The corner of Pei Qinhai’s mouth twitched.
The way Second Miss Song carried herself looked less and less like the refined young lady of the Song household she used to be.
She practically had no proper sitting posture when seated, nor any proper bearing when standing.
Could this really be a noble young lady?
Pei Qinhai rubbed his brow. The question he had originally intended to ask reached his lips—then suddenly changed.
He spoke instead, “Second Miss Song, I’d like to ask you about something from the Journey to the West story you just told.”
Song Shiyu: “Hm? What about it?”
She lifted her head. A few strands of dark hair fell loose in front of her eyes, obscuring her vision.
Casually, she tucked them behind her ear.
Pei Qinhai: “……”
His gaze darkened slightly.
Looking at Song Shiyu, he asked, “Why is it that under the Tang Emperor’s rule, the eastern lands are peaceful and prosperous, yet Guanyin claims that the East is full of demons? From what I know, before Tang Seng even leaves the Tang borders, the greatest danger he encounters is merely a tiger…”
“But once he leaves the Tang Emperor’s territory, danger awaits at every step. The West is practically crawling with demons. So—wasn’t Guanyin lying?”
Song Shiyu: “……”
She opened her mouth, then paused.
That question was sharp. Far too sharp.
No wonder this man would later be able to play mind games with powerful ministers—his political sensitivity was terrifying.
It was just a simple story from Journey to the West. He had only listened casually, yet immediately caught the inconsistency.
She herself had felt something was odd when she was younger, but she’d never thought that deeply about it.
Only later did she realize that some stories already carried their answers right from the beginning.
After a brief silence, Song Shiyu said, “That… takes a long explanation. When I finish telling Journey to the West someday, I’ll explain it to you then.”
Pei Qinhai nodded. “Alright.”
For a moment, an odd silence settled over the room.
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept in. Song Shiyu rubbed her arms and shivered slightly.
The wind… was getting colder.
Late autumn had arrived. It was only natural for the weather to turn chilly.
Just as Song Shiyu was about to lie down, she suddenly remembered an important plot point from the original book and snapped her eyes open.
“Sanlang!”
Pei Qinhai was writing. Hearing her call, his hand jolted, and a stroke went astray, adding an extra line to the character he was writing.
Pei Qinhai: “……”
He steadied himself, took a deep breath, then turned to look at her. “What is it?”
Song Shiyu said, “It’s getting cold. In a few days, let’s build a stove in the house. I’m afraid of the cold.”
Pei Qinhai opened his mouth, lifted his gaze to her, and replied calmly, “Alright.”
A faint smile curved Song Shiyu’s lips, amusement flickering in her eyes.
“Then how about you go to the blacksmith and have one made according to my design?”
Pei Qinhai looked at her. “Alright.”
..
The next day, when Pei Jin’an and Pei Jinxi went to school, Song Shiyu insisted on personally walking them there.
Pei Qinhai still had to study, so he let her go instead.
At the gate of the clan academy, Pei Jin’an immediately said coldly, “You can go back now!”
Song Shiyu grinned, shook her head, then took out a paper-wrapped bundle from her hand.
“I still have something to do. Who’s your teacher?”
Pei Jin’an: “???”
“What do you want the teacher for?”
He immediately became alert. “You woman—don’t tell me you’re planning to complain about us to the teacher! He wouldn’t care about me anyway!”
Song Shiyu smiled and stepped forward, casually patting Pei Jin’an on the shoulder.
“Relax. I only do what needs to be done.”
Though it felt strange, neither Pei Jin’an nor Pei Jinxi could control what Song Shiyu chose to do. Since she insisted, they could only let her be.
..
Master Lin and Pei Changhe were reviewing the recent calligraphy of the Pei clan’s students.
Master Lin selected a few pieces he was particularly satisfied with. Upon seeing the names, his expression darkened, and he sighed.
“Among these, the one with the most talent is still that boy Pei Jin’an.”
“What a pity. He’s too undisciplined. And with only Pei Sanlang supporting the household now… his future is truly regrettable.”
Pei Changhe nodded. “Education is a long-term endeavor. Without family support, academic progress is impossible. And from what I’ve observed, Pei Jin’an likes stirring up trouble and can’t unite the clan’s youths. Even if the clan pooled its resources to help him, whether he’d give back to the village later is hard to say.”
Master Lin shook his head.
He was just about to respond when a crisp, pleasant female voice sounded beside them.
“Who says our An’an won’t give back to the village in the future? This young gentleman speaks quite well—may I ask how I should address you?”
Both men froze.
They had been speaking privately and were suddenly interrupted.
They turned to look—only to see Second Miss Song smiling faintly, her gaze cool and detached.
Pei Changhe: “……”
Being caught on the spot like this felt… terrible.
Master Lin looked awkward for a moment, but quickly recovered.
He frowned at Song Shiyu. “How can you, a woman, barge in here at will? Don’t you know outsiders aren’t allowed to enter?”
Song Shiyu grinned.
“You must be Master Lin. I’ve heard Jin’an and Jinxi mention you before. You really do look like a proper teacher—one glance and you can tell you’re learned.”
Master Lin: “……”
She completely ignored his question, switched topics effortlessly, and even praised him out of nowhere. For a moment, he couldn’t process it.
Song Shiyu didn’t care what he thought. She strode forward with a smile.
“Greetings, Master. My fiancé is Pei Sanlang, and I’m currently living at his home. Yesterday I came with him to pick up the children, and today is my second visit to the clan academy. In the future, I’ll probably be coming quite often.”
As soon as Master Lin heard this, his expression changed drastically.
Beside him, Pei Changhe had been so stunned by Second Miss Song’s striking beauty that it took him a while to recover.
By the time he did, he heard this explosive statement and was completely dumbfounded.
What… was Second Miss Song implying?
“This is absurd!” Master Lin snapped. “This is the Pei clan academy! Not only are you a woman, you’re not even a member of the Pei clan! With your status, you have no right to come here at will! Leave immediately!”
Master Lin was thoroughly displeased.
If this continued, wouldn’t the entire Pei clan academy become a laughingstock? This was utterly outrageous!
His brows knit tightly, his tone turning cold. “Second Miss Song, if you refuse to leave, I will send someone to summon Pei Sanlang to take you home. When that happens, if you lose face, don’t blame this old man!”