1572 "The heiress of the Mei family! She will be as beautiful as her sister Pei Ling." But he lied to her.Not only that incident, but many other incidents later proved to be lies.He said, for example, that they would always have enough to eat; Worst of all, he said that he himself would live a long life. Xiao Qiu raised her head and looked at her brother with stars in her eyes.Her black hair had been cut short in revenge for a group of boys whom she had beaten at fencing by pouring hot honey and turpentine over her head.Now that her hair has returned to its former radiant updo, she discovers that she still has a place of beauty.

"The heiress of the Mei family!" Xiao Qiu said again. "Oh, Jemin, think of all that lovely money! Do you think she bathed in a bath of gold? Did she sleep in emeralds?" "There's nothing on her bed," whispered Jemin's valet, Les. "Her father locked her up like gold." Tom, another of Jemin's men, kicked Rice under the table. Xiao Qiu knew very well that Tom kicked Rice to shut him up, because they thought she didn't understand anything at the age of twelve, and hoped to stay that way forever.Xiao Qiu didn't intend to tell them what she knew or didn't know, because her freedom had been restricted by most of them.If these adults find out how much she knows, they will definitely ask her where she learned these things she shouldn't know.

Jemin blinked. "Maybe not emerald, but silk pajamas." "Silk pajamas!" Xiao Qiu said dreamily, resting her chin. "Is it Italian silk or French silk?" Everyone sitting at the table laughed, and Xiao Qiu knew that everyone had heard her words.She may not be able to get attention with her looks, but she knows she can make people laugh more often than not. Maybe the Mengs couldn't afford a clown to have dinner--or even a bad dinner--but Qiu did what she could to make it a little warmer. She jumped onto the table and onto the cold hard stone floor of the castle.

Jemin frowned and looked at his mother who was sitting quietly on the other side. She ate so little food that it was hard to understand how she survived.Xiaoqiu's irregularity did not break the mother's eternal dream world.Although she looked at her youngest daughter, Jemin didn't know if she saw Xiao Qiu.If she saw it, would she still remember who Xiao Qiu was? Mother might call her Ed or Pei Ling, or her real name—Li. Jemin looked back at his little sister, who always wore tight trousers and a short waistcoat, and played like a knight's retinue.He told himself thousands of times that he must force Xiao Qiu to look like a girl, but even if he had such thoughts, he couldn't bear to do that after all.When she grows up, she will have to face the hardships of life, let her be a child now!

"What do you think she wears every day?" Xiao Qiu asked standing in front of everyone. There were only five people sitting around the table and a few servants who had just walked out of the kitchen. Xiao Qiu likes to imagine that there are hundreds of people in the room. Individual, and she is acting in front of the female workers. Xiao Qiu imitated the way a woman stretches and yawns when she wakes up in the morning. "Bring the pot of gold here," she ordered pompously, teasing her sister.If her actions made Pei Ling laugh, Jemin would let her continue.Xiao Qiu made an indecent gesture like a woman raising her skirt and straddling the potty. "Oh, these emeralds give me the sweetest pain," she said, writhing.Jie Ming, who was whispering to Pei Ling, raised his eyebrows, signaling Xiao Qiu not to go too far.Xiao Qiu straightened up. "Bring me my clothes. No, not this one, or that one or that one. No, you fool, tell you how many times I've worn that dress? I want a new one, forever They all wear new clothes! What? These are new clothes? How can you ask the heiress of the Mei family to wear that kind of clothes? Why is this silk so thin...why does it collapse when I wear it?"

