Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 433 The Phoenix and the Qilin: Separation is Better Than a New Marriage

The moon hangs on the willow branches, and the autumn wind rustles.

Zhuan'er poured out the foot-washing water, turned around and went into the room. He saw that Xing Xiuyan was already on the bed. He happily leaned back on the soft couch in the outer room, then took out his purse from his handkerchief, poured out the copper coins inside, counted them, and immediately his face lit up with joy.

Unlike the Jia family, the Chen family practices strict gambling here. Even if the old women get together to play dominoes, they are not allowed to spend any money. Instead, they engage in various crafts, such as needlework, thread sewing, shoemaking, or knotting.

These copper coins didn't come from home. During the day, Zhuan'er had a day off, and happily took his purse and went for a stroll on the street with several maids who were also on holiday.

After strolling through the temple fair and eating our fill, we happened to stumble upon someone selling pigeon tickets. The girls chatted amongst themselves for a while, then, as if to join in the fun, each bought two tickets.

What is a "White Dove Ticket"? It involves selecting the first eighty characters from the Thousand Character Classic as the betting characters. The ticket buyer chooses ten characters, and twenty are randomly drawn during the draw. The prize money is determined by how many characters are matched.

Zhuan'er had a gambling addiction back in Panxiang Temple, but she was incredibly unlucky and always lost. When she heard that she was going to buy a white dove ticket, Zhuan'er was initially hesitant, but she couldn't resist the encouragement of her friends, so she gritted her teeth and bought one.

Unexpectedly, his luck turned around this time, and he matched six out of the ten characters he had chosen, winning the prize of over eighty copper coins as usual!

At that moment, Zhuan'er was so happy she was practically floating on air, completely unaware of how she got back. Once she calmed down, she felt that her luck had finally turned around; it was definitely the right decision to pester her sister to come to the Chen family!

After counting the copper coins, Zhuan'er happily put them away. Seeing that the lamp was still lit in the bedroom, she cheerfully came over and said, "Sister... Auntie, aren't you asleep yet?"

Xing Xiuyan said, "I can't sleep right now."

Zhuan'er said, "I heard you played chess with Madam again during the day?"

Xing Xiuyan rolled her eyes at him and said, "It's not a good job, so stop talking about it."

There's a saying that pregnancy makes you stupid for three years, and even if Yingchun's chess skills were better than Xing Xiuyan's, the difference was limited. After becoming pregnant, Yingchun actually became worse than Xing Xiuyan. Xing Xiuyan was afraid that Yingchun would expend too much energy, so she painstakingly tried to find a balance in every game, making it truly harder for her to lose than to win.

Zhuan'er responded and was about to ask about Chen Siyuan when suddenly there was a knock on the door.

After asking, "Who is it?", the maidservant quickly went to open the door and saw Chen Siyuan standing in front of it.

"master?"

"Hmm, is my cousin finally resting?"

"These are my bread and butter," Zhuan'er said, quickly stepping aside to let her have her way. She smiled and said, "Auntie just washed up and is now lying on the bed reading a book."

Chen Siyuan didn't say much, just nodded, yawned, and went inside. Xing Xiuyan, who was in the inner room, had already put on her clothes and stepped out to greet him. She had only taken two steps when she saw Chen Siyuan stride in.

Xing Xiuyan asked in surprise, "Why are you here at this time?"

Chen Siyuan chuckled, pulled Xing Xiuyan's soft hand and sat her down on the bed, saying, "I was thinking about my cousin, so I came to see her."

Actually, he first glanced at the main room, but Yingchun had already gone to sleep, so he settled for the west wing to find Xing Xiuyan.

Xing Xiuyan, being intelligent and beautiful, knew perfectly well that he was lying. Even so, she was overjoyed and quickly told Zhuan'er to fetch water. After Chen Siyuan washed up, the two of them lay down together in each other's arms.

After chatting for a while, and as the fourth watch of the night had passed, the lovers decided not to dwell on their feelings for each other.

Meanwhile, in the east wing of the west courtyard, Zijuan and Yuanyang lay slumped on the kang (a heated brick bed). One was panting heavily, her eyes tightly closed; the other's limbs were weak and numb, her hair disheveled.

At this moment, the two opened their eyes at the same time, looked at each other, and then turned their heads away, both with blushes on their cheeks.

