Qi Shu was about to be exiled when his parents told him two pieces of bad news that weren't all that bad.
First, his widowed sister, who had returned home, wasn't their biological daughter.
Second, they planned to send their adopted daughter to prison to serve him and give him an heir.
Qi Shu angrily refused, but that night he had a nightmare.
In his dream, he acted like a beast, throwing all propriety aside to force himself on his sister and leave her pregnant and alone. She raised the child by herself, and the orphaned mother and child, kind and easy to prey on, caught the eye of powerful men. They were abducted and kept as canaries in a gilded cage for their amusement, until she finally died of despair.
All of it was his fault...
The next day, his sister came to the prison as promised to bring him food. She handed him a meal they both knew had been drugged, trembling all over with fear.
Qi Shu closed his eyes and sighed. "Don't listen to our parents. If you truly have nowhere to go, come into exile with your elder brother. Life will be hard, but at least you'll be free..."
His sister looked at him innocently, until her gaze made him feel utterly ashamed. Then she nodded. "...I'll do as you say, Brother."
-
A brother and sister arrived in exile. Such a pair was a rare sight in remote, desolate Liangzhou. The others were either couples or fathers and sons, or brothers.
The elder brother was as refined as a jade tree, talented in both letters and arms. He had repelled foreign enemies, quelled internal unrest, and cleared his name. With promotion now in sight, he was sure to rise swiftly through the ranks... He announced that he intended to find a new husband for his widowed sister, who had lived at home and relied on him all the way.
The news set everyone in motion. Lady Qi was beautiful, clever, and hardworking. Who wouldn't want her?
The courtyard was filled with a dazzling array of betrothal gifts. It wasn't the first time. Her elder brother was determined to marry her off.
Qi Shuangyu's heart ached, and she was furious. "Go ahead and marry me off, then! Hurry up and get your mistaken, deluded, filthy, disgusting little sister out of your hair!"
Her brother remained unmoved by her desperate, angry outburst.
Just as Qi Shuangyu, utterly disheartened, turned to leave, a hand caught her wrist at her side.
He spoke in his usual even tone, calm yet despairing, as if he had gone mad.
"Don't talk about yourself like that..."
He was the elder brother. How could he, as her brother, be without fault?
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