"Shen Yiren! Why on earth are you trying to snatch the Mingyue Residence from your eldest sister?"
A crisp, irritatingly childish voice rang out. It was Shen Zhi'ang, Shen Yiren’s own brother.
"Get back to your servant's quarters. For a base village girl like you, even living in the servant's quarters is an act of charity!"
"If Eldest Sister doesn’t have a place to stay when she returns for her formal visit tomorrow, I will have the servants throw you out myself!"
"Is 'Shen Yiren' a name you are even entitled to speak?" Shen Yiren chided him like a petulant child. "I don’t care who taught you to talk like that or where you heard it, but since it came out of your mouth, you deserve to be punished."
"You wouldn't dare!" Shen Zhi'ang held his chin high, refusing to even look at her properly. Did she really think that just because they shared blood, she was his sister?
Eldest Sister had always taught him that closeness should not be determined by blood.
"Watch me." Shen Yiren squinted, eyes gleaming, and called out for Xiao Ba.
Xiao Ba understood immediately. He ran off to fetch a shovel, and upon bumping into Cang Ming—who had just finished writing a letter—handed the shovel to him before grabbing another for himself. The two of them began digging furiously under the big tree in the courtyard.
Cang Ming looked on, bewildered and shocked, watching as the shovel in Xiao Ba’s hands blurred into a flurry of motion.
Within moments, a three-foot-deep pit was ready.
While Cang Ming was still dazed, Shen Yiren arrived at Shen Zhi'ang’s side and grabbed him by the nape of his neck.
"Ah!" Shen Zhi'ang’s feet dangled in the air as he flailed his limbs. "Don’t touch me with your filthy, manure-handling pig-feeding hands!"
When the original Shen Yiren first returned home, their mother had asked what she had learned in the countryside. The original had been honest, saying she had learned to chop wood, feed pigs, carry night soil to fertilize fields, and cook a few simple dishes.
She had cooked a meal that very evening, but only their father had reached for the dishes; under his stern gaze, the others had reluctantly taken a bite.
Shen Qingrui had stopped her brother from eating, claiming, "Zhi'ang is young and has a delicate stomach; he might get sick."
Shen Zhi'ang had escaped disaster, but after the meal, he watched Shen Qingrui retch until her face turned deathly pale, and from then on, he began mocking Shen Yiren for her "dirty hands."
"Your own sister spent her days feeding pigs and spreading manure, and instead of feeling sorry for her, you look down on her?" The current Shen Yiren would not indulge him. With a flick of her hand, she tossed him into the pit. "I'm burying you. Go get yourself recycled."
She reached out a hand, and Xiao Ba promptly handed her a shovel.
"Second Miss!" Shen Zhi'ang’s servant rushed over. "You can't do this, Second Miss! Old Madame and Madam dote on the Young Master most of all! He is your own flesh and blood!"
"My brother is Xiao Ba. What is he?" Shen Yiren ordered Cang Ming to stop the servants.
Cang Ming stepped in, his sword still in its scabbard, yet the mere sight of him struck fear into them.
"Sister!" Xiao Ba trotted over, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
Shen Zhi'ang, who had climbed out of the hole, spat out a mouthful of dirt and glared up at Shen Yiren. "If you dare bully me, I’ll tell Grandmother! She’ll have you kneeling in the ancestral hall for three days and three nights without food!"
Every time he complained, that was how Grandmother punished her.
"I’ll tell Eldest Sister too! She’s the Crown Prince’s consort now; she’ll have you whipped thirty times, easy!"
A shovel-full of dirt splashed directly into his face.
"Pah! Pah! Pah!" Shen Zhi'ang grimaced, spitting out more mud.
Shen Yiren stood by the edge of the pit, tossing dirt in shovel by shovel, not letting him off the hook.
"I’m a village girl? That was your mother’s maid’s mistake."
"Leaving your own daughter in the servant's quarters—is that even a human thing to do?"
