The faint morning light spread across the horizon, casting a veil-like soft glow over the white walls and dark tiles.
At a quarter past mao hour, Pei Huaijin, accustomed to rising early, sat up in bed, pinched the bridge of his nose, and tried to quickly gather his energy.
The person on the inner side was still asleep, her posture no longer as well-behaved as it had been the night before. Her hands rested casually beside the pillow, her face tilted to one side, showing no semblance of proper sleeping form. Her breathing was deep and even, clearly still in a deep slumber.
The charcoal in the room’s incense burner had burned out, leaving a chill in the air. Pei Huaijin tucked her hands under the covers before drawing aside the bed curtains and stepping down. He went to the wardrobe to change his clothes, washed up, and then headed to the courtyard for his morning exercises.
Qing Jian was already waiting in the courtyard to accompany him.
“Did you not sleep well last night, young master?” Qing Jian noticed the dark circles under his eyes.
“Hmm, I was catching a kitten all night.”
“There’s a kitten in your room? How come I didn’t hear it?”
“Just joking…” Couldn’t he tell?
It wasn’t a kitten, but a young girl frightened by a nightmare. He didn’t know what she had dreamed about, but she cried and pleaded not to be eaten, even scrambling to kowtow and beg for mercy, leaving the bed in disarray. He had been awakened by the noise and, unable to bear it, sat up to pat and soothe her.
Before marriage, he never would have imagined he’d have to get up in the middle of the night to help his wife fall back asleep.
After his morning exercises, he went to Haitang Courtyard to pay respects to his mother.
His mother was still upset with him for defending Shen Youran and refused to see him. He inquired with the maidservants attending her and learned that his mother was in good health, so he returned.
By this time, it was halfway through mao hour, and the daylight had grown brighter. He went to the study to read for a while and practice calligraphy, and before he knew it, half a shichen had passed.
At chen hour, the kitchen staff brought breakfast. Pei Huaijin had already arrived in the side hall to eat when he realized Shen Youran still hadn’t emerged from the bedroom.
Her maid, Danruo, came over timidly to explain, “The young mistress is still washing up. She asks that you go ahead and eat.”
Since she had started washing up, she should be out soon.
Pei Huaijin did not touch his chopsticks. “It’s fine. I’ll wait for her.”
Danruo bowed and withdrew, returning to the bedroom to help Shen Youran, who had only half-risen and was still partly draped over the bed. “Young mistress,” she urged anxiously, “the young master is waiting for you to have breakfast. Please hurry over.”
“Danruo…” Shen Youran leaned weakly against her. “I feel so exhausted from that sleep.”
In her dream, she had been reciting texts and chased by a tiger. Waking up not only failed to refresh her but left her head buzzing.
“Please wake up quickly, miss. I just lied to the young master, saying you had already started washing up. We need to hurry…”
She had earlier brought in water and efficiently helped Shen Youran rinse her mouth and wash her face, then simply tied up her hair before supporting her to the side hall.
Shen Youran forced herself to perk up, but the drowsiness in her body hadn’t yet faded. She had no appetite at all and sat listlessly at the table, staring blankly at the breakfast spread before her.
“This isn’t leftover food,” Pei Huaijin remarked, noticing her hesitation with the chopsticks and recalling her pitiful expression from the previous night.
“Oh,” Shen Youran replied expressionlessly, her eyelids heavy and threatening to close.
Only then did Pei Huaijin realize she was still half-asleep.
“Didn’t you sleep at hai hour last night?” Counting the time, she had slept for almost five shichen, so why did she still look so unrested?
“I truly can’t eat right now,” Shen Youran’s mind drifted as she quickly conceived an excuse to catch up on sleep, “My hair isn’t done yet. For today’s return visit, I want a more elaborate hairstyle. You eat first—I’m going back to my room to do my hair…”
Then she called Danruo and stumbled drowsily back to her bedchamber.
