Chapter 6

 

Before this moment, Pei Xiaoyuan had never expected that he would run into Ye Zhongli’s granddaughter like this.

After a brief encounter, the person was gone. But from that moment on, the marriage that his uncle had mentioned to him last night seemed to gradually take on a vivid and concrete form. It was no longer as chaotic and vague as it was last night. Perhaps because he saw the woman who was about to become his wife appear in front of him, he suddenly realized clearly that this was true and he was going to get married.

“Did you see her clearly just now? Is your heart still as cold as iron, Pei Er?”

Chengping was still chattering in his ears. He woke up from his slight daze and looked at the study in front of him: “Didn’t you prepare a gift for my uncle? Go quickly. But I remind you again, he won’t accept it.”

It turned out that the two of them had just left the city gate and were about to set off when Chengping suddenly remembered that he had prepared gifts for Pei Ji, including two old ginsengs and a fur coat. However, he had forgotten about them because he arrived too late last night, so he retrieved the gifts and hurried back.

Chengping also came out of the aftertaste of that stunning glimpse just now.

Although he was quite amazed by the girl’s appearance and her generous and cool temperament, he was not a person without sense of propriety. Joking between friends could be done, but he would call Pei Xiaoyuan’s new wife “sister-in-law” in the future, so how dare he be disrespectful? Hearing Pei Xiaoyuan change the subject, he immediately became serious.

“It’s up to the county governor whether to accept it or not. I have to do my best. As for you, good things are coming, but there was no news before, so I was completely unprepared. This time I probably won’t be able to catch up with your wedding. I have to think carefully about what to give to celebrate your wedding.”

The sound of their conversation had already been heard inside, and Pei Ji came out when he heard it. He saw his nephew and Chengping coming back, and both of them stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Chengping explained his purpose, and just as Pei Xiaoyuan had said, Pei Ji declined, so Chengping had to give up.

Pei Xiaoyuan said: “We will take our leave now. I’m going to take Chengping out hunting today.”

Pei Ji’s eyes fell on his face, and after a slight hesitation, he nodded: “You go first!”

Pei Xiaoyuan led Chengping out of the city with a dozen followers, and the group rode out to hunt. The weather was excellent, with the sky being particularly clear and the wind feeling like a gentle spring breeze. His aim was also exceptional that day, with hardly an arrow missing its mark. Enjoying such a rare moment of exhilaration, even the familiar desolate wilderness around him seemed to take on a new vitality, filled with the vigor of spring. He even found joy in the sight of a few clusters of tender grass tips emerging from under the frost, which he had never paid much attention to before.

It was not until the evening that the two returned home with great pleasure. Chengping went to the post house first to instruct the accompanying officials to prepare for the trip tomorrow, while Pei Xiaoyuan returned to the county governor mansion.

Qingtou was originally his servant. Last autumn, when he went out, Qingtou was unlucky and sprained his leg, so he did not go with him. Now, seeing him riding back from afar, he happily ran to greet him, shouting, “Congratulations, Master! Good things are coming! I was wondering why I always see magpies perched on the eaves recently, turns out a happy event has come to our family!”

While Pei Ji was chatting with his subordinates early this morning, he was unable to contain his joy, and mentioned a few words about his nephew’s upcoming wedding. Although he did not specify that it was Miss Ye who had come to his house in the past few days, but everyone had eyes. After those people came out, it only took half a day for the news of Miss Ye and him to spread, and everyone inside and outside knew about it.

Pei Xiaoyuan didn’t say anything, just smiled faintly. He threw the reins and whip over, and Qingtou caught it. He then climbed the stair in a few steps and stepped into the gate.

He went back to his residence first and changed his clothes which were covered with dust after being outside a whole day. He shi came and said that the county governor wanted him to come over.

Pei Xiaoyuan responded and asked casually: “Did Uncle say what it was about?”

He shi looked at him, hesitated for a moment, and shook her head: “You will know when you got there.”

His uncle must have let He Amu knew about his marriage with that girl. Pei Xiaoyuan saw that she was looking at him and hesitated to speak. He suspected that she wanted to talk to him about the upcoming wedding preparations. He felt a little embarrassed, but didn’t show it on his face, fearing that she would make fun of him. He quickly changed his clothes and went to see Pei Ji. After he arrived, he went up to greet him: “Uncle, do you want to see me?”

Pei Ji slowly closed the book, sighed without saying anything.

“What’s the matter? Why is Uncle sighing?”

Pei Ji sighed again: “Xiaoyuan, Uncle also knows that when I talked to you about marriage last night, you were a little hesitant. It’s good this way, you don’t have to force yourself for my sake.”

Pei Xiaoyuan was slightly confused: “What do you mean, Uncle?”

“Soon after you left in the morning, Xuyu came and decline the marriage. I wanted to tell you when you came back, but I saw that you and Chengping were in a hurry to go hunting, so I didn’t call you. Waiting until you come back in the evening to tell you is also the same.”

There was silence in the room for a moment.

In the corner, tea was boiling slowly on a small clay stove. The boiling water overflowed from the lid of the pot and poured onto the red-hot charcoal with a hissing sound. The fire went out and a pungent smoke rose up.

Pei Xiaoyuan rushed over, took the teapot, and covered the charcoal fire. After putting out the fire, he hesitated, turned around and looked at Pei Ji: “She… did she said why?”

