Chapter 1 Banban and her cousin "as if trying to vent the anger growing in her chest..."

At this time, the sky over Zhao was dark, and heavy snow was falling everywhere.

The entire city of Handan was shrouded in a gloomy gray.

At the second quarter of the month, the maid Congyun lifted the bed curtain of the master's only daughter, "Young lady, wake up, something terrible has happened."

Inside the bed curtains, a delicate little girl, about four or five years old, was curled up in a crimson quilt, sleeping soundly. The charcoal fire in the room was burning brightly, and her pinkish-white face was rosy. Her long, delicate eyelashes drooped obediently, rising and falling with her owner's breath.

Seeing this, Cong Yun lifted the red quilt, tiptoed closer, and whispered, "Young lady, young lady, my cousin has returned home injured and is being punished by Yue Ji to kneel outside the corridor."

Upon hearing this, the little girl suddenly sprang up from the bed, rubbing her eyes half-asleep, "What?!"

Yun hurriedly took a warm handkerchief to wipe her face, helped her get dressed and put on her shoes, and took her little hand to go out together.

Along the way, listening to Yun Daoming explain the whole story, he felt extremely depressed.

"Did my cousin get into another fight?"

Banban's concern for her cousin was not entirely out of pure affection.

Her cousin was a diligent and studious man, which led her to be drawn into the same way.

After lunch, she heard that he had gone out. Banban took a quick nap, but she never expected that the bad news would come so soon. She was still asleep and loved to stay in bed. She could not get up for more than 15 minutes after waking up.

The clever maidservant used information about her cousin to lure her into a trap, instantly bringing her to her senses.

Thinking about it this way, Banban felt quite angry.

Cong Yun nodded, "When you see Yue Ji later, you can't complain about being tired anymore. You've been slacking off for three days already." At first, the young mistress was excited about learning singing and dancing, but after a while, she became impatient. However, Yue Ji was always strict, so she was worried at the moment.

Banban shrank back dejectedly, "Nonsense, I've always been diligent, my aunt won't punish me."

Outside the corridor, snow was falling heavily, turning everything gray and white.

The Ji family was a large and wealthy family, a well-known wealthy merchant family in Handan. Naturally, their mansion was also large. Even though Banban was sleepy, she was fully awake by the time they left.

When they arrived at Ji Changyue's courtyard, they found a dimly lit figure kneeling outside the house. The snow was falling heavily, and he was covered in white.

His black hair, still damp, cascaded down his shoulders like a pitiful little animal in the snow, yet his back remained straight, kneeling motionless.

"Cousin," Banban called softly, raising her small hand to pull her sleeve over his head.

His lowered eyelashes trembled slightly, then he raised his eyebrows and eyes.

"Oh dear, how did you hurt your face?" What a waste!

My cousin has the best face. Even at such a young age, he has long eyebrows, a high nose, and well-defined features. Although he is still young, it is enough to foreshadow his future excellence.

Now there are several noticeable abrasions, which have turned bright red from the cold.

"Isn't that exactly what you wanted?"

Banban huffed and pulled her sleeve back. "No, I was just concerned about you." To prove herself, she pinched her sleeve and affectionately wiped his face, which was covered in snow water, but ended up wiping a stain all over her sleeve.

Banban immediately patted her sleeves; this was her favorite winter outfit lately. "Why didn't you wash up when you got home?"

Ying Zheng seemed not to notice her disgusted expression and ignored her.

As the two were talking, Ji Changyue appeared under the corridor and coldly rebuked, "Chengyin, come over here."

Banban obediently followed instructions and ran into the eaves.

Chengyin is Banban's formal name; her full name is Ji Chengyin. Ji Changyue is her father's younger sister.

Banban had heard her mother talk about her cousin, saying that she used to be a beautiful young lady from the Ji family, skilled in singing and dancing. She married a merchant surnamed Lü, who was shrewd and intelligent. Not long after, he gave her away to a man named Yiren.