At that sentence, Les laughed out loud, and even Tom, who rarely laughed, raised the corners of his mouth.They have seen the stiff gowns worn by women in the palace, making people think they are wooden statues, "This one is more to my taste," Xiao Qiu stepped back, pretending to look at a piece of clothing. "You guys come here and lift me up and put me in my clothes." Even Tom bared his teeth when he heard that, and Jemin couldn't help laughing. Xiao Qiu jumped up, as if being put into the hard clothes, and waited for the buttons to be buttoned. "Then it's mine," Xiao Qiu pretended to be looking at several pieces of jewelry. "There are emeralds, rubies, diamonds and pearls, which one should I choose?" Xiaoxi asked and answered. "Choose? Hey, since it's jewelry, do I still have to choose? Of course I'll wear them all!"

Xiao Qiu stood with her legs apart, as if fighting against the storm at sea, and then stretched out her arms again. "Okay, put your hand on my shoulder. You, come and help me put the jewelry on," Everyone laughed as Xiaoqiu stretched out one foot first, then changed the other foot, then stretched out one hand, and then stretched out her neck again, as if her neck was being pulled up by a hanging rope.She winked to let everyone know that she was wearing large, heavy earrings, and that when the jeweled hat was on her head, she seemed to sway under the weight. At this time, everyone in the room was already laughing their heads off—except Xiao Qiu's mother, "Okay, you can let me go!" Xiao Qiu said to the man who pretended to support her.For a long while, she shook violently, and she was about to collapse to the ground like a drunk sailor standing on a deck in a storm.Just as she was about to fall, she managed to straighten herself, and then stood firm with feigned dignity.

Everyone finally stopped laughing and waited to see the next performance. "Now," Xiao Qiu said with dignity. "I want to see who escorts me, the richest woman in England, to see if he sends me to my fiancé. Wait, tell me who he is first!" Everyone sneaked a glance at Jemin. He lowered his head shyly and held Pei Ling's hand on his chest.He had only been home for a few days and found himself wanting to see or touch his family at any moment. "Meng Jieming?" Xiaoqiu said. "Well, I've heard of that family. Some money, but not much. But who's richer than me? What? Louder! I can't hear you. It's much better for that. I'm very happy." Know how rich I am, but I'm a woman and I love hearing people say it out loud."

For a long while, she only cared about admiring her left arm. "What did you just say? Oh, yes, the man who has the honor to escort me is named Meng. What did you say? He is a poor man?" Xiao Qiu's mischievous face wrinkled in confusion. "Poor? I don't know the word, explain it to me!" When the laughter stopped again, she continued: "Ah, I see, a man who has only a hundred garments and a few jewels is called a pauper. What? No jewels? No silk? What do you say? This man lives in In the broken house, sometimes there is no meat on the table?" That statement made Jemin frown, knowing that this was the demeaning job he'd be taking, escorting a pampered heiress to the home of a fiancé who was almost as wealthy as her.But even so, he still doesn't like hearing people say it out loud.

Xiao Qiu ignored her brother's frowning. "If he has nothing to eat, then he must be... short." Xiao Qiu's puzzled expression made Jemin laugh and made him forget his own question. "No, he's not short!" "Should I put him in a box and carry him with me?" Xiao Qiu raised his hand and asked, not forgetting to pretend that his arm could bear the weight of hundreds of jewels.She spread her fingers wide because the imaginary ring was too big to keep them close together. "Of course, a box inlaid with jewels." Xiao Qiu said. "Oh, that's fine, let me bring some more jewelry. What? No custom box? You're fired! And you and—oh, so, he's not short. He's got nothing to eat, But not short. I don't understand, maybe you'd better call him in and let me see this... this... what's that word you just said? Ah, yes, poor man."

