Da Chun’s massive frame was now curled up in his seat, looking for all the world like a child who had suffered a grievous wrong. His sobs, at first stifled, gradually swelled into full-blown wails:
“Wahhh—Mother! I want a wife! They all… they all have wives… only I don’t…”
As he cried, he unconsciously shuffled closer to Pei Yanshu, tears and snot threatening to smear onto Pei Yanshu’s sleeve.
Pei Yanshu: “…”
He stared at the sleeve about to meet its doom and sighed inwardly: This robe will probably have to be sent straight for laundering tomorrow.
Xiao Ya pulled a cloth handkerchief from his robe and moved close to Da Chun. Being short, he stretched his arm out to wipe Da Chun’s face with the cloth.
Feeling the touch on his face, Da Chun groggily opened his eyes. Seeing it was Xiao Ya, far from resisting, he seemed to have found a pillar of support. He wrapped his arms around Xiao Ya and cried even more pitifully:
“Xiao Ya… you’re the best… they all laugh at me…”
Xiao Ya staggered from the force of the hug, nearly tumbling off the seat. With his free hand, he gently patted Da Chun’s broad back, comforting him like a little adult.
Unable to make a sound, he could only express his concern through action.
After a few pats, he seemed to remember something. He fished a piece of malt candy from his small pouch. Skillfully unwrapping it, he popped the glistening sweet into Da Chun’s still-whimpering mouth.
As the sweetness spread on his tongue, Da Chun’s wails indeed subsided, turning into muffled sniffles.
Xiao Ya finally breathed a sigh of relief. He looked up and met Pei Yanshu’s gaze, which held a mix of surprise and appreciation. Then, somewhat embarrassed, he lowered his head, the tips of his ears quietly turning red.
Just then, the carriage jolted to a stop, and the driver’s voice came from outside:
“Young Master, we’ve arrived at Cloud Silk Atelier.”
Pei Yanshu acknowledged him and was the first to nimbly leap down from the carriage. Turning back, he surveyed the chaotic scene inside the carriage and rubbed his temples.
First, he gently patted Shen Nianyi. “Nianyi, we’re here. Wake up.”
Shen Nianyi merely waved a hand impatiently, burying his face deeper into his robe, and mumbled, “Stop bothering me…”
Pei Yanshu sighed helplessly and turned to Xiao Ya, gesturing towards A Man.
Xiao Ya understood and hurriedly shook A Man.
A Man opened her eyes blearily, recognized Xiao Ya, and mumbled, “…Is it morning already…”
Then, swaying unsteadily, she leaned on Xiao Ya and started to get off.
“Whoa!” Xiao Ya staggered under her weight, the two of them nearly falling together.
Pei Yanshu, quick as lightning, caught A Man and half-supported, half-carried her down, propping her against the stone post by the door.
As soon as A Man leaned against something solid, her head lolled to the side, and she fell asleep standing up.
Next was the heavyweight contender, Da Chun.
Pei Yanshu took another deep breath, resigned to his fate, and ducked back into the carriage. With some effort, he managed to haul out the deeply slumbering Da Chun.
The moment Da Chun’s feet touched the ground, his legs gave way. His entire body slumped like a mountain onto Pei Yanshu, his mouth still mumbling indistinctly: “…wife… roasted lamb…”
Pei Yanshu gritted his teeth, supporting him, and said to Xiao Ya, “Xiao Ya, open the door!”
Xiao Ya hastily pulled out the key and deftly unlocked the back door of Cloud Silk Atelier.
Pei Yanshu, shouldering Da Chun, shuffled into the rear courtyard.
The moment Da Chun touched the bed, he rolled over, and earth-shaking snores immediately erupted.
After settling Da Chun, Pei Yanshu turned back and helped A Man, who had been leaning against a stone post and sleeping while standing, inside as well, seating her by his bedside. A Man tilted sideways and directly collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep.
Finally, only Manager Shen remained—still in the carriage, wrapped in his robe and sleeping soundly.
Pei Yanshu returned to the carriage and looked at the curled-up figure inside.
He paused for a moment, then finally bent down and gently scooped her up, robe and all, into his arms.
Shen Nianyi seemed to sense the sudden lift, stirring uneasily, but ultimately did not wake.
