Gentle, refined, beautiful, strong, and tragic older brother x easygoing, optimistic, and emotionally unburdened younger sister
At first, Lüyang was unwilling to pretend to be Wen Zhengchen's younger sister.
Her family was poor, her father didn't care for her, and her mother didn't love her. Sent to an opera troupe as a child, she had endured years of hardship and her master's whip until she was fifteen.
She never complained or cried out in pain. She only hoped to finish her training soon, then use her skills to earn money and help support her family.
Who could have guessed that Wen Zhengchen would come looking for her all the way from the capital?
A handsome young gentleman in fine clothes stood in the clear moonlight, stopping her in his grief-stricken state.
He was the son of Princess Rongning. His only younger sister had gone missing during a time of unrest.
After years of pining for her daughter, the princess had become mentally unwell.
They had resorted to this desperate measure only to ease his mother's suffering.
Lüyang bit her lip. "I've never lied to anyone. I don't know how..."
"I'll teach you."
His gaze burned as he made a solemn promise: "No matter what happens in the future, from today on, I'll always be your older brother."
-
In truth, Wen Zhengchen had never lied either.
So he never expected to teach her quite so well.
So well that she would obediently accept his mother's arrangements and dutifully meet other men as potential husbands.
Seeing his displeased expression, Lüyang hurried to explain, "Brother, don't misunderstand. I never dreamed of usurping your real sister's place..."
She called him her older brother, so he had no choice but to force a smile and say what he didn't mean. "If you find a suitable husband, I'll be happy for you. You can marry without a worry."
-
Having passed off a fake as the real thing and deceived his family, Wen Zhengchen knelt in the ancestral hall for hours every night, reflecting on his sins.
The night his real sister returned home, he was drunk and collapsed to his knees. Lüyang came to help him up, her eyes full of confusion. "Now that your family is reunited, why are you still punishing yourself?"
He refused to get up and stubbornly demanded, "Why did you agree to become my mother's adopted daughter?"
Her expression was so innocent as she tilted her head, pretending to be casual. "Because you said you'd always be my older brother."
"But, Yangyang..." He clutched her skirt tightly. "Your brother regrets it."
Reader's guide:
1. Fake siblings, both characters have only had one partner, happy ending.
2. No melodrama, a warm and healing story. Changes to the blurb do not affect the story premise, so please rest assured.
3. No rivalry or catfights between the heroine and the real younger sister.
4. The siblings both have strong morals and are very innocent. I just want to write about how, after struggling and agonizing over it in every possible way, they overcome all obstacles and find their way to each other.
5. The older brother has a tendency toward self-punishment. The younger sister is especially lovable, and besides her brother, three other male leads fall for our Yangyang.
6. Set in an imaginary dynasty, with official systems modeled on the Ming dynasty, plus some of my own inventions and a hodgepodge of details from various dynasties. Please don't overanalyze, thank you.
Theme: Seek truth from facts, and separate the real from the fake
