The spring rain fell and stopped, continuing for several days, until finally a glimpse of spring sunshine appeared once more.
The lotus leaves in the Pei family pond were tipped with raindrops, crystal clear and quite lovely. As Pei Yue passed through the garden, she glanced at them, then turned her head to Bizhu and said, "When those lotus leaves unfurl, go pick two for me—I want to use them for flower arranging."
"I'll remember that." Bizhu nodded, then spotted Nanny Liao approaching from ahead and smiled, saying, "Miss, Nanny Liao has come to fetch us."
Just as she finished speaking, Nanny Liao reached Pei Yue's side. "Greetings to the young miss. The Madam and the young master have finished preparing and are waiting in the front courtyard. The Madam worried you might be too lazy to stir yourself, so she specially sent this old servant to come fetch you."
"You've gone to such trouble, Nanny. Mother is feeling much better, and with such a rare clear day, I naturally wouldn't refuse to go out." Pei Yue finished speaking with a smile, and Bizhu took a bag of pastries from the food box, saying she'd like Nanny Liao to have a taste.
Nanny Liao often came to deliver messages to Pei Yue. She was the closest nanny in Madam Pei's service and treated people with warmth, so Pei Yue always prepared snacks and small change for her.
Today, Madam Pei was going to Baohua Temple to burn incense, and she specially brought along her son and daughter—one reason was to pray for blessings for her children, and another was to let Pei Yue get some fresh air and lift her spirits.
Passing through a long carved redwood corridor, they arrived at the spacious front courtyard. Pei Lin was already standing there waiting. Today he wore a brocade robe embroidered with green mountains, his hair tied up with only a single jade-green hairpin—clean and neat, yet refined.
Just as Pei Yue entered the courtyard, she heard her younger brother urging her impatiently.
"Every single time we have to wait for you. We won't even make it in time for the first incense offering." Pei Lin strode out, but before he could take two steps, his sister grabbed him by the back of his collar, forcing him to stand still. He looked up, somewhat unconvinced.
Pei Yue watched her brother's cheeks puff up and pinched one. "Burning incense isn't like going to Spring Breeze Pavilion for a feast. As long as your heart is sincere, the Bodhisattva will hear you no matter when you go."
Madam Pei came out of the house and saw the siblings at it again, bickering and roughhousing. She smiled faintly and shook her head, saying helplessly, "You two—you always have to squabble over everything."
Once they were in the carriage, the siblings were still bickering as usual. Madam Pei found them too talkative and closed her eyes to rest.
Baohua Temple was the largest temple in the capital. It had been rebuilt ten years ago from an older temple, and its incense was said to be very efficacious—everyone in the capital loved to come and burn incense there.
However, for prominent families like the Pei family, when they came to burn incense, they would book a private room in advance, to serve as a place for the women to rest and pray.
As the carriage slowly came to a stop, Pei Lei went to ask a young novice monk where their private room was.
Pei Lin was the first to jump out of the carriage, quietly surveying the surroundings. By the time Pei Yue descended, Pei Lei had returned with a deeply furrowed brow.
"What's wrong?" Pei Lin asked first.
Pei Lei said angrily, "Reporting to the young master, the temple staff just said that the room that should have been ours was taken by the Jiang family—they arrived suddenly and occupied it. We have no room available today."
At the mention of the Jiang family, Pei Lin's brow also furrowed. He said with displeasure, "The imperial decree of betrothal only reached the Jiang family yesterday, and today they're already swaggering around stealing people's rooms. Aren't the Jiangs getting a bit too cocky and carried away? He's just a man my elder sister didn't want—in terms of rank, Prince Shou can't even compare to the Crown Prince. No, I'm going to go have words with them!"
Pei Yue grabbed her brother's arm. She was angry too. "What's the rush? If we're going, we're all going together." With that, she turned to look at her mother.
Madam Pei's long lashes fluttered lightly. Even though her eldest daughter had grown up, she still retained the grace of the foremost beauty of the capital from years past. Her gaze shifted gently as she stepped forward. "Let's go take a look together."
In the past, in order to secure a marriage alliance with the Pei family, the Empress Dowager had always tried to curry favor with the Peis. But the Jiang family had their own schemes—they had gone to great lengths to support Prince Shou and had no intention of becoming a stepping stone for a Pei daughter. Yet the Empress Dowager, determined to win the Pei family's backing, had made the Jiang daughter a backup option, which had become a lingering grievance in the Jiang family's heart.
Still, both families were prominent households in the capital, and they maintained appearances well enough. The Jiang family's seizure of the private room today was most likely due to yesterday's marriage decree—the Emperor had commanded that the Jiang family's eldest legitimate daughter be wed to Prince Shou as his consort, with the wedding date set after the Crown Prince's nuptials. It was truly a union that strengthened ties, a double blessing at the door.
The group walked to the private room. Before they even entered, they heard Madam Jiang's laughter, as if she were in excellent spirits.
