"Are you willing to accept defeat?"
Those words echoed in Pei Peng's ears, and an indescribable wave of shame and fury swept over him like a tidal wave!
Pei Peng stared hard at Ye Jinghe's eyes—beautiful beyond measure, yet utterly infuriating—and felt a bitter, metallic taste rising in his mouth. After a long moment, he spoke through gritted teeth, one word at a time:
"I admit it! I lost. I accept it!"
At these words, Ye Jinghe couldn't help but sit up straighter, somewhat surprised:
"Now here's a man with some spirit!"
"Pei Feng, Pei Huan, and… Changfeng, I misspoke today. I'm sorry!"
The overwhelming shame made Pei Peng's ears ring and his entire body burn. He barely managed to bow in salute, forcing the words out through clenched teeth before slowly raising his head:
"Satisfied now?"
Pei Feng continued playing his role as the harmless, pitiful innocent, so he said nothing.
Pei Huan, on the other hand, who was usually quiet and reserved, proved surprisingly reliable at this moment:
"The one you owe the deepest apology to is Changfeng. He's never wronged you, and we're all brothers of the same clan. Everything that happened today was of your own making. I truly don't know what goes on in that head of yours."
Pei Peng straightened up and stared coldly at Pei Huan:
"Cut the crap! I said those words for Changfeng's sake. If we were outside, do you think you'd be worthy of an apology from me?
Brothers of the same clan? When Second Grandfather and Fourth Grandfather split off from the family, they were no different from my grandfather. But look at how you've all ended up!
No skill, no ambition, and no backbone. Only trash ends up like that! Yes, I look down on Changfeng! But I look down on you useless softies even more!"
"Brother, don't…"
Pei Cheng tugged at Pei Peng's sleeve, but Pei Peng snatched it back roughly:
"Why shouldn't I say it? It's bad enough that they can't measure up to Pei Du, but they can't even beat Changfeng. If that's not being useless, what is?!"
"But… we didn't beat Changfeng either…"
Pei Cheng muttered weakly, and Pei Peng's face changed instantly as he jabbed him with his elbow:
"Whose side are you on?! When we get back today, all of you—study hard! If you lose to Changfeng again, don't ever call me brother again!"
Pei Peng shot a fierce glare at his younger brother and the rest of his lackeys, then turned to leave. Ye Jinghe called out to him at just the right moment, smiling:
"Master Pei Peng, you've only completed half of our wager."
Pei Peng's steps halted. He turned around to see Ye Jinghe tilt his chin toward Pei Du:
"You haven't forgotten what else needs to be done, have you, Master Pei Peng?"
Word for word, delivered with utmost deference—yet the content nearly made Pei Peng's lungs burst with rage.
"You're really going to make me acknowledge him as my boss? In my entire life, I've only ever submitted to those stronger than me!"
Pei Peng shot a vicious glare at Pei Du. Not wanting Ye Jinghe to get into another argument with anyone, Pei Du rose and stepped between the two:
"Changfeng, forget it. He doesn't mean it, and I don't want it anyway."
"Why not?"
Ye Jinghe pulled Pei Du behind him:
"How is my young master not stronger than you? He got 'Excellent' on the monthly exam, while you only got 'Poor.' Isn't that being better than you? If you're going to break your word, just break it—don't put on airs!"
"Bullshit! If you're going to put it that way, then you—you got a perfect score! It's because Eighth Uncle was biased that he let him take the top mark alone! If I'm acknowledging anyone as boss, it should be you!"
The words slipped out of Pei Peng's mouth, but he quickly swallowed them back:
"You're nothing but a lowly servant. Don't even think about being my boss!"
With that, Pei Peng bolted away as if fleeing for his life. Ye Jinghe watched his retreating figure and curled his lip:
"He sure runs fast!"
Pei Peng sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him, terrified that Ye Jinghe might call him back. Only after he'd burst through the gates of the Pei estate did he finally stop. Pei Cheng and the other little sprouts, caught off guard, rear-ended him directly—slamming hard into Pei Cheng's back and tumbling into a pile of bruised bottoms.