Her cousin was the son of her aunt and Yiren. She thought she could live a happy life, but the good times didn't last long. The Zhao state was losing ground in war and wanted to send someone to kill Yiren to vent their anger. Yiren fled with Lu Shangren, abandoning his aunt and cousin.

The aunt and cousin endured a period of hardship, constantly on the run, before finally returning to the aunt's home. The father hid them, thus saving them from being hunted down.

My mother would always scold the man surnamed Lü for being a bad person, and my father, being henpecked, would only nod along and never say a word in agreement.

Banban was completely confused. Why would the State of Zhao kill her sister-in-law's husband? She pressed her mother for details, but her mother only told her not to listen to such messy things.

Ji Changyue bent down and brushed the snowflakes off her hair and clothes. "Chengyin is an obedient person. We can't be ranked with that coward."

These words were truly sarcastic and carried a strong undercurrent of anger.

Banban's body was mostly covered by Ji Changyue's cloak, but she secretly peeked at Ying Zheng by peeking out half of her face.

The boy kneeling under the eaves had his lips taut and his back straighter, his shoulders trembling, like a small beast struggling in the snow.

Feeling sorry for him, she tugged at Ji Changyue's cloak and pleaded, "Sister-in-law, it's snowing so heavily, let your cousin come in and warm himself up?"

"What if I get sick? Then I won't be able to practice martial arts anymore."

Ji Changyue's expression softened slightly, and she fell silent.

A quarter of an hour later, the charcoal fire was burning brightly. Ying Zheng changed into clean clothes and sat down, while Cong Yun dried his hair.

Ji Changyue said calmly, "Zheng'er, do you know why your mother is so angry?"

Ying Zheng clenched his fist under his sleeve and said in a deep voice, "I didn't win."

He was clearly a six-year-old child, but he liked to act like an adult with maturity. His childish voice paired with his calm expression drew frequent glances from Banban.

"It's more than just not winning!" Ji Changyue said sternly. "You are different from those people. Your father will definitely take us back one day. If you can't even compare to these ordinary people, what will you do when you go back? Where will your father leave us, mother and son?"

Ji Changyue was a proud person who rarely shed tears, but at this moment her eyes were red, and she poked Ying Zheng's head with a look of disappointment, "You must live up to expectations!"

He was probably sick from the cold air, as his body was trembling violently.

Ji Changyue hugged her son tightly, "It's all your fault for not being able to give you more. I've been leading my son through countless hardships, hiding here and there, and nearly losing my life several times. Now, we can't even find a decent teacher!"

When faced with this situation where parents are scolding their children, Banban lowers his head in embarrassment and withdraws his hand that was about to steal the milk cakes from the table.

With her eyes drooping, she noticed her cousin's hand, which was clenched so tightly that it was bleeding.

Cong Yun, who was standing to the side, was busy tidying up with her handkerchief in hand, pretending not to hear anything.

Because they were worried that Ying Zheng might get sick, the mother and son had important things to talk about, so Banban did not continue practicing dancing and singing this afternoon.

During dinner, she told these stories to her parents as amusing anecdotes.

Zhu put down her chopsticks, her expression subtle. "Did she really say that?"

“Yes,” Banban said, dissatisfied, “Congyun is here too, I didn’t lie.”

Ji Xiu sighed, "Fine, I'll find a tutor for Zheng'er tomorrow, and I'll go and assess him myself."

Madam Zhu slammed her chopsticks down and slammed her hand on the table. "She's definitely not a simple person. What kind of kind person could become the wife of Young Master Yiren? She's been plotting against us without us even realizing it. She's looking at our Banban as a kind-hearted girl, and she's already scheming against her like this!"

Banban froze, not understanding. "Mother?"

Ji Xiu shook his head, "Why should Madam be angry? Zheng'er is indeed different."

Zhu's palms were numb and painful, but she still remembered to serve Banban a bowl of meat soup. She said resentfully, "But our family has never mistreated them. We let her teach Banban to dance and sing. She brought it up herself. No one forced her. Does she think I look down on her?"

