In the year Chen Xi turned fifteen, the Dinyang Marquis family sent a matchmaker to propose marriage on behalf of their young master.

Old Madam Chen was delighted and invited the matchmaker to speak in the middle room. Gu Jin Chao also thought this was a good match, having already discussed it with the Third Master, and now came to discuss it with her. “…Tomorrow your father will invite the Young Master to visit, under the pretext of conversation. You can hide behind the curtain to take a look at him, would that be alright?”

Chen Xi felt a bit embarrassed, “Wouldn’t that be too…”

Gu Jin Chao smiled reassuringly, “What’s wrong with that? I remember when my younger sister was getting engaged. All of us sisters hid behind the curtain to see what the young man looked like. This is something you must be certain about—if you don’t like him, we can still reconsider.”

Chen Xi knew her mother had her best interests at heart.

Her birth mother had died when she was five years old, and her memories of her were not very clear. Gu Jin Chao had raised her, and though nominally her stepmother, she was more like an elder sister. What clothes to wear, what accessories to match—all these things were taught by her.

“Then I’ll take a look tomorrow,” Chen Xi said.

The nursemaid attending to her was also pleased and wanted to dress her up for the evening. Chen Xi shook her head, “Nursemaid, even if I go to see him, he won’t see me!”

“You’re still young, what do you know,” the nursemaid smiled, holding up a gold-threaded embroidered jacket for her to see. “The Madam had this made for you just this year, and I think the pattern is quite nice. With your fair skin and tall stature, you look good in anything.”

Chen Xi stared blankly at the mirror.

“Nursemaid, everyone says I look like my mother. Do I?”

Slender, bright phoenix eyes, a thin chin, and pale lips. Though not unattractive, she wasn’t as delicately beautiful as Chen Zhao.

The nursemaid said, “You do look very much like her, though your former Madam resembled your maternal grandmother more. You take after the Third Master more.”

Chen Xi fell silent again, staring at the face in the mirror, lost in thought.

The nursemaid took out a green tasseled ornament inlaid with yellow beryl from the jewelry box. “I’ve heard that the Dinyang Marquis’s Young Master is exceptional in both talent and appearance. He’s secured a position at the Five Cities Military Command, unlike those other useless young masters… Our Fourth Young Miss has such elegant features, that you must use bright colors to complement them.” She had already fastened the ornament, which indeed looked becoming.

“How good could he be…” Chen Xi murmured, “Could he compare to Seventh Brother or Ninth Brother?”

The nursemaid didn’t understand her meaning, but Chen Xi just smiled and said no more.

A young top scholar—only her father could surpass her Seventh Brother.

Since childhood, she had been very fond of her Seventh Brother. He was gentle and refined, exceptionally intelligent, and served as an incorruptible official with nothing up his sleeves. She had always been proud of him, and he treated her well, as they were full siblings.

As for Ninth Brother… Chen Xi didn’t know how to describe him.

She found him unfathomable, too complex to understand.

“Speaking of which, the Ninth Young Master is about to return,” the nursemaid said with a smile. “When you were little, you played so well with the Ninth Young Master. Back then, his illness hadn’t improved, and you liked to share your toys with him… But now that he’s returning from Shaanxi, his status will be quite different.”

Chen Xi couldn’t remember much about her childhood.

She had vague memories of sitting on her mother’s couch, the two of them pressed close together eating chestnuts, with her mother watching them with a smile.

Chen Xi reached for the largest piece, but Chen Xuan Yue tapped her hand, “You’ve eaten so many already. What if you get indigestion?”

Then he added, “Not very ladylike.”

Chen Xi, who was old enough to understand a little by then, felt her face grow warm at being called a glutton. She defended herself, “It’s because Mother’s pastries are so delicious.”

Chen Xuan Yue seemed unwilling to argue with her and casually said, “Alright, alright, eat as you please. Forget I said anything.”

Chen Xi remembered her mother saying something to reprimand him, but she couldn’t recall exactly what. The next day, Chen Xuan Yue gave her a little trinket as an apology.

As a child, she seemed to enjoy playing with Chen Xuan Yue, though he didn’t particularly like to engage with her. But she just liked to stick close to him.

He would be reading books his mother gave him, and she would go to him wanting to play.

Chen Xuan Yue would tell the elderly servant looking after him, “Take the Fourth Young Miss to play in the outer courtyard.” Perhaps feeling this was too dismissive, he added, “The winter plum blossoms are blooming outside. Ask your nursemaid to pick some for you to put in the plum vase in your study.”

She had listened earnestly and selected many half-bloomed winter plum branches. A large bunch with a subtle fragrance.

The next day, her mother saw them and asked with a smile, “We don’t grow winter plums in our courtyard. Where did you cut these from? They smell so fragrant.”

She remembered quickly answering her mother, “Ninth Brother gave them to me!”

Her mother jokingly asked Chen Xuan Yue, “Why didn’t you cut a bunch for me too?”

Chen Xuan Yue was especially patient with her mother and smiled, “I didn’t give them to her; she cut them herself!” Although he said this, the next day he sent a bunch of winter plums to her mother.

She remembered feeling particularly upset when she saw this, though she didn’t know why.

She ignored him for several days.

Chen Xuan Yue noticed this himself and the next day sent over a basket of rice dumplings with sugar that she liked. Seeing she was still sullen and silent, he said, “Why are you acting like a child, getting upset over little things!”

