Volume 1, Chapter 31: Come, Let Us Go Pay Our Respects and Offer Tea

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Pei Xuanqing shot him a look. “If you want to laugh, then laugh. Don’t choke yourself to death holding it in.”

Under his master’s glare, Pei Jiu’an immediately covered the corners of his mouth, which had begun to curl upward, pressing his lips firmly together with two fingers. He then nodded obediently. “This subordinate wouldn’t dare. Wouldn’t dare.”

Pei Jiu’an hurriedly removed his cloak and draped it over Pei Xuanqing’s shoulders, fawning shamelessly. “Please put it on, Master. Your health is precious—whatever you do, don’t catch cold!”

“What a silver-tongued creature.” Pei Xuanqing flicked him on the forehead. “Let’s go. I’m changing clothes when we get back.”

“Yes, yes, yes.” Pei Jiu’an gave a whistle, and two swift horses came running out of a nearby alley.

Once mounted, Pei Jiu’an asked again, “Master, did you find that thing?”

“Someone will deliver it in ten days.”

His clothes clung damply to his body, and the icy wind cutting past him made Pei Xuanqing shiver. Yet the moment he recalled the warm, soft sensation of that body beneath the water, heat surged through him again.

“Someone?” Pei Jiu’an asked, baffled. “Who?”

At the thought of Xie Shu, Pei Xuanqing felt his body grow even hotter. He impatiently glared at Pei Jiu’an. “Won’t you know when the time comes?”

The sudden alternation between heat and cold made Pei Xuanqing feel as though he had fallen ill. He turned to Pei Jiu’an and ordered, “Find a physician. Then send a note to the Imperial Academy saying I’m sick. I won’t be going tomorrow.”

“What?” Pei Jiu’an stared at his master. He did not look ill in the slightest. “Master, are you shirking again? If His Majesty asks about it, the imperial physician will come stay at the estate again.”

Pei Xuanqing was the most dazzling and gifted member of the Pei family in two generations.

Unfortunately, his temperament was too carefree, and he refused to enter government service. After the old lord of the Pei family retired, the emperor had repeatedly urged Pei Xuanqing to take office, but Pei Xuanqing had used ill health as an excuse and dragged it out for three whole years.

Only when the emperor’s patience was nearly exhausted did Pei Xuanqing finally go, looking deathly ill, to the Hall of Supreme Harmony to request an imperial decree. He asked for the leisurely post of Head of the Imperial Academy. In the capital, whenever people mentioned Pei Xuanqing, they would sigh and say, “Headmaster Pei is truly a man of brilliant talent cursed by ill fortune!”

Only Pei Xuanqing himself knew the truth: with the Pei family having produced chancellors for two generations, it was time to avoid the limelight.

The people of Great Yan had raised the Pei family too high.

And unlike the Xie family, which fought and bled on the battlefield, how could he—a mere civil official—retreat and return home?

Civil officials and military commanders.

They simply each had their own strengths and their own difficulties.

After returning to the estate, Pei Xuanqing changed into clean clothes and prepared to lie down for a nap. Yet every time he closed his eyes, his imagination ran wild against his will. It was as though his entire body had once again been submerged beneath the water, dripping wet from head to toe.

He could not sleep.

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“Jiu’an, bring me the policy essays the princes submitted earlier.”

Pei Xuanqing gave up on sleeping altogether. He loosely pinned up his hair with a jade hairpin and called toward the outer room.

Pei Jiu’an had been nodding off when the voice abruptly jolted him awake.

He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and replied groggily, “Yes. This subordinate will fetch them at once.”

The night was deep, the clouds dark, and all creation lay silent.

The courtyard of the Pei residence was brightly illuminated by lamplight.

In the Auspicious Courtyard of the Marquis’s Residence, Xie Shu had already fallen into a deep sleep.

Unlike a certain someone who was tossing and turning, she was utterly unconcerned.

At the fifth watch, the sky was only beginning to pale.

Outside the tranquil Auspicious Courtyard, noisy voices suddenly rang out.

“Heir’s Wife! Heir’s Wife!”

Green Willow gently shook Xie Shu by the shoulder and called her twice.

Hugging her pillow, Xie Shu rolled over. She was so sleepy. She still wanted to sleep.

