Since Lu Yi’s visit that day, Shen Youran had become increasingly disinterested in her studies.
She mentioned to her father her wish to visit her mother at the Lu residence. Not only did he agree, but he also had gifts prepared for her to bring along.
Youran waited day and night, and three days later, the Lu family’s carriage finally arrived. Lu Yi rode alongside on horseback, escorting her to the Lu residence.
The estate the Lu family had established in the capital was quite a distance from the Shen residence, and the carriage ride took over half an hour.
Mother and daughter, having been separated for years and longing for each other, had endless words to share and tears to shed. Youran stayed at the Lu residence that night, sharing a bed with her mother and whispering intimate conversations.
Ning Shi held her daughter just as she had in childhood, though Youran had now grown nearly as tall as her.
“By the way, your elder sister’s engagement to the eldest son of the Pei family—why haven’t I heard about it from her?”
“Elder Sister said she wrote to you,” Youran replied. “Did you not receive the letter?”
“Perhaps there was an issue with the courier station. I never received your sister’s letter.” Ning Shi stroked her younger daughter’s cloud-like black hair, also concerned about her elder daughter’s marriage. “Have you met the eldest son of the Pei family? What is he like? And what about the Pei household?”
“I’ve only seen him once,” Youran said, too embarrassed to mention that she had stood in for her elder sister to observe Mr. Pei. “I didn’t get a clear look at him, but Elder Sister is satisfied. He ranked third in the palace examinations, is twenty-one years old, and serves as an official in Lingzhou. His knowledge and character must be excellent…”
“After the eldest son’s grandfather retired, he was granted the title of Grand Tutor. His father currently holds the position of Academician in the Hanlin Academy, his second uncle serves in a leisurely government office, and his third uncle is a merchant in Quanzhou…”
Youran’s knowledge of the Pei family came entirely from her father and elder sister—only surface details, with little depth.
“From what you say, the Pei family must be among the finest households in the capital. Your elder sister has good judgment and has chosen a fine family for herself…”
Her elder daughter had always been intelligent and decisive, growing into an elegant and dignified young woman. Back in Xunzhou, many families had sought her hand in marriage. Ning Shi had originally hoped to find a suitable match for her there, but each prospective family fell through for one reason or another. When her elder daughter turned sixteen, she suddenly expressed a desire to visit her father and younger sister in the capital. Ning Shi had assumed it would be a brief trip, but two years had passed, and now even her marriage was settled.
Though Ning Shi had only learned about the Pei family from her younger daughter, she trusted that Shen Tingyu, who had served as an official in the capital for many years, had a deep understanding of the noble families there. Since he had approved the match, the Pei family must be without major issues.
Ning Shi felt reassured.
“As for your second elder brother…” Ning Shi had always been reluctant to speak of that child, but some matters could not be avoided forever. “How do you get along with him?”
“He studies in Quanzhou and rarely returns. He came back once during the Mid-Autumn Festival last year, stayed for two or three days, and then left again.” Youran was the third child, with an elder sister above her and a twin second elder brother.
In Shen Youran’s hazy childhood memories, her second elder brother fell ill when their parents separated. When her mother returned to Xunzhou, she only took Youran and the eldest sister, leaving the still-ailing second brother in the capital.
No one knew what strange illness afflicted the second brother, but it remained incurable. Shortly after the parents’ separation, their father learned of a renowned physician in Quanzhou who might cure the disease and sent the second brother there for treatment, entrusting him to the care of a friend in Quanzhou.
This treatment lasted ten years.
When they met again, the second brother was already fifteen, having grown into a handsome young man. Strangely, his appearance bore no resemblance to Shen Youran’s—standing together, they looked nothing like twins.
Perhaps due to their long separation, he remained distant from his father and siblings. After staying only a few days, he returned to Quanzhou.
Thereafter, he visited only once or twice a year, each time for just two or three days. Often, Shen Youran would forget she even had a second brother.
Hearing her mother mention him today, Youran sensed her mother’s deep longing and said, “Second brother would be overjoyed to know you’ve returned to the capital. Shall I write to Quanzhou and ask him to visit you?”
A faint sorrow flickered in Madam Ning’s eyes. “There’s no need to write to him. I don’t wish to see him…”
“Why?” Shen Youran found this puzzling. “Why don’t you want to see second brother? Isn’t he your child too?”
Madam Ning sighed but offered no further explanation, instead drawing her daughter into an embrace and patting her gently, soothing her as in childhood. “Youran, be good…”
From then on, Shen Youran frequently visited the Lu residence, sometimes staying overnight. Lu Yi would always escort her, and during their travels, he would share stories about her mother. Over time, they grew familiar—Youran initially addressed him as “Young Master Lu,” but later switched to “Elder Brother Lu.” He laughed and said, “Your elder sister used to call me ‘Ah Xiong.’ Why don’t you call me that too?”