Yuanyang, being physically strong, managed to get up sooner. Seeing the mess all around, she suppressed her shame, pulled out the mattress, and began to unravel the fabric by untying the loose threads.

Zijuan forced herself to stand up, frowned, and came over to help. The two women remained silent and quietly tidied up the inside.

Zijuan chuckled to herself, realizing that all her previous scheming had been unnecessary! Just now, the master had picked two branches! With such a robust constitution, let alone the madam, he could probably handle two more branches with ease. Why would he worry about not receiving his due in the future?

Just then, Yuanyang laughed and said, "Now...can you rest easy?"

Zijuan raised her eyes and made brief eye contact with him, then bit her lower lip and silently nodded.

Yuanyang said, “I know that because I came later, there is a gap between us. But now that we are both in the West Courtyard, we should work together. The mistress of the Middle Courtyard is kind and generous. Of the four maids under her, only Hongyu is clever, while the other three are just ordinary. Next month, Baochai will move into the East Courtyard. I think you know what Ying’er is like.”

If you have boundless energy and cunning, then save it for dealing with the East Wing Courtyard. As for us in the West Wing Courtyard, firstly, we'll be devoted to the Madam, and secondly, we hope the Master will rise through the ranks, so we won't have to compete and can all be included in the family genealogy.”

According to the Great Shun system, officials of the fifth rank could have two concubines. Officials of the third and fourth ranks could have three, and officials of the first and second ranks could have four. This refers to concubines who were protected by the Great Shun law and were included in the imperial genealogy.

During the century of peace and prosperity of the Great Shun Dynasty, a trend of extravagance gradually emerged. Not to mention officials in the court, even salt merchants in Yangzhou and wealthy households in Shanxi had anywhere from twenty to over a hundred concubines, and the court was too lazy to care. Only when concubines were favored over wives, social order was disrupted, and patriarchal laws were violated would the court step in to suppress such behavior.

Of the five maids in the West Wing Courtyard, Qingwen, needless to say, had long been destined to become a concubine. As for the remaining four, Ouguan was so engrossed in her role that she was not worth mentioning. As long as Master Chen Siyuan was promoted to a second-rank official, each of them would naturally become a concubine; it was only a matter of time.

Upon hearing this, Zijuan blushed. She was a woman who could let go of things easily, so she immediately curtsied to Yuanyang and said, "Sister, please forgive me. I was just being stubborn."

"You don't need to be angry. We all come from the Rongguo Mansion. Back then, Aunt Zhao, Aunt Zhou, and several other concubines in the East Wing fought fiercely. Who doesn't know that? It's just that the Rongguo Mansion is not the Chen family. Madam received her title on the day of her wedding. From now on, we will serve her wholeheartedly and she will definitely not be left without a place to live."

Zijuan readily agreed.

This is the difference between Zijuan and Yuanyang. The former was driven by selfish motives, while the latter, having spent a long time by Grandmother Jia's side, possessed, to put it nicely, a broad perspective, or to put it bluntly, extremely upright principles. Therefore, in the original text, it was only after Jia Lian pleaded with her that she secretly opened the private treasury without Grandmother Jia's knowledge.

Yuanyang didn't know what Zijuan was thinking. She was feeling very tired, and seeing that it was almost four o'clock, she got up, turned away, frowned, and slowly walked back to the back building.

After seeing Yuanyang off, Zijuan tossed and turned, finally falling asleep at cockcrow. She got up early the next morning and went with Yuanyang to the main room to be at their beck and call.

The two of them did not hide anything and took the opportunity to tell Daiyu about what had happened the night before.

Daiyu was both amused and exasperated, but she was not as angry as she had been with Xueyan last time. This was because Chen Siyuan was notorious for his womanizing, and Daiyu had never expected him to be virtuous.

The two maids who answered correctly received a raise in their monthly allowance, and Daiyu sent the sullen Xueyan to invite Granny Wang to perform a ritual for them. At one point, Daiyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this was better than the strict discipline of Fengjie, who would cause her to go out and cheat on her husband when she was hungry at home.

