Being difficult. Then say that you are fond of me.
When Pei Ji hurried to the east wing, He Zhile was already there.
Yet the other person didn’t even spare him a single glance, acting as though he didn’t exist at all. Pei Ji couldn’t help growing anxious. Could it be that mother had been saying something else to the little mute again?
“Mother, what is the matter?” Pei Ji asked briskly, immediately seating himself right beside He Zhile. His deep eyes fixed intently on him, a trace of unperceived tension still flashing in their depths. “Did you not see me there?”
He Zhile’s body stiffened slightly. He slowly turned his body to face him, gave him a gentle nod of acknowledgment, and nothing more.
Ever since marrying into the Pei residence, he had always been like this.
Pei Ji knew that his changes had begun from the moment he was reborn and started trying to mend their relationship. No one else could perceive He Zhile’s emotions better than he could, so this sudden shift into such a resistant stance toward him…
“Did you speak ill of me to him?” Pei Ji immediately targeted Qin Yurong.
Unable to endure it a moment longer, Qin Yurong hurled a fruit right at him from where she sat, her wealthy and gentle face carrying a look of simmering anger. “Pei Yunzhou! Be serious for once!”
Pei Ji nimbly caught the fruit, stuffed it into He Zhile’s palm, and knitted his brows as he spat out a single word: “Speak.”
Such a cold, distant monosyllable.
It even made He Zhile, sitting right beside him, shudder. How could he speak to his mother in such a manner?
“There is an invitation from the palace. In a couple of days, there will be a flower-viewing banquet, and I intend to take your Zhengjun along.” Qin Yurong was already accustomed to his infuriating ways and could take it in stride. With a pointed tone, she continued, “Originally, I had no desire to take him into the palace, especially considering what happened before, but the Empress sent the invitation and specifically named him as well. I figured it would be improper for him to only bring Chun Jian along.”
Pei Ji understood instantly. He nodded. “People will be sent over by this afternoon.”
Qin Yurong said, “That is for the best. With a few more maidservants to accompany him, even if something urgent happens, there will be someone to look after him.”
These words didn’t give him an ounce of face, blatantly using the previous incident to put him in the wrong.
In an instant, Pei Ji felt the chair beneath him grow prickly and uncomfortable, yet he maintained his posture, acting as though he weren’t fazed in the least.
Whatever Pei Ji had done in the past, what did it have to do with the Pei Ji of the present?
“Even though your body will be restricted within the palace, you must still learn how to protect yourself. Once the flower-viewing banquet concludes, you will come under my strict guidance.” Qin Yurong said softly.
Naturally, she wasn’t looking to set up harsh rules for He Zhile, but she knew his biological mother had passed away early, and his stepmother was accustomed to keeping up superficial appearances, making it impossible for him to have been taught proper ways.
Now, naturally, it fell to her to teach him.
Putting aside everything else, knowing how to deal with those people in the palace was the most crucial thing to learn. Afterward, when encountering madams from other noble houses, he would need to know what to say, lest he inevitably find himself bullied by others.
Of course, given the Pei family’s standing today, those madams certainly wouldn’t dare utter anything untoward, but those of similar age were bound to be the most troublesome to deal with.
Knowing that his mother-in-law was looking out for his best interests, He Zhile nodded obediently, even breaking into a light, dazzling smile that made Pei Ji burn with sour jealousy.
Qin Yurong said nothing more. The reason she had called Pei Ji over as well was because she hoped He Zhile wouldn’t feel nervous, and also because she wanted Pei Ji to know about their outing beforehand, saving herself from him making a scene later.
As soon as the two returned to the Qing Courtyard, Pei Ji impatiently shoved him onto the daybed.
The Qing Courtyard was small, and the furnishings inside were equally compact. With the daybed being even narrower than a proper bed frame, He Zhile was forced down and immediately occupied the entire space.
