Shen Qingyin knew better than anyone that Pei Yu personally forging a Longevity Lock for Jun-ge'er today was not as simple as others made it out to be.
She had been married to Pei Yu for three years, and the reason he had favored the second branch all this time was simply that Madam Wei and his childhood sweetheart of a cousin were both relatives of the Jingyuan Marquis household.
By seniority, Pei Yu's cousin even had to address Madam Wei as Aunt.
So today's gesture was nothing more than Pei Yu showing special favor to Jun-ge'er for his cousin's sake.
So be it. So be it.
Shen Qingyin drew a deep breath and turned to look at her daughter on the bed, whose small face was flushed red and brows tightly furrowed. Her heart clenched along with the sight. She had no time to dwell on anything else—the most urgent matter was to bring down Tang-jie'er's fever.
She looked at Zhuling: "Go fetch paper and brush. I'll write a prescription, and you take it straight to the apothecary to fill it. Be as quick as you can."
Zhuling hurriedly complied and turned to fetch the paper and brush.
Shen Qingyin lifted the brush and searched for a good while through her scarce memories of that person's way of doing things before finally drawing out a prescription.
Suppressing the ache of surging memories, she wrote down several ingredients for dispelling cold and reducing fever.
Then, just like that person, she carefully noted the dosages and the method of decoction on the prescription.
After Zhuling hurried out the door with the prescription, Shen Qingyin leaned over the bedside, gently brushing aside the sweat-dampened strands of hair at Tang-jie'er's temple, and coaxed softly:
"There, there, Tang-jie'er. Mama's here. Once you take your medicine, you'll feel better soon."
As she coaxed her, she suddenly remembered that once upon a time, someone had been just as she was now—after writing out a prescription, leaning over her bedside, coaxing her as if she were a child.
Memories rushed over her, and Shen Qingyin could no longer hold back. Her nose stung, and she nearly shed tears.
Tan Lang…
"Madam, the Eldest Young Master will return soon. The Old Madam asks that you wait in the front courtyard."
Shen Qingyin had been so lost in thought that she hadn't realized how quickly the time had passed. When Nanny Qing's voice reached her, she looked up to see Zhuling rushing back with the medicine packets.
Seeing that Shen Qingyin was still somewhat dazed, Nanny Qing stepped forward and said, "Madam, what about the Old Madam's side…"
The Madam had been married to Eldest Young Master Pei for three years, and there was not a trace of warmth between them—one might even say they loathed the sight of each other.
Yet the Madam always insisted on maintaining proper appearances, so in the past, no matter how late Pei Yu returned, she would wait at the main gate of the Pei residence for the Eldest Young Master, even though every time all she received was his cold face.
"Go tell her that Tang-jie'er is unwell and I cannot come." Shen Qingyin forcibly held back her tears.
Nanny Qing was somewhat surprised by this answer, but immediately complied with an "As you wish," and turned to report to Liang Wanyou.
Shen Qingyin promptly instructed Zhuling to light the fire in the small kitchen, while she herself stood guard by the stove to brew the medicine.
Once the liquid in the clay pot slowly simmered into a deep brown, she carefully strained out the dregs, poured the medicine into a bowl, and only after blowing on it until it was warm did she carry it back to the side chamber and gently feed it to Tang-jie'er.
After the medicine was administered, she kept watch by the bed, checking her temperature from time to time.
By the latter half of the night, the fever on Tang-jie'er's forehead had finally gradually receded, and her breathing had steadied considerably.
Watching her daughter sleeping peacefully, Shen Qingyin's anxious heart finally eased a little.
"Madam, it's nearly dawn. You must pay your respects to the Old Madam first thing tomorrow morning—please go rest now. I can watch over things here." Nanny Qing spoke with evident tenderness.
With that, she glanced at Zhuling, signaling her to rest as well—after all, the girl would have to accompany Madam to pay respects to the Old Madam in the morning.
Shen Qingyin glanced at the sky outside the window; sure enough, it was almost the hour of Zi, and the moon had already drifted to the center of the sky.