Pei Yanshu carried her, walking steadily into the backyard of Cloud Silk Atelier, gently returning her to her own room, settling her on the bed, and carefully covering her with a thin quilt.
Xiao Ya stood quietly at the doorway, still holding those scattered items, offering Pei Yanshu a smile.
Pei Yanshu said softly, “You’ve worked hard. Go get some rest.”
Xiao Ya nodded and turned toward her own room.
Pei Yanshu also breathed a sigh of relief, rubbing his slightly sore shoulders, and prepared to leave.
Just as he turned around, before he could take a step—
“Pei Yanshu! Stop right there!”
A clear, slightly domineering voice rang out from behind him.
Pei Yanshu halted his steps and looked back.
On the bed, Shen Nianyi remained with her eyes tightly shut, breathing evenly, deeply asleep, not even shifting her position.
Pei Yanshu found it amusing—so she was talking in her sleep.
He shook his head and turned to leave again.
“I said stop!”
Another shout, louder than before, even carrying a hint of impatience, as if she would jump up and bite him if he dared move again.
Pei Yanshu stopped once more, fully turning around, and carefully looked at the person on the bed under the moonlight streaming through the window.
Shen Nianyi was still fast asleep, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, her lips unconsciously pouting, as if she were arguing with someone in her dream.
Pei Yanshu watched her issuing commands in her sleep and couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle, finding the situation truly peculiar.
He simply crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, curious to see what other astonishing words the sleeping manager might utter.
“You…” Shen Nianyi’s lips moved again, her voice softer than before, carrying a dreamy slur. “…come here.”
Pei Yanshu raised an eyebrow and actually complied, walking over and stopping by the bedside. He leaned down slightly, trying to hear more clearly.
He lowered his voice in response, as if truly conversing with the dreamer: “What instructions does Manager Shen have?”
Under the moonlight, Shen Nianyi’s eyelashes trembled faintly, as if she were struggling in her dream.
She fell silent for a moment. Just as Pei Yanshu thought she wouldn’t speak again, she suddenly murmured:
“…Why…”
“…Why do you have to argue with me…”
“…Why…do you insist on staying here with me…”
These questions drifted out lightly, and the room fell into a long silence.
Moonlight flowed like water across Pei Yanshu’s sharply defined profile, elongating his tall figure.
“Staying here with you…” he repeated the words softly, a self-mocking curve slowly forming at the corner of his lips.
In the end, he simply reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair that had fallen by her cheek behind her ear.
When his fingertips brushed her warm skin, his movement paused slightly before quickly withdrawing.
“Sleep,” he said, as if answering her or speaking to himself. “Someday…you’ll understand.”
After saying this, he did not linger any longer, turning and quietly leaving the room. The door was gently closed, emitting a faint click.
The next day.
Shen Nianyi did not sleep well.
Her temples felt as if they were being tapped unhurriedly by a small hammer, and her throat was dry and tight.
She struggled to open her eyes. The sunlight filtering through the window was already quite bright, clearly indicating she had gotten up much later than usual.
“Ouch…” She rubbed her temples as she sat up. Fragmented memories from last night trickled back—the aroma of roasted lamb, the spiciness of Jiannan Shaochun liquor, and… Pei Yanshu’s smiling face… In the end, it seemed they had returned by carriage?
She shook her head, trying to shake off that annoying face. Forcing herself up, she finished washing up, changed back into her usual ruqun, and only then pushed the door open and walked out.
The front shop was different from its usual clamor; instead, there was an orderly atmosphere?
Puzzled, she peeked over—behind the counter, the figure who should have been sleeping until the sun was high in the sky was now standing there impeccably dressed, holding an account book and speaking unhurriedly to a customer who had come to pick up goods.
Pei Yanshu? He actually didn’t laze in bed today?
Shen Nianyi rubbed her eyes, almost thinking she was still drunk.
“Shopkeeper! You’re awake!”
A Man, like a cheerful little sparrow, bounced out from the backyard carrying a newly arrived bolt of lake silk, her face showing no trace of a hangover, as if she hadn’t been the one hugging a wine jar and talking nonsense yesterday.
“Does your head still hurt? Xiao Ya has prepared hangover soup and kept it warm on the stove.”
Before Shen Nianyi could gather her thoughts, A Man leaned close to her ear, lowering her voice with barely contained excitement and laughter:
“Shopkeeper, guess what fresh gossip came from the East Market this morning?”
