“You beast. Who are you cursing?”
Pei Ji arrived against the light, his embroidered robes gleaming in the sunlight. His tall figure closed the distance step by step until he came to a halt right in front of them, allowing He Ruman and He Ruxi to clearly see the expression on his face.
Beneath sharp, lowered brows, his dark, heavy pupils were filled with coldness and murderous intent, his stern, handsome face marked by unmistakable displeasure and anger.
Mere words from him were enough to terrify the brother and sister who had come to cause trouble, making them tremble all over.
“Pei, Pei Fourth Master… we, we were only joking and didn’t mean anything else! It’s a misunderstanding!” He Ruxi was scared out of her wits. Her immature face was painted with panic, and her hands instinctively twisted her handkerchief tight, utterly stripped of the mocking arrogance she had displayed just moments ago.
Pei Ji’s gaze swept coldly over her and He Ruman, then landed lightly on He Zhile. Seeing that the youth was neither frightened nor injured, he looked toward Chun Jian, who was still standing guard like a mother hen protecting her chick.
He stepped forward, guided He Zhile to sit beside him, and signaled for Chun Jian to recount the whole story from the beginning.
Finding a backer, Chun Jian began rattling off grievances like pouring beans. Setting aside just today’s incident, the anger mounting in his chest even led him to dredge up all the mistreatment they had suffered back before He Zhile was married off. He spoke until his throat was parched, completely unaware that Pei Ji’s expression was growing increasingly dark and gloomy.
“Fourth Young Master Pei, Chun Jian is merely a servant! How can his words be taken seriously?” He Ruman panicked even further. He certainly didn’t want this to affect his future marriage prospects.
He had only wanted to put the smelly mute in his place like usual, never expecting to get caught, let alone caught by Pei Ji!
If the other party spread word of this matter, he probably wouldn’t be able to secure a good match from a respectable family in the future. After all, the Pei family’s power was right there in plain sight. If they really went outside and bad-mouthed him with a few choice phrases, even the He residence might find themselves treated with cold indifference.
Pei Ji cast a fierce, piercing gaze their way and let out a cold scoff. “Yuanrong, go invite Master He over. I would personally like to hear how he goes about educating his children.”
“Understood.” Yuanrong raised his lowered eyes to glance briefly at the He siblings before turning to leave.
Though he was also puzzled by his young master’s sudden shift in attitude toward the primary spouse, a master was a master; their only job was to obey the master’s commands.
He Hong’an had originally intended to have a pleasant chat with Pei Ji. After all, he was his son-in-law, and even if Pei Ji put on airs, he still had to cozy up to him to fish for information.
Yet barely two sentences in, Pei Ji had brushed him off, claiming he was tired and needed to rest. Not daring to push him, He Hong’an had seen him off.
Who would have thought that the moment he sat down to drink a cup of tea, his troublesome children would go and stir up trouble again!
He Hong’an, accompanied by Zhuang Hongxiu, hurried over to the small courtyard. To his surprise, the atmosphere wasn’t nearly as hostile as he had imagined, though it certainly wasn’t good either, especially since, upon seeing them arrive, the expressions on his children’s faces held the desperate relief of survivors escaping a catastrophe.
“You two unfilial wretches! I told you to go back and reflect on yourselves, yet you came here to stir up trouble again!” He Hong’an took the lead, rebuking them sharply.
Zhuang Hongxiu immediately caught on and knitted her brows to lecture them. “A-Zhi is your elder brother! How could you dare take advantage of your youth and ignorance to joke around so casually! It is simply outrageous! Hurry up and apologize to your elder brother and Fourth Young Master Pei!”
He Ruman and He Ruxi seemed well-practiced in this routine. Their apologies flowed smoothly and naturally, as effortless as drinking water.
Pei Ji wasn’t buying it.
How could he not see that this couple was intentionally shielding their children?
If they dared to condone such evil right in front of him, he could easily imagine what kind of desperate plight the little mute must have lived through before. In comparison, everything Chun Jian had described sounded almost understated.
“Standing right in front of my primary spouse, opening and closing their mouths to curse him as a beast, and even wanting to casually beat a servant of my Pei household to death. It seems they have been utterly spoiled rotten by the two of you, otherwise how could such insulting language roll off their tongues so easily?” Pei Ji’s voice turned chillingly cold, his gloomy gaze fixed heavily on He Hong’an. “Is this the standard of conduct in your He residence?”
With just a single look, the strength drained right out of He Hong’s knees.
Though Pei Ji hadn’t even reached adulthood yet, he could project such crushing pressure. Given time, this young man was bound for greatness.
He Hong’an quickly adjusted his expression and offered an ingratiating smile. “It is my failure to educate my children properly. But considering the ties between our two families, why don’t we let big matters turn into small ones, and small matters into nothing at all? They are all my children, and it’s not right to favor one over the other.”
“Favor one over the other.” Pei Ji couldn’t help a dry laugh, his face instantly icing over again. “Have you favored him any less over all these years? Still, since the matter has already passed, bringing it up won’t change the past. I am simply reminding Master He that He Zhile is now a member of the Pei family. If he keeps getting bullied, anyone unaware might assume that anyone in the Pei family is free to be pushed around. I’m sure Master He wouldn’t want the Pei family hounding him with formal complaints in the future, would you?”
“You are entirely right.” He Hong’an had no choice but to comply.
Pei Ji raised an eyebrow lightly, looked at He Zhile, and smiled gently. “Master He is being so polite. You should take this opportunity to make your demands as well, otherwise Master He might not be able to sleep peacefully tonight.”
He used the term “Master He” over and over, completely refusing to acknowledge the man as his father-in-law.
A muscle twitched in He Hong’an’s brow as he sensed the underlying implication.
He looked toward his eldest son, who had cowered aside this whole time without making a single sound or reaction, following Pei Ji’s words and actions like a puppet. Could a person like this really be cherished by a husband’s family?
He didn’t believe Pei Ji was doing this purely out of affection for He Zhile; he suspected there might be some hidden scheme brewing behind the scenes. Surely it couldn’t simply be that Pei Ji disliked the He family for no reason?
“That is true. A-Zhi, if there is anything else you want, just speak up. As your father, I will certainly do my utmost to compensate you,” He Hong’an said, maintaining as amiable a tone as possible while looking at him.
Of course he knew he had more or less neglected He Zhile back when he lived at home. But compared to a child who couldn’t speak against one who was eloquent and knew how to win favor, it was obvious which one would receive more affection.
Fairly speaking, though, he hadn’t mistreated the boy in other aspects.
He Zhile seemed to snap out of the tense atmosphere just then. He remained nervous and uneasy, not daring to lift his head, wishing he could shrink back and hide behind Pei Ji.
“Don’t be afraid. With me here, state your demands boldly.” Pei Ji wrapped an arm around his waist, his broad palm supporting the youth’s back as if providing an absolute anchor.
He Zhile gave a slight nod, then executed a flurry of sign language with practiced fluidity.
Chun Jian, who had been paying close attention to him the entire time, turned to He Hong’an, curtsied, and stated clearly and firmly, “The Young Master wants the dowry left to him by his late mother. All of it.”
At those words, even He Hong’an froze in shock.
“Wasn’t the dowry long since…”
He didn’t finish the rest of his sentence, but he knew for a fact that Zhuang Hongxiu, the one who prepared the dowry, must have tampered with it.
Zhuang Hongxiu managed the household finances, and all major and minor affairs within the estate were arranged by her, naturally including He Zhile’s dowry.
Even He Hong’an knew that the dowry had been prepared while his late wife was still alive. At that time, his late wife’s maternal family had not yet fallen into decline, so they were naturally able to put aside a very respectable dowry for him.
On the day of the wedding, seeing dozens of chests carried out in the procession, he hadn’t asked any further questions. To think that the portions prepared by his late wife had actually been missing?
Noticing all gazes turning toward her, Zhuang Hongxiu hastily forced an awkward smile. “Perhaps some of the dowry got misplaced amid the busy preparations before the wedding. I’ll have someone pack up everything that was left behind right away, and have A-Zhi take it back with him shortly! I’ve just been so busy with household affairs lately that I let it slip my mind!”
“Yuanrong, go along and keep watch. Not a single item belonging to the primary spouse can be left behind, and not even half an inch of anything that doesn’t belong to him should be touched,” Pei Ji said lazily, his words laced with a clear threat.
A warning directed right at Zhuang Hongxiu’s people, making it clear they shouldn’t dare withhold a single thing that rightfully belonged to He Zhile!
The smile on Zhuang Hongxiu’s face was nearly impossible to maintain, yet she forced herself to endure it and signaled wildly to her two children, hoping to use this chance to drag them away as well.
Pei Ji curved his lips into a smile. “Madame He, did I say they could leave?”
Zhuang Hong’an instinctively looked toward He Hong’an, who frowned, glared at his wife, and offered a forced smile. “Does the Fourth Young Master have any other instructions?”
“I simply want to remind them one more time: He Zhile is my primary spouse now. From now on, whenever and wherever they run into him, they must show him the proper respect. If they ever fail to do so, don’t blame me for disregarding the ties between our two families,” Pei Ji said lightly.
With those words, he completely blocked off any possibility of the He family members going out of their way to harass He Zhile in the future.
Pei Ji was truly, solidly determined to protect him.
How could He Ruman and He Ruxi dare to defy him? They immediately bowed and acknowledged the command with utmost respect, not daring to show a shred of displeasure or reluctance.
Having lectured them one by one, the fire in Pei Ji’s chest subsided somewhat. Besides, there was plenty of time ahead; there was no need to ruin the fun all at once.
Pei Ji didn’t push them any further. After dropping a few more subtle warnings to He Hong’an, he dismissed him along with the He siblings.
Only the two of them were left in the small courtyard.
“Still sulking?” Pei Ji lightly nudged his shoulder. “I’ve gone this far to pamper you, so stop giving me the cold shoulder.”
He Zhile pressed his lips together, lightly tugged at Pei Ji’s sleeve, and gave a slight shake of his head.
He had no qualification to give Pei Ji the cold shoulder, nor did he have the courage. He simply felt that Pei Ji shouldn’t have gone out of his way to put in so much effort for the return visit. Even if the He family was his maternal family, he felt the He family didn’t deserve it.
Newly married children relied on their maternal families for support, and the two were traditionally bound to rise and fall together. He understood this logic well, but the He family didn’t deserve to share honor and disgrace with him, let alone merit the return gifts Pei Ji had prepared.
They deserved nothing better than to have beggars fling mud at them.
Pei Ji knew his temperament well. To be honest, even when he used to treat him with cold indifference in their past life, the little mute had never once thrown a tantrum at him, always remaining gentle and soft-spoken.
“Rest assured, they won’t get any benefit out of our hands,” Pei Ji chuckled softly. “Is your husband really such an incompetent fool?”
He Zhile raised his eyes timidly, looking up at him as he rapidly signed a string of gestures.
Pei Ji arched an eyebrow, and Chun Jian immediately translated, “The Primary Spouse is asking what the return gifts sent to the He family are about. They cost a great deal of gold and silver; if we weren’t going to give them to the He family, there was no need to buy them.”
“Who said there wasn’t a need?” Pei Ji didn’t answer directly, deliberately keeping him in suspense. “You’ll understand once we get back to the estate.”
He Zhile gave a small nod, the earrings dangling from his lobes swaying gently. As a thought crossed his mind, he lifted his gaze, looking at Pei Ji with a mixture of timidity and forced composure.
Thank you.
His rosy lips parted slightly.
If he had to plot this out on his own, who knew how long it would take him to reclaim his mother’s legacy? Yet with Pei Ji here today, he had managed to win it back with just a few words.
Thinking of this, the corners of his lips curved upward, revealing a tiny, charming dimple at the right corner of his mouth.
Unable to resist any longer, Pei Ji cupped his face and slowly leaned in.