"Very well. Just remember to take turns with the wet nurse—don't wear yourselves out."
After giving her instructions, Shen Qingyin worriedly repeated a few words to the wet nurse. She had already reached the door when she turned back to tuck in Tang-jie'er's blanket. Only after all this did she drag her weary body back to the inner chamber.
The inner chamber was empty, and she didn't even have the strength to light a lamp.
Shen Qingyin couldn't bear to wake Zhuling, who had only just fallen asleep in the outer room, so by the moonlight streaming through the window, she removed her outer robe, let down her hair, and collapsed onto the bed like a puddle of water, staring blankly at the bed canopy.
She was simply too exhausted.
All day she had endured the banquet and its social niceties, and upon returning, she had spent half the night in anxious toil over Tang-jie'er's illness.
Only now did she finally have a moment to raise a hand and knead her aching lower back, feeling as though every bone in her body had come apart.
How had it come to this? There was a time when she could ride and draw a bow, galloping across the grasslands the entire day without so much as panting…
Images of her youth flashed before her eyes. Shen Qingyin's dull gaze sharpened for an instant, but she quickly forced herself to pull away from the memory.
No need to dwell on the past. Now, she only wished that all the gods and Buddhas in the heavens would bless her Tang-jie'er with a full recovery, so that tomorrow she might be back to her lively, bouncing self!
If it came to pass, she would eat vegetarian for seven days!
Mulling it over, she drifted drowsily into sleep.
But in the latter half of the night, Shen Qingyin suddenly sensed someone entering the room.
She slept lightly. In her daze, she caught a whiff of crisp, clean saponin fragrance.
Coupled with the rustling of clothes changing in the outer room and the soft clink of a washbasin, she understood—Pei Yu had returned.
Her husband had been away for a full month. Shen Qingyin wanted to prop herself up to greet him properly, but her eyelids felt weighted with lead and would not open no matter what.
After much struggle, she managed only to roll over.
Forget it—getting up would gain her nothing anyway. Better to sleep a while longer.
With that thought, Shen Qingyin simply let herself go, turned her back to the outer room, and sank back into sleep.
She didn't know how long had passed when the bed dipped slightly—someone had sat down.
Before Shen Qingyin could react, she felt a large, slightly cool hand slip to her waist, deftly untying the sash of her sleepwear.
Then a chill spread across her chest—her undergarment had vanished. Husband and wife for so many years, she knew all too well what Pei Yu intended.
Shen Qingyin turned her head blearily, her voice weary and husky. "Ziyan, don't… I'm so tired."
Ziyan was Pei Yu's courtesy name.
A low, cold chuckle came from behind her. His calloused fingertip slowly traveled upward, and in an instant a wave of tingling sensation spread from beneath her collarbone.
"I said… don't…"
Outsiders knew nothing of it, but as his wife, she understood best.
On the surface, Pei Yu appeared noble and aloof, indifferent to feminine charms, but in bed he was the most unrestrained of men—and he never released her before two full hours had passed. The next day, her legs would always be weak and trembling.
She was already exhausted to the point of dying today—how could she possibly endure such a fierce demand from him?
Shen Qingyin had wanted to push him away, but the moment her hand lifted, Pei Yu caught her by the wrist.
She snapped awake at once and struggled to escape, but he held her firmly in place, leaving her unable to move an inch.
As always, Pei Yu remained silent, his movements showing not the slightest pause.
Shen Qingyin was forced over, and no sooner had her face hit the pillow than she felt a pair of hands grip her waist with overbearing force.
"Ziyan… please…"
At her plea, Pei Yu let out another cold laugh.
This woman was truly laughable. In the daytime she wore nothing but a dead-fish expression, like a puppet that could neither cry nor laugh—yet every time it came to this, no one begged more earnestly than she did.
What was more absurd was that she knew full well her pleading never worked on him, and yet every time she still clung to a sliver of hope.
Like now.
