The morning sun crept through my window, piercing straight into my eyes. I turned away, covering my face with my sleeve. Finally, with everything settled, I had nothing to worry about. I could sleep as much as I wanted.
Next to me, little Yi, the fox kit, slept soundly on his belly. He's completely claimed me as his owner now, always sleeping beside me, always hiding under my sleeves. If he grows bigger, I wonder how I'll manage to hide him?
I caressed his white fur. The scratches were gone. The wound on my head had healed too, all thanks to that miraculous tonic I'd asked our physician to make. I'd sent Hua to fetch some the night of the incident when I returned, since the physician wasn't around. Usually she'd refuse, saying it was cruel. But now that I have that information about her and Jianyu, I can blackmail her into doing whatever I want.
Hua has become my endless source of that tonic, for both me and my little pet. I just need to make sure not to abuse it, or she might die.
After tossing and turning for a while, I finally got up and dressed. I stared at my poetry table, covered in handwritten letters. I asked Hua for tea and began opening them one by one.
Love letters.
Ugh.
My least favorite, mostly because they're from men claiming they're madly in love with me after seeing me once. Love at first sight, my least favorite myth. It disgusts me. Such a beautifully crafted lie told by men to fool women into trusting them, hiding their true intentions.
I scanned through the letters. Some interesting ones from old society women giving me behavioral advice. Some from girls I don't even know inviting me to their tea banquets. Of course everyone wants me at their party, I'm the ultimate party trick. I never go somewhere without causing a commotion.
As I skimmed, I passed a familiar name. One I loved hearing from.
Yu Baiqing.
My baby brother that I raised.
My face lit up at his letter. He wasn't a baby anymore, already sixteen, only two years younger than me. But to me, he'll always be my little child.
I read eagerly. He said he was coming back from the capital, where he'd been studying to serve the imperial order.
Our empire's system was simple: the imperial family ruled as disciples of Ren Zu, the first to bring peace to humans after defeating the mightiest void harbinger soul-eating spirit. Some call him the first spirit hunter, who later became emperor. His bloodline continued his legacy, though they stopped sending their children to fight spirits, fearing the danger.
Lands too far from the emperor's eye, like Chongniang, my hometown, were given to brave martial artists proven loyal to rule with allegiance to the main empire. Like my father, Yu Weiming. Which makes me a princess of Chongniang.
In Chongniang, we have the highest status. Only the imperial family can command us. The nobles in the capital who don't have lands to rule? In Chongniang, they're beneath us. Though in the capital, they try to make us beneath them.
My little brother was sent to the capital to study with other noble children, meant to return when he graduated at twenty. I hadn't seen him since he was thirteen, three whole years.
As I finished his letter, shock hit me. He's coming back home? He dropped out?
I'd deliberately sent him away to survive the selection trials. Why was he ruining his future? A life in the comfortable capital, marrying a local noble, becoming a counselor, away from Chongniang's wars, evil spirits, and barbarian attacks, that's what I'd planned for him.
Plus, if he came back now, Tianyu might see him as a threat to his heir position. I needed to do something.
I got up, put on a respectful dark blue hanfu that covered my entire body, asked Hua to do my hair in a low bun, and hurried to my father's bureau.
I knocked and entered. He seemed surprised to see me, of course, I never came here anyway.
"You recovered... pretty fast," he said.
Right. I'd forgotten, an open head wound wasn't supposed to close this quickly. I was too furious to remember to act sick. Well, that wasn't important now.
"Pardon my unplanned visit, but I just received a letter from Baiqing," I said, bowing.
My father sighed deeply and left his seat, turning his back to me as he approached the old silver sword on the side table, an artifact from Chongniang's past ruler, one he'd always treasured.
"So he finally told you," he spoke slowly.
Finally told me? So father knew about his dropout plan all along.
"Father, my little brother is still young and needs guidance. I ask you to order him to return," I knelt on the floor. No matter how rebellious Baiqing got, he couldn't reject an order from the sovereign.
"Stand up. Your begging won't help," he ran his hand along the silver-crafted sheath, which emitted immense aura and strength. "That boy is grown now. He has his reasons, and I can't stop him anymore."
What reasons could make him throw away the bright future awaiting him? To get him into such a prestigious school, I'd begged father to pay enormous sums when Baiqing wasn't even his blood child. I'd worked day and night on his reputation to get a knowledgeable master to take him as a student. He was on his way to become a minister, a chancellor, one of the emperor's people, a life anyone would dream of.
"He's ruining the life he worked so hard to build. Father, please stop him. I know he wouldn't listen to me, but if you-"
He interrupted. "The life you worked hard to build."
He looked up and took a deep breath before continuing. "When my beloved younger brother Yu Fenghui, the former Chongniang sovereign, died eleven years ago, his son Yu Baiqing was all that remained of him. I promised myself I'd care for that child to repay his father's debt to Chongniang and the entire empire. Now he's grown. He wants his own path."
"A path that will lead to his ruin," I protested.
"If it's what he desires, he's not your prisoner, Yan."
"But Father-"
"Enough. You're excused." He dismissed me, and I had nothing more to add.
His reasons? What could be convincing enough for him to abandon his education? He's sixteen, with no mother or father, not even directly blood-related to us. Tianyu and his allies want me dead, and I'm their half-sister with no power or good reputation. Let alone him, their cousin.
Yes, he has good education, strong cultivation background, and he's the son of a former sovereign with people still rooting for him to revive his father's legacy. So much potential as an heir. But he's sixteen. How can he compete against twenty-four-year-old Tianyu?
I walked back to my room, rereading his letter again and again. No reason was stated at all, only that he missed home and was worried about me after hearing of my possession.
A knock came at my door.
"Hua, leave. I'm in no mood to see your face."
No response. I didn't realize who it was until the door opened.
Of course. The devil himself, my dear beloved older brother, Tianyu.
"What business do you have with me?" I asked.
Our relationship was always on edge, but after the Jianyu incident, it had reached an irreparable point.
"I came to check on my little sister's injury." He ran his fingers along my face, such a weird way to look at your sister. I flinched and backed away, something in me wanting to poke daggers in his eyes.
"I'm fine. If that's what you came for, you can leave now."
"I'm glad, but I also had to deliver this myself." He reached beneath his robe, pulled out a handwritten letter, and handed it to me.
"To celebrate the miraculous survival of the fourth princess from her possession and the third prince from his near-death experience fighting that evil spirit, I thought we should organize a banquet." He smiled that honeyed, fake smile.
A banquet? Organized by Tianyu, who'd tried every method to hurt and embarrass me in the past? Like walking into hell with my eyes open.
"I thank you for your consideration, but I haven't fully recovered yet."
"Oh really? What a shame. I thought we could finally have our family reunion, with Baiqing back and both of you safe. I even invited the three evil spirit hunters and our allies to celebrate this happiness."
Baiqing back? So he already knew. If it were just for me, I'd surely skip this humiliation ritual. But if I don't go, God knows what they might do to Baiqing. He needs me, especially when dealing with this snake.
I nodded and waved him goodbye. He left his invitation on my table. I opened it to read the contents, there was the ruling seal, so father had agreed to his idea. That made it harder to skip. I might use my injury as an excuse, but Baiqing would have no reason not to attend.
This was an inescapable trap. I knew damn well Tianyu was digging one, and I had to walk into it to find out what he was planning.
The letter read: "Banquet starts next week after dinner, to try different types of tea." The theme was dainty and elegant, I could tell.
What a pain, seriously.