In Green Bamboo Court.
Ji Hong felt that his master had been somewhat off these past few days.
Yet he could not say exactly what was wrong.
Over the course of several days, he often found their master standing alone before the window, brows knitted as though he were pondering something.
He had been at their master’s side for quite some time.
Naturally, he knew that their master’s habit of lowering his lashes in silence and rubbing the joints of his fingers with his fingertips was a sign of irritation.
He simply could not figure out what, in the current situation, could still leave their master feeling troubled and vexed.
The court was stable at present, and the forces of the other imperial princes had been successively eradicated almost in their entirety. The power of the Pei Residence was flourishing, while their master alone held the reins of power. Logically speaking, with their master’s ability and methods, there should no longer be any troublesome matter so difficult to handle.
But since his master did not speak of it, he, as a subordinate, could not rashly ask.
He could only carry out every task in his hands without error, then wait outside, ready to serve his master at any moment.
Five days passed.
The capital once again welcomed a damp, rainy day.
At the end of the hour of the Snake, Ji Hong hurried in from outside beneath an umbrella, carrying a parcel carefully protected by Zhou Quan.
He knocked on the study door. After receiving Pei Yanchen’s permission, he entered with the parcel.
“My lord, the people sent to Yecheng have returned. The matter concerning the Jiang family’s collateral branch has been properly dealt with.”
Pei Yanchen gave a quiet “Mm” and set down the brush in his hand.
Ji Hong continued, “According to Miss Jiang’s inventory list, we brought back the Jiang Residence’s account books, land deeds, shop deeds, and the like. They are all here.”
Pei Yanchen pinched the bridge of his nose.
His eyelids drooped halfway, concealing the darkness in his eyes.
His voice was as usual as he asked Ji Hong, “Is Miss Jiang in the residence?”
Ji Hong paused for an instant before replying,
“Miss Jiang… seems not to be here.”
Pei Yanchen’s movement stopped.
His dark, impassive eyes lifted slightly. Pressing his fingers against the web between his thumb and forefinger, he asked casually, “The weather is bad today. Did Miss Jiang leave the residence for something important?”
Ji Hong was somewhat surprised that his master would inquire about Miss Jiang’s whereabouts.
Pei Yanchen had always been indifferent by nature and never concerned himself with other people’s private affairs.
Today, when the people below brought the parcel back from Yecheng, Ji Hong knew that it was meant to be given to Miss Jiang. Thus, when he took the parcel, he had casually asked whether Miss Jiang was currently in the residence, so that he could conveniently send it to Jadewater Pavilion later.
He had not expected their master to ask where the young lady had gone.
He only knew that Jiang Yingwan was not in the residence.
How would he know to inquire where she had gone?
Ji Hong quickly glanced outside at the rain, which had eased slightly, then withdrew his gaze and gave a vague reply:
“The weather still looked fine an hour ago, with no sign that it would rain. Miss Jiang probably left around then.”
Pei Yanchen did not ask anything further.
He merely said, “Set the things down. Once Miss Jiang returns, send someone to Jadewater Pavilion and tell her to come here.”
Ji Hong hurriedly nodded. “Yes, my lord.”
Pei Yanchen folded the letter he had finished writing on the desk and instructed in a calm voice:
“Prepare the carriage. I’m going to Dali Temple.”
Ji Hong immediately went to make the arrangements.
A quarter of an hour later.
Holding an umbrella, Pei Yanchen walked into the curtain of pattering rain.
Ji Hong followed close behind.
The carriage had already stopped outside the residence.
When Pei Yanchen reached the residence gate, he had not yet stepped over the threshold when, with an unintentional glance, he saw Jiang Yingwan on Vermilion Bird Avenue outside the residence. Dressed in a pale green gown and holding an oil-paper umbrella, she was speaking with a young man.
They were some distance away.
He could not hear what they were saying.
But from Pei Yanchen’s angle, he could see most of the woman’s profile, her lips curved in a faint smile, and the ease and delight in her brows and eyes.
This unguarded relaxation was entirely different from the restraint and caution she displayed before him.
It was also completely different from the false disguise in his dreams, in which she constantly wanted to escape from his side.
Pei Yanchen stopped walking.
His heavy gaze turned toward them.
His eyes lingered for an instant on Jiang Yingwan’s profile before shifting to the man beside her.
