The next day, Zhuang Hui woke up a little earlier. Being young, heavy makeup did not suit her, and appearing too eager might seem overly forward. So she only tidied her eyebrows and applied a touch of lip color, completing her makeup.
Her outfit had been decided the night before—a light purple jacket with gold-printed lotus and chrysanthemum patterns and lace trim, worn only a few times and thus about eighty percent new, paired with a pale blue pleated skirt so light it almost looked white. This ensemble suited her age, was appropriate for daily wear, and avoided giving an impression of trying too hard.
Once ready, she set out with Yingtáo.
Passing by Songtao Courtyard, she picked up Zhao Jingzhi.
Arriving at Fushou Hall, she was as fortunate as the day before—she still did not run into Zhao Changting.
After paying respects, Old Madam kept her and Zhao Jingzhi for breakfast. Matron Li was also absent this morning, so the three enjoyed a relaxed and comfortable meal, except for… Old Madam glancing at her several times with a smile.
Zhuang Hui knew the reason, so she simply lowered her head, feigning shyness.
Zhao Jingzhi, however, remained unaware. After noticing it a few times, she curiously asked, “Grandmother, why do you keep looking at Sister Hui?” She turned to Zhuang Hui. “Sister Hui doesn’t look any different today!”
Old Madam chuckled. “Don’t you think your Sister Hui looks even prettier today?”
Zhao Jingzhi shook her head. “Sister Hui is pretty every day!”
“Yes, yes, your Sister Hui is pretty every day!” Old Madam laughed heartily but said no more. The matchmaking had not yet been finalized, and her granddaughter was still young—it was better not to tell her.
After breakfast, since Fushou Hall was to receive Madam Pei and her son Pei Zizhao, Zhuang Hui and Zhao Jingzhi moved their etiquette lessons to Zhao Jingzhi’s Songtao Courtyard for the day. Matron Li had already gone ahead to wait.
This arrangement was also to facilitate Zhuang Hui’s meeting with Pei Zizhao later. The two courtyards were close by, so someone could simply call for Zhuang Hui when the time came. She could then pretend to be heading to Fushou Hall, passing by the entrance and incidentally meeting Pei Zizhao.
Since the elders had arranged everything, Zhuang Hui did not worry and calmly followed Zhao Jingzhi.
As the morning lesson neared its end, around a quarter past nine, Yingtáo, who had stayed at Fushou Hall to await news, received instructions and hurried to the nearby Songtao Courtyard.
Matron Li, having received Old Madam’s instructions earlier, generously dismissed her.
Even Zhao Jingzhi, eager to skip the lesson and tag along, was allowed to leave since it was almost time for class to end.
Although she could only steal less than half an hour of leisure, Zhao Jingzhi was still delighted. Once outside the courtyard and out of Matron Li’s sight, she cast aside all thoughts of etiquette and rules, clinging to Zhuang Hui’s arm. “Sister Hui, what guests have come to Grandmother’s place? Why do you need to go pay your respects specially?”
Without waiting for Zhuang Hui’s reply, she immediately added cheerfully, “But this is wonderful! If Grandmother had guests every day, we could finish class early every day!”
Since she was talking to herself and didn’t need an answer, Zhuang Hui quietly glanced at Yingtáo.
Yingtáo’s face was beaming with a smile, and she nodded emphatically.
This was something the two had agreed upon the night before. Since Zhuang Hui couldn’t see Pei Zizhao firsthand, she had asked Yingtáo to observe for her. Yingtáo’s reaction confirmed that Pei Zizhao was indeed handsome and seemed like a good person.
Feeling reassured, Zhuang Hui walked forward at a leisurely pace.
…
Now, as for Zhao Changting, today he happened to have no social engagements. After paying his respects to Old Madam, he returned to his residence for breakfast, then spent some time reviewing the materials prepared by his uncle’s advisors. When his eyes grew tired, he stood up and left the courtyard.
With nothing else to do today, he decided to visit Fushou Hall to check on his sister’s studies and have a chat with his grandmother.
Originally, he had intended to speak with her during the morning greetings, but Old Madam had said she was busy earlier, so he hadn’t had the chance to bring it up.
Zhao Changting’s residence, Jingyuan, was quite a distance from Fushou Hall. Since he had left a bit late, he worried that his sister’s morning lessons might end before he arrived, and he wouldn’t be able to observe her attitude during her studies. So, he took a shortcut.
Just as Fushou Hall came into view, Zhao Changting, being a martial artist with keen senses, heard a man’s voice not far away, seemingly mentioning something about a “marquis’s daughter.”
In the rear courtyard of a respectable household, aside from the male head of the family, there should be no other men present.
And when it came to a marquis’s daughter, Zhao Changting immediately and naturally thought of Zhao Jingzhi.
The realization that an outsider was discussing his sister made his expression darken instantly, and he lightened his footsteps.
As he drew closer, the man’s voice grew clearer—it was two men speaking, one likely the master and the other a servant.
When he was close enough, Zhao Changting stopped and heard the one who seemed to be the servant say, “Though she’s not a legitimate marquis’s daughter, I’ve heard Marquis Changping is very fond of her mother and treats her like his own. Plus, they say she’s exceptionally beautiful.”
