In the autumn of the first year of the Yongning reign, the sisterly relationship between Jiang Zhiyi and Bao Jia encountered its first “crisis” in over a decade.

This matter began when Bao Jia moved from Chang’an to Guzang. Earlier that year, when the fourth imperial prince Qi Yan ascended to the throne, Bao Jia was elevated from Princess to Princess Imperial. Qi Yan had intended to renovate and expand her residence, and Li Dafeng, seeing that everything in Hexi was peaceful, had also requested to resign from his post alongside Shen Yuance, planning to accompany Bao Jia and settle permanently in the capital.

However, after the incident where Jiang Zhiyi had nearly been sent to marry into the Western Lekh, Bao Jia truly grew weary of that cold-hearted imperial city. Moreover, as the full-blooded sister of the former crown prince, remaining in Chang’an might one day entangle her in imperial family disputes. So she dismissed her princess household staff and decided to come to Hexi to keep Jiang Zhiyi company.

On their westward journey, Bao Jia and Li Dafeng took their time sightseeing along the way, traveling for nearly half a year before arriving in Guzang, where they established a residence directly opposite Jiang Zhiyi and Shen Yuance’s Yaoguang Garden.

Separated only by an inner street, the two households were like one family. The two sisters frequently visited each other, coming and going every few days.

Shen Yuance was still at home recuperating and had not yet returned to the Xuance Army. Li Dafeng was also at leisure. So when the sisters visited each other, these brothers-in-law naturally accompanied them.

After numerous visits, Shen Yuance couldn’t help but fold his arms and look at Li Dafeng appraisingly: “Why do I feel like—I see you more now than when we were in the army?”

Li Dafeng heard the weariness in his tone and sighed with his hands on his hips: “The feeling is mutual.”

Naturally, though the two men appeared to dislike the sight of each other, in their hearts, they both wished for their wives to enjoy lively days together. They agreed to all the recreational activities proposed by Jiang Zhiyi and Bao Jia.

As the four became increasingly familiar with each other in this way, a thorny issue that had been left unresolved for a long time truly needed to be addressed—

Bao Jia had always been unaware of the existence of the Shen family twins, and when addressing him by name or speaking of past events, she still regarded him as Shen Yuance.

This matter was safer the fewer people knew about it—first for the safety of the Shen family, and second to prevent more informed parties from being implicated. Previously, with Bao Jia under the emperor’s watchful eye, neither Jiang Zhiyi nor Li Dafeng had dared to take it upon themselves to reveal the Shen family secret. But now that everything had settled down, and Shen Yuance had no intention of hiding the truth from his sister-in-law, since they would all be living under the same roof in the future, it was best to clarify everything sooner rather than later.

However, this matter spanning twenty years had such complex causes and consequences that for a moment, they didn’t know where to begin or who should tell the story, which caused the delay of several days.

Until this day, when Jiang Zhiyi was having tea at Bao Jia’s residence, Bao Jia suggested that Jiang Zhiyi invite Shen Yuance over that evening to play cards together.

Jiang Zhiyi, having never been on guard around Bao Jia, blurted out honestly: “A-Ce brother probably won’t be able to. I’ll have him learn from your husband today, and then come to your place tomorrow.”

Bao Jia laughed: “What joke is this? Is there any gambling game in this world that Shen Yuance doesn’t know? It would make more sense for Dafeng to learn from him.”

Jiang Zhiyi fell silent as she glanced at Li Dafeng beside her.

Having previously lacked an opportunity to broach the subject, now that the conversation had reached this point, it was impossible to continue the lie. Jiang Zhiyi hesitated for a long moment, bit her lip, and took a deep breath: “Elder Sister, what if I were to say that it’s true there’s no gambling game in the world that Shen Yuance doesn’t know, but if A-Ce brother might not be Shen Yuance—what would you think?”

Bao Jia understood each word of this sentence individually, but strung together, she truly couldn’t comprehend it.

“Elder Sister, have you never wondered how Shen Yuance and I, once such bitter enemies, could become lovers?”

Bao Jia was completely bewildered: “Wasn’t it you who said that you were just pretending to be enemies?”

Jiang Zhiyi laughed awkwardly: “If I told Elder Sister that my head was damaged when I said those words, would you believe me?”

“What do you mean?” Bao Jia looked toward Li Dafeng. “Did Zhiyi damage her head? Really or figuratively?”

Li Dafeng cleared his throat lightly: “Really.”

Bao Jia blinked blankly: “So…”

“So there was no way Shen Yuance and I could be lovers, and the person who was my lover couldn’t possibly be Shen Yuance.”

“But…” Bao Jia pointed in the direction of Yaoguang Garden across the street, “If the person who married you isn’t Shen Yuance, then who could he be?”

Jiang Zhiyi hesitantly pronounced each word: “He could be… Shen Yuance’s twin brother?”

As if someone had struck a bronze gong beside her ear, Bao Jia looked at Jiang Zhiyi, then at Li Dafeng, and clutched her spinning head.

“Elder Sister!” Jiang Zhiyi anxiously stepped forward. Li Dafeng took Bao Jia’s wrist to check her pulse: “Your sister’s blood has rushed upward. I’ll help her inside to lie down and rest. I’ll explain this matter.”

