The year I married Chancellor Sterling, I was seven years old, still just a little girl half the height of an adult. On our wedding night, Elias Sterling pinched my chubby cheeks and asked if I knew what I was supposed to call him. I looked up at him, beaming, and said, "Big Brother." A smile appeared on his pale face. "Chloe is right. From now on, I am your Big Brother." 1 The day my parents died in battle and their coffins were brought home, I was in the backyard making mud dolls. Within moments, white mourning banners fluttered across the courtyard. I looked up at them, not understanding why the colorful flags we usually put out were the wrong color today. Usually, when Mom and Dad came home, we hung red flags. Before I could figure it out, the Dowager Empress arrived. She hugged me, crying so hard she soaked my shoulder. I asked, "Grandmother, why are you crying?" Hearing my words, the tears she had barely managed to stop started rolling down her face again. It wasn't until nightfall that I finally understood what was happening. I sat alone in the ancestral hall, tightly clutching the peace amulet my mother had given me before she left for the war. I wasn't sad, and I didn't want to cry. I just felt like a piece of my heart was missing. Mommy could never coax me to sleep again, and Daddy could never show off his sword tricks for me again. I would never see them again. 2 The funeral was incredibly grand. High-ranking officials from a hundred miles around came to pay their respects. Wearing mourning clothes, I knelt before the altars, bowing and returning respects to every guest who came and went. Until the evening. The sunset was tragically beautiful. I was mesmerized by the setting sun outside the door, remembering how much my mother loved watching it. Lost in thought, my wrist was suddenly burned by the fire in the incense burner. With a soft rustle, someone quickly picked me up and pressed a cool, wet cloth against my burn. He was very tall and very thin. Dressed in white, the autumn wind swirling around him, even his fingers were icy cold. "Does it hurt?" He asked me. I shook my head and even unwrapped the cloth to show him the mark. "Doesn't it look like a burning cloud?" He froze for a moment, then nodded. I wrapped the cloth back around my wrist and, following the rules I'd been taught, bowed to return his respect. A pair of cloud-white shoes paused in front of me for a moment. When I looked up again, I only saw his thin, retreating back. I knew who he was. Chancellor Elias Sterling. The most respected and powerful civil official in the current court. 3 After the thirty-five-day mourning period for my parents ended, the Dowager Empress brought me into the palace. She had aged significantly, and a deep exhaustion she never used to have now lined her face. She beckoned me to her side, studying my face for a long time before her eyes turned red again. I knew she was grieving. My mother was her youngest daughter, doted on since childhood. "Little Chloe," the Dowager Empress said, holding my hand tightly, eventually asking only one question. "Do you trust your grandmother?" I nodded. With my parents gone, she was the only person I could trust. "I couldn't protect your mother, and I'm afraid I might not be able to protect you," she paused for a long time before continuing. "I found someone who can protect you. I'm going to send you to his home, okay?" I asked, "Who can protect me?" She answered, "Chancellor Sterling." So I said yes. And just like that, less than half a month later, I was "married" out of the Vance Manor and into the Sterling Estate. On the day I left, tens of thousands of commoners knelt along the main street. They watched my wedding procession, escorting me all the way to the Sterling Estate. The senior maid beside the Dowager Empress told me that because I was an orphan, everyone was afraid I would be bullied. The Dowager Empress's reach from within the palace was limited, so she entrusted her bitter hopes to the commoners who loved and respected my parents. I thought that was nonsense. It was true I was an orphan, but I wasn't some beggar child anyone could bully. I was the only daughter of General Vance and Princess Joy. I was one of the most noble women in the world. Whether the Dowager Empress protected me or not, I wouldn't let anyone bully me. 4 The bridal chamber was huge, and very empty. Elias's health was poor; he couldn't touch a single drop of alcohol. So I didn't have to wait long before he arrived. Once everyone else left, I quickly pulled away the fan covering my face and enthusiastically started fanning him. He looked at me in confusion. I said, "It's an Indian summer. You're so hot