The other, presumably the master, replied, “You know it’s ‘like’—‘like’ means she isn’t!”
“Even if she were truly his own, her mother is different. She doesn’t have a legitimate elder brother who’s the heir, nor an uncle who’s a duke and a great general. With only a marquis as her father, how could she compare to the other one?”
“As for beauty, that’s the least important thing. Would a true marquis’s daughter be ugly?”
“Even if she were truly ugly, it’s not like I’d have to sleep with her every day. I could have concubines and maids at home. If she turned out to be a shrew and forbade it, I could always find pleasure elsewhere. Would I lack beautiful companions?”
“What a pity, though. I’ve heard the real marquis’s daughter is only eleven. Even if I could hold off for now…” Before Pei Zizhao could finish his sentence, he widened his eyes in terror as a row of greenery beside him was violently kicked aside, changing his tone abruptly. “Who… who are you?!”
Zhao Changting was already furious, unwilling to engage with him or even ask his name. After uttering such vile and disrespectful words, it didn’t matter who he was—he wouldn’t escape a beating!
First came a punch, then a kick, sending Pei Zizhao flying and crashing to the ground.
Even if he tried to fight back, his sporadic and superficial martial arts training was no match for Zhao Changting, who had spent seven years in real battles on the battlefield. Fighting back was out of the question—he couldn’t even escape.
Pei Zizhao quickly realized this and gave up on fighting, turning to flee instead.
This only infuriated Zhao Changting further, who delivered another powerful kick.
With a sharp cry of pain, Pei Zizhao fell forward, face-first into the dirt. His leg had been broken by Zhao Changting’s kick, leaving him writhing on the ground in agony.
Pei’s servant, who had been stunned into silence, finally snapped out of it and began running toward Fushou Hall, shouting at the top of his lungs, “Murder! Murder! Help!!”
In fact, not only was the Pei family servant frightened out of his wits, but Zhuang Hui and Zhao Jingzhi, who happened to witness this scene, were also terrified.
Oh, and Yingtáo and Zhao Jingzhi’s maid as well—the four young girls were so scared that they grabbed each other’s hands tightly, one after another, wishing they could squeeze together into a single person.
It was too frightening, the heir was too frightening—was he really going to kill someone?
“Hui… Hui sister, wh-why is my… my big brother h-hitting… hitting that person?” Zhao Jingzhi trembled all over, unable to form a complete sentence.
By the time they arrived, Zhao Changting was already beating Pei Zizhao, so they hadn’t heard what Pei Zizhao had said.
But Zhuang Hui could roughly guess—it must have been something Pei Zizhao said or did. Otherwise, no matter how twisted Zhao Changting was, he wouldn’t do something like this in public just because she was meeting Pei Zizhao for a potential match.
Seeing Zhao Jingzhi so terrified, Zhuang Hui, though also frightened, forced herself to stay calm.
“Don’t be afraid, A Zhi. The heir is hitting him… surely because he deserves it.” To prevent Zhao Jingzhi from fearing her own brother in the future, Zhuang Hui hugged her tightly, doing her best to comfort her. “The heir wouldn’t hit him for no reason. He must have done something excessive or said something extremely offensive. It must be so.”
The four girls huddled closely together. As the one with the most mature mindset, Zhuang Hui felt responsible for comforting them—and she had to, because they were all members of the Zhao family and would have to interact with Zhao Changting in the future.
If this left them with psychological scars, what would become of them later?
Zhao Jingzhi was the first to believe Zhuang Hui’s words. After all, he was her own brother. Even though she had harbored some resentment toward Zhao Changting these past two days, in her heart, her big brother was still a very, very good person.
She forced herself to steady her voice and said, “Right, it must be so. Big brother is hitting him because he deserves it!”
Yingtáo chimed in, “Yes, yes, yes, it must be so!”
But with the heir beating him like this, would her young lady still need to meet with Heir Pei for the match?
Did Heir Pei really deserve to be beaten?
He looked so handsome—she had thought he and her young lady might make a good match.
Though the three girls spoke softly, Zhao Changting still heard them, as they weren’t far away.
Ignoring Pei Zizhao, who was now lying on the ground wailing, he turned and looked over expressionlessly.
The four girls noticed his gaze and immediately shrank closer together, like quails.
Originally, because of Pei Zizhao’s words, Zhao Changting had felt some resentment toward Zhuang Hui and Zhuang Mingxiang. After all their careful selection, how could their judgment be so poor as to pick such trash, even implicating A Zhi in being insulted behind her back?
But seeing how Zhuang Hui, despite her own fear, had trembled while comforting Zhao Jingzhi and even defended him, he felt it wasn’t right to blame her or her mother. After all, they weren’t the ones at fault.
Zhao Changting withdrew his gaze and turned to face the Old Madam, Zhuang Mingxiang, and an unfamiliar woman who had hurried out from Fushou Hall.
“Zhao’er! Zhao’er! What happened to you?” Madam Pei, seeing her son lying on the ground wailing, rushed forward to help him up. “Did… did someone hit you?!”
