Chapter 16: Sisters
Xiao Luohan stared at the sentence for a long time, unable to lift her brush.
She was actually waiting, waiting for another line to appear below it: 【If it’s inconvenient for Your Highness to talk about it, just pretend I didn’t ask.】
But for some reason, this line didn’t appear today.
She knew that what Jiang Xue really wanted to hear was the story of a female general, not the “story of her elder sister.”
She knew very well that Jiang Xue’s care and companionship were sincere and without expectation of anything in return. She should gradually open up to her.
But she couldn’t write, not a single word.
—Beiliao had been defeated, and her elder sister’s body hadn’t been returned for burial; its whereabouts were unknown.
The last time she saw her elder sister was in a dream.
After an unknown amount of time, new words finally began to appear in the corner of her eye:
【Then, would Your Highness be willing to listen to the story of my older sister?】
Before Xiao Luohan could react, she found a still-wet character underneath: 【Okay.】
Her brush was in her hand without her realizing it.
She thought for a moment and added apologetically: 【I’m sorry, I haven’t figured out how to tell the story yet.】
But she wasn’t opposed to listening to Jiang Xue’s story.
When she was very young, she had loved to snuggle in her mother’s arms and fall asleep to stories.
【I have two consecutive exam periods this afternoon. I can only talk until the end of newspaper reading class, about a quarter of an hour?】
【It’s alright. If you have something to do, please attend to it.】
【Okay! Then I’ll begin!】
【My sister and I are nine years apart. Originally, there was only my older sister in our family. It’s said that when she was six, she casually mentioned wanting a younger sister. My parents were busy with work and thought it would be good for her to have a little companion, so then there was me.】
【By the way, my family situation is a little different from the blood relations Your Highness is familiar with. I wonder if Your Highness guessed anything from reading my previous diary entries.】
【Where I live, women can marry and have children with each other, and they can bear children of their own flesh and blood, without needing a man’s “help.”】
【When I was born, my sister was already in school. As soon as she came home, she would lean over my cradle and play with me, telling me all about her experiences at school, whether I could understand or not.】
【Ever since I can remember, the thing I looked forward to most every day was “my sister coming home from school,” followed by my two mothers coming home. When I was old enough to leave the cradle, my sister would sometimes give me food from street vendors and all sorts of toys she liked.】
【My mothers always joked that I was actually raised by my sister.】
【I agree with that. My sister gave me everything she thought was good. She also encouraged me to speak my mind, not to hide whether I liked something or not, so we have almost no secrets between us. Even if we encounter any worries, we talk to each other, and they naturally get resolved.】
Seeing this, Xiao Luohan saw Jiang Xue hurriedly write “Talk to you later”—newspaper reading class was over, and she had to prepare for her exam.
The stack of small xuan paper on the table dwindled further. While Jiang Xue was taking her exam, Xiao Luohan started drawing “little people.”
As her brush danced across the paper, sketching the outlines of the two sisters, she unconsciously thought of her own childhood.
Her elder sister had indeed often visited her mother’s palace.
The little girl would vigorously shake her cradle, humming tunes she had heard somewhere.
Perhaps because her mother’s name included the character “wei,” or perhaps because her elder sister came from a military family, she often heard her elder sister hum Cai Wei (Gathering Vetch):
“Gathering vetch, gathering vetch, the vetch is also growing. Saying ‘return,’ saying ‘return,’ the year is also ending.”
“Grow up quickly, Xiao Luo. Elder Sister still has many, many poems and stories to tell you.”
Xiao Luohan paused, her brush hovering over the paper, then took another piece of cut xuan paper and drew the scene that had just appeared in her mind.
Jiang Xue finally finished her English exam and eagerly took out her diary. She found it bulging and, opening it, discovered a stack of chibi drawings!
It was still break time, and many people were crowding behind her to fill their water bottles. She quickly closed the diary and waited until the crowd dispersed before opening it again and looking at the drawings one by one.
As she looked, she became excited—they were the childhood stories she had just told the Third Princess!
Jiang Xue had actually been quite nervous. Given her previous guess, the Third Princess’s silence was also an answer.
Since she had asked, she had to take responsibility for the topic, but she couldn’t just drop it. Instead, she had to use it as another opportunity to test the waters.
This was what her older sister had taught her. Her older sister felt that while it was important to be considerate of the Third Princess’s feelings, if she wanted to have a long-term relationship with her, she couldn’t rely on guesswork to solve problems.
Moreover, her elder sister’s situation was likely a psychological trauma for the Third Princess, requiring timely counseling and healing. She had already noticed the signs and couldn’t just ignore it.
So she had brought up a similar topic, and fortunately, the Third Princess had agreed to listen.
Flipping through the drawings, Jiang Xue suddenly froze.
“…Is that the Third Princess and her elder sister?” she thought, looking at the little girls in ancient costumes.
Did this mean the Third Princess was willing to talk about it?
But she looked at the diary. The Third Princess hadn’t told a story like she had. Besides the stack of drawings, she had only mentioned practicing Baduanjin in the afternoon.
Jiang Xue pondered for a minute, then reexamined her previous question.
This review startled her.
There was a problem, a big problem!
She should have asked for “her elder sister’s story,” not “a female general’s story.” She shouldn’t have, just because the topic of “female general” had come up, eagerly asked someone who had probably lost her sister in war.
No wonder the Third Princess had been silent for so long!
Jiang Xue was filled with regret, but now, whether apologizing or rephrasing the question, it was too late.
The third period was PE, with no fixed curriculum, just free time for relaxation. She put away the drawings and took the diary to Xie Xitong to discuss it.
The two deliberately took a detour behind the teaching building to avoid the crowd.
“Then wait for the next suitable opportunity to apologize!” Xie Xitong fiddled with her low ponytail and said slowly, “I’ve noticed you’re really anxious, anxious to be good to her, anxious to know everything about her, anxious to comfort her…”
She paused. “As if she really doesn’t have much time left.”
Jiang Xue almost tripped over her own feet.
Xie Xitong had heard about the Third Princess’s illness, and because of that, she continued, “Have some faith in her! Even if she was originally destined to die, now that you’re here, adjusting her prescriptions, feeding her spiritual food, and constantly caring for her physical and mental health, if she puts in some effort herself, there’s still a good chance she’ll recover.”
“That’s true…” Jiang Xue murmured.
“Although I like to study metaphysics, I don’t actually believe in predetermined fate.” Xie Xitong’s tone became serious. “Everything depends on our own efforts. If someone said you or I wouldn’t live to see the college entrance exam, would we just give up and wait to die?”
“Of course we’d fight for it and give it our all!”
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