The Pei family was hardly a place for idle pleasures like raising birds and tending flowers. From the founding meritorious officials of Great Wei to the generations of hereditary nobles that followed, how many in such a vast clan could be called harmless?
When he was young, the Pei family was at the height of its internal and external strife. His father spent his days in idleness—accomplishing nothing at court and indulging only in pleasure at home. As the clan head, the Pei family nearly had its authority usurped by the collateral branches. His mother, despite being the legitimate wife of a Duke, was forced to endure the disdain of upstart juniors from the side branches.
Before the Emperor could discard the Pei family like a spent donkey, the clan had already torn itself apart in infighting, leaving all sides wounded.
His current power, his position, the glory of the entire Pei clan—all of it was carved out through bloody paths he had walked alone. To inherit the Duke’s title while one’s father still lived was unprecedented in all of Great Wei.
The higher one climbs, the colder it gets—and there were plenty waiting for him to make a mistake.
So, take a concubine? Most concubines depended on their master and mistress for survival, and with those old-timers who loved to throw their weight around, entering the Duke’s mansion would be like falling into a wolf’s den that devours people without spitting out the bones. Besides, even if he didn’t take a concubine and instead married some well-connected noble lady skilled in social graces—what then?
Would she wither away in her prime, like his mother, in a mansion devoid of human warmth?
Even if his current status could ensure a wife’s lifelong happiness without question, in his view, marriage could only be a burden to him—meaningless.
As for political alliances through marriage, those were even less necessary.
“Then, my lord, shall we return to Luan Garden to rest?” Luan Garden was Pei Shu’s main residence, not far from here.
Wen Lu asked eagerly. Though his master’s expression was as indifferent as ever, he still looked up, habitually trying to gauge his mood.
“No, to the study. There are several official bulletins and documents to review,” Pei Shu said, rubbing his brow. Wearing only a light outer robe, he walked out into the moonlight, adding as he went, “Have Old Seven keep watching her.”
He had originally sought out this village woman to solve a problem for himself—how was it that he now felt he had gotten tangled up in an even bigger one?
Wen Lu acknowledged the order, understanding perfectly well that “her” referred to Madam Xie.
That night.
Bright moonlight streamed through the window, casting a silvery glow.
The unexpected discord with Pei Shu left Xie Yunzhen unable to sleep soundly, even on a bed as soft as clouds of silk.
Soft gauze curtains hung from carved, silver-gilt hooks. A gold-inlaid incense burner on the spring bench gave off the fine fragrance of Sleeping Incense. The floor was covered in Western Region wool carpet so plush that one step would make you want to sink in and never get up. In this small inner chamber, most of the furnishings and articles were precious things Yunzhen had never seen before, let alone could name.
And this was merely a guest room—already so extravagantly appointed.
If not for her worry over her mother’s health keeping her tossing and turning, she might have hidden beneath the silk covers and secretly delighted in it all. After all, for a village woman like her, without this unexpected turn of events, how many chances would she have to come into contact with such fine things?
It was almost laughable—she came from poverty, yet unlike others, she didn’t insist on suffering needlessly.
Her mother had taught her that no one was born to endure hardship. No matter how difficult things got, one should try to be good to oneself—only then would this journey through life not be in vain.
With such scattered thoughts running through her mind, Xie Yunzhen muddled through the night until dawn finally broke.
The courtyard was quiet in the morning. Seeing no one about, Xie Yunzhen tidied herself up and planned to slip away unnoticed.
As for when she would enter the residence again, or what to do if she were caught upon arrival—those were not within the scope of Xie Yunzhen’s deliberations.
After all, she still had two days before he needed her antidote, so she merely needed to return in time before then.
At this thought, Xie Yunzhen couldn’t help but be surprised at her own audacity.
She was a commoner, and he was an official—between them lay an insurmountable chasm. A humble person like her, accustomed to being obedient, would instinctively feel fear when facing such a lofty official as him.
Men of his stature were used to having their word be final; what commoner would dare defy them?
Yet Xie Yunzhen had done exactly that, and a faint, inexplicable thrill secretly stirred in her heart. With this thought, her steps grew noticeably lighter.
She walked with great care, avoiding people. During her entry into the residence yesterday, she had quietly observed that although the Pei estate was vast, the number of servants seemed not too great. As long as she took the quieter paths and found a side gate, it would be easy to slip out.
She reasoned that since she was neither a concubine nor an honored guest of the household, that lord would naturally not make a grand announcement of her presence. Add to that her utterly unremarkable appearance, even if someone happened to see her, they might simply mistake her for a scullery maid and pay her no mind.
Thus, groping about like a headless fly for quite some time, Xie Yunzhen truly did find a side gate. She quietly memorized the route to avoid getting lost again next time.