Pei Peng turned around, shaking his fist in annoyance:
"Are you all blind? Every single one of you—dumber than a bag of hammers!"
Pei Cheng looked at Pei Peng sheepishly and whispered:
"Brother, I'm sorry, I…"
"Shut up! From now on, no more saying sorry! I absolutely—absolutely never want to hear that word again!"
Pei Cheng let out an "oh," then added eagerly, as if presenting a treasure:
"Oh! Right! Brother, Eighth Uncle told you to show the exam paper to Father. You forgot to bring it earlier, so I packed it for you!"
Pei Peng: "…"
Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it!
"You—you—you really have a pig's brain! I should never have fought you for space in Mother's womb! You're going to be the death of me!"
"Sorry, brother—oh, right, I'm not supposed to say that."
Pei Cheng blinked, then said slowly:
"Then… thank you, brother."
Pei Peng: "…"
Pei Peng was completely at a loss.
"Forget it, forget it. Talking to you is like talking to a wall. Let's head home!"
Pei Peng was the eldest grandson of Third Master of the Pei family. Even though the family had split after the old master's passing and Third Master's household had been relegated to a branch line, their household rules were even stricter than those of the main estate.
When the four Pei brothers arrived home, the servants stepped forward in orderly fashion to take the book satchels from the young masters' hands and remove their cloaks. Only then did the four of them swarm toward the main hall.
"Grandfather, we're back!"
"Greetings to Grandfather!"
"Grandfather…"
"Grandfather…"
A string of crisp, childish voices made the wrinkles on Third Master's face smooth out. He chuckled and sat up from his rattan chair:
"Alright, alright, why are you all back so early today?"
"The teacher gave us an exam today."
Before Pei Peng could stop him, Pei Cheng had already honestly blurted it out. Third Master stroked his beard and nodded:
"Hmm, not bad. After a month of schooling, it's about time for an exam. How did you all do?"
"Not well."
Pei Cheng was stepped on by Pei Peng and immediately swallowed his words. Only then did Pei Peng step forward to act cute and coax:
"Grandfather, why are you only asking about grades today? Why not ask if we ate well? Your grandson didn't eat well today—I'm starving, my stomach is growling!"
As he spoke, Pei Peng's stomach growled right on cue. Third Master quickly said:
"You child, if you didn't have enough to eat, why didn't you ask someone to bring you more? Someone! Prepare the meal!"
Pei Peng leaned against Third Master's knee and let out a sigh:
"Peng'er did too poorly on this exam and truly has no heart to eat. Making Grandfather worry is Peng'er's fault."
Hearing this, Third Master's heart immediately ached:
"Peng'er, don't be afraid. Grandfather is here. Your father wouldn't dare lay a hand on you. Poor thing—how can you not eat?"
Just as he finished speaking, his biological father Pei Changli strode in. One of his hands was tightly wrapped in white gauze and hung from a sling around his neck, but that didn't stop him from bellowing furiously:
"Father! You're spoiling this brat again! Eighth Brother said he's the most mischievous one in the family school. Every day, I had to slap my hand until it broke just to make him finish his homework. If he doesn't produce decent results this time, did I break my hand for nothing?!"
Pei Peng shrank guiltily into Third Master's arms. Third Master also lowered his head with equal guilt, but after a moment of realization, he raised his chin and said with unjustified confidence:
"Well, well, we should at least let the child eat first! Have you forgotten the rule—don't scold your wife in public, don't scold your son before meals?!"
Pei Changli couldn't help but snort coldly. Using his one remaining hand, he lifted the hem of his robe and sat down casually beside Third Master:
"Fine. I'll wait for this brat to finish eating!"
Pei Peng's pupils dilated in shock, and he immediately looked to Third Master for help. Third Master could only return a look of helplessness.
Pei Peng drooped his head dejectedly, leaning against Third Master's leg, diligently massaging his knees to curry favor while directing his three younger brothers in a flurry of activity. Watching this scene, Pei Changli felt both angry and proud.
