The next day, as the sky was just beginning to lighten.
Sang Zhi was awakened by the chill of the morning mist.
Having sat on the steps all night, as soon as she stood up, she felt discomfort all over her body, her bones creaking and groaning.
As she rose, the cat nestled in her arms was instantly shaken off.
With a meow, it vanished in a flash.
However, Sang Zhi found herself troubled by the jade ring left behind by the cat.
Coincidentally, she had seen this jade ring before.
It belonged to the master of the house, who had just returned yesterday.
Carved from mutton-fat white jade, its edges were smooth and rounded, polished to such a soft texture from countless touches.
She didn’t know how the cat had managed to snatch the jade ring from the master.
But now that it was in her hands, if she didn’t return it to the master as soon as possible, it could lead to trouble.
The master had returned so late yesterday that even though the household had received the news, there was no time to prepare.
So, it was decided to hold a welcome banquet for the master today.
Currently, Mother Pei was in charge of the Pei Mansion, with the old madam above her. However, the old madam spent most of her time in quiet cultivation and rarely involved herself in household affairs.
Below them was the eldest branch of the Pei family. The eldest son, Pei Dalang, had married a merchant’s daughter. Although the eldest daughter-in-law should have taken charge, the old madam had bypassed her and placed the second daughter-in-law, Mother Pei, in charge of the household.
Next was Mother Pei, who had only two sons: the master and Sanlang Jun. The master had been raised by the old master since childhood and was not close to Mother Pei. In contrast, Sanlang Jun had grown up under Mother Pei’s care and was more dearly loved.
As for the third branch of the Pei family, they held mediocre positions in the official circles and kept mostly to themselves at home. Sang Zhi rarely saw them.
There was also Aunt Pei, who had long since married out of the family and only returned for major events.
She was likely to return today as well.
In the Pei Mansion, aside from Mother Pei, Sang Zhi least wanted to see this married-off aunt.
Whenever they crossed paths, no matter the circumstances, she would inevitably face sarcastic remarks.
Sang Zhi didn’t want to attend, but since Lang Jun was confined to bed after receiving household punishment, someone from the room had to go.
Thus, she had no choice but to go, however unwilling she was.
Passing through the Moon Gate, Sang Zhi slowly made her way toward the front hall.
Her mind was preoccupied, wishing the path ahead could be longer, even longer.
“Lang Jun, Daniangzi has sent word that the front hall is ready and awaits your presence.”
Pei He’an gently set down the wolf-hair brush in his hand, stood up, and headed toward the front hall.
However, as he passed Sanlang’s courtyard, his footsteps involuntarily paused for a moment.
Suddenly, the words spoken by someone last night echoed in his mind.
Slowing his pace, he turned slightly to look at Wu Bai beside him and asked, “Do I look very intimidating?”
Wu Bai was taken aback by the question, unsure why Lang Jun would ask such a thing.
His Lang Jun was dignified and handsome, a gentleman as refined as jade—how could he be intimidating?
Where had such rumors come from?
“Why would Lang Jun say that? You are as elegant as an orchid and as handsome as jade—how could you be intimidating!”
After asking the question, Pei He’an felt he had overthought the matter.
Waving his hand, he continued toward the front hall.
The distance from Qingfeng Courtyard to the front hall was not far; one only needed to pass through the wisteria trellis to arrive.
But as Pei He’an passed through the Moon Gate, his ears caught the sound of playful teasing and laughter.
“Auntie, why, why do you talk like this?”
A man dressed in a dark blue round-collared robe, looking no more than five or six years old.
Surrounding her were several four or five-year-old Lang Jun and young girls.
Yet everyone subtly regarded him as their leader.
Together, they trapped the anxious woman trying to leave in the middle.
They spoke up one after another.
"Why isn't Auntie speaking?"
A young Lang Jun beside her mischievously laughed and corrected, "You can't say that. Auntie can only speak three words, hahaha."
"No, no, it's four words."
Sang Zhi was surrounded in the middle, mocked by children over a decade younger than her, a flicker of embarrassment crossing her face.
But she refused to speak again and give them more reason to laugh.
She could only reach out, trying to push aside the arms blocking her way.
Yet she dared not use force, afraid of hurting the children in front of her. How could she possibly get out like this?
For every step forward, she was forced back three or four steps.
If this continued, how could she possibly make it to the banquet in the front hall? Her mother-in-law would surely blame her then.
