Volume 1, Chapter 61: A Foursome, How Bizarre Indeed

After the midday hour, the winter day was warm and clear.

Carriages lingered outside the palace gates, waiting for word from within so they could enter in an orderly queue.

The Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet was set beside the Taiqing Pond, which connected to the Imperial Garden. The area was vast and surrounded by plum groves, making it an ideal season to enjoy the scenery.

"Sheng'er, there is no need to rush. Walk slowly," Lady Li murmured, staying close to Ning Rongsheng’s side. From time to time, she cast anxious glances downward, terrified that he might accidentally slip and reveal his affliction to others.

Having recuperated for quite some days, Ning Rongsheng’s wound had finally healed. Yet, no matter how many times he tried, there was not the slightest reaction. His heart was utterly dead.

At this moment, Lady Li’s cautious demeanor pricked at him with an inexplicable pain.

Lowering his voice, Ning Rongsheng brushed away the hand Lady Li extended to support him. "Mother, we are within the palace. Do not forget your propriety."

Walking at the very front, the Marquis of Chengen heard the commotion behind him. When he turned back to see Lady Li attempting to pull at Ning Rongsheng, his face darkened instantly, and he scolded, "What is all this tugging and pulling? Hurry up and follow!"

Scorned by both mother and son, Lady Li could only force a dry smile as she quickened her pace to walk beside the Marquis.

According to custom, a husband and wife should naturally enter the banquet together.

Xie Shu walked among the crowd clad in a crimson brocade quilted jacket. The fluffy, soft snow-fox fur collar trimmed at her neckline made the skin of her neck appear whiter than snow. The jacket was embroidered with tiny plum blossoms in golden thread, the falling petals drifting down toward the hem of her skirt. With every graceful step she took, it was as if they had been shaken loose by the breeze, presenting a myriad of captivating postures.

Most exquisite of all was the embroidered twining lotus pattern along the lower hem of her skirt, which faintly revealed a moon-white pleated skirt underneath. With every swaying step, she looked like red plum blossoms mirrored against pristine snow, possessing a pure and striking beauty that was beyond compare.

Zhou Xunli entered the palace gates alongside a group of court officials, yet his gaze immediately locked onto Xie Shu not far away. Seeing her walking side by side with Ning Rongsheng, his sword-like brows involuntarily knitted into a tight frown.

Lin Sheng followed his line of sight. "A handsome and talented man paired with a beauty; they quite suit each other."

"That blockhead Ning Rongsheng, can he truly be called talented?"

A figure suddenly materialized beside Lin Sheng, startling him badly. When Lin Sheng turned his head to look, he could only offer a naive smile. "Chancellor Pei, you've arrived early today!"

It was no wonder Lin Sheng was surprised; in the past, even with a thousand polite invitations, it was rare for Pei Xuanqing to show his face at a palace banquet. Even on the Emperor’s birthday, he would barely make an appearance until late in the evening.

"Lord Zhou, whose eye have you caught?" Pei Xuanqing had naturally noticed Xie Shu as well. Such a radiant woman was truly a breathtaking sight to behold. He continued in a teasing tone, "Shall I put in a good word with the Emperor and have him bestow a marriage upon you as well?"

Yet within the depths of this deep palace, the more radiant something appeared, the more tragic its ultimate fate usually proved to be.

Zhou Xunli withdrew his gaze. He and Pei Xuanqing rarely interacted. "I won't trouble Lord Pei to concern yourself with this."

Pei Xuanqing merely found it peculiar. Though he had previously failed to understand why Zhou Xunli had targeted him last time, seeing Zhou Xunli's expression today allowed him to guess a thing or two.

However, having guessed Zhou Xunli's intentions, Pei Xuanqing inexplicably felt a trace of discomfort rise within his heart. Yet what exactly was this discomfort? Pei Xuanqing could not quite put it into words.

"Let us go. Do not let us miss the auspicious hour." Disregarding the man beside him, Zhou Xunli offered a brief reminder to Lin Sheng, and the two men simultaneously quickened their pace, leaving Pei Xuanqing behind in their wake.

Left behind, Pei Xuanqing irritably scratched his head. Uncomprehending, he asked Pei Jiuan, "What is the meaning of this? Am I truly so unlikable?"

Pei Jiuan nodded with absolute honesty. "You are extremely, un-li-ka-ble."

"Hmph!" A folding fan descended, rapping squarely against Pei Jiuan’s forehead. "Spouting harsh truths, are you?"