Pei Zizhao’s leg had been broken by Zhao Changting’s kick, so of course he couldn’t get up. He pushed Madam Pei’s hand away and cried, “Mother, I can’t get up. My leg… my leg seems to be broken…”
“What?!” Madam Pei couldn’t believe it. Furious, she turned to glare at the Old Madam and the others.
Even with the Old Madam’s extensive experience, her heart couldn’t help but tremble at this moment. What had her Ting Ge’er done? Without waiting for Madam Pei to speak, she hurriedly asked, “Ting Ge’er, what is going on here?”
Zhao Changting’s expression remained calm, showing no trace of panic. “Grandmother, this man was uttering foul and vulgar words in our home. I couldn’t bear to listen and taught him a lesson.”
Foul and vulgar words?
What kind of foul and vulgar words? The Old Madam was somewhat bewildered.
Madam Pei, however, was furious. No matter how much the Zhongqin Earl’s household had declined compared to the Changping Marquisate, Pei Zizhao was her son. For Zhao Changting to beat someone over such a ridiculous reason was simply showing no regard for the Zhongqin Earl’s household!
“Foul and vulgar words?” she said coldly. “What exactly did my son say that could provoke such great anger from Young Master Zhao, to the point of breaking my son’s leg?!”
Indeed, Madam Pei did not believe Zhao Changting’s words at all.
Although Pei Zizhao was not her biological son, she had raised him herself, so she knew very well that even if he occasionally acted recklessly in private, he would never dare to go too far in formal settings, let alone utter any foul and vulgar words.
Zhao Changting ignored Madam Pei and only addressed the Old Madam. “Grandmother, those words are truly unspeakable. I cannot bring myself to repeat them.”
Madam Pei immediately retorted, “Cannot repeat them? I think it’s because my son said nothing, and you can’t fabricate anything!”
She did not believe that Pei Zizhao would dare to say anything inappropriate. Even if he had said something slightly improper, since Zhao Changting claimed he couldn’t repeat it, they should not admit to it. Otherwise, wouldn’t they not only suffer a beating but also ruin their reputation?
She turned and discreetly signaled Pei Zizhao with a glance.
Pei Zizhao immediately understood and flatly denied, “I didn’t say any foul or vulgar words! Mother, I really didn’t. I just didn’t greet Young Master Zhao proactively when I saw him, and he, he just…”
Zhao Changting shot him a cold glance, and Pei Zizhao felt a sharp pain in his leg, immediately falling silent and not daring to say another word.
Madam Pei, however, was undeterred. She addressed the Old Madam and Zhuang Mingxiang, saying, “Old Madam, Madam Marquis, you must give me an explanation for this matter. My son and I came as guests in good faith—there is no reason for us to suffer such a beating!”
With the Old Madam present, Zhuang Mingxiang could not speak easily, and she also did not believe that Zhao Changting would beat someone without cause.
The Old Madam didn’t believe it either, so she looked at Zhao Changting. “Ting Ge’er, just say it outright.”
Zhao Changting truly did not want to repeat words that would damage his sister’s reputation, especially in front of outsiders. But if he didn’t say anything now, it would only allow Pei Zizhao, that petty man, to succeed in denying the matter.
He wasn’t afraid of taking responsibility, but he refused to let his elders apologize to Pei Zizhao—he didn’t deserve it!
Frowning in thought, Zhao Changting suddenly turned and pointed to Zhuang Hui and the others, who had already walked not far away, speaking with absolute certainty. “Grandmother, they were nearby earlier and should have heard it too.”
“Huh?” Zhao Jingzhi was so shocked that her eyes widened into perfect circles. What had she heard?
She hadn’t heard anything at all!
Zhuang Hui was also surprised. Was Zhao Changting asking them to give false testimony?
She looked up and realized that Zhao Changting’s gaze was fixed directly on her alone.
She quickly averted her eyes, only to meet the gazes of the Old Madam, Zhuang Mingxiang, and Madam Pei in turn—they were all looking only at her.
Zhuang Hui: “…”
Indeed, although Yingtáo was the oldest among the four of them, only she and Zhao Jingzhi were the masters.
And it was clear that Zhao Jingzhi was still a young girl, while she was already a young lady. It was only right for her to answer.
She turned her gaze back and glanced at Zhao Changting.
Zhao Changting was still looking at her, his expression calm, his eyes equally composed, as if certain she would speak in his favor.
Indeed, she would side with him—not only because she believed he wouldn’t act recklessly, but also because he represented the Zhao family.
Though she hadn’t taken the Zhao surname, she was now a member of the Zhao household.
With Old Madam and her mother both asking if she had heard, Zhuang Hui finally looked at Pei Zizhao. His face was so beaten that it no longer showed how handsome he once was, and now he was glaring at her too.
Seeing the anger in his eyes, Zhuang Hui couldn’t help but find it ridiculous. She hadn’t offended him—why was he directing his fury at her?
So she retorted angrily, “Yes, I heard him, and what he said was truly vile! Grandmother, Mother, you can imagine it yourselves—it was really too awful. As a young woman, I simply cannot repeat it!”