The colors of spring were a tender yellow, with peach and apricot blossoms blushing red.
A carriage rumbled to a stop at the foot of the mountain.
A maidservant with her hair in double topknots lifted the carriage curtain. “Miss,” she said with a smile, “we’ve arrived at Zhaoming Temple.”
Pei Shuyi’s eyes brightened. “I hear that wishes made at this temple are especially efficacious, particularly those for marriage.”
She had reached a marriageable age.
On her way back to the capital, she had passed by Zhaoming Temple and made a special trip to pray to the gods and buddhas.
Qiuning rose to her feet. “This servant will accompany you, Miss.”
A blush crept onto Pei Shuyi’s cheeks. She didn’t want anyone to overhear her prayers.
“No, you are not to follow me.”
With that, she raised a hand, lifted the curtain, and slowly stepped down from the carriage, entering the grand and solemn temple.
It was the first day of the third lunar month, the start of the new moon, when the sun’s vital energy began to rise.
The temple was bustling with worshippers, and wisps of green smoke drifted from the incense burners. Crowds gathered in the main hall, packed so tightly that not even a drop of water could pass through.
Pei Shuyi’s heart immediately began to pound like a drum.
So many people!
A young lady’s private thoughts were not for others to hear.
She hoped that her wishes and prayers would be known only to the gods, the buddhas, and herself.
Thus, she made her way toward a secluded side hall.
For some unknown reason, while the other halls were overflowing with people, this place was empty, quiet, and serene.
It was just what she wanted.
A gilded statue of a buddha stood on the altar, its compassionate gaze looking down upon all living beings.
Pei Shuyi took a few steps forward and knelt piously on a prayer mat, her hands clasped before her.
“Gods and buddhas above, this faithful devotee has come here with three wishes.”
Her soft voice echoed in the hall.
Meanwhile, in a quiet room nearby.
A man with brows like verdant mountains and eyes like polished lacquer was sitting in an official’s armchair, reading a document.
Hearing Pei Shuyi’s voice, Xie Linheng closed the document.
He was on his way back to the capital after investigating an imperial examination case in Jiangnan under His Majesty’s orders and was merely resting here.
Had he known the third Miss Pei would be here, he wouldn’t have come.
Despite this, a hint of amusement flashed in the man’s eyes. He rose to his full, towering height and ambled to the door.
He wanted to hear what wishes she would make.
The corners of Pei Shuyi’s eyes and brows curved with a smile. Her gaze was radiant, and her lips were slightly upturned.
“First, I wish for my family to be harmonious and prosperous, and for my elders to live a long, peaceful, and smooth life.”
“Second, I wish for vile people to retreat, to dispel all bad luck and misfortune, so that no evil may come near this faithful devotee.”
Xie Linheng was growing bored and began to walk away with unhurried steps.
Pei Shuyi was completely unaware that someone was in the room behind her.
She lowered her lashes and continued, her tone now tinged with gritted teeth.
“By vile people, I mean, for example, the eldest legitimate son of the Xie family, Xie Linheng.”
“Last autumn, a certain Miss Zhang mocked and ridiculed me. I got into a fight with her over a pearl-and-flower hairpin at a banquet, and it became a laughingstock.”
“He scorned me for being willful, spoiled, and utterly unruly.”
The fault for that hairpin-pulling incident was not hers. Miss Zhang’s insults had been too vicious, and she had acted out in a moment of anger.
It was an accident.
Not a major incident, but not a minor one either.
But that scoundrel just had to witness it, and his cold words had only added fuel to the fire of her already spoiled reputation.
Xie Linheng suddenly stopped walking.
He chuckled.
Even now, she still hadn’t understood his good intentions.
That gathering had been full of distinguished guests, yet Pei Shuyi had been audacious enough to get into a hairpin-pulling fight with the Prime Minister’s daughter.
A fight was one thing, but to be caught in the act was another.
If he hadn’t intervened in time, would she even have the chance to be here, complaining to the gods and buddhas in one piece?
Pei Shuyi shook her head with great exasperation, her voice a mumble.
“Whoever marries him will truly have a bitter fate.”
Xie Linheng let out a cold, inscrutable scoff.
Pei Shuyi continued, “And pitiful me, a delicate young woman, was sent away to Jizhou by my father, so upset I couldn’t eat…”
Doubt formed in Xie Linheng’s mind.
The Pei family was a prestigious, centuries-old clan with a high reputation in the capital.
They doted on this youngest legitimate daughter, raising her with every luxury and indulgence. She was as precious as gold and jade.
Why would they send her out of the capital?
Was it concern over her reputation?
Or… was there another hidden reason?
Unable to figure it out, he opened the door a crack.
Through the sunlight from outside, he saw the young woman kneeling on the prayer mat.
Pei Shuyi was dressed in a peach-pink ruqun, covered by an outer layer of sunset-hued mermaid gauze. A jade pendant hung from her waist, and a kingfisher-feather and pearl-inlaid phoenix hairpin was tucked askew into her temple.
The attire made her as radiant as a lotus flower, unable to conceal the charming coquetry in her features.
Xie Linheng withdrew his gaze.
For a moment, he couldn’t tell if her words were true or false.
