Xie Ruyue," Xie Jiaoyue said, looking at her indifferently, "are you implying that I am having a secret affair with him?"

For the Heir of Jingyang to come to see her was, in their eyes, no different than a secret tryst.

"I... I did not mean it that way. I only thought he came to..." Xie Ruyue’s willow-leaf brows knit together. "I was too forward. Ruyue was wrong."

"You may go."

Xie Jiaoyue turned away, not wishing to look at this younger sister for even a second longer.

Xie Ruyue hesitated for a moment. "Yes."

She clutched her handkerchief and walked to the door, then turned back to look at the cold, lonely figure in the room. "Second Sister, I know you are unwilling to speak your heart to me anymore, but the Heir of Jingyang is truly not a good man. It would be best if you did not associate with him."

Xie Jiaoyue lowered her eyes, unable to help but sneer.

***

Do not associate with him.

Had they ever given her the choice *not* to associate with him?

Xie Ruyue left with Xie Xinyue, and Nanny Li did not return.

Half an hour later, Nanny Li returned. She looked at Xie Jiaoyue and said, "The Madam has ordered you to copy the *Admonitions for Women* fifty times to calm your mind."

Xie Jiaoyue could guess why the Madam was punishing her. Xie Xinyue was only a child; although she had been foul-mouthed and insulting to her elder sister, she, the elder sister, had slapped her twice. If the little girl added fuel to the fire, she might even claim that Xie Jiaoyue had forced Xie Ruyue to kneel.

See? Not only was she shameless, lewd, and base, but she was also wicked, arrogant, and tyrannical, bullying both of her younger sisters.

Xie Jiaoyue sat slowly at the writing desk. Her fingers brushed over the clean paper, sensing the rough texture beneath her fingertips.

"Zhiqiu, grind the ink."

"Yes."

Xie Jiaoyue picked up the brush, her fingers trembling. A moment later, she set the brush down and rested her hands on the cold desk.

She had forgotten how to write.

In the three years at the nunnery, she had never touched the books she loved, nor had she written a single character. Xie Jiaoyue found it absurdly laughable: a once-brilliant, talented young woman who had not read or written for three years—could she still be called a talented woman?

"Miss?" Zhiqiu, watching her actions, asked in confusion, "Is your hand stiff? Do you need me to bring a hand warmer?"

"No need."

Xie Jiaoyue slowly picked up the brush again, sweat beading on her palms.

She wrote the *Admonitions for Women* until nightfall, yet she had not finished. By evening, her eyes, already blurred, felt increasingly dry and painful from staring at the paper for so long, making the task even more grueling.

Nanny Li came to persuade her, "Miss, you should sleep early. Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival."

Xie Jiaoyue blinked and set down her brush. "Where is the Heir meeting me tomorrow?"

"Guanghe Pavilion," Nanny Li replied.