My dear older sister
The Fourth Princess didn't doubt Cassidy's crazy story for a second. After all, everyone in Argent knew about Prince Ashworth's reputation.
She looked at Cassidy with a fresh wave of pity. Abandoned by her mother at birth, saddled with a good-for-nothing father, and now, apparently, she was losing her mind.
With a sigh, she reluctantly pulled three thousand taels from her purse.
"Look, we're both part of the imperial family," she said, her voice softening. "I'll lend you three thousand. You can pay me back once your family's shops start turning a profit."
She'd also heard from her uncle that Prince Ashworth had bought a brothel. Sure, a prince buying a brothel was a black eye for the family's reputation, and anyone else would have been dragged through the mud by the court censors for it.
But what could you do? It was Prince Ashworth.
When it came to that kind of sleazy behavior, everyone just shrugged.
What else could you expect from him? The censors didn't even bother with his antics anymore.
If they pushed him too hard, he was the type to show up at their houses and act like a drunken maniac.
Nobody wanted to poke that bear for no reason.
Cassidy's eyes lit up. Before the Fourth Princess could even blink, she'd snatched the money. She counted it, a full three thousand, then quickly stuffed the bills into her purse.
With a look of profound gratitude, she grabbed the Fourth Princess's hand. "Sister, you're the best!"
It was the first time in her life she'd ever heard Cassidy call her that. A slow smile spread across the Fourth Princess's face.
"What did you just call me?"
Cassidy didn't miss a beat. "Sister! My dear older sister!"
Overjoyed, the Fourth Princess grandly pulled another banknote from her purse. "I'm in a good mood. Here's another thousand taels."
Cassidy's eyes went wide.
"Sister! You are an absolute goddess!"
The Fourth Princess tilted her chin up, soaking in the praise.
Ever since they were toddlers, she and Cassidy had been feuding over who was the elder.
The princess was born a few days earlier, so technically, she was.
But Cassidy had stubbornly refused to call her 'older sister' for years.
Even worse, she'd shamelessly declared that height determined seniority, and for most of their lives, the princess had been just a little bit shorter.
Watching its host sweet-talk the girl into forking over four thousand taels with just a few words, the System started freaking out.
"Sister! Hey, sister! It's me, Toni! Toni loves calling people sister! Can you give Toni a thousand taels, too? Five hundred is fine!"
The whiny voice in her head made Cassidy's temple throb. "Shut up. You're a system without a body. What do you need money for? Are you gonna go shopping?"
The System sounded sheepish. "I, um, I can get a physical body soon. When we came to this world, I accidentally zapped some of my energy into that donkey that kicked you, Maserati. He should have been a goner a long time ago, but he's only alive because of me."
Cassidy was stunned. Was that even possible?
No wonder she'd felt that donkey was special. It was why she'd insisted on keeping it, even when everyone at the estate was against it.
"Huh. So you're not totally useless after all."
A donkey with a cheat code, she figured, was way better than some invisible, disembodied system.
"Then you'd better save up your points. When you can finally take over that donkey's body, I'll show you the good life."
Hearing that, the System was more motivated than ever.
Seeing Cassidy just staring at the money with a dazed look, the Fourth Princess thought she was simply too moved to speak.
She patted Cassidy's shoulder. "If I'd known a thousand taels was all it took to get you to call me 'sister,' we could have avoided so many fights."
Cassidy eyed the purse still hanging at the princess's waist, her fingers itching to grab it, but her common sense took over.
"Is being a princess that profitable?" she asked, her voice full of envy. "You just carry several thousand taels around with you?"
"Of course not. This is just some spending money my uncle gave me. I just got it, too." Thinking about the money she'd just handed over made her heart ache a little.
Cassidy's expression turned hopeful. "Is your uncle looking to adopt any more nieces?"
The Fourth Princess immediately grew defensive. "What are you planning?"
Cassidy's eyes were sparkling. "Nothing! Look, if you're my sister, then we're family. And that makes your uncle *my* uncle! So where is our uncle? I want to go say hi."
The Fourth Princess had never met someone so shameless. "Cassidy, didn't you used to say my uncle was just some merchant, not worth your time?"
Cassidy offered an awkward but polite smile. "I was young and stupid back then. Please tell him I'm sorry, sister."
"Don't be so casual about it!" the princess snapped. "He's *my* uncle!"
Seeing the predatory look in Cassidy's eyes, the Fourth Princess's heart skipped a beat. She knew that look all too well. It was the same one Cassidy got whenever they fought over something as kids.
Panicked, she grabbed her maid, pulled her back a few steps, and then just took off running. "Cassidy Sterling," she yelled over her shoulder, "don't you dare try to steal my uncle!"
Cassidy gave a solemn wave in her direction. "I will not give up on your uncle!"
Her maids, Auspicious and As-Desired, almost lunged forward to cover her mouth.
"Princess, you can't just shout things like that!"
If anyone heard, they'd think their princess had a crush on the Fourth Princess's uncle.
A pang of regret hit Cassidy. "How come I don't have a rich uncle?"
As-Desired quickly comforted her. "Don't be sad, Princess. You may not have a rich uncle, but you have a wealthy imperial uncle."
Auspicious chimed in, "And you have a whole bunch of wealthy imperial brothers and sisters."
Oh, right. She still had plenty of rich and powerful relatives in the imperial family. The thought made her regret vanish instantly.
Feeling the four thousand taels in her purse, she grinned. "Time to go visit some relatives."
To Auspicious and As-Desired, that sounded an awful lot like, *time to go hit them up for cash*.
Wisely, the two of them said nothing.
Cassidy looked at the banknotes in her hand, then glanced toward the Imperial Study.
In a rare moment of good conscience, she realized her uncle, the Emperor, had been pretty supportive since she'd arrived in this world, and she'd been nothing but a massive headache in return.
She decided she ought to return the favor and pulled out two thousand taels.
It was always a good idea to hold on tight to a powerful connection.
The Emperor watched as Cassidy, who had just left, scurried right back into the study.
His heart skipped a beat. It had been less than fifteen minutes. Had that little troublemaker caused problems already?
"Didn't I tell you to visit the palace less often? What trouble did you cause now?"
Cassidy dramatically slapped the two banknotes down on his desk.
"Imperial Uncle, this is for you," she announced. "Spend it on whatever you want."