Сhaptеr 4: Dоеs Zhаоzhao Want… Ме to Cаrry Hеr?
“Whу сhаsе hеr? This is hоmе.” Реi Yan’s eхpression was соol аnd соmроsed. Нis imрliсation wаs thаt Yun Zhaоzhao cоuldn’t run far еven if she tried—thеre wаs no nееd to pursuе her.
Madаm Yun соuldn’t hеlp but roll hеr еуеs, scolding hеr son with еxasрeratiоn. “Son! Hоw will you evеr find а wifе if yоu’rе this aloof?”
“I hаve mу сousin.”
Mаdam Yun cоuldn’t stand hеr оwn sоn’s unflaрpablе, seeminglу еmоtionless demeanor.
Could finding а wifе be treated likе оfficial business?
Маdam Yun deliberately taunted him, “What if Zhaozhao really runs away? What will you do then? Stay a bachelor for life!”
Pei Yan, however, didn’t take it seriously at all.
Zhaozhao wouldn’t run!
Their marriage was arranged by their parents and matchmakers. Why would Zhaozhao run? She was so well-behaved, so obedient. She would dutifully marry him.
With Zhaozhao gone, Pei Yan had no desire to linger. He stood up to take his leave. “There are matters at the Grand Secretariat. I must excuse myself.”
Madam Yun stared in disbelief and called out, “Zhaozhao left, and now you won’t even stay to eat with your mother? Yan’er! Ugh—”
She took a deep breath, catching a faint, lingering whiff of something foul.
Annoyed, Madam Yun covered her nose and cursed Granny Wang. What was the use of hiding the evidence in the latrine, thinking herself clever?
Her Zhaozhao was even smarter!
The next day.
At the main gate of the Grand Tutor’s Manor.
Yun Zhaozhao peeked her head out from behind the door and saw Pei Yan waiting beside the carriage. Tall and graceful, he wore a wide-sleeved satin robe in bluish-gray that made him look like an immortal sage untouched by worldly dust, lending the carriage an aura of cold, ethereal elegance.
Yun Zhaozhao blinked, muttering to herself: Who would have thought that the renowned Grand Tutor Pei had such a twisted heart!
“Cousin, come here.”
A voice as cold as the clinking of jade stones reached her. Pei Yan’s eyes were clear and icy, deep as a frozen lake, impossible to read.
Yun Zhaozhao took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the door.
Since she was going out, Yun Zhaozhao had abandoned her white attire for a pale green gauze dress. The collar and cuffs were embroidered with matching patterns, giving her a low-key yet elegant appearance.
Her dark hair was tied into a simple round coiled bun at the back, secured with a plain silver hairpin. A white hair ribbon hung gently, swaying softly with the breeze as she moved.
Standing before Pei Yan, she silently captured his gaze.
Pei Yan’s eyes lingered quietly on her face—her lively, charming almond-shaped eyes, her snow-white cheeks tinged with pink, and her moist, tempting red lips parting slightly as she spoke: “Cousin, you are a busy man. There’s really no need to accompany me.”
Pei Yan stared at her lips, his throat moving slightly.
[Want to kiss… Not married yet… Can’t…]
“Today, I’m not busy.”
Pei Yan restrained himself and shifted his gaze away, instructing someone to place the footstool. But when he turned back, he saw Yun Zhaozhao standing motionless, her snow-pink cheeks puffed out, her almond eyes glaring at him unhappily—adorable and utterly harmless.
Pei Yan’s eyes flickered slightly, a question forming in his heart. [Does Zhaozhao want… me to carry her into the carriage?]
Oh my goodness!
Yun Zhaozhao panicked, flustered, and quickly scrambled into the carriage herself.
First, her cousin wanted to kiss her, and now… in broad daylight! She absolutely did not want her cousin to carry her—how utterly embarrassing!
“Cousin, let’s go quickly! Don’t waste time!” Yun Zhaozhao settled herself swiftly and urged him from inside the carriage.
Pei Yan cast a deep glance at the carriage before mounting his horse. They set off for the capital’s largest jewelry shop—the Hall of Gold and Jade.
First, they went to sell the jewelry Madam Yun no longer wanted. Although the wine jar had been well-sealed, a faint odor still clung to the pieces. The shopkeeper examined them left and right, about to ask something, but when he looked up and met Pei Yan’s frosty, handsome face, he immediately fell silent.The shopkeeper forced an apologetic smile: “Grand Tutor, the total is two thousand five hundred taels. Please take it!”
Pei Yan never accepted things directly from others, so Leng Zhu promptly stepped forward to collect the silver notes.
“Cousin, what would you like to buy?” Pei Yan turned to ask Yun Zhaozhao.
