Master Pei had always been particularly displeased with his wife.
It happened to be autumn. Withered leaves rustled in the wind, yet the Pei residence in the capital was festooned with decorations today. Red silk hung everywhere the eye could see, leaving not the slightest trace of autumn’s usual desolation.
And of the entire Pei estate, none was livelier than Bixhan Courtyard, the residence of the Pei family’s second branch.
“Madam, there’s no need to stare.”
The maid Luye, sent by Madam Wei, the eldest daughter-in-law of the second branch, to guide Shen Qingyin, curled her lips ahead of her. It was obvious she looked down on Madam Shen for behaving like someone who had never seen the world.
The Pei family was a centuries-old aristocratic clan, its ancestors having risen to prominence as civil officials. For generations, its members had served in government, and the family fortune was deep and formidable.
In this generation, each of the three branches had its own sphere of influence. The eldest branch pursued official careers, the second branch engaged in commerce, and the third branch had many sons serving in the military. Though each branch had its own focus, they remained bound together as one family.
The eldest branch’s only son, Pei Yu, had been a celebrated prodigy in the capital from childhood. At three, he could recite anything he had read after a single glance. At five, he could compose polished prose. When he sat the imperial examinations, he came first and was named the top scholar.
In barely three years, he had already risen to the position of Fourth-Rank Vice Minister of the Dali Temple. His future was brilliant, and everyone said he was destined to enter the Grand Secretariat and become a prime minister one day.
He was the most promising young man the Pei family had ever produced.
And yet, this peerless young master, whom the entire clan had poured its resources into cultivating, had married a woman like Shen Qingyin.
At the thought, Luye glanced back at her.
Today, Shen Qingyin wore a dark sandalwood-purple silk gown. At her waist hung the jade rabbit pendant carved from Xiuyu jade that she never went anywhere without. Her fox-like eyes, impossible to forget once seen, were strikingly beautiful.
“Please walk a little faster, Madam. Otherwise, our Second Madam will have been waiting too long.”
Luye quickened her pace.
“Mm.”
Shen Qingyin followed the maid sent by the second branch, walking at an unhurried pace.
Even with a heart as still as calm water, she could not help turning her head again and again, taking in everything around her.
The second branch specialized in commerce and possessed considerable wealth. They had always spent lavishly, and for Jun-ge’er, the Pei clan’s eldest grandson, today’s first-birthday celebration had been arranged with extravagant grandeur.
The moment Shen Qingyin stepped into Bixhan Courtyard, she saw pavilions, terraces, and towers decorated in a riot of flowers. Rare plants and trees brought in from all over the country lined the corridors. The banquet tables and chairs had all been carved from century-old timber. Even the cups, plates, bowls, and chopsticks used at the feast were inlaid with gold and jade, their splendor almost dazzling to behold.
She herself came from a military family. Her father had once been a renowned general who guarded the borders and accumulated countless military achievements. In the past, the Shen family had hosted banquets of no less dignity or grandeur.
But she had never seen extravagance on this scale, not even in her own family.
Even her wedding to Pei Yu had not been nearly so magnificent.
Walking beside Shen Qingyin were her dowry maid, Zhuling, and Nanny Qing, who had cared for her since childhood.
Clearly, the two of them had been awed by the spectacle as well. Their little gasps of amazement were crisp and conspicuous, prompting Shen Qingyin to cough lightly twice in warning.
Bixhan Courtyard was considerably larger than her own Yuebai Courtyard. The three of them followed the long corridor inward for quite some time, passing many noblewomen and daughters of official families who had already arrived for the banquet.
“Good day, Madam.”
The moment they caught sight of Shen Qingyin, everyone gave her a polite nod in greeting, or else offered her a faint, perfunctory smile.
“It has been so long since we’ve seen Madam.”
“Madam is still as beautiful as ever. No one could tell that you’ve already borne a child.”
Yet every one of those smiles floated only upon the surface, without the slightest warmth. Anyone could hear the insincerity beneath their words.
Shen Qingyin, however, acted as though she had heard nothing. She returned each greeting with impeccable courtesy. Her face remained expressionless, but there was not a single flaw to be found in her bearing.
Even so, she could still feel countless eyes secretly sizing her up.
Then came the exchanged glances between them, followed by whispers that were deliberately kept just below the level of propriety.