your forehead is sweating." He chuckled softly, then immediately checked my wrist. The burn scar wasn't obvious, but you could still faintly see it. He frowned. "Why did it leave a scar?" I said it didn't matter, the shape of the scar was pretty anyway, like I was wearing a floral decal. The room was too stuffy, and my head was heavy with sleep. So I proactively asked him, "Are you going to sleep?" He smoothed out the blankets for me. "I'm going to the study. You go to sleep early." I grabbed his sleeve. "Are you making me sleep all by myself?" He paused for a moment before saying, "Chloe will have to sleep by herself from now on." I said "Oh," rolled up the blanket, and quietly took off my outer robe. Elias quickly stood up, but I was faster, jumping onto the floor barefoot. "Big Brother!" He turned around, asking clearly, word by word: "Do you know what you're supposed to call me?" I reached for his hand. The icy touch instantly calmed my heart. "Big Brother." Elias bent down, picking me up with one arm. A smile finally broke through on his pale face. "Little Chloe is right. From now on, I am your Big Brother." 5 That night, Elias coaxed me to sleep. He surprisingly knew how to sing lullabies. His soft, airy voice carried a warmth that burrowed into my heart little by little. With my back to him, the corners of my eyes grew wet. When my mother sang, she was just as gentle as Elias. I missed her. The next day, I woke up very late. Sunlight filled the room. I groggily opened my eyes, disoriented for a good while before remembering I was in the Sterling Estate. Servants trickled in to attend to me, but their respectful expressions held a hint of curiosity and scrutiny. They had never seen such a tiny new bride. Remembering the Dowager Empress's instructions, I deliberately put on airs when speaking to them. Until a little maid's stomach suddenly growled. I completely lost my composure and burst out laughing. I ended up rolling on the floor, clutching my stomach, laughing uncontrollably. When I finally laughed enough, someone walked into the room. He stood there quietly, radiating an aura of authority and aloofness without saying a word. "Madam is hungry. Serve the food. I will dine with Madam." Elias pulled a handkerchief from his sleeve and carefully wiped the drool I had laughed onto my chin. I freed my right hand and grabbed the little maid's hand. "There are rose pastries on the table. I'm rewarding them to you. Eat a little so you won't be hungry." She tried to bow to me in terrified awe, but Elias stopped her. "Madam rewarded you. Eat them before you return to your chores." I hopped off the chair and climbed onto Elias's leg. "Big Brother, carry me." The little maid walked away blushing. Elias tapped my head, then obediently picked me up. "Did Big Brother just come back from morning court?" I chatted with him aimlessly. For every question I asked, he gave an answer. Sometimes, if he couldn't answer immediately, he would frown and think before replying. Until I asked him: "Is the new Emperor good?" The man holding me froze. Instead of answering, he asked, "Why do you ask, Chloe?" I blew on a spoonful of congee to cool it and offered it to him, lowering my voice. "I hope he doesn't bully Grandmother." The new Emperor was a prince of a different surname who had ascended the throne. He wasn't my grandmother's child. Grandmother didn't have any biological children left. The palace was so big—would she be scared? Would she be lonely? Elias didn't say anything else. He just kept putting food in my bowl, telling me to eat well. Once I grew a little taller, he promised to take me to the palace to see her. I was happy, thinking that growing taller was easy. Which meant seeing Grandmother would be easy too. 6 Once winter arrived, Elias became incredibly busy. He woke up early and went to bed late, working like a shadow. On the Winter Solstice, a banquet was held in the palace, and Elias took me with him. I was bundled up like a little dumpling, layer upon layer, leaving the freezing wind no place to bite me. But looking like this had a perk: it made Grandmother think I had gained a lot of weight. She hugged me, finding it quite an effort, and smiled. "Good girl, you've put on weight." Sitting at Grandmother's knee, I told her about everything happening at the Sterling Estate. When her eyes crinkled into a smile, I finally let out a slow sigh of relief. Just as we were about to have our meal, a palace maid suddenly announced that Princess Sunny had arrived to pay her respects. I looked at Grandmother. She gently squeezed my hand, turned, and ordered, "Let the Princess in." Princess Sunny was truly beautiful. Her fiery red cloak