Chapter 515: No More Big Brother, Remember I’m the Good Second Brother

Chapter 515: Chapter 515: No More Big Brother, Remember I’m the Good Second Brother

Shen Ningning quickly threw off her covers, jumped out of bed, slipped on her shoes, and ran outside.

The moment she reached the courtyard, she saw her big brother grabbing her second brother by the collar.

"Look at you, acting like a madman. You’ll scare her. No shouting. Now get back to your own courtyard, wash up, and then come back and wait!"

Xie Mingxu chided him coldly, his gaze then falling on his younger brother’s injured hand.

He gave Xie Ming’an a shove.

"Get that wound bandaged before you come back. You can’t let our sister see blood. Otherwise, even if I don’t deal with you, Father will beat you when he gets back from court."

"Big Brother, you just don’t get it! Our sister has been waiting for me to find out the truth, and I already have the answer! Move, don’t get in our way!"

Xie Ming’an put all his strength into pushing his way in, but Xie Mingxu, a natural martial artist, was simply stronger than him.

The two brothers were at a stalemate, neither giving an inch, until Shen Ningning’s clear voice rang out.

"You rotten Second Brother, did you really figure it out?"

The brothers turned to look. There stood their precious little sister, dressed only in a thin, white nightgown, under a corridor swept by the autumn wind.

The sky was mild and clear, making the young lady’s face seem even more fair and radiant, her dark eyes glittering with hope.

This time, Xie Mingxu and Xie Ming’an chided in unison, "Why are you wearing so little? Go back inside!"

Shen Ningning pouted and silently returned to her room.

Only after Muchun and Wanchun had helped her change did they usher her two brothers inside.

Now that their sister had passed her coming-of-age ceremony, they could no longer enter her room as casually as they did when they were children.

Xie Ming’an placed the items on the table, but Shen Ningning immediately noticed his bleeding left hand.

"Ah! You rotten Second Brother, you’re bleeding!" She quickly had Muchun bring the room’s golden sore medicine.

Xie Ming’an waved his hand dismissively, a lighthearted smile on his face. "I cut it myself, just to test something." ℴ

Xie Mingxu crossed his arms and shot him a cold glance. "There’s a limit to your madness. Don’t spout nonsense in front of our sister, or I’ll really hit you."

Xie Ming’an chuckled. "You’ll see in a moment just how big of a favor I’ve done for our sister."

With that, he looked at Shen Ningning. "If your second brother solves this strange mystery of the blood merging with the Jade Ring, how do you plan to thank me?"

The young lady blinked her round eyes, lifted her teacup with a delicate hand, and calmly took a sip.

"I’ll call you ’Good Second Brother’."

"Not enough."

"Then what do you want?"

Xie Ming’an slanted a look at the grim-faced Xie Mingxu.

Ever since they were children, Shen Ningning had always followed her big brother around, calling him "Brother" so sweetly.

He wanted that kind of treatment too.

"Ignore Big Brother and spend two days with me. Put away all the jewelry and clothes Big Brother gave you and wear what I gave you instead. Pretend he doesn’t exist, and that you only have eyes for me, your second brother," Xie Ming’an said with a grin.

Xie Mingxu slammed a fist on the table. "Xie! Ming! An!"

Shen Ningning agreed instantly. "Fine, it’s a deal!"

Xie Mingxu’s cold, sharp eyes filled with innocent surprise as he looked at his sister.

’She’s actually going along with our second brother’s nonsense.’

After all, Shen Ningning didn’t believe Xie Ming’an could have found the reason so quickly.

But to her surprise, Xie Ming’an’s smile grew even more smug and wild.

"Just watch, Big Brother. I guess that’s what happens when I know more than you."

As he spoke, Xie Ming’an opened the fragrance box of Crimson Poppy.

"Little sister, look. See this silvery powder in the box?"

Shen Ningning stared intently for a long moment before nodding hesitantly.

There was so little of it that it was truly unnoticeable without careful inspection.

Xie Ming’an said, "Last time we were at the perfumery, I paid close attention. I noticed something had been added to this box of Crimson Poppy that Su Zhirou had."

"Yesterday, I was scouring ancient texts when I came across a record stating that when musk is mixed with silver fruit powder, it can cause jade to change color. Because the powder is so fine, it can get stuck on jade of poor quality."

As he spoke, he held up a piece of rough, uncarved jade he had brought with him.