Pei Ji propped himself up with both arms on either side of him, his sharp gaze fixed on him in intense scrutiny. The person beneath him lowered his gaze, refusing to look at him, even turning his noble head slightly aside. With both hands placed across his chest, his entire body radiated resistance.
“Did I do something to upset you?” Pei Ji asked in a deep voice.
Although he didn’t feel that way himself, the little mute’s expression was written with it as plain as day.
Of course he knew that no matter what he did, the little mute would never truly be angry with him, but feelings of vexation and discontent were real. Even if there was only the slightest hint of it, he wouldn’t allow him to bear it alone.
Besides, he truly hadn’t known.
He Zhile’s eyelashes trembled slightly. He wanted to raise his head to look at Pei Ji’s expression, but remembering something, he hesitated and refrained from doing so.
To Pei Ji, perhaps he wasn’t as important as he imagined. He had misunderstood Pei Ji’s intentions; the other man was merely treating him with the baseline courtesy due to a Zhengjun, not because he actually liked him.
The one who had overstepped was himself.
[Not at all. My state of mind has simply been poor, and I have caused you trouble.]
It was a rare thing for him to actually speak up without being forced, but what he said was so exasperatingly ambiguous that it truly felt worse than saying nothing at all.
Yet Pei Ji always had ways of dealing with him.
“Poor state of mind?” He let out a cold laugh, his gaze gradually growing darker as harsh words spilled from his lips. “Then it must be the servants of the Qing Courtyard who displeased you. Venting your anger is simple enough. Yuan Rong! Drag all the servants of the Qing Courtyard out and give them fifty board beatings! As for those who love gossiping day in and day out, cut out their tongues and sell them off!”
“Understood!” Yuan Rong acknowledged briskly.
The servants of the Qing Courtyard naturally included both him and Chun Jian, but he understood his own master well enough to know that shouting such things so abruptly meant there was definitely more to it.
“Ah!” He Zhile hurriedly sat up halfway to wrap his arms around Pei Ji’s arm. His face flushed red, and his mouth opened and closed in frantic urgency without managing to utter a single word.
Yet every single action and expression begged Pei Ji not to do such a thing.
These were things said in anger; others shouldn’t have to bear the consequences.
Pei Ji lowered his gaze to look at him, those dark, heavy eyes seeming ready to brew a storm at any second, roaring with the intent to sweep He Zhile up in it while simultaneously making sure not to harm him in the slightest.
“Then why didn’t you speak properly when I asked you nicely? You should know how much I care about you; why must you torture me like this?” Pei Ji’s voice was light and soft, sounding half like a genuine question and half like an expression of dissatisfaction.
[I am sorry.]
He Zhile apologized without sound.
Aside from that, there was no other way.
He couldn’t just puncture Pei Ji’s lies directly; this so-called care was merely driven by ulterior motives.
Even though he had anticipated it long ago, actually hearing it land in his ears still made a wave of sadness wash over him.
Call him foolish if they liked, but he had never dared to expect Pei Ji to genuinely like him. Just as he had wholeheartedly favored the man, he had never even dared to dream of marrying him, let alone entertain such thoughts now.
Yet he never expected the man to be harboring thoughts of utilizing him instead.
Well, of course. Otherwise, there was no way to explain why the man was suddenly treating him so well.
“Fourth Young Master, our young master just went over to the Third Young Master’s courtyard to look for you!” Chun Jian, growing anxious while waiting outside, knew that the ins and outs of this matter were difficult to explain clearly, so he simply craned his neck against the door crack and shouted inside.
He had heard those words loud and clear as well. At the time, burning with fury, he had been ready to spirit his young master away, but his young master simply couldn’t run off.
Pei Ji froze in place. Once it clicked, he burst into hearty laughter, then lowered his head to look at the still-dazed He Zhile. He said helplessly, “I was the one who made you misunderstand. I have no intention of using you; I was simply too lazy to explain things to Third Brother, since he is always spouting nonsense.”
He Zhile nodded gently, looking at him and then outward, as though silently pleading to call off the punishment for the others.
