Xu Xinyao

Zhou Chen did not respond to Xu Yuan's remark. He knew full well what should and shouldn't be said. When it came to the Chancellor's family affairs, he had best keep his mouth firmly shut. For a time, both men fell silent. Xu Yuan fixed his gaze upon the young women dancing with flowing sleeves and bare jade feet upon the stage in the hall, turning his fourth sister over in his mind. Naturally, he knew of the Chancellor's Manor's Fourth Miss. One of Cangyuan's heroines—Xu Xinyao. However, until just moments ago, Xu Yuan's impression of Xu Xinyao had remained largely rooted in his past-life knowledge; he had never deliberately combed through the original host's memories of her. Indeed. When Xu Yuan had called Xu Xinyao a wench earlier, it had come entirely from his own feelings—no hidden motives, just pure emotion. Back in his previous life, looking down from a god's-eye view, he had felt completely indifferent toward this heroine. Yet Zhou Chen's reminder prompted Xu Yuan to search his mind for information regarding this fourth sister of his. Most of the memories were fragmented and hazy, but he could piece together the general dynamic between the two. Right now, his relationship with this fourth sister was at rock bottom. Xu Yuan wasn't the least bit surprised by this. Given the original host's conduct, it would have been abnormal if their relationship had been good. However, it was worth mentioning that back in their childhood, the two had actually gotten along quite decently. In fact, judging from his memories, it seemed he had harbored a secret crush on this adoptive sister when he was young. The forbidden kind—the incestuous sort. All because Xu Xinyao had been gentle and kind-hearted from an early age. Overshadowed by the brilliance of his two older brothers, the mediocre Xu Changtian had grown up withdrawn and reclusive. In his early years, because his two older brothers were there to keep him company and console him, the original host's withdrawn nature hadn't been particularly obvious. Yet once Xu Changge and Xu Chang'an reached the age of fifteen and set off to travel the world, it became increasingly pronounced. Fortunately, he had Xu Xinyao, a younger sister who was willing to stay by his side and keep this reclusive boy company. To put it more poetically, She had been the softest beam of light in his heart. Yet that very beam of soft light had gradually turned into a blinding spotlight as they grew up, stinging the original host's eyes until he couldn't keep them open. Most importantly, after lingering for two years, that light departed as well. Once Xu Xinyao's interest and talent in formations were discovered, their father asked if she wished to go study the craft elsewhere. The original host begged her not to leave, but she left anyway. Still a brat back then, the original host viewed this as a betrayal. And what followed unfolded just as Xu Yuan had recalled earlier. The original host became a completely shut-in, dysfunctional child. By the time Xu Xinyao returned from her studies, Xu Changtian had completely transformed. Seeing her once quiet, taciturn third brother turn bad, the naturally kind-hearted Xu Xinyao wanted to dissuade him. Yet who was Xu Changtian? A piece of work whom even his eldest brother couldn't beat into shape with a whip—would he be dissuaded by the words of a mere adoptive sister? Her attempts at dissuasion often ended with Xu Xinyao going to complain, and after Xu Changge returned home from his travels, the original host would be strung up and given a sound thrashing. The original host, whose personality had twisted beyond repair, pinned all of this on Xu Xinyao. He began attacking her background, calling her a bastard, and even started getting physical with her. At first, Xu Xinyao's kindness kept her from giving up on her third brother, but she truly could not withstand Xu Changtian's increasingly warped temperament. As his antics in the Imperial Capital grew ever more absurd and unbridled, the bond between brother and sister finally broke beyond repair. In less than ten years, their relationship deteriorated to the point where they hardly exchanged a single word. The memories faded, leaving a trace of melancholy in Xu Yuan's eyes—though that melancholy quickly shifted into wry amusement. Xu Xinyao was, by all accounts, a perfect heroine. Yet while playing Cangyuan in his past life, Xu Yuan had never been able to like this Fourth Miss of the Chancellor's Manor. Now, possessing the original host's memories, his view of her had shifted somewhat. As a heroine in Cangyuan, Xu Xinyao was certainly qualified. Following their serendipitous encounter in the early game, she had provided the protagonist Xu Yuan controlled with immense material support. At the beginning, Xu Yuan had actually liked her quite a bit. After all, who didn't love a wealthy benefactress? Xu Xinyao had quite a few romance routes that could be completed in Cangyuan. Meeting, adventuring together, and ultimately falling in love. Meeting, love-hate rivalry, and ultimately falling in love. Meeting, hero saves the damsel, adventuring together, and ultimately falling in love. From the protagonist's perspective, Xu Xinyao truly was flawless. Beyond her wealth, she was gentle, kind-hearted, and empathetic, and her mastery of formations provided real, tangible assistance to the story protagonist. The problem, however, was this: At the time, Xu Yuan had not only immersed himself as the protagonist, but also held a god's-eye view over every character in Cangyuan. As her identity was unraveled piece by piece, Xu Yuan had grown completely indifferent toward her. In the late stages of many worldlines in Cangyuan, when the Chancellor's Manor faction steadily collapsed into ruin due to the story protagonist's meddling, many chose to betray his father out of self-interest or a desperate desire to survive. And among those betrayers across those worldlines was none other than this noble Fourth Miss, Xu Xinyao. In certain worldlines, her betrayal had even played a pivotal role. Xu Yuan had always believed that everyone had their own behavioral logic. Because humans were flawed, this logic could contain contradictions and double standards, but whatever one did, it had to stem from the position one occupied. Yet Xu Xinyao had completely abandoned her own position. Because she believed the story protagonist was on the side of justice, and because she felt her adoptive father's actions brought slaughter and devastation to the realm's common folk, She chose to sacrifice kin for righteousness. How noble. How upright. What touching filial piety. "..." Thinking to this point, Xu Yuan felt an inexplicable urge to laugh, but after a couple of chuckles, he shook his head slightly. He had never visited the other regions of the Great Yan Dynasty in reality, so he wasn't certain of the specifics. Yet in Cangyuan, undercurrents had long surged across the realm. The barbarians of the north, the Guyuan of the southwest, and the sects within the Great Yan Dynasty itself—numerous factions were already growing restless. As the Fourth Miss of the Chancellor's Manor, Xu Xinyao had known all of this. Yet she sought a solution that could reconcile all sides without resorting to force. She had dreamed of it, and she had pursued it. Across many worldlines, she had constantly striven toward that goal, but unfortunately, in every single worldline, her efforts ended up as nothing more than a joke. For on this chessboard destined for great upheaval, her father had been the first to play a stone. It was like the collapse of her faith. She began to struggle. She began to waver. And she... chose betrayal. Betrayal. Xu Yuan let out a long breath, a hint of helplessness flashing across his eyes. Indeed, no matter how beautiful she looked in memory, he simply could not bring himself to like this woman. No one asked you to abandon your beliefs to help out; at the very least, you could have remained neutral and taken neither side, couldn't you? Anyone could betray that Prime Minister, but not you, Fourth Miss Xu Xinyao. It was he who had given you a home when you were at your most helpless. It was he who had lifted you from starvation to the clouds, giving you the finest education, the best material comforts, and the very best of everything he could offer. The debt of raising a child surpasses the debt of birth. He was more a father to you than a birth father, and his wife more a mother than a birth mother, while the eldest and second brothers treated you as if you were born of the first wife. And yet, in the end... You chose to plunge a dagger into their softest, most vulnerable spot when they least expected it.