Jiang Zhiyi watched the two enter the room, anxiously pacing back and forth in the corridor. When Shen Yuance received the news and arrived, she dejectedly told him: “Elder Sister must be angry with me…”

“It’s not your fault. I’ll apologize to her later. Come home with me for dinner first.” Shen Yuance took Jiang Zhiyi home.

After having dinner at home, Jiang Zhiyi sat in the pavilion, frequently glancing toward the residence across the street, feeling too restless to sit still. Just as she was about to send someone to inquire about the situation, Jing Zhe came to announce that the Princess and her Consort had arrived.

Bao Jia’s voice preceded her arrival: “Such a fascinating story one wouldn’t hear once in two lifetimes, yet you didn’t tell me!”

Jiang Zhiyi quickly went forward to loop her arm through Bao Jia’s, leading her toward the pavilion while saying: “Don’t be angry, Elder Sister. I was planning to tell you the whole truth now.”

“I’ve already heard it all,” Bao Jia entered the pavilion and looked at both Jiang Zhiyi and Shen Yuance. “You two, at such a young age, disregarding human ethics—quite the bold game you played, huh?”

“Elder Sister cannot blame both of us with the same stick. I knew nothing at the time,” Jiang Zhiyi pulled Bao Jia to sit on the beauty bench, shaking her head and pointing at Shen Yuance. “Only he disregarded ethics. He’s the one who played boldly!”

“…” Shen Yuance wanted to say something, but opened his mouth and found he had nothing to say.

Bao Jia measured Shen Yuance up and down with her gaze, seemingly admiring the person before her, then turned to Jiang Zhiyi: “But I didn’t notice anything wrong with you at that time.”

“Because that story was written based on my own words! I was like that when I was little, always following behind Fourth Brother, calling ‘A-Yan brother,’ ‘A-Yan brother,’ so when I heard you calling ‘A-Ce brother,’ I didn’t find it strange…”

The hand with which Jiang Zhiyi was holding Bao Jia’s suddenly tightened. Looking up, she saw Shen Yuance slowly raising his eyelids.

“…” Jiang Zhiyi cleared her throat and smiled evasively, “Elder Sister must be mistaken. How could I have called anyone… what brother? Didn’t I always call them Crown Prince Cousin, Second Cousin, Fourth Cousin, and such?”

Bao Jia’s gaze slowly swept across Shen Yuance’s face, and she nodded: “Oh, then Elder Sister was mistaken. Elder Sister was mistaken.”

*

That evening, in the inner courtyard of Yaoguang Garden, Bao Jia followed Jiang Zhiyi into the bedroom: “Why must I sleep with you?”

“Didn’t Elder Sister see A-Ce brother’s expression earlier? If Elder Sister doesn’t accompany me tonight, I’ll be calling ‘brother’ all night long!” Jiang Zhiyi firmly grasped Bao Jia’s arm as if clutching a lifeline.

Bao Jia was thoroughly amused: “Hey, does Shen Yuance often boast to Li Dafeng about you calling him brother?”

“Is that so? I’m not clear about that. What makes Elder Sister say this?”

“Li Dafeng asked me if he could be called that way, too. These men, truly childish.” Bao Jia criticized while the corners of her mouth curved upward.

Jiang Zhiyi said with a smile: “That might very well be the case. Every time I call A-Ce brother, he practically grows a tail.”

While the two sisters chatted and laughed in the room, outside in the pavilion, the autumn wind rustled through, sending ginkgo leaves spiraling down to land at the edge of the chessboard.

Shen Yuance held a black chess piece in his hand and, without even looking at the board, casually placed it down.

Across from him, Li Dafeng twirled a white piece and glanced at him: “If you don’t want to play, just go to sleep. No one’s forcing you.”

“What, can you fall asleep this early?” Shen Yuance raised his eyelids and returned a glance.

Li Dafeng looked toward the inner courtyard and sighed: “You can’t blame me this time, can you?”

The last time Jiang Zhiyi and Bao Jia slept in the same bed was just a few days ago, when Bao Jia had quarreled with Li Dafeng and run away to Yaoguang Garden.

Whenever one household had a problem, it became both households’ problem. When one household was not at peace, neither household could sleep well.

Shen Yuance laughed disdainfully: “When things could be blamed on you, I never saw you apologize to me.”

“Then why don’t you see if there’s still a chance for redemption tonight, and I’ll repay you in kind.”

On an ordinary day, Shen Yuance wouldn’t have minded missing one night, but tonight his ears were filled with the sound of Jiang Zhiyi calling “A-Yan brother.” All alone, how could he possibly sleep through the night?

“What if—” Shen Yuance tilted his head, “we use the old method?”

A quarter of an hour later, just as Jiang Zhiyi and Bao Jia were about to bathe, they suddenly heard Jing Zhe knocking at the door—

“County Princess, the Young General has suddenly fainted! Master Li has checked his pulse and says it’s due to pent-up emotions. He urgently needs relief, or it could damage his internal organs!”

Jiang Zhiyi: “…”