“What?” Shen Nianyi asked instinctively, taking a sip of the hangover soup silently handed to her by Xiao Ya.
“Madam Chen from Jinxiu Fang!” A Man’s voice was full of schadenfreude. “She tried to imitate you wearing that pomegranate skirt yesterday!”
Shen Nianyi nearly choked on her soup: “What?”
“Absolutely true!” A Man began to describe it vividly.
“I heard she had her seamstress work overnight to make a large red, gold-sprinkled liuxianqun too. The style… well… she tried to copy it, managing about seventy or eighty percent resemblance. Early this morning, she wore that outfit, adorned with a head full of gold hairpins and jade hairpins, her face heavily powdered with the trendy peach blossom makeup, and stood coyly at the entrance of Jinxiu Fang, saying she wanted to ‘share joy with the people’ and showcase new products!”
A Man imitated Madam Chen’s affected manner, putting on a voice:
“Oh my goodness, you should have seen the scene! The dress material was decent, the gold thread dazzling, but on her… it just looked awkward no matter how you looked! She’s already a bit plumper than you, and that dress was so tight… tsk tsk, even children passing by pointed at her saying she looked like, like…”
“Like what?” Shen Nianyi’s curiosity was thoroughly piqued, even forgetting her headache.
A Man finally couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing: “Like that oversized, gold-foil-wrapped, about-to-burst xi mo at that newly opened pastry shop at the West Market entrance!”
“Pfft—” This time, Shen Nianyi truly couldn’t hold back and laughed out loud, quickly covering her mouth with her sleeve, though her shoulders shook uncontrollably.
Even Xiao Ya, who was quietly organizing the fabrics nearby, pursed her lips, her eyes curved into crescents.
“And there’s more, there’s more,” A Man grew more animated as she spoke.
“She probably wanted to imitate how freely you moved around yesterday, but she wasn’t used to the hem of that fairy-style skirt. She almost tripped going up the steps! Luckily, the shop assistant nearby caught her quickly, or she really would’ve become a ‘golden steamed bun hitting the ground’! Now it’s all over the East Market—they’re saying Madam Chen ‘tried to draw a tiger but ended up with a dog,’ no, more like ‘tried to imitate Nianyi but ended up a steamed bun’!”
“Pfft—hahaha!”
A hearty laugh came from the moon gate leading to the backyard. Da Chun strode out, clearly having just woken up, with sleep marks still on his face, now grinning so widely his eyes disappeared:
“Golden steamed bun hitting the ground! A Man, your tongue is too sharp! Hahaha! If Madam Chen hears this, she’ll faint from anger!”
Shen Nianyi watched A Man’s animated expression and Da Chun’s uproarious laughter, then imagined Madam Chen’s public embarrassment, and couldn’t help but let a smile curl her lips.
She quickly picked up the hangover soup, using the act of drinking to hide her amusement, but the crinkles at the corners of her eyes still betrayed her good mood.
Even when her gaze swept past the figure behind the counter who was tapping away at the abacus, she thought… well, at least today, that guy didn’t sleep in. He was being somewhat sensible.
Just then, Pei Yanshu, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, spoke without looking up, his voice lazy:
“Since Manager Shen is awake, you shouldn’t just be listening to jokes. Shouldn’t you hurry up and draw the design sketches for the ‘anti-harasser skirts’ those two noble ladies ordered yesterday? Or perhaps…”
Only then did he slowly turn his head, his peach blossom eyes carrying their usual teasing glint, “You also want to imitate Madam Chen and go be a candied hawthorn skewer at the entrance again?”
Shen Nianyi: “…”
Just when she thought he was slightly more tolerable—it was clearly an illusion!
She set down the soup bowl, took a deep breath, and told herself not to stoop to this scoundrel’s level.
“None of your business!” she snapped, then turned and headed toward the backyard to fetch drawing paper and brushes. Only, her steps were noticeably lighter than before.
Just as she had ground the ink, spread out the paper on the desk in the backyard, and lifted her brush, she heard A Man’s surprised greeting from the front shop: “Manager Liu? What brings you here at this hour?”
Followed by a slightly flustered male voice: “Uh, Miss A Man, is Manager Shen here? There’s something urgent…”