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*Red text is in mandarin*

As chaos ensued that day, The Peony sat in her room reading a series of embryology journals when someone knocked on her door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Rin.”

“Come in..”

Rin entered the Peony’s chambers, and found the Peony still wearing her pajamas under the Kotatsu.



“You’re not going to get out of the manor?”

“Not really, my meeting with Diao Chan will be in a couple of hours.”

“Since dawn you’ve been reading those reports.”

“It piques my interest as to the complexity of the development of an embryo, and its fragility could be both beneficial and a curse. For instance, its benefits could be used to edit the genes, a report signals that you can reverse Huntington’s disease throughthe switching of HTT, codes for huntingtin protein, disrupting the mHTT gene using CRISPR gene editing. Well of course with such fruit, there are some worms, endless of pathogens that could invade the embryo and could impair the child for life. Cognitive, physiological, anatomical, even the balance of the mother’s diet can be the deciding factor between the life of the child afterwards.”

Unlike her milk sister, Rin was does not have a knack for biology, and her sister’s words came like a simple windy breeze, just passing through.

“Huh.”

“Huh?” The Peony then broke into laughter, seeing Rin confused. Which made Rin’s cheeks red.

“Ah, I haven’t had a laugh like that in weeks.”

“Hmph.” Said Rin as she folded her hands and looked away.

“Hmm, come Rin, get in the kotatsu with me.”

“I am still in my shift.”

“Then I order you to come here, and close the door. Now you are, at the moment, known not as my courtier, but as my sister.”

Rin shook her head, and came into the kotatsu. It felt snug and warm, compared to the cold outside.

“It has been a long time since both of us are together as sisters.”

“It has, your mother—.”

“Our mother.”

“Yes, our mother. Mama wanted me to protect you ever since Gege died. It never occurred to me that not only I would have to stow away myself with this responsibility. You may have gained a courtier Yan, but you have lost a sister.”

“Rin…” Said The Peony, “you were so close to me when we were children. When the others are busy, you were the one who bought me ice cream.”

“Yeah.”

“Remember at Mama’s diplomatic tea party? You snuck me some pineapple cookies inside my qipao sleeves and a sugar packet for the tea? I hated bitterness at the time, but of course, mama found us out and scolded us afterwards. You always had my back, Jiejie.”

Rin looked up, as if she was called.

“Jiejie… A call I haven’t heard in years.”

“At least a year.” Dismissed The Peony

“Yes, a year has it been…” Responded Rin, “Yan, what do you think of Dajie?”

“Dajie? Eldest sister? She is in Hammerstar is she not? Married to a Rowena?”

“Yes, Dajie Shizuka. Do you still hold illness towards it?”

“I have no ill towards Dajie, I have ill towards the Hammerstar itself. Such profanity.”

“….”

“But… Dajie, she seems so happy, she was so secluded in her own little world of literature, and now… Dajie…”

The Peony then shed a tear, remembering her eldest sister.

“Sorry Jiejie, you have to see me at such an uncouth manner.”

“Think nothing of it, meimei.”

“Meimei… I haven’t heard that name in years.” Pondered The Peony, she continued to open her book once more to continue reading. Rin was preparing herself to bring the topic in question.

“There’s something I have to tell you Meimei.”

“Hm?” Asked The Peony.

“Meimei, we remembered how Dajie was, and how she is now. Maybe you..”

“No.”

“Hm?”

“No, I don’t believe that it is necessary at the moment.”

“What do you think I’m saying?”

“Marriage, isn’t it Jiejie?”

“…..”

“Yes, Marriage.” The Peony then closed her book .

“Marriage.” Nodded Rin.

“People keep asking, keep on pressuring me, I simply don’t see the reasoning for it right now..” Dismissed The Peony

“Yes, well…”

“Well?” Asked The Peony, “Well Rin?”

Rin felt a bit out of line, especially knowing the time when her younger sister stopped calling her her title.

“I know something is amiss when I see you scratch the back of your head, the scar you received from the military. I operated it.”

“…”

“Tell me what’s wrong Rin.”

“Well… There’s an arrangement.”

“Arrangement.”

“…For bachelors around the region, to try and court you…”

“Astaghfirullah! Now everyone knows! Might as well put me on a poster! Call my number if you want me!”

“Yan.”

“I told you this is none of your business! So several random strangers are going to show up on my doorstep and woo me?”

“Well, we did a background check and—“

“…We?”

“Oh no..”

“Who’s We?”

“Well… Meimei, Lord Zheng He, and…”

“Stop! I think you’ve said enough, there’s a lot of people in this scheme isn’t there?”

“Your inner circle my Peony.”

The Peony wanted to explode, rage was building inside her, but she does not want to break her fast, and kept on reminding herself of it

“…I’m fasting, I’m fasting, I’m fasting…”

“Yan…”

Then a sudden beep came from The Peony’s phone. She took it out from her sleeve.

“This is not over Rin.” Reminded The Peony

The Peony answered the call.”

“Assalamualaikum, Wei…….Now? Alright, I’ll be there.”

The Peony turned off her cell, and got out of the kotatsu and wore her kimono over he pajamas.

“What’s wrong?” Asked Rin.

“They need me in the hospital, an emergency with one of our patients.”

“Do you want me to take you?”

“No, I order you to guard the manor, I’ll go there with Kirana.”

“Yes my Nuwang.”

“Rin..” Said The Peony, “this is not over.”

The Peony rushed outside her chambers with her kimono and immediately seen speeding out from the housing complex on a motorcycle with Kirana. Leaving Rin inside that kotatsu, praying that everything goes well in the end.