The woman, however, didn’t react in the slightest. She calmly continued tidying her belongings as if nothing had happened. Instead, the other maids hurried over to stop Shuyue and tried to smooth things over.
In truth, this gave Shuyue a way out.
Had she really struck someone, the rules of Yangshan Terrace dictated that she would have been punished with a whipping as well.
Thinking of that, she huffed angrily and stormed off.
Xie Zhi glanced at the neatly made bed, ignored everyone’s curious stares, lay down without a word, and fell asleep.
It was the first day of autumn.
Once night fell, the oppressive heat of the day faded, replaced by a refreshing chill.
Pei Du rode swiftly along the official road, returning to Changping Marquis Manor just before the city gates closed for the night.
“The Heir has returned.”
The gatekeeper hurried over and called for a servant to take his horse.
Pei Du strode through the main entrance. After only a few steps, he saw someone emerge from behind the entrance screen.
The man had thick brows, large eyes, and graying hair despite his age.
It was none other than the Marquis of Changping, Pei Xun.
“Greetings, Father.”
“Mm. You’re back.”
With his hands clasped behind his back, Pei Xun approached with a cordial smile.
“Yes. I still have matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave.”
A trace of icy indifference flashed across Pei Du’s eyes as he turned to leave.
“So many years have passed. Can you truly not let it go? Your mother’s death… really was an accident.”
“An accident?”
Pei Du stopped in his tracks and slowly turned back, his gaze colder than ever.
“My mother—a living, breathing person—lost her life because of your affair with another woman, and you call that an accident?”
“Yes. Back then, the Princess fell in love with me. I already had a wife, and you were already three years old. But she only admired me in silence and never confessed her feelings.”
Pei Du let out a cold laugh.
“Oh? Then how did she later become so determined that she would marry no one but you?”
Pei Xun coughed awkwardly before explaining.
“The late Emperor noticed she was unhappy. After repeatedly asking, he finally learned the truth. Unable to bear seeing his daughter heartbroken, His Majesty wanted me to divorce your mother and remarry.”
“But it was the Princess herself who knelt before Zhaoyang Palace, begging her father not to treat your mother that way. She was willing to marry into the Pei family as an equal wife.”
“Indeed. She didn’t need you to divorce your wife.”
“Because only three days later, my mother died under mysterious circumstances.”
“And before her mourning period had even ended, you rushed to marry the Princess and lavishly built a princess’s residence for her. You must have been overjoyed.”
At this point, Pei Du clenched his fists so tightly that the veins on the backs of his hands bulged.
Pei Xun sighed heavily.
“Believe it or not, Shu Niang truly drowned after accidentally falling into the water. If those in the palace truly wanted someone dead, they wouldn’t have gone through such elaborate deception.”
“As for the wedding date and the construction of the Princess’s residence, those were imperial decrees. I had no power to disobey.”
His expression was full of frustration.
“You don’t need to keep making excuses.”
“My maternal grandfather may have been nothing more than a minor official, but he secretly hired a coroner to examine her body.”
“My mother was already dead before she ever entered the water. Her drowning was staged.”
“In truth, you don’t need to become so agitated.”
“Your life is perfect now.”
“I’m afraid your only regret is that the Princess never bore you a son.”
“And in the end, the title of Heir still fell to me—the child who grew up far away from this household.”
“Pei Du!”
“Are you incapable of understanding what I’m saying?”
“I told you, it was an accident!”
“And back then, no one wanted to drive you away. It was your grandfather who, after learning the Princess was pregnant, forcibly took you away.”
“How has that become my fault?”
Pei Xun’s face flushed the color of liver from anger.
Just as he was about to continue, Pei Du had already turned away and walked off without another glance.
“You… How did I end up with such a stubborn son!”
Watching his son’s retreating figure, Pei Xun angrily flicked his sleeve.
Why couldn’t the boy understand the difficulties he had faced as a father?
It was true that, in his younger days, under the Princess’s pressure, he hadn’t paid much attention to his son.
But that was all in the past.
Now Jingjia was no longer as domineering as she had once been. She had never gotten along with the new Emperor since childhood, and after his ascension, she had kept an unusually low profile.
She and Pei Du rarely crossed paths and kept to their own affairs.
So why did his son continue to harbor such deep hatred?
Pei Xun remained standing in the cool night breeze for a long time before finally disappearing into the darkness.
Xie Zhi slept for a while and drifted into a long dream.
Every scene in it came from her days in Yangzhou.
No one had particularly cared about her, but she had still had a world of her own.
Whenever she had free time, she painted in the courtyard.
Occasionally, she and her sisters would attend the symbolic lectures their legal mother gave in the front courtyard.
Her legal mother disliked her exceptionally beautiful face and looked down on her humble birth. She had likely intended to marry her off someday to an impoverished scholar.
That, however, suited Xie Zhi just fine.
Her own status had never been high to begin with. Had she married into a powerful noble family, she would surely have suffered endless hardships.
Marrying into an ordinary household would have given her a much freer life.
After all, her father had been a provincial governor. Outside the capital, no husband would have dared treat her lightly.
When she awoke, the sturdy huanghuali bed from her dream had become a crowded communal sleeping platform.
For a dazed moment, she forgot where she was.
What husband?
What peaceful life?
Her father…
had already died beneath the executioner’s blade.
As for her brothers and sisters, she had no idea where they had been sent.
Some had likely become servants.
Others had probably been exiled to distant frontiers.
The thought alone was unbearable.
Through the lattice window, Xie Zhi saw countless stars scattered across the night sky.
For reasons she herself couldn’t explain, tears had already filled her eyes.
She wiped them away, climbed out of bed, tidied herself, and changed into a familiar short-sleeved ru jacket paired with a turmeric-yellow skirt.
Life had to move forward.
Since she had ended up at Pei Du’s residence, then she would simply alter her plan.
Instead of targeting Pei Hong…
she would set her sights on Pei Du.
The difficulty had increased by far more than just a little.
But she had no other choice.
Today was the day she had arranged to meet Qingyi and deliver the painting drafts.
She took the prepared drawings from her bundle and headed toward the garden where they had agreed to meet.
However, the moment she reached the entrance of Yangshan Terrace, two guards blocked her path.
With stern expressions, one of them said,
“Without the Heir’s permission, you are not allowed to leave.”
“Why?”
“It’s not even curfew yet. I just saw other people going outside.”
She had only moments ago watched several older servant women leave the courtyard.
“Why are you asking so many questions?”
“If you want a reason, ask the Heir yourself.”
Growing impatient, the two men waved her away.
“Miss, you’d better go back.”
Clutching her painting drafts, Xie Zhi had no choice but to turn around.
The two guards were tall and imposing, almost as intimidating as Pei Du himself.
Forcing her way through was clearly impossible.
She would have to think of another solution.
Putting aside why she had suddenly been forbidden from leaving, Qingyi was still waiting for her.
Inside Yangshan Terrace, Xie Zhi found an older servant woman, removed a silver hairpin from her own hair, and after much persuasion finally convinced the woman to make the trip in her place.
She had intended to wait until Changming returned so she could ask what was going on.
But when she entered her room, she discovered that someone had opened her trunk.
Every piece of clothing inside had been slashed into ribbons.
And resting on top of the ruined garments…
was a gleaming pair of scissors.