People say the Duke of Weiyuan’s household favors its second daughter above all others. But after my elder sister returned to the capital from ten years on the frontier, everyone claimed she had suffered there in my place, and that I owed her. So when my sister complained that there were no fragrant flowers on the frontier, my parents uprooted the medicinal flowers in my courtyard. When she said she knew nothing of painting or calligraphy, my younger brother destroyed all my works. Even my fiancé spent every day with her, trying to make up for the ten years she had missed in the capital. The moment I showed the slightest reluctance, they accused me of being cold-hearted, selfish, and disrespectful to my elder sister, saying I should have died to atone long ago. Fortunately, I truly don’t have long to live, and I don’t want to anymore.
