Chapter 4: "She's not my biological sister, why can't I...?"

Tears exhausted.

He rose, satisfied, but she remained in the same position, like a delicate puppet, only the unshed tear in the corner of her eye betraying her inner humiliation and pain.

Xue Haoting leaned over again, his fingertips tracing the still red pinch mark on Ling Zhenli's neck, the mark he had just branded onto her snow-white skin. Very good.

Ling Zhenli thought he was going to torture her again, and subconsciously tried to cover the mark. Xue Haoting thought she was going to run away, so he restrained her, bit her earlobe, and continued to humiliate her: "Your body, which has been trained by other men, is much more sensible than that of a proper wife."

He kept picking at Ling Zhenli's wounds, not even realizing that he was jealous that someone else had gotten to her first.

This tactic was very effective; Ling Zhenli was so angry that she trembled all over after hearing it.

Seeing this, Xue Haoting felt pleased and his hands began to wander. Ling Zhenli was furious and reached out to stop Xue Haoting's hands from messing around below, but was then pressed down on the pillow.

"What are you pretending to be, a chaste and virtuous woman?" Xue Haoting said disapprovingly, his fingertips tracing the fake virginity mark she had made. He had noticed it from the beginning. "This is really interesting. Was it Zuixianlou's idea, or yours?"

Ling Zhenli looked at him stubbornly: "It's mine."

I thought Xue Haoting would make sarcastic remarks, but he laughed happily and said, "I like it very much."

That's a real pervert.

"You humiliate me in every way because I resemble other women to some extent. If you come here to vent your anger because you can't have those women, it's not a respectable thing to do."

Ling Zhenli was so angry that she forgot her own identity and confronted Xue Haoting head-on.

Xue Haoting used coercive methods against Ling Zhenli to vent his anger at his sister's elopement; the resemblance was merely an excuse.

“I didn’t humiliate you because of my sister, but…” Xue Haoting’s eyes turned cold, and he reached out to lift her chin: “Upright? You stupid prostitute, are you crazy? Do you think this kind of thing is upright?”

Ling Zhenli's gaze remained stubborn, refusing to bow her head.

After a long standoff, Xue Haoting grew disgusted, shoved her away, and got up to put on his clothes.

Ling Zhenli was pushed by him and collapsed onto the bed in a disheveled state, her hair in disarray. Thinking he was about to leave, she glared resentfully at Xue Haoting.

"Give me the money."

...

Xue Haoting remained silent, took out a gold bar from his brocade pouch, and threw it onto the bed, as if this amount of money meant nothing to him.

"for you."

Ling Zhenli, having seen all sorts of treasures given to her by Xiao Chongheng, was no longer surprised by gold bars, so she rolled her eyes.

Seeing her nonchalant attitude, Xue Haoting thought of his spirited younger sister; the two were remarkably alike in this respect. So he laughed and said, "What, not enough?"

Ling Zhenli raised her head and said angrily, "How dare I?"

The next second, she suddenly realized her identity and who she was facing, and quickly lowered her head to admit her mistake, so that Xue Haoting wouldn't tell her mother about it. In that case, she would lose both her money and her mother's good attitude.

The next moment, Xue Haoting threw the entire brocade pouch onto the bed.

"Stop taking care of customers, I'll support you."

The brocade pouch fell onto the bed, revealing the silver notes and gold bars that were faintly visible inside. Ling Zhenli stared wide-eyed in surprise. Hearing Xue Haoting's words, she was even more incredulous and slowly raised her head.

Ling Zhenli raised her head, suppressed her temper, and stared at Xue Haoting with innocent eyes, completely bewildered.

Having just experienced lovemaking, Ling Zhenli exuded a tender and languid charm, which was rather endearing.

She was extremely beautiful, with a beauty that rivaled his sister Xue Yingyue's, and even shared a resemblance to Xue Yingyue in half a face. In that instant, Xue Haoting wanted to take her away, hide her away, and enjoy her alone.

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but in the end, they came out as:

"You should rest."

After leaving those words, Xue Haoting hurriedly left, not daring to let Ling Zhenli see his blushing face.

***

When Xue Haoting returned to the Prime Minister's residence, it was already late at night. He thought his parents had already gone to bed and was about to sneak in through the back door when he found Prime Minister Xue Wenmian waiting for him in his room.