Seeing this, Sang Zhi had no choice but to put on a stern face, place her hands on her hips, and say, "You'll be punished if you don't let me go."
But the children in front of her were completely unafraid. Hearing her speak, one even exclaimed excitedly, "I guessed right! She can only say four words! I'm the boss, I'm the boss!"
Sang Zhi's forced stern expression was utterly ineffective, as every feature on her face was soft and rounded, without a trace of sharpness or edge.
Her watery almond-shaped eyes, gently curved brows, plump lips, and even the shallow dimples on both cheeks—
when she spoke, her words seemed to nestle sweetly within those dimples.
It held no intimidating effect whatsoever.
Sang Zhi grew both angry and anxious, her watery almond eyes instantly misting over with a thin layer of tears.
Suddenly, at that moment, a cold voice rang out sharply from behind the children.
"What is all this commotion?"
In stark contrast to Sang Zhi's sweet voice, the words that now fell to the ground carried the chill of mountain snow.
They swept past the ears like a biting wind.
The children surrounding Sang Zhi instantly scattered in all directions.
All the boldness they had shown in front of Sang Zhi vanished, and they stood in place like quails.
They whispered reverently, "Greetings, Uncle."
Only daring to offer greetings, they completely avoided answering the earlier question.
Pei He'an took a light step forward, his cold and thin eyelids resting on the group.
He spoke again, "What were you all doing just now?"
The leader among the children was pushed forward, speaking softly and guiltily, "We were just playing with Auntie."
Blocking someone's path and mocking them freely, and now calling it "playing."
Wu Bai thought these nephews of Lang Jun were truly telling bold-faced lies.
The one who had spoken first, thinking Pei He'an didn't believe him, suddenly pushed Sang Zhi forward and said, "If you don't believe us, Uncle, you can ask Auntie. Weren't we just playing?"
Sang Zhi was already embarrassed that such an awkward scene had been witnessed by Pei He'an. Now, caught off guard, she was pushed forward to provide false testimony for the children.
"Auntie, tell us, weren't we just playing?"
Sang Zhi pursed her lips. Her eyelashes, dampened by tears, clung together in clumps against the rounded rims of her eyes.
She looked utterly pitiful.
Yet she still echoed the child's words, "We… were just playing."
Pei He'an's cool gaze lingered on Sang Zhi.
He watched as her eyes, reddened with frustration, glistened with moisture, and even her snow-white cheeks flushed with color.
Did she not realize she had been bullied to this state?
And yet she could still make excuses for them.
If that was the case, why should he play the villain?
Moreover, in her heart, she probably thought he was the fierce and menacing one.
Seeing that the uncle was no longer pursuing the matter, the children who had gathered together quickly scattered like a swarm of bees.
In an instant, only Sang Zhi and Pei He'an remained standing in place.
Sang Zhi habitually lowered her head to look at her toes and whispered, "Jia Zhu, are we going to the front hall?"
After speaking, she felt she was making conversation for the sake of it, and in doing so, she had inadvertently exposed her own shortcomings.
She tightly pinched her fingertips, not daring to speak again.
It wasn’t until a long moment later that she heard a response from above her head.
Then, the pair of black boots that had been in her line of sight suddenly disappeared.
Sang Zhi stood where she was, thinking about what had just happened.
She wondered how much Jia Zhu had seen and whether he, too, thought she was unworthy of being in such a setting.
At this thought, Sang Zhi’s lips tightened once more.
Even the small dimples on her cheeks faintly appeared on her face.
She intertwined her hands, wanting to comfort herself.
But when her fingertips touched the warm jade ring in her sleeve, she suddenly remembered.
Oh no, when she saw Jia Zhu earlier, she should have returned the jade ring to him. How could she have forgotten?
When she arrived at the front hall, as expected, she was the last to arrive.
Before she could step forward, her mother-in-law shot her a glare.
Her expression was clearly displeased. As Sang Zhi sat down, she heard her mother-in-law’s low, scolding voice: "It’s only a few steps from Linfeng Courtyard to the front hall. Are your feet too precious to walk such a short distance?"
Sang Zhi apologized repeatedly and explained softly, "Please forgive me, Mother-in-law. I didn’t mean to, it’s just…"
"Enough, it’s exhausting to listen to. If this happens again, go back and copy the Admonitions for Women ten times."
Seeing that her mother-in-law was no longer pursuing the matter, Sang Zhi quickly nodded. Next time, she would definitely not be like this.