After finishing speaking, Xiao Qiu pretended to be the heiress of the Mei family standing immobile because of her heavy jewelry, waiting for Meng Jieming to arrive. Xiao Qiu used his ventriloquism, making the rusty door creak when it opened. "According to reliable sources," she narrates to the crowd. "Gold hinges make a nasty creaking noise, so we don't have gold hinges." Then, Xiao Qiu showed a shocked expression: she opened her mouth wide, opened her eyes wide, and then raised a hand to cover her eyes, as if trying to block the bright light so as not to blind her eyes. "You are so handsome!" That remark made Jemin's face flush, and his two men, who had long since grown weary of women fascinated by Jemin's beauty, were crouching with laughter. "No jewelry in the world can compare to your beauty," Xiao Qiu shouted louder than the laughter of the crowd. "Oh, I must have you, I must have you! Take it!" She made a gesture to remove the jewels, throwing every jewel on her arm, neck, and ears to Jemin. "You must marry me," Xiao Qiu shouted. "I can't live without you! You are what I've been looking for in my life. Next to you, emeralds pale in color, they are far less bright than your eyes. Pearls are not as bright as your skin, diamonds can't-" Her words were interrupted by the seat cushion Jemin threw at her, hitting her flat chest. Xiao Qiu hugged the seat cushion tightly. "It was given to me by my dearest man, who... oh my! He's sat on it, his softest part has touched it. If only my eyes and lips could match this lowly cushion share that-" This time she stopped because Jemin jumped across the table and put a hand over her mouth.She bit his little finger once, making him startle and let her go. "His arms wrapped around me," Xiao Qiu said loudly. "Even if I die - I will have no regrets!" "You're going to die ugly if you don't shut up," Jermyn said. "Where did you learn these nonsense words? No, don't tell me, even if you don't care about my feelings, at least you have to think that you frightened Pei Ling." Xiao Qiu turned her head and saw her sister's beautiful face flushed with happiness.Everyone thought that Pei Ling was as pure and innocent as she appeared, but in fact, Xiao Qiu was very frank with her sister and often told her about her misbehavior. "Get out—" Jemin waved to everyone in the room. "Stop teasing me. Tell me, little girl, what kind of entertainment do you do when I'm not here to entertain you?" Without thinking, Xiao Qiu said: "The family is suffocated, only father and Ed—" She quickly covered her mouth with her hand. For a long while, there was silence in the dilapidated house, as if everyone had forgotten that there were only two funerals held two days ago.Technically speaking, the family is mourning the sudden death of the Meng family patriarch and eldest son.But the eldest son, Ed, is like an outsider, and his father has locked himself in the top floor room for a long time. It is not easy for them to mourn someone they rarely see or miss. "Yes," Jemin said calmly. "We should get down to business." He walked around the table and sent Pei Ling back to the room. A few minutes later, Jieming and Pei Ling were alone in the room. "Why didn't anyone tell me?" Jemin asked standing in front of the narrow window, reaching out and knocking down a stone.A few years ago—when he was away from home—the lead pipes in the stone walls were drawn out and sold, so the water seeped directly into the walls, making them mottled. He turned and saw his sister sitting peacefully in a chair more suited to a tenant farmer's hut than to a down-and-out family. "Why didn't anyone tell me?" Jemin asked again. Pei Ling did not give her pre-planned explanation, but told the truth. "Because of pride." She hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's the pride that's making your stomach churn and your brow sweating right now, tell me, are you playing with the dagger your father gave you?" At first, Jemin didn't know what Pei Ling was talking about, but then he realized that he was indeed holding the dagger his father had given him long ago.The gem inlaid on the hilt was replaced with glass years ago, but if you hold the dagger in the sun, you will find that the handle is still covered with a layer of gold. Jamie smiled. "I actually forgot how much you know me." He sat down on the cushion at Pei Ling's feet, leaned his head on her lap, closed his eyes happily, and let her stroke his hair, "I've never seen A woman more beautiful than you." Jemin said softly. "We're