Chapter Six: Finally Hearing the Sister-in-Law’s True Feelings

“Oh, this?” Chu Heng lifted the book in his hand, which was mostly designed for beginners.

He smiled gently, but in Chu Ying’s eyes, he looked like a devil. “Little sister, today’s poetry competition at the Imperial Academy—you must participate.”

“What?!” Chu Ying felt as if the sky was falling.

No! She only wanted to follow her big brother to find out who his wife was, to protect their love, and help them fulfill their marriage destiny. She never intended to embarrass herself in front of everyone!

Heaven and earth bear witness.

Chu Ying had long accepted and even taken pride in being a hopeless student in this life and the last.

Study? What is study?

Ha! It was nothing but an evil that aimed to invade her pure and innocent mind!

In this life, the last, and even the next, she would never allow knowledge to stain her pure brain.

But she never wanted others to understand this great ambition of hers!

“Little sister may be foolish, but truly loves me. She’s willing to sacrifice her own time for food, drink, and fun to come with me to the Imperial Academy and stay by my side. How could I not let her experience the joy of learning?” Chu Heng smiled warmly, convinced it was the most considerate and brotherly smile one could offer. “Here, little sister, take these. Big brother will teach you well. By the time we reach the Imperial Academy, you’ll have composed a poem.”

Hearing his heartfelt words, Chu Ying wanted to cry.

No, big brother!

I really don’t need this kind of joy!

Looking at Chu Heng’s sincere smile and recalling her own purpose, Chu Ying finally closed her eyes with tears, gritted her teeth, and took the pile of books he handed her. “Thank you… big brother.”

“Mm.” Chu Heng smiled gently. “Let’s go.”

The two walked one after the other—one with a beaming smile, the other with a furrowed brow.

Elsewhere.

Under Li Xiu’s watchful gaze, Liu Shuang’er glanced coldly at Lin Xiaoyue, who was heading to her room, and could only converse with her system, G97.

These two old hags, their faces wrinkled with age, stared at her as if sending her back to her room.

Could it be they suspected she was pretending to be foolish?

“G97, why do these two treat me so differently now compared to when they first found me?” Lin Xiaoyue asked.

These two ancient fools had each shown more pity than the other upon discovering her, as if they wanted to hold her close, comfort, and protect her.

But now, their attitude had completely changed—

Truly both stupid and contemptible.

“Host. The system’s function only monitors the favorability values of the targets bound to the host. It cannot detect emotional fluctuations of unrelated individuals,” G97’s mechanical voice responded coldly.

Lin Xiaoyue clicked her tongue silently.

Even the system was useless.

However, these two ancient fools were so naive that they blindly believed any performance she put on, clearly unable to see through her act.

Lin Xiaoyue felt triumphant.

Upon arrival, instead of entering her room immediately, Lin Xiaoyue turned to face them, her eyes moist and doe-like, staring straight at them.

“Thank you, thank you all,” she said haltingly, her voice childish and filled with innocent vulnerability.

“No need to thank us,” Liu Shuang’er replied coldly, disgusted by the fine silk robe she wore.

A girl barely fifteen or sixteen, the same age as her youngest daughter, had shamelessly used her pity and sympathy to infiltrate the Chu estate.

Her intention was to ruin her eldest son’s reputation, and possibly destroy her entire family and the Chu clan.

Truly—disgusting.

“Xiu, we should go,” Liu Shuang’er said lightly.

Li Xiu stepped forward. “Miss Lin, this is my daughter, Li Qiao. From now on, she will attend to you closely.”

Li Qiao had a delicate oval face and sharp eyes. She smiled gently and greeted, “Miss Lin.”

“Miss Lin, Miss Lin?” Lin Xiaoyue repeated, feigning innocence.

Heh, truly fools.

They even called their daughter over to serve her.

Such stupidity knew no bounds.

Li Qiao noticed the slight twitch between her brows, smiled, and stepped forward. “Come, Miss Lin. Let me help you back to your room.”

“Room, room…” Lin Xiaoyue was half-supported, half-pushed back to the room by Li Qiao.

As the door closed, she exchanged a glance with Li Xiu: Mother, rest assured. I will carry out the lady’s orders.

Li Xiu nodded softly. “Mistress, everything is settled.”

“Mm.” Liu Shuang’er walked ahead, asking carefully, “Have those servants and attendants been dealt with?”

“Rest assured, mistress,” Li Xiu replied. “The servants who looked for her were deliberately misled by my daughter to believe she had merely gotten lost in the garden. They have been found and no one will know she once entered the young master’s study in a disheveled state.”

Only then did Liu Shuang’er feel relieved.

Her eldest son was now a respected teacher at the Imperial Academy, loved by both parents and students. Any scandal at this moment would be unimaginable.

Lin Xiaoyue…

Let her show herself clearly. Who exactly sent her?

…

Inside the carriage.

Chu Ying wore a bitter expression, staring at the ancient characters in the book—characters unknown to her but seemingly familiar with her.

She just wanted to bash her head against a tofu block and choke on meat.

“Uh… big brother, can we stop reading now?” Chu Ying surrendered.

“Little sister has already composed a poem? That’s impressive,” Chu Heng sincerely praised, but Chu Ying felt as if an arrow pierced her knee.

“I—I’d better look again!” she said miserably, continuing to stare at the book.

Help!

Why is this carriage moving so slowly?!

[Today’s poetry competition… I wonder if she will be on stage.]

A voice that was part sigh, part longing, sounded clearly.

Suddenly, Chu Ying’s eyes lit up.

The previously tedious study time instantly became interesting.

She had heard it!

She finally heard the thoughts about her big brother’s wife!

In the story, her eight brothers each secretly loved their respective wives.

Because they didn’t know if the wives felt the same, coupled with the meddling of the system’s female protagonist who was a heartbreaker, the distance between them grew ever wider.

In the end, they all ended up lonely and miserable.

The wives disappeared one by one.

This time, she was determined to help her eight brothers successfully win the hearts of their wives!

To spare them from loneliness!

And to have eight kind, beautiful, lovely sisters-in-law for herself—hehe.

While glaring at the books, Chu Ying listened more intently to Chu Heng’s thoughts.

She wondered what kind of person her big brother’s wife was.

[Last time I saw her was three days ago. I don’t know if fate will allow us to meet this time.]

Chu Heng pondered silently.

Three days ago?

Chu Ying was puzzled.

Could the sister-in-law be the elder sister of some student at the Imperial Academy?

If she were a teacher there, big brother wouldn’t meet her only once every three days.

Chu Ying’s curiosity deepened.

Thanks to the enlightened emperor of the current dynasty and the nation’s princess with great vision and wisdom, the status of women was being raised.