You’ve Had It So Hard

"Fourth Highness, the climate at Drake Abyss is damp and chilly. The Divine Lady will surely find it hard to adjust, so you must take good care of her," Brandon Xiao instructed.

"Of course," Henry Xiao replied, smiling gently at Lucia Lu.

Brandon Xiao then looked at Sean Shaw, beckoning him over, and said, "Little Five, it's been a hundred years since you saw your big brother. Aren't you going to say hello?"

Sean Shaw stepped forward and greeted him formally, "Big Brother."

"You've ascended to High God!" Brandon Xiao said with genuine pride, patting Sean's shoulder. "Father Emperor must be thrilled, right?"

But Sean Shaw said nothing.

The atmosphere turned awkward.

Brandon Xiao chuckled, then said, "I'm heading back to pay respects to Mother Empress. Quinn, come with me!"

"Big Brother! They're all picking on me! Aren't you going to stand up for me?" Princess Quinn Xiao pouted and whined.

"It's already good enough if you don't bully Little Five yourself! Like I don't know you?" Brandon Xiao nodded to Lucia Lu, Sean Shaw, and Adrian Drake, then whisked Quinn away.

Henry Xiao also greeted Lucia Lu and Adrian Drake before following after them.

Only Darren Xuan was treated like he was invisible by the brothers.

Neither Brandon Xiao nor Henry Xiao seemed to notice him at all.

A flash of embarrassment crossed Darren Xuan's face, quickly hidden.

Just then, Princess Quinn Xiao's voice rang out: "Darren! Hurry up and catch up!"

Darren Xuan lowered his eyes to hide his feelings, calmly saluted Sean Shaw, Lucia Lu, and Adrian Drake, and followed after them.

Lucia Lu turned to Sean Shaw and began, "Fifth Highness, just now, thank—"

She broke off abruptly.

She suddenly remembered that night when Sean Shaw said he didn't like being thanked.

So she forced herself to change direction and asked, "Are you heading out?"

She thought it was just a coincidence.

Sean Shaw paused, nodded, and slipped away into the void.

You've had it so hard...

Adrian Drake curled his lip and said, "Senior Sister, you handled that perfectly. Good thing you stopped him—if he'd hit Princess Quinn, it would've been a huge mess."

"They... all exclude Fifth Highness, don't they?" Lucia Lu asked.

She'd heard Adrian say so before.

But 'hearing about it' and 'seeing it for herself' were two very different things.

"Of all His Majesty the Celestial Emperor's children, only he wasn't born of the Celestial Empress," Adrian Drake said. "Honestly, it's human nature! Think about it—if your master had a child with some woman outside, then brought him back to Peach Blossom Haven, you siblings would probably have a hard time accepting him, right?"

Lucia Lu nodded. "If Mother could accept it, the children would be fine. But if it made Mother miserable, we'd probably resent him even more!"

"Exactly," Adrian Drake agreed. "The Celestial Empress just couldn't accept it, so it became a thorn in her heart—one that hurt a lot!"

Lucia Lu frowned. "It's just a shame for Fifth Highness... He's innocent in all this."

"Yeah! When he was little, he really wanted to fit in with that family. But Tianque Palace just couldn't accept him! The first time I saw him, he hadn't even taken human form yet—just a tiny dragon, curled up alone, crying in a hollow beneath the King Tree..."

Lucia Lu's heart ached.

Later, he grew more and more withdrawn. For a thousand years, he stayed hidden away in His Majesty the Celestial Emperor's fief, never coming out. If he hadn't ascended to High God and been forced out by the Emperor, who knows if he'd have stayed there forever...

Lucia Lu said, "But I feel like the Eldest Prince treats Fifth Highness differently."

"Exactly!" Adrian Drake nodded. "The Eldest Prince is incredibly kind—he's never bullied Little Five, and he's the only brother who's really cared for him and shown him warmth."