Return of Xia Yanxi
Jun Wang was the title bestowed to the third prince of the Zhou Empire, Zhou Jinglan. Everyone knew him as Jun Wang, only the close family members were allowed to call him by his original name.
The third prince of the empire was known for his careless and unambitious lifestyle. It was said that the Third Prince's residence had more concubines than the crown prince's palace itself. Each one of them was more beautiful than another.
He was kind, well-spoken and a gentleman. Although he had many good qualities, he was famous among the public for his scandals. It was said that the prince spent his entire day painting and weaving poems that oftentimes he was absent from court for the very same reason.
Once he made the emperor so mad with his unambitious manner of living that he was sent to a warzone area to learn something from his brothers who were proficient warriors and court genius. In the end, Jun Wang not only did not learn a single thing but almost got the crown prince killed with his stupidity.
Ultimately, the emperor realized that his son was good for nothing and stopped hoping for anything from that particular son of his. It was better if Jun Wang stayed far away from his eyes.
Xia Xi Wan stared out of the window at the falling yellow leaves on the ground, once again mesmerised by the beauty of Autumn and uttered, "Lu Shi. Lu Xin. My elder brother is returning."
After that, she didn't feel the urge to say a word again.
…
It was just like Xia Xi Wan had said yesterday that her eldest brother was returning, the Xia major was brimming with enthusiasm today. The eldest son and the current head of the family– Xia Yanxi was returning to his home after fighting at the border for eight years. He was returning with the title of one of the greatest Generals the empire had ever produced. He controlled the most powerful and largest army of the empire.
In the last few decades, the Xia family had lost power. Although they were one of the powerful families of the empire, they were at last in the hierarchy of power struggle of these four families but now because of Xia Yanxi, the ranking of Xia family that had fallen in the past few decades rose once again, subduing those three families in one shot.
After reporting to the emperor, Xia Yanxi was headed to the manor. As the guards announced his arrival, everyone bowed their heads to greet the master of the house, including Xia Xi Wan.
"Welcome back son," Li Ying said as she was standing at the front to welcome him. By calling him son, she declared her authority before everyone. Although she was a second wife of Xia Zheng Qi and stepmother to Xia Yanxi and Xia Xi Wan, she still was the Di wife of the siblings' father. She couldn't be refuted with the respect that she deserved.
"Greetings to the Second mother, "Xia Yanxi greeted her with the respect she deserved. Although he was far away from home, he had eyes and ears in the manor. He knew that this woman had not treated his sister badly, the only thing that mattered to him. Even though her treatment towards his sister couldn't be said to be warm, it still was more than what he was expecting from his father's second wife.
His gaze fell on a woman standing far from him, dressed in a white and lavender coloured silk dress, her hair flowing down her waist as if water cascading down in a beautiful motion.
Eight years.
Yes, it had been eight years since he last saw her and she had grown up from a little girl to a woman. She wasn't how he had imagined her to look in actuality. It wasn't that she wasn't as beautiful as he anticipated but the matureness and calmness in her eyes was something he had never expected to see in a woman her age.
All he could say was that he didn't like the fact that his sister had to get so mature at such a young age.
The little girl who used to laugh and tease him, following him everywhere by calling Gege had grown up and he didn't know how to communicate with this sister of his who he had brought calamity as soon as he stepped back into the capital.
"Xia Yanxi, there is something mother needs to talk to you about," Li Ying said, maintaining her composure and the young man nodded his head, gesturing to her to show him the way. She nodded her head as if understanding that it had been eight years since he had stepped a foot in the manor and it was common for him not to know the way inside as the manor had gone through major changes these past years.
"Jie, did you come to see our eldest brother?" Xia Yunhao asked, raising his mischievous brow. He was more than two years younger than Xia Xi Wan.
"What do you think?" asked Xia Xi Wan, maintaining a good ten inches between them. She knew that her younger brother had a habit of getting a little touchy.
"What do I think?" Xia Yunhao scoffed. "I'm just happy that mother didn't force me to attend school just yet. With our eldest brother here, I can rest at home for a few days."
"Yunhao, are you talking to the eldest daughter of Xia family?" A sarcastic voice rang and Xia Xi Wan sighed as her gaze swept across a haughty fourteen years old girl who was dressed in a light pink silk dress. It was no one else but Xia Yue, the youngest child of the Xia family.
Xia Yunhao and Xia Yue were Li Ying's children. Their relationship with Xia Xi Wan couldn't be said to be bad. It was just that Xia Yue believed that her eldest sister hated her, given how she never tried to befriend her or showed sisterly concern like all those sisters that she saw out. Everyone talked about how her eldest sister always wished for her to disappear.
A misunderstanding had soured the relationship between the two sisters.
It wasn't that Xia Xi Wan never wanted to share a warm and sweet relationship with all her siblings, it was just that she was forced by her unique situation. Once upon a time, when she was not schemed against or being destroyed mentally and emotionally, she had tried but now she didn't have in it to try to mend the broken relationships.
It was better this day.
She was human just like the rest of them. Even she got exhausted, physically and mentally.
While the three siblings were still standing at the door, a debate between two persons had arisen inside the main courtyard.
A rug was pulled beneath Li Ying's feet, how could she allow herself to be humiliated just like that?
An imperial edict had challenged everything that she had spent years trying to achieve.
Letting Xia Xi Wan marry Jun Wang? Not letting it happen!
Xia family couldn't afford to have a Wangfei!
….
Wangfei is a term for Prince Consort or the prince's legal wife.