Once everything was settled and Shen Yueshan and Shen Yun’an handed over the Northwest, they would bring Shen Yueshan to the capital to spend his retirement years. By then, he could enjoy playing with his grandchildren. With everyone in the capital as one family, they could see each other anytime.

“One family?” Xue Jinqiao loved these words. Becoming family with Sister meant they would be even closer in the future!

Going to the Northwest would mean helping Sister take care of Brother, so Sister wouldn’t have to worry about him and could be more at ease. In the Northwest, she also wouldn’t have to face those people every day, worrying that one day she might lose control and tear them to pieces!

“Alright, Sister, I’ll marry Brother!” After Xue Jinqiao agreed readily, her bright eyes suddenly dimmed. “Sister, Qiaoqiao is sick…”

“Qiaoqiao, that’s not a sickness. Everyone reacts when provoked, just some people react less strongly while Qiaoqiao’s reactions are more intense.” Knowing Xue Jinqiao couldn’t handle stimulation, Shen Xihe had looked into it. Various reasons all traced back to childhood trauma, which was difficult to cure.

“Qiaoqiao isn’t sick?” Xue Jinqiao excitedly grabbed Shen Xihe’s hands. No one had ever told her she wasn’t sick before.

She remembered in her early years when she was first sent back home, she would smash things in fear like a mad woman. The nightmares in the darkness wouldn’t go away, and she could only scream to keep herself from thinking about them. But they all said she was sick. She knew she wasn’t sick – she was just afraid, just trying not to be afraid.

Her mother would chase her down to force medicine down her throat. To keep her quiet, they would tie her up until she was hoarse from screaming. When they thought she had learned her lesson, they would release her…

Later, her great-granduncle took her away. Her great-grandaunt used her authority as an elder to prevent them from disturbing her, and only then did she become less afraid. But she couldn’t be tied up again, couldn’t be sent away again, so she had to become fierce. Only by making these people fear her would they not bully her.

Whenever someone bullied her or bullied those who were kind to her, she would think about… killing them.

She had beaten her younger brother’s dog to death with a stick, just because her brother had let the dog bite her. She even had people hold her brother down to watch as she beat the dog until its head was bloody. Her mother called her an evil spirit.

Her father also said she had no humanity. Her brothers couldn’t help but show disgust and fear when they saw her.

They all said she was sick. She refused to admit she was sick – they were the sick ones, they were the ones who did bad things.

But when facing those she loved and who loved her, she had to admit she seemed somewhat different from ordinary young ladies.

“Qiaoqiao is not sick,” Shen Xihe said firmly.

Xue Jinqiao threw herself forward and hugged Shen Xihe tightly, very tightly, like a drowning person grabbing onto driftwood. She couldn’t help but smile with childlike innocence.

How wonderful, how wonderful that the person Qiaoqiao loved most said Qiaoqiao wasn’t sick.

“Sister, Qiaoqiao will take good care of naughty Brother for Sister. If he makes Sister worry, Qiaoqiao will beat him up,” Xue Jinqiao declared solemnly.

Sister was so good to her, she had to do what Sister asked well.

Shen Xihe: …

“Hahahahaha…” Just as Shen Xihe was about to say something, Shen Yueshan, who had been eavesdropping, couldn’t help but laugh out loud. As a father, especially one who found many faults with his son, he was delighted that his son would marry such a wife.

This wasn’t him being an unscrupulous father – this was someone his son had agreed to himself.

Thinking about having someone to beat up Shen Yun’an for him in the future put him in a great mood. Hmm, he could eat five bowls of rice for dinner.

Xue Jinqiao jumped up like a startled bird. Strange voices and presences would instantly make her whole body tense.

Shen Xihe didn’t have time to glare at her eavesdropping father. She held Xue Jinqiao’s hand and led her toward Shen Yueshan: “Qiaoqiao, this is my father.”

Relaxing, Xue Jinqiao instinctively called out: “Father.”

Xue Jinqiao’s personal maids Huahua and Caocao: …

“Hahahahaha…” Shen Yueshan laughed even more happily. He was good at judging people and immediately took a liking to this young lady. She was perfect for his son – there would surely be endless amusement in the future.

After calling him that, Xue Jinqiao’s face turned bright red, and she lowered her head in embarrassment.

Shen Xihe chuckled lightly: “Father, Qiaoqiao and I have things to discuss.”

If she didn’t send Shen Yueshan away, Xue Jinqiao would want to dig a hole and bury herself in it.

“Father also wants to chat with Qiaoqiao for a while,” Shen Yueshan refused to leave.

This made Xue Jinqiao even more afraid, and she instinctively hid behind Shen Xihe.

Strange presences and people would only make her body tense, but she was never afraid. Only when facing strangers she couldn’t harm did she not know how to respond, instinctively choosing to hide.

“Father!” Shen Xihe stood in front of Xue Jinqiao, giving Shen Yueshan a warning look.

Shen Yueshan could only leave sheepishly: “Qiaoqiao, if you don’t mind, stay for dinner.”

Of course, Xue Jinqiao didn’t stay, mainly because she had instinctively called him Father and didn’t know how to face Shen Yueshan. As soon as Shen Yueshan left, she immediately fled with Huahua and Caocao. This was the first time she had ever left the Princess’s mansion so decisively.

Shen Xihe didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She thought it would take at least a few days before Xue Jinqiao dared to visit again, but unexpectedly, she came the very next day – and not alone, but accompanied by Xue Heng himself.

“Your Highness,” Xue Heng bowed to Shen Yueshan.

“Lord Xue,” Shen Yueshan returned the courtesy. “Please, come in.”

Shen Xihe served them tea, then was pulled away by Xue Jinqiao, leaving only Xue Heng and Shen Yueshan in the room.

“Sister, if I go to the Northwest, how long will it be before I can return to the capital?” Xue Jinqiao asked eagerly.

Her almond eyes were moist, looking at Shen Xihe as if ready to cry if she said it would be too long.

Shen Xihe could only say: “At least five years?”

“And at most?” Xue Jinqiao wasn’t fooled.

“Ten years, definitely no more than ten years,” Shen Xihe said firmly.

In ten years, she would surely have the capital under her control.

Xue Jinqiao wasn’t satisfied, but thinking of how her parents in the Xue family controlled her and used her to threaten her great-granduncle, she gritted her teeth: “I’ll wait for Sister to bring me back!”

“Alright.” Though she agreed verbally, in her heart she thought that by then, Xue Jinqiao might not want to return. “Qiaoqiao, the Northwest isn’t as prosperous as the capital. You need to think it through carefully – this concerns your whole life.”

Xue Jinqiao lowered her head and was silent for a moment before saying: “Sister, your brother… does he want to marry me?”

Arranged marriages were the norm. Born in this era, Xue Jinqiao had never thought about mutual love before marriage. She only needed to know that both parties were willing to join their families and that they would respect and accommodate each other to live well together in the future.

However if it weren’t for her fondness for Shen Xihe, she wouldn’t have agreed so easily.

“Of course. My father would never force my brother to marry someone he doesn’t want to marry,” Shen Xihe hadn’t expected her brother’s marriage to be settled so smoothly.