My Imperial Brother Keeps Fighting Me for Everything

A frail, precocious princess × an unpredictable, unloved prince

The little sister tames her big brother series

Shen Yanqi first met Liang Jun within the palace walls, as snow fell thickly around them.

He was on the brink of death.

Only then did Shen Yanqi learn that she had an older half-brother she'd never heard of: he took his mother's surname, was left out of the imperial clan register, had Miao ancestry, and was cold and brutal by nature.

It was the eighteenth year since he had been abandoned in the Cold Palace.

He probably wouldn't survive this bitter winter night.

Back then, she was full of confidence, the most favored legitimate princess of Great Qian. She pointed a flexible sword at the young man's brow, bold and dazzling.

"Liang Jun, if I save you today, how will you repay me?"

Lying in the snow, Liang Jun glanced up at her, languidly replying, "I have nothing to offer. I'm not afraid of death."

Shen Yanqi, furious, tossed down her sword. "Then I'll save you anyway!"

(2)

On the day Great Qian fell and enemy cavalry breached the city walls, Shen Yanqi slipped out of the palace through the moat under cover of night. As she fled in haste, she saw Liang Jun standing beneath the vermilion walls.

A long sword hung at his waist. He stood tall and straight, his bearing relaxed, and looked at her from a measured distance.

Shen Yanqi held out her hand to him. "Come with me, Imperial Brother."

Liang Jun walked toward her through the night, still as languid as ever. He bent down, kindly clasped her slender waist, and asked slowly, "If I save the princess today, how will the princess repay me?"

Shen Yanqi shuddered. "Imperial Brother...what do you want?"

Liang Jun smiled faintly, playing with the princess's jade pendant at her waist. He leaned close and whispered by her ear, "I want my imperial sister."

-

The day Shen Yanqi escaped the palace, Liang Jun flew into a rage and slaughtered his way through the Eastern Palace.

Before the Hall of Supreme Harmony, he lowered his eyes and toyed with the princess's jade pendant, left behind by her. Without meaning to, he thought of the day they first met.

Back then, she was as noble as the moon above the clouds, while he was as lowly as mud beneath her feet.

She had been determined to fly beyond the palace walls, but Liang Jun thought there was nothing wrong with being confined within the vermilion walls.

An imperial edict announced to all under heaven that the new emperor sat high above the city wall, his expression imperious.

"If Princess Chengde does not return, I will kill everyone under heaven."

Shen Yanqi took a deep breath. "I'm back."

Later, on countless damp spring nights when neither could sleep, the cold-hearted young emperor would reverently kiss her forehead.

"Teach me."

"Teach me how to be a wise and benevolent ruler."

1. The leads are not related by blood.

2. Both are each other's first and only.

Next book: The Goose-Pear Scent in the Bridal Bedchamber. If you're interested, please add it to your favorites! A stick of goose-pear incense reveals the secret intrigues hidden in the palace's deepest quarters.

Shen Shutong, newly appointed Assistant Minister of Justice, has a handsome face and a gift for solving cases.

By imperial decree, he has three days to solve this case and put an end to the rumors.

That very day, Shen Shutong brought the incense to this fragrance shop.

The red gauze curtain stirred. Xie Zhen, seated calmly in the inner room, slowly raised her eyes and said, "Lord Shen, I've been waiting for you."

*

Chang'an is a city of all sorts, so to make things easier, Xie Zhen invented plenty of identities for herself.

She's an orphan who brings misfortune to her parents, relatives, and husbands.

She's a widow who's had five, six, seven, or eight husbands die.

She sells incense, but she's no refined lady. When she's angry, she grabs a hoe and chases people down the street.

People around town gossiped about this peerlessly beautiful woman. Then, for some reason, the rumor suddenly changed one day:

The newly appointed Assistant Minister of Justice is in love with the pretty widow in Chongchuan Ward who brings misfortune to her relatives, and his only peculiar taste is being chased and beaten by her.

When she first heard the rumor, Xie Zhen sat calmly in the marketplace, sipping a cup of tea.

But on the day the imperial edict announcing her marriage arrived, her expression changed. She really did grab a hoe and head straight for the Shen residence.

She demanded, "This was just a case investigation. What does marriage have to do with it?"

"Didn't the town rumor say I was in love with you?"

Xie Zhen replied helplessly, "It's just a rumor."

"But what if, " Shen Shutong looked at her, his plans flawless and victory assured. "What if I was the one who started that rumor?"

1. A story about a little fox being eaten by a big fox.

2. Not a serious historical drama, but a mix of business management and a little case-solving. Written for practice.