Not to mention the waste of money and the trouble it brings, if they come back with a contagious disease, it could really kill the whole family!
After Wang Mama had cleansed Zijuan and Yuanyang's faces, she turned around to look for Daiyu, her face showing several hesitations as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

Daiyu didn't need to ask to know what Granny Wang was worried about... In just a few days, all the maids around her had been slept with by Chen Siyuan. Who knew if he would become so bold as to bring girls from outside the house into the house in the future?

Daiyu was quite familiar with Chen Siyuan's temperament, so she offered a few kind words of comfort and sent Granny Wang away.

For the remaining days, Chen Siyuan transformed into a master of balancing the household affairs, staying at the West Courtyard for two nights and the Middle Courtyard for two nights. His two wives couldn't touch him, but the others, through his coaxing and seduction, inevitably ended up sleeping with him.

Aside from romantic pursuits, he spent most of his time studying history in his study, rarely venturing out, even politely declining invitations from the Prince of Yanping.

The second young lady inquired about the matter with some concern, but Daiyu paid no attention. These past few days, she had been busy spending cash to purchase several courtyard houses in the northern part of the city, intending to rent them out to poor officials in the capital in the future.

Twenty days passed in the blink of an eye, and Princess Rongchang came in person to discuss Baochai's engagement. Chen Siyuan and Yingchun treated her with utmost respect, and upon seeing this, Princess Rongchang immediately laughed and said, "It seems I've been through a lot with Hanlin Chen."

The couple were puzzled, so Yingchun asked, "What brings up this, Princess?"

The princess laughed and said, "In my mansion, there are only two salty wells, which are so bitter that they can only be used for washing. You don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household. Every year, it costs two or three hundred taels of silver to buy water. Who knew that a few days ago I heard that Hanlin Chen had offered a method to dig a sweet water well, so I went to ask the prince for help."

"Look, we dug a new well yesterday, and it really does yield sweet water. Hehehe, this alone saves us two or three hundred taels of silver every year, and we've certainly gotten a good deal from Chen Hanlin this time."

Chen Siyuan laughed heartily, feigning humility, but inwardly he was extremely pleased with himself.

After agreeing to deliver the betrothal gifts to the Xue family the day after tomorrow, Princess Rongchang hurriedly took her leave.

The next day, Yingchun instructed her servants early in the morning to open the storeroom and move all the betrothal gifts to the ceremonial gate. When Princess Rongchang's carriage arrived, the Chen family servants carried the betrothal gifts in a grand procession to the Xue family.

The Xue family had received the news well in advance, and servants were already looking out the door early that morning. Upon seeing the betrothal procession arrive, they quickly opened the main gate and informed Aunt Xue. A short while later, Aunt Xue greeted them at the gate and welcomed Princess Rongchang inside.

The thirty-two large ceremonial regalia were carried into the Xue family home after a long while, drawing much discussion from the neighbors.

Regardless of the various rumors circulating outside, once Aunt Xue and Princess Rongchang entered the room and took their seats as host and guest, the princess presented the gift list.

Aunt Xue took it and glanced at it briefly, and saw that it was indeed exactly the same, almost identical to the betrothal gifts of Yingchun and Daiyu.

Thinking of Chen Siyuan, Aunt Xue was filled with mixed emotions. Before the second daughter married into the family, Aunt Xue made the difficult decision to sever ties with Chen Siyuan. Chen Siyuan was distressed for many days, and Aunt Xue was also heartbroken.

She made this decision that day for three reasons: first, she was nearing forty and her menstrual cycle had been somewhat irregular lately; second, she was thinking of Baochai, how could Baochai face anyone if the scandal were exposed? And third, she was concerned about taking care of Baoyan.

However, that's just how women are by nature. Even though she knew she had done the right thing, Aunt Xue was filled with remorse lately. But since the words had already been spoken and she would never see Chen Siyuan again, she could only suppress her chaotic thoughts.

At that moment, Aunt Xue dared not reveal her true feelings, and chatted happily with Princess Rongchang. Princess Rongchang, having received a favor from Chen Siyuan, naturally praised him to the skies, saying he was the best he could ever be.

Princess Rongchang, who had never visited the Xue family before, surprisingly ate lunch here today. Not only Aunt Xue, but even Sister Bao and Madam Cao felt honored to hear this.