"Where did you go?"

His voice was so cold it sounded like he was about to be hit with a board.

"Greetings, Father." Xue Haoting silently bowed, then ignored him and started to walk forward.

"What, are you going to follow your sister's example and disown me as your father?"

Xue Wenmian's words were very harsh, and Xue Haoting suppressed his temper, trying his best not to be disrespectful to his father.

"My sister will probably come back on her own in a few days. She's always been obedient, so why should Father be so petty about her?" Xue Haoting disliked his father speaking ill of his sister.

"If it weren't for you being my brother, I don't think your sister would have had the guts to elope with someone."

Xue Wenmian grew angrier as he spoke. He stood up, walked to Xue Haoting's side, and threw the envelope hard at Xue Haoting's face.

"You unfilial son! Look what you've done!"

Despite being furious, Xue Haoting still picked up the letter that had fallen to the ground and opened it to read.

The handwriting is that of her younger sister, Xue Yingyue.

In the past, thanks to my parents' teachings, I have never forgotten the honor and disgrace of my family. However, the position of Crown Princess is not what I desire. I am foolish and dull, and I would rather bear the empty title than betray myself.

My father often said that "family comes first" and forced his daughter to obey. However, I am haunted by nightmares every night, fearing that I will follow in the footsteps of my predecessors. Now I have met a good man who, although he does not have a distinguished family background, is willing to protect me with his life. I have thought about it again and again and I still find it hard to give him up.

Knowing that my actions have disgraced the family and enraged my parents, I dare not ask for their forgiveness. I only wish that my father and mother take care of their health. Before my daughter was born, and with my elder brother being intelligent, he will surely bring glory to the family. I will live in seclusion and will never bring trouble to the family if anything happens to me. Therefore, please do not send anyone to look for me.

However, if the daughter is forced to enter the palace, she will surely be trapped and die within the palace walls, betraying the kindness of her parents who have raised her for so many years.

Tears stream down my face as I write this; I humbly wish you well. Your unfilial son, Xue Run.

...

Xue Haoting looked at the letter and his heart remained unsettled for a long time.

Xue Wenmian trembled with anger, clenching his fists: "Hmph, so this is what you mean by 'one day she'll be trapped and die within the red walls'? Does that mean if I capture her and force her to marry the Crown Prince, she'll die right in front of me?!"

Xue Yingyue was destined to be the future empress from a young age, but she was frail and sickly. Because of this, the Xue family was afraid that the royal family would find out and reject her, so in order to ensure that she could successfully marry into the royal family, they restricted her and forbade her to go out and show her face in public. Her every move had to be monitored by her family members, and she had to learn music, chess, calligraphy and painting at all times.

Finally, as the wedding day approached, the Prime Minister's wife took her to a temple in the suburbs to pray for a happy marriage. On the way back, they encountered bandits who kidnapped Xue Yingyue. At the critical moment, a passing martial arts hero rescued her. Xue Yingyue had been confined to her own little world since childhood and was eager to go out and see it. So she asked the hero to take her away, and the two secretly pledged their lives to each other.

Xue Wenmian dared not let the news of his daughter's escape leak out, and could only secretly send people to look for her, for fear of delaying the marriage with the royal family.

That night, when the knight-errant secretly took Xue Yingyue back to the manor to retrieve her belongings, Xue Yingyue bid farewell to Xue Haoting. She was determined to leave and never see him again, even in death.

Although my younger sister was confined to her home walls since childhood, she is a very opinionated person, and all the decisions she makes are based on careful consideration of the consequences.

Since that's the case, Xue Haoting is also willing to help Xue Yingyue. He believes that he loves his younger sister and is willing to grant her wish.

"Father, there's no need to be angry." Xue Haoting's eyes were indifferent as he folded the letter again. "Your son knows what to do."

"Do you know what to do? Don't think I don't know your sister came home looking for you. If you hadn't let your guard down, your sister would never have been able to escape again."

Suddenly, Ling Zhenli's features flashed into Xue Haoting's mind.

Ling Zhenli's charming and innocent eyes exuded a captivating allure, strikingly similar to her naive younger sister, but with an added touch of mischievous cunning.

“My son naturally has a solution.” Xue Haoting bowed respectfully, as if he had made up his mind.

