Volume 1, Chapter 62: Dean Pei, You Had Better Speak Less

Several of them walked all the way to the Taiqing Pool. The Marquis of Cheng'en tried several times to strike up a conversation with Zhou Xunli, but was brushed off with perfunctory remarks. It seemed the people of the Ning clan would probably not be rescued this time.

All around, other people cast curious glances. After all, no one understood why the iron-fisted Chief Administrator of the Capital Prefecture and the traditionally aloof Head of the Imperial Academy were both accompanying Xie Shu.

This bizarre formation baffled everyone.

Even Xie Shu herself could not figure it out. Why on earth did these two men have to stick to her sides like temple guardians? However, seeing the Marquis of Cheng'en's probing and evaluating gaze, Xie Shu simply let them be.

After all, as long as the Marquis of Cheng'en suspected there was something between them, he would not dare to make a move against her lightly.

Inside the Taiqing Pool, officials' family members had their own designated seats. Xie Shu followed the Marquis of Cheng'en's party toward the right side, which was reserved for imperial princes and close relatives of the royal family. As for the civil and military officials of the court, they were seated on the left.

"You two, please go ahead." Seeing that neither of them showed any intention of moving, and feeling trapped and unable to pass while sandwiched between them, Xie Shu had no choice but to speak up first.

Zhou Xunli was unsure what he was stubbornly contesting. Seeing Pei Xuanqing standing completely still, he actually forgot his manners and froze his footsteps as well.

However, Xie Ying had yet to enter the capital to this day, and considering the emperor's three urgent imperial edicts... the Empress Dowager would certainly not let the Xie family off easily.

"You must be more careful..." Zhou Xunli left his sentence unfinished. With so many eyes and ears around, the rest of the words he wanted to say were ultimately swallowed back down.

Recalling Zhou Xunli's warning from the other day, Xie Shu guessed his meaning, waved her hand, and said, "Rest assured, I know what I'm doing."

Seeing the two of them exchanging a tacit understanding like playing riddles, Pei Xuanqing stopped the folding fan he was waving. A sense of displeasure arose in his heart. Ever since their last meeting, it seemed he had been nothing more than an outsider standing apart from them the entire time.

This thought was truly unpleasant.

"I never imagined Lord Zhou and the Heir's Wife would be so intimately acquainted," Pei Xuanqing said with a sarcastic drawl, his voice coming from deep within his nasal passage, dripping with mockery.

Hearing his tone, Xie Shu felt instantly irritated and retorted, "If Master Pei doesn't know how to speak properly, you might as well keep quiet. No one is mistaking you for a mute."

"You!" Hearing this, Pei Xuanqing grew anxious. She had actually called him a "mute" just for the sake of Zhou Xunli!

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xunli at her side let out an involuntary, soft chuckle. "Master Pei, it would be better for you to speak less."

The two of them singing in harmony left Pei Xuanqing with a belly full of pent-up frustration, feeling utterly miserable.

At the banquet, many people gathered in groups to exchange pleasantries. Xie Shu glanced around. Those who had previously been on familiar terms with the Xie family now consciously stayed yards away from her; when they caught her gaze turning their way, they hurriedly lowered their heads.

Yet as soon as Xie Shu looked away, many of them would cast spectator's glances toward this direction with malicious amusement.

The Marquis of Cheng'en had already taken his seat first, and Lady Li naturally followed by his side.

Ning Rong笙's gaze swept over the three of them from time to time. Xie Shu was clearly his wife, but at this moment, no one paid him the slightest heed.

For a split second, dark and obscure thoughts flashed through Ning Rong笙's mind.

This woman had not only ruined him! How dare she flirt with other men right before his very eyes!

"Lord Zhou, you've arrived!"

A crisp, charming female voice rang out from behind.

Xie Shu turned toward the sound. It was Princess Jiahui, the emperor's most favored daughter. Princess Jiahui was the child of the late Consort Zhen, and also the apple of the current emperor's eye. Even the Second Prince, born of the Empress, did not dare to lecture or reprimand her lightly in front of the emperor.

The young lady wore double buns, her youthful face beaming with a radiant smile. Her eyebrows and eyes resembled blooming spring peach blossoms, looking dainty and adorable. Princess Jiahui lifted her skirt and hurried over, but due to her haste, she lost her balance and tumbled directly toward Zhou Xunli.

