“Pei Xuan, you are coming with me to attend the birthday banquet today,” Shi Yue said.
Originally, Shi Yuan and Shi Yue were supposed to go together, but an urgent matter suddenly arose in Shi Yuan’s military camp, leaving him to go alone. Thus, he decided to drag Pei Xuan along.
Pei Xuan had no right of refusal and could only follow Shi Yue.
Shi Yue was dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, lightly swaying a folding fan in his hand, his brows and eyes carrying a trace of casual amusement.
Following closely behind him, Pei Xuan wore a neat, slate-gray guard’s uniform. His build was upright, and with his eyelids lowered and standing completely straight, he looked entirely docile and deferential.
The two of them standing side by side were exceptionally eye-catching.
Song Huaian and his father, Song Ru, stood at the mansion’s front gates to welcome distinguished guests.
“A’yue!” Song Huaian greeted him with a face full of lively joy.
“Little Yue has arrived,” Song Ru looked at him with affectionate eyes.
“Uncle Song,” Shi Yue bowed in salute, then tossed a glance toward Pei Xuan.
Pei Xuan walked up lazily, presented the gift prepared in advance by the Shi residence, and said unhurriedly, “This is a birthday gift prepared by the Shi residence for the Elder Madam. May the Elder Madam live as long as the Southern Mountains.”
Though his tone wasn’t particularly reverent, it wasn’t enough to cause embarrassment either.
Even so, Shi Yue feigned displeasure, lightly tapping Pei Xuan’s shoulder with his fan, before turning back with an apologetic smile. “My newly recruited guard is still not very sensible; I hope Uncle Song won’t hold it against him.”
“It’s nothing,” Song Ru waved his hand dismissively, signaling a servant to take the gift.
Song Huaian interrupted his father, “Alright, alright, Dad, go back to welcoming guests. I’m taking A’yue inside to have some fun.”
Song Ru furrowed his brows. “You rascal, all you know how to do is play!”
“Let’s go, let’s go!” Knowing his father wasn’t actually angry, Song Huaian grinned from ear to ear, tugging Shi Yue into the estate.
Inside the mansion, distinguished guests filled every seat princes, dukes, and high-ranking ministers who had all come to offer birthday wishes. They stood or sat in small groups of three or five, clinking cups and merry-making, their radiant smiles masking hidden agendas.
Song Huaian pulled Shi Yue along as he walked in front. Glancing sideways with covert glances at Pei Xuan to make sure he wouldn’t overhear, he muttered, “Didn’t you let him walk away on his own? How come after a few days he’s turned into your personal guard?”
Shi Yue looked down at his tugged-and-rumpled clothing, desperately wishing he could smooth it out. For Song Huaian’s sake, however, he held it in.
“It’s a long story. But he’s only serving as my guard for a year; once the time is up, we’ll part ways.”
“Alright then,” Song Huaian pressed no further.
As Shi Yue and Song Huaian were about to enter the Elder Madam’s quarters, Shi Yue turned to Pei Xuan and instructed, “You can walk around the estate and enjoy the scenery as you please, but don’t go offending people you shouldn’t. Keep your temper in check, and be amiable when dealing with high-ranking officials and nobles.”
Whether Pei Xuan took those words to heart remained a mystery; he simply flashed an obedient smile toward Shi Yue and walked away.
Shi Yue couldn’t shake a lingering sense of unease, but without dwelling on it, he turned and walked into the room alongside Song Huaian.
Left with nothing to do, Pei Xuan could only stroll leisurely through the flower-filled courtyard.
Ever since he had become a brawler in the beast-fighting arena, he had never experienced such leisurely days; every single moment was spent either locked in mortal combat or nursing his injuries on the brink of death.
Playing the good guy in front of Shi Yue for so many days had left his hands itching for action.
Recalling Shi Yue’s parting instructions, Pei Xuan let out a cold, mocking laugh.
Did he really think I’m a loyal dog he raised, just blindly obeying every word he says?
Overestimating himself.
“Hey, hey, hey! Are you blind, blocking the way here?”
At that moment, a harsh, gravelly voice rang out, followed immediately by a heavy shove against Pei Xuan’s shoulder.