***

Ling Zhenli was applying cinnabar to her dressing table, while the cat played with the brocade pouch left by Xue Haoting yesterday.

The bronze mirror reflected a deathly pale face, with only the rouge freshly applied to the lips standing out starkly red, like smears of blood that hadn't dried... She hadn't slept well last night, and even her makeup was ruined.

I heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs outside, neither hurried nor slow.

A moment later, the door was pushed open, and a servant entered.

"Young lady, your mother invites you over."

Upon hearing this, Ling Zhenli was puzzled. She had been in a lot of pain last night and had given her mother a gold bar as a sign of respect. She had promised to rest today. What could be so urgent that she needed to come over?

With her doubts in mind, she hurriedly finished dressing and followed the servant.

Just as she was about to push open the door, a voice rang out from inside. In an instant, Ling Zhenli froze on the spot, unable to move.

That voice belonged to the bastard who had forced himself on her last night, disregarding her feelings. Why was he here again? Did he really intend to book her?

Since she was already there, there was no escaping it, so Ling Zhenli pushed open the door and went inside.

Sure enough, there was that awful man, and next to him was someone much older than him—his father? Were they going to have some fun together?

When the bamboo curtain was lifted by the golden shoes, Ling Zhenli instinctively curled up.

She looked up and met a compassionate face. In a daze, Ling Zhenli's lips twitched. What kind of person was this? Instead of meditating in a temple, he was running around in a brothel.

Are you Tang'er?

The man shakily reached out his hand, but abruptly withdrew it when he touched Ling Zhenli's shoulder.

"It really is you..."

Seeing his strange behavior, Ling Zhenli wanted to laugh, but she managed to hold it in. She didn't know what the middle-aged man in front of her was up to, as he seemed to know her.

The madam was so sweaty it seemed to wash away the powder on her face: "Your Excellency, are you sure this is the person you're looking for?"

Your Excellency, Prime Minister. ?

If she remembered correctly, the man from last night was the Prime Minister's son, and the old man in front of her was his father.

A stack of yellow hemp paper was placed on the table in front of the madam, with the top one bearing the vermilion seal of the Ministry of Justice.

Xue Haoting stood to the side, quietly watching his father's performance. He wanted to laugh, but it was only a cold laugh.

It was too fake. He couldn't stand it anymore, so he stepped forward and pulled Xue Wenmian away. He then covered his nose with a handkerchief in disgust, pretending not to know Ling Zhenli: "Father, we shouldn't stay here any longer. Let's take Miss Ling back first."

Ling Zhenli stared blankly at Xue Haoting, wondering what was going on.

Xue Haoting ignored her astonished gaze and continued to mock her, "My father redeemed you from your servitude, so why don't you thank him?"

Ling Zhenli turned to look at the Prime Minister, her mind still reeling.

Why did he want to redeem himself?

The madam noticed Ling Zhenli's confusion and quickly tried to warm her up: "You don't know that your father and the Prime Minister have some old friendship. He came here this time specifically to take you out. You should thank the Prime Minister quickly."

Upon hearing that it concerned his father, Ling Zhenli bowed woodenly, "Thank you, Your Excellency Prime Minister."

Suppressing his inner disgust, Xue Wenmian feigned emotion, tears streaming down his face, and said, "Let's not talk here anymore, let's go back to the manor."

Xue Haoting stepped forward, grabbed Ling Zhenli's arm, and pulled her outside, saying without any politeness, "Hurry up and leave, this kind of place is not suitable for you."

Ling Zhenli was dragged down the stairs by Xue Haoting. Realizing that she hadn't taken her things, she shook off his hand.

"What are you doing?" Xue Haoting asked impatiently.

"My things are still in the room."

"You can have as much of those junk as you want when you get back to the Prime Minister's residence."

"Grudge? That's because you don't know how much those things are worth."

"Your previous patron was really generous to you. It doesn't matter. The Prime Minister's residence has a bunch of imperial jewelry that I can give you. Hurry up and go home."

"no!"

As the two were bickering and teasing each other, Prime Minister Xue Wenmian caught up. Not knowing what they were arguing about, he frowned in displeasure.

"Tang'er, the carriage is waiting downstairs, why aren't you moving?"

A note from the author: