Zeng Lun was an extremely perceptive man. He had long since personally brought over a chair.
Pei Yunshu did not stand on ceremony. “Thank you, Eunuch Zeng.”
“It is merely this servant’s duty. How could I presume to accept your thanks, my lady?”
Pei Yunshu sat down. “You deserve it. To speak truly, Eunuch Zeng and Teacher are the closest.”
“I am but a servant. How dare I accept such words from my lady?”
Zeng Lun replied with a beaming smile. There were many ladies in the palace, but he knew that once this one entered the palace, everything would be different.
Moreover, he had dealt with this legitimate daughter of the Guogong Mansion before. She was willful but not uncouth. In the past, she had not been particularly courteous when seeing him, but then, she hadn’t been particularly courteous when seeing His Majesty either.
“The Sushan has already been ordered from the kitchens. They need to make it fresh, so it will arrive shortly.”
“The pastries from Qiongyu Pavilion do take some time. Eunuch, remember to prepare a large portion for me.”
As Pei Yunshu spoke, the round fan in her hand never ceased moving, clearly finding the heat unbearable.
“Not allowed. You may taste a little, that is all,” Xie Yanchuan said, then motioned for Zeng Lun to leave.
Yuehua, standing behind Pei Yunshu, visibly relaxed. “Miss, if you eat too much, you’ll have to take medicine again when we return.”
“Mind your own business.”
Pei Yunshu shot Yuehua a dissatisfied, faintly threatening glance.
“What is the matter?”
Xie Yanchuan could see this was likely not just a simple matter of a cold constitution.
“It’s nothing,” Pei Yunshu replied, clearly not even bothering to offer a proper excuse.
“Yuehua.”
Xie Yanchuan merely uttered the two words. Yuehua hesitated for a moment, then knelt on the ground and laid out Pei Yunshu’s situation in full.
“Your Majesty, the mansion had a female physician examine the young lady.”
“Is she ill?”
“No, Teacher, please don’t ask. Matters of women, if Teacher inquires further, it will only invite others’ ridicule,” Pei Yunshu attempted to stop him.
“Is there anything I cannot know?”
“The female physician said the young lady suffers from a cold constitution, experiencing severe pain during her monthly courses. She needs careful recuperation to avoid future difficulties with bearing children after marriage.”
Most young ladies would be too shy to speak of such things, but Yuehua’s face remained wooden, showing not a trace of embarrassment.
Yuehua had been sent to her side by Xie Yanchuan. So how could Yuehua have died so easily? And without sending word to Xie Yanchuan?
“How could it be so serious?”
“The young lady has a weak constitution but craves cold things. She also does not take her medicine properly, so it has grown increasingly severe.”
Although Yuehua was someone Xie Yanchuan had sent to Pei Yunshu’s side, Xie Yanchuan had also stated it was not for surveillance, but for care. Unless danger was encountered, there was no need to report to him.
“Take away that Sushan and bring a hot pastry instead,” Xie Yanchuan ordered.
“Teacher, I haven’t indulged in cold things for several days now.”
Yuehua seemed to want to say something, but Pei Yunshu glared at her. Yuehua lowered her eyes and said no more.
“Besides, what’s wrong with me not being able to bear children? I’m entering the palace anyway.”
“Which woman entering the palace does not think of bearing a son or daughter? Why would Niannian say such a thing instead?”
Xie Yanchuan’s harem could not be considered a den of vice, after all. There was no Empress, no Noble Consort, not even a highly favored concubine.
This emperor, who was deeply versed in the art of imperial rule, always distributed his favor evenly. Although there were struggles within the harem, they were not excessive, and most of the time, Xie Yanchuan would not intervene.
But how could his little disciple survive in the harem without his protection?
“Teacher, if I say this here, will you punish me?”
Xie Yanchuan was unconcerned. “When you were young and caused mischief on me, even cutting my hair, I never punished you.”
To cause trouble on the emperor’s head—not to mention Pei Yuanzheng, even the old Duke at the time was nearly fainted from anger by his granddaughter and immediately sought to apologize.
Pei Yunshu opened her mouth slightly, a blush slowly spreading across her lovely face. Even now, thinking of her childhood antics, she felt deeply embarrassed.
“I remember, of course. That was the first time Grandfather punished me.”