“I refuse to hear you say things like feeling displeased. When you are unhappy, you should come to me, and if you have questions, you should ask me, instead of sitting there silently hurting your own heart.” Pei Ji refused to relent for a long time, his attitude exceptionally firm, determined to hear the man speak aloud.
[I understand. I am sorry, please let them off.]
When facing Pei Ji, He Zhile was left with only room to retreat; no matter what the man said, he would simply nod with unthinking obedience.
Pei Ji feared this side of him the most. Seemingly obedient and sensible, yet secretly harboring a mountain of thoughts. Otherwise, in his past life, when he had been hurt to that extent by him, he wouldn’t have risked everything for the Pei family just to strike that damned grievance drum.
“I will let them off, but you must stop giving me the cold shoulder. Can we agree on that?” Pei Ji negotiated with him. “From now on, if you have any questions, you can ask me directly.”
He Zhile hurriedly nodded.
He would just have to hide his thoughts deeper from now on.
He had known all along that Pei Ji couldn’t possibly like him. All he needed to do was bury his disappointments and grief even deeper, keep facing him with a daily smile, and he would be able to keep going.
Pei Ji chuckled. “Yuan Rong, all of you step back.”
Knowing full well that his master’s words had merely been meant to frighten them and force the Zhengjun into speaking the truth, Yuan Rong saw that the objective had been achieved and naturally didn’t need to slaughter the servants anymore.
He dragged Chun Jian away once more.
“I’ll have the seamstress make a few sets of clothes for you to wear when entering the palace, so outsiders don’t gossip and say I mistreated you. I need to let everyone know you are held right in the palm of my hand.” Pei Ji pinched his cheek. “You’ve put on a bit of meat, though.”
Suddenly panicked, He Zhile slapped both hands over his cheeks. Had he somehow grown ugly recently? Would Pei Ji dislike him looking like this? Should he start eating less?
Unable to hide his emotions, they showed plainly on his face.
Pei Ji pulled his hands away, cupping them against his own face as he softly asked, “I’ve always wanted to ask. If I were to become scarred and unrecognizable, would you still be fond of me?”
“Ah.” He Zhile responded hesitantly.
“Why hesitate?!” Pei Ji instantly grew anxious. “Could it be that if my appearance were ruined, you would immediately go look for someone else? How can you be so utterly hard-hearted!”
He Zhile’s eyes widened in shock, and he shook his head frantically. He hadn’t said anything of the sort!
Pei Ji let go of his hands and put on an injured expression, sighing to himself, “So it turns out I was just wishing on a star, thinking your affection ran deep and vowing never to fail you in this lifetime, only to discover you were merely devoted to this outward shell!”
“Ah!” He Zhile hurriedly grabbed his arm and shook it heavily. He genuinely hadn’t said a word yet, so why was the man twisting his words like this?
He parted his lips to offer an explanation, but Pei Ji stubbornly refused to lower his head to look at him. Growing desperate, He Zhile reached out directly with both hands to cup the man’s face, gripping it tightly to force him to look at him.
Pei Ji’s handsome face was squeezed by a pair of hands that weren’t particularly soft, his lips pushed into a pout that faintly revealed his front teeth.
[You mustn’t be upset. You misunderstood my meaning, I didn’t mean that I wouldn’t like you if your appearance were damaged.]
“Then say that you are fond of me.” Pei Ji immediately seized upon the opening, moving his two pinched, pouting lips to speak.
He Zhile nibbled his lower lip, lifting his gaze to look at him with a mix of timidity and bashfulness. His clear, sparkling eyes were moist, the corners of his eyes flushed with a shy red.
It carried quite an alluring air of reluctance masking desire.
Pei Ji’s breathing abruptly turned ragged, though he still fought hard to maintain his restraint.
[I am fond of you.]
Pei Ji broke into a radiant smile, grabbed his chin, and pressed his lips down in a kiss.
Who said he was a little mute?
Clearly, he was fully capable of uttering such sweet words.