This small gate was in a secluded spot, used by servants for daily passage. Due to the frequent need for purchasing supplies, traffic through it was constant, and during the day it was never guarded. Overjoyed at the sight of the exit, Xie Yunzhen had just placed her hand on the latch when she suddenly heard someone rushing up behind her, calling out repeatedly:
“Madam Xie! Madam Xie, please wait!”
Having interacted with him several times, the voice was quite familiar to Xie Yunzhen. Her lips quickly drooped, and she turned around with a forced smile, saying to Wen Lu: “Steward Wen, what a coincidence. Why are you here?”
Wen Lu had not come alone—a young servant boy accompanied him. He first offered a salute to Xie Yunzhen, then ordered the boy beside him to lock the small gate, and only then replied to her, skipping any pleasantries: “No coincidence, Madam Xie. I came specifically to find you.”
Watching the gate being locked and her hopes dashed, even the good-tempered Xie Yunzhen, who was as patient as a clay figurine, could not help but feel a stir of irritation: “Yunzhen does not understand why Steward Wen would block my way. My mother lies gravely ill at home—what is wrong with my returning to visit her? Moreover, my lord and I—”
“—Madam Xie!” Seeing that Xie Yunzhen was about to say something she shouldn’t, Wen Lu quickly raised his voice to interrupt her, then waved the servant boy away. “Go on, go on. Don’t listen to what you shouldn’t hear.”
Only after the boy had left did Wen Lu speak to Xie Yunzhen with a serious, almost earnest expression: “Madam Xie, this matter between you and the lord is a private affair. Aside from the matchmaker who arranged it, even Nanny Zeng knows nothing of it. So please, keep it secret and do not speak of it to others.”
“Who would want to speak of it? It’s nothing to be proud of.” Knowing she was in the wrong—her mind had indeed raced just now and she had nearly revealed their secret in front of others—Xie Yunzhen could only mutter softly.
Wen Lu did not hear her, and only insisted: “Come back with me, Madam Xie.”
Xie Yunzhen stubbornly did not move.
The two stood there like that—one refusing to leave, the other refusing to let her go—staring at each other for a long while. In the end, it was Xie Yunzhen who deflated first, her attitude softening.
She had been caught red-handed—how could she possibly outrun Steward Wen, who looked far more agile than she was?
She kept her head slightly lowered, her mind unsettled as she followed Wen Lu back.
Wen Lu glanced back and saw her looking listless and worried. Combined with her genuinely lovely features, even with a hint of melancholy, she carried the charm of a delicate beauty—the kind that made a man feel that doing her wrong would surely invite heaven’s wrath.
He mulled it over and over, his heart unable to bear it. His lips moved several times, the words right at the tip of his tongue, but remembering that the master had not instructed him to tell Lady Xie about Uncle Jiang’s matter, he could only swallow them back helplessly.
They walked in silence. Just as they were about to pass the eastern side courtyard, Wen Lu suddenly stopped and smiled ingratiatingly at Xie Yunzhen. “Lady Xie.”
Xie Yunzhen lifted her eyelids, saw his expression, and took two steps back, a bad feeling rising in her chest. “What does Steward Wen want?”
Wen Lu thought to himself that this errand from his master was a difficult one, but he could only steel himself and make the request.
Xie Yunzhen was momentarily struck speechless, her beautiful eyes widening in indignation. She thought resentfully: What do this master and servant take her for?! They detain her without letting her go, and now this—she wasn’t a maidservant of the estate!
Seeing that Xie Yunzhen was about to lose her composure, Wen Lu hurriedly spoke up: “It’s paid extra! Lady Xie, I’m not asking for your help for free.”
Xie Yunzhen paused, a flush of embarrassment coloring her pretty face. After a few moments of consideration, she agreed.
She was here to earn money, after all—she couldn’t very well turn her back on it.
The Pei estate kitchen.
With several loud slaps, flour flew through the air as Xie Yunzhen kneaded and slammed the dough. The servants watching from outside the kitchen all wore expressions of astonishment.
They didn’t know Xie Yunzhen’s identity and assumed she was a newly hired cook for the estate. But how could they have imagined that such a beautiful, delicate-looking lady could have such strength in her hands? Anyone watching would have thought this lovely woman bore a grudge against the cutting board.
As for why Xie Yunzhen had taken over the head cook’s work in the kitchen, that story began a quarter of an hour ago.
Steward Wen had said the master had lost his appetite lately and wanted to taste the preserved vegetable cakes she’d eaten yesterday. He’d been sent to ask her to help cook, with ten taels of silver as payment.
Xie Yunzhen had been startled when she heard it: just for baking a few cakes, he was being this generous?
She’d barely stopped herself from grabbing Wen Lu and asking him: were there any other jobs in this estate she could do? She deeply felt that working at the Pei estate earned her far more than peddling embroidery patterns and pastries to people everywhere.
