Sworn Brothers
Chapter Nine
Great! Of course!
Without hesitation, I clapped my hands excitedly, smiled at Lan Feiyu, and repeatedly praised her.
Speaking of sisters, I am very close to the young lady from the capital. We can talk about anything. However, she is also a blood relative, and we have an inseparable bond from birth. Lan Feiyu is different. I have only known her for a few days, but we hit it off immediately, which makes me feel an unprecedented sense of joy.
In that instant, I remembered the storybooks that Aunt Xian secretly brought to me behind my mother's back to amuse me. They contained stories of chivalrous heroes, extraordinary figures in the martial arts world, and elegant scholars who cherished each other and became close friends. Every time I read them, my heart would surge with excitement and my blood would boil. I wished I could have such an adventure myself, call on my friends, and travel the world and explore the land.
Unfortunately, being born a woman, my mother's greatest hope for me was that I would find a suitable husband and ideally remain secluded in my home for the rest of my life. I hardly ever meet anyone, so how could I possibly dream of anything else?
But I always disagree. Why should I?
I also studied from a young age. Although I wasn't particularly bright, I wasn't stupid either. My aunt taught me swordsmanship and martial arts from childhood, and my uncle even taught me riding and archery. At the very least, I could shamelessly claim to be both literate and skilled in martial arts. However, all I could do was get married.
Aunt Xian and her mother were both women, yet neither of them married.
Even though Aunt Xian was still on duty in the court, no matter how much she wanted to take me out to see the world, she dared not disobey her mother's wishes and could only repeatedly comfort me when I was feeling frustrated.
I had secretly inquired about why my mother was so afraid of me traveling outside. As a child, I didn't understand, but as I grew older and learned more about people, I always wondered if it was related to my background, specifically, to my father whom I had never met...
No matter who I asked, there was no clear answer to this question. Aunt Xian pressed me hard, and she scolded me with a stern face: "Xiao Xi, you are a young lady! A young lady's duty is to be quiet, understand? Quiet! Be quiet!"
Aunt Xian rarely adopted a condescending parental stance, but in the end, she was defeated by my act of pretending to be mute in front of her for two days.
“Your mother is afraid you will get hurt,” Aunt Xian said to me again, her back to my mother, “You must understand her good intentions. She has suffered too much in her life, and it was not easy for her to have you. You must believe, Xiao Xi, your mother is the person who loves you the most in this world.”
I never questioned that point at all!
But seeing Aunt Xian's doting yet sorrowful smile towards me, and her inexplicable insistence on my mother's marriage, I could only silently endure it, until she insisted that I get married...
Lan Feiyu certainly didn't know that between her suggestion and my enthusiastic agreement, my mind was in turmoil.
I asked, "How shall we become sworn brothers? Shall we offer incense as a stick and bow three times to the heavens? Or shall we gather some wine and swear an oath by drinking blood? Should we find a special place, like, um, a peach garden or something?"
“…Xi’er…” Lan Feiyu stared at me in disbelief, then suddenly burst into laughter. Her laughter wasn’t loud, but it was very pleasant to hear. I was dumbfounded as I listened to her laughter and watched her wipe away tears as her laughter subsided.
So this is what it feels like to be an older sister?
Even if I don't understand why, as long as my sister is happy, what does it matter if I act like a fool?
"You want to become sworn brothers with me?" Lan Feiyu stopped laughing and looked at me seriously.
I nodded solemnly, and to show my seriousness, I nodded very slowly.
“But you have no idea what kind of person I am.” Lan Feiyu sighed.
“Yes, you are the rain, and I am the sunshine,” I said, seeing her brow furrow, and started rambling. “Only when you and I are together can we have a bountiful harvest. If you were Yu Ji, I wouldn’t be Xiang Yu, the King of Chu. I wouldn’t be so stupid as to get myself surrounded at Gaixia, where Yu Ji ended up committing suicide. All that talk about ‘refusing to cross the Yangtze River’ is nonsense. I must find a way to live a dignified life so that she can also happily enjoy all the sunshine, rain, spring, summer, autumn, and winter in this world.”
