The guests at the neighboring tables stared in stunned silence as shards of porcelain bit deep into the soft flesh of Shen Qingyin's palm. Large beads of blood trickled slowly through her fingers, blooming into startling spots of crimson on the table. For a moment, everyone's faces showed alarm.
Zhuling's face went deathly pale as well. She hurried forward, her hands trembling as she dabbed at Shen Qingyin's wound.
The blood instantly soaked through one handkerchief. Zhuling fumbled for another, and the moment she let go, the bloodstained handkerchief was carried off by the wind to the ground not far away.
So much blood—it looked painful just to see.
Yet Shen Qingyin kept her back perfectly straight the entire time, not a trace of pain in her expression.
Just now, the moment Madam Wei had finished speaking, she had remembered.
Shen Qingyin remembered who Wei Chang was.
He was that sleazy man who had come to pay his respects during the New Year festivities. At the time, she had been seated beside Liang Wanyou receiving the greetings, and that lecher had actually dared to lift his eyes and stare at her repeatedly.
And this was the lecher in question—a man past twenty who had accomplished nothing, who could only swagger about on the coattails of his two sisters who had married well. Why, Lady Lin had just said that Wei Chang was a regular at her establishment. Back when her father was alive, Wei Chang wouldn't even have been granted an audience with Qingniang—and Madam Wei actually wanted Qingniang to become his concubine?
Blood slowly seeped into her sleeve as Shen Qingyin's gaze locked squarely onto Madam Wei, whose expression had stiffened.
"Second Sister-in-law, yes, the Shen family has indeed fallen on hard times. But my father and brothers fought on the battlefield their whole lives—not so that the daughters of our family could lower themselves to become concubines in a merchant household."
She deliberately emphasized the words "merchant household."
One had to understand that Madam Wei was herself born a merchant's daughter. It was only because her elder sister had married into the Jingyuan Marquis's household as a second wife—relying on the connections of Liang Wanyou's maternal family—that Madam Wei had been deemed worthy to marry into the Pei family at all.
If the Jingyuan Marquis had not been the full brother of Liang Wanyou, the wife of the head of the Pei clan, then with Madam Wei's lowly merchant background, forget becoming Pei Zhan's principal wife—she wouldn't even have been able to enter the household as a concubine. That would have been climbing far above her station.
Yet in the mere few years since marrying into the Pei household, Madam Wei had forgotten her origins and grown ever more arrogant. Shen Qingyin had tolerated all the small advantages Madam Wei took in daily life.
But she never expected Madam Wei to push her luck further and further, to the point of daring to utter such outrageous words about Qingniang today.
Shen Qingyin said coldly, "Therefore, even if Qingniang never marries for the rest of her life, the Shen family can still protect her and keep her safe and carefree forever. Second Sister-in-law, don't ever say such things again."
These words landed on Madam Wei's face like a resounding slap.
From the day she had married into the Pei household, the Shen Qingyin she had seen had always been silent and meek, eyes downcast and docile. When had she ever dared to humiliate her so publicly like this?!
Madam Wei's face flushed red, then turned green, then white.
But she knew full well that she was in the wrong. Under the eyes of so many onlookers, no matter how resentful she felt, she could only clench her teeth and force the fury boiling in her chest back down her throat.
A silence fell over the banquet. Even Madam Zhang, the most skilled at smoothing things over, had no idea how to mediate and could only exchange helpless glances with Pei Yue.
Just as the atmosphere reached its most frozen point, a hurried, disorderly clatter of footsteps suddenly sounded from outside the corridor.
"Second Young Master has arrived!"
Pei Zhan hurried in, his brow still bearing traces of anxiety.
His gaze swept over the scene at the banquet, and the first thing to catch his eye was Shen Qingyin's dangling hand.
A beauty so fragile—she inspired tender pity in all who saw her.
Almost instinctively, Pei Zhan stepped forward, extending his long arm to grasp that slender hand.
But Shen Qingyin, as if she had already anticipated he would do exactly this, withdrew her hand without a trace.
"Second Brother is here."
"Sister-in-law, you—"
"I'm fine."
Pei Zhan's outstretched hand froze in midair. After a long moment, he quietly withdrew it, forcing out an awkward smile.
"Fine… it's good that you're fine…"
His mind was in complete disarray, and he paid no attention whatsoever to his wife's increasingly livid expression beside him.
Madam Wei was seething with pent-up frustration and had nowhere to vent it. Seeing Pei Zhan like this, she felt as if the dog she'd raised had run off to lick someone else's stinking feet. Abandoning all pretense of composure, she stomped hard on his foot.
"Ah—you! Why did you step on me!" Pei Zhan shrieked in pain.
Madam Wei suppressed her surging jealousy and sneered coldly at him. "What do you think!"
Then she abruptly rose to her feet, sharply raising her voice to address the wet nurse standing in the corridor:
"You useless, oblivious thing! What are you standing there for! Hurry up and bring Jun-ge'er here!"
Pei Zhan was jolted back to his senses by her shrill tone. He quickly raised a hand and gently tugged at his wife's sleeve, saying in a lowered voice:
"You… when you give orders to the servants, speak properly. Why must you shout like this?"
Pei Zhan stole a quick glance at Shen Qingyin, who still sat composed in her seat, and couldn't help sighing inwardly.
How was it that, both being daughters-in-law of the Pei family, his sister-in-law was so beautiful, with such a fine figure, and possessed such a calm and dignified temperament?
While his own wife was brash and reckless, given to shrieking at the slightest provocation—and paired with that face that could hardly be called pretty, she looked for all the world like a female hippopotamus.
"What business is it of yours?" Madam Wei shot him a glare.
Pei Zhan had always been henpecked. Cowed by that single glare, he shut his mouth at once and dared not say another word.
