Volume 1, Chapter 15 – What? Junior Sister is Still in Seclusion (Part 1)

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire courtyard fell into an eerie silence before erupting into a burst of laughter.

“Mei-jie, stop joking! I personally yanked off her scarf yesterday—everyone saw it. There was no Adam’s apple at all. How could she possibly be a man?”

“Yeah, how could a man have such big breasts?”

Qu Zhen and Huang Bo scoffed dismissively.

“No, that’s not…”

Xie Mei wanted to argue but didn’t know where to start.

“Don’t laugh. I actually think Xiao Mei’s suspicion makes sense.”

At that moment, Huang Kaiyou spoke up in support. “Think carefully about how strange that ‘girl’ really is—pretending to be mute, covering her face, and towering over ordinary women. If it were a man in disguise, all of this would make perfect sense.”

“But that still doesn’t explain why ‘she’ doesn’t have an Adam’s apple, does it?”

The youngest son, Huang Bo, raised his doubts.

“An Adam’s apple isn’t exclusive to men. Even women can have prominent ones—it’s not as clear-cut as you think. As for the chest, that’s even easier to fake. Just stuff something in, and you can make it as big as you want.”

Huang Kaiyou explained patiently.

“Father is right. I have two male friends whose Adam’s apples are barely noticeable.”

The eldest son, Huang Long, voiced his agreement.

“And I have a female friend with a very obvious one.”

Xie Mei chimed in as well.

“If that’s the case… then ‘she’ really might be a man?”

Qu Zhen looked startled, but then her brows furrowed. “But why would he pretend to be Huang Qi’s lover?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Their family must’ve been humiliated by our taunts before, so this time, they deliberately hired a very effeminate man to play the role of a daughter-in-law. That way, no one would dare gossip.”

Zhou Fang offered her speculation.

“Yeah, my cousin didn’t even dare come back for the old man’s birthday this time. He must be terrified of being mocked again.”

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Huang Bo thought his mother made a good point.

“There’s probably another reason—to appease Grandfather. The old man’s been wanting to meet his eldest grandson’s wife for ages. If they didn’t come up with something this time, they might never get another chance.”

Huang Long added.

“You’re all thinking too small. I doubt my elder brother and sister-in-law’s plans are this trivial.”

Huang Kaiyou corrected them. “Don’t forget—Huang Qi is almost thirty. If he doesn’t find a partner soon, he’ll be sent to the battlefield to die. But now, things are different.”

“You mean… they’re trying to fake a daughter-in-law to deceive the imperial court?”

Zhou Fang gasped in shock.

“No way! That’s a capital offense! Do they have a death wish?”

Even the usually composed Huang Long turned pale.

“Wife, if it were Huang Long and Huang Bo being sent to war, would you care about the consequences? Besides, they only have one son.”

Huang Kaiyou countered.

“True… If it were me, I’d do the same.”

After some thought, Zhou Fang nodded in reluctant agreement.

“So… what do we do now?”

Huang Bo asked, looking lost.

“We expose that ‘sister-in-law’, of course! Once Huang Qi turns thirty, he’ll have no choice but to go to war, and their house will fall into our hands soon enough.”

Qu Zhen rolled her eyes.

“But… that doesn’t seem right. We’re still family.”

Huang Bo hesitated, showing a shred of humanity.

“Yeah, a little rivalry is one thing, but this is basically sending him to his death. I can’t bring myself to do it. We’re still brothers.”

Huang Long was similarly torn.

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“So, you’d choose brotherhood over your wives? If we don’t solve the housing issue, are you fine with letting them live with you forever?”

Qu Zhen sneered at their indecision.

“My stance is clear—no house, no marriage. How are two families supposed to live in this tiny courtyard?”

Xie Mei made her position known as well.

With the family divided, all eyes turned to Huang Kaiyou.

Gritting his teeth, his jaw working silently, Huang Kaiyou looked at his two sons before finally sighing. “It’s my fault for not being capable enough to secure another house for you. Fine—we’ll do as your wives suggest.”

“But how do we expose ‘her’? We’re not close enough to just strip ‘her’ clothes off by force!”

Qu Zhen, now satisfied, began plotting immediately.

“No need for that. We just need to spread the rumor. Once the villagers get wind of it, the gossip will spread like wildfire. The pressure will force my elder brother’s family to act, and that cross-dressing ‘rich young lady’ will have no choice but to prove her real gender.”

Huang Kaiyou laid out his cunning plan with confidence.

