Dinner was served in the dining hall, the Yan family’s usual place for meals. Though not large, it was arranged warmly and comfortably, giving one a sense of homey ease the moment they sat down.
When Yan Changfeng entered, everyone was already seated. Mother and Father occupied the upper seats, with the Prince of Shu next in line. It was clear at a glance that seating was arranged not by status but by seniority.
In terms of seniority, Grand Princess Taihe and the Late Emperor were siblings born of the same mother, making Lady Yao and His Majesty cousins. Thus, the Prince of Shu had to address Lady Yao as his aunt.
However, blood ties aside, upon closer examination, Lady Yao, as a married woman of a different generation, could no longer be considered a member of the imperial family, and her status was vastly different. That day, when Yan Changfeng had deceived the blind Daoist by claiming Yan Changying was a relative of the imperial family, it was not entirely appropriate.
This showed how well the Prince of Shu handled people.
“Xueyi, Changqing, come take your seats quickly,” Lady Yao said with a smile. “Today is a family gathering, so there’s no need for formalities.”
Yan Changfeng knew her mother all too well—she was the most particular about etiquette. Her politeness in front of the Prince of Shu was merely a gesture, not an actual invitation to abandon formalities.
She racked her brains, dredging up the etiquette lessons drilled into her by the instructing matron from the depths of her memory. Awkwardly but with reasonable accuracy, she performed a curtsy for the Prince of Shu. “Greetings, Your Highness, Second Young Master Pei.”
Perhaps there was something off about her curtsy, as everyone present showed varying degrees of facial twitching.
Her father, in particular, laughed without restraint and even exposed her shortcomings: “I never thought I’d live to see the day my second daughter performed a maiden’s curtsy. I thought you’d returned all the etiquette you learned as a child to the instructing matron. It seems you’ve retained a bit after all—rare indeed.”
Beside him, Lady Yao shot him a glare.
What kind of father belittled his own daughter like that? Instead of helping smooth things over, he seemed determined to let everyone know she lacked proper manners.
Yan Chuanxing, however, smiled good-naturedly at his wife. He had always believed it was fine for young women to retain their natural disposition and saw no need to constrain everyone with rigid rules.
On this point, though, the couple had never reached a consensus. Their exchanged glances carried a silent argument that no one else could decipher.
Sheng Mingyu, observing this, smiled and smoothed things over: “Second Sister, please don’t stand on ceremony. Both Jiqing and I dislike formalities. When we studied together as children, we often annoyed our tutors with our disregard for rules. Now that we’ve finally escaped that rigid environment, we’d much rather relax.”
Yan Changfeng found this odd. The Prince of Shu seemed somewhat unrestrained, but Pei Er appeared well-behaved and proper—how could he have been scolded as well?
She took her seat in order, ending up right beside Pei Er. As she sat down, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. His posture was proper, his movements elegant—exactly the kind of noble young master her mother often praised. There was no hint of rule-breaking about him.
On the other side, Yan Changqing voiced the question in his second sister’s mind: “So even princes and noble young masters get scolded by their tutors?”
“Is there a tutor in this world who doesn’t scold? Even the emperor’s tutors often reprimand him,” Sheng Mingyu said with a laugh. “But some do play favorites. When Jiqing and I made mistakes together, the tutor wouldn’t scold me directly. Instead, he’d aim his reprimands at Jiqing, criticizing both of us indirectly. Yet Jiqing has such a likable face and poor health that the tutor would lose his temper after just a few words. After that, we grew even more brazen.”
Yan Changfeng’s lips twitched. She truly hadn’t expected to find kindred spirits in the world.
Coincidentally, she and her Eldest Sister were exactly like that. When she was young, mischievous and fond of play, she would even drag Eldest Sister along. Whenever their tutor or Mother discovered them, Eldest Sister would take the blame upon herself. The family could never stay angry with Eldest Sister for long—a few words of reprimand and the matter would be dropped. But Father had sharp eyes; nothing could escape his notice. In private, he would often give her a stern talking-to.
"Really? I can hardly believe that Young Master Pei was fond of play in his childhood?" Lady Yao’s gaze lingered on Pei Xiu. On one hand, as Yan Changfeng had guessed, she admired such a child. On the other, she hoped to glean some insight into the Pei family’s upbringing from the second son, Pei Er, to infer what kind of person Pei Yu might be.
Pei Xiu showed no hesitation in downplaying himself. "I’m afraid I must disappoint you, Aunt. Among the brothers in my family, I am the least ambitious."
Lady Yao, however, didn’t take his words at face value. The imperial family had many descendants—the Prince of Shu was numbered among the dozens, so it was normal for some to go unnoticed. But the Pei family had only four sons. How could the second son be allowed to idle away his time? "You must be modest. I imagine it’s because of your frail health and lack of energy, and your father couldn’t bear to be too strict with you."