She fell deep into thought, kneading the dough while wrestling with the question: should she do a proper job, or just half-heartedly go through the motions?
They’d stopped her from returning to the village without giving her a proper reason, and she was worried about her mother—there was inevitably a knot of frustration in her chest.
Yunzhen wrestled with the dilemma for a long while without reaching a conclusion. In the end, she honestly put her skills to work, baking several preserved vegetable cakes—some stuffed with meat, some without—and mixing a small dish of appetizing pickled vegetables. There was already congee simmering in the kitchen. Once everything was arranged, she had Wen Lu deliver it to the master, while she quietly returned to the small courtyard where she was staying.
About an hour later, Yunzhen was utterly bored. She mused that Steward Wen seemed easier to talk to than the master, and thought perhaps she could ask him for a favor—to find a physician from the city to treat her mother. The more she thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. She was just about to go find Wen Lu when she saw him arrive at her door, leading several maidservants.
Each of them carried either jewelry or dresses—a dazzling array of finery. Though no lamps were lit in the inner chamber, Xie Yunzhen felt she might be blinded by the brilliant splendor in their hands.
She suppressed her curiosity, doing her best to avert her eyes from the clothes and jewelry, afraid that even a single glance would bewitch her.
Wen Lu’s voice carried unmistakable joy: “Lady Xie, you’ve been a tremendous help! His Excellency ate quite a lot and praised your cooking! He asked me to deliver these clothes and ornaments, and to invite you to the study.”
Xie Yunzhen breathed a sigh of relief inwardly—she had feared His Excellency wouldn’t take to their rustic country fare, but to her surprise, it had found favor in his eyes.
She thought that since he had eaten well, his mood must be good—perhaps she could take this opportunity to make her request?
When they arrived at Pei Shu’s study, Wen Lu quietly withdrew, thoughtfully closing the door behind them.
Last night the two had parted on bad terms, and now being alone together in the same room, Xie Yunzhen—thin-skinned as she was—wore a look of awkwardness on her face, standing at the doorway without daring to move.
Pei Shu’s stomach was content, and he had leisure at the moment, so he was painting with his brush. Hearing Xie Yunzhen enter, he didn’t lift his head as he said, “I hear you nearly slipped out of the manor this morning.”
Xie Yunzhen lightly bit her thin lip, expecting a scolding, when she heard his voice soften a few degrees: “Come here.”
She clearly didn’t want to go, yet her feet obediently moved in small, graceful steps.
Yunzhen couldn’t help but feel a measure of annoyance and shame at herself. She couldn’t understand why, every time she was alone with His Excellency, she was like a mouse before a cat, always falling so easily under his control.
She had encountered all manner of men, and none had ever made her feel this way—not even her fiancé. Ning Yankui was always cold and fierce in public, and with his tall, robust build, ordinary people would shrink from him. But Xie Yunzhen knew his true nature and remained perfectly at ease.
Yet this Lord Pei alone—every time he drew near, he stirred in her a flutter like butterfly wings.
She didn’t understand what was wrong with her.
“It’s for your own good that I didn’t let you leave,” Pei Shu said. The moment Xie Yunzhen drew close, he naturally pulled her into his embrace. Caught off guard, her startled cry was swallowed beneath his slender fingers. “There are a few old foxes watching you.”
Pei Shu gazed at her—her cloud-like bun hanging low, her fragrant cheeks clouded with shyness—and felt a rare stirring of pity in his heart.
She was only eighteen or nineteen, around the same age as his youngest sister at home, and years younger than himself. Had she been born into a good family, she would surely have been a cherished young lady doted on by her parents. Why should he hold things against her?
Having reasoned himself into a calmer frame of mind, Pei Shu set down his brush with his other hand and, with rare patience, explained to Yunzhen the motives behind his actions, laying out the stakes involved. After hearing him out, Yunzhen’s attitude softened considerably from her initial stiffness.
His large palm gently gripped her chin. Because he spent years holding brush and sword, his fingertips bore thin calluses with a rough texture, and he couldn’t stop rubbing them back and forth over Yunzhen’s soft pink lips, his breath hot against her ear.
“Your Excellency, we can’t…” The little white rabbit, newly initiated into the ways of desire, was no match for a wolf like Pei Shu who had learned such arts without a teacher. Before she could even register how improper this was given their relationship, she was already stirred into springtime warmth. Fortunately, even as her eyes grew misty and blurred, she could still force herself to retain a shred of clarity to refuse him.
Pei Shu lowered his head slightly, gazing into her eyes—drunk with spring—and catching a glimpse of her alluring beauty, suddenly snapped back to his senses.
Had he lost his reason? Without realizing it, he had been led by that Gu insect into such reckless behavior.