Although the court officials universally disliked Pei Xuanqing's demeanor, he happened to be the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy. If the young scions of the capital wished to enter the Imperial Academy, they had to secure Pei Xuanqing's approval.

The entrance examination alone was enough to weed out half the candidates.

Therefore, no sooner had Zhou Xunli departed than a crowd of officials surrounded Pei Xuanqing, bowing and offering deferential salutes while shamelessly trying to curry favor.

"Did you see that? How deeply respected your master is." After dismissing everyone, Pei Xuanqing poked Pei Jiuan on the head, thoroughly basking in his moment of triumph.

Yet just as Pei Xuanqing quickened his pace to catch up to Xie Shu’s side and let out a few soft coughs, the young woman did not even turn her head.

Only Ning Rongsheng was the first to spot Pei Xuanqing, hastily bowing to offer his apologies. "Chancellor Pei, I have been unable to attend the Imperial Academy these past few days due to illness. I trust Chancellor Pei will be magnanimous and forgive me."

Pei Xuanqing cast a casual glance at him, uttered an "oh," and said, "Understood."

Having given his reply, Pei Xuanqing showed not the slightest intention of moving ahead. Instead, he purposely slowed his pace and fell into step beside Xie Shu.

When those who were observant watched this unfold from the side, they couldn't help but feel that the sight of these three walking abreast was exceedingly bizarre.

Yet, even stranger things were yet to come!

"Marquis of Chengen, how goes it within your noble household?" Zhou Xunli suddenly changed direction, walking all the way to the side of the Marquis of Chengen and posing this abrupt question out of nowhere.

Because of the scandal involving the Ning family, the Marquis of Chengen had made countless trips to the Capital Magistrate's Office in recent days, only to be turned away every single time. When Zhou Xunli suddenly approached to exchange pleasantries, he was momentarily stunned and replied blankly, "Everything is well."

"Mm." After uttering this expressionless acknowledgement, Zhou Xunli slowly slackened his pace and came to walk on Ning Rongsheng's other side.

Those following behind looked up and took in the sight of these four individuals walking together...

Though pleasing to the eye, the atmosphere was indescribably strange.

Sandwiched right in the middle, Xie Shu glanced to her left and right, feeling completely bewildered. Why on earth were these two men crowding around her?

First, she glared fiercely at Pei Xuanqing. Taking advantage of the hurried march, she stealthily extended two fingers from beneath her sleeve and viciously pinched the flesh of Pei Xuanqing's thigh.

"Ow, ow—" Caught completely off guard, Pei Xuanqing let out a sharp cry of pain, but immediately clamped a hand over his mouth. Loud noises were strictly forbidden within the palace.

Xie Shu well remembered that while she had indeed handed the items over to Pei Xuanqing, Ning Rongsheng had not yet been expelled from the Imperial Academy!

Suffering a sharp pain from the pinch, Pei Xuanqing thought to himself: This leg must be bruised purple by now.

Ning Rongsheng had failed to notice Xie Shu's action. Hearing Pei Xuanqing cry out in pain, he hurriedly asked with concern, "Did Chancellor Pei twist his ankle again?"

After all, he had heard that Pei Xuanqing had requested five days of leave due to a foot injury!

"It is nothing, nothing at all." Shielded by the cover of his wide sleeves, Pei Xuanqing secretly reached down to massage his thigh. This woman struck far too ruthlessly! Was it because he hadn't handled her errand yet? What a petty person.

Could she really blame him? He hadn't even been able to set foot inside the Imperial Academy these past few days, spending all his time lying abed nursing his foot injury.

On the other side, Zhou Xunli had witnessed Xie Shu's stealthy maneuver first. He had never imagined the two of them had grown so familiar.

"Ahem—ahem—"

Another fit of coughing.

Only then did Xie Shu turn her head toward Zhou Xunli. "Lord Zhou, is your throat unwell?"

Pei Xuanqing instantly felt a surge of displeasure. Why hadn't Xie Shu asked when *he* coughed just now?

"Perhaps my wound has not yet healed," Zhou Xunli replied coolly.

Xie Shu immediately recalled the injury on Zhou Xunli's arm from that day. "I have some superior wound ointment at my estate. Shall I have someone send it to you tomorrow?"

Pei Xuanqing's complexion turned even uglier.

Yet upon that ice-cold face of Zhou Xunli's, a trace of a smile faintly surfaced at the corners of his lips. He gave a slight nod and answered, "Very well."

Squeezed directly in the middle, Ning Rongsheng walked a short distance before finding himself falling behind the other three.

That wasn't right! Wasn't it only supposed to be husbands and wives walking together?