Chapter 16
Chapter 16: Chu Family Sisters
Jiang Jiang bought two meat buns. When she returned to the alley, Chu Yun Yue was still in the exact same spot, squatting by the wall, staring as if blinking might make the food vanish.
Jiang Jiang couldn’t help thinking, [She’s kind of… cute.]
“Here.” Jiang Jiang pulled her up gently and handed over the buns.
“Thank you, sister.” Chu Yun Yue thanked her properly, then began eating with huge, earnest bites. Her eyes shone like she’d been handed treasure.
“Slow down,” Jiang Jiang warned, hovering at her side. “Don’t choke.”
If the female lead choked to death on a bun, Jiang Jiang would become the greatest sinner this novel world had ever seen.
“Oh.” Chu Yun Yue immediately slowed, chewing carefully. Between bites, she looked up at Jiang Jiang, like she was waiting for the next instruction.
Jiang Jiang’s hand lifted on its own, and she patted Chu Yun Yue’s head.
A head pat.
On the female lead.
Jiang Jiang’s soul practically vibrated.
“Once you’re done, hurry back,” Jiang Jiang said, forcing herself to act normal. “If they catch you sneaking out, you’ll get beaten.”
Chu Yun Yue nodded, and Jiang Jiang turned to leave.
“Sis…” Chu Yun Yue opened her mouth, wanting to call her back, but didn’t dare. She looked down at the remaining half bun, hesitated, then took out a handkerchief and carefully wrapped it up, tucking it into her clothing. Only then did she push open the wooden door and slip back inside the Chu family grounds.
The Chu family was enormous. For most of them, those high walls and deep courtyards were symbols of wealth and status.
For Chu Yun Yue, it was a maze-like prison.
She had thought about running away. She had tried, more than once, to slip out through that small wooden door. But the outside world was bigger, sharper, and full of dangers she didn’t understand. And every time she was caught, she was dragged back and beaten.
Eventually, she learned to be obedient.
Following familiar paths, she walked step by step toward the little courtyard where she lived. It was desolate, cramped, and usually empty. No one attended to her on ordinary days.
But today, there were voices.
From a distance, Chu Yun Yue heard someone speaking—someone she recognized.
“What gives her the right?” a girl’s voice snapped. “Just because she was born before me? I’m also a legitimate daughter of the Chu family! How am I not worthy of Brother Cheng An?”
“Second Miss, please calm down,” a maid coaxed. “There might still be a chance. There are still a few months until Official Liu’s capping ceremony. Even if Official Liu himself is willing, the Liu family won’t be willing to let him marry a fool, will they?”
Brother Cheng An?
Official Liu?
Chu Yun Yue didn’t understand, but the voice made her happy. It was her sister’s voice.
When they were little, she and her sister had been close. They used to play together. In Chu Yun Yue’s memory, Chu Yun Fei always smiled—warm and gentle, nothing like the others in the Chu residence.
With that thought, Chu Yun Yue sped up, running into her little courtyard.
“Sister! Sister!”
Chu Yun Fei’s mouth twisted in disgust the moment she heard her—but in the next breath, she smoothed her expression into a sweet, practiced smile.
She was the talented and virtuous Second Miss Chu. She couldn’t be openly cruel to her foolish sister. If word spread, it would damage her reputation.
“Sister, where did you go?” Chu Yun Fei asked in a soft, honeyed voice. “Do you know how worried I was?”
“Bun,” Chu Yun Yue said proudly. She rushed up and carefully pulled out the wrapped half bun like it was treasure, offering it with bright, hopeful eyes. “Eat. For you.”
Chu Yun Fei recoiled half a step, lifting a handkerchief to her nose. “I’m not hungry,” she said, voice muffled. “Sister, you… keep it for yourself.”
Then her eyes shifted. She noticed the handkerchief used to wrap the bun.
“Oh, Sister,” Chu Yun Fei said, sweet as poison. “Look at you—so careless. You’ve dirtied your handkerchief. Come, I’ll give you a new one.”
She flicked a glance at her maid, Lan Xiang.
Lan Xiang immediately produced a small brocade box. Inside lay a cloud-silk handkerchief—new, exquisite, the kind sold by Yunbrocade Hall in the capital, with craftsmanship so fine it practically announced its price.
Lan Xiang looked pained as she watched it leave the box. Her miss really was generous… when it served her.
Chu Yun Yue didn’t know any of that. All she knew was simple: her sister was giving her a gift.
She loved it.
“Sister,” Chu Yun Fei said, pressing the handkerchief into Chu Yun Yue’s hands with solemn emphasis, “remember this came from me. You must carry it every day. And… and you absolutely must not lose it. If you lose it…” She paused, letting the threat land. “Then I won’t speak to you ever again.”
“Mm!” Chu Yun Yue clutched it tight, nodding repeatedly. “Every day. Carry. Not lose!”
“Good sister.” Chu Yun Fei smiled and turned away at once, leaving with Lan Xiang. She didn’t want to stay in this miserable place for a second longer.
Back at the Cloudcoming Inn, Jiang Jiang returned to find Jiang Chao Sheng sitting in their room, studying.
He heard her steps, set his book down, and looked up. “Did you buy everything?”
“Mm.” Jiang Jiang patted the small bundle she carried. After leaving the alley behind the Chu residence, she’d hurried to the Peaceguard Clinic and bought some cheap tonics. She had also bought a little knockout powder, just in case.
It had cost her. Her savings had visibly shrunk by nearly half.
“Go lie down for a bit,” Jiang Chao Sheng said. “I’ll have the waiter bring you something to eat. And tonight, a few classmates invited me to dinner at the East Wind Tower. As for you—”
Before he could turn it into a lecture, Jiang Jiang cut in. “I’ll stay at the inn tonight. I’m not going anywhere. Don’t worry, brother.”
“That’s good.” Jiang Chao Sheng nodded. The capital had no curfew lately, and the streets stayed busy at night. Luckily, the Five-City Military Patrol Office and the night guards kept order. It was far safer than the Outer City.
After he went out to arrange food, Jiang Jiang pulled out her coin pouch and counted.
The original owner of this body had always been a little miser. She’d known she would need money for medicinal herbs, so she saved every copper coin her parents gave her, one by one, until she scraped together a tiny nest egg.
Now a few taels of broken silver sat on the table, looking painfully finite.
Jiang Jiang’s eyes hardened with resolve.
Jiang Chao Sheng returned and caught her staring at the silver. “What’s wrong? Regretting spending money to put me up at an inn?”
“Not at all.” Jiang Jiang snapped out of it and gathered the loose silver.
Jiang Chao Sheng only smiled, casual and warm. “You little money-lover. When your brother rises to glory one day, I’ll build you a golden house and fill it with gold and jewels. I’ll give it all to you. How about that?”
Jiang Jiang gave him an awkward, polite smile.
A golden house?
She was Jiang Jiang, not some delicate darling.
She couldn’t afford to live in a golden house.