Chapter 14: The Zhao Sisters

“Second Uncle,” Zhao Xiaohua called out tentatively.

Zhao Mengcheng was coaxing the child when he turned to see Zhao Xiaohua standing ten paces away, smiling brightly at him.

His mind whirred for a moment before he remembered that the person before him was his nominal niece, Zhao Wencheng’s younger daughter, Zhao Xiaohua.

Zhao Mengcheng had a very poor opinion of Zhao Laoda and wished they could remain estranged until death. This coldness extended to the man’s children as well. “Oh, it’s Xiaohua. We’re heading home now.”

Zhao Xiaohua bit her lip. She had forgotten most of what happened when she was very young, but she vaguely remembered that her Second Uncle had a good temper and took great care of her and her elder brother.

Most of the sweets she had eaten as a child had been given to her by this Second Uncle.

When she heard earlier that the two families had severed ties, Zhao Xiaohua felt in her heart that her parents had gone too far, pushing an honest man to his breaking point. She hadn’t expected that when she took the initiative to come over and say hello, her Second Uncle’s reaction would be so cold.

Suspicion rose in her heart. Zhao Xiaohua subtly scrutinized Zhao Mengcheng, trying to spot anything amiss.

Zhao Xin glanced at her cousin and gripped Zhao Mengcheng’s hand as they headed for the door. “Dad, you must be tired. Let’s hurry home and rest.”

“Second Uncle, I haven’t seen you in so long. Can I come home with you to have a proper chat?” Zhao Xiaohua took a few steps closer.

“No, my dad is tired and needs to rest. Besides, our families have severed ties. Stop calling him Second Uncle over and over,” Zhao Xin said, huffing with her hands on her hips.

“Our house is off-limits to you.”

The little girl clearly disliked this cousin very much.

“Cousin, I just missed Second Uncle,” Zhao Xiaohua said, looking aggrieved. She put on a sorrowful expression as if about to cry, her eyes fixed solely on Zhao Mengcheng.

Zhao Mengcheng glanced at her. There was no way he would make things difficult for his own daughter for the sake of a girl who felt like a stranger. He simply waved his hand. “Since ties are severed, there really is no need for further contact. You should go back now, lest your father be unhappy if he finds out.”

With that, he pulled his daughter through the door.

Behind them, Zhao Xiaohua’s face darkened, her teeth clenched in hatred.

That damned Zhao Xin. They were clearly blood-related cousins, yet after Zhao Xin rose to prominence and became the Empress in the future, she hadn’t thought to promote her own family. Instead, she had kicked them while they were down.

Despite having a cousin who was the Empress and two other cousins in high-ranking positions, Zhao Xiaohua had been forced to live a life of misery.

Thinking of her past life where she had married the wrong man, worked like a beast of burden without a shred of gratitude, and withered away like an old woman before she was even thirty, a massive wave of resentment rose in Zhao Xiaohua’s heart. She felt nothing but hatred and loathing for Zhao Xin.

It was just a few childhood squabbles, yet Zhao Xin had been petty enough to remember them for a lifetime. It served her right that she wasn’t loved even as the Empress.

Thinking about how Zhao Xin was eventually forsaken despite being Empress, how Zhao Chun became a bloodthirsty killer, and how Zhao Mao was a corrupt and stingy official – the three siblings becoming the subject of mocking folk songs – Zhao Xiaohua finally felt a bit better.

Heaven had been kind to her, giving her a chance to start over. This time, she would definitely not be deceived by a man’s sweet words. She would find someone with high status and power who would be completely submissive to her!

Before that, she had to find a way to latch onto the three Zhao siblings and ruthlessly use them to climb into the ranks of the nobility.

Calculation swirled in Zhao Xiaohua’s eyes, but in the next moment, she narrowed them. Why wasn’t Zhao Mengcheng dead? If he didn’t die, how could her parents sell off the three Zhao siblings?

If Zhao Chun, Zhao Mao, and Zhao Xin weren’t sold, how would they encounter the future Third Prince? How would she be able to make connections with the nobility?

Suddenly, Zhao Xiaohua’s heart began to thud wildly. Why was she only thinking about letting Zhao Xin and the others meet the Third Prince? Since she had been reborn, she could completely steal this golden opportunity for herself.

Her parents were the ones who sold people. Zhao Xiaohua knew exactly which family Zhao Xin was sold to, how many years passed before she met the Third Prince, and how she eventually ended up in the Third Prince’s bed. She had investigated everything thoroughly in her past life.

Why shouldn’t I just take her place! Zhao Xiaohua’s heart burned with excitement.

If she could meet the Third Prince, she certainly wouldn’t be as arrogant and overbearing as Zhao Xin, which led to her being discarded. She would be a proper, virtuous wife¹.

In her fantasies, Zhao Xiaohua had already captured the Third Prince’s heart and become the glorious Empress of the nation.

Her face flushed red with excitement. She no longer cared about the Zhao Family’s strange behavior. Her mind was occupied with how to steal the opportunity from the three siblings. The most urgent task was to convince her parents to sell her – specifically to that household from her memories.

Zhao Mengcheng led his daughter inside. Seeing her pout so hard her lip could hang a kettle², he found it amusing. “What’s wrong? Do you not like Zhao Xiaohua?”

“I don’t. I hate her,” Zhao Xin nodded honestly.

Zhao Mengcheng asked curiously, “Why?”

In the original owner’s memories, Zhao Laoda appeared honest but was treacherous at heart, and Zhao Dasao was stingy and loved to gossip, but their two children seemed well-raised.

