This place was remote, seldom visited.
Inside the house, candlelight still burned. A soft silhouette was cast upon the window paper, head lowered as she busied herself with something.
Pei Jinzhi seemed to realize something and was about to turn and leave.
But at that moment, the shadow moved again.
The graceful figure raised a hand and slowly removed the hairpin binding her hair. Three thousand strands cascaded down like a waterfall.
Then she lifted her hand to her chest, loosening something.
One loop.
Two loops…
Pei Jinzhi froze. Darkness churned in his deep eyes, as if he were suppressing something.
Yet his feet seemed rooted in place, unable to move an inch.
Inside, the figure continued. With each motion, the binding around her chest loosened layer by layer, as though something long restrained was being gradually released.
When the final loop fell, the silhouette on the window changed…
A full curve rose at her chest, forming a breathtaking contour. In the candlelight, it resembled two rounded hills.
Even through the window paper, Pei Jinzhi could almost see the outline subtly rising and falling with the woman’s breathing.
“Mm…”
A soft sigh of release sounded. Pei Jinzhi stiffened, his throat bobbing uncontrollably.
As if possessed, unable to restrain himself, he stepped lightly toward the window…
When he finally saw clearly inside, his pupils contracted sharply, and all the blood in his body surged to one place.
Under the hazy light, the woman stood sideways, facing the window.
She stood beside the bathing tub, one hand holding her chest, yet unable to conceal her fullness. Soft flesh pressed out from the crook of her arm, resting heavily, trembling slightly like ripe fruit.
Her other hand gripped the edge of the tub as she lifted a jade-like leg and stepped in.
That leg was long and straight, dazzlingly pale.
As she slowly lowered herself, the hot water rose, inch by inch covering those hidden curves, until it reached her shoulders.
Steam filled the bath chamber, blurring the view, yet unable to conceal the striking lines beneath the water.
Pei Jinzhi stood frozen, forgetting even to breathe.
“Splash!”
Water sounded inside as Shen Lingwei scooped it with both hands, pouring it over her shoulders and neck, eyes closed, savoring this brief moment of relaxation.
A beauty bathing—intoxicatingly alluring.
This scene imprinted itself deeply into Pei Jinzhi’s mind. So lost was he that he accidentally stepped on a branch.
Crack.
Hearing the sound, Shen Lingwei looked toward the window, alert.
But it was too dark outside, and the steam inside obscured everything.
Just as Pei Jinzhi stood rigid, not daring to move—
“Meow!”
A ginger cat suddenly appeared, meowing softly.
Only then did Shen Lingwei relax.
She rose from the tub, barefoot, and walked to the window, bending slightly to pick up the cat.
The candlelight cast her shadow on the window. The curve from her back to her waist was smoother than any artist’s stroke.
Pei Jinzhi stood in the shadows, his gaze locked onto that silhouette, his mouth dry, his entire body burning.
Shen Lingwei remained unaware. Holding the cat against her chest, she gently rubbed its head.
“So it’s you. What is it? Do you want a bath too?”
Outside the window, Pei Jinzhi trembled, a surge of heat rushing through him, his body taut like a drawn string.
Absurdly, he found himself imagining—if he were that cat, held gently against her chest, breathing in her alluring scent, what kind of bliss that would be.
For the first time in his life, such a ridiculous thought arose.
Inside, soft laughter from the woman and the cat’s meows occasionally sounded.
Pei Jinzhi forced himself to look away and fled in haste.
At the study entrance, Chen Fan saw his master return and froze.
Under the moonlight, Pei Jinzhi’s steps were unsteady, his face flushed unnaturally, his collar slightly loosened.
Chen Fan hurried forward. “My lord? Are you… have you caught a chill?”
Without stopping, Pei Jinzhi said hoarsely, “Prepare cold water. I need to bathe.”
Chen Fan nodded. “Yes, I will have hot water prepared at once—”
“Cold water?” Chen Fan froze.
In this freezing weather, cold water?
The next moment, something struck him like lightning. His gaze involuntarily dropped, finally settling on a certain part of Pei Jinzhi’s robe.
That was…
“Get lost at once!”
The cold shout made Chen Fan shudder, not daring to look any further.
“Yes, I—I’ll leave right away…”
As if something were chasing him, he bolted out of the courtyard.
Only after running far away did he clutch his neck, gasping, his heart in turmoil.
Good heavens—the Madam had been gone for five years. Tonight, where had the Marquis broken his abstinence?
It seemed the entire residence needed a thorough investigation.
The next morning, just at dawn.
Shen Lingwei was still combing An’an’s hair when Chen Shitou rushed over in panic.
“Lady Shen, something’s wrong! Hurry! Something has happened to the Second Young Master!”
Shen Lingwei’s heart sank, the comb in her hand nearly falling.
“What happened?”
Chen Shitou panted, “The Second Young Master… he’s fainted again! The Old Madam has sent word to the palace and summoned an imperial physician. She has also ordered all the servants of Jinghe Courtyard to gather outside the gate—she will question everyone personally!”
Shen Lingwei’s brows tightened.
An’an’s face turned pale, her eyes brimming with tears. “Mother…”
Shen Lingwei crouched down, holding her daughter’s cold little hands. “Don’t be afraid, An’an. Mother needs to go out now. Remember—no matter what happens, don’t run around. Stay inside, bolt the door, and don’t come out. Do you understand?”
An’an nodded obediently, though tears lingered in her eyes. “Mother, when will you come back?”
Shen Lingwei hugged her and gently patted her back. “Very soon. I’ll return as soon as I’m done.”
After comforting her daughter, Shen Lingwei quickly headed to the Bamboo Courtyard.
By then, the courtyard entrance was filled with kneeling servants—everyone from Jinghe Courtyard, even the rough maids and sweepers.
The air was suffocatingly tense.
Shen Lingwei quietly stood at the back, her peripheral vision catching sight of Cook Liu and the others nearby, heads lowered, shoulders rigid.
Behind her, two young maids whispered.
“I heard the Second Young Master wasn’t right last night…”
“They say he’s constipated—he hasn’t relieved himself for two days. This morning he complained of stomach pain and fainted soon after.”
“He’s already so weak… if he doesn’t survive this, will we servants be implicated?”
…
Hearing this, Shen Lingwei’s frown deepened.
Two days without relief—this was severe constipation leading to intestinal obstruction or toxic megacolon. For a child like Pei Ke, already frail and a picky eater, it could be fatal.
At that moment, the main hall doors creaked open.
Nanny Zhang stepped out, her gaze sweeping over the crowd before settling on Cook Liu, Granny Tian, and the others.
“You few—step forward.”