Seeing that her cries were useless, Shen Qingyin gave up the pointless effort and resignedly bit down on her lower lip.
The wind howled urgently outside the window, and the moonlight deepened. Just as things were reaching their height, the bed suddenly gave a strained "creak" under the burden, followed by a sharp "crack"—and one corner of the bed frame actually collapsed.
Shen Qingyin flinched all over in fright and shot upright almost instantly.
Pei Yu's movements stilled. He lowered his eyes to gaze at the sunken bed beneath his knees, his expression calm to the point of indifference.
"Don't panic. The bed merely collapsed."
The bed… collapsed?
It had been that intense…
Shen Qingyin's face burned hot in an instant. If word of this ever got out, she would never be able to show her face again.
The mood thoroughly ruined, Pei Yu had no interest in continuing. He rose, draped an outer robe over himself, and headed straight for the bath.
Only then did Shen Qingyin hurriedly gather her clothes, clamber up while holding the edge of the ruined bed, and call in a low voice for Zhuling, who kept watch in the outer room, telling her to go at once and make up the bed in the side chamber.
The sound of bathing came from the washroom, and a maid was summoned by Pei Yu to change the water. The man emerged soon after, and Shen Qingyin, legs still trembling, followed close behind into the bath.
By the time she had washed away the sweat and changed into clean underclothes and made her way to the side chamber, all drowsiness had left her.
The mattress in the side chamber was far harder than the one in the main room, and Shen Qingyin slept with an ever-worsening ache in her back. To make matters worse, at this very moment she could hear Pei Yu's steady, even breathing.
She turned her head to look at the man sleeping beside her.
The morning light filtered through the thin gauze and fell upon his face, his long dark lashes casting faint shadows across it. His nose was high and straight, his lips drawn in a cold, sharp line. Even fast asleep, the line of his jaw remained taut, his whole person radiating an aloof, unapproachable nobility.
Shen Qingyin thought to herself—Pei Yu was, after all, a gentleman raised by his entire clan's efforts, an heir of a great family. Even in sleep he was so proper and dignified.
But who could tell her why such a proper, dignified gentleman—a cold and solemn civil official—was in this matter even fiercer than any military man?
He had rushed back all the way from Jiangnan, worn out from days of travel by boat and carriage, yet tonight he'd still had such energy that he'd left her feeling as though every bone in her body had been taken apart and reassembled. Even relieving herself had felt like an ordeal just now.
Watching the sky grow steadily brighter, Shen Qingyin withdrew her gaze and urged herself to fall asleep quickly.
But she had barely lain down for a moment, not yet fully asleep, when Zhuling's urgent report came from outside the door:
"Madam, Madam! Tang-jie'er is awake—she's crying and fussing, begging for you to hold her!"
Shen Qingyin heard the announcement from outside the door clearly, and her heart immediately lifted. Tang-jie'er's cries were full of vigor—if she disturbed the people in the surrounding courtyards, it would be a serious problem.
With that thought, she banished the ache in her waist to the farthest corners of her mind and rose at once to wash her face and rinse her mouth.
Hearing her mistress stir, Zhuling entered at just the right moment, taking an outer robe from the rack and helping Shen Qingyin into it.
The commotion between mistress and maid woke Pei Yu. Through hazy eyes, he lifted half of the gauze canopy, revealing a face that had grown ever colder and stern.
"What is all this racket?" the man asked in a low voice.
He had returned home after many days of travel, and even a good night's sleep had become a luxury.
Shen Qingyin was busy straightening her collar and did not answer, but Zhuling beside her could not help herself.
"In reply to Eldest Young Master, Tang-jie'er fell into the water yesterday and caught a chill. Her fever has only just broken, and now she's fussing because she wants her mother to hold her."
As she finished speaking, she carefully tilted her head, sneaking a glance at Pei Yu, secretly hoping the Eldest Young Master might say a few words of concern.
But at her words, Pei Yu only let out a flat, toneless "mm" from his throat, then rolled over.
