Xie Zhi hurriedly rose to leave, hoping to avoid him. She had barely taken two steps when Pei Du pushed the door open again, this time with Princess Yuyang County following behind him.
Princess Yuyang County was Pei Du’s younger half-sister, the only daughter of Princess Dengguo. Beloved since birth, she had been granted the title of County Princess by the Emperor himself.
Raised in boundless indulgence, she was proud and arrogant. She looked down on the other young ladies in the household and treated the servants with either beatings or harsh scoldings.
The moment she learned that Xie Zhi had not obediently accepted her punishment, she stormed over in fury.
“Brother, she stole a whole stack of practice manuscripts! What if she copies the handwriting and uses it to spread malicious rumors? And the worst part is that after I punished her, she actually ran away! You have to stand up for me!”
Yuyang’s face was flushed crimson with anger. Even the pair of golden phoenix hairpins adorned with dangling pearls atop her head shook wildly.
Xie Zhi stood silently where she was, saying nothing.
“From now on, Lichun is forbidden from setting foot in the family academy again. If she disobeys, punish her however you see fit.”
After a moment’s thought, Pei Du added,
“And what happened to your neck? Have you no sense of propriety? Instead of putting ink into your mind through study, did you pour it all over yourself?”
“No, Brother! You can’t let her off so easily!”
Yuyang glanced at the dark ink stains that still clung stubbornly to Xie Zhi’s neck, her expression sour and dissatisfied.
If Xie Zhi escaped with only this today, who in the residence would still take her authority seriously in the future?
“I have too many matters to attend to today. I don’t have time to watch you make a scene.”
With that, Pei Du turned and strode toward the door.
“Changming, prepare the horses.”
He left in such haste that Yuyang could only hurry after him.
“Brother! Take me with you! I want to enter the palace too!”
Their voices gradually faded into the distance.
Only then did Xie Zhi finally let out a long breath of relief.
The Dowager Madam was advanced in age and retired early each evening. As soon as night settled over the estate, Chunhui Garden fell into silence.
After returning from Yangshan Terrace, Xie Zhi lit a small oil lamp in the side room. Just then, Nanny Zhou walked in with a smile.
“You’re back so late. I thought the Young Master was going to keep you at Yangshan Terrace.”
Instead of feeling comforted, Xie Zhi felt even more embarrassed.
Once Pei Du returned, he would surely explain everything to the Dowager Madam in detail. When that happened, her comfortable situation here would likely come to an end.
After making up a few excuses to send Nanny Zhou away, Xie Zhi knelt beside her bed and pulled out a wooden box hidden underneath.
Inside were stacks upon stacks of handwritten practice sheets.
They were all drafts Xie Zhi had quietly collected from the family academy after the noble ladies had finished their lessons each day.
When the discarded drafts from a dozen students were pieced together, they could roughly reconstruct everything the instructor had taught that day.
Combined with what she remembered from secretly listening outside the classroom, she could usually grasp seventy or eighty percent of the lesson.
Unfortunately, today’s manuscripts had been confiscated.
Under the dim candlelight, she could only review the lessons from previous days over and over again.
The Dowager Madam did not wish for the attendants serving Pei Du to be completely illiterate and uncultured.
At the same time, she would never allow a mere maid to receive the same careful education as the noble daughters studying in the academy.
A servant only needed to know a little—just enough to avoid embarrassing herself while accompanying the Young Master.
But Xie Zhi was not content with that.
She wanted to learn more.
Back in Yangzhou, the Xie family had maintained its own academy. Their female instructor had often taught that women should pursue knowledge just as men did, because learning broadened one’s vision and enlightened one’s heart.
Xie Zhi had always believed those words wholeheartedly.
Unfortunately, because she had been neglected by her family, her father did not send her to the academy until she was thirteen.
Not long afterward, the Xie family was confiscated and destroyed.
In total, she had studied for barely more than a year.
There were still many characters she could not recognize.
That was why she could only continue learning in secret, alone during the dead of night.
She knew what she was doing was wrong.
Although the manuscripts had been discarded by others, taking them without permission was still theft—something that violated the moral principles taught in the very books she longed to study.