Shen Youran didn’t overthink it: if her elder sister addressed him thus, it must be appropriate.
Though unrelated by blood, Lu Yi treated her kindly—unlike another half-brother who shared her mother but not her father.
After remarrying into the Lu family, her mother had another child—a boy named Lu Nian, now six and a half, about the same age as Youran’s fourth younger sister but far more disagreeable than Shen Yumian.
Shen Yumian was the child of her stepmother, Wei Shi, who used to toddle after Youran, praising her as the prettiest sister.
Lu Nian, in contrast, would glare and shout whenever he saw her: “I hate you, sister! You’re so grown yet you steal my mother—shame on you!”
Youran initially brushed off the child’s remarks, but after repeated taunts, she retorted, “What do you mean I’m stealing your mother? She’s my mother too!”
Lu Nian stomped his feet. “No, she’s not! This is my home, not yours! Your mother is at your home, and my mother is at mine!”
For a child so young, his words left Youran speechless.
Indeed, this was the Lu residence, and her surname was Shen.
Distressed by this incident, Shen Youran avoided the Lu home for seven days. To her surprise, Lu Yi came to find her, asking why she hadn’t visited—was she ill? His mother was worried about her.
Shen Youran twisted her handkerchief, reluctantly explaining the reason.
“So that’s why,” Lu Yi suppressed the triumphant glee rising in his heart, maintaining his gentle facade as he comforted her, “Fifth Brother is still young, don’t take his words to heart. If you wish to stay with Mother forever, I have a solution to make Fifth Brother stop rejecting you…”
“What solution?”
He suddenly leaned closer, his voice dropping to a coaxing whisper: “Marry me. In the future, Mother would be both your mother-in-law and your birth mother. Fifth Brother would naturally have no reason to drive you away anymore.”
Having spoken, he straightened up, looking down at her with confident composure. Considering their time together these days and the benefits for her mother, he expected she wouldn’t refuse.
Even if she declined initially, it would merely be a maiden’s instinctive shyness.
With a few more soothing words, he could surely persuade her to agree.
As anticipated, the young girl indeed froze momentarily, then her cheeks rapidly flushed crimson. Twisting the handkerchief in her hands, she dared not look at him: “I can’t.”
Lu Yi admired his seemingly assured prey: “Why can’t you?”
“You’re my elder brother. Siblings cannot marry.”
“But we share neither father nor mother. We aren’t true siblings.”
“Even so, it won’t do. My mother is your mother, my sister is your younger sister. By that count, we’re still like siblings. I cannot marry you—it would disrupt moral principles…”
“You’re overthinking. You bear the surname Shen, I bear Lu. Our marriage wouldn’t violate any principles.”
“Absolutely not,” Shen Youran insisted, her tone growing firmer. “I call you Elder Brother because I see you as one. How could a younger sister marry her own brother? That’s utterly absurd…”
Such words had once been spoken to him by Shen Yunshu.
Unlike the innocent Shen Youran before him, when Shen Yunshu had said those words, her eyes had burned with intense disgust.
For a fleeting moment, Shen Yunshu’s face superimposed onto the present one. Stung by rejection once more, Lu Yi’s shame twisted into rage. He abruptly seized her slender arm, forcing her to meet his gaze, his eyes darkening with menace: “I’ll resolve all issues. You need only say yes…”
Startled by his sudden change, Shen Youran felt pain where he gripped her. She struggled but couldn’t break free, so she kicked his shin. As he recoiled in pain, she finally wrenched herself from his grasp.
“I refuse.” With those words, she hastily fled from him.
Watching her panicked retreat, Lu Yi knew he had lost composure and likely frightened her.
Yet this didn’t hinder his plans. He never intended to wed a substitute—his goal was to deliver the news of his intent to marry Shen Youran to Shen Yunshu.
If Ashū learned he planned to marry her sister, she would surely come to see him of her own accord.
Danruo and Qinghe had been chatting while embroidering handkerchiefs under the corridor eaves when they noticed Third Young Lady and the Lu family’s eldest son, who had been conversing peacefully beneath the courtyard’s crabapple tree, suddenly seemed to be arguing. As they moved to investigate, they saw their young lady rush over in alarm, pulling them both inside and urging them to bolt the door.
“What happened, Young Lady?” Danruo asked her bewildered mistress. “Did Young Master Lu say something that frightened you?”