“My third wish…”
At this point, Pei Shuyi pressed her lips together, her cheeks flushing slightly as her voice trailed off.
“This devotee… this devotee is already sixteen and should be getting married. I hear my parents are helping me look for a match.”
“My requirements for a future husband are not high.”
A strange feeling stirred in Xie Linheng’s heart.
His Adam’s apple bobbed almost imperceptibly.
It was not proper for him to hear what she was about to say next.
But it seemed it was too late to leave.
Pei Shuyi thought of the storybooks she had read, of their earth-shattering love stories, and couldn’t help but let her eyes curve into crescents.
“He must be handsome and well-built, a perfect match for my beauty.”
“He must be wealthy, as I spend money like water.”
“He must be chaste and virtuous, with no concubines or bed-warming maids. He must treat me well for his entire life and never let me suffer the slightest grievance.”
Xie Linheng lowered his eyes, his expression unreadable.
Besides himself, it would be hard to find another man in this world who could meet her requirements, even with a lantern.
Pei Shuyi’s eyes were still closed, but her eyelashes trembled as her tone grew slightly heavier.
“If I am wronged, then we shall divorce.”
At that moment, Xie Linheng felt that with so many demands, the third Miss Pei would probably have to become a nun on a mountain.
Whoever married her would be doomed to a life of misery.
Pei Shuyi pursed her lips into a smile. “These are this devotee’s only wishes.”
“If the Buddha grants my prayers, this devotee is willing to live a life of glory and wealth, in a grand mansion.”
Xie Linheng sighed in exasperation and pressed the bridge of his tall nose.
How could such a shameless person exist?
She wanted to take everything without giving anything in return, and she wasn’t the least bit embarrassed?
Only when the hall fell silent did he leave and walk to a corner of the corridor.
Zhou Jing, having received news from the Xie Estate, stepped forward and bowed.
“Young Master, the family has arranged a marriage for you. The other party is the second daughter of the Pei family. The wedding is tomorrow.”
This sudden marriage was not part of Xie Linheng’s plans.
He was busy with official duties and had no intention of getting married, wanting to avoid any messy emotional entanglements with women.
Suddenly, the corridor filled with guards, who surrounded him, determined to take him back.
“Young Master, the marriage has been set. We must ask you to return to the mansion for the wedding and to continue the family line.”
Xie Linheng’s tone was indifferent.
“Go back and tell my grandmother and mother that with my younger brother to continue the family line, they have no need for me.”
The men did not move.
“The Second Young Master’s marriage has also been arranged. Another team has gone to Huaxiang Pavilion to retrieve him. He is to marry the third daughter of the Pei family.”
“Please, Young Master, do not make things difficult for us.”
Xie Linheng’s voice turned cold. “Who gave you the confidence to dare and obstruct me?”
He curled his lips and was about to use his lightness skill to leave when he smelled a thick, fragrant scent.
Suddenly, his vision went black, and he fainted.
…
Yongning Marquisate.
Pei Shuyi had just stepped down from her carriage when she saw the entrance of the Yongning Marquisate adorned with large red lanterns and “double happiness” characters, looking very festive.
Marquis and Madam Pei had been waiting for a long time and hurried forward to greet her.
“Shuyi, you’re finally back.”
Pei Shuyi was puzzled. “Why does the Marquisate look like this? Is someone getting married?”
Madam Pei shot Marquis Pei a look, and the latter coughed uncomfortably.
“Shuyi, Father has some happy news for you. You and your sister are getting married.”
Pei Shuyi knew her parents were arranging a marriage for her, but she hadn’t expected them to marry her off so quickly.
“Who? Who are you marrying me to?”
Madam Pei answered, looking a little guilty, “It’s… the second son of the Xie family, Xie Chiyu.”
Pei Shuyi barely managed to stay on her feet.
The second son of the Xie family, Xie Chiyu, was a famous profligate rake in the capital, who spent his days in frivolous pursuits and flitting among women.
“I won’t marry him! I refuse to marry that dissolute good-for-nothing!”
Madam Pei tried to persuade her.
“Your reputation for being willful and spoiled is known to everyone in the capital. It’s been truly difficult to arrange a match for you.”
“We’ve thought it all through. You and your sister will marry into the Yingguo Duke’s Mansion together.”
“She will marry the eldest son, Xie Linheng, and you will marry the second son, Xie Chiyu. For the rest of your lives, you’ll be able to live as you please.”
Marquis Pei stroked his beard.
“Xie Chiyu is not a bad person. If you marry him, you might even get along well with him.”
Xie Chiyu was the polar opposite of the husband Pei Shuyi was looking for.
She frowned. “In any case, I won’t marry him. I’m running away from home right now. I’m going to escape this marriage!”
Madam Pei sighed and looked at her for a long moment.
“Shuyi, I must remind you, if you run away now, from this day forward, there will be no more beautiful clothes or jewelry.”
Pei Shuyi froze.
She had been given the best of everything since she was a child and had no survival skills. If she ran away from home, she would probably starve to death on the streets.
Xie Chiyu was a rogue who was never home.
After the marriage, she could just live with her sister. That didn’t sound too bad.
“Mother, I’ll marry him. I’ll marry him, alright?”