Not daring to return to bed for fear of oversleeping, she sat at the dressing table and laid her head on its surface for a brief nap: “I’ll just sleep a little while. Wake me up soon to do my hair…”
Danruo, knowing her young mistress was fond of sleeping, first helped arrange her hair and select jewelry, then woke her again after a quarter-hour.
By the time her hair was styled and makeup applied, returning to the outer room revealed the breakfast table had been cleared.
“Where’s breakfast?” Shen Youran asked the maid wiping the table, “Didn’t he save any for me?”
“The young master said the young mistress doesn’t eat leftovers, so he instructed us to clear the dishes.”
“…” She had indeed said yesterday she didn’t want leftover food, but she meant leftovers from previous meals—not from the current meal!
“Young mistress, don’t worry,” Danruo said, “This servant will go to the kitchen and have them prepare something new…”
But before Danruo could leave, Qing Jian entered: “Young mistress, the carriage is ready. The young master is waiting for you in the courtyard.”
This was clearly urging her to depart.
Deliberate!
He intentionally didn’t save her breakfast!
Daring to make her return home on an empty stomach—just wait until she told her father about this.
Fuming, Shen Youran stormed out. Emerging from the hall, she spotted the tall, elegant figure in the courtyard wearing solemn dark blue wide-sleeved robes fastened with a black-gold leather belt. The subdued colors made him appear even more mature.
Compared to his attire, her peach-blossom pink dress today seemed overly youthful.
But she wouldn’t choose aging colors just to match him. At her age, liking delicate colors was perfectly normal—cherry pink, sunset purple, watery red—she loved all soft pastel shades.
As she approached, he turned to look at her at just the right moment. She snorted and turned away, deliberately quickening her pace to avoid walking beside him.
At the entrance of the Pei residence.
When Shen Yunshu arrived, she found Pei Huaian leaning casually against the carriage, chatting idly with Qing Wu.
Seeing her approach, Qing Wu tactfully withdrew.
Shen Yunshu couldn’t hide her surprise at seeing him: “I thought you’d be going out again today.”
When Third Sister mentioned his plans to join the monastic order during last night’s dinner, Shen Yunshu had intended to question him immediately, but he never returned, forcing her to retire first.
Upon waking, she’d sent Tinglan to inquire with the courtyard servants, who reported seeing him leave early again. Assuming he wouldn’t accompany her home today, she’d been contemplating how to explain this to her father.
Never expecting he’d be waiting at the estate gates.
“This morning I went out with Qing Wu for breakfast. The morning meals in the mansion are always the same few dishes – I’ve long grown tired of them.” Pei Huaian wouldn’t tell her that he had indeed planned to avoid going out today, but Qing Wu mentioned that since it was the bride’s return visit to her family today, it wouldn’t look proper without her husband accompanying her, so he had turned back.
As for breakfast, he actually hadn’t had time to eat any. Now that his stomach was empty, he could only endure the hunger.
Shen Yunshu didn’t suspect anything and stood with him, looking toward the mansion as they waited for her younger sister and the eldest son of the Pei family to arrive.
With the beauty by his side, Pei Huaian couldn’t help but recall last night’s dream.
Perhaps because he hadn’t seen her all day yesterday, his dream last night wasn’t anything romantic. Instead, he dreamed of that long-ago time when he first saw Shen Youran at the temple fair.
When the wind lifted her veil, a mist seemed to form before his eyes, only vaguely revealing a blurred silhouette that sometimes resembled Shen Youran, and other times looked like Shen Yunshu.
That indescribable, elusive feeling in the dream made him feel as if the dream was trying to tell him something.
He had intended to go to the temple today to consult a master about interpreting the dream, but for now, accompanying Shen Yunshu on her return visit was more important.
Before long, they saw Shen Youran walking toward them with puffed cheeks. She walked quickly, striding boldly and proudly, her face full of displeasure.
Following behind her at a leisurely pace was Pei Huaijin. With his long legs and large strides, he easily kept up with the angry figure ahead.
