The male supporting character was actually myself.

She hasn't met any handsome men yet. Are we going to arrange a marriage for her?

"The Prime Minister's wife comes from a prestigious family. Her father was the former Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince; her brother is now the Minister of War, and her younger brother is the Governor of the Southern Province. She manages the inner quarters of the Prime Minister's residence and is absolutely authoritative. Even Prime Minister Lin has to show her respect. No matter where the banquet is held, the couple always go together. They have two sons and a daughter and live a harmonious life."

The Vice Minister of Revenue, Lord Zhang, lost his first wife early. He remarried the daughter of the Minister of Justice, Lord Ge. They had no children and treated each other with great respect. His first wife left behind a son and a daughter. Their parents were loving, and their children were filial. They received my brother and me, and the family was very happy, chatting and laughing.

Prince Ning was not favored by the late emperor from birth, and was granted a fiefdom and allowed to establish his own government at an early age.

He had no great ambitions and loved to frequent brothels. Princess Ning came from a humble family and had a son. Have you ever seen a smile on her face? She was so cautious that even her actions, sitting, lying down, speaking, and laughing had to be mindful of Prince Ning's expression.

When you and I visited, Prince Ning received us with his most favored concubine. During the banquet, we only saw his illegitimate children and not his eldest son.

The situation in the harem is more complicated. The current empress comes from a military family; her father and brothers are still stationed on the border and hold military power. Her sister is the Princess Consort of Qi and has a young son. According to the custom of our dynasty, no matter how many favored concubines His Majesty the Emperor has, he must rest in the empress's palace for at least four days on the first, fifth, fifteenth, and twenty-fifth of each month.

The most favored concubines could only serve the emperor three times a month at most. If a concubine served the emperor more times than the empress, the empress and empress dowager had the right to confine her to the palace and punish her by making her copy the rules for concubines.

As far as I know, apart from Emperor Jia who exclusively favored Consort Xi, no emperor in this dynasty has neglected his empress and exclusively favored his concubines. And that Consort Xi, who was the most favored concubine, was ultimately given a death sentence, a tragic end for a beautiful woman.

Shen Qingluan listened to her brother's detailed explanation of the matter with great confusion. "Brother, why did you suddenly decide to tell me all this? When did you start paying attention to things like the power struggles in the imperial harem?"

“You’re already sixteen this year. If I hadn’t wanted to keep you in the manor for a few more years, those marriage proposal invitations would have filled the house long ago!” Jiang Chen sighed and looked at his younger sister softly, “In the past, I was busy making money to support you, busy climbing the social ladder, and busy handling government affairs, so I neglected your upbringing quite a bit.”

Your brother takes you to see and hear things to make up for the lack of guidance he has provided over the years.

Based on my visits and summaries over the past few days, have you discovered any key points?

A young woman will eventually get married, and it's not easy to cross social classes by chance, just like Princess Ning. If she hadn't been so beautiful and hadn't happened to meet Prince Ning, she would have at most married into a merchant family, or perhaps become the wife of a minor official of the eighth rank.

But by sheer chance, she seized the opportunity and rose to become a princess.

She gave birth to a son under the emperor's lavish favor, and then what?

Without her family's support, and with Prince Ning's infatuation with women, wouldn't he soon forget about her?

Now that she has a legitimate son by her side, she can still maintain her position by being careful. If something happens to the legitimate son in the future, given Prince Ning's temperament, he will immediately divorce his wife and remarry, and promote his favorite concubine to the position of legitimate wife!

Similarly, if the prime minister's wife's family were implicated and imprisoned, the second wife of the vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue fell into poverty, and the empress's father and brothers were stripped of their military power, do you think these noble ladies could still sit on equal footing with their husbands?

How could it suppress a favored concubine from causing trouble?

The reason I'm telling you this is to tell you that, throughout history, a woman's status in her husband's family after marriage depends not only on her own shrewdness and abilities but also on the support of her family.

Even children from ordinary poor families rely on their maternal uncles when they encounter difficulties, let alone those from powerful and wealthy families.

We, brother and sister, have depended on each other since childhood. No matter who you marry in the future, as long as I, your brother, am powerful, I will ensure your happiness and well-being. Even if your husband wants to take a concubine, he will have to defer to us.”

Hearing her brother bring up the topic of marriage, Shen Qingluan blushed slightly and nodded, saying, "I understand your good intentions, brother. Just like you once said: you tried every means to climb up and gain more power, all to provide a safe haven for your sister, so that I could live a carefree life without having to scheme against others."

Qingluan thanks her brother for protecting her!

She stood up, bowed, and then sat down again, her heart pounding as the image of Young Master Yu flashed through her mind.

How wonderful it would be to marry him, but he holds no official position, and the difference in our social standing is enormous...

