“Ladies, that concludes today’s lesson. You are dismissed.”
Inside the Pei family’s academy, as soon as the female tutor departed, the maidservants seated in the last row hurried to their respective young mistresses, helping them pack away their brushes, inkstones, and paper.
Only one person remained motionless.
The young girl sat quietly with her eyes lowered, not daring to make the slightest unnecessary movement, doing everything she could to make herself invisible.
Only after everyone had left and silence settled over the classroom did she finally stand. Cautiously, she walked to the desks and began collecting the discarded practice sheets.
To everyone else, they were nothing more than waste paper.
To Xie Zhi, however, they were priceless treasures.
“‘Weathering wind and rain’… so that’s how it’s written…”
She picked up a sheet covered in elegant handwriting and murmured the words softly to herself.
Just then, a shrill voice shattered the silence.
“Well, well! Lichun! How dare you steal the County Princess’s and the young ladies’ practice sheets! If Her Ladyship hadn’t forgotten her earring, we’d never have discovered you were so bold!”
Xie Zhi immediately turned around.
Several maidservants had escorted County Princess Yuyang back into the academy.
One of the maids snatched the papers from Xie Zhi’s arms and eagerly presented them to her mistress like a trophy.
“Your Ladyship, please judge fairly. This servant only thought it a pity for the practice sheets used in class to be thrown away. That’s why I…”
Panicked, Xie Zhi dropped to her knees and hurriedly explained.
“Hmph! Even if they’re unwanted, they’re meant to be burned by designated servants. Since when was it your place to handle them? What if you copied someone’s handwriting to forge letters? The consequences would be unimaginable!”
The maid shot her a disdainful glance before pressing the accusation further.
The summer heat was suffocating, yet cold sweat trickled down Xie Zhi’s face.
“I truly had no such intention. I don’t even own any books. I only wanted to see how the characters the teacher mentioned in class were written. I never meant any harm toward Your Ladyship.”
Already in a foul mood, Yuyang grabbed the stack of papers and hurled them at Xie Zhi’s head.
The pages scattered around her, several drifting to Yuyang’s feet.
“Lichun, have you no shame at all? You seduced my Third Brother to get into the Marquis’s residence. When he was assigned elsewhere, you wormed your way into Grandmother’s courtyard instead. I truly don’t know what Grandmother was thinking, allowing a servant who’s already lost her chastity to sit in on lessons meant for her masters. You’re simply disgusting!”
Still kneeling with her forehead lowered, Xie Zhi remained silent.
Humiliation burned across her face.
She wanted to explain.
She was innocent.
She had never lost her chastity.
She had her dignity.
But no one would believe her.
“So you like secretly learning, do you? Fine! Since I’m feeling generous today, I’ll teach you how to learn. Someone! Make her eat every last one of these papers!”
At once, two maidservants pinned Xie Zhi to the ground while another grabbed the scattered sheets and began stuffing them into her mouth.
Startled, Xie Zhi struggled desperately.
“County Princess! I admit my fault. But I serve Chunhui Courtyard. If I’ve done wrong, you may report me to the Old Madam and let her punish me. Using private punishment like this is unjust!”
Though restrained and unable to move, her gaze remained unwavering.
Looking at her now—so pitiful and disheveled—no one would have imagined that only six months ago…
…she had been the daughter of an imperial official.
She was Xie Zhi, daughter of Xie Jinhuai, the former Prefect of Yangzhou.
Her mother had died young.
Her father had ignored her.
She had often been bullied by her father’s concubines and their daughters.
Even so, she had managed to live a relatively peaceful life until coming of age.
Then, six months earlier, Yangzhou had been rocked by a series of massive smuggling cases.
The scale of the crimes was staggering, drawing the Emperor’s suspicion.
When the news reached the capital, His Majesty flew into a rage.
Three days later, Vice Minister of Justice Pei Du personally traveled to Yangzhou under imperial decree to investigate the case.
Young yet exceptionally capable, Pei Du was renowned for his decisive methods.
Though the local officials had entrenched themselves for years, shielding one another while putting on convincing performances, he quickly saw through their schemes and exposed the mastermind.
That mastermind…
…was her father, Prefect Xie Jinhuai.
Xie Jinhuai was sentenced to death by beheading.
The men of the family were exiled.
The women were reduced to the status of government slaves, condemned to remain so for the rest of their lives.
Had she not resorted to desperate measures and attached herself to the chief investigator—Vice Minister of Justice Pei Du—returning to the capital with him…
…she might truly have lost the very innocence everyone now accused her of lacking.
As for Pei Du…
Better not to think about him.
At that moment, Yuyang’s anger flared even higher after hearing Xie Zhi’s words.
“You still dare talk back? I’ll teach you a proper lesson today!”
She strode toward Xie Zhi—
Only to step on one of the scattered sheets.
The paper was smooth beneath her feet.
Her footing slipped.
With a startled cry, she fell headfirst directly in front of Xie Zhi.
