The system searched through its records and said, [There are quite a few. For example, when he was three, he saw you grinning foolishly at a horse and insisted on being your horse. He even said he was afraid you'd fall, so he made a little saddle to strap onto himself and galloped around the house on all fours every day.]
Jiang Shuyue was a little touched, but... when something was funny, she still had to laugh.
[Hahaha, this kid is hilarious!]
The system said, [And when he was six, to get out of studying, he pulled off your eldest brother's trousers while he was asleep and tied them to a table leg. Your eldest brother's classmate saw it, and he got a savage beating. Then your eldest brother made him copy the Zizhi Tongjian a hundred times.]
[When he was seven, he thought the Lin Family's youngest daughter was adorable and wanted to court her, so he sent her things he liked. The little girl ended up chasing him around and beating him.]
Jiang Shuyue grew curious. [Surely it wasn't that bad? What exactly did he give her?]
The system said, [Crickets, earthworms, chicken drumsticks, and rabbit heads.]
Jiang Shuyue lowered her head to look at Jiang Chen, her face full of helplessness.
Her second brother might have been a little dim, but he really was a reckless little beast.
The two servants also remembered what had happened back then. The young lady of the Lin Family had even gathered a group of her little friends to chase the second young master around and beat him. To this day, he still had someone's bite mark on his shoulder.
Jiang Chen was cowed by her gaze.
One part sympathy, one part helplessness, one part pity, and seven parts mockery.
Jiang Chen pried her hand away, intending to offer a few excuses, when a sound came from behind the rockery. Jiang Shuyue covered his mouth again and dragged him back into her arms.
"An, do you think that bitch has discovered our affair? I keep feeling uneasy."
The system said, [Here it comes, here it comes! They're about to start plotting against the Jiang Family's children!]
[What?] Jiang Chen and Jiang Shuyue were shocked at the same time.
Jiang Shuyue hadn't expected them to act so quickly.
Jiang Chen couldn't believe his father was actually plotting to harm him!
Jiang An shook his head. "Impossible. I've concealed it extremely well, without revealing a single flaw all these years. That bitch is probably acting out of character because of the Marquis of Southern Pacification."
"I told you long ago to have Liuli marry the Marquis of Southern Pacification. So what if she'd be a stepmother? The Marquisate of Southern Pacification has immense wealth and holdings. If she put a little effort into it, how could she fail to reap the benefits?"
"Now that little bitch has gotten it all for nothing. Seeing her throw her weight around with the Marquis’s Residence backing her makes me want to tear her apart!"
"Don't worry, Wanru. I've already spent a fortune buying Thousand-Day Dream. Have Liuli add a little at a time when she brings her bird's nest soup. Within six months, she'll become a lunatic!"
Jiang Chen felt as though he had stopped breathing.
Before coming home, he'd heard that his father had brought back a younger female cousin. He'd even prepared a welcoming gift, intending to get along well with this cousin-aunt.
Who could have known they would actually...
Qin Wanru leaned against Jiang An's shoulder, her eyes silky with seduction. "You always have a plan, An! Liuli and I are counting on you."
"Don't worry. Sooner or later, the Jiang Family will be ours for the taking."
Jiang Shuyue thought, [Jiang An really is... he's pasted his left cheek onto his right, leaving one side thick-skinned and the other utterly shameless. A man living off a woman, yet he can still say something like that. Even a green tea girl like me can't stand watching this.]
The system said, [In the original novel, by the time your mother discovered the truth, her eldest son had become crippled, her second son had become a worthless wastrel everyone wanted to beat, and your father had become a good man in everyone's eyes. He even received commendation from the emperor, who appointed him Minister of Revenue.]
Jiang Shuyue thought, [Transferred from the Ministry of Rites to the Ministry of Revenue-he worked his way from a clear-water office to a fat, lucrative post! Jiang An really knows how to scheme!]