"Your mouth is so foul, let Mother Earth wash it out for you."
"Breaking into someone’s home? Do you know that it’s easy to get in, but hard to get out?"
With the final shovel of dirt, Shen Zhi'ang was buried up to his neck, leaving only his round head exposed.
Shen Yiren stuck the shovel into the ground and leaned on it, breathing heavily. A human body was truly exhausting.
"Stay there and reflect."
"Shen Yiren! Shen Yiren! I am going to tell Grandmother, tell Mother, tell Eldest Sister!"
Shen Yiren ripped off a piece of cloth, balled it up, and stuffed it into his mouth. She clapped her hands and said, "Phew, finally quiet."
"All your threats are just telling on people; you're truly pathetic. And for a general's son, you don't even know martial arts."
Why would he need to know martial arts?
Eldest Sister had told him that as a general's son and the younger brother of the Crown Prince’s consort, his status was noble; there was no need for him to suffer through studying literature or practicing martial arts.
Everything had been going perfectly until Shen Yiren returned. She was either reminding him to study his books or telling him to hit wooden stakes and practice his stances.
She was far too meddlesome!
And now she dared to mock his lack of martial skill? Shen Zhi'ang’s eyes turned red with fury; he wanted to grind his teeth until the cloth in his mouth shredded.
Shen Yiren snorted. She turned to see the servants, who had been so aggressive a moment ago, now kneeling and begging, "Second Miss, please spare the Young Master! He is just young and ignorant!"
"He is just young and ignorant~" Shen Yiren mimicked them, rolling her eyes. "Do you want to join him in the pit?"
They certainly did not. They scrambled to their feet and hurried off to find Madam.
Cang Ming said, "Madam Shen will surely come to cause trouble."
"That’s why you’re staying here to keep watch." Shen Yiren turned to Xiao Ba. "Let’s go!"
The two of them slipped away.
Cang Ming: "..."
Fine, then.
"Sister, where are we going?"
"To the servant's quarters." The place the original had lived in was right next to the Mingyue Residence.
It had been an abandoned, dilapidated courtyard, but after cleaning it up and adding some scattered furniture, the original had made it her home.
The cramped quarters were worlds apart from the main house of the Mingyue Residence.
Shen Yiren noticed that the valuable jewelry and paintings were indeed all gone.
That was not right. There were no memories in her mind of the original packing her valuables. There were only memories of receiving a letter from Cen Liangxuan, then sneaking out empty-handed to meet him.
The letter!
Shen Yiren searched her mind while looking around the room. Where could she have hidden it?
She remembered—under the pillow.
The original had treasured it. It was the first letter Cen Liangxuan had ever written to her, and she would read it every night before going to sleep.
She rummaged through the bed. "Found it!"
"What is it, Sister?" Xiao Ba crowded around.
Shen Yiren opened it: "See me at the city gate at the hour of Shen."
It was only one line, not even a name signed. Shen Yiren felt a surge of sadness. Why had the original suffered so? She could have just enjoyed her food and drink instead of pining for a man.
But then again, once her biological father left, she had been left with no one to rely on.
When she first met Cen Liangxuan, he was suave and elegant, showed no signs of disdain, and was her betrothed. It felt like finding a giant tree next to a Ginseng Spirit—not only could you lean on it, but it could also shield you if lightning struck.
It was hard not to fall for that.
Shen Yiren tucked the letter away and searched the house and courtyard again with Xiao Ba, but the valuables were nowhere to be found.
"Sister, someone must have hidden them!"
"It must be that fake!" Shen Yiren put her hands on her hips.
Xiao Ba did the same. "The fake! But what should we do?"
"If only you could smell the original's scent. It's urgent—the fake is busy preparing for her marriage and hasn't returned yet; she couldn't have hidden the things very far." Shen Yiren analyzed.
Xiao Ba looked aggrieved. "Sister, I’m not a dog; I can’t smell things like that."
Shen Yiren’s eyes lit up. "Then we'll go find a dog!"