Stay Away, Wicked Sister! My Spirit Spring Is Poisonous

The day my half-sister stole my fiancé, I smiled and moved into a haunted house.

The whole capital laughed at me, waiting to see the evil spirits tear me apart.

Until I dug up a spirit spring in the courtyard, and the fruits and vegetables I grew restored the Empress’s youthful beauty.

The fiancé who once cast me aside like trash knelt at my door. “Xue’er, you should have been the Crown Princess!”

I splashed him with the water I’d used to wash vegetables. “I wouldn’t touch a man my younger half-sister has had. He’s filthy.”

The next day, the capital’s most revered Prince of War kicked down my door. “I’ll offer eighty-one loads of betrothal gifts to marry a mud-covered radish.”

The early-spring wind still carried a biting chill, but it could not disperse the feverish excitement among the crowd gathered outside the Marquis of Zhenbei’s residence to watch the spectacle.

Su Luoxue stood below the steps, looking up at the couple embracing each other.

Her fiancé, Crown Prince Xiao Jingheng, was carefully draping a brocade cloak over her half-sister, Su Qingwan. His movements were tender, and his eyes held a tenderness she had never seen before.

“Elder Sister,” Su Qingwan said, nestled in Xiao Jingheng’s arms, her voice so sweet it seemed to drip with honey, though her eyes hid poison-laced triumph. “His Highness the Crown Prince and I truly love each other. Please... give us your blessing.”

Xiao Jingheng frowned at Su Luoxue, speaking with his usual impatience and a hint of condescending pity. “Luoxue, what’s done is done. There’s no point in making a scene. I’ll inform Father Emperor and ensure you retain the honor due to the legitimate daughter of a marquis. Don’t make Wan’er uncomfortable again.”

Honor? Uncomfortable?