made her look like a radiant sun. I thought she looked a little bit like my mother. Of course, that's assuming she wasn't glaring at me. She curtsied to Grandmother, then stood to the side, looking at me haughtily, waiting for me to curtsy to her. But Grandmother was holding my hand. I couldn't move an inch. So I pinched my throat and obediently called out, "Princess." She was displeased, frowning at me. "Why doesn't the little Duchess curtsy to me?" I let go of Grandmother's hand, waddled my round, bundled-up body over to her, and said, "Please don't blame me, Princess. I'm wearing too many layers. I can't really bend my knees. I'm so sorry." Princess Sunny froze, clearly not expecting me to say that. She immediately turned her head away, muttering "Idiot" under her breath. "Dowager Empress," Princess Sunny stepped forward, her tone sharp and critical. "Why did you reject the posthumous title for my mother, Consort Guo?" Grandmother scoffed coldly. "Consort Guo committed suicide. How is she worthy of a posthumous title?!" "Heh." Princess Sunny's eyes burned fiercely, refusing to back down. "Was it suicide out of fear of punishment, or was she framed by someone else?" Grandmother's face turned icy. "Insolence!" In the midst of this standoff, Elias arrived. After paying his respects to everyone, he waved to me. "Is Madam hungry?" I knew he was trying to break the tension, so I nodded. Grandmother's expression softened slightly as she let the palace maids help her up. "I will dine with you two." The moment she spoke, Princess Sunny sneered coldly from the side. "An old man and a child bride. You really have made yourselves the laughingstock of the world." A sharp slap echoed in my ears. Princess Sunny held her cheek, staring at Grandmother in disbelief. "You dare hit me? Do you think you can control me with your dirty little secrets?" Grandmother stood tall and straight, the phoenix hairpin in her hair trembling slightly from her anger. "I am the Dowager Empress! No matter who the new Emperor is, I am the only, and the most supreme, Dowager Empress!" I had never seen Grandmother like this. In my memory, she had always been gentle and loving. In the past, when the late Emperor was alive, she was the virtuous and gracious Empress praised by all the officials. Later, when the late Emperor passed away, she remained unfazed in the face of danger. Amidst the chaos of the rebel army, she held the imperial seal and convinced everyone to support the current Emperor's ascension. But today, even though she kept saying the word 'supreme', I felt that Grandmother had lost a lot of her confidence. I knew why. Everyone knew. 7 Perhaps frightened by what happened during the day, I developed a high fever as soon as we got home. Elias called for a doctor, but didn't trust anyone else to take care of me, so he tended to my every need himself. I slept fitfully until the middle of the night. When I groggily opened my eyes, I saw a small desk set up by the bed. Under the dim lamplight, a shadowy figure sat there, the only sound the clear scratch, scratch of a brush against paper. "Big Brother." The figure immediately stood up, bringing a cup of warm tea to my lips. "Your voice is hoarse. Drink some water to soothe it." He then placed his hand on my forehead, repeating the action several times until he was finally relieved. "Your fever broke. You'll be fine after another sleep, Chloe." I grabbed his sleeve. "Big Brother, can you do me a favor?" Elias tucked the blankets around me, his tone perfectly calm. "Tell me." "Help me protect Grandmother." I was probably crying; my vision was blurry, but I didn't want the tears to fall, so I bit my lip hard. "Grandmother works so hard. Please, Big Brother, protect her, okay?" Time seemed to stand still. Thunder rumbled outside the window, not too loud, not too soft, but landing perfectly in my ears. "I do not make promises lightly." It took a long time for Elias to gently pull his sleeve from my grasp. "Chloe, you're still young and might not understand. Some things cannot be accomplished by my power alone." I made up my mind. I climbed out of bed, kneeling before him. "I won't ask you to help me for nothing. I have something to trade with you, as long as you can keep Grandmother alive." Elias looked at me, stunned. "What is it?" I lowered my voice. "The military seal..." Before I could finish, Elias immediately clamped his hand over my mouth. Being so close, I could clearly see the flash of anxiety and worry in his eyes. "That is not something a child like you should possess!" I climbed back onto the bed and opened the peace amulet. A bronze tiger lay in my warm palm. Elias was completely dumbfounded. Even