After lunch, Princess Rongchang discussed the wedding date with Aunt Xue. The maid Ying'er overheard this and hurriedly ran back to the back. She found Baochai, bowed, and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Miss! The Princess and Madam have decided on a date. The Princess said that the 10th or 18th of next month are auspicious days. Madam originally wanted to set the 18th, but the Princess persuaded her, and they changed it to the 10th."

Baochai was secretly delighted upon hearing this, but soon her sister-in-law, Cao, came over to tease her. Being a young lady after all, even with Baochai's composure, she was too ashamed to face anyone and let out a soft moan before hiding in her boudoir.

Upon seeing the embroidered wedding dress on the bed, Baochai's heart softened... In eighteen days, she would be married. From then on, she could be with the two of them forever... After gazing at the dream for a while, she let out a soft moan of embarrassment and lay on the wedding dress, unable to get up.

Little did anyone know that this childish behavior was being observed by Aunt Xue, who had just seen the princess off. Aunt Xue suppressed her mixed feelings and jokingly said with a smile, "My child, stop laughing. If word gets out, won't outsiders think you're desperate to get married?"

Baochai blushed deeply, playfully scolded her, and then nestled into Aunt Xue's arms, pouting and refusing to let go. Aunt Xue smiled and patted Baochai's back, wondering to herself how much of her choice of the tenth of next month was due to Baochai, and how much was due to Chen Siyuan.

In the Rongguo Mansion, in Sister Feng's courtyard.

Ping'er was still in her postpartum period, and at this moment, her maid Feng'er was helping Feng Jie walk around in the courtyard.

At this moment, Sister Feng is about to give birth, her lower abdomen is swollen, and she can only walk by sticking out her belly and supporting her waist.

After circling around twice, Sister Feng slowed her pace and said, "It's been quite a while since I've been to the garden. I wonder how the little ones are doing."

Feng'er smiled and said, "A few days ago, the old lady was in high spirits and went to the garden to make it lively. The third young lady wrote a piece of calligraphy, and the fourth young lady brought out a picture of the Grand View Garden, which made the old lady very happy. In the end, she even rewarded the third and fourth young ladies."

Sister Feng said meaningfully, "Tan'er... what a pity."

Feng'er, unaware of what Feng Jie was referring to, chimed in, "That's right! A few days ago, the maids in Master Huan's room ran to Madam to kowtow, refusing to stay in Master Huan's room no matter what. They said that Aunt Zhao was not only withholding their monthly wages, but also forcing them to do chores to exchange for money."

Sister Feng exclaimed in surprise, "Is that so? She's truly hopeless."

Feng'er laughed and said, "That's true. Everyone in the manor says that as long as the Third Miss was born from Madam's belly, the Second Miss and Bao Miss are probably no match for her."

Mentioning Baochai, Fengjie paused and said, "Speaking of which, shouldn't Baochai be married by now?"

"That's right. I heard that today Master Yuan sent a large betrothal gift to the Xue family, and Princess Rongchang personally made the gesture. It's truly a matter of both substance and prestige."

Fengjie had always disliked Baochai and her daughter, and upon hearing this, she felt a pang of jealousy. She couldn't help but hum twice, but said nothing more. In her heart, she thought to herself, if she were the same age as Er Yatou and Bao Yatou, how could she have gotten involved with these two?

Just as she was pondering this, she suddenly heard a commotion ahead. Feng Jie frowned in displeasure and ordered, "Go and see what's going on outside now!"

Feng'er agreed and quickly went out of the courtyard to check. But no sooner had she returned in a panic, telling Feng'er, "Grandma, it's terrible! Second Master has brought back a new concubine!"

Sister Feng was taken aback, and casually asked, "Where did this new concubine come from?"

Feng'er said, "I heard that she used to be a girl from Jinxiang Courtyard named Yun'er, but now she has been taken to the Second Master's home. Right now, the First Master is scolding the Second Master!"

He brought a prostitute home? Even though Feng Jie's heart was no longer with Jia Lian, she was furious!
As the saying goes, mistakes happen in haste. Sister Feng wanted to look ahead, but in her haste, she tripped and fell forward with a cry of "Ouch!"

Feng'er reacted quickly, managing to bump into Feng Jie, and the two of them immediately tumbled to the ground. But this fall had serious consequences; just as Feng'er was about to get up and help Feng Jie, she noticed that Feng Jie was bleeding.

This startled Feng'er, who cried out, "Grandma's bleeding!"