“…So that’s Shen Qingyin? Truly, seeing her in person is something else. With a face like that… Just look at those eyes. No wonder Young Master Pei lost control of himself back then.”
“Shh. Keep your voice down. It’s hardly something to be proud of. But I have to say, General Shen was quite the hero in his day. How could a man like that have raised a pair of children who…”
“Tsk, tsk… I wonder if General Shen knows about all these filthy affairs from beyond the grave. Wouldn’t he be furious enough to throw the lid off his coffin…”
Who in the entire capital did not know about the scandal at the Qionglin Banquet three years ago?
The guests whispered and sighed over it.
Come to think of it, Shen Qingyin really was rather pitiful.
Her father, General Shen, had guarded the frontier for many years and earned countless military merits. Five years ago, he returned to the capital because of injuries and illness, and Shen Qingyin’s elder brother, Shen Zhang, took up his father’s spear and succeeded him.
But only two years later, during the battle at Pingyang Pass against Beishuo, Shen Zhang stubbornly insisted on acting against the military strategist’s advice. The entire army was annihilated, and Qi suffered a crushing defeat.
Not long afterward came news that the heir to the Prince of Dingbei had defected to the enemy and betrayed the country.
The news returned to the capital together with Shen Zhang’s corpse.
The Prince of Dingbei and his wife took their own lives to prove their innocence. The people of Qi cursed Shen Zhang for his arrogance and recklessness, and the Shen family was condemned along with him.
Emperor Yan was enraged.
He issued an edict exiling the remaining men of the Prince of Dingbei’s household, while the women were condemned to become government courtesans.
Although the Shen family itself was not formally punished, anyone with eyes could see that they had lost the emperor’s favor.
General Shen died of grief and rage. Madam Shen fell gravely ill and never recovered.
Overnight, the Shen family collapsed.
Everyone began avoiding them like the plague.
Shen Qingyin was a young woman without anyone to rely on. She had reached marriageable age without her father or elder brother to support her, while a younger brother and sister still depended on her.
She could not even find a respectable marriage.
With no other choice and the years slipping by, Shen Qingyin went to ask for help from her mother’s old friend, Madam Liang Wanyou of the Pei family.
She begged Madam Pei, for the sake of their old friendship, to help arrange a marriage for her.
Madam Pei was softhearted. Remembering their former friendship, she introduced Shen Qingyin to Lu Yi, her own son’s junior fellow student.
Lu Yi’s family background was ordinary, but he was naturally intelligent. He had sat the imperial examinations in the same year as Pei Yu. Though he had not achieved the top scholar’s honors like Pei Yu, his name had still appeared on the list.
More importantly, he was an honest man. His household consisted only of his elderly mother, who was in poor health.
If Shen Qingyin married him, she would immediately become mistress of the household. At least she would have a place where she could settle down and build a life.
It was said that Shen Qingyin herself had agreed at the time.
She had planned to meet Lu Yi at the Qionglin Banquet, familiarize herself with his face, and settle the marriage from there.
But who could have imagined that she would create such a disgraceful scandal at the banquet?
An unmarried young woman had somehow obtained a drug and given it to Young Master Pei.
When the palace attendants discovered them, the two were in a secluded palace chamber, their clothes in disarray, locked in each other’s arms.
As the scandal threatened to spiral out of control, His Majesty had no choice but to issue an imperial marriage decree.
For the sake of preserving the Pei family’s dignity and protecting Pei Yu’s reputation, he ordered Shen Qingyin to marry Pei Yu.
Everyone in the capital agreed that Shen Qingyin was calculating and shameless.
Madam Pei had kindly found her a stable marriage, yet she had refused to appreciate it. Instead, she had insisted on climbing the Pei family’s lofty branch—and used such a sordid method to do it.
It was simply unfortunate that Young Master Pei, Pei Yu, had been born into such an exalted family, with his handsome appearance and brilliant future ahead of him.
Yet even a man like him had been unable to guard against Shen Qingyin deliberately laying a trap at the banquet and forcing him to marry a scheming woman whose family had fallen into ruin and who possessed nothing but a pretty face.
The more contemptuous the women’s gazes became, the colder Shen Qingyin’s own eyes grew.
Yet the more she withdrew into herself, the less the women bothered to hide what they thought.
What right did Shen Qingyin have to put on such an aloof face?
