Chapter 22: Is Eldest Brother Playing Matchmaker for Her?

Looking for books?

My sister has always had a deep-seated aversion to reading since she was a child. She would scour every corner of the estate, yet she would never dream of stepping foot anywhere associated with books or study.

Where on earth has she gone to look for books? Chu Hengyang wondered, perplexed.

As she neared the garden, Chu Ying slowed her pace.

Let me see... by now, my brother and sister-in-law should have grown much closer, right?

I wonder how she’s been reeling him in, and how it’s going...

But—a smile played on Chu Ying’s lips.

She must be so happy!

"Oh, goodness!" Chu Ying performed with clumsy artifice. "I forgot. Someone like me, who loves meat and harbors an irreconcilable hatred for books and studying, how could there possibly be such wretched things as poetry and literature in my bedroom?"

Chu Ying turned around, beaming. "Come on, let’s go back and find my brother and Her Highness the Princess."

"Uh... yes, Miss." A’Yu bowed, looking bewildered.

Her mistress’s train of thought was always so eccentric; she had never been able to make sense of it.

Humming a cheerful tune, Chu Ying made her way to the study.

Chu Hengyang disliked being served, so there wasn’t a single servant near the study.

He stood a step apart from Xiao Yixi outside the study, his demeanor proper and upright, devoid of the slightest hint of intimacy.

Chu Ying was stunned.

What, what, what, what is this? Why do my brother and sister-in-law look so strange, as if they are complete strangers who have never met?

Could it be... that her little plan to spark their romance had failed?

Nervously, Chu Ying approached them and bowed. "Brother, Your Highness."

Please, I beg of you!

Let me hear their inner thoughts and discover that their feelings for one another have grown!

"Little sister." Chu Hengyang looked at Chu Ying, the corners of his mouth lifting uncontrollably.

(Little sister, you’ve finally returned. I’ve missed you so much.)

"Brother." Chu Ying looked at him with wide, pleading eyes, already immune to the fact that her brother was a doting sister-obsessed maniac.

She only wanted to hear his inner thoughts reveal his affection for his wife.

"Little sister, didn’t you go to fetch some books?" Chu Hengyang pushed down his frantic feelings for Xiao Yixi, focusing only on the joy of Chu Ying’s arrival.

"Uh..." Chu Ying felt awkward.

Help!

Why is it that every time she desperately tries to get close to her brother to hear his thoughts about his wife, she is forced to collide head-on with the poetry and books she loathes so much?

"I..." Chu Ying’s eyes darted around as inspiration struck. "I forgot! The poetry books you gave me are still in the carriage!"

Phew! Thank goodness she was quick-witted enough to remember the pile of heavy, hateful books her brother had brought for her this morning, allowing her to successfully round off her lie.

Hehe.

Chu Hengyang’s expression relaxed slightly, an understanding dawning on him.

(So the books she went to fetch were the ones I picked out for her. It seems her love for learning has reached the point where she must have books with her at every moment. I should help her more. And, incidentally... escape from the Princess’s side.)

Chu Hengyang felt a surge of tension.

He did not want Xiao Yixi to discover the impure thoughts he harbored for her.

Chu Ying: "?!"

What? What?

What happened between her brother and sister-in-law while she was away?

Why would her brother say he wanted to "escape" from her sister-in-law’s side?

And...

Why is his method of escaping her to "help" her get closer to her studies!

No, no, no—her life, her soul, her body, and her love all belong to meat, meat, and more meat!

She absolutely does not want to be with studying!

Fearing that Chu Hengyang might make further attempts to "play matchmaker" between her and her books, Chu Ying hurried to...