"Why would my sister think that way?" Ji Xiu had a headache and said that Zhu Shi was overthinking it. "She is just disappointed in him. He is her only son. What else can she expect but him to be successful? His future depends on him. Of course she has high hopes for him and it is normal for her to be a little anxious. I will handle it."

Banban was tired of hearing these words. She couldn't understand what was different about her cousin. Perhaps he hoped his son would become a dragon?

In her past life, she was in a car accident and was reborn in ancient times. As an infant, she had little energy and her brain developed slowly, so she ate and slept all day long, just like a newborn child. She didn't remember anything about her past life. As she grew up year by year, fragmented memories slowly resurfaced like a tortoise crawling. She only remembers that she was originally ten years old, that her parents died, and that she lived a lonely and miserable life in an orphanage. Everything else is vague, like something veiled over her, and she can't remember it clearly.

After eating, she went to find Ying Zheng.

The candlestick was lit, and he was memorizing his lessons.

"Cousin, have you applied the medicine?" She put down the fruit on the plate. "These are fruits that the servants bought this afternoon. They're still fresh. Have some."

Ying Zheng did not turn around; the sound of reciting his lessons continued.

Banban stared at his back, wondering why he was working so hard, which only made her look lazy.

Clutching two fruits, she swayed and crept over, stuffing them straight into his mouth.

Unfortunately, her 'trick' failed.

Ying Zheng grasped her wrist, his brows furrowed. "Banban, I won't eat."

He spoke earnestly, a faint admonition etched between his brows, and the red marks on his cheeks grew even more vivid.

Banban held the fruit, resisting the urge to poke it. "I'm just concerned about my cousin. How can he study if he doesn't eat enough? My aunt isn't good to my cousin, but I am good to him."

Moreover, what's so good about memorizing bamboo slips?

He doesn't rest; with this 'good example' before her, she'll only be forced to follow suit.

Ying Zheng glanced at her. "Really?"

Even with just that one casual glance, I felt as if my scheme had been seen through.

Banban pursed her lips in confusion, then covered them up and eagerly offered him a piece of fruit, saying, "Cousin, have one. It's delicious. Just one, and I won't bother you anymore."

This fruit is so delicious, once you eat one you'll want to eat a second.

Ying Zheng ate it from her little hand; the fruit burst with juice in his mouth as it was bitten open, sweet and sour. He had already done as she said, ignoring Banban's flailing legs, he forcibly picked her up and placed her on the small couch beside him, "Don't make a sound, or I'll kick you out."

"My cousin is wicked." Banban cursed and swore, but he remained completely unmoved.

The sound of reciting was buzzing. Banban sat with his hands on his hips, staring intently at the plate placed beside him, which was filled with tender yellow fruit.

Half an hour later, Banban became drowsy, and the chicks pecked at the rice.

He bumped his forehead on the small table and woke up with a pain.

My cousin didn't touch a single one of those fruits.

He was no longer reciting; he was quietly writing something with a brush.

Banban mumbled something, then lay down and fell asleep again.

The room was warm and cozy, and she slept soundly. In her daze, she felt someone covering her with a blanket. Was it from the clouds?

She goes to bed early at night, so much so that she wakes up as early as 3 AM.

The snow had stopped outside, and the sound of boxing could be heard.

She jumped off the small couch, grabbed a handful of fruit, stuffed it into her mouth and chewed it haphazardly, then lifted the heavy curtain and went outside.

The boy, dressed in a smart black robe, was sweating profusely. His moves were learned by watching others and silently memorizing them. They were not formal, but they were very powerful, as if he wanted to vent all the anger and gloom that had been growing in his chest.

Banban paused for a moment, wondering if he hadn't slept or had gotten up so early.

No wonder he was only six years old, yet he could easily pick her up and still have the strength to control her and prevent her from making a fuss.