When I said these words, I had no idea how much Lan Feiyu, as a barbarian woman, knew about Xiang Yu and Yu Ji. However, I just finished rambling on and on, and she just stared at me silently for a long time without saying a word.
Just as I was awkwardly at a loss for words, Lan Feiyu suddenly let out a long breath. She smiled at me, then suddenly leaned closer and lightly touched my cheek with her lips. It was a fleeting, breezy touch, but I was struck dumb by it and stood there dumbfounded.
“I don’t know what your Han Chinese customs are,” Lan Feiyu said with a smile, her smile still faint. “I’ll do as you say. Whatever you say, we’ll do. If Xi’er wants to drink, we’ll drink. Is swearing a blood oath a way to cut your wrists?”
"You really want to?" I asked, somewhat surprised.
Lan Feiyu nodded, her nod even slower, more deliberate, and more cautious than mine: "I know the meaning of 'righteousness' in sworn brotherhood. Xi'er, our bond will never be broken. If you are in trouble, I will go through fire and water for you, and I will die without regret."
I was so shocked that I couldn't speak for a long time, partly because of Lan Feiyu's familiarity with Han customs and partly because of her vow. I couldn't help but hug her and hold her for a long time.
Do you have a knife on you?
The key point of a blood oath is that blood flows together, indistinguishable from one another, intertwined, sharing both glory and sorrow.
If there is wine involved, that would be wonderful; if not, it won't hinder the main business.
After I finished speaking with great enthusiasm, Lan Feiyu chuckled softly, and actually pulled out a dagger from her body, brandishing it at me twice: "Xi'er, aren't you afraid of pain?"
"I'm not afraid!" I declared boldly, extending my arm and rolling up my sleeves. "If we could become sworn sisters, wouldn't it be a joke if I were afraid of pain?"
However, Lan Feiyu did not act immediately. She unsheathed the dagger, only pulled it out halfway, and looked straight at me, asking, "Xi'er, why is your identity different from what the prince said? Are you a royal princess or a commoner's daughter? If you are the former, I'm afraid I, Lan Feiyu, am not worthy of your status."
"What do you mean I'm not good enough for you? I'm not a princess, but my older sister is. She has never felt that I'm trying to climb the social ladder—but she really is better than me." I sighed. She's also gentler and more sensible than me, but there's no need to mention that to Lan Feiyu.
Seeing that Lan Feiyu still looked confused, I scratched my head and tried my best to explain the relationship between our Zhao family and the royal Li family. My mother and I were just fortunate to have our uncle's help. However, everyone seemed to think it would be better if I wasn't given any title.
Since my elder brother said I was a princess, I could only cover up this lie for him in front of Lan Feiyu, saying that my elder brother had taken me out to enjoy the scenery while he was on a tour of the southern border on behalf of the emperor, and that's why he reluctantly gave me a title.
Lan Feiyu blinked: "Just so you can enjoy the scenery?"
Her tone was full of doubt, which made me a little unhappy. It was the truth, and it was my uncle's understanding and care for my whimsical idea. Why was it not allowed?
Lan Feiyu must have sensed my displeasure. She bit her lower lip slightly, then suddenly pulled out the dagger. In a flash of silver light, before I could even react, she had already slashed a long gash in her left arm, and the blood quickly spread to her elbow.
"Your turn." She handed me the dagger.
I steeled myself, and, following the same method, rubbed the blade against my arm a couple of times, then suddenly exerted force—
Aaaaaah!
it hurts!
I screamed inwardly while smiling outwards, then squinted my eyes as I secretly pushed away my tears.
Lan Feiyu grabbed my arm and pressed it against our bleeding wound.
They swore an oath of blood, becoming sworn brothers.
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