A servant carrying a jar of wine saw his fleshy cheeks wobble with every step as he glared belligerently at Pei Xuan with a hostile expression.
“Oh, you’re even glaring at me? Just another pretty face.” The servant looked him up and down from head to toe, noticing his guard attire and rolling his eyes. “A good-for-nothing like you acting as a guard! Staring at the flowers can you even appreciate them? Get lost at once!”
With that, he brushed past Pei Xuan and deliberately slammed hard against his shoulder as he passed.
Pei Xuan’s indifferent, cold eyes stared fixedly at that bulky, receding back, tilting his head with a sinister, gloomy smile.
Perhaps because he had played the good guy for too long recently, he had almost forgotten his true nature.
Pei Xuan followed behind him.
Inside the banquet hall, the noisy commotion gave Shi Yue a splitting headache, prompting him to step toward the window to catch a breath of fresh air.
The servant huffed and puffed as he carried the wine jar inside, stepping up to the tables to refill the drinks.
Suddenly, he felt an inexplicable force making him lose his footing.
The next second, his entire body lunged forward.
“Ah!”
With a stumble of his legs, he crashed heavily onto his knees on the floor, and the wine jar in his hands slipped and smashed against the ground.
A full jar of wine splattered everywhere, soaking the garments of all the nearby nobles.
A rich, heavy fragrance of wine instantly permeated the entire banquet hall.
In a split second, the surroundings plunged into chaos.
“Oh my, my clothes!”
“How clumsy can you be, you couldn’t even hold a jar of wine properly!”
Listening to the cascading waves of complaints, Song Ru’s expression darkened instantly.
“Stupid fool! How did you bungle this job?”
“Lord, spare my life!” The fat servant dropped to his knees in sheer terror, trembling uncontrollably as he kowtowed repeatedly. “I don’t know why, but my legs suddenly went weak just now. I beg the Lord to spare me!”
Frowning deeply, Song Ru looked at his shivering form and ordered, “Men! For disrupting the order of the banquet, administer forty heavy cane beatings according to family law!”
Upon hearing this, the fat man’s facial flesh quivered even violently, his screams turning increasingly desperate. “Lord, have mercy! Lord!…”
Shortly after, a group of guards dragged him away, bringing an end to the farce.
“I failed to properly discipline my servants; I hope all my esteemed guests will forgive this oversight,” Song Ru offered with a smiling apology.
The nobles whose clothes had been splashed with wine found it inappropriate to press the matter further, and could only mumble echoes of “it’s no trouble at all.”
They were then escorted away by the Song family’s servants to change into fresh garments.
Standing outside the main hall, Pei Xuan offered a cold, mocking smirk.
“Pei Xuan.”
Shi Yue’s voice rang out abruptly.
Pei Xuan’s smirk slowly faded, replaced once again by that submissive, obedient facade.
“Second Young Master.”
“What were you doing?”
“Nothing much,” Pei Xuan replied with an innocent look. “Waiting for the Young Master here.”
Shi Yue figured his acting was truly top-tier; had he not known his true character from his past life, he would have bought it entirely.
“Do you take me for a blind man?” Shi Yue twirled his landscape folding fan. He had seen it clearly just moments before the fat man’s fall was clearly caused by sorcery cast by Pei Xuan.
Realizing he had been caught in the act, Pei Xuan dropped the pretense altogether.
“So you saw it. What are you going to do? Drag me out to be punished?” Pei Xuan stared right at him, demanding an answer.
“Didn’t I tell you not to stir up trouble?”
Pei Xuan let out a scoff, a trace of hostility flashing in the space between his brows. “It’s the Young Master who’s being unreasonable. You didn’t ask me why I targeted him before placing blame; he was the one who provoked me first.”
“He’s just a servant, what could he possibly do? At worst, he merely spoke out of turn.” Of course Shi Yue knew why the fellow had engineered this little stunt. “But he is a servant of the Song family. You made a fool of him right in the middle of a banquet; you’ve damaged the Song family’s reputation.”
“What does the Song family’s reputation have to do with me?” Pei Xuan straightened his posture, shedding that obedient veneer entirely, his eyes sharp with hostility. “He insulted me first; isn’t it entirely justified for me to retaliate?”
