—Two days later—
News spread that the servant who had previously delivered medicine had been bitten by a venomous snake in the rear courtyard and died. When Pei Jingyuan learned of this, he hurried to the rear courtyard to find his own mother, Liu Rumeng.
“Mother, Zhang Ping is dead. He was the best pawn I had placed beside Pei Jingchuan. Now that he’s dead, it won’t be easy to tamper with Pei Jingchuan’s medicine anymore.” Pei Jingyuan said to Liu Rumeng with a grave expression.
Liu Rumeng, dressed in a sapphire-blue ru skirt, sat upright in the chamber. After a moment of contemplation, she said, “No matter. He’s already been drinking that medicine for over a year—his body is likely ruined by now. Stopping the medicine now merely delays the onset of its effects. Since Zhang Ping is dead, we’ll simply arrange for someone else.”
“I’m afraid there’s no opportunity. Pei Jingchuan has already assigned that duty to a servant who has served him since childhood. That servant has no parents—he’s an orphan. We have no leverage to threaten him with.” Pei Jingyuan said in disappointment.
“Who said we must arrange for a servant? No matter how useful a servant is, can one be more effective than a woman?” Liu Rumeng said with a curling smile.
“Mother, what do you mean by that…” Pei Jingyuan looked at Liu Rumeng in confusion.
Liu Rumeng gazed at him with a deep, meaningful look and let out a light laugh. “You’ve both already taken wives. Before long, it’s only natural that the rear courtyards should be arranged with concubines and bedchamber maids. Especially for Pei Jingchuan—the Duchess of Guo’s purpose in having him marry is precisely to carry on the family line. If the Heir Apparent’s wife fails to conceive, she’ll have no choice but to send women into Pei Jingchuan’s courtyard.” Liu Rumeng picked up her teacup, took a sip, and continued, “After all, everyone knows that Pei Jingchuan’s life can’t afford to wait. So within a month or two, if the Heir Apparent’s wife shows no sign of pregnancy, they’ll start to panic.”
“Right, Mother always thinks ahead. I know what to do next.” Pei Jingyuan’s eyes lit up with excitement.
Liu Rumeng glanced at him and continued, “I heard that Xu Qingyue’s dowry wasn’t returned? Our hands are indeed a bit tight right now. Her dowry would still be of some use to us.”
At this, Pei Jingyuan’s brows furrowed again. He said to Liu Rumeng, “Mother, it will be difficult to get Xu Qingyue’s dowry back. After all, the Duchess of Guo has already spoken on the matter.”
“We can’t take it back openly, but you can have Madam Xu speak up during the bridal return visit. After all, the dowry is ultimately the bride’s property—they still have a say in it. By the way, isn’t today your bridal return visit? Why haven’t you prepared to go to the Xu residence yet?” Liu Rumeng couldn’t help but urge him along.
Only then did Pei Jingyuan remember. He took his leave of Liu Rumeng, saying, “Today is indeed the bridal return visit. I had Qingyue waiting for me in the room. I was too anxious when I heard about Zhang Ping, so I came to see you first.”
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Xu Qingyan stood at the entrance of the Duke’s Estate, looking at the bridal return gifts that the Duchess of Guo had prepared for them. A trace of heartache appeared on her small face, and she couldn’t help but lament inwardly: [This Duchess of Guo is truly generous! She’s prepared such lavish bridal return gifts. It’s just a pity that the Xu family doesn’t deserve them. If it weren’t for the Duchess of Guo forbidding Pei Jingyuan and Xu Qingyue from swapping dowries, my dowry would have only been twenty sacks of rice and five hundred taels of silver!]
Hearing Xu Qingyan’s words, the smile on the Duchess of Guo’s face stiffened for a moment. She thought to herself: Xu Qingyan’s original dowry was really that shabby? If so, then Madam Xu truly treated her terribly! Now that she thought about it, the bridal return gifts she had prepared today included not only fine pearls and jade, enamel and colored glaze, but also precious bird’s nest and lingzhi mushrooms—the jewelry alone filled several large chests.
“Mother, you’ve prepared so many bridal return gifts that the Xu residence probably won’t have room for them all. Why not keep some aside and have them placed back in my quarters?” Pei Jingchuan spoke up at just the right moment.