They had all heard that Madam Pei hated her for ruining her son’s marriage and, even after three years of having Shen Qingyin in the household, still refused to give her authority over the family accounts and household affairs.
Master Pei was forever longing for a grandson.
Now that both the second and third branches had produced sons, only the eldest branch remained conspicuously quiet.
Whenever he looked at Shen Qingyin, when had there ever been satisfaction in his eyes?
As for Young Master Pei, did that even need saying?
Everyone in the capital knew that he disliked his wife most of all.
He rarely returned home, and there was even less tenderness between him and Shen Qingyin.
She possessed nothing but a devastatingly beautiful face, yet could neither win her husband’s heart nor uphold the dignity of the eldest branch.
She had brought it upon herself.
Tsk.
Did she really think that by putting on that detached, lofty air day after day, like a chrysanthemum untouched by worldly concerns, no one could see through her?
Shen Qingyin endured her discomfort and walked quickly down the long corridor.
Only after she turned through an ornate moon gate and escaped the sight of the passing guests did she finally let her shoulders, held rigid the entire way, slowly relax.
The emotions she had suppressed all along finally loosened, if only a little.
Zhuling followed behind her.
She had been seething ever since she saw those guests openly speaking ill of their mistress to her face. Now that there was no one else around, she immediately lowered her voice and complained indignantly.
“Madam, those people are absolutely shameless! Back when the General and Young Master were deeply trusted by His Majesty, commanding troops and guarding the frontier, these very people practically broke down the gates of our Shen residence every New Year and festival just to send gifts and curry favor!”
“Now that circumstances have changed, look how disrespectfully they treat you! No matter what, you are the legitimate wife and mistress of the Pei family’s eldest branch. What right do they have to stare at you like that and make whatever comments they please?!”
Ever since Madam had married into the Pei family three years ago—and especially after what happened two years ago—anyone seemed to think they could come along and kick her while she was down.
The angrier Zhuling became, the more Shen Qingyin hurriedly raised a hand and gently patted the back of hers, signaling her to be quiet.
They were nothing more than a few cold looks and a little contempt from outsiders.
Shen Qingyin had endured scenes like this countless times over the past three years. She had long since trained herself to take them in stride.
She only needed to bear it for a while, and it would pass.
There was no point in taking such things to heart, much less getting angry over them.
Nanny Qing gave a soft sigh.
Seeing the circumstances her mistress had been reduced to, her heart ached for her. But she knew this was hardly the time to lose one’s temper, so she hurriedly spoke in a low voice.
“Madam is right. Zhuling, don’t lower yourself to their level. We’d best hurry inside. We mustn’t keep them waiting too long, or they’ll find some new fault with us later.”
Shen Qingyin nodded slightly and was just about to step forward and catch up with the maid leading them.
But Luye, walking ahead, had clearly never intended to wait.
She had already reached the farthest end of the corridor from them.
When she turned around and suddenly saw the three of them still lagging far behind, she not only made no effort to stop and wait, she completely disregarded Shen Qingyin’s status as mistress of the eldest branch and, right in front of them, rolled her eyes dramatically.
The contempt and impatience in her expression were impossible to miss.
A mere maid actually dared to behave this way toward the mistress of the household.
This was nothing short of insolence.
Zhuling had always been straightforward by nature. She could not hold herself back any longer and immediately stepped forward.
“You insolent servant—”
“Zhuling.”
Before she could finish, her mistress caught her with a restraining hand and pulled her back.
“Madam…”
The angry words that had risen to Zhuling’s lips were forced back down. Her cheeks flushed with the effort, leaving her both furious and aggrieved.
She felt deeply wronged on her mistress’s behalf.
Before anything had happened to Young Master Shen, Madam had been the beloved eldest daughter of the Shen family, cherished and spoiled in the palms of her parents’ hands.
When had she ever endured such cold looks and casual humiliations?
Besides, Madam had originally been destined for a fine marriage. It was only because of an unforeseen disaster that she had been forced to marry into the Pei family.
She had spent every day since then treading carefully, keeping herself obedient and unobtrusive.
And now she had fallen so far that even a lowly maid in the household dared to humiliate her in public, rolling her eyes at her as though she were nothing.
The distance between being high above the clouds and falling into the dust was so enormous.
Zhuling could not imagine how her mistress had managed to endure it all.