Jiang Chen noticed the fleeting expression on her face and spoke again: "Your brother has gained the title of Regent Prince and wielded great power over the world. In the past two years, he has also blocked many marriage proposals for you, all so that you can find a husband you truly like."

You can choose any man in the world.

Born into humble circumstances, his elder brother was granted a prestigious surname.

He has no official position or post, but his elder brother can guarantee him a high-ranking official position and generous salary.

Even if I were an illiterate, impoverished beggar, I could make him incredibly wealthy with me around.

As long as you two are truly in love, even if you want to be empress, your brother can guarantee your wish will come true!

"Really? Really?" Hearing her brother say that, Shen Qingluan's heart pounded even harder.

Since he doesn't even look down on beggars, wouldn't it be easy for Young Master Yu to find a good match with him?

"What? You already have someone you like?" He coaxed with a light smile, "Tell me, which talented man has won my sister's favor? As long as he is also interested, I will make the decision and have His Majesty issue a decree to grant us a marriage on another day!"

Shen Qingluan took a deep breath, her face flushed, and mustered her courage to say, "I... I saw that Young Master Yu today, and he was so gentle and talented that I... I really liked him..."

"Young Master Lan Yuanyu?" Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, "Does my sister know that Young Master Yu's real name is Shangguan Xuanyu, and he is the son of Shangguan Yuntao, the deputy director of the Imperial City Division of Yong'an Kingdom, and the next director of the Imperial City Division?"

He embarked on his journey three months ago, changing identities along the way. After arriving in Kyoto, he took over the enemy's spy network and is now the head of the enemy's secret agents within our Southern Qi spy network.

Chapter Eight: The Making of a Yandere...

"Dangdang!"

"what!"

Shen Qingluan mustered her courage to confide her secret, then picked up her teacup and pretended to drink water to hide her shyness. Upon hearing her brother's words, she was so shocked that she knocked over the teacup and turned pale. "Brother, are you serious?"

The maid Honglian hurriedly stepped forward to pick up the fallen cups and saucers, and also used a silk handkerchief to wipe her wet dress.

“This is top secret, and very few people know about it.” Jiang Chen continued to explain, “Do you know why I asked you to speak today, why I dismissed everyone around me, and why I had Xiao Wu lead the guards to watch over the study?”

That's because I wanted to tell you this anyway.

That day, when Shangguan Xuanyu was invited to the Lan Garden to attend a poetry gathering, he wanted to take the opportunity to test his way closer to you.

Therefore, I was worried about something going wrong, so I sent Xiao Wu to accompany me personally.

If things go as expected, Shangguan Xuanyu will send you another invitation to the grand event in a few days. He will try every means to get close to you, befriend you, and even pursue you, all in order to use sweet words to make you forget yourself and lower your guard.

This will allow them to get close to me and steal military intelligence. Once the two countries go to war, the Yong'an army will definitely use the intelligence obtained by Shangguan Xuanyu to massacre my Southern Qi soldiers and step onto my Southern Qi territory!

Incidentally, he will probably use you as a means to get me to grant him an official position, while secretly gathering court officials to plot against me and kill me in one fell swoop!

What can a weak woman like you do at that time?

They might torture you to death, sell you for a pittance, or use sweet words to gain your trust and then take you back to Yong'an to humiliate you to death.

Qingluan, after learning Yu Gongzi's true colors, you still feel affection for him, thinking that even betraying the country or having your brother killed by him doesn't matter, as long as he smiles at you and says a few sweet words, you can let go of everything?"

"I...I..." Shen Qingluan was shocked and didn't know what to do for a moment.

Tears streamed down her face, soaking her clothes. She covered her mouth and sobbed, "This isn't true, brother, you're lying to me! How could someone as perfect as him be a spy? How could he bear to lie to me?"

"It looks like there's no going back. Host, you should probably put her under house arrest." The fluffy dumpling shook its head and sighed, "According to Xiao Wu's report, Shen Qingluan only caught a glimpse of Shangguan Xuanyu a couple of times. They didn't even talk to each other, yet she's already so infatuated with him."

Shouldn't a normal person's reaction be shock and anger?

How infuriating it is that enemy spies want to use me as a pawn to kill my own brother and then launch a large-scale invasion of the country by breaching the border!

Even if the other person is incredibly handsome, you can't be this brain-dead, unable to distinguish friend from foe. It's clear your sister's "love-obsessed" persona is beyond repair.

Jiang Chen sighed and shook his head, saying, "It seems you've fallen deeply in love with him."

"Then... he's a spy from an enemy country, brother, will you kill him?" Shen Qingluan's mind was filled with thoughts of Young Master Yu. She cried and threw herself at his feet, clutching her brother's clothes with tears streaming down her face. "Please, brother, don't kill him! Let him go, okay? Let him go back to Yong'an Kingdom!"