Pei Xiu lowered his gaze with a faint smile, as if tacitly agreeing.
Seeing his reluctance to elaborate, Lady Yao grew uneasy. Could it be that the Duke of Song was truly neglectful in disciplining his children?
That would not be good. Children from prominent families, raised in luxury from a young age, could easily become complacent and unambitious. If left undisciplined, what would become of them?
Yet, from his tone, it seemed the other brothers in the family were doing reasonably well. Pei Yu, as the eldest legitimate son, would naturally receive special attention from the family. He should be… acceptable, right?
While Lady Yao was lost in speculation, Yan Changfeng had already seen through the situation clearly. The Duke of Song likely paid little attention to Pei Er.
Her judgment was based on observations from the Zhang family. Master Zhang kept a house full of concubines, and the number of his offspring rivaled that of the Emperor. With so many children, it was inevitable to favor some over others. Those with poor aptitude or lack of ambition were naturally neglected, left to their own devices to grow into useless wastrels.
The Prince of Shu was likely such a case. Since Pei Er had grown up mingling with him, he probably shared a similar fate.
However, while the Prince of Shu was a wastrel with no ambition, Pei Er appeared well-mannered and proper. It was likely his health that held him back. Thinking of it this way, it was rather pitiable.
Yan Changfeng had a soft spot for the vulnerable. Noticing that Pei Er barely touched his food at the table, she guessed he might be overly cautious even at home. Overwhelmed with compassion, she treated him like a younger brother, ladling soup and serving dishes for him. Throughout the meal, she kept his bowl filled to the brim.
Pei Er did not refuse her gestures, eating whatever was given and offering grateful smiles in return. His smile was remarkably pleasant, like a gentle spring breeze or the warm winter sun—neither overly familiar nor deliberately distant in a manner befitting the propriety between men and women. It was simply perfect.
After the meal, Lady Yao busied herself with settling the two distinguished guests, while Yan Changfeng was pulled aside by Father into the courtyard for a private talk.
"I haven’t had a chance to speak with your mother since I arrived. She mentioned earlier that your Eldest Sister is ill and unable to receive guests. What illness could be so severe?"
Yan Changfeng had planned to take Father to see Eldest Sister after the meal. "Come with me, and you’ll understand."
Leading Father to Eldest Sister’s courtyard, she briefly explained the situation before they entered. "Father, Eldest Sister is not doing well. Please be prepared."
Yan Chuanxing felt his soul shaken to the core after hearing just the beginning. Having narrowly escaped death and returned home trembling with fear, he had thought he would find peace once home—only to discover an even greater upheaval waiting for him!
"How could this happen!"
Even someone as worldly-wise as Yan Chuanxing could only utter such a futile question upon hearing such a bizarre and tragic news.
Yan Changfeng, however, had already moved past the shock and anxiety, focusing instead on what to do next. She comforted her father, "Father, let's treat this as Eldest Sister's tribulation, as our entire family's tribulation. Now that we've already weathered half of it, the clouds will surely part eventually."
But her optimistic outlook lasted less than a moment before being slapped back by Eldest Sister's piercing screams.
With a stern expression, she strode into the courtyard and asked the Wet Nurse, who stood helplessly at the doorway, "Why is she screaming again?"
In recent days, Yan Changying's condition had been relatively stable. Aside from being listless and occasionally weeping silently, she had mostly stopped shouting and screaming.
Sweat and worry etched on her face, the Wet Nurse hurried over and clung to Second Miss like a lifeline. "Second Miss, this time it's my fault for not keeping an eye on the maids below. I dozed off in the afternoon and left two maids guarding the door. Who knew those idle, gossipy girls would start chattering about the two distinguished guests in the mansion!"
Yan Changfeng understood immediately—it was Pei Er who had caused this.
"How long has she been screaming?"
The Wet Nurse replied, "For quite a while now. She's been crying and screaming intermittently, and sometimes she even says… says…" Her voice dropped to a whisper, as if afraid of being overheard, "She says, 'Second Uncle, Second Uncle, don't come, don't come…'"
A shadow of fury instantly darkened Yan Changfeng's face.
"Uncle" was how an elder sister-in-law addressed her husband's younger brother, so "Second Uncle" naturally referred to Pei Er. In prominent families, there were strict taboos between sisters-in-law and younger brothers-in-law. Eldest Sister was definitely not the type to provoke her brother-in-law on her own—it must have been Pei Er who had provoked her.
And it couldn't have been an ordinary provocation, or Eldest Sister wouldn't have reacted so violently.
She couldn't help but think of Pei Er's disarmingly gentle face, then recall the men who had tried to assault Eldest Sister, piecing together a horrifying possibility in her mind.
What a refined and elegant invalid! She had thought the Pei family had at least one decent person, but it turned out he was nothing but a hypocrite in gentleman's clothing!