“He… he wants me to marry him,” Shen Youran murmured, pressing a hand to her startled heart. “What kind of terrible suggestion is that…”
Upon hearing this, Danruo and Qinghe exchanged astonished glances: this was no trivial matter. Regardless of whether Lu Yi’s intentions were genuine or harbored ulterior motives, this matter must be reported to the family head.
When Shen Tingyu learned of this, he assumed Lu Yi had taken a fancy to his third daughter. Although he held no particular regard for Lu Yi, if his third daughter were to marry into the Lu family, it might not be such a bad outcome. After all, his third daughter lacked the gentle virtue of his eldest daughter. If she married into another family, she would inevitably suffer mistreatment from in-laws and sisters-in-law. But if she married into the Lu family, with her birth mother there to support her, her life would certainly be much more comfortable.
However, regarding this third daughter’s marriage, aside from his approval as the father, the eldest daughter must also be informed.
Shen Tingyu immediately sent someone to the Pei family’s estate to inform Shen Yunshu.
By then, Shen Yunshu had been staying at the Pei family’s estate for nearly a month. During this time, she paid daily respects to Old Madam Pei, accompanying the elderly lady in conversation and walks. She also frequently visited the ailing Grand Tutor Pei, playing chess with him during his lucid moments—reportedly, such mental exercise could help alleviate his condition.
Old Madam Pei had grown increasingly fond of her and was reluctant to let her leave, so Shen Yunshu continued staying day after day.
On this particular day, as she was on her way to play chess with the old gentleman, she passed by the glass conservatory and noticed a pretty maid holding freshly picked lilies, her cheeks flushed as she stood on tiptoe gazing into the distance…
That bashful, lovestruck expression looked familiar—Shen Yunshu had seen it on other maids’ faces before. As expected, the girl was likely waiting for the Pei family’s Seventh Young Master, Pei Huaian, who would pass through this area.
Footsteps approached from behind, sounding like a man’s—probably the very Pei Qilang the young maid had been waiting for.
Not wanting to witness this awkward situation, Shen Yunshu took advantage of the thick locust grove and bamboo sea to hide herself behind a sturdy locust tree. Unable to resist her curiosity, she peeked out to watch the unfolding scene.
Sure enough, it was Pei Huaian, dressed in an ink-wash patterned narrow-sleeved robe with interlocking collar, elegant as jade, strolling leisurely along the bluestone path.
Spotting him, the maid immediately lowered her head and walked toward him, still clutching the lilies.
The path was narrow, barely wide enough for two people to pass.
As the master, Pei Huaian naturally wouldn’t step aside for a maid. But when the young servant girl charged toward him without looking up, he instinctively dodged.
The maid had intended to throw herself into his arms but found empty air instead. Twisting her ankle, she nearly fell.
Fortunately, Pei Huaian reached out and caught her, preventing her from making a fool of herself before him.
Though he had helped her, his words showed no mercy: “Stop throwing yourself at me. I don’t nibble on the grass near my own nest!”
The color drained from the maid’s face as if pulled away by threads, leaving her pale and trembling like a frightened quail: “Seventh… Seventh Young Master misunderstands, this servant… this servant didn’t mean that…”
“Better if you didn’t.” Pei Huaian waved impatiently. “Don’t appear before me again.”
The maid ran off in tears.
But Pei Huaian didn’t leave. Instead, he turned toward Shen Yunshu’s hiding place, his beautiful ruifeng eyes casting a resentful look: “Have you seen enough, sister-in-law?”
Caught red-handed, Shen Yunshu blinked awkwardly and stepped out from behind the locust tree, feigning nonchalance as she greeted him: “Good morning. Are you going to see your grandfather? Shall we go together…”
But Pei Huaian insisted on addressing the earlier incident: “Sister-in-law, you clearly spotted her before I did. Why didn’t you warn me? Instead, you hid and watched the show?”
“How was I to know she would bump into you?” Shen Yunshu had assumed the young maid merely wanted to stage an accidental encounter, never expecting her to throw herself directly into his arms. “Perhaps it was an accident…”
Yet Pei Huaian firmly maintained it was intentional: “She’s the sixth maid this month who’s ‘accidentally’ bumped into me. Before her, another maid spilled tea on me—ruined my cloud-patterned brocade robe with an indelible stain. That fabric costs a fortune ounce for ounce, worth more than her selling price.”
“How did you handle it?” Shen Yunshu glanced at him. “Did you actually sell her off?”
“Selling her wouldn’t solve anything. I just scolded her and told her to stay away from me hereafter.” Pei Huaian sniffed lightly. “Fortunately, my father is wealthy. I’ll have him buy another bolt of cloud-patterned brocade for me…”
Shen Yunshu smiled faintly: So this young man was all bark and no bite.