A Meeting of Minds

Jiang Li is found and brought back by the illustrious Jiang household, where she becomes its only legitimate daughter.

The Jiang clan is famed and powerful. Its eldest legitimate son, Jiang Congyue, is every bit as his reputation claims: pure as jade, steadfast as a pine, and revered like a mountain, an unreachable model for the young men of the great families.

To make a place for herself in the household, Jiang Li deliberately tries to win her brother over. But after several attempts, her hopes gradually fade.

He is untouched by worldly dust. He pushes her away and never even looks at her.

"Little sister, the Jiang household has strict rules. Conduct yourself with dignity."

Jiang Li feels wronged. She doesn't think she's done anything improper.

She can only assume Jiang Congyue looks down on her for her low birth and lack of proper upbringing.

As time passes,

Jiang Li hears people talk about her and her brother, comparing them to fine jade and uncut stone, and asking how they could ever be a well-matched pair of siblings.

Jiang Li smooths away her rough edges and pays no heed to such talk. She respectfully serves her parents, wanting only to preserve the family she had longed for as a child.

Until one day, her adoptive mother speaks without thinking and reveals the truth. Only then does Jiang Li learn

that the Jiang family brought her back to take Jiang Congyue's place in an old, sordid marriage contract.

Fine rain falls as dark clouds gather. Jiang Li is heartbroken, and her tears mingle with the rain.

Then she sees Jiang Congyue, surrounded by admirers as he is escorted into the residence, dressed in pristine white jade, untouched by dust.

For the first time, Jiang Li wonders: what gives him the right to be so unattainable?

Jiang Li does not leave the Jiang household.

The Jiang family regards Jiang Congyue as a precious jewel, unwilling to let even a speck of dust settle on him.

But Jiang Li deliberately sways her hips and crashes into Jiang Congyue's arms.

She buries herself against his chest, bright-eyed and beautiful, and parts her red lips. At last, she turns each call of "elder brother" into "my darling."

My darling, my darling, her beloved.

Jiang Li buries her face in the crook of Jiang Congyue's neck. With their necks entwined, they look like a pair of mandarin ducks.

Their gazes drift toward the doorway.

She can hardly wait to see the Jiang family's shocked expressions.

1. They are fake siblings. The brother doesn't hate his sister. He was raised as a saint from childhood, but for some reason he feels something special toward her. He can't stand the feeling, so he tries to push her away. (Yes, yes, around his little sister, he's the kind of lecher who can't handle it even when she so much as beckons to him.)

2. She seduces him first, then abandons him. The heartbroken brother turns dark and forcibly takes his sister for himself.

3. The sister starts out as a concubine-born daughter adopted under the name of the legitimate mother, but later discovers she isn't a member of the Jiang family at all. They brought her back only to take her brother's place in the marriage contract.

Theme: Brother and sister, a match made in heaven.