When Shen Youran saw her sister, she lifted her skirt to step over the high threshold and went straight to her sister: “Sister, I want to ride in the same carriage with you.”
Outside the mansion gate stood two horse-drawn carriages and two mule carts. The mule carts were loaded with wild geese and various gifts for the return visit. Since they were visiting both the Shen and Lu families today, the gifts were particularly abundant. Some pastries that couldn’t fit were placed in the carriages.
It wasn’t that Shen Yunshu didn’t want to share a carriage with her sister, but now that they each had their own husbands, and were considered sisters-in-law before the Pei mansion gates, it naturally wouldn’t be proper to ride together.
Moreover, she rarely had the opportunity to be alone with Pei Huaian, and naturally wanted to take advantage of the journey to ask him about the “monastic life” matter.
So she gently declined her sister’s request.
“Since it’s the return visit today, we should follow the proper etiquette. You go to eldest brother’s carriage. If there’s anything, we can talk about it when we get home.”
“Alright, it’s actually nothing important…” Something small like not having breakfast wasn’t worth complaining to her elder sister about.
Just as she was about to leave, her stomach suddenly rumbled with a “gurgle” sound.
“You didn’t have breakfast?” asked Pei Huaian, who was also enduring hunger.
Shen Youran nodded, too embarrassed to say it was because she had secretly gone back to sleep and missed breakfast, so Pei Huaijin hadn’t saved any for her.
“I know a place that makes excellent meat pies. I’ll buy you a couple later on the way…” Pei Huaian had originally planned to go to his father-in-law’s house on an empty stomach, but Shen Youran had conveniently given him a reason to buy breakfast.
If he bought a couple extra, she definitely wouldn’t be able to finish them all, and naturally there would be reason for the leftovers to end up in his stomach.
“Thank you, you’re such a good person…” Shen Youran was practically moved to tears.
Both were sons of the Pei family – one deliberately let her go hungry because she wasn’t punctual, while the other was willing to buy her pies along the way. What a pity she hadn’t chosen the latter – now it was truly too late for regrets.
A good person?
The moment Pei Huaijin stepped out of the mansion, he overheard her praising someone as “so kind” over two simple pancakes. If that were the case, wouldn’t he—the one who denied her breakfast—be labeled a “villain”?
Meanwhile, the now-fed girl grew even more dismissive of him. Tossing her head, she brushed past him again, ignoring his presence entirely as she climbed into the carriage ahead.
Qing Jian emerged from behind him, offering two freshly steamed pancakes he’d just retrieved from the kitchen. “Young Master, would you like these?”
“Keep them,” Pei Huaijin replied coldly. “You eat them.”
What luck…
Qing Jian tucked them into his robes, planning to enjoy them later upon arriving at the Shen residence.
The carriage rattled away from the estate, its interior steeped in silence, save for the sweet aroma of pastries permeating the space.
Had the pastries not occupied half the seating bench, Shen Youran would never have chosen to sit so close to Pei Huaijin.
Though she maintained a poised posture, her mouth watered uncontrollably at the pastries’ allure.
But Pei Huaian had already promised to buy her meat pancakes. Swallowing her saliva, she could only yearn for his swift return with the treats.
After roughly fifteen minutes of travel, she lifted the curtain for the third time to glance backward. She noticed her elder sister and Pei Huaian’s carriage had halted, with Qing Wu leaping down from the driver’s seat and heading toward a roadside food stall.
He must be buying the pancakes, she thought gleefully. Soon, she’d be savoring steaming hot meat pancakes.
“Qing Jian,” Pei Huaijin broke the prolonged silence, addressing the driver outside the curtain, “we’re falling behind. Do not delay our schedule.”
“Understood.” Qing Jian cracked the whip, and the carriage abruptly accelerated.
Caught off guard, Shen Youran lurched forward, nearly striking her head against the carriage post. A large hand swiftly cupped her face, guiding her back to safety.
“I don’t need your fake concern!” She shoved him away, glaring indignantly. “First, you starve me, and now you object to Seventh Young Master buying me pancakes?”
