A few days later, it was Sheng Mingzhu’s birthday. But since Huang Yaning’s birthday was also approaching, Sheng Minmin decided to combine the two celebrations and hold them together on Huang Yaning’s actual birthday.
Sheng Mingzhu was deeply resentful and humiliated by this arrangement. Yet her master and her senior martial brother were both away from the capital. Zhu Qisheng was so tangled up with other women that his head was spinning, and Sheng Mingjian was… well, in that pathetic state of his.
With no one to back her up, Sheng Mingzhu had no choice but to grit her teeth and accept it.
On the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month—Huang Yaning’s birthday—the household didn’t throw a grand celebration. Instead, they laid out two lavish dinner tables.
The room blazed with candlelight, and the charcoal fire burned fiercely.
Everyone else ate with great relish, but Sheng Mingzhu—still traumatized by the “toad” incident—felt nauseated at the mere sight of meat dishes. Furious inside, she cursed Sheng Minmin and Huang Yaning under her breath, convinced the mother and daughter were deliberately tormenting her. Forcing down her revulsion, she managed a few bites of steamed egg custard…
After the meal came the customary gift-giving among the Sheng family members.
Among all the presents, Sheng Mingyi’s gifts stood out as somewhat odd.
He gave Huang Yaning a jade peace pendant, while Sheng Mingzhu received a jade drop pendant. And the peace pendant was noticeably finer in quality than the drop.
Everyone in the room shot Sheng Mingyi strange looks, assuming he’d mixed up the gifts. Sheng Mingyi himself looked a little uncomfortable.
When Yannian had shown him the two gifts for final approval, the peace pendant was originally meant for his sister Mingzhu. But Sheng Mingyi—still haunted by what he’d experienced in his dream—had inexplicably swapped them at the last moment, giving the peace pendant to that girl over at Haitang Court instead.
Now, seeing Mingzhu’s face turn deathly pale, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at him, he immediately regretted his decision.
Later, back in his own courtyard, Sheng Mingjian came chasing after him.
Ever since Sheng Mingjian had discovered his… problem, he’d gone back to taking medicine. But even with the medication, nothing improved. Remembering that lowly maid Qingxin, he’d swallowed his pride and sent Yu Wen to the estate to bring her back. But they couldn’t find her, and the estate steward had been evasive.
Furious, Sheng Mingjian had made the trip himself—only to learn that Dongsheng had already taken Qingxin away…
When he heard the news, Sheng Mingjian went from shock to rage to suffocating frustration, and finally landed on a tangle of complicated emotions.
He understood that the steward had only revealed this to him on his father’s orders. His father was telling him to stop looking.
The woman he’d discarded was now being “tenderly cared for” by another man…
What a wonderful father he had!
With his body frustrated and his heart weighed down by so many negative emotions, Sheng Mingjian was in a foul mood.
And tonight, with Sheng Mingyi giving gifts in such an insulting manner, Sheng Mingjian decided to lecture his third brother.
“Third Brother, why did you humiliate Mingzhu like that?”
Sheng Mingjian opened with an accusation, framing Sheng Mingyi’s gift-giving as an intentional slight.
Sheng Mingyi lay sprawled on the daybed. Nearly half a month had passed since that nightmare, yet he still felt sore all over. Weakly, he explained, “Big Brother, you’ve misunderstood. I didn’t mean to…”
Sheng Mingjian frowned and cut him off.
“Give Mingzhu another gift to make up for it—otherwise she’ll be heartbroken. Mingzhu grew up right before our eyes. In this family, it’s only us three brothers who truly care for her. If you treat that girl from Haitang Court better than you treat her, how deeply will she be hurt?”
The sweet memories of their childhood together flashed before Sheng Mingyi’s eyes. He’d already felt guilty toward Sheng Mingzhu, and now that guilt deepened.
“I understand, Big Brother. I’ll give Mingzhu a compensatory gift. You should head back now—I have a headache at the moment…”
Sheng Mingjian wanted to scold him a bit more, but seeing how pale and unwell his third brother looked, he held back and left.