twins, aren't you complimenting yourself by saying that?" He kisses her hand. "I am old and ugly, but your beauty has never been touched by time." "It's true that you haven't been touched." She joked about her virginity. But Jamin didn't smile, he just raised his hand in front of her. "It's no use," she said with a smile, taking his hand. "I can't see anything. No one would marry a blind man. I have made no contribution to this world. I might as well have died when I was born." Pei Ling was taken aback by Jieming's violent reaction to standing up suddenly. "Oh, Jemin, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way—I said it so thoughtlessly. Please, sit down again and let me touch you, please." Jemin sat down, but his heart was beating violently with guilt.He and Pei Ling were twins, but he was bigger than her, so it took hours to give birth.When Pei Ling finally gave birth, the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck, and she was soon found blind.The midwife said it was all Jamin's fault, because it took him so long to give birth, and Jamin was always feeling guilty. Jamie had always been close to his beautiful sister and never grew impatient with her or tired of her company.He assisted her in every way, encouraged her to climb trees and mountains, and even let her ride a horse alone. Only the elder brother Ed didn't take it seriously for Jamin's behavior of caring for Pei Ling.Whenever someone compliments Jamin on how thoughtful he is to give up playing time with his friends to take his blind sister berry-picking, Ed always says, "He steals her sight, doesn't he? Why doesn't he do all he can?" Can you give her back her eyesight?" Jemin took a deep breath, why didn't anyone tell me what Ed did out of selfishness?He brought his thoughts back to the present, but the guilt still weighed on him. "You have to stop blaming yourself." Pei Ling said, pulling Jemin's thick black hair with both hands, causing him to look up at her. It was hard for Jemin to believe that those beautiful blue eyes couldn't see anything. "If you look at me with pity, I will make you bald." Pei Ling said, pulling his hair harder. "Ouch!" When Pei Ling let go of his hair, he laughed, then took her hand and kissed it. "I can't help feeling guilty because I know my father and Ed so well." "Yes," Pei Ling said sadly. "Father's head never lifted from the pile of books, and Ed was a pig, and no maiden in the village was safe from it. He died early because the devil loved him too much and wanted to keep him with him forever .” Jamie couldn't help laughing. "I've missed you so much these past few months." "Several years, my dear brother." "Why do women always remember the least important details?" Pei Ling pinched his ear, making him cry out in pain. "Now, stop talking about you women, but tell me about the job you've taken over." "What a good heart you have! Make the escort of rich heirs the sacred duty of a knight." "Because that's your job. Strange, how could you and Ed be brothers?" "He was born five months after his parents got married, which sometimes makes me wonder who his biological father is," Jemin said sarcastically. If someone else said that, Pei Ling would definitely defend her mother who was already in a trance. "I asked my mother that question." Jemin was taken aback. "How did she answer?" "She waved her hand and said, 'There were so many handsome men chasing me that summer, I can't even remember which one.'" Jemin's first reaction was anger, but he knew his mother too well to Angry at her, he relaxes himself and smiles. "If mother's natal family found out she was pregnant, who better to marry than father? I can imagine grandmother saying to him: 'Son, put the book down, it's time for you to get married.'" "Do you think he still kept reading on his wedding night? Oh, Jemin, do you think we are..." Pei Ling's eyes widened. "Even scholars sometimes put down their books. What's more, we are very similar to our cousins, and Xiao Qiu is a copy of my father." "It's true," Pei Ling said. "So, you thought about this too?" "One or two times." "I imagine you feel that way every time Ed pushes you into a horse manure pile, or ties you to a tree and abandons you, or destroys your personal belongings?" "Or whenever he scolds you," Jemin said softly, then blinked. "Or when he wants to marry you to O'Henry." Pei Ling couldn't help complaining. "Henry is still proposing marriage to his mother." "Does he have a brain?" "Probably not." Pei Ling said coldly, not wanting anyone to see her