The wide sleeve of her robe accidentally knocked over the inkstone on a nearby desk.
Black ink splashed all over her neck, staining most of her robes, while several droplets landed on Xie Zhi’s sleeve.
For a moment, every maidservant stood frozen in shock, too stunned to react.
“What are you standing there for? Help me up!”
Yuyang was the first to recover.
Seeing her neck blackened like that of a black-boned chicken, she shrieked in panic.
The servants finally snapped out of their daze and rushed forward to help her.
“Get me back at once! I need to change my clothes!”
In her panic, Yuyang stripped the outer robe from one of her maids and wrapped it around herself.
Seeing that the princess no longer seemed interested in dealing with her, Xie Zhi finally relaxed a little.
But just as she reached the corridor, Yuyang’s cold voice rang out behind her.
“You will kneel here until tomorrow. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Your Ladyship.”
She had not been kneeling for long before an elderly voice sounded from afar.
“My girl, how did you end up like this?”
“Nanny… I…”
Seeing the familiar face, Xie Zhi felt her grievances surge to the surface, her voice trembling.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Hurry! The Heir has returned from Yingzhou. The Old Madam wants you to go see him immediately.”
What?
Pei Du had returned?
The unbearable memories from six months ago instantly flooded back, making her instinctively shrink away.
“But…”
“No more ‘buts.’ The Heir has only just returned from reporting to the palace. I hear he’ll be heading to the Ministry of Justice again later.”
Seeing that Xie Zhi still hesitated, Nanny Zhou simply took her by the arm and led her back to Chunhui Courtyard.
Chunhui Courtyard was the residence of Old Madam Pei.
When Pei Du had brought Xie Zhi back six months earlier, he had arranged for her to stay there.
The bathing room had already been prepared.
After bathing, Xie Zhi changed into a lake-green Wangxian trailing dress. Standing before the mirror, she tidied her appearance before stepping around a carved nanmu plum-blossom screen.
“Nanny, let’s go.”
At the sight of her, even Nanny Zhou was momentarily dazed.
She possessed a delicate grace that stirred tenderness in anyone who looked upon her.
She was as beautiful as a lotus blooming after summer rain.
No wonder even the Heir—who had always kept women at arm’s length—had once lost his heart to her.
The Marquis of Changping’s Estate had produced generations of nobles and high-ranking officials, and the current generation was no less prosperous.
Old Madam Pei and the late Marquis had three sons and one daughter.
The eldest son, Pei Xun, was the current Marquis of Changping and Pei Du’s father.
Counting every branch of the family, distant relatives, nephews, nieces, and countless servants, well over a thousand people lived within the estate.
Naturally, the residence covered an enormous area.
Even so, when Xie Zhi had first arrived, she had been astonished that the Marquis’s estate occupied nearly half of Yongxing Ward.
As if that were not enough, eighteen years earlier, the Eldest Princess of Deng State had married Pei Xun as his second wife.
The late Emperor had therefore ordered a princess’s residence built adjacent to the Marquis’s estate.
The walls between the two compounds had later been opened.
To say that nearly all of Yongxing Ward belonged to the Pei family would hardly be an exaggeration.
Yet however grand the estate was, life within it had been nothing but suffering for Xie Zhi.
Under the blazing summer sun, she and Nanny Zhou walked for nearly a quarter of an hour before finally arriving at Yangshan Terrace, Pei Du’s residence.
The terrace stood high above the rest of the estate.
Dozens of stone steps still remained before they could reach it.
Stone paths crisscrossed the grounds, ornamental rocks dotted the landscape, and the secluded residence lay hidden among dense, verdant trees.
By the time they finally climbed to the top, Xie Zhi concealed her exhaustion, but Nanny Zhou was already gasping for breath as she leaned against the stone gate.
“Oh… this old woman is exhausted.”
Looking toward the tranquil pavilions and covered walkways inside the courtyard, Xie Zhi hesitated once more.
“Nanny… why don’t I help you rest in the pavilion behind us first?”
Unexpectedly, Nanny Zhou reached over and lightly knocked her on the head, looking thoroughly exasperated.
“Stop dawdling. Go in.”
The moment she finished speaking, all signs of fatigue vanished as she strode briskly ahead.
“Changming, is the Heir inside?”
Standing beneath the corridor of the main courtyard, she called to the young guard holding a sword.
Seeing her, Changming cupped his hands in greeting.
“The Young Master is inside. Has the Old Madam sent instructions?”
“The weather is unbearably hot. The Old Madam was concerned for the Heir, so she ordered Lichun to prepare a bowl of chilled lychee syrup and frosted Jade Peak pastries for him.”
Changming’s gaze shifted past Nanny Zhou to the young woman standing behind her, carrying a food box.
She looked gentle and delicate now, surrounded by an air of quiet serenity.
Nothing like the terrified, battered girl covered in wounds whom his master had rescued six months ago.
The memory made him quickly avert his eyes.
Stepping aside, he respectfully made way.
“Miss Lichun, please follow me.”