Pei Jingnian’s courtesy name was Chengyuan.
Seeing Madam Wang looking unwell, Pei Jingnian hurried to her couch and asked anxiously, “Mother, if you’re feeling ill, why haven’t you summoned the estate physician?”
Turning to Shiliu, he ordered, “Go at once!”
Only twenty-two this year, he possessed sharp brows, bright eyes, and strikingly handsome features. A jade crown adorned his head, and his clear, glass-like eyes gave him the refined bearing of an immortal descended to the mortal world. Yet now, his elegant brows were tightly knit with worry.
Having been scolded by the heir, Shiliu stood there at a loss. Madam Wang quickly grasped Pei Jingnian’s hand and sighed.
“My son, don’t worry. It’s only my old ailment. Even if the physician comes, he’ll prescribe the same medicine as always. There’s nothing new he can do. I’ll rest tonight, and I’ll be fine tomorrow.”
Still unconvinced, Pei Jingnian was about to persuade her further when Madam Wang continued,
“If you ask what illness I have, it’s an illness of the heart. You still have no heir beneath your roof. As your mother, I worry myself sick over it.”
Hearing that, Pei Jingnian sighed inwardly.
Ever since his marriage, the topic of children had never stopped being discussed. Recently, it had reached the point where someone mentioned it almost every single day.
Even he had begun to feel powerless about it.
Affairs at the Ministry of Personnel were already exhausting enough, yet returning home somehow gave him an even greater headache.
Madam Wang discreetly studied her son’s expression. Seeing no obvious resistance, she cautiously continued.
“The Crown Princess Consort has found a family-born maid from her maiden household and wishes to present her to you as a concubine. I think it’s a good idea. What do you think?”
Pei Jingnian was slightly surprised.
Yet somehow, it was also exactly what he had expected.
Seeing that he remained silent, Madam Wang assumed he was unwilling. After all, she knew her son well—he had never been a man obsessed with women.
“Chengyuan, your Third Uncle’s fifth son already has a child. Yet you’ve been married for three years and still have no offspring. What will people think of you?”
Although Pei Jingnian was the eldest son of the main branch, he ranked third among his generation of cousins.
Over the years, not only had his older cousins all become fathers—even his Fifth Cousin, who had married only last year, already had a newborn child.
No one knew a son better than his mother.
She knew exactly which words would strike his heart.
Even someone as aloof and ethereal as Pei Jingnian couldn’t help but stiffen.
His legal wife suffered from a cold womb, while both of his bedchamber attendants had ruined their health. Those were unchangeable facts—but they were also matters concerning the dignity of the Marquis Jingyuan’s household and could never be made public.
To outsiders, he had a wife and concubines, yet still no children.
Given enough time, people would inevitably begin to suspect there was something wrong with him.
Seeing him waver, Madam Wang pressed her advantage.
“Even if Wanrou hadn’t suggested taking another concubine for you, I would have arranged it myself. Since she’s willing, I’ll simply let things follow their course. It seems she’s sincerely trying to change for the better. Once your child is born, even if the child is born of a concubine, we’ll raise him as though he were the legitimate heir. At least no one will laugh at our branch of the family for lacking descendants.”
By then, Pei Jingnian felt as though he were the one developing a headache.
After a long silence, he finally replied,
“I’ll leave everything to Mother’s judgment.”
Only after hearing his agreement did Madam Wang smile. Her headache seemed to disappear instantly, and she instructed Nanny Liu to have the kitchen serve dinner immediately.
Despite the table being filled with exquisite dishes, Pei Jingnian had no appetite.
After eating only a few bites, he left Fuxi Hall.
No sooner had he stepped through the gates than he noticed a graceful figure in the distance.
Her slender silhouette swayed elegantly like a quiet white magnolia blooming in the moonlight.
For a brief moment, he was dazed.
Only after thinking for a while did he remember.
This must be the cousin who had arrived from Yangzhou not long ago.
Walking up to him, Shen Yunshuang stopped and gave him a graceful curtsy.
“Greetings, Cousin.”
“No need for such formalities.”
This was the first time Pei Jingnian had ever met Shen Yunshuang.
He couldn’t help but look at her carefully.
