After My Brother Was Demoted, I Mistakenly Sought Refuge with His Mortal Enemy - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was the second year after my elder brother entered court as an official.

What arrived was not news that he would bring me to the capital so we could be reunited.

Instead, it was an imperial edict demoting him-and a letter.

In the letter, he said he had been framed by treacherous men and had offended the Prince Regent with his words.

Now he had been demoted to Lingnan, with no telling when he might return.

Worried for me, he entrusted me to a close friend from his student days.

“Brother Cui is my dearest friend. He is good-natured, upright, honorable, and kind to others.

“Zhaozhao, I have asked him to look after you.

“When I return to the capital, I will come bring you home.”

My elder brother and I had depended on each other since we were children.

Now that he had been demoted, his own future was uncertain, and he did not know whether fortune or disaster awaited him.

Yet he still worried about my situation.

Besides being touched, all I felt was a heart full of unease and anxiety.

I did not want to simply sit and wait for doom.

I wanted to do something for my brother too.

And so, the day after I received the letter,

I resolutely set off for the capital.

But because the letter had been written in such haste,

my brother had actually forgotten to tell me his friend’s full name.

Three months later,

I stood at the gates of the capital, suddenly at a loss as to where to go.

Fortunately, there was a storyteller at a tea stall beside the city gate.

I saw that his beard and hair were both white, and he spoke with great confidence.

From what he said, he seemed to know a great deal about the capital’s situation and the officials at court.

So while he was taking a break to drink tea,

I edged over and asked carefully,

“May I ask, sir, do you know where Lord Cui’s residence is in the capital?”

“What did you say?!”

The old gentleman cupped a hand to his ear.

I fell silent for a moment, then gathered my courage and shouted,

“I said, the residence of Lord Cui!”

“Oh! A big shot surnamed Cui? There-enter the city, walk three li east, and the one with Vermilion Bird Gate and the red plaque is it!”

He very enthusiastically pointed out the way for me.

He even said it would be easy to find. In the whole capital, there was only that one place.

I did not notice the single word that was wrong in what he said.

After thanking him, I entered the city and walked another three li.

Sure enough, I saw the Vermilion Bird Gate he had mentioned.

I was just about to rejoice when I sensed something was off.

There were hardly any pedestrians around.

The few who did happen to pass by

all hurried away at a brisk pace.

The entire street and the residence itself exuded an inviolable, solemn, and forbidding air.

It made one feel an instinctive awe.

Had I come to the wrong place?

That could not be.

Had that gentleman not said there was only this one in the capital?

I ran to the front entrance and compared the characters on the plaque above.

Seeing that the character for “Cui” was the same as the one written in my brother’s letter,

I finally mustered my courage and knocked on the door knocker.

An old man opened the door.

The moment he saw me, his face filled with confusion.

“Little miss, who are you looking for?”

“I’m looking for Lord Cui.”

He frowned.

I hurriedly introduced myself and explained who I was.

“My name is Ji Zhaozhao. Ji Huaiming is my elder brother.”

His expression changed.

His gaze landed on me even more carefully.

I thought he was checking whether I resembled my brother.

But then he asked me, “Lord Ji’s younger sister? What are you doing here?”

???

Had my brother not said he had entrusted me to him?

Could he have forgotten?

I was just about to explain why I had come.

The old man seemed to realize something as well.

He was about to say something,

when the sound of wheels rolling over bluestone slabs came from the street.

A carriage slowly came to a stop.

The old man instantly stopped speaking and walked straight past me.

Taking the steps two and three at a time, he went forward to greet it.

“My lord, you have returned.”

“Mm.”

The voice was low and pleasant.

On the empty, solemn street, it sounded especially clear.

I turned to look.

A young man of striking nobility was stepping down from the carriage.

He wore a deep black cloak, his eyes cold as stars, his lashes like raven feathers.

He was truly astonishingly handsome.

My brother actually had such a breathtaking friend?

I was a little dazed, but I quickly came back to my senses.

The old man was speaking to him respectfully.

And he seemed to be around the same age as my brother.

It appeared that he was without a doubt the classmate and friend my brother had mentioned-Brother Cui.

I carefully compared and recalled the details my brother had written in his letter.

Then I called out loudly, “Lord Cui!”

Sure enough, he turned at the sound.

I grew even happier.

It really was him.

What luck today. I had seen him as soon as I arrived.

I was just about to step forward.

But then a blade flashing with cold light was thrust before my eyes.

“Who dares act so presumptuously?”

“…”

I jumped in fright.

I froze on the spot, eyes wide.