The man’s back was facing this way, so his face could not be seen. Only his tall, slender build was visible.
After exchanging a few more words, the two parted.
The man walked away.
Jiang Yingwan held her umbrella and came in this direction.
After she had taken a few steps, she turned her head and saw Pei Yanchen standing at the residence gate. The faint curve remaining at the corner of her lips swiftly vanished.
Her footsteps stopped for a moment.
Separated by the rain mist, she met his gaze twice before quickly walking over.
Cold rain struck the bamboo-green oil-paper umbrella, gathering into bean-sized droplets that slid down along its edge and splashed onto the ground, spreading into patches of ripples.
Jiang Yingwan walked to the residence gate and stopped several paces away from him.
Meeting his eyes, she greeted him softly, “Lord Pei.”
Pei Yanchen’s obscure, brooding gaze fell upon her.
Under the green bamboo umbrella, the woman’s features were as picturesque as a painting. Her red lips were lightly pressed together, and in the hazy, damp rain mist, even her eyes, clear to the utmost degree, seemed to have taken on a trace of moisture.
The slight smile at the corners of her lips was gentle, yet also carried a hint of restraint, completely different from the delight that had filled her eyes moments earlier.
Pei Yanchen’s fingertips tightened slightly around the ribs of the umbrella.
No emotion could be discerned from his expression.
Looking at her, he asked,
“Who was that person just now?”
Jiang Yingwan paused before saying,
“An old acquaintance from Yecheng.”
Pei Yanchen did not ask anything else. He stepped over the threshold, and as he passed by her, he left behind only a single sentence mingling with the patter of the rain:
“The matter concerning the Jiang family’s collateral branch has been settled. Come to Green Bamboo Court at the beginning of the hour of the Monkey today.”
With that, he boarded the carriage.
Ji Hong nodded to her, then followed him inside.
Jiang Yingwan turned around and watched the carriage disappear into the distance with a puzzled look.
She felt that Pei Yanchen’s mood today was especially poor.
As if… someone had angered him.
However, she did not dwell on it.
Pei Yanchen was cold and distant, with an exceptionally strong sense of separation.
He was difficult to approach.
Perhaps because he had occupied a position of power for many years and held authority in his hands, he possessed a kind of indescribable oppressive presence.
Moreover, even setting aside these few brief encounters, she had heard plenty from other people about the Grand Chancellor, a man second only to one and above all others, who held overwhelming power at court and was cold-blooded, heartless, and ruthless in his methods.
Not to mention that ever since their last encounter in the study of Green Bamboo Court, she and Pei Yanchen had not seen each other again.
This minor interlude was soon cast to the back of Jiang Yingwan’s mind.
Today’s rain had come suddenly.
The hem of her gown had been soaked through in quite a few places. After Pei Yanchen left, she did not linger at the gate and returned to Jadewater Pavilion to change her clothes.
At the beginning of the hour of the Monkey.
Jiang Yingwan arrived at Green Bamboo Court on time.
The rain in the sky still had not stopped completely.
But it had grown much lighter.
Only fine threads of rain remained.
When they fell into the puddles in the low-lying areas, they raised the tiniest ripples.
After entering Green Bamboo Court and walking a few steps forward, she reached the pavilion where they usually sat at leisure.
Pei Yanchen was already waiting inside.
A parcel lay quietly upon the black-veined stone tabletop in the center.
The man standing beside the pavilion’s low railing turned his gaze toward her. Jiang Yingwan did not slow her steps, walking toward him beneath his watchful eyes.
“Lord Pei.”
He gave a slight nod, then turned to look at the parcel inside.
“These are the account books, land deeds, and shop deeds brought back from Yecheng. I had people retrieve them according to the inventory list you gave me.”
“Go and see whether anything is missing.”
Jiang Yingwan did as he said. She went over, opened the parcel, and looked through the land deeds and the account books for the shops. At the bottom were several booklets recording all the gold, silver, and other valuables her parents had left behind in the past.
Before long, Jiang Yingwan closed the booklets and said to Pei Yanchen, “Nothing is missing. Thank you, Lord Pei.”
Pei Yanchen turned around, his gaze fixed upon her.
Following the cadence of her words, he suddenly asked,
“How do you want to thank me?”