Yet Shen Qingyin seemed not to have noticed Luye’s insolent behavior at all.
Her expression remained calm and composed.
As though nothing had happened, she simply continued walking.
Seeing that Shen Qingyin and her attendants had made no move to question her, Luye’s stride became even more arrogant.
Hmph.
What was wrong with her?
She was only a servant.
Wasn’t serving people better than scheming against them?
Before long, the group passed through winding paths hidden among layers of flowers and trees and entered the main banquet area of Bixhan Courtyard.
From Shen Qingyin’s vantage point, this place was even more extravagant than the route they had taken earlier.
The noblewomen and young ladies moving through the courtyard were dressed in splendid finery, surrounded by pearls and jade ornaments. They gathered in groups of three or four, chatting and laughing softly, filling the courtyard with a lively, bustling atmosphere.
Madam Wei stood at the center of the crowd like the moon surrounded by stars, occupied with receiving the more distinguished guests.
She had always loved dealing with people. Even now, moving effortlessly among the guests, she showed not the slightest trace of fluster.
And yet this woman, so adept at making everyone feel welcome, had not spared Shen Qingyin, her sister-in-law from the eldest branch, even a fraction of her attention.
Luye led Shen Qingyin directly to an inconspicuous table tucked into a corner.
She casually raised a hand to indicate the seat, then turned and walked away without leaving behind even a single polite word.
The table stood beneath a corridor, tucked around a corner far from the bustle.
To put it kindly, it was a secluded seat removed from the noise.
In reality, it was neither conspicuous nor likely to attract anyone’s notice.
It was obvious that Madam Wei had deliberately arranged this place to leave Shen Qingyin isolated.
Yet Shen Qingyin’s expression remained unchanged.
She calmly took her seat.
Zhuling followed behind her.
Seeing the remote, deserted table, she was once again filled with indignation. But given the occasion, she did not dare say another word and could only stand silently beside her mistress.
At the surrounding tables, the women all knew one another. They clustered together, chatting animatedly about household affairs, jewelry, and the marriages of their sons and daughters.
Only at Shen Qingyin’s table did no one come over to exchange even the most superficial pleasantries.
Everyone knew perfectly well what her situation was.
Her mother-in-law did not favor her.
Her husband did not love her.
And her natal family no longer had anything worth cultivating a relationship for.
So the others either pretended not to see her or cast her a distant glance before turning back to their conversations.
No one wanted to approach Shen Qingyin.
Even less did they want to have anything to do with a woman who had supposedly been willing to use any means necessary to climb into a more powerful family.
Shen Qingyin did not care.
She simply sat there quietly by herself.
She picked up the teacup on the table and took a small sip.
This kind of peace and quiet was exactly what she wanted.
But when her gaze drifted lightly toward the little children playing in the courtyard, the calm, unruffled look in her eyes suddenly softened.
Before she had left, Tang-jie’er had still been in her wet nurse’s arms, clutching a wolf-hair brush in her tiny hand and speaking in her soft, childish voice about how she wanted to paint a kite herself and take it outside to fly.
Shen Qingyin wondered whether her daughter’s kite would be finished by the time she returned from the birthday feast.
Nanny Qing watched the expression on Shen Qingyin’s face and naturally knew what her mistress was thinking.
But whenever this subject arose, her heart only grew more bitter.
Young Master Pei was renowned throughout the realm for his skill in painting.
A single painting casually produced by his hand could be worth a thousand pieces of gold.
Yet his own daughter, Tang-jie’er, was one of the poorest among children her age when it came to recognizing colors.
Her father was away from home most of the time. Even when he occasionally returned, he rarely set foot in the eldest branch’s Yuebai Courtyard, much less bothered to ask after Tang-jie’er.
Madam wanted Tang-jie’er to learn painting, but the child was not yet old enough to formally take a teacher.
So Madam could only teach her herself, or occasionally ask one of the household tutors to offer a few pointers.
How could that compare with the daughters of other aristocratic families, who had their fathers personally teaching them from a young age?
Her mistress was an intelligent woman.
How could she not understand?
When a man despised a woman, he would despise even the child she had borne him.
Madam and Young Master Pei had been married for three years.
And everything Young Master Pei had done throughout those three years made one thing painfully clear.
He was humiliating his wife.
And he was doing it where the entire capital could see.