Meanwhile, Pei He'an, seated in the place of honor, inadvertently caught sight of this scene.
It seemed anyone could bully her.
In the past, during such banquets, after three rounds of drinks, Sang Zhi would inevitably be singled out for criticism.
But today’s banquet was particularly important, and everyone was too busy currying favor with Pei He'an, who was seated in the place of honor, to bother criticizing Sang Zhi.
Even Pei’s aunt, who usually looked down on Sang Zhi the most, was now smiling and flattering him.
Her words were full of sycophancy.
Sang Zhi vaguely knew a little about it. The family her aunt had married into was of high status, and they couldn’t tolerate her aunt’s temperament. Just three months after the wedding, her husband had taken a concubine.
The concubine was gentle and submissive. If not for the family rules, the eldest son would likely have been born from her.
Even so, the son her aunt gave birth to was not particularly clever.
If he hadn’t been born into such a prominent family, even donating tens of thousands of strings of coins to temples wouldn’t have gotten him into the officialdom.
Now that Jia Zhu had returned, her aunt wanted to secure a good future for her son, so she had no choice but to flatter a junior.
This banquet was the happiest one Sang Zhi had attended since entering the mansion.
She didn’t have to listen to others’ sarcastic remarks.
Seeing that everyone’s attention was focused on Jia Zhu, Sang Zhi quietly ate quite a bit of the food on the table.
The cooks at Pei Mansion were quite skilled, and each dish had its own unique qualities.
Pei He'an looked indifferently at the wine cup offered to him and raised his hand to cover the cup in front of him. "I have important matters to attend to today and should not drink."
Seeing this, everyone quickly made excuses for him: "Jing Zhi has just returned, and the burdens on his shoulders have likely not yet been fully lifted. It’s fine not to drink. Let’s toast with tea instead."
The one speaking was the second son of the eldest branch, the eldest among the younger generation of the Pei family aside from the head of the household.
He was only a year younger than the head of the household, yet their official careers were worlds apart.
To this day, he remained merely a minor sixth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue.
Finally finishing the meal, Sang Zhi dared to step forward only after seeing the crowd gradually disperse.
Her fingertips lingered on the jade ring hidden in her sleeve for a long while.
Though she rehearsed her words over and over in her mind, she still did not dare to call out to the head of the household ahead.
As they were about to enter the courtyard, Sang Zhi had no choice but to speak up and stop him.
"Head of the household, please wait."
Pei He'an paused in his steps, turning slightly to ask, "Does my sister-in-law have something to discuss?"
Sang Zhi hadn’t expected him to stop so quickly, and she was caught off guard as his looming shadow enveloped her.
It felt as if the cold, perennial snow from a high mountain had suddenly descended upon her.
She was unwittingly enveloped in that chill.
Sang Zhi quietly took a step back, trying to escape the overwhelming sense of coldness.
But before she could move, the man before her seemed to grow impatient from waiting.
He asked again.
Sang Zhi’s intended step froze in place, and she retrieved the mutton-fat jade ring from her sleeve.
Her eyelashes fluttered rapidly as she parted her red lips and said, "Head of the household, I… just found this. I’m not sure if it belongs to you."
Facing each other, both were well aware of how the jade ring had ended up in the other’s hands.
Yet, for certain reasons, they had to resort to lies to conceal the truth.
Pei He'an reached out and took back the jade ring that had been taken from him. His jade-like fingers rested on the ring, gently stroking it.
As if he could still feel the lingering warmth upon it.
"It is indeed mine. May I ask where my sister-in-law found it?"
Sang Zhi’s eyelashes fluttered even more rapidly as she racked her brains for an excuse—how to explain it plausibly without involving Linu.
After a long while, she finally managed to come up with a somewhat believable reason.
"Just now, when passing by the wisteria corridor… I saw it on the ground. Thankfully, it has been returned to its rightful owner."
To make the lie seem more convincing, Sang Zhi even feigned a relieved sigh.
But such acting was truly clumsy.
Pei He'an stroked the jade ring in his hand, watching the woman before him deliberately part her lips to exhale.
They were a lush red, like the plumpest cherries hanging from a branch, ready to release their crimson juice with the slightest touch.
Such lips were truly wasted on telling lies.
Author's Note:
Dà Péi: Wants to stand up for his wife, but she won’t say anything [pitiful]
The update time is 6 p.m., so don’t miss it, dear readers [peeking shyly]