Even if I suffer the pain of longing, at least he's still alive, and my brother won't have to worry about being plotted against..."

The little white cat was so angry that its tail was wagging. "I freaking want to swat her to death! Brainless! Idiot!"

"Get up and listen to me." Jiang Chen, confident in his abilities, helped her up, wiped away her tears, and smiled gently. "Even if I don't pursue the matter and let Shangguan Xuanyu return to Yong'an Kingdom safely, he hasn't completed his trial as the next head of the Imperial City Guard."

Do you know what happens if you fail and give up before the mission even begins? With Emperor An's ruthless and decisive nature, he would surely behead him on charges of treason and use his head as a sacrifice to the battle flag!

Therefore, this road is blocked, and he will surely die if he goes back.

I've said it before, little sister, whatever man you desire, your brother will do everything in his power to help you get him.

If you've decided that you only want Shangguan Xuanyu, then I have three paths for you to choose from.

First: You've fulfilled the enemy's wish by personally informing them of our country's military deployment and then helping them kill me. Now that I'm left helpless and without anyone to back me up, how to deal with me depends on Shangguan Xuanyu's mind.

Anyway, I don't think that someone with the future head of the Imperial City Guard would be so lenient towards a pawn who is unaware of family feuds, national hatred, and right and wrong.

"No! I would never do that!"

Shen Qingluan cried out, "I will not betray my brother, and I will not let anyone hurt him! We siblings have depended on each other for so many years, and you are my only support. How could I do such a heartless thing!"

The little dumpling, with a drooping face, spat and said, "Pah! Your affection for your brother is fake; what you really care about is being neglected because you don't have anyone to rely on."

The host is indeed amazing. All that foreshadowing was to make her understand that she can only rest easy if you are alive; if you die, she will be devoured alive sooner or later.

That's a brilliant move!

Therefore, unless the female lead herself wants to die, she won't betray her brother.

She was still thinking about spending her life with her beloved, carefree and happy. How could she bear to die?

If you die, you'll lose everything.

Jiang Chen silently added in his heart, and continued, "The second method: forced love is not sweet but it quenches thirst. That is, sister, you only need to get his body, it doesn't matter if you don't get his heart."

I can immediately send someone to arrest Shangguan Xuanyu without exposing his identity or subjecting him to torture.

He was fed only one pill personally refined by the Grandmaster of Alchemy, Changfeng, which dissipated his internal energy and turned him into a weak scholar with no strength to even kill a chicken. He was imprisoned in the mansion and married to you, never to be separated from you for the rest of your life.

The third method is a bit more difficult.

Your brother's original intention was that you would have a smooth and happy life and find a good partner to accompany you and be compatible with. If it is only your one-sided love, it cannot be called mutual affection.

If you want Shangguan Xuanyu to love you for a lifetime, it all depends on your own methods, Qingluan.

From now on, I will not prevent you from associating with him. It's up to you to use your heart and love to win him over, making him fall deeply in love with you and forging a cross-cultural romance. For safety's sake, I will not allow him to enter the court, but I can still guarantee you both a life of wealth, honor, and carefree leisure.

"I...I need to think about it carefully." Shen Qingluan's chest heaved, and she asked in a trembling voice, "If I fail to reform him, can you still imprison him in the manor, brother?"

"Of course! If Shangguan Xuanyu only wants to use you and doesn't have any real feelings for you, little sister, you just want to get a man. I'll catch one for you and keep him in my manor. With Grandmaster Changfeng personally assisting you, who knows, you might be able to make him change his mind and fall deeply in love with you."

"However, I will only tell you and your servant about Young Master Yu's true identity. Do not let this slip, or Shangguan Xuanyu's life will be in danger!"

The maid Honglian hurriedly knelt down, "This servant understands, this servant will keep the secret to myself and never mention it to anyone!"

"Qingluan, do you want to try to be in love with her and become a couple? If you're determined, having Honglian's help will make things easier."

"This servant will certainly lend Miss a hand!" Honglian kowtowed and replied.

Shen Qingluan pondered for a moment, then stood up and bowed. "Thank you for your forgiveness, brother. I understand the reasoning. I will never betray my family or my country."

She would never stoop so low as to abandon her dignity and betray her brother to enemy spies just to receive sweet words of charity!

Qingluan kept her brother's teachings in mind.

If I have no bottom line and blindly try to please him, he may appear compliant on the surface, but deep down he will despise and loathe me.

Love should also have dignity!

I can love him to the point of recklessness; he must reciprocate in kind. Otherwise, I might as well imprison him in the palace, making him my sole possession!

"Holy crap! Host, your little sister has the potential to be a yandere!" The little white cat was stunned when it heard the last two words.