Xie Shu quickly stepped aside to the other side, terrified of being collided with by Princess Jiahui.

In her past life, although Xie Shu had crossed paths with Princess Jiahui a few times, she never had deep interactions with her.

She only knew that Princess Jinghe utterly despised her.

Xie Shu guessed that perhaps because both were princesses, one had been sent away to the Khitans for a political marriage at a tender age while the other enjoyed endless pampering in the palace, it naturally bred unfairness and resentment in people's hearts.

"Your Highness, watch out!"

Ning Rong笙's eyes lit up. Seizing the opening, he forced his way through the gap Xie Shu had just vacated, grabbed Princess Jiahui by the waist, and plastered a gentle, courteous expression of concern on his face.

"Huh?" Xie Shu looked at Zhou Xunli, who had retreated three paces backward right alongside her, and let out a puzzled sound.

She had stepped back, of course, but why was Zhou Xunli backing away?

Xie Shu asked uncomprehendingly, "Why are you backing up?"

She vividly remembered that when she had almost fallen earlier, Zhou Xunli had caught her several times.

This was precisely the question Princess Jiahui wanted to ask as well. Looking up to see that it was Ning Rong笙 who had caught her, she puffed out her cheeks and shoved Ning Rong笙 away without hesitation! Then, marching up to Zhou Xunli in two or three strides, she demanded angrily, "You—why didn't you catch me!"

Princess Jiahui was still young, only fourteen years old. To Zhou Xunli, she was nothing more than a child.

However, ever since Princess Jiahui had witnessed Zhou Xunli's masterclass archery of hitting targets from a hundred paces away at the royal hunting grounds a year ago, she had become infatuated with him. Fortunately, although the emperor doted on her, he had not lost his senses to the point of forcing Zhou Xunli to marry a princess.

Therefore, Zhou Xunli could only avoid her at every turn.

Before Zhou Xunli could reply, Lin Sheng suddenly popped out from the side with a dry laugh and hastily apologized to Princess Jiahui, "Please forgive Your Highness's offense. My master has always been like this; he truly dislikes physical contact with women. He... he is allergic to rouge!"

Lin Sheng was terrified that Zhou Xunli's harsh words might offend this little princess and reduce her to tears.

After all, during the Mid-Autumn banquet that had just passed, his master had fed the mooncakes Princess Jiahui had made with her own hands straight to the fish... leaving the poor girl crying for half the day.

Allergic to rouge? Xie Shu instinctively lowered her head to sniff herself, as she had always adored wearing rouge.

Uh... she hadn't noticed Zhou Xunli having any allergic reactions, though?

There were too many people here, and trouble followed crowds.

Unwilling to become the sudden target of Princess Jiahui's attention, Xie Shu quietly shifted her footsteps when no one was paying attention and slipped away to find her own seat.

As for Ning Rong笙, Xie Shu couldn't be bothered to care about him. Sooner or later, he would surely incur Princess Jiahui's resentment.

Out of the corner of his eye, Zhou Xunli caught Xie Shu's movement. Since there were too many people here, he decided not to linger either, turning around to head elsewhere.

Pei Xuanqing followed closely behind. He gently tapped Zhou Xunli's shoulder with his folding fan, and when the other man halted, he leaned in close to Zhou Xunli's ear with a teasing smile, whispering, "Lord Zhou, these women of the Xie family are truly not easy to mess with."

Zhou Xunli raised a hand to bat the folding fan away, slightly turning his head to distance himself from Pei Xuanqing's proximity, and replied coldly, "Since Master Pei knows they are not easy to mess with, why invite trouble upon yourself?"

"Heh, naturally because I am different from Lord Zhou. Lord Zhou is a high-ranking court official, whereas I am merely a humble tutor." Pei Xuanqing feigned modesty. He had never intended to court disaster; he simply disliked the way Xie Shu treated the two of them with differential standards.

Pei Xuanqing purely wanted to make them uncomfortable as well.

"Master Pei, you'd better mind your own business," Zhou Xunli returned the exact same line Pei Xuanqing had used earlier.

An invisible undercurrent of tension surged between the two men, and for no apparent reason, they began to find each other utterly grating.