Unfortunately, all the old women had gone to the front to watch Jia Lian's commotion, and no one came to answer for a while. Luckily, Zhang Jinge heard the commotion and hurried out to check. Seeing Feng Jie'er's condition, she went to find a midwife while also quickly reporting to Rongqing Hall.

A moment later, a servant woman was found to carry Feng Jie back to her room, and then Physician Wang rushed over to examine her. After a brief examination, Physician Wang said, "This is bad, Second Mistress has suffered a miscarriage, and I'm afraid she will give birth soon!"

Madam Wang happened to arrive and, upon hearing the commotion, immediately ordered that Feng Jie be carried to the delivery room and that hot water be boiled.

Having already given birth to Qiao Jie, Feng Jie'er's second pregnancy went much more smoothly than her first. In less than an hour, the baby was crying inside, and soon the midwife came out to congratulate her: "Madam, the second mistress has given birth to another daughter!"

Looking at Madam Wang again, she indeed showed delight on her face. Secretly pleased, she thought, "No matter how strong-willed Feng Jie is, if she can't give birth to a boy, won't she end up raising someone else's child?"
Feng Jie was indeed extremely dejected. She had a feeling that she would probably have difficulty conceiving again. After her dejection subsided, Feng Jie forced herself to cheer up and thought that at least Ping'er had given birth to a boy, and that she might move the child to her own room to raise when he turned one year old.

............................................................

The next day, a servant from the Jia family brought news that Sister Feng had given birth to a girl.

Yingchun and Daiyu both frowned and sighed, feeling sorry for Fengjie. Only Chen Siyuan breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that it was for the best. Since Fengjie couldn't give birth to a son, she would surely cherish her unseen child as a treasure.

He immediately felt uneasy, fearing that Fengjie might have the idea of ​​leaving the mother and keeping the child, which would mean Ping'er would be left without a future... After all, it was just a fleeting relationship, and Chen Siyuan really didn't want to see Ping'er without a future.

Then he realized that out of sight, out of mind. Now that he was living in a different mansion, how could he care about the troubles of the Jia family?

The second young lady and Daiyu rewarded the Jia family servant who had brought the news, saying that they would definitely go to the Rongguo Mansion to offer their congratulations the next day.

No sooner had the Jia family left than Princess Rongchang's men arrived.

The head maid said that the betrothal had been made and that she had discussed with Aunt Xue that the wedding would take place on the tenth of next month. Chen Siyuan was overjoyed and rewarded the maid generously. He then instructed Hongyu to see her off. Without Chen Siyuan having to make any arrangements, the second sister ordered the servants to carefully tidy up the east courtyard, to be used for Baochai's dowry in the future.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye, and the autumn clothes became thicker. Those who were slightly frail, such as Daiyu and Wu'er, changed into lined clothes early on.

Last night it was Ouguan's turn to be on night duty. After serving Daiyu her morning dressing, according to the rules, Xueyan, Zijuan, and Yuanyang should have taken over for Ouguan early in the morning so that she could rest.

But even after Daiyu had finished washing and dressing, the three maids were nowhere to be seen. It wasn't until Qingwen brought the food box that the three finally arrived, albeit late.

The three of them went inside to apologize, all of them timid and hesitant. One seemed to be half-paralyzed, walking awkwardly; another had a hoarse voice, always coughing lightly before speaking; and the third seemed to have never slept, his eyes not only bloodshot but also with dark circles around his eyes.

Even though Daiyu was a bit silly, she now knew that the three of them must have spent the whole night fooling around with Chen Siyuan in the back study!
Perhaps because Chen Siyuan hadn't stayed in Daiyu's room for several days, Daiyu was somewhat irritable. Whether it was Xueyan or Zijuan, their responses were inevitably sarcastic and unpleasant.

Those three, who had already done something wrong, dared not utter a sound when they saw Daiyu like this.

After having breakfast, Daiyu became increasingly annoyed as Chen Siyuan did not arrive. Her brows furrowed deeply, and she seemed to want to wear her temper on her face.

Newlyweds, they only slept together three times. Because they couldn't share a room, Chen Siyuan became increasingly unrestrained these days.

In Daiyu's heart, that tenderness and affection were truly captivating. The intoxicating and soul-stirring pleasure almost made Daiyu lose control. That's why she pushed Chen Siyuan away.

