Both shut up simultaneously. Their mother was rubbing her temples and muttering under her breath. Lanmei thought she heard something along the lines of some Buddhist scripture. Yes, pray to Buddha to resolve this unending chaos of the Yu household.

Aunt Nuwa poked her head in the room and shot the two youths a withering look.

“Oh gods, you two have done it again, haven’t you?” she sighed.

“She started it--”

“He started it--”

Both glared at each other for speaking at the same time.

“I see,” Aunt Nuwa replied dryly as she stepped into the room.

Nuwa was a stately woman who was just a bit younger than Huifang. She had criticizing obsidian eyes which seemed to see the truth of a person in just a glance, and her ebony hair was pulled up into a simple braided bun with a few jade hairpins holding it in place. She was wearing her usual outfit of a two-piece changpao—consisting of a long-sleeved top reaching just above her knees, buttoned from the collar down diagonally to the sides, and a several-layered skirt. Today’s changpao had mainly dark colors of forest green and coppery brown.

“Nuwa, help me deal with these children,” grumbled Mother. “I no longer know what to do with them. Perhaps I should have sold them off when they were still babies.”

“Mother!” Lanmei frowned. “You don't mean that!”

Really, she didn't. Practically every time Lanmei aggravated her mother, she would be told that it might had been better if she’d been sold off when she was still young.

“Indeed, I am thankful to you for not selling her off when she was ten months old,” Daimin stated eloquently. Lanmei glanced at him curiously. Then he finished with a brief, “Who else would I prank if Lanmei weren’t here?”

She hissed under her breath. Cursed fools never changed.

Just as Lanmei was about to shoot back a retort, Aunt Nuwa spoke up.

There had always been something about Aunt Nuwa’s voice—something soothing yet authoritative. It immediately made the fire simmer down within Lanmei and she found herself wondering why on earth she'd been so angry before.

Not really. Mostly because she was beginning to get rather cold from the wet fabric clinging to her skin. Her teeth chattered.

“M-Mother,” she began, rubbing her arms, “may I please change into a set of dry clothes before you continue your scolding?”

“Ah, feeling the cold coming about now, aren’t you? Well you deserve it!” Huifang snapped.

Just as Lanmei was about to lose hope, Aunt Nuwa spoke up. She gently placed a hand on Huifang’s shoulder and spoke in an inclining tone, “Sister Huifang, why don’t you allow her to change out of those dreadfully wet clothes? See how she’s quivering like the autumn leaves outside? I doubt that anyone will be happy with the Young Miss of the Yu family being ill right before her wedding day.”

At the topic of the marriage being brought, Huifang pursed her lips. She inhaled deeply, chest rising along with it, then exhaled slowly. Obviously, this was a sensitive event to bring up. Even Daimin’s mood seemed to shift a little as the laughter faded from his face and the lowered his head to stare at the ground.

“Yes, the wedding…” Huifang trailed off.

Lanmei snuck a look at Aunt Nuwa, who was now staring at the ceiling. It was apparent that she regretted bringing up the subject. In an attempt to lessen the tension in the atmosphere of the room, she purposely sneezed loudly, breaking the silence. Daimin snorted, raising a hand to hide his smirk. Huifang then shot him a glare, and his hands immediately dropped so that his arms were glued to his sides and his spine was straighter than a wall.

As the coldness seeped in through her skin and crawled towards her bones, Lanmei shifted her weight from one leg to another impatiently. Her teeth chattered more intensely. “Mother, I’m freezing!”

“Oh, go change already.” Huifang waved a hand bitterly then turned to Daimin. “You--now where are you going?”

Lanmei fled from the room at once, but stumbled once she reached the main courtyard when her brother suddenly apparated to her side. She blinked. She’d forgotten that Daimin had always been rather fast. Despite that, she rolled her eyes and took broader steps, walking ahead of him. It did no good. Not only was Daimin fast, he was also tall. The top of Lanmei’s head only reached the tip of his ears. Ever since he’d sprouted like a bamboo shoot several years ago, Lanmei had been frustrated to no end by the height difference between them. She still wasn’t used to being the shorter one.