[Yes! Yes! The Young Lord understands me! The Young Lord is so thoughtful! Haha… I’ll definitely remember the Duchess of Guo’s kindness! These bridal return gifts would be better given to me. If they were given to my stepmother, she wouldn’t be grateful at all—she’d just think she deserved them! She might even think I’m living well at the Duke’s Estate and cause trouble for me when I return!] Xu Qingyan applauded Pei Jingchuan’s words fervently in her heart.
Hearing this, Pei Jingchuan’s thin lips curled slightly, and a smile rippled in his eyes.
The Duchess of Guo had just been regretting that she had prepared too generously when Pei Jingchuan’s words came as a perfect relief. She nodded in agreement without hesitation.
By the time Pei Jingyuan and Xu Qingyue came out, the bridal return gifts had already been loaded onto the carriage. They had never thought to suspect the Duke’s Estate’s bridal return gifts, so without even checking, they boarded the carriage.
————The Xu Residence————
Mrs. Xu knew that today was the important Bridal Return Visit, so she had the household bustling with preparations from early morning. When the servant reported that Xu Qingyue and the others had arrived, she smiled and led Lord Xu and the household servants to greet them at the entrance.
“Mother!” Xu Qingyue leapt off the carriage and ran affectionately to Mrs. Xu’s side.
“Qingyue, you’re back.” Mrs. Xu beamed as she took her daughter’s hand, her eyes filled with doting affection.
Xu Qingyan and the others descended from the carriage behind them. She greeted her with a distant, cold, and perfunctory address.
Then, Pei Jingchuan and Pei Jingyuan also exchanged simple pleasantries with them.
Mrs. Xu and the others pretended not to know about the bride swap, feigning surprise as they asked Xu Qingyue about it. Xu Qingyue took the opportunity to subtly signal to her mother that her dowry had not been returned.
Mrs. Xu naturally noticed this and immediately grew displeased with Xu Qingyan.
“Qingyan, the fact that you stole your legitimate elder sister’s marriage is already a done deal. As your mother, I won’t say much more about it now, but given your humble status, you must not act willfully within the Duke’s Estate, do you understand? Things that don’t belong to you—you must never covet them. All you need to do now is serve the Heir Apparent well, do you hear me?” Mrs. Xu lectured Xu Qingyan with a stern expression.
It was they themselves who had swapped the marriage, yet they stubbornly pinned the blame on Xu Qingyan, claiming she had stolen the marriage, and deliberately warned her not to covet what wasn’t hers—in reality, reminding her to return the dowry. Xu Qingyan naturally understood her stepmother’s meaning, but she wasn’t foolish. Why should she return it?
So, she played dumb and said, “Mother is right.” After saying this, she said nothing more.
Mrs. Xu stared at her expectantly, only to see her fall silent after that single sentence. She felt a stifled frustration building inside her and was about to say something more when, unexpectedly, Pei Jingchuan spoke up.
“Mother-in-law, what do you mean by that? Yan’er is merely a shu-daughter—how could she possibly steal her legitimate elder sister’s marriage? Wasn’t this marriage mix-up caused by a mistake on your household’s part? Or could it be that Lord Xu favors concubines over wives and deliberately helped his shu-daughter swap the marriage?”
“N-no… no, of course not. Young Lord, please don’t misunderstand. My wife spoke rashly in a moment of confusion—please don’t hold it against her.” Pei Jingchuan’s mention of Favoring Concubines Over Wives directly frightened Lord Xu so much that even his hand holding the teacup trembled.
The Great Xia placed the utmost importance on an official’s reputation. If word got out that he favored concubines over his wife and helped his shu-daughter steal a marriage, his official career would likely be over. With that thought, he couldn’t help but glare at his wife.
Mrs. Xu was stunned by his words. She never imagined that Pei Jingchuan would actually speak up for Xu Qingyan. As a distinguished Young Lord who had muddle-headedly married the shu-daughter of a sixth-rank official, shouldn’t he be angry? Shouldn’t his anger be directed at Xu Qingyan? He should despise her, so why was he defending her?
In that moment, a fierce sense of resentment surged within her.
Xu Qingyan, a mere shu-daughter, actually dared to lord it over her!