She wore a moon-white ruqun beneath a translucent smoky-green gauze outer robe that floated around her like mist.
When he told her to rise, she lifted her eyes, revealing a delicate face as fair and flawless as white jade.
Pei Jingnian froze ever so slightly.
A line of poetry surfaced involuntarily in his mind.
A face fairer than powder and paint, like a jade cup raised beneath an emerald sky.
“Were you just having dinner with Aunt?” Shen Yunshuang asked softly, meeting his gaze with gentle, watery eyes.
Pei Jingnian came back to himself and answered.
Noticing her slender frame and frail, willow-like appearance, as though she were still recovering from illness, he asked with concern,
“Have you recovered?”
Shen Yunshuang smiled with perfect composure.
“I’m much better now. Thank you for your concern, Cousin.”
When she lowered her eyes with that gentle smile, her already exquisite features became all the more radiant.
For some inexplicable reason, something stirred within Pei Jingnian’s heart.
Unwilling to continue the conversation, he simply said,
“Good. Go accompany Mother. If there’s anything you need, just tell Wanrou.”
Before he had even finished speaking, he turned to leave.
As his wide sleeve brushed past, it accidentally struck the bundle of Buddhist scriptures Green Rui was carrying.
Written on fine xuan paper, the scriptures were light as feathers.
They floated gently to the ground, unfolding to reveal elegant, graceful calligraphy whose flowing strokes seemed almost to carry a subtle fragrance.
“Green Rui!”
Shen Yunshuang frowned slightly.
“How could you be so careless before the Heir?”
Startled, Green Rui immediately knelt to apologize.
“It’s nothing.”
Knowing it wasn’t the maid’s fault, Pei Jingnian waved dismissively before bending down to pick up the scriptures himself.
Just as his fingertips touched the delicate paper, a faint, indescribable fragrance filled his senses.
Shen Yunshuang had bent down at the same time.
Their fingertips brushed together.
The touch felt strangely hot.
Shen Yunshuang immediately withdrew her hand.
When Pei Jingnian returned the scriptures to her, he noticed that her cheeks had flushed pink like peach blossoms in spring.
For a fleeting instant, his heart became unsettled.
Almost instinctively, he looked away.
He no longer had any desire to admire the beautiful handwriting that had impressed him only moments ago.
Without saying another word, he hurried away.
Watching his noticeably quicker retreating figure, Shen Yunshuang slowly curved her lips into a smile.
Pei Jingnian had always been cold and detached.
In her previous life, she had been so inferior before him that she had never even dared approach him.
But after living through another lifetime, she had learned to master every one of her emotions.
She also understood far more about the hearts of men and women.
To her, it didn’t matter how lofty or untouchable he seemed.
As long as he was a man, he still possessed the most primitive instincts of love… and desire.
Madam Wang had not expected Shen Yunshuang to visit so late in the evening.
“Aunt,” Shen Yunshuang said gently, “I thought that since these Buddhist scriptures will be placed upon the altar, they must be copied with the utmost care and without the slightest mistake. So I prepared several versions in different styles of calligraphy. Please choose whichever one you prefer.”
Looking at the lovely young woman before her, Madam Wang found herself liking her more and more.
Smiling, she accepted the scrolls.
“You truly are a thoughtful child.”
While Madam Wang examined the scriptures, Shen Yunshuang casually mentioned,
“Earlier outside, I happened to meet Cousin. He seemed to be in rather low spirits.”
The real reason Shen Yunshuang had come to Fuxi Hall so late was precisely to run into Pei Jingnian.
As for saying he seemed unhappy, that was merely an excuse she had improvised.
After all, Pei Jingnian almost always wore the same cold expression.
He rarely looked pleased.
The tiny flicker of fluster he had revealed when she came close was so subtle that only someone observing him carefully—and someone who understood him well—could have noticed it.
Hearing this, Madam Wang brought up the conversation they had just had.
Yunshuang was her own beloved niece, not an outsider.
Besides, having her around gave Madam Wang someone to talk to, someone who could ease the frustration weighing on her heart.
“I don’t know exactly what upset him. But at least he finally agreed. For that alone, I can only thank Heaven.”