“Well look at you. Dripping, dripping, dripping,” he sang, hands folded behind his back. Mischief sparkled in his hazel eyes. “The Hua Family will definitely be impressed by you.”

“Oh, shut up already before I sew your lips together,” Lanmei said irritably. “Perhaps I will be happier with the Hua.”

“You don’t mean that.”

She didn’t reply, for she could only grudgingly agree with him.

As they continued walking back through the courtyard that Lanmei had chased Daimin through, they came once more across Jin, who by now was wiping the sweat off his forehead with a white towel, his jian propped against a lumpy boulder sitting close to the stone walkway.

Spotting the two of them, his eyes widened and he flushed, his cheeks brightening a few shades more. Once they were just a few steps away, Daimin jogged over and looped an arm around Jin’s shoulders, a grin tugging on his lips.

“Practicing again, eh?” he teased. “Aren’t you the hardworking one. Say, just when are you going to teach me some of those spectacular moves of yours? It’s not fair you know. I’m the elder one, yet your swordplay is better than mine by tenfold.”

“Then why don’t you try working hard on it like Jin, here?” Lanmei said crossly. She sniffed. “Idiot.”

“Now that’s just cold,” Daimin shot back.

“Jin, don’t you agree with me?” She stared at her youngest brother pointedly, a benevolent smile gracing her face.

“Jin.” Daimin gave him a sickly sweet look.

Jin edged towards Lanmei. She shot her other brother a triumphant look and grinned smugly. “It is quite obvious who is the correct one here.”

How she delighted in these victories against her brother.

Lanmei turned to face Jin with a warm look. He was already rather tall...and taller than Lanmei. Thankfully, not as much as Daimin. Mother had always tried to assuage Lanmei’s worries of being a midget by telling her that men didn’t like women who were too tall; yet Lanmei still felt that she should be the tallest one amongst her two brothers. There was always a pang of annoyance everytime she had to look up to talk to Daimin.

“Oh, Jin, you must be bewitched by this evil enchantress!” Daimin gasped dramatically, clutching at his heart as he reached a trembling hand out towards Jin. “You must free yourself from this delusion, lest you desire to be her slave forevermore!”

“You would make a spectacular actor.” Lanmei snorted, then waved dismissively at him. “Shoo already.”

“You see her cruelty!”

She sneezed.

Immediately, Jin’s hands were at her arms, rubbing them up and down in quick yet soothing motions which immediately sparked some warmth in Lanmei. Jin’s hands, despite being calloused from multiple practices of swordplay, had always had a certain softness and security in them whenever he held her.

“Jiějiě,” he started softly, his voice reminding Lanmei of the gentle trickling of a stream through a forest. “you should hurry back to your bedchambers to change into a dry set of clothes. Otherwise you’ll catch a cold.”

Lanmei smiled graciously up at him. “Thank you for the concern, Jin.” She stuck a tongue out Daimin. “Learn from your little brother a bit more, my little grasshopper.”

It was Daimin’s turn to snort. “Look at you two. You look like a couple.”

At once, Jin jerked away, his hands slipping away from Lanmei. When she twisted back to see him, she saw that his face was beet red.

“Don’t propose such silly things,” he mumbled. “Jiějiě is too good for any man.”

“You hear that?” Lanmei said gleefully to Daimin before whirling around to ace Jin. “Oh, Jin, if you weren’t my younger brother I would absolutely ask your hand in marriage!”

This comment only assisted in turning Jin’s face even redder than it already was, and he looked away.

Feeling a bit bad for younger brother, Lanmei sealed her lips so that they only curved upwards in a radiant beam. She knew that Jin was simply shy. He’d always been. Besides that, he’d always seemed to trail after Lanmei, keeping close to her shadow. It wasn’t that Lanmei minded. In fact, this part of him had always given her a strong urge to...well...protect him. Perhaps even mother him.

Now that she thought about it, Jin was nearly old enough to be married. In two years, their mother would be searching for a suitable wife for him. The thought of her precious little brother growing up to be an adult so soon provoked a wistful sigh to slip out of her mouth.