“Green Willow, stop shaking me. Let me sleep a little longer.”

As she spoke, three or five burly older maids charged into the inner courtyard. Although several guards blocked their leader, Nanny Liu, the old woman relied on her age and seniority. She wailed, shouted, rolled about on the ground, and cursed while making a scene.

Xie Shu had given orders the previous day that no one was to fight with the household servants. If matters truly turned violent, someone could easily be injured or killed, giving others an opportunity to use the incident against them.

Besides, she could not always be so lucky as to stumble upon hidden criminals. Encountering one by chance once in a while and gaining a little momentum was enough.

“The old woman who came with the Marchioness yesterday has barged in again. She’s throwing a tantrum and rolling around, insisting that the Heir’s Wife go pay her respects to the Marchioness!” Green Willow had wanted to drive them out herself, but she could not overpower them. With no other choice, she had to inform Xie Shu.

Pay her respects? Xie Shu rubbed her eyes.

It was only a matter of paying respects, was it not?

“Come, come, come. Wash me and dress me. I’m going to pay my respects right now.”

Xie Shu rolled around on the bed twice. Once she was somewhat more awake, she suddenly opened her eyes and sat upright, letting out two cold laughs.

Green Willow let out a startled sound. “We’re really going to pay our respects to that wicked old hag?”

She did not want to go.

Xie Shu lightly scraped the tip of Green Willow’s nose and grinned slyly. “Do you really think your mistress is that easy to bully?”

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“Oh…” Green Willow understood at once. Her mistress had surely thought of another devious scheme!

“Come, come, come! I’ll dress the Heir’s Wife at once!”

Green Willow rose onto her toes and leaped up, beckoning the serving maids into the room. “Hurry! The Heir’s Wife is going to pay her respects!”

Outside the door, Nanny Liu heard the commotion and knew that Xie Shu had risen. She immediately planted her hands on her hips and shouted at the door, “Heir’s Wife, paying your respects and offering tea is required every day. It is the filial duty of a daughter-in-law. Don’t think you can evade it. Even if we take this matter to His Majesty, our marquis’s household would still be in the right!”

Filial duty. Again and again, it was always filial duty.

Was it not merely one word—filial?

Xie Shu emerged dressed in all her finery, with so many jeweled hairpins in her hair that there was scarcely room for another. In her previous life, Lady Li had claimed that women ought not to dress too extravagantly and had used every excuse to take away Xie Shu’s jewelry and ornaments. Only then had Xie Shu realized that Lady Li was simply jealous and envious.

This time, she was determined to dress magnificently every single day, dazzling Lady Li until her eyes could not bear it.

Let her see everything and possess nothing, until anger killed her!

“Nanny Liu, it is only paying respects. I am more than happy to do so.”

With one hand resting on Green Willow’s arm, Xie Shu exuded the imposing elegance of a noble lady, causing Nanny Liu to lower her eyes for an instant.

But the next second, Nanny Liu recovered herself. Bah! Was she really going to be afraid of this young girl?

“Heir’s Wife, after you,” Nanny Liu snorted twice. Once they arrived, there would be plenty of time for the girl to cry.

However, after leading the way for only a few steps, Nanny Liu suddenly sensed that something was wrong. She glanced behind Xie Shu and asked, “Why are all these people following you when you’re going to pay your respects?”

Xie Shu looked back. More than twenty people were gathered behind her in a great, bustling crowd. Pursing her lips, she replied calmly, “Whenever I leave the house, this many people attend me. It is perfectly normal that a servant like you would not know. After all, your mistress was born into a humble family and probably has never had so many people waiting upon her.”

What Lady Li hated most was having others look down on her family background. Lady Li came from a farming and scholarly household. Her father had fallen seriously ill two years earlier and had retired early to Liangzhou. In the capital, who would even remember his name now?

Nanny Liu heard the words but did not dare respond, worried that Lady Li might hear them and feel hurt.

“How arrogant. The Xie family is destined for the executioner’s block sooner or later!” Nanny Liu cursed inwardly. Her mocking voice was not loud, but it reached Xie Shu’s ears perfectly.

Green Willow was enraged. She rolled up her sleeves and was about to charge forward, but Xie Shu stopped her with a single glance.

“Let’s go. We still have to pay our respects and offer tea.”