though he was the Chancellor, brilliant from a young age, he probably never imagined that the tiger seal currently in the Emperor's hands was a fake, and the real one was in mine. "My mom and dad didn't die in battle, did they?" I spoke very calmly, as if I were telling Elias about an ordinary, everyday occurrence. "My dad was incredibly strong. At Jade Gate Pass, he fought a hundred men alone and came back without a scratch. In the Battle of Wintermoon, with so many troops, even if they lost, my dad wouldn't have died." I smiled, holding back the tears in my eyes. "Not to mention my mom was there. Even if he fought to the death, my dad would have absolutely protected her. "The new Emperor took the throne, feared my dad, and then plotted to murder him, right?" I voiced the suspicion that had been haunting me, my entire body trembling. Elias sighed and reached out to hug me. He placed his hand on my hair, leaving it there for a long time before finally saying, "You are only seven. Knowing too much is not a good thing." I wrapped my arms around his neck, my voice choked with sobs. "Big Brother, please help Grandmother, okay?" Elias finally relented. He placed me back on the bed. Under the warm candlelight, the young man's face was as beautiful as a painting. "Chloe, grow up well. Time heals all wounds. "And I will protect you well." 8 Six years flew by. I was protected incredibly well by Elias. Grandmother once asked me what kind of feelings I had for him. I thought about it and finally remembered a very fitting phrase. "Like a father, like a brother." I was eleven years younger than him. He treated me like his own little sister. He spoiled and doted on me, taught me how to read and write, and how to conduct myself in the world. He never once overstepped the boundaries of propriety with me. He knew the terror buried deep in my heart, and I understood his ambitions and aspirations. But deep down, I always held onto a different kind of hope. To stay together forever, growing old with him. I gently tapped the fan in my hand, suddenly feeling that this was a truly beautiful idea. But before that could happen, both he and I had a long, long road to travel. In the summer of the seventh year of the current reign, the Emperor suddenly fell gravely ill. Elias was a trusted civil official of the Emperor. Within moments of the Emperor falling ill, he was detained in the Emperor's bedchamber by the palace eunuchs. The palace gates were shut tight, and the inside was already in complete chaos. However, that very night, during a brief moment of lucidity, the Emperor named a Crown Prince. He chose the son of Consort Li—who was actually Princess Sunny. When Elias returned to the estate and told me this, his tone was incredibly calm. "The Emperor made the wrong move." I remained silent. Consort Li was a princess from the previous dynasty. The veteran officials who followed the current Emperor were naturally uneasy about this. But the Emperor was resolute, and no one could sway him. Not only that, the Emperor even ordered the recall of General Chen, a military commander stationed at the border. One civil, one military—he wanted Chen and Elias to jointly assist the Crown Prince. I was somewhat worried. "Big Brother," I looked quietly at the man by the window. "General Chen and the Emperor are not of the same mind." "I know." Elias raised his hand and closed the window beside me. "But the Emperor trusts him implicitly. During the Battle of Wintermoon years ago, Chen gained immense favor with His Majesty." During the Battle of Wintermoon, the Emperor might have just wanted to plot my father's death, but he would never have used the entire empire as a bargaining chip. But why, on that day, were the city gates thrown wide open? Not only did my father perish, but the enemy troops, stationed a hundred miles away, were able to charge straight in. A battle they clearly could have won ultimately cost my father his life and the loss of over a dozen cities. Tens of thousands of soldiers died or were injured, yet General Chen, who was the deputy commander, emerged without a single scratch. He was promoted and given a title, taking over all the positions that originally belonged to my father. Chen harbored traitorous intentions. "Chloe," the man before me tapped the table lightly. "What do you think?" I smiled. "Closing the door to beat the dog. Is Big Brother willing to be the stick Chloe uses to beat the dog?" "This plan is too dangerous, Chloe..." "Big Brother." I was still smiling. "My parents cannot die in vain. I must avenge them myself." "Chen and the Emperor... I won't let either of them off."
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