Unfazed by her push, Pei Huaijin called “Qing Jian” again and extended his hand through the curtain.
Thump! Qing Jian slapped a resentfully wrapped oil-paper package into his palm.
His earlier dismissal had been casual—knowing the driver had no time to eat while maneuvering the carriage. As expected, the pancakes remained untouched in Qing Jian’s possession.
“Didn’t you want pancakes?” Pei Huaijin pressed the still-warm package into her hands. “Eat.”
Today was her bridal homecoming; he could hardly let his new bride return on an empty stomach.
He’d rushed her departure not only to accompany her to the Shen family but also to visit her biological mother’s Lu family. Custom dictated that brides must return before noon on their homecoming day. Yet she had lingered in her chamber, risking delay. Forced to act, he had the breakfast cleared and sent swift-footed Qing Jian to fetch freshly baked pancakes for her journey.
Before he could offer them, however, his seventh brother had already volunteered to buy her pancakes.
Had she accepted Seventh Brother’s offering without knowing he’d prepared his own, she might have carried simmering resentment throughout the visit.
Sure enough, the girl’s eyes widened at the sight of the pancakes. “How did you conjure these?” she gasped in astonishment.
Seeing she hadn’t taken it, Pei Huaijin unwrapped the oiled paper, and the aroma of two meat pies instantly made the hungry girl’s eyes widen with longing.
Shen Youran accepted it with a mix of surprise and puzzlement. Taking a bite, she found the meat fresh and flavorful, the filling juicy, and the pie just the right temperature to eat comfortably.
She devoured half of it in one go before slowly realizing that although he had ordered the breakfast cleared away early, he hadn’t intended to let her go hungry.
Unaware of this, she had repeatedly acted petulantly toward him.
To be fair, it was because she had overslept that she missed breakfast.
Shen Youran was not one to admit fault when it wasn’t hers, but if it was her mistake, she owned up to it faster than anyone.
Soon, with a warm pie in her stomach and feeling much more comfortable, she proactively apologized to him: “I’m sorry, I misunderstood you. I’ll wake up earlier next time.”
Pei Huaijin had expected her to stay angry with him a while longer. After all, in his eyes, she was a stubborn girl. Last time, after making his mother faint with anger, she was placed under house confinement, yet she still grumbled in her sleep at midnight, insisting she wasn’t wrong. He hadn’t expected her attitude to change so quickly today—giving him cold looks before eating the pie, then speaking softly to admit her mistake afterward.
“You didn’t sleep well last night, so it’s fine if you woke up a bit late.” Since she had taken the initiative to apologize, he couldn’t scold her too harshly, though he still offered a word of advice: “Just this once. Don’t let it happen again.”
“Got it.” Shen Youran smiled at him with curved eyes and went back to eating the second pie.
Halfway through the second pie, she started to find it greasy.
Pei Huaijin poured her a cup of tea from the small table. After drinking it, Shen Youran took two more bites of the pie before setting it down on the table.
“I’m full.” Though not completely satiated, without any light side dishes to balance the taste, she really couldn’t finish two greasy meat pies.
Pei Huaijin glanced at the small remaining piece of pie on the oiled paper—it looked like it would only take three or four bites to finish—and urged her, “This March, there was little rain in the north. The wheat harvest wasn’t as good as previous years. Don’t waste food.”
“I know wasting food is bad,” Shen Youran frowned at the leftover pie, “but I really don’t want to eat it.”
“Fine.” Pei Huaijin didn’t force her. Instead, he picked up the pie himself and began eating it, bite by bite.
Shen Youran watched in astonishment as he calmly and elegantly finished her leftovers. “You… how can you eat what I left behind?”
Pei Huaijin swallowed the last bite and said, “Should we just throw it away?”
“But… it has my saliva on it?” Shen Youran said awkwardly. “Aren’t you disgusted?”
“No,” he replied calmly, looking at her. “Haven’t we kissed before?”
Shen Youran: “Alright, stop talking…”