Changle Ward—what a famous den of glittering indulgence, the playground where the high officials and nobles of the capital came to seek their pleasures.
Just last night, heedless of her exhaustion, he had taken everything from her; today, he turned around and went straight to a brothel to meet its top courtesan.
Shen Qingyin lowered her eyes. A flicker of disturbance rippled swiftly through her still, dead-water gaze—when suddenly Tang-jie'er in her arms began to cry. Her daughter raised her little hands and threw herself into her mother's embrace. That trace of emotion vanished in an instant, and Shen Qingyin had no mind for anything else; she rose, holding her daughter, and rocked her gently.
Nanny Qing stood nearby, watching her mistress with evident worry, as if afraid the lady would be heartbroken.
After all, the Young Master had always been discreet and self-respecting—he had never before set foot in such a place of painted pleasure.
But Shen Qingyin felt only indifference.
Wherever Pei Yu went was his own affair. It had nothing to do with her.
Tang-jie'er in her arms cried until her eyes were a watery blur, wailing louder and louder. Shen Qingyin coaxed her for a long while, and Zhuling exhausted every trick she knew—even placing the Dragon Beard Candy promised to Tang-jie'er that very morning right before her—yet nothing could stop the child's sobs.
Out of options, Shen Qingyin carried her to the courtyard to distract her.
The courtyard was pleasantly cool and refreshing. Pale-yellow autumn leaves swayed in the breeze with a soft rustling. Along both sides of the corridor, great swaths of dark orchids were in full bloom, their jade-green leaves unfurled, their buds open, their rich, subtle fragrance permeating the entire courtyard.
Every blooming orchid filling the yard had been lovingly tended by Shen Qingyin herself, requiring countless days of care and effort to grow so lush and vibrant.
Tang-jie'er, draped over her mother's shoulder, was suddenly drawn through her tear-blurred eyes to the colorful butterflies flitting among the flowers.
A child's curiosity instantly overcame her fussing. Tang-jie'er stopped crying at once and squirmed to get down from Shen Qingyin's arms to chase the butterflies.
Shen Qingyin could not have wished for more. She quickly set her daughter down, instructed the wet nurse to watch her carefully, then retreated beneath the corridor, seizing the chance to catch her breath.
Somehow, lately she felt inordinately tired.
The warm sun overhead was gentle and soft. Little Tang-jie'er, dressed in a pink-and-white ruqun dress, waved her chubby hands as she toddled and stumbled after the butterflies.
Shen Qingyin's gaze followed the frolicking, running child, tenderness overflowing from her eyes.
After a moment, her gaze slowly drifted, past the riotous blossoms, to settle on the quiet lotus pond at the center of the courtyard.
This was the very culprit that had caused her daughter to fall into the water yesterday.
"Zhuling, take my identification slip at once and go fetch Master Luo, the mason from Siping Lane. Have him drain the lotus pond and wall it over."
Master Luo was one of the finest master craftsmen in the capital, his skill impeccable, yet aloof and proud by nature—no amount of money could necessarily induce him to leave his home. It was only through her father's connections that Shen Qingyin had been able to engage him.
Zhuling hurriedly complied, handing her round fan to a servant standing nearby and instructing them to take over fanning the lady, before turning and hurrying away.
It was not without reason that Zhuling fussed—she had watched her mistress spend these past two months in near-daily restlessness, unable to eat or sleep well, visibly wasting away before everyone's eyes.
She had repeatedly suggested calling the household physician, but the lady insisted it was the same heatstroke she had suffered the year before.
Yet autumn had already arrived…
Zhuling heaved a deep sigh and quickened her pace.
Standing beneath the corridor, Shen Qingyin watched as Tang-jie'er chased the butterflies for nearly two sticks of incense' worth of time.
Never had she been so grateful to a tiny butterfly—grateful that it had, at last, run her daughter to the point of exhaustion, until Tang-jie'er was gathered into the wet nurse's arms, her head nodding, and within moments she had fallen soundly asleep.
Shen Qingyin stepped forward, carefully took her daughter, and carried her personally back to the side chamber, laying her gently upon the bed.
Passing by the inner chamber, she suddenly noticed that the bed was already fully repaired. Nanny Qing hurriedly explained, "This morning, before the Young Master left for court, he sent Nan Feng to summon a craftsman to fix it."
Before going to court… how early must that have been?
At that time, she must have been busy soothing Tang-jie'er. She wondered how loud the hammering had been—whether it had disturbed anyone—
"To answer Madam, that clanging and hammering carried from our Yuebai Courtyard all the way to the front courtyard. Practically everyone in the Pei household heard it."
Nanny Qing lowered her head after speaking, and in that instant, Shen Qingyin's ears flushed faintly red.
