The wicked imperial concubine is courting death again; the comments section teaches her how to win w

My brother, who is so aloof and cold, like snow on a mountain peak, actually secretly watched Qi Yitang and drew her portrait in private.

She even secretly drank heavily because she was delivering things to others...

This was something Xie Changqing had never seen before, and even he, as the younger brother, had never received such treatment.

Xie Changqing disliked Qi Yitang back then.

Because she only played with the second prince and his brothers, never paid attention to the emperor, and had a bad temper, she was so arrogant that she dared to fight with the seventh prince.

He thought she was blind and couldn't see the good in her brother.

But in private, seeing his elder brother get drunk many times, Xie Changqing felt extremely sorry for him and went to give him a bad idea, telling him to seize it by force and strike first.

"But forced love is never sweet, and I don't want Tangtang to suffer."

That was the first time Xie Ling had confided in him, and Xie Changqing was overjoyed. "Who cares if it's sweet or not, let's just twist it off first! Second Brother is fickle and won't be sincere with Sister Qi. If they get together, Sister Qi will suffer so much."

"Brother, why don't you marry Sister Qi and cultivate your relationship after marriage?"

Xie Ling remained silent.

After that, thanks to Qi Yitang, the brothers' relationship improved considerably.

The relationship deteriorated when Xie Changqing was eight years old.

When the Emperor returned from the battlefield, everyone praised him for his great achievements and said he was now qualified to compete for the throne. However, Xie Changqing only felt that the Emperor had lost a lot of weight.

The emperor told his mother that he wanted to marry Sister Qi, but this was met with strong opposition.

The Empress Dowager said that the Qi family was of average social standing and could not help the Emperor in his struggle for the throne. In addition, Sister Qi was having an affair with the Second Prince and was not worthy of being her daughter-in-law. She would not even allow her to be a concubine... The Emperor's wife could only be a woman from the Qin family, so he should give up on that idea.

At that time, the emperor's expression was particularly unpleasant, and he started arguing with his mother.

The mother was furious and scolded the emperor for being unfilial. She then smashed the emperor's forehead with a paperweight.

During the argument, the lamp oil was spilled, igniting the curtains and causing the palace to catch fire.

His mother and palace maids rushed out in a panic, carrying him away, leaving his elder brother alone in the fire... unattended.

Later, when his elder brother ascended the throne, he honored their mother as Empress Dowager.

However, Xie Changqing immediately received an imperial edict, bestowing upon him the title of Prince of Jin, ordering him to immediately garrison his fiefdom and not return to the capital without further decree.

It was like a bolt from the blue. Those who weren't born of the same parents could stay in the capital, but his own brother was to be exiled far away.

Xie Changqing wanted to defy the imperial decree, to rush into the palace and demand an explanation, but he could only hypnotize himself—

When the Emperor first ascended the throne, there were both internal and external troubles, and the court was unstable. He needed a trustworthy person to guard the border.

As the emperor's younger brother, it was just right for him to go to his fiefdom to guard it.

However, at this moment, Qi Yitang's words touched Xie Changqing's wounds of self-deception, and he felt a pain in his heart.

"You! You're talking nonsense—"

His face flushed red and then turned pale. "How could my brother not like me? You wicked woman, you're deliberately trying to sow discord between us brothers!"

Qi Yitang pursed her lips, "Then go ahead and complain. While you're at it, ask your brother why he doesn't like you and has left you alone in your fiefdom for so many years without ever asking about you."

"If I hadn't pleaded for you, do you think you'd have been able to come back a few more times in your life?"

[As expected of the villainous female supporting character, she never suffers a loss, and her mouth is like it's coated with venom.]

Although he was physically weak, Qi Yitang was never afraid of anyone when it came to talking.

In fact, Qi Yitang felt that she had spoken quite restrainedly and that her words were not very hurtful, but to a brother-obsessed person, these words were no less than words that pierced the heart.

Xie Changqing's vision blurred. "No, impossible, my brother would never..."

It was the Emperor himself who issued the decree, ordering him to return to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday, and even allowing him to stay in the capital for another six months...

Their relationship as brothers had clearly improved.

"You don't believe me?" Qi Yitang turned to leave, "Should I kindly go and ask for you?"

"No, you're not allowed to go!" Xie Changqing hurriedly stopped her.

Even if Xie Changqing was confident that the blood ties could not be severed, he was also clear about his and Qi Yitang's importance in his elder brother's heart.

One is heaven, the other is earth.

My elder brother has liked this wicked woman for so many years; he can't compare to her at all.

"Why did you tell me..." He was forced to confront this cruel truth, unable even to deceive himself.

Before he could finish speaking, Xie Changqing choked up.

The comments section burst out laughing: "My goodness, bro, why are you crying?"

[A handsome man sheds tears; you know what, a young man can actually look quite good when he cries.]

[Don't you think the female supporting character went too far? She's just a child, and to say such hurtful things is simply rude and ill-mannered.]

[Oh, so men are boys until they die, even though they're over ten years old, they're still just boys.]

His crying confused Qi Yitang. "No, why are you crying? It's like I'm bullying you."

Xie Changqing's eyes were red from crying. "It was true..."

Qi Yitang glanced around. No one seemed to be paying attention yet, but the palace was full of people and eyes, and if word got back to the Empress Dowager…

She wasn't afraid, but it would be very troublesome.

Xie Ling was already quite busy, with many things to do, and didn't have time to care about her younger brother.

"Alright, alright. A real man doesn't cry. What kind of behavior is this, all this wailing? You're seventeen, not seven. Besides, your brother never cries."

This person's tears flowed like water, so Qi Yitang relented, "...I'll give you all the fish in the bucket, okay?"

"Who cares about your fish!" Xie Changqing wiped away her tears and said bitterly, "You have such a bad temper, you're not worthy of my brother's affection at all!"

Having said that, he snatched the fish from the eunuch's hand and ran away.

Qi Yitang: "..." I've never seen anyone so childish.

No wonder Xie Ling doesn't like this younger brother; he's such a crybaby.

……

This little incident naturally did not escape the Empress Dowager's notice, but she had no time to deal with it.

Because of the sudden outbreak of war in the northwest, the new king of the Northern Rong repeatedly provoked the court, and the court was in an uproar over who should lead the expedition.

Several generals, who came from military backgrounds, volunteered to cut off the head of the new king of the Northern Rong.

Xie Ling remained noncommittal, neither nodding nor shaking his head.

The Empress Dowager advised Xie Ling to prioritize the overall situation—his uncle would not harm him, his cousin was part of their family, and only when the Qin family prospered could the Xie family prosper.

At the same time, he advised Qin Zhenxiong to stop there, since the emperor was his nephew and he, as the uncle, couldn't refuse to give him face.

They are in a relationship where they share both prosperity and adversity.

Qin Zhenxiong remained silent, inwardly scoffing at the Empress Dowager's remarks.

That's ridiculous. Xie Ling only secured his throne by standing on Qin Zhenxiong's shoulders. There's absolutely no reason for him, as an elder, to bow down first.

A married daughter is truly like water spilled from a cup.

His younger sister's heart already leans towards the Xie family.

Upon returning to the Chengen Duke's Mansion, Qin Zhenxiong first went to Qin Jiangli's room.

"Father—" Qin Jiangli was doing needlework. When she saw him come in, she put down her work and a faint smile appeared on her face. "You've come at the right time... I was just thinking of going to find you."

"Your leg injury hasn't healed yet, and it often aches on rainy days. My daughter made a new pair of knee braces, cough cough... why don't you try them?"