Pei Ji then told him the whole story of his meeting with Miss Ye this morning. “It turns out that she agreed to the marriage only to appease her grandfather. Uncle originally hoped that you two could become a happy couple, but it didn’t happen. Forget it, since neither of you has any intention of getting married, it’s not a good idea to force it. I called you here to tell you this. The engagement is over and it won’t be mentioned again in the future.”

Having said that, Pei Ji still felt regretful.

Pei Xiaoyuan left the capital and came to live with him after losing his mother at the age of eight. It could be said that he grew up under his nose. Although uncle and nephew didn’t talk much, Pei Ji could feel that he respects him like a father from the bottom of his heart. Not only that, in the past ten years, whether it was his daily life or military experience, it had long been proved that his nephew’s appearance, character, and ability were all outstanding, and no ordinary people could match him. This naturally made Pei Ji very proud. But at the same time, as his nephew grew older, in addition to pride, a trace of worry began to arise in the heart of this elder.

His nephew’s self-discipline and calmness were naturally good things, but if they were too excessive, it was also inappropriate. In the presence of this astute and cautious nephew, even Pei Ji himself sometimes felt he couldn’t fully relax.

He knew that the incident many years ago had a profound impact on his nephew. It wasn’t that his current state was necessary bad, but if a person always lived his life like this, without joy and fun, what a pity it would be. This was also one of the reasons why Pei Ji was eager to arrange marriage for his nephew as soon as possible. Having a woman by his side, someone to understand and accompany him, to share in the joys of life, perhaps he would be able to change his spirits and nature, but there had been no suitable person before. Finally, the heavens seemed to have presented an opportunity, but the result was…

Pei Ji raised his eyes and saw that his nephew did not say anything else and looked normal. He must have been secretly relieved hearing this. He could not help but sigh again.

Pei Xiaoyuan came over with the teapot, and with steady hands, he poured him a cup of tea.

“I understand. It’s fine like this.” His tone was very calm.

Just like the charcoal fire that was extinguished by the tea, Pei Ji also completely extinguished his hope. The matter was over. His eyes fell on the cup of tea that his nephew had just poured for him, which was emitting curls of hot smoke.

Pei Xiaoyuan put down the teapot and continued to stand.

“I called you here for another reason. Xuyu must have a lot of thoughts in her mind. Although I earnestly asked her to stay, but since the marriage didn’t work out, I worry that she would have concerns, thinking that it would be awkward to meet you in the future. Uncle thinks that regardless of whether the marriage is successful or not, since Ye Zhongli has entrusted her to me solemnly, she is now part of the family. You two have met each other when you were young, so there’s no need for any concerns about propriety. It’s best if you go and talk to her as soon as possible, let her know that you will regard each other as brother and sister from now on, to put down her worries and help her feel at ease staying here.”

“I understand. Uncle is very thoughtful. I will go find her right away.”

Pei Xiaoyuan then retreated and went straight to the woman’s residence before it got dark.

The evening clouds flew high, as the last rays of setting sun illuminated half of the courtyard wall. The door was half-closed, and there was silence all around, with no one in sight.

He stood on the walkway for a moment, and just as he was about to go up and knock on the door, he heard footsteps coming from inside. He stopped again and looked over, and the door opened with a creaking sound from the hinges.

It turned out it was the maid named Zhu’er who came out.

“Master Pei! Why are you here?”

Zhu’er looked up and saw him standing outside the yard with a look of surprise on her face.

“Miss Ye is here?”

“She’s here!”

“Is it convenient to talk to her now?”

After he asked, he saw Zhu’er looking at him without saying anything, it seemed that she was pursing her lips and laughing. His expression turned serious and explained, “I came here on my uncle’s order. I have something to say to her.”

Zhu’er nodded and said with a smile, “Miss should be convenient. Please come in, I’ll go call her out.” As she led him in, she said, “After Miss came back from the county governor this morning, she locked herself in the room. She didn’t even bother to eat and hasn’t come out for a moment. I don’t know what she’s doing.” Soon she led him to a main room, asked him to sit for a while, and went in to report.

Pei Xiaoyuan did not sit down, but stood in the hall waiting. There was a knock on the door and faint voices from inside.

“…Please ask Master Pei to wait a moment. I’ll see him in a while…”

A low and gentle voice floated into his ears.

After coming to this place as a child, he often stayed alone in the middle of deserted wilderness for the first few years, concentrating on catching the different sounds of the wind coming from all directions. This was his way of gaining peace of mind, and it also enabled him to develop hearing that was far superior to that of ordinary people.

At this moment, with these words, the speaker’s hidden rhythm of breathing as she spoke seemed to resonate in his ears.

He stepped out, crossing the threshold and just waited in the corridor outside.

Zhu’er came out quickly and said with a smile, “Miss asks Master Pei to please wait for a moment, she’ll be out shortly.”

The evening light passed by him and slanted into a window pane beside the door. It was cut into a pattern of deep and light golden-orange lattice shadows, casting a grid-like illumination on the empty space inside the threshold.

Miss Ye did not let him wait for long. She came out soon, but she didn’t look the same as when Pei Xiaoyuan met her in the morning. The pair of butterflies that perched on her hair and fluttered with her movements were gone, and her face powder and lip rouge were washed off. Now she dressed like a young man.

It’s unknown what she was doing in the room just now, but must have washed her hands as there were still some residual water marks on her wrists.

“Master Pei is looking for me?”

She happened to stop in the evening light just inside the threshold, smiled at him, and invited him speak.

Pei Xiaoyuan did not move, but only glanced at the maid who followed closely and still did not know how to retreat. Zhu’er then understood and hurried out, leaving him and Miss Ye alone.

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