Over at Peony Court, Sheng Minmin received a pair of shoes that Huang Yaning had made with her own hands.
The shoe uppers were embroidered with delicate patterns—absolutely lovely. The insides were lined with warm padding, making them comfortable and snug.
Ever since Huang Yaning had returned to the household, she’d given Sheng Minmin a handmade gift every birthday. The servants all assumed the “Seventh Miss” was simply showing gratitude for her mother’s labor in giving birth to her.
But only Sheng Minmin and Huang Yaning knew the truth: the fifteenth of the twelfth month was actually Sheng Minmin’s real birthday.
Sheng Minmin stared blankly at the shoes. If, in her past life, she had received something sewn stitch by stitch by Huang Yaning, she would have been so happy she couldn’t sleep.
But now… a bitter, mocking smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
Huang Yaning’s affection had come far, far too late.
She no longer needed it.
After a long pause, she told Qingying to put the shoes away. That chest was filled with all the “gifts” Huang Yaning had sent over the years—but she had never used a single one of them.
——–
On the day before New Year’s Eve, Lin Zhijing finally returned to the capital.
As soon as he arrived, he came straight to the Sheng residence. By propriety, he should have first paid his respects to Sheng Minmin as an elder. But Lin Zhijing went directly to Furong Court instead.
The moment he stepped through the courtyard gate, Sheng Mingzhu burst into tears and threw herself into his arms…
The motion was so fluid, so natural. Her face bore an expression of utter grievance…
And Lin Zhijing gazed at her with tender concern, murmuring soft reassurances…
His movements, too, were practised and familiar.
The servants in Furong Court pretended not to see—though they couldn’t help muttering to themselves. A senior martial brother wasn’t a real brother, yet Sixth Miss was awfully… improper.
Even if he were her biological brother, at her age she should know better than to be so clingy. Take Seventh Miss, for example—she got along wonderfully with Second and Fourth Young Masters, but they never hugged or held each other like that…
Only Sixth Miss still acted like she was six years old…
“Senior Brother, wuwuwu… I missed you so much…”
Sheng Mingzhu wept like a rain-drenched pear blossom. She truly had missed Lin Zhijing.
Zhu Qisheng said he liked her, but he rarely came to see her. Sheng Mingjian—that pervert—claimed to like her too, but what had he ever actually done for her?
Only her senior brother gave her whatever she asked for. It was only now that Sheng Mingzhu truly appreciated his worth.
Lin Zhijing was delighted that his junior sister depended on him so much, and he felt a renewed resolve to protect her well.
And perhaps it was because they hadn’t seen each other in a while, but he noticed that his junior sister’s face was as radiant as peach blossoms, her eyes as clear as autumn waters—her skin and complexion more lovely than ever.
Once they were inside the warm inner chamber, he also noticed that her figure had matured into a young woman’s graceful curves—more beautiful than before…
He felt immensely proud. Such a beauty was his… junior sister.
But then, Lin Zhijing caught a faint, elusive scent in the air…
His entire body went rigid. He stared intently at the person before him.
The more he looked, the more alarmed he became.
“Senior Brother, what’s wrong? Why are you staring at me like that?”
Sheng Mingzhu thought he was simply awestruck by her beauty and felt a flicker of smugness.
But then she noticed the panic and confusion flickering in his eyes—and the cold sweat beading on his forehead. That was when she finally sensed something amiss.
“Senior Brother, what… what’s the matter? Don’t scare me like this…”
Lin Zhijing wanted to rush over and confirm one thing. He suspected his junior sister had fallen victim to a forbidden technique—a kind of forbidden spell.
He needed to examine her blood…
Yet he was terrified.
What if it really was Soul Seduction?
But why would the master use Soul Seduction on his junior sister?
Hadn’t the master said he wanted her to live a life of supreme nobility and honor?
Hadn’t the master even once promised him that he would let his junior sister be with him?