Before long, the wet nurse hurried over carrying the sleeping Jun-ge'er, and the assembled guests finally laid eyes on the star of the day.
The one-year-old was remarkably sturdy, with plump white cheeks and chubby little arms and legs—a true fat little boy, though at the moment he still looked half-asleep.
Madam Wei immediately stepped forward to take her son, holding him by the waist and rocking him continuously, trying to rouse the soundly sleeping Jun-ge'er.
At the same time, she turned to urge the servants to hurry up with the arrangements for the Grab Ceremony.
The servants dared not delay. They swiftly brought over a low table covered with a bright red brocade cushion, then neatly arranged the various Grab Ceremony items—the four treasures of the study, an abacus, gold ingots, and more.
While Madam Wei was occupied, Pei Zhan quickly bent down and slipped the handkerchief stained with Shen Qingyin's blood from beneath the stone table into his sleeve.
The venue was soon ready. Nan Feng, meanwhile, had entered at some point. Bowing with lowered head, he respectfully reported to Pei Zhan and Madam Wei:
"Second Young Master, Second Madam, the family head just summoned the Eldest Young Master to the study for urgent discussions. My master says the First Birthday Grab Ceremony need not wait for him."
As he finished speaking, Nan Feng presented a white jade thumb ring with both hands.
"This is a first birthday gift from Commander Hu Yuanming, entrusted to my master to pass on to young Jun-ge'er, with wishes for the young master's added fortune and longevity."
Madam Wei was still consumed by her earlier anger, and hearing this only deepened her irritation—she had not the slightest interest in accepting the gift.
The eldest branch, the eldest branch—what was so great about it?
Their line was hardly flourishing. Pei Duan and Liang Wanyou had only one son.
Shen Qingyin's family had fallen into decline, and she hadn't added a son to the eldest branch either.
Pei Yu was indeed brilliant at his studies and had become a high official.
But today was her Jun-ge'er's first birthday banquet—an event that happened only once in a lifetime. Her Jun-ge'er had waited so long, and still Pei Yu had not come.
Seeing Madam Wei's expression turn sour, Pei Zhan immediately stepped forward, smiling as he took the jade thumb ring and put it away carefully. Only then did Nan Feng withdraw from the courtyard.
The auspicious hour was about to pass, and the zhuazhou ceremony finally began in earnest.
According to the ancient zhuazhou customs of the great families of Da Qi, all the relatives of the clan stood in a circle around the soft cushion.
The earlier unpleasantness between the sisters-in-law seemed to have been cast from everyone's minds as they began speculating about what Jun-ge'er would grab.
Madam Wei, having collected herself, stood with Pei Zhan on the side where the four treasures of the study were arranged, clapping and coaxing toward Jun-ge'er:
"Jun-ge'er, come here! Come grab the brush! Grab the inkstone!"
It was precisely because of her merchant background that Shen Qingyin had been able to seize on her slip of the tongue earlier.
Now Madam Wei only hoped that her Jun-ge'er would grow up to become an official. If she couldn't outdo her husband herself, then she would surpass Shen Qingyin through her children.
But Jun-ge'er at the center of the cushion was still drowsy, sucking on his chubby hand as he sat cross-legged in a daze, entirely oblivious to Madam Wei's antics.
From within the crowd, Pei Yue couldn't help but say, "Why does Jun-ge'er look a bit slow…"
"Shh… don't say any more!" Madam Zhang hurriedly made a hushing gesture at her.
Setting aside whether Pei Zhan's old dissolute habits before Madam Wei conceived Jun-ge'er might have had any effect on the child,
just consider Madam Wei's domineering temperament—if anyone said a single word against her son, she would fight them to the death.
After a long while, Madam Wei's hands were red from clapping, and only then did the dazed child seem to fully wake. His limbs suddenly gathered strength, and he shot forward at astonishing speed.
Madam Wei had no time to react. In the blink of an eye, she saw her son crawl past the brushes, ink, and books on her side, ignoring everything related to reading and writing, making straight for the low table, where he accurately snatched up a small, exquisite wooden sword from beneath it.
A… wooden sword?
Where had that wooden sword come from?
Madam Wei stood frozen, but then enthusiastic congratulations rang in her ears.
"What great fortune Jun-ge'er has! First grab and he grabs a sword—he's sure to become an extraordinary hero, a pillar of the realm!"
"Perhaps our Pei clan will produce a great general!"
Amid the chorus of congratulations, Pei Zhan happily chimed in: "Yes, yes! Being a general is wonderful—winning glory in battle and defending home and country. Thank you all, thank you all!"
Pei Zhan was a smooth, agreeable man and saw nothing wrong with being a general. But this casual remark instantly ignited Madam Wei's long-smoldering fury.
"Wonderful my ass! Shut your mouth!" Madam Wei roared at Pei Zhan, then whirled to look at Pei Jun.
"Who said you could grab that wooden sword? Who put that sword there?!"
Every trace of friendliness vanished from her face, her expression twisting into something ferocious in an instant.
The congratulations cut off abruptly. All the guests in the courtyard turned to look, only to see Madam Wei violently kick aside the zhuazhou objects blocking her path and rush to Jun-ge'er's side.
With a sharp smack, she swung her hand and knocked the little wooden sword from her son's palm. Jun-ge'er's hand stung from the blow, and looking up to see his mother's vicious expression, understanding nothing of what he had done wrong, he instantly threw back his head and burst into heart-wrenching wails.
Madam Wei grew even more furious, looming over him and raging: "I'm furious, absolutely furious! You rotten little brat—all those other things you could have grabbed, and you had to grab this!"
"A general? What's so good about being a general! Do you want to die on some battlefield because you can't beat your enemies, or be branded a traitor, spat on by everyone, and drag the whole family down with you!"