She suddenly understood the hidden meaning behind her mother-in-law's words when she paid her morning respects.
Liang Wanyou was blaming her…
Blaming her for enticing Pei Yu into such vigorous lovemaking last night that the bed frame broke…
But that was clearly Pei Yu's own excessive lust!
Shen Qingyin sat at the edge of the couch, gently fanning the sleeping Tang-jie'er with a palm-leaf fan, and closed her eyes with a hint of despair.
After keeping watch for a full incense stick's time and confirming that her daughter was sleeping soundly, drowsiness overcame Shen Qingyin, so she simply leaned against the couch still dressed, intending to rest a little.
But before her eyes had fully closed, a shrill, imperious female voice sounded from outside the courtyard.
Tang-jie'er, sleeping soundly on the couch, was startled awake with a jolt, her lashes fluttering rapidly as if about to wake.
Shen Qingyin's heart tightened, and she quickly bent down to pat and soothe her daughter.
Only after Tang-jie'er had fallen back into a deep sleep did Shen Qingyin rise quietly and walk slowly to the window, pushing it open an inch to see who the voice belonged to.
It was Luye, the maidservant attending Madam Wei.
It was not yet late afternoon, and there was still plenty of time before the main banquet of the zhuazhou celebration, yet Madam Wei had sent someone to hurry her along so early.
Nanny Qing tactfully declined, but Luye paid her no heed, planting her hands on her hips and speaking impatiently:
"Spare me the pleasantries, Nanny Qing! My Second Madam is generous and can wait, but the auspicious hour of Jun-ge'er's zhuazhou waits for no one! Practically all the relatives of the clan have already arrived, and you're the only one missing, Madam!"
"Is it so urgent?" Shen Qingyin's calm voice drifted from behind the window.
"In that case, go back and report to your Second Madam: since all the relatives have arrived, she may simply begin the banquet on time. There is no need to wait for me especially."
With that, she gently closed the window.
Rebuffed, Luye curled her lip and could only return sulkily to Bishan Courtyard to report back.
Perhaps because of the packet of medicine she had been fed after the midday meal, Tang-jie'er slept especially deeply, remaining asleep even after a full half hour.
Just then, Nanny Qing's voice announced from outside that the Young Master had returned to the residence.
Remembering Liang Wanyou's repeated warnings that morning in Xueqing Pavilion, Shen Qingyin sighed, then called Nanny Qing inside, instructing her to keep careful watch over the sleeping Tang-jie'er while she tidied her clothing and hurried out to greet him.
In the side chamber, Pei Yu stood at the copper basin stand washing his hands.
In the bronze mirror, the man stood tall as a pine, upright and handsome, his looks so striking that one could hardly look away.
Shen Qingyin stepped forward quickly and offered him a clean silk handkerchief at just the right moment.
Pei Yu took it, leisurely dried the water from his palms, then casually tossed the damp handkerchief into the copper basin. The maidservant waiting nearby immediately stepped forward, bowed, and carried the basin away.
In an instant, only the husband and wife remained in the spacious chamber. They stood facing each other, the silence between them so still it was nearly dead.
After a long while, it was Pei Yu who finally broke the silence.
"The craftsmen draining water from the lotus pond in the courtyard—did you send for them?"
Shen Qingyin stepped forward to undo the round-collar buttons of his garment, peeling off the outer brocade robe to reveal the inner shirt beneath.
"Yes."
"Why suddenly?"
"Sir, didn't Zhuling already tell you?"
"Told me?"
Told him what?
Pei Yu arched a brow slightly, clearly with no recollection whatsoever.
The man's eyes were plainly written with confusion. Shen Qingyin folded the robe she had removed and draped it over her arm, her lips pressing together lightly.
"About Tang-jie'er falling into the water yesterday."
She paused, her fingertips moving to untie the strings of his inner shirt, her voice growing even softer.
"Fortunately, the wet nurse rescued her in time, but I was terribly shaken afterward. After much thought, I decided she should learn to swim early, so that in the future she needn't fear being near water."
"Pei Xutang?" Pei Yu frowned at this, displeased. "A little girl—what does she need to learn swimming for?"
Shen Qingyin pretended not to hear.
She hung the changed-out robe neatly on the wooden garment rack behind her, unable to suppress her puzzlement.
This morning when he left Xueqing Pavilion, he had been wearing court attire, yet barely half a day later, he returned dressed in an azure everyday robe—he had evidently changed clothes partway through.
As she pondered this silently, Pei Yu's cold voice came from above her head: "I went out for a meal with two colleagues earlier. Official robes would have been far too formal."
Shen Qingyin hadn't expected the man to see through her thoughts.
