Making My Prudish Imperial Brother Break His Vows

Shen Qianchu was thoroughly fed up with her imperial elder brother.

From the time she was little, he had taken care of every little thing for her: which bolt of tribute cloth to use for her newly tailored clothes, whether today's snack filling should be osmanthus or red bean paste. He even often personally supervised the palace servants attending to her to make sure they were doing their jobs properly.

At her age, other princesses and noble ladies were already going out to find handsome young men to keep, while she was afraid that if she so much as glanced at someone, he would be castrated and brought into the palace as a eunuch the next day.

So even though she had long since come of age, her only notions of men came from the stories she read.

Of course, her imperial elder brother did not count as a man.

He was frighteningly old-fashioned, restrained and abstinent. In all the years she had known him, she had never seen a woman by his side, whether a palace servant or one of the young ladies who admired him.

Shen Qianchu thought her imperial elder brother must have read so much classical literature that he had gone foolish. Once, she had cautiously asked why he still had not married, only for him to furrow his brows and lightly tap her palm with a ruler. "Did I assign you too little homework today?"

After being kept under his thumb for so long, Shen Qianchu occasionally wanted to rebel. So, while he was away, she left the palace to meet someone in secret.

Unfortunately, she encountered a wicked man with ill intentions, who gave her a love-afflicting poison that was difficult to cure.

Shen Qianchu's eyes reddened. Her thighs rubbed together, and she was unbearably feverish.

This time she truly regretted it. She regretted leaving her imperial elder brother's side, only to end up in this state.

Then, through her hazy consciousness, she caught the familiar scent of orchids. She opened her eyes and saw her imperial elder brother, then sobbed and threw herself into his arms.

"Brother, what should I do?" Instinctively, she pressed close to him, seeking coolness to ease her burning heat.

The trust she had felt in him since birth made Shen Qianchu believe that her brother would surely find a way.

Only when her clothes came undone did she open her eyes wide and see him restraining himself as he kissed the tears beneath her eyes. "Chu Bao'er, this is the only way."

"I don't want you to die."

"Don't worry. No matter what happens, you'll still be my little sister."

Nestled in his arms, Shen Qianchu trembled as she kept wondering: could they really go on being siblings after this?

**

Later, her imperial elder brother truly treated her as before, caring for her just as he always had. Shen Qianchu looked at his composed, elegant face, so detached from the ordinary world, and it seemed as though that night had been nothing but a dream.

Until a month later, the love-afflicting poison in her body flared up for the second time.

No blood relation, both aware

Cover: Chicken Wings Stuffed with Rice

Theme: Celebrating one of humanity's greatest emotions, love