“What if they just ignore it and tough it out?”

Zhou Fang pressed, still uneasy.

“They won’t. Their family prides itself on filial piety. If they let those rumors run rampant, it’d kill my father from rage.”

Huang Kaiyou smirked, utterly assured.

As soon as Huang Qi returned home, he started cooking. Unlike his lazy cousins, he didn’t indulge in idleness—nor was he so deep into his role that he actually believed himself to be the Huang family’s daughter-in-law.

When Old Man Huang Xinghu woke up and saw this scene, he was both touched and flustered, immediately trying to stop him—to no avail.

“Ah… if only my other two grandsons’ wives were half as diligent, I wouldn’t mind if they weren’t filial at all.”

The old man sighed to himself.

Huang Qi quickly prepared breakfast—which was really just last night’s leftovers. These days, he couldn’t afford to be picky. He’d already checked the “granary” earlier and found it completely empty. Clearly, his parents had exhausted everything for the old man’s birthday celebration, likely even using up the food and money gifted by the villagers.

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Huang Qi did the math. It was only June, and harvest season was at least two months away. Without reserves, the family would struggle to survive.

His parents soon returned from the fields. When they learned their future daughter-in-law had prepared breakfast, they were both astonished and uneasy. In these times, women held high status—families pampered their daughters-in-law, fearing that losing one would make it impossible to find another, let alone one as outstanding as this.

“You mustn’t do such menial work again! If word gets out, people will think I’m a lazy, abusive mother-in-law!”

Li Fen hurriedly admonished him.

“It’s fine. Aren’t you also a Huang family daughter-in-law? If you can do it, why can’t I?”

Huang Qi countered logically.

“But it’s different for you—you’re a wealthy young lady!”

Li Fen insisted solemnly.

Huang Qi shook his head helplessly. Wealthy young lady? In his dreams, maybe.

Then it hit him, “Wait, in my dreams, I actually was one.”

The realization left him torn between laughter and tears.

Thinking about the dreams, Huang Qi found something eerie. Normally, dreams were chaotic, with no logical sequence of events or timeline. That was why he hadn’t dwelled on them before. But now, upon reflection—why were his recent dreams so coherent? And why did they feel so real? At times, he could even feel temperature changes through that little girl’s body. He’d never heard of anyone experiencing dreams like this.

After racking his brain to no avail, Huang Qi gave up for now.

“By the way, daughter-in-law… why are you still wearing gloves even though you’re sweating? Aren’t those Huang Qi’s?”

His mother suddenly asked.

Huang Qi’s breath hitched, but he’d prepared an excuse. “I did a lot of rough work at home, and my hands became too coarse. Some of the aunties commented on it yesterday. Now that I’m to be a Huang family bride, I should take care of them—can’t let outsiders gossip.”

“Oh, I see!”

Li Fen nodded in sudden understanding. The explanation was so reasonable that she didn’t suspect a thing.

As the family gathered at the table, Huang Qi took his bowl back to his room to eat alone.

“What’s wrong? Is your face still swollen?”

Li Fen asked with concern.

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“Yes, so I’d rather not let you see.”

Huang Qi lied nervously.

“Should I go to town and get you some medicine?”

Huang Kairong offered kindly.

“No need, it’s much better than before.”

Huang Qi quickly refused. The journey from Huatian Village to town was long and treacherous. Even if he really had a toothache, he wouldn’t let his father risk the trip—let alone when it was all fake.

“Also, I can’t just freeload here. Here’s three taels of silver—consider it my contribution to the household.”

Huang Qi pulled out the silver and handed it to his father, fabricating a reason to preserve their dignity.

“What nonsense! We’re family—no need for such formalities!”

Li Fen chided.

“If you refuse, it means you don’t see me as your daughter-in-law. That’s what’s truly distant.”

Huang Qi argued smoothly.

After some back-and-forth, Huang Kairong finally accepted the money—the family was indeed in dire straits.

Back in his room, Huang Qi felt a pang of emptiness. The twenty taels he’d had were nearly gone now—and it was ill-gotten wealth to begin with.

Thinking of silver made him recall Ruan Lingyu.

“At her speed, she should’ve reached the Honghua Sect by now, right?”

The thought made his heart clench again. Even though he was hiding in this backwater village, he didn’t want the truth to come out. After all, no matter how weak the Honghua Sect was, they were still cultivators—their reach was boundless.

Huang Qi’s guess was correct. At this very moment, Ruan Lingyu had indeed arrived at the gates of the Honghua Sect.