Fair enough—going off to a tender rendezvous while dressed in court robes would indeed be improper.
Shen Qingyin grumbled to herself inwardly, yet her nose still caught the faint scent of wine on his robes, and so she spoke up:
"Sir, last night Tang-jie'er ran a high fever from falling into the water. I prayed to the gods and Buddhas to bless her with a full recovery today, and vowed to fast for seven days for her sake. I hope you will be understanding, and that for these seven days, we as her parents will refrain from drinking wine and abstain from meat and rich foods."
What answered her was a long stretch of silence.
Shen Qingyin waited quietly for a moment, and seeing that the man before her remained speechless, she ultimately took a step back.
"If seven days is too difficult, three days would do."
After a long silence, Pei Yu finally let a low "mm" escape his throat.
Consider it granted.
Shen Qingyin breathed a slight sigh of relief, then turned and moved to the chest cabinet, taking out an elegant azure robe with subtle patterns for him.
Pei Yu's gaze swept over the garment, and he asked casually, "That purple-crabapple cross-collar top of mine—I haven't seen it in ages. Where did you put it?"
At these words, Shen Qingyin's heart tightened abruptly, her fingertips pausing for an instant, though her expression remained as composed as ever.
She took a moment to steady herself before replying softly, "Perhaps a servant mistakenly packed it away at the bottom of a chest while tidying the clothes. When I have a spare moment, I'll search through everything carefully for you."
Pei Yu said nothing more. Shen Qingyin helped him into his outer robe, then raised her hands to fasten the jade clasp at his collar with meticulous care.
The woman's movements were gentle and attentive, her slender fingertips brushing, deliberately or not, over the contours of the man's undershirt. From Pei Yu's vantage point, he could see just her beautiful eyes, and—
And the shallow hollow inadvertently revealed beneath the woman's collarbone.
The man thought of the previous night, and a flicker of obscure emotion passed through his eyes. He quickly tilted his head back to let her attend to him at close range, yet his Adam's apple bobbed uncontrollably several times.
In that moment of distraction, the wooden rack against the wall suddenly tilted and toppled over, sending every garment hanging upon it crashing down, the objects among them scattering noisily across the floor.
Shen Qingyin turned her head at the loud commotion, and as her gaze fell, she saw a jade-green thumb ring slowly rolling across the floor until it came to rest at her feet.
The servants waiting outside the door were startled by the sound and hurried in to right the rack, gathering up the scattered garments and belongings.
Shen Qingyin bent down and gently picked up the thumb ring. It felt warm and smooth to the touch, and on closer inspection, it was of exceptional quality—clearly not one of Pei Yu's possessions.
She couldn't be bothered to think much of it, and calmly placed the ring back into the sleeve of the robe he had cast off.
It was Pei Yu who said, "This was given to Jun-ge'er by Hu Yuanming, the son of the Minister of Rites."
Hu Yuanming.
The Hu family of the capital.
Shen Qingyin froze for a moment at those words. She knew this clan all too well.
"Hu Yuanming," she said, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, and asked softly, "Are you well acquainted with him, my lord?"
"Somewhat. I dined with him at midday. When he heard it was Jun-ge'er's first birthday, he took off this thumb ring on the spot and insisted I pass it along as a gift."
As he spoke, Pei Yu walked over to the wooden rack, retrieved the thumb ring from the robe he had changed out of, and casually tucked it into his sleeve.
Shen Qingyin stared at the ring, lost in thought. It was not until Pei Yu reached the door, his back to her, that she seemed to have pondered long enough to work up the courage to speak.
"My lord, do you know that three years ago, after my elder brother died in battle at Pingyang Pass, it was Hu Yuanming's father who led the remonstrance at court, begging His Majesty to have my brother's corpse torn apart by five horses and to exterminate my entire Shen family…"
"Do you know why he did that?" Pei Yu's voice was cold, without a ripple of emotion.
Shen Qingyin fought desperately to hold down the grief and indignation in her eyes, and said, word by word:
"It's nothing more than that he was convinced my brother did not lose the battle but betrayed us to the enemy, and so his death was no loss—"
"Was he wrong?" Before she could finish, the man behind her cut her off abruptly.
Shen Qingyin's whole body trembled, and she slowly turned her head in disbelief.
The carved wooden door stood wide open, and the piercing light of the noon sun poured in, falling entirely upon her husband's tall, straight figure.
With the light behind him, the man's bearing was so graceful and gentle he might have been an immortal descended to the mortal world. But the words that left his mouth made Shen Qingyin feel as though a cold-blooded venomous serpent were crawling up from the soles of her feet—a bone-deep chill instantly swept through her entire body, leaving every limb frozen cold.
Her family destroyed, her loved ones dead—and he thought it only right and proper.