Yun Zhaozhao, with her back to him, wandered around the shop. Without turning her head, she replied, “I don’t know yet. I need to look a bit longer. Cousin, why don’t you go have some tea? There’s no need to wait for me.”
Hearing this, the shopkeeper immediately stepped forward, fawning and flattering: “Grand Tutor, please come inside! Waiter, quickly bring out my privately stored West Lake Longjing tea!”
However, Pei Yan remained rooted to the spot, his cold gaze fixed on Yun Zhaozhao like a stone statue longing for his wife.
The shopkeeper chuckled: “Grand Tutor, when young ladies choose jewelry, it takes a long time! Those gentlemen and masters who accompany their wives all wait and drink tea nearby. What do you think?”
“Alright.”
Pei Yan took the advice.
In half a year, once the mourning period was over, he would marry Zhaozhao. It was time to learn how other couples interacted.
Pei Yan sat in the private room, where through the carved and latticed window, he could clearly see Yun Zhaozhao’s slender and graceful figure in front of the counter. Pei Yan was quite satisfied in his heart, holding his teacup and sipping slowly, his gaze never leaving Yun Zhaozhao.
“Strange, Cousin clearly left, so why do I still feel a bit weak in the legs?”
Yun Zhaozhao bit her slightly moist, rosy lips, grinding her teeth together. Was it just her imagination?
Lowering her head to look at the dazzling array of jewelry on the counter again, Yun Zhaozhao wore an expression of frustration and sighed: “Ah, there are so many pieces, I don’t even know how to choose. If only Bi Zhu had come out with me!”
Originally, she had intended to bring Bi Zhu, but just as they were about to leave, her aunt sent someone to detain Bi Zhu.
Yun Zhaozhao knew her aunt was deliberately creating a world for just the two of them.
But in the past, she had disliked her cousin for being cold, and now she was afraid of hearing things she shouldn’t.
Yun Zhaozhao picked and chose on her own, finally settling on a Multi-Gemstone Necklace. Polished jade, agate, and pearls, each bead round and plump, were strung together in a circle, vibrant in color and exquisitely luxurious.
Yun Zhaozhao’s almond-shaped eyes shone brightly like spring water as she eagerly picked it up: “It’s so beautiful. I’ll take this one.”
[Great! Yun Zhaozhao, that sucker, is here too!]
Who!
Who called her a sucker?
Yun Zhaozhao’s almond eyes turned icy, her pink cheeks puffing up. She turned around and saw a gorgeously dressed young woman in an extravagant pink-blue skirt, who rushed over with unusual intimacy and linked arms with her.
She even sweetly called out: “Sister-in-law, what a coincidence~”
“Pei Yuzhu, it’s you!” Yun Zhaozhao was both angry and suspicious. Did Pei Yuzhu see her as a sucker?
Pei Yuzhu was the daughter of Pei Yan’s second uncle.
At fifteen, she was the first person in Pei Duke Manor to show goodwill to Yun Zhaozhao and intimately call her sister-in-law. Having just arrived in the capital with no friends, Yun Zhaozhao regarded Pei Yuzhu, the first to extend an olive branch, as a close confidante.
“Wow! So beautiful!”
Pei Yuzhu stared fixedly at the Multi-Gemstone Necklace, clinging to Yun Zhaozhao’s arm and coquettishly pleading: “Sister-in-law, give it to me, please! I like it so much!”
“No.” Yun Zhaozhao flatly refused.
The Multi-Gemstone Necklace was something she had spotted first, and the inner voice she had just heard also made her suspicious of Pei Yuzhu.
Yun Zhaozhao took the initiative to test her: “Why should I give it to you?”
“Because I’m Big Brother’s sister!”
Pei Yuzhu said with a righteous air. After speaking, she resentfully pushed Yun Zhaozhao’s arm away, even complaining: “Sister-in-law, you’ve changed. You don’t care for me anymore!”“Yun Zhaozhao, how could you be this kind of person? How can you face Yuzhu?”
Before Yun Zhaozhao could respond, a girl in a crimson dress pushed her way forward, immediately casting blame without a second thought: “Do you even know how much Yuzhu has spoken up for you at the Duke’s estate?”
“You won’t even give Yuzhu a single tasseled necklace—what an ungrateful wretch!”
When one is rendered speechless, they can only laugh in frustration.
Yun Zhaozhao set down the necklace, her almond-shaped eyes as clear and bright as cold stars: “Zhu Yingying, shut your mouth! Pei Yuzhu, whether I’m an ungrateful wretch or a fool, you know the truth in your heart!”
Pei Yuzhu’s inner voice trembled with fear: How does she know…