Chapter 8

It was a perfect spring day, with willows entwined.

As Cheng Nanyu turned around, she saw the woman walking towards her. She wore a light pink dress, moved gracefully, and had a bright smile.

“Ah Yan gege is really too much. On such a beautiful day, he goes out for a spring outing and doesn’t invite me?”

The woman walked over, smiling, and embraced Cheng Huayan’s arm, paying no attention to the presence of others around. Cheng Huayan glanced down at the girl hugging his arm, feeling awkward, and turned to Cheng Nanyu for help.

Cheng Nanyu originally had no intention of getting involved in the affairs of these two people in front of her. After all, the newcomer was Cheng Huayan’s cousin, and she had never liked Cheng Nanyu since childhood. Why bother going over to invite trouble? However, now that Cheng Huayan personally signaled to her for help, she had no reason to refuse.

“Miss Shen,” she smiled and approached, using her hands to separate Shen Rulan’s arms. She forcefully squeezed in between the two, creating a safe distance, leaving Shen Rulan fuming.

“Cheng Nanyu, what are you doing?”

Cheng Nanyu managed to separate the two, but Shen Rulan, being the sole legitimate daughter of the Shen family and with her aunt being one of the four consorts, was not one to be trifled with. People usually fawn over her, so when had she ever suffered such humiliation? Seeing Cheng Nanyu proudly standing next to Cheng Huayan, Shen Rulan couldn’t take it. She reached out and pushed Cheng Nanyu, catching her off guard.

She pushed her sideways, and even Cheng Huayan, standing beside her, was caught off guard. By the time he reacted and reached out to grab, it was too late.

Cheng Nanyu, realizing the danger as Cheng Huayan missed the grab, closed her eyes and prepared for a fall. After all, the servants were too far away to intervene.

But the expected pain didn’t come. It felt more like landing on something soft. She slightly opened her eyes, surprised to see that it was none other than Song Yushu.

Her persistent older brother.

“Sister, why are you so careless?”

He held Cheng Nanyu with one hand, his words devoid of any emotion. However, for some reason, Cheng Nanyu felt like her brother was angry.

“Brother… older brother.”

She slowly stood up from Song Yushu’s embrace. Jin, who was standing not far away, ran over and grabbed her hand, asking if she was hurt. Cheng Nanyu shook her head. Just as she was about to speak, she noticed the Crown Prince walking towards them.

“Crown Prince Gege?”

Not only Cheng Nanyu, but everyone present saw Crown Prince Cheng Huafeng. Except for Song Yushu, everyone found it somewhat unbelievable.

Although Cheng Huafeng was the Crown Prince, with a status above all, there were still rules in the palace, and he couldn’t freely leave the palace at will. So when he appeared here, everyone was surprised.

“Why did Miss Shen lose her temper like this?”

Shen Rulan, who had been acting willfully and relying on her maternal family’s honor, suddenly felt her position insufficient when facing the Crown Prince. She instantly lost her arrogance, standing meekly without daring to speak loudly.

“It’s… it’s Princess Cheng who pushed me first.”

Her voice was extremely low, and Cheng Nanyu glanced at her without defending herself. After all, she did push Shen Rulan first; it just didn’t result in Shen Rulan falling.

“Oh? It’s Sister Yu’er…”

“Yu’er is my sister.”

As the current most powerful figure and usually gentle in demeanor, the Crown Prince naturally had the right to judge matters. He wore his usual gentle smile and looked at Shen Rulan, seemingly preparing to use his usual approach to calm her. However, Song Yushu interrupted him.

“She is my sister.”

This statement made everyone turn their attention to him. Even Cheng Nanyu, who usually avoided direct eye contact with him, looked at him in surprise. Everyone was waiting for him to continue, but little did they know there was nothing more to say.

“Ah!”

It’s widely said that Song Yushu had formidable and mysterious martial arts skills unmatched on the battlefield. Cheng Nanyu had always thought people exaggerated. Yet today, she believed it. None of the people here, despite their numbers, had seen how he approached Shen Rulan and acted against her.

The only clear thing was Shen Rulan’s miserable scream and her hanging arm.

“She can push you, but you can’t.”

“You’re not qualified.”

He spoke the second half, not looking at others but staring at Cheng Nanyu with a faint gaze.

Cheng Nanyu was scared and shivered, unsure whether to be thankful or… afraid.

Suddenly, she remembered the scene from ten years ago, when she was five years old, the first time she met her older brother in the imperial garden.

At that time, Song Yushu had come with the envoys from the Song Kingdom, and her usually unenthusiastic mother warmly held the then-ten-year-old Song Yushu. She seemed eager to give him the whole world. Cheng Nanyu stood on the side, enviously watching, suppressing the bitterness and envy in her heart, and maintaining the smile expected of a well-bred young lady.

Her brother said he wanted to take her to play, and her mother agreed with a smile. Cheng Nanyu happily followed the handsome new brother to the imperial garden, only to be lifted and placed on a tree by him. Although the tree was not high, her short arms and legs, at the age of five, couldn’t get her down, no matter how hard she tried. It was only when a palace maid passed by that she was rescued from the tree.

At that time, while on the tree, she silently vowed that as soon as she got down, she would ruthlessly retaliate against this annoying older brother and make her mother punish him.

However, when she ran crying to her mother, ready to nestle in her arms and loudly cry out the grievances of her new brother’s misconduct, she found that her new brother had somehow arrived at her mother’s side first, smiling as he watched her run over like a fool.

Cheng Nanyu was very angry. Regardless of everything, she went forward and grabbed her new brother’s arm, then bit him.

Later on… her new brother said he wanted to take her to feed the horses…

At that time, her brother stood by her mother’s side, looking at her in the same way.

Cheng Nanyu felt as if she was caught by that gaze, standing there as if in another world. She could even sense the chaos around her, Shen Rulan’s screams, and the panic of the servants. However, she couldn’t move; she just stood there stiffly, watching her brother approach step by step.

He came up to her, slightly bent over, his voice gentle, seemingly carrying a seductive charm.

“Sister, your brother has avenged you.”

This sentence seemed to release Cheng Nanyu from a spell. She looked up at Song Yushu, then turned her head numbly to look at Shen Rulan, who was crying in Cheng Huayan’s arms.

“Sister, want to go back with your brother?”

Author’s note: Cheng Nanyu: Today I originally planned to use willow twigs to make my brother lose his memory, but it seems like my brother is a bit off???? Suddenly being so nice is really… hard to handle!