“How is acting like this any different from a common street thug?”
Hearing this, Pei Xuan let out a low laugh. “Second Young Master must have forgotten—when I was fighting for my life in the beast-fighting arena, survival relied entirely on acting like a thug.”
Seeing that reasoning was entirely lost on him, Shi Yue gave up on arguing further. “Fine, let this be the last time. Because you are now a person of the Marquis of Anding’s Estate, stirring up trouble on your own is one thing, but if this ends up implicating the Marquis’s Estate…”
Pei Xuan averted his gaze, locking those deep, dark eyes onto him. “Second Young Master, rest assured it won’t implicate you.”
Without another word, Shi Yue turned and walked away.
And every bit of this exchange had been witnessed clearly by a man dressed in dark robes. Seeing the two of them disperse, the man reined in his expression and quietly melted away into the shadows.
He made his way through winding paths to a quiet pavilion, leaned down, and murmured softly into the ear of another man seated there.
“Oh? Are you certain it was him?” The white-robed gentleman twirled his teacup as tea slowly spilled over the rim.
“This subordinate is certain. I saw him cast a binding spell.”
“Very well, you may step down first.” The white-robed gentleman shifted his gaze toward the distant courtyard filled with mingling laughter, a low chuckle escaping his lips. “I’ve finally found you. You certainly gave me quite the hunt.”
As the banquet reached its latter half, with guests trickling away one by one, Shi Yue seized the opportune moment to take his leave of Song Ru.
“Uncle Song, I’ve caused quite a disturbance today; this junior will take his leave now.” Shi Yue offered a formal farewell bow.
Song Ru patted Shi Yue’s shoulder affectionately. “Very well, and when you return, give my regards to Wenjing.”
“Understood, I will certainly convey Uncle Song’s regards to my father.”
The pleasantries concluded, Shi Yue boarded his carriage.
On the journey over, Pei Xuan had ridden inside the carriage with Shi Yue, behaving with utmost “reverence and propriety.”
Yet right now, Pei Xuan stood with an icy, indifferent expression outside the carriage, radiating a clear aura of refusing to communicate face-to-face with Shi Yue.
Shi Yue decided the man was genuinely out of his mind.
“You, get inside the carriage.”
Shi Yue refused to pamper him didn’t want to look at me?
I’ll force you to stare at me until it turns your stomach.
Giving him a cold, hard look, Pei Xuan maintained his mask of icy detachment as he climbed into the carriage because he genuinely had no desire to walk all the way back.
The carriage was spacious enough to comfortably accommodate two grown men. Sitting face-to-face inside the cabin, silence stretched between them.
The interior remained so quiet that only the faint rumble of the wheels grinding against the pavement could be heard. Shi Yue twirled the folding fan in his hands, lifting his gaze to quietly study Pei Xuan. The youth’s lips remained pressed tightly together, still radiating a lingering chill.
The folding fan opened and closed, closed and opened again. After a long moment, Shi Yue broke the silence: “I know that servant was indeed rude, but there was no need to make a public spectacle of it next time.”
Pei Xuan turned his head back, curling his lips in a pout. “He called me a good-for-nothing.”
“Right, you were deeply wronged.” Shi Yue had no desire to bicker with him, so he simply went along with his words. “It’s not worth lowering yourself to deal with such people; just steer clear of them next time.”
“Nobody in the beast-fighting arena has ever spoken to me like that.”
“But this isn’t the beast-fighting arena; you don’t have to resolve everything with your fists.” Shi Yue softened his tone slightly. “If anyone tries to bully you again, remember you are my guard—you can report it to me, and I’ll vent your anger for you.”
Hearing those words, Pei Xuan couldn’t quite describe the sensation blooming in his chest. After all, this was the very first time someone had ever told him they would help him vent his anger.
Besides, how could someone lacking any martial prowess possibly help him vent his anger?
Though internal skepticism lingered, the tense muscles along Pei Xuan’s jaw slowly relaxed. Remaining silent, he turned his face away to stare out the carriage window.
Sensing that the heavy, awkward atmosphere within the carriage had finally dissipated, Shi Yue let out a quiet sigh of relief.