But at Daiyu's age, no matter how intelligent she is, she is not the kind of person who would be patient and worldly-wise. What young lady doesn't long for the two of them to be together for a long time? Besides, romantic moments under the flowers and the moon are certainly wonderful, and tender moments... it's not unacceptable to do them occasionally.

Of course, Daiyu would never say such a thing out loud.

As the hour approached, Daiyu, feeling unwell, excused herself as tired and simply slumped onto the daybed in the side room. She dismissed several maids and picked up an ancient book to flip through haphazardly.

The four maids withdrew together. Xueyan, Zijuan, and Yuanyang were still confused, but Qingwen, judging from her own experience, guessed that Daiyu must be jealous.

Seeing that the three were confused, Qingwen smiled and said, "This is easy. I'll go find the master and he'll make sure the madam is alright."

Zijuan and Yuanyang suddenly understood, but Xueyan remained clueless and kept asking Qingwen all the way.

At 9:00 AM, Chen Siyuan indeed strode quickly toward the main house of the west courtyard.

Seeing Yuanyang and Xueyan guarding the side hall, Chen Siyuan casually waved his hand and strolled inside with his hands behind his back.

Daiyu was lost in thought for a moment, and it wasn't until Chen Siyuan walked to the Luohan bed that she came back to her senses.

Upon recognizing Chen Siyuan in the blink of an eye, a surge of resentment welled up within her, and she spoke in a sarcastic tone, "Oh, so you've returned from Second Sister's place?"

"What second sister?"

"If it's not Second Sister, then it must be Sister Xing."

Chen Siyuan pretended to frown and said, "Heaven and earth bear witness, the other day when I was strolling in the garden with my sister, she mentioned that there was no swing in the garden. I eagerly watched the servants build a swing frame, and as soon as it was finished, I came back to ask my sister for praise. Who knew that my sister would wrong me for no reason."

Daiyu felt a sudden sense of comfort, but her expression remained unchanged. She raised an eyebrow and glanced sideways, saying, "So you really did build a swing?"

"Heaven and earth, conscience!"

With a couple of snorts, Daiyu said something she didn't mean: "The autumn wind is starting to blow, it's not a good time to play around now, let's wait until next year."

Chen Siyuan, always eager to please, quickly moved over and sat down, putting his arm around her shoulder and saying with a grin, "Good sister, since I've been so friendly, will you allow me to stay the night?"

Daiyu forced a smile and said reproachfully, "If you had behaved properly, who would have driven you away?"

Chen Siyuan sighed deeply and said, "The Master said that food and sex are human nature. Besides, haven't I been well-behaved enough?"

Seeing her cry out her grievances, Daiyu finally couldn't help but smile and said, "It's still early, but you can't help but keep teasing me."

"How can marital intimacy be considered flirting?"

Without waiting for Daiyu to refute him, he pinched Daiyu's chin and leaned down to kiss her.

Daiyu's lips were kissed, and she was momentarily shy and powerless. In addition, she also had some desire in her heart, so she half resisted and half gave in, her buttocks were taken in, and her slender waist was completely subdued.

After a long while, she suddenly felt Chen Siyuan reach into her clothes as if to cause trouble. Daiyu quickly turned her head away and broke free, frowning and annoyed, "Why are you being so unruly again? Even if... even if... it's not right to be so lewd in broad daylight."

Chen Siyuan said seriously, "Indulging in debauchery during the day refers to wasting time and neglecting important matters. Sister, think about it. Now that I am on leave and unemployed at home, what is the most important thing I can do?"

Daiyu thought to herself, regardless of whether it was the Chen or Lin families, both families had few members, and there was really nothing important at the moment, so continuing the family line was not a serious matter.
She was speechless for a moment, then Chen Siyuan led her to roll around on the daybed. After Chen Siyuan teased her for a while, Daiyu couldn't help but be aroused, and she could no longer say any words of resistance.

Before she knew it, her knee-length trousers had slipped down, and Daiyu hurriedly said, "There, there are still people here!"

Chen Siyuan laughed and said, "Xueyan and Yuanyang are guarding them. Who would dare to disturb them? Sister, please rest assured."

After saying that, he slid down, ignoring whatever Daiyu said.

(End of this chapter)