The Darker the Night, The Brighter the Stars

"My lady, Shopkeeper Liang sent the medicine shop's earnings for the past two months. Please take a look and verify it. It's 350, 000 silvers!" Chun Lan said and handed the box to Zhao Yan.

Zhao Yan nodded at her, looking over the account book and counting the bank notes.

There were also gifts sent to her courtyard and Chun Lan has already arranged for them to be placed in the storage room.

"My lady, it's almost lunchtime. Chun Lan will be right back!"

"Mm... Tell the kitchen that I want some bird's nest soup. "Zhao Yan said without looking up from the account book. Her hand continued to write without stopping and the bank notes that were counted were brought back inside the box.

"Then please stay here, my lady. Chun Lan will prepare your lunch. "The little girl who was only fifteen-year-old ran off hurriedly to the kitchen as if her life depended on it.

Zhao Yan sighed and placed the account book and box away. She sat down on a chair and rubbed her small rounded belly. She was currently three months into her pregnancy.

The days she had to endure morning sickness had passed but she was still very sensitive to foods that smelled fishy or oily.

Sure enough, no pain, no gain. She would have to endure six more months to hold her baby.

Zhao Yan told Chun Lan to hire a female chef that could cook and was experienced in handling pregnant women's food.

Luckily, Chun Lan found a suitable person for the job. Mama Yang was in charge of Zhao Yan's meals.

Zhao Yan was very satisfied with Mama Yang's cooking and even raised her salary. Although Zhao Yan could cook, the heat and smoke in the kitchen made her dizzy and uncomfortable.

It wasn't good for her pregnancy, thus, she asked Chun Lan to hire another pair of hands.

Aside from Chun Lan and Mama Yan, there were also two female servants responsible for household chores and two male servants to help with the rough work.

Zhao Yan only hired six guards. They were all capable and good in martial arts. Her courtyard was neither too big nor small but it was decent enough for her and her child to live peacefully.

She didn't want attention and she didn't want to go back to her previous life. She also didn't want to encounter any strange men or people anymore.

Discretion was the way to live.

But Zhao Yan, she had been too careless before when she was in Zhao Country. Zhao Yan thought that she would be able to live a happy yet simple life in that place, earning her own money, and would no longer have to worry about her family coming after her.

Her assumptions were fantasy and reality was different.

Zhao Yan closed her eyes as she remembered the pain and humiliation she experienced as the fourth miss of Prince Li's mansion.

She had always yielded everything for her older brother, Li Dabao. She didn't compete for attention among her family and she was kind and courteous to everyone. Zhao Yan loved her brother so much because she had been raised with the fact that men were much more important than women because they could carry the family name.

Women were only used as political tools for marriage and Zhao Yan had always felt uncomfortable about that.

Nevertheless, Zhao Yan didn't voice out her concerns and disagreement because she only has one brother from the same mother so Zhao Yan wholeheartedly supported her brother, Li Dabao.

She even used most of her allowances to help him get what he wants. All the nutritional tonics she made were handed over to him and all the valuable items the family had were arranged for him.

All the good things in her family fell right on Li Dabao's awaiting hands while Zhao Yan would smile, endure and never once complain.

In the table, Li Dabao would be served first before Zhao Yan. During a family gathering, even if Zhao Yan was better at chess than Li Dabao, Li Dabao would still be praised instead of her.

At the poetry competition, even though her poetry was better and Li Dabao's poetry was mediocre, Li Dabao would still earn everyone's praise.

When going out, Li Dabao could go because he was a man while Zhao Yan was to remain at home because she was a woman.

Zhao Yan had always thought it was unfair but Li Dabao was her brother so she would erase her negative thoughts and also take part in praising his skills, however, average they were.

Zhao Yan's three older sisters were married to prominent families while Li Dabao was engaged to their cousin, Wei Gao Xi.

Although they were relatives, Prince Li's mansion was still above the Wei family in terms of power, status, and wealth. This marriage was too advantageous for the Wei family and disadvantageous to Prince Li's mansion.

It was like carrying a piece of extra baggage and Prince Li's mansion would be responsible for that baggage which was the Wei Family.

Her brother, Li Dabao was stubborn and strong insisted to marry Wei Gao Xi and even publicly admitted they were in love.

Zhao Yan didn't really like Wei Gao Xi because she was arrogant and had always mocked Zhao Yan as the unfavored fourth miss despite being the daughter of Li Zhong's primary wife, Bao Mei.

Zhao Yan never understood where Wei Gao Xi's hate came from since Zhao Yan has never done anything to her. Was it really just as simple as Zhao Yan being unfavored which is why Wei Gao Xi felt the need to pour oil on the fire?

Zhao Yan couldn't help but think it was stupid and petty.

Zhao Yan also kept a low profile. Aside from her brother, Li Dabao, Zhao Yan was only close to her grandfather, Li Hua.

Zhao Yan learned medicine from her grandfather. He even taught Zhao Yan how to cook medicinal cuisine, and how to read and write. Her grandfather, Li Hua was like a parent figure to Zhao Yan and she loved her grandfather dearly.

So Zhao Yan earnestly studied under him and learned everything he taught her without any complaints. Because her grandfather was the only person willing to be kind to Zhao Yan, Zhao Yan trusted him and confided to him a lot.

Who would have expected that her grandfather would suddenly disappear? It was when Zhao Yan was sixteen years old. She was naturally devastated because one of the closest people to her had suddenly vanished in thin air. Her family didn't even put that much effort in finding her grandfather because he was old and a powerless figurehead!

What they didn't know that her grandfather's medicinal skills were top notch. He was only hiding them because he wanted to enjoy his retirement.

It was also thanks to her grandfather, Li Hua, that Zhao Yan hadn't been forced to marry, unlike her three sisters who had been married already to secure political ties.

Zhao Yan knew that because she was a woman that her status was looked down upon and because she was the youngest among her siblings, she was overlooked. Not to mention that her brother, Li Dabao was a male and could carry the family name.

She was naturally overshadowed by her brother's figure over the years.

Never once did Zhao Yan harbored any hate for this no matter how wronged she was.

Because she dearly loved her brother, she could endure her situation.

What she didn't expect was that he had never really cared for her and was only using her as a stepping stone.

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