“What is it, Jiějiě?” Jin asked, his brows furrowed with concern.

She inclined her head to the side and spun slowly on the balls of her feet. “I was simply thinking of how lucky your future bride will be to marry such a charming man like you, Jin.”

“Sister!” he exclaimed, redness flooding his cheeks. “I-I…I’m still too young for this kind of talk…”

“You certainly have the looks,” Lanmei commented cheekily, wiggling her brows.

It was true. Thought Jin wasn’t quite handsome in the way of some brawny, masculine man--he held a certain charm of his own. A slim face, combined with soft cheekbones and a slender yet still-toned physique--one might say that he was handsome in an enigmatic way. Lanmei was pretty certain that if her little brother could simply stop slouching whenever he walked, reveal some chest, and brush his bangs away from his face more, girls would absolutely be flocking him.

Jin shrunk back, like a snail retreating into the safety of its shell. It was almost a bit funny to watch, this boy who was

Now that Jin wasn’t rubbing her arm anymore, the chill of the autumn air was settling in once more and Lanmei shivered.

“It’s really about time that I change into some dry clothes,” she muttered to herself. She looked up at Daimin as if he’d done something to offend her besides already dumping a bucket of water on her. “Well then, I’ll be off now. Daimin, if you dare pull another prank on me today I will personally tie your hands and feet together then chop them off.”

Without bothering to wait for a reply, Lanmei swept past the two brothers and hurried back to her room.

As she ran down the hall, the small garden just outside on her right flying past in a flurry of red, brown and yellow, she nearly tripped over a small, puffy thing which she didn’t notice until the last minute. She threw her arms out at the last moment, and they flailed like the fins of fish on land. Luckily, she managed to catch her balance. Lanmei breathed out a sigh of relief. Thank the gods that her clumsiness didn’t get the better of her this time.

“Aunt Lanmei!” a squeaky voice piped.

Oh...she definitely knew who this was. Lanmei looked down with a grin.

“Ling-ling!” she exclaimed. “You gave me such a fright!”

Looking up at her with the biggest walnut eyes and the most adorably round face and twin plaits, was Lixue’s daughter, Yu Erling. She peered at Lanmei with a curious expression.

“Aunt Lanmei, why are you wet?” she asked, a doll clutched in her hand.

Lanmei inhaled and pursed her lips. “Well...it was your Uncle Daimin who did this.” She paused as an idea popped up in her head, and an eager smile formed on her face. “Listen closely now, Ling-ling. Are you willing to help Aunt Lanmei get revenge?”

“Revenge? What’s tha--”

“Yes! It’s quite simple for you, really.” Completely ignoring the little girl’s question, Lanmei bent down so that she was close to Erling’s height. She knew well enough that Daimin had always had a soft spot for Erling, often playing with the little girl whenever he had a chance--or whenever he wasn’t pranking Lanmei. Eyes sparkling, she spoke to Erling enticingly. “All you have to do is ignore Uncle Daimin whenever you see him, and whenever he asks you to play with him, you run away or say no to him.”

“But I have fun with Uncle Daimin,” she said hurtfully, biting down on her lower lip, her cheeks puffing out a bit like a chipmunk.

“Don’t you have fun with me too, Ling-ling? I’ll play with you even more when you’re ignoring that piece of scu--I mean, Uncle Daimin.” She coughed into her fist before looking back at Erling sweetly, then continued coaxing, “I’ll even buy you tanghulu once a week!”

At the mentioning of the candied fruit treat, Erling’s eyes brightened. She stood up straight and began bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Really?”

Lanmei nodded with a confident smile, patting her niece’s head. “Really. But you must promise me that you’ll do what I’d told you, alright? Can you repeat it to me?”

Erling bobbed her head eagerly. “Ignore Uncle Daimin and say no to him when he asks me to play with him!”

“That’s right!”

Candy bribery worked wonders on children.

Once more, Lanmei made another triumph over her brother. She might as well make as many as she could...now that her time was running out.