Within moments, his breathing evened out—the man had drifted back into deep sleep.
Zhuling: …
After a pause, she quietly glanced at her mistress again.
Yet there was not a trace of displeasure on Shen Qingyin's face. She only gave a mild order: "Let's go."
By the hour of mao, dawn had fully broken, and morning mist drifted across the courtyard corridors.
After much patient coaxing, Shen Qingyin finally got Tang-jie'er to finish a small bowl of warm red date porridge, one small mouthful at a time.
She handed the white porcelain bowl to Nanny Qing, then gently laid her fingertips over her daughter's forehead to check carefully. Only after confirming that all traces of warmth had faded and the fever was completely gone did the taut string in her heart finally loosen.
Tang-jie'er let Zhuling wipe her little face clean. The moment the cloth was taken away, the little one raised both hands high and said in a babyish voice:
"Mama, Pei Xutang wants Mama to hold me~"
Shen Qingyin crouched down and gently took her daughter's soft little hands, coaxing her in a soft voice:
"Be good, Tang-jie'er. Mama has to go pay her respects to Grandmother now. Be good and listen to Nanny Qing and your wet nurse, take your medicine properly, and wait for Mama to come back, all right?"
Tang-jie'er immediately shook her head like a rattle-drum.
"No, no! Pei Xutang doesn't want Mama to go~"
Tang-jie'er was not yet two years old, and her words came out all mushy—enough to melt anyone's heart.
Nanny Qing watched the little mistress with affection and laughed. "What's this? Why does our Tang-jie'er keep calling herself by her full name today?"
Zhuling covered her mouth and giggled as well.
Shen Qingyin patted Tang-jie'er's fuzzy little head and sighed softly:
"Tangtang, if you promise to be good and wait for me to come back, I'll let you have a piece of Dragon Beard Candy today."
At the words "Dragon Beard Candy," Tang-jie'er's bright black eyes, clear as grapes, lit up at once, and she nodded immediately:
"I'll be good! Dragon Beard Candy! Mama, go!"
Though her daughter's forget-her-mother-the-moment-candy-is-mentioned ways saddened Shen Qingyin a little, hearing this, she was able to leave with peace of mind.
The early autumn morning air was piercingly cool. Shen Qingyin passed through the thin layer of morning dew coating the osmanthus leaves along the corridor, lifting her skirt as she walked slowly toward Xueqing Pavilion.
She was always punctual—in the past she would set out at precisely this hour, and every time she was the earliest to arrive to pay her respects.
But today, the moment she stepped into the front hall of Xueqing Pavilion and looked up, she found the hall already filled with the ladies of every household.
Beneath the murmur of voices, the atmosphere was oddly heavy and tense.
Even with such an unusual display, Shen Qingyin's back remained perfectly straight, her expression unchanged. But Zhuling at her side felt her heart tighten, secretly clutching her sleeve.
Two years ago, when her mistress had been pregnant with Tang-jie'er, that old incident was still vivid in Zhuling's memory. She still remembered how the atmosphere that day had been just like this.
How could she not panic?
Madam Wei sat among the guests. The moment she glimpsed Shen Qingyin, she raised her silk handkerchief to lightly cover her lips, the corners of her eyes tilting upward slightly, a somewhat amused gaze falling brazenly upon Shen Qingyin.
Shen Qingyin's gaze swept coolly over Madam Wei, then slowly moved away from her face, passing over Madam Zhang, who stood nearby with a worried expression, watching her anxiously, before finally settling firmly on her mother-in-law, Liang Wanyou, seated in the place of honor.
Liang Wanyou sat upright on a large rosewood chair, dressed in a dark purple brocade gown. Her face betrayed little emotion, but her brows and eyes were drawn tight—clearly suppressing a bellyful of anger.
Shen Qingyin lowered her eyes and was just about to curtsy and offer her greetings when Liang Wanyou, from the seat of honor, suddenly barked out sharply. A command came crashing down upon her head like a thunderbolt—
"Kneel!"