That was why, when Princess Yuyang had accused and punished her, Xie Zhi had not felt resentment.
Only overwhelming shame.
More than an hour passed.
The candle was nearly burned to its end.
The words on the paper grew increasingly blurred, forcing Xie Zhi to squint carefully to make them out.
Sleepiness overtook her. She rubbed her eyes again and again, but they only grew more uncomfortable.
Eventually, tears welled up, followed by quiet sobs she could no longer suppress.
She dared not cry aloud for fear of waking the Dowager Madam.
Blowing out the candle, she climbed into bed.
Her tear-filled eyes stared silently at the wild-silk bed curtains overhead.
For a long, long time…
Sleep never came.
Early the next morning, Xie Zhi’s face was pale and lifeless.
Even the Dowager Madam noticed something was wrong.
“You’re especially diligent today,” the old lady said with a smile as she accepted the tea Xie Zhi offered. “You needn’t stay here. After breakfast, go attend upon the young ladies at the academy.”
“Dowager Madam… I won’t be going to the academy anymore.”
Xie Zhi accepted the warm towel from a young maid and gently wiped the Dowager Madam’s hands.
Nanny Zhou, carrying one of the Dowager Madam’s favorite embroidered jackets from the wardrobe, frowned when she heard those words.
“Young lady, are you rejecting the Dowager Madam’s kindness?”
The Dowager Madam knew nothing of Xie Zhi’s punishment.
Nanny Zhou, however, assumed that Xie Zhi was sulking over yesterday’s events, so she deliberately reprimanded her.
Xie Zhi froze for a brief moment.
Setting down the tray in her hands, she knelt before the Dowager Madam.
“Dowager Madam… I have something important to tell you.”
“Oh my, Lichun! Whatever is the matter?”
Startled, the Dowager Madam hurriedly reached out to help her up.
Just then, the pearl curtain at the entrance was lifted.
A maid entered with a bright smile.
“Dowager Madam, the Heir has come to pay his respects.”
Footsteps echoed from outside as they drew nearer.
Everyone instinctively raised their heads.
The room fell silent.
Pei Du entered wearing a black cross-collared robe embroidered with subtle dark patterns.
At his waist hung a white jade pendant carved with a taotie motif, its polished surface glowing softly—a treasure that was clearly no ordinary piece.
His features were refined and handsome.
Though his expression remained as cold as ever, the sharpness in his eyes softened slightly in the presence of the Dowager Madam.
“Sanlang, aren’t you supposed to be on duty at the Ministry of Justice today?”
The Dowager Madam’s face lit up with unconcealed joy.
Seeing Xie Zhi still kneeling before her, she gently patted the girl’s back.
“You look exhausted. Whatever it is, you can tell me later. Go wash your face first, then come back.”
Simply being in the same room as Pei Du made it difficult for Xie Zhi to breathe.
Her eyes remained lowered, yet she could clearly feel his gaze settle upon her.
“Yes.”
She quickly rose and seized the excuse to leave.
Only after entering the small side room connected to the inner chamber did she finally dare release the breath she’d been holding.
Sitting on the edge of her bed, her gaze wandered blankly around the modest room.
She had lived in this tiny chamber for half a year.
Though small, it lacked nothing.
The moment she stepped outside, she would be in the Dowager Madam’s own quarters.
For a servant, such accommodations were already more than generous.
Xie Zhi sighed softly.
She knew that before long, the Dowager Madam would learn the truth and send her away.
But with Pei Du’s temperament…
Once he had decided she was guilty, he would never return her contract of servitude or allow her to leave the Pei residence.
That had been part of the agreement they made from the very beginning.
Although Pei Du had rescued her from the brothel, her status as a registered slave had never changed.
She could only remain in the Pei household as a maid to atone for her previous “crime.”
Xie Zhi couldn’t help thinking that the man was hopelessly rigid.
Completely impossible to reason with.
After some time, Nanny Zhou pushed open the door.
“Miss, the Heir has left. The Dowager Madam wishes to see you.”
There was unmistakable disdain on the old woman’s face, and even her tone had turned stiff.
Xie Zhi understood immediately.
Pei Du had already told the Dowager Madam everything.