Jiang Chen's eyelids twitched wildly. His eldest brother had achieved success at a young age and was the family's hope. However much of a bastard Jiang Chen usually was, he deeply respected his eldest brother.
How could someone so handsome and spirited end up crippled?
But with the facts laid out before him, Jiang Chen had no choice but to believe it.
Jiang Chen clenched his fists.
Whoever he was, Jiang Chen would never let him harm his mother and eldest brother!
Jiang Chen twisted a few times, shook off Jiang Shuyue's hand, and prepared to charge out.
Jiang Shuyue thought, [What's he doing? Is he going to charge over and fight to the death? Stop dreaming. Jiang An has an excellent reputation. If he attacks, he'll only be branded disrespectful to his elders. Wouldn't that play right into Jiang An's hands?]
Jiang Chen paused. That was true.
Besides, his mother wouldn't believe him either.
Jiang Shuyue thought, [If I were him, I'd endure it for now, shed that wastrel image, and secretly fight Jiang An. I really want to see Jiang An draw water with a bamboo basket and end up with nothing. It'll be spectacular!]
Jiang Chen nodded silently, but then another thought struck him. Could he really do it?
He hated studying more than anything. He'd studied alongside his eldest brother under renowned teachers and had only scraped his way to becoming a licentiate. Earning higher scholarly honors was even more impossible.
Jiang Shuyue thought, [Actually, my second brother is pretty clever. He might be no good at studying, but he's quick-witted and physically strong. Taking up martial arts or going into business should both be good choices.]
[System scan of Jiang Chen: initial martial prowess 30%, physical constitution 40%. Extremely well suited to martial training.]
Jiang Chen's heart pounded wildly.
He had a natural aptitude for martial arts? Did that mean he could stand shoulder to shoulder with his eldest brother if he took a different path?
Jiang Shuyue thought, [It's just a pity he's a little old.]
The light that had just brightened Jiang Chen's eyes dimmed.
Jiang Shuyue thought, [But that's all right. Once I've saved up enough green tea points, I'll exchange them for a Marrow-Cleansing Pill for him. Even if he can't become an immortal, he can at least gain sinews of steel and bones of iron.]
The system said, [One Marrow-Cleansing Pill costs three hundred green tea points. Host, you currently have eighty-five points. Are you sure you want to waste your green tea points on this exchange?]
Jiang Shuyue thought, [Of course I'm sure. Just to see Jiang An fume himself to death, those three hundred points will be worth spending!]
She'd disliked Jiang An for a long time. Killing his wife and abandoning his children-ptui! What a piece of trash!
Thinking of the suffering the original owner of this body had endured made Jiang Shuyue want revenge even more.
She wouldn't miss a single chance to screw Jiang An over!
Tears shimmered in Jiang Chen's puppy-dog eyes.
His own sister! She really was his own sister!
From now on, she would be Jiang Chen's one and only true sister!
Jiang Shuyue's inner voice also reached the minds of the two servants.
They knew they couldn't speak of this, or they might lose their lives. But their young master usually treated them like brothers. They would never find another master so good anywhere in the world.
For their young master's safety, they had to be on guard against the master.
Unite against outsiders and protect the young master-this became the unspoken motto everyone in Jiang Chen's courtyard understood.
After Jiang An and Qin Wanru left, Jiang Chen took out a pretty little box and pressed it into her hand.
"Don't worry, little sister. From now on, as long as I'm around, I'll beat up anyone who bullies you! I promise I won't let anyone mistreat you."
Jiang Shuyue thought, [System, can you check Jiang Chen's brain? I think he's gone haywire!]
Jiang Chen thought, ...She's got a problem with me being nice to her, too. Women really are hard to please.
Inside the Begonia Courtyard, Jiang Mother listened to the matron's report and slowly closed her eyes.
"Love begins before one knows it, and once begun, runs deep. Heh. I married him because I believed those words back then. So there was never any love at first sight. It was all a calculated scheme!"
Before you continue