Chen Xi thought that she was a child, yet he spoke to her like an adult scolding her.

But she wasn’t angry with him anymore.

It seemed there was more to it than that, though. He wouldn’t act this way when facing her mother. She remembers when bandit problems were frequent in the southwest, Chen Xuan Yue seriously analyzed for her mother, “Although the northwest and southwest have both been unstable these years, the northwest is home to horseback peoples who are naturally fierce warriors, which is why they’ve been difficult to eradicate despite years of military campaigns. But the southwest is merely suffering from natural disasters and poverty—the bandits there are just a disorganized rabble. Once the imperial court surrounds them, they’ll have nowhere to go.”

Her mother countered, “The southwest has its share of extraordinary fighters. Look at how many people from the southwest are under the Changxing Marquis—they can hardly be called a disorganized rabble, can they?”

Chen Xuan Yue shook his head, “The people under the Changxing Marquis are extraordinary individuals, different from the common refugees.”

Chen Xi had always felt that her Ninth Brother was just part of her life, a brother who was somewhat impatient with her.

But he seemed to possess many things she didn’t understand, like layers of mystery wrapped around him.

He seemed to know many things that she didn’t, their worlds barely overlapping, truly far apart.

His impatience with her was understandable—who would value someone who understood nothing?

Later, he went to Shaanxi… and they hadn’t seen each other for several years.

She heard he would arrive tomorrow.

Chen Xi picked up the gold-threaded garment and looked at it, feeling it was too luxurious. “Nursemaid, give me that plain pink brocade jacket instead.”

The nursemaid was a bit puzzled, “Wouldn’t that be too plain…”

“Plain is fine,” Chen Xi smiled. “I’m young; gold thread would be too much for me.”

The next day, her father indeed invited the Dinyang Marquis’s Young Master for a conversation.

Chen Xi quietly hid behind the screen to observe.

Everyone probably knew what this “conversation” was really about—the girl was there to look at him, and the Dinyang Marquis’s Young Master appeared somewhat nervous.

In recent years, her father’s influence at court was unmatched. The Emperor valued him highly, and his position was exceptional. The Dinyang Marquis wasn’t among the most prestigious families, and matching with the Third Master’s eldest legitimate daughter was barely an equal pairing.

This marriage alliance was also very important for the Dinyang Marquis family.

Chen Xi watched for a long time, feeling somewhat disappointed.

He was handsome enough, but when her father tested his scholarship, he couldn’t answer the more difficult questions. Or perhaps he could have answered, but facing the rarely seen current powerful minister, he was too nervous. When he couldn’t answer, he became even more nervous, his face turning red. Her father smiled and comforted him, inviting him to stay for lunch.

Her mother asked her father how the meeting went, and he replied, “He’s still young, but can be molded. His family background and character are not bad.”

Which meant he would consider it…

Chen Xi heard this and found her appetite further diminished.

Gu Jin Chao asked for her opinion, and Chen Xi only said, “There’s nothing particularly special about him.”

Gu Jin Chao smiled, understanding her well. “Those around you—your father, your Seventh Brother, your Ninth Brother—are all too exceptional. It’s difficult for you to choose a husband by comparison. Don’t worry, Mother will find someone you like. If you don’t agree, Mother won’t make you marry.”

But Chen Xi thought, whether she agreed or not wasn’t for her mother to decide. If her father gave the order, she would have to marry.

In the afternoon, Chen Xuan Yue returned. He had distinguished himself in battle in Shaanxi, and after reporting to the Emperor in Beizhili, he would be granted an official position. This time his return came with a different status, and several of her brothers had gone to welcome him.

Chen Xi sat in the middle room keeping Gu Jin Chao company as Muxi Hall outside gradually grew lively.

Chen Xuan Yue entered surrounded by people.

Chen Xi stood up involuntarily, finally seeing Chen Xuan Yue enter. He was very different from a few years ago—he seemed darker and more strikingly handsome, appearing much more mature and steady. Chen An’an and the others standing beside him looked like nothing more than frail young scholars.

A man who had returned from the battlefield indeed had an extraordinary presence.

He stood among the crowd, smiling and conversing pleasantly.

He knelt before his father and mother to pay his respects.

That evening at Tanshan Court, his grandmother wanted to welcome him home. After dinner, Chen Xi found the crowded, stuffy room unbearable and went out to walk along the lotus pond. Just as she reached the edge, she saw fish surfacing in the pond and thought, no wonder it’s so sultry—it’s likely to rain.

She gazed intently for a while, then heard someone calling her. She turned to look and was surprised to see Chen Xuan Yue.

He smiled and said, “After not seeing you for years, you’ve grown into a young lady. That outfit looks good on you, it suits you.”

Chen Xi saw him standing not far from her and heard his sudden compliment. As if she had received some extraordinary prize, her heart immediately began to pound, and her face grew warm.

Chen Xi didn’t understand why.

Chen Xuan Yue walked to her side, “I heard from Mother that you’re to marry the Dinyang Marquis’s Young Master?”

Chen Xi caught a faint scent from him. She seemed to reach only to his shoulder, and she felt even more strange. She stammered, “That’s… that’s not decided yet.”

“You’re all grown up now, are you still shy?” he asked with a smile.

It was a kind question.

Chen Xi became even more speechless, grabbed her maid’s hand, and turned to leave.

She didn’t know why she wanted to escape, but she had to get away. Even after running far, her heart wouldn’t slow down.