It already had a faint bloody tint—the result of Xie Ming’an’s experiment.

"Little sister, watch closely." Xie Ming’an dabbed his finger in his own blood, then mixed in a little of the Crimson Poppy fragrance powder. He let a drop of blood fall onto the jade.

Suddenly, something strange happened—the bloody streaks remained on the jade’s surface!

To the naked eye, it looked as if it had seeped inside.

Shen Ningning was stunned. "How can that be!"

Xie Ming’an roared with laughter. "This is their scheme! The part where they thought they could pull the wool over everyone’s eyes. Hah! I knew it. How could Changliu Country be as resource-rich as we are? How could they possibly have a jade so magical it can identify the blood of the Imperial Family?"

"It’s all just a trick. As long as the injured person has come into contact with musk and silver fruit powder, their blood becomes sticky and will appear to be inside the jade."

’So that’s why the jade Xiuxiu and the others brought was of average quality.’

’Good jade is smooth and has no texture, so the blood can’t adhere to it.’

Xie Mingxu, who had been thinking with his arms crossed, spoke up.

"Now that you mention it, I think I understand. Doesn’t this silver fruit typically grow on gravesites in the wild?"

"Some tombs contain Blood Jade that, when excavated, looks like it’s been stained with bloody threads. It’s actually the same principle. It’s just that the flesh and blood of the deceased got mixed with a certain special powder, causing it to adhere to the jade."

Xie Ming’an nodded. "Exactly!"

It all dawned on Shen Ningning.

"That day at the Qi Mansion, the jade falling was an accident. The reason Xiao Wei’s blood ’merged’ with it was because she had previously come into contact with musk that was mixed with silver fruit powder."

Xie Ming’an smiled. "Or rather, she was forced to come into contact with it. Mr. Qi uses a lot of Crimson Poppy to scent his clothes. When he interacts with Qi Xiuwei, he would naturally transfer it to her by accident."

"I think their real goal was to use you to acknowledge someone else."

This time, Shen Ningning figured it out without Xie Ming’an having to spell it out.

’It’s Su Zhirou!’

’The real princess of Changliu Country is Su Zhirou?’

’So, Mr. Qi was acting on the orders of the people from Changliu Country—that is, Xiuxiu and his group.’

’In that case, Mr. Qi is the spy who’s been hiding in the court all along!’

’They were probably targeting Su Zhirou from the very beginning, but their plan didn’t go smoothly.’

Because of what happened with Jiang Zhi, Shen Ningning and the others were hostile toward Su Zhirou.

’Xiuxiu and his group’s goal was definitely not just to take the Tenth Princess back. They must have other plans.’

’So, they decided to play along with the mistake, using the fact that Qi Xiuwei’s blood merged with the jade to try and make me break ties with the Qi Family completely.’

’If their attempt to sow discord had succeeded, they would have seized control and been able to orchestrate the entire situation!’

’What a truly vicious plan.’

’It not only ruins the Qi Family, but it also exploits Qi Xiuwei’s last bit of value.’

’But at the same time, it protects Su Zhirou, and they still want to gain more benefits from me.’

In an instant, an icy coldness gathered in the young lady’s eyes.

She stood up. "They think their plan is flawless, but they don’t know that for every trick they have, I have one of my own. Just you wait. We’ll see who wins and who loses."

With that, she called for Muchun.

"Go send out some invitations for me. Invite Changyi, Lu Shaoyuan, and the others... and Su Zhirou... to go boating on the lake with me to admire the maple leaves."

Then, Shen Ningning turned to leave. She had to go to Wolf Mountain to check on Tuo Ye, lest he cause some trouble and get bitten by the Black Wolf King.

Seeing her leave, Xie Ming’an happily trotted after her.

"Second Brother will go with you."

Shen Ningning didn’t refuse. After all, she had just given him her word.

Besides, Xie Ming’an had cut his own hand for the experiment. Though Shen Ningning didn’t say it, she still felt a little pained for him.

Poor Xie Mingxu was left sitting alone at the table, watching their figures recede into the distance.

"Not... eating the wontons?" Xie Mingxu mumbled with his arms crossed, a little annoyed.

The whole family had been against it when his second brother, Xie Ming’an, first started studying the work of a forensic doctor to investigate cases.

Who would have thought that now, he’d be the one most able to help their sister?