“I knelt in the ancestral hall and copied texts for three days. In the end, you had to personally plead on my behalf. Even then, someone remained ungrateful and made a fuss with you for a while.”
Xie Yanchuan looked at the young woman before him, now grown into a stunning beauty. But in her childhood, she had been utterly mischievous. Since that incident, Xie Yanchuan had developed much more patience toward younger generations.
When Xie Changyan was adopted under his name, Xie Yanchuan even thought the child was excessively obedient—all because he had previously assumed all young children were like Pei Yunshu.
“You dared to do such things back then, and now you’re worried about speaking a few words with me?”
“Teacher, don’t tease me. Wasn’t that just the fearlessness of ignorance?” Pei Yunshu knew that Xie Yanchuan indulged her precisely because she was different from others.
As long as she stayed within Xie Yanchuan’s boundaries, she enjoyed countless privileges beyond ordinary people.
“Teacher, you are now approaching thirty. Although you have many consorts and beauties in the harem, you still have no sons or daughters. No one would say it to your face, but surely not all the women in the harem have issues?”
Pei Yunshu bit her lip, leaving faint tooth marks on her plump lips. “Teacher already has a Crown Prince. If there are no more children, so be it.”
“Niannian, are you implying that I am impotent?” Xie Yanchuan laughed in exasperation, watching the guilty expression on the young woman’s face.
“Teacher, that’s not what I meant.”
Just then, Zeng Lun entered with attendants carrying Sushan. Pei Yunshu took the offered silver spoon and scooped a bite—sweet, icy, perfect for relieving summer heat.
After only three bites, someone gently pressed her wrist. Xie Yanchuan placed his folding fan on Pei Yunshu’s wrist.
“That’s enough. Don’t indulge in the cold.” Xie Yanchuan paused. “There’s nothing wrong with my health. As for heirs, I’ll explain it to you after you enter the palace, alright?”
Pei Yunshu nodded casually, not particularly concerned about the matter, only gazing at the Sushan with regret.
“What a pity.”
Xie Yanchuan took the spoon from her hand. “I’ll eat it. You watch.”
Pei Yunshu looked at him as if he were a villain stealing food. Xie Yanchuan leisurely finished the bowl of icy Sushan.
Beside them, Zeng Lun glanced at his young apprentice, whose legs were trembling with unconcealed terror, and secretly glared at him. Useless thing—even when given an opportunity, he couldn’t seize it.
Xie Yanchuan left through the back door. Since Qiongyu Pavilion was his property, he naturally came and went as he pleased.
Once seated in the carriage, Xie Yanchuan chuckled after a moment. “She kept insisting on entering the palace, yet in her eyes, I’m just someone competing with her for food.”
“The young lady from the Guogong Mansion has always been like this in Your Majesty’s presence. In her eyes, you are still the tutor from back then,” Zeng Lun remarked with a smile.
“Indeed, she still sees me as an elder, always expecting me to indulge her. How could she enter the palace like this?”
Xie Yanchuan naturally wouldn’t allow her to enter the palace immediately. He needed the Guogong Mansion to willingly send her in, to ensure no court officials dared oppose it, and there was still much to be done.
Yet, Xie Yanchuan’s heart brimmed with delight, almost impatiently so.
“Yuehua, what do you think His Majesty means by this?” Pei Yunshu asked casually while eating some chestnut cakes she had bought.
“This servant does not know.”
“You don’t know? But I do.” Pei Yunshu looked at Yuehua and, as the other showed a puzzled expression, fed her a piece of chestnut cake.
“Take these few pieces to Yue Yun, or she’ll pester you.”
Pei Yunshu gazed at the scenery outside the window. Her Teacher had no children in either of his lifetimes, and she had deliberately asked about it today—she needed to know what lay ahead for her.
If Xie Yanchuan’s health was not an issue, then it could only mean he was intentionally avoiding having children. She hadn’t realized Xie Yanchuan cared so deeply about Xie Changyan, the Crown Prince adopted into the line.
Still, knowing that her Teacher had no issues regarding heirs was enough.
Everyone has their selfish desires, and her Tutor was no exception. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have allowed her to enter the palace even when Xie Changyan was so “eager” for her.
She just didn’t know the extent of that selfishness.