The eldest nephew, Zhao Mancang, had some talent for studying and was currently attending a private school in town.

The niece, Zhao Xiaohua, was well-behaved, sensible, and sweet. She took care of her younger siblings and was quite filial toward him, her Second Uncle.

Zhao Xin’s little face crumpled. “She’s bad. She was the one who broke the bowl at Uncle’s house, but she said it was me, and I got scolded for it.”

Zhao Mengcheng was stunned.

He searched his memories and found such an incident. Back then, the two families still visited each other. During a New Year’s visit, a bowl had been smashed. Zhao Xin was only about four years old then and couldn’t speak very clearly.

What had Zhao Xiaohua said back then? “I accidentally broke it. My sister didn’t mean to do it, please don’t blame her.”

Only the two little girls had been present at the time. Zhao Xiaohua had acted the part of the good older sister, which only made the crying and fussing Zhao Xin look more unreasonable.

The result was that Zhao Mengcheng and his wife had scolded their child and compensated the other family with a new set of bowls.

Fearing he wouldn’t believe her, Zhao Xin pulled his hand and said, “Daddy, believe me. She’s like that every time. She’s the one who ate the candy, and she’s the one who ate the fruit, but she always blames me.”

She felt incredibly wronged. Thinking about how she had been scolded for no reason every time, tears almost began to fall.

Zhao Mengcheng quickly picked up his daughter to comfort her. “Of course Daddy believes you. Now that I know, I won’t ever wrongly accuse you again.”

Zhao Xin managed to hold back her tears, sniffing as she asked, “Really?”

“Of course it’s true. You’re my daughter. Who would I believe if not you?” Zhao Mengcheng smiled and wiped away her tears.

Zhao Xin was a child who didn’t hold grudges. Hearing this, she forgot all about the past.

She immediately cheered up, and in her excitement, a snot bubble popped out. Suddenly embarrassed, she hugged her father’s neck and buried her head in his shoulder, refusing to speak.

Zhao Chun had already brought out the hot food and called to them, “Little sister, come down. Let Dad rest for a bit.”

Only then did Zhao Xin struggle to get down.

The meal had been prepared by the two brothers. There was a fried egg on top, and underneath was braised pork mixed with tofu. All the good food left over from last night was in his bowl.

Considering Zhao Mengcheng’s appetite, the large bowl was filled to the brim, forming a small mound.

After a bowl of hot food, Zhao Mengcheng felt much more comfortable.

He said with a smile, “It was my fault before. From now on, if you feel wronged, you must speak up. I will definitely believe you.”

Zhao Xin nodded vigorously.

Zhao Mao suddenly spoke up, “Dad, actually, I don’t like our eldest cousin.”

“I don’t like him either,” Zhao Chun immediately supported his brother. “He always looks down his nose at us. He’s so annoying.”

Zhao Mengcheng laughed and simply said, “Since we’ve severed ties anyway, our families won’t have anything to do with each other from now on. If you don’t like them, just ignore them.”

The three children were instantly delighted.

In Changhe Town, Shopkeeper Wang was eating a bowl of tofu soup fresh from the cook.

The tofu soup had been stir-fried with minced meat, making it exceptionally delicious. More importantly, it melted in the mouth, filling it with the savory flavor of meat.

With just one bite, Shopkeeper Wang knew the tofu business would work. At the very least, the elderly and children would definitely love it.

Having tasted the tofu, Shopkeeper Wang took the business even more seriously.

His Yingbin Lou³ had been open for several years, but business had always been lukewarm. The main issue was the lack of a stable customer base, leaving him to pick up the scraps left by the larger restaurants.

Now with the tofu, Shopkeeper Wang was confident he could snatch a piece of the pie.

It wasn’t enough for the food to be good; he had to spread the word.

Shopkeeper Wang looked at the calligraphy and made up his mind. Once the ink was dry, he spent a significant amount of money to have it professionally mounted.

That wasn’t enough. Shopkeeper Wang also took gifts and went around looking for people to critique the poem.

When a small merchant like him came calling, the scholarly families treated him with polite formality, but none gave him a straight answer.

Shopkeeper Wang knew that scholars were arrogant, but he wasn’t discouraged. In a single day, he visited every prominent scholarly household in Changhe Town.

Usually, as soon as he left, people would start mocking him.

“What does a merchant like him know about good poetry? He probably got a piece of calligraphy from some destitute scholar and is treating it like a treasure.”

The one speaking was Scholar Wang’s wife. Although she had accepted the gift, her words were quite unpleasant.

Scholar Wang had some distant kinship with Shopkeeper Wang, so he said, “The clan uncle came in person to invite me. I’ll go take a look just to return the favor.”

His wife complained, “They come to you for everything. How are you supposed to have time to study properly?”

Scholar Wang didn’t like hearing that. “Why didn’t you say that when you were taking the gift just now? One shouldn’t take someone’s things and then refuse to help.”

His wife immediately fell silent.

Scholar Wang originally intended only to give his clan uncle some face, thinking that if too few people showed up, he could at least help fill the room so things wouldn’t look too bad.

Who would have thought that when he arrived the next day, he would see a sea of people in front of Yingbin Lou, including many familiar faces.

Scholar Wang clicked his tongue. “Just how much money did my uncle spend? Isn’t he afraid of bankrupting the family?”

Then, he saw the calligraphy hanging in the main hall, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

Translator’s Notes