The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

Chapter 324 Telling the Eldest Brother What Happened

A dark cloud drifted in from afar in the sky.

The sky, which had been bright just moments before, gradually darkened.

Before long, it started to rain.

Shen Cao walked under the covered walkway, staring blankly at the small grass outside, which was swaying in the rain.

She loves rainy days, especially when she can move a deck chair in, lie down, cover herself with a soft blanket, and listen to the rain.

You'll fall asleep without even realizing it.

This is what she loves to do most on rainy days.

Now, however, she has given up on such thoughts.

In Shen Chen's courtyard, Grand Tutor Zhou specially arranged the west wing room into a study for him, so that he could study every day.

When Shen Cao arrived, Shen Chen was reading in the study.

With less than four months left until the autumn imperial examination, although the Grand Tutor only allowed him to try out this year, he had his own ambitions.

'Knock knock knock,' someone is knocking on the door.

He looked towards the door and saw it was his younger sister, so he quickly got up.

"Big sister, what brings you here at this hour?"

Shen Cao looked at Shen Chen with a serious expression, which made Shen Chen's heart skip a beat. He felt that what his younger sister was about to say to him was very important.

"Brother, I have something important to tell you. Are you available now?"

Shen Chen thought for a moment and said, "The teacher said he would come to test my homework after dinner today. Before that, I didn't have anything to do."

"That's good."

After saying this, Shen Cao turned around and closed the door.

Shen Chen also went to his desk and closed all the windows in front of it.

The two sat facing each other in the study.

Only the incense burner on the desk emitted wisps of smoke, its delicate aroma carrying a hint of bamboo fragrance.

"Big brother, do you still remember the jade pendant I've worn since I was a child?" Shen Cao looked up at Shen Chen and spoke slowly.

Shen Chen nodded; of course he remembered.

But why did my younger sister suddenly bring up this jade pendant?

Could it be? Could it be that my younger sister already knows about her past?

Shen Chen looked up at Shen Cao with a complicated expression, and nodded, "I remember."

Seeing her elder brother's reaction, Shen Cao knew that he must have known about it.

She breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that her older brother knew early on, so that he wouldn't have to accept it all at once.

"Brother should know that I am not Father and Mother's biological son!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Chen was taken aback at first, then looked at Shen Cao with some concern.

My younger sister found out, just as I expected.

His voice was somewhat deep, "You knew everything?"

Shen Cao nodded and told Shen Chen what her parents had told her before she left for the capital.

“My father and mother meant that I might find my biological parents when I came to the capital this time, so they told me about the jade pendant before they came.”

Shen Chen lowered his eyes and remained silent, his thoughts unknown.

After a long pause, he finally spoke, "Big sister, no matter what, you will always be my own sister." His voice was choked with emotion.

Shen Cao was touched; she knew that her older brother had always treated her the same way.

She nodded. "Of course, no matter what, you are all my closest family members in this life."

In her heart, the Shen family will always be her family. Without their kindness back then, she would probably have been reincarnated many times over by now.

Shen Chen suddenly realized something and looked up at Shen Cao, "Little sister, so you know who your family is?"

If it were solely because of her background, Shen Cao definitely wouldn't have suddenly contacted him.

He had been studying at the Grand Tutor's mansion for the past few days. Although he didn't know what his younger sister was busy with, he still learned about her schedule from Grand Tutor Zhou's complaints.

She must have been busy these past few days trying to figure out her origins.

The reason I came to see her today must be that I've finally found some clues about my background.

Shen Cao watched the incense smoke rising and dissipating from the incense burner on the desk before finally speaking.

"That jade pendant is a family heirloom of Shen Yu'an."

Shen Chen was so shocked by those words that he was at a loss for words.

He never imagined that his younger sister's background was so...so unbelievable.

His younger sister was actually from a prominent family.

Why did she appear in Xin'an County?

Perhaps sensing Shen Chen's confusion, Shen Cao briefly explained the matter of the jade pendant to him.

Shen Chen was even more shocked after hearing this.

His eldest sister.

So his younger sister's status is even more precious than that of a daughter from a prominent family.

She was actually the current emperor's daughter.

After the initial shock, he quickly calmed down.

"Sister, why were you abandoned in Xin'an County back then?" He frowned, his eyes filled with worry for her.

He is no longer the simple student he once was in Xin'an County.

During his time studying in the capital, he spent most of his time studying at the Grand Tutor's residence.

However, he would occasionally attend banquets and thus became quite familiar with some of the sordid affairs of aristocratic families.

Even aristocratic families have so many scandalous affairs, let alone the imperial harem.

He wondered why his younger sister, who was clearly of noble birth, had been abandoned in such a place so soon after her birth.

He didn't even want to think about what would have happened to his younger sister if it weren't for them back then.

Seeing the worry in her older brother's eyes, Shen Cao comforted him, "Brother, as far as I know, my being abandoned wasn't intentional on my part by my biological parents."

Upon hearing this, Shen Chen frowned even more deeply. If it wasn't his parents' doing it on purpose, then someone else was doing it intentionally.

"That's the main reason I came to see you today."

"Brother, have you heard? The Imperial Concubine's daughter, Princess Wanming, has been found."

"If we're not mistaken, the person behind it all will soon reveal themselves."

"us?"

Shen Cao was surprised that her older brother was so perceptive, realizing many details from just a few words.

Shen Cao told Shen Chen about her and Shen Yu'an's plan in detail.

"In other words, you want to turn the tables on us."

Shen Cao nodded, "I was afraid you would worry, so I don't plan to hide it from you."

Shen Chen was touched by Shen Cao's honesty, but he also felt particularly sorry for her.

His younger sister, who should have been the most noble lady in the world, was forced to live among the common people because of some people.

But he was also grateful to that person; if it weren't for him, he wouldn't have such a wonderful sister.

After Shen Cao left, Shen Chen sat there for a long time, lost in thought.

Until the rain outside stopped.

Until it got completely dark outside.

He slowly came to his senses.

I tried to get up, but my legs went numb.

He stood there for a while, holding onto the chair, before getting up and lighting the candles in the room.

The dim candlelight flickered.

He sat at his desk and finally made up his mind.

If we say that he listened to his teacher before and tried the exam this year, and that he studied hard because he didn't want to get a bad score, then he was probably just doing so to save face for his teacher.

But now he feels it's too late.

He clearly wanted to be able to support his younger sister, but now he felt that he was almost losing even the right to do so.

Fortunately, it's not too late.

He needs to study even harder and must win the championship this year.

Only in this way can he become his younger sister's support sooner.

He used to think there was plenty of time, but now he feels there isn't enough.

After testing his knowledge, Grand Tutor Zhou left satisfied.

The candlelight in Shen Chen's study burned until late into the night.