The vermilion window was half-ajar, and those inside didn't seem to mind their conversation being overheard. Pei Yue went straight over and pushed the door open.
The moment the door opened, Madam Jiang and Jiang Yiyi, who were seated inside, both froze in surprise. But before they could speak, Pei Yue let out an "oh!" and smiled with an apologetic expression. "The little novice monk said this was the place—I thought I'd misheard at first, but I never imagined someone really was here. Greetings to Madam Jiang, and Jiang-sister, I hope you're well. Did you mistake which room this was, or did the little novice monk fail to tell you that we'd already reserved it?"
Pei Yue stood at the doorway with the light at her back, smiling brightly at Madam Jiang and her daughter. Seeing their expressions stiffen slightly, she stepped further inside, followed by Madam Pei. Pei Lin remained outside, as the room contained women from another household.
Jiang Yiyi had an oval face and delicate features, carrying a fragile beauty reminiscent of the Jiangnan region. She looked timidly toward Madam Jiang, her face full of bewilderment.
Madam Jiang, having seen more of the world, rose with a smile to greet them. "We also received the decree suddenly yesterday and couldn't reserve a room in advance. We assumed you wouldn't be coming, so we made use of the room first. Let me apologize to Madam Pei—it was our fault. You won't hold it against us, will you?"
The deliberate mention of the marriage decree was a blatant show of gloating.
Madam Pei had little interaction with Madam Jiang, mainly because she disliked the Jiang family's pettiness. Taking two steps into the room, Madam Pei caught the scent of cosmetics in the air and subtly covered her nose. "What are you saying, Madam Jiang? I'm hardly the sort of person with such a small heart—it's only a room. But since you've put it that way, it wouldn't be right for us to simply give up this room. So I'll trouble you to return it to us."
Upon hearing the first half of the sentence, Madam Jiang had assumed the Pei family would be sensible and yield the room. But Madam Pei pivoted and demanded it back. Having already settled into the room, wouldn't it be laughable to slink away in defeat?
"There's really no need for such trouble. Our two daughters will be sisters-in-law in the future. Miss Pei rarely goes out these days, so today is a perfect chance for them to get to know each other better." Madam Jiang still refused to give up the room.
Pei Yue glanced toward her mother. Not only did her mother have the final say at home, but having taught at the academy for years, she carried an inherent authority in her brow. With just a faint look at the Jiang mother and daughter, Jiang Yiyi guiltily averted her gaze.
Madam Jiang saw that Madam Pei was not speaking, and the atmosphere gradually grew awkward. She did not want to fall out with the Pei family, after all—she had only meant to vent some old grievances, never expecting that the Pei family cared nothing about their daughter's marriage to Prince Shou and still did not take them seriously at all.
"Oh dear, I was mistaken. A mother and daughter going out must have private words to share. Yiyi, quickly have the maids pack up and return the side chamber to Madam Pei." Though Madam Jiang wore a smile on her face, she was cursing viciously in her heart.
After some tidying up, Madam Jiang led her daughter and the servants away. Only after they had walked a good distance did she let out an indignant snort.
Outside the side chamber lay a pond, and the path was paved with cobblestones that were not easy to walk on. Jiang Yiyi nearly twisted her ankle and whispered, "Mother, please slow down."
Madam Jiang stopped and turned around, exclaiming, "What happened? Is your foot all right?"
Jiang Yiyi's eyes were moist as she shook her head, looking as fragile as a willow in the wind. "My foot is fine, but Madam Pei is so fierce. I didn't even dare look at her just now."
"She's a notorious shrew!" Madam Jiang, having just lost face, said irritably. "Look at how formidable Grand Secretary Pei is, yet he doesn't have a single concubine. A woman like that—in any other household, she would have been divorced long ago. It's only because Grand Secretary Pei protects her."
For some reason, Jiang Yiyi seemed to detect a sour note in her mother's words. Grand Secretary Pei had risen to fame at a young age and was utterly devoted to Madam Pei. Though some said Madam Pei was jealous, when one thought about it afterward, everyone envied her life. But she dared not say such a thing to her mother.
Madam Jiang walked to the corridor and lost all interest in burning incense. She ordered the servants to prepare the carriage, still refusing to let the matter go. "Just you wait and see. The Pei family is riding high now, but when the Crown Prince is deposed, that will be the time they cry and we laugh!"
The Jiang family had always been certain that Prince Shou would ascend to the throne—why else would they have kept their daughter waiting for him all this time? Now that their wish had come true, Madam Jiang could hardly wait to see the Pei family's downfall.
With that thought in mind, Madam Jiang's mood improved considerably.
However, her good mood did not last long. As she walked out of Baohua Temple, a young servant from the household came rushing over, calling for them to return home at once. It seemed that the second young master of the family was in trouble—he had been given thirty strokes by the Emperor and thrown into the imperial prison, apparently in connection with the mining disaster in Jizhou.