disappointment.No one of the right kind had ever proposed to her. "Please, don't mention Ed and how he ruined our meager fortune, and definitely don't mention O'Henry! Tell me about your heiress." Jemin tried to protest, but finally kept his mouth shut. "His" heiress has a lot to do with his "brother" who comes to eat, drink, prostitute and gamble.When Jemin was away from home, fighting desperately for the queen, Ed sold all his possessions so he could have good horses to ride (he ended up breaking a leg or neck) and fine clothes to wear (he lost or lost them. is broken), and never-ending gambling (of course, every bet loses). When Ed bankrupted the Meng family at lightning speed, his father actually locked himself in the room on the top floor to write the history of the world.He barely ate or slept, saw or talked to anyone, and just wrote day and night.When Pei Ling and Jr. Qiubaide's extravagant behavior - including the evil deeds of selling the land to pay off the debt - told his father, he actually replied: "What can I do? Anyway, it will be Ed's property in the future, So he can do whatever he wants. I have to finish this book in my lifetime." But a fever took the lives of Ed and his father.They lasted only one day and died the next day. When Jieming returned to the funeral, he found that his family, which had a decent income, could not make ends meet.Except for the house where I live now, all the land has been sold long ago.The manor, the farmland, and all the huts where the sharecroppers lived had been sold the previous year, and for days Jemin had been furious. "How does he want you to live? No rent, no grain, what does he want you to eat?" "Of course with the money he won, he always said he'd win 'next time'," replied Xiaoqiu, who looked both precocious and heartbreakingly young.She raised an eyebrow at Jemin. "Maybe you should stop yelling at things that cannot be changed, and just think of a way!" She cast a meaningful glance in Pei Ling's direction. What Xiaoqiu meant was that no one would want to marry a blind woman, no matter how beautiful she was or even how rich a dowry she was.It is always Jemin's responsibility to support Pei Ling. "Pride," Jemin said. "That's right, you and Xiao Qiu have too much self-esteem, so they refused to call me home." "No, it's because I have too much self-esteem. Xiao Qiu said... Uh, maybe it's better not to tell you what Xiao Qiu said." "She said I was weak and incompetent, and left you two to a beast like Ed?" "Compared to her, your words are still merciless." Pei Ling smiled, still clearly remembering every word Xiao Qiu said. "Where did she learn those terrible words?" Jemin winced. "There's no need to doubt that Xiao Qiu is not from the Meng family. Father is right, Xiao Qiu is young." "Father hates anything that takes his attention away from the book." There was a tinge of resentment in her voice. "But Xiaoqiu can read aloud to him, but I can't." Jemin squeezed her hand lightly, and both of them fell into unpleasant memories. "Enough!" Pei Ling said seriously. "Tell me about your heiress." "She's not mine. She's about to marry into the Bao family." "Think about her wealth," Pei Ling said dreamily. "Do they burn wood every day to keep the whole house warm?" Jamie smiled. "Xiaoqiu dreams of jewelry and silk, but you dream of warmth." "I dreamed more than that," she said softly. "I dream of you marrying her." Jemin pushed her hand away angrily, got up and walked to the window, and unconsciously pulled out the dagger beside him to play with. "Why do women always associate everything with love?" "Love? Ha!" Pei Ling said excitedly. "I want food on the table! Do you know what it's like to eat only moldy lentils for a month? Do you know what that does to your gut? You know—" Jamie pressed her shoulders, forcing her to sit back in the chair. "I'm sorry, I—" What could he say?While his family was starving, he was eating dinner with the queen. "It's not your fault," Pei Ling said calmly. "But the breadworm does make love. We have to look at the facts and see what we have. First, the people can go to the rich relatives of the Meng family and beg them to take pity on us. We can move into their house, Three decent meals a day." Jemin raised his eyebrows and looked at Pei Ling. "If that was a choice, why didn't you and that swearing-talking Xiao Qiu join them a few years ago? Ed wouldn't care, father wouldn't notice, why did you choose to stay here and eat rotten food?" Pei Ling smiled slowly, and then they both said in unison: "Self-esteem." "Unfortunately, we can't sell our self-esteem for money," Jermyn said. "If we can sell it, we will be richer than the heiress of the Mei family," That made them both laugh, for "richer than the May heiress" was a common phrase in England, and Jemin had heard it even in France. "We can't sell our pride," Pei Ling said slowly. "But we still have one very precious thing." "Please tell me what it is? Is there a market for stone chips? Maybe we can say that the well water here has curative properties to attract rich people, or—" "Your beauty." "Selling dung from the stables," he went on. "Or—my what?" "Your beauty, Xiao Qiu once said. Jemin, think about it! What can't money buy?" "Not many, if any." "It can't buy beauty." "Oh, I see, you want me to sell... to paraphrase you, my beauty. If I were a commodity, then money could buy beauty—if I was really beautiful," he joked. "How do you know I'm not ugly?" "Jaming, although I'm blind, I'm not blind." Pei Ling's tone seemed to be speaking to an idiot. Jamie suppressed a laugh. "Do you think I haven't heard or felt women sighing at you? Do you think I haven't heard those women say they're trying to do nasty things to you?" "That intrigues me," he said. "You need to tell me more." "Jammin! I mean it!" He pressed Pei Ling's shoulders and put his nose close to her. "Dear sister, you didn't catch what I just said. I was escorting the rich heiress to her fiancé's house. She doesn't need a husband, she already has one." "Who is this man named Bao?" "As rich as she is." "Why does she want more money?" Jemin smiled dotingly at his pretty sister.She had always lived in the country, and wealth to her meant warm clothes and plenty of food.But Jaymin has traveled a lot and knows that there is neither "enough" money nor "enough" power in this world.For many people, the word "enough" doesn't exist. "Don't think I don't know anything." Pei Ling scolded. "I didn't say a word." He threw up his hands in protest, resting his head on one of them. "That's right, but I can hear what you're thinking. You know the Queen has hinted that Mayboken can be knighted if he pays enough money." "And he refused. That man's stinginess is well known throughout the country. I'm glad that, otherwise he wouldn't have hired someone as poor as me to escort his precious daughter." "Wrong vote, you are very poor, but now you have inherited all the titles from your father." Jemin was taken aback. "I inherit his title?" he said thoughtfully. "So I am the count?" "Also a viscount, you have at least three quasi-baron identities." "Well, do you think I can make Xiao Qiu kneel in front of me and kiss my ring?" "Jammin, think about your worth in the marriage market: you are an aristocrat, and you are extremely handsome!" That sentence made Jemin almost choke. "You make me look like a prize-winning bird. Come on, ladies, look at his beautiful plumage, isn't he dazzling? Buy this bird home and your husband and children will love you forever." Pei Ling pursed her lips. "Apart from you, what else do we have? Me? Will a rich man marry 'me'? A blind woman with no dowry? What about Xiao Qiu? She has no dowry, is not beautiful, and has a bad temper." People respect and stay away." "You're being merciful." He said cocoly. "And you're stupid enough!" "Let me say a word," his voice tinged with anger. "When I look in the mirror, I only see myself, not the Apollo my two sisters saw." He took a breath to calm himself down. "Dear sister, do you think I haven't thought about this? Of course it's not like what you said, but I also know that if I can marry a rich man's daughter, many problems will be solved. You think I haven't thought about this Maybe an heiress is a good solution to all problems?" Pei Ling smiled, and Jemin immediately understood the meaning of that smile. He didn't smile back. "What the hell are you and Xiao Qiu planning? What are you planning?" Although Pei Ling and Xiao Qiu had completely different personalities, they were very close. "Pei Ling!" He said seriously. "I will never participate in your plan! This is a legitimate job. If I deliver this girl safely to her fiancé, I will be able to get a handsome reward. The thing is so simple, I don't Will make you or that naughty little fur—" He stopped and let out a groan.He can lead troops to fight and negotiate with other countries to sign contracts, but he can't do anything with his two younger sisters! "I'm never 'not' involved!" he yelled. "Never! Do you understand? Pei Ling, don't laugh like that again!"