His eldest son was naturally gifted at dealing with people. He had placed great hopes on him—except when it came to studying, the boy was like nine out of ten holes in a gourd: completely blocked!
Soon, a table of steaming hot dishes was prepared. Unlike the lavish meals at the Pei mansion, the food at Pei Peng's home was more rustic and hearty.
Ahem, "rustic and hearty" meant not bothering with refined gourmet dishes, just piling on big cuts of meat and fish.
The centerpiece of today's table was the Dongpo pork knuckle in the middle—a knuckle as big as Pei Peng's head. The moment it was brought out, the glossy, oil-dripping, sauce-fragrant hunk of meat trembled twice in the air, instantly whetting the children's appetites.
"Grandfather, Grandfather, I want the skin, dipped in sauce!"
"Alright, alright, Grandfather will dip it in sauce for you!"
"I want to gnaw on the bone!"
"I want the meat!"
Third Master bustled about tending to each one, thoroughly enjoying himself and unwilling to delegate the task to anyone else.
Pei Peng had long since claimed a prime piece with both skin and meat. The brownish-pink lean meat lay hidden beneath the glossy, deep-red skin, wrapped tightly in fragrant, rich sauce with not a single gap. One bite—fragrant and tender, a sensation that traveled from head to toe!
"Delicious! So delicious!"
Pei Peng ate until his little face was flushed and smeared with sauce—you couldn't tell if he was eating the Dongpo pork knuckle or the knuckle was eating him. Even Third Master was led into eating half a bowl more rice because of him.
"Hmph, you brat, the only thing you're good at is coaxing your grandfather to eat! Now that the meal's done, bring out all your exam papers!
Wan'er, Xing'er, bring out yours too. Your father has left this matter entirely to me!"
At these words, all four children looked as mournful as if they'd lost a parent. Pei Changli read through the papers while muttering:
"You two at least should spare your father and me some worry. If you anger your mother and she divorces your father, then your aunt will come after me too!
Wait—am I seeing this right? One 'Poor' and three 'Failing'? Pei! Peng! Is this how you look after your brothers?!"
Pei Peng immediately tried to make a run for it, but was caught by the scruff of his neck by fate—or rather, by Pei Changli. He could only look at his father with shifty eyes and let out a sheepish grin:
"Dad, I'm not the one who got 'Poor'…"
"I, I, I… Someone! Bring the family discipline rod! I'll beat you to death today, I swear! For this entire month, I've spent two hours every single day watching you practice your calligraphy, and you—you—you're trying to anger me to death!
Your third uncle's son, Pei Du—that boy could recognize a thousand characters at age three! Look at you lot! A disgrace to the family! A disgrace to the family!"
"Pei Du knowing a thousand characters? That's all bragging!"
Pei Peng retorted without backing down, and Pei Changli snorted coldly:
"Then tell me, how did Pei Du do on this exam?"
"He… he really was the only one to get an excellent grade, but…"
"But what? Pei Peng, you're my son. I don't expect you to become some duke or marquis in the future, but at least you should be able to hold your own like a man. What's wrong with admitting someone else is better?"
"I didn't say that! Pei Du started learning characters at three years old to get where he is now, and even then he got three characters wrong, which made Eighth Uncle punish him by copying them a hundred times. But there are people who studied for just a month and got everything right!"
At this, Pei Changli's eyes widened, and he immediately pressed:
"Who? Pei Huan? No, Eleventh Brother is too fond of killing—how could he raise a son with the scholarly air of a bookworm? Is it Pei Feng? I'll have to go see one of these days, to check if Ninth Brother's grave is sending up green smoke!"
"Not at all! Father, what are you daydreaming about all day?"
"Then which of your brothers is it?!"
Pei Changli's eyes darted around. Having Pei Du, a studious one, in Third Brother's household was already enough. He himself had managed his business well over the years, but unfortunately none of his children were particularly promising. If only he had a nephew who could excel at his studies…