Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When Pei Qian arrived, I had no idea it was him.

That day, a fine rain fell on a light breeze, and Ah Tao and I were turning soil in the corner by the wall.

The earth was damp, so it was not difficult work. It was only that my shoes and trouser hems were covered in mud, and my hair was plastered to my forehead. I must have looked rather wretched.

Someone pushed open the gate. It was old and let out a teeth-grinding creak. I thought that when I had some free time later in the afternoon, I would have to take it down and repair it properly.

I looked up at the people entering. Two young gentlemen, both tall and striking. Both wore flowing white robes; one had his collar fastened tightly, while the other had his slightly open, revealing a glimpse of his chest.

It was spring, yes, but did they really not feel cold dressed like that? For the sake of being some so-called elegant, romantic scholar, they truly cared about nothing at all.

I stared at them in surprise, and they looked back at me with faint surprise as well. Only, they were more restrained than I was; whatever emotions they had appeared for only an instant before being tucked away.

I straightened my short blue cloth jacket, handed the hoe to Ah Tao, then walked over and bowed to the two of them.

The gentleman with the open collar was the younger one, about seventeen or eighteen. He had the bearing of an immortal and the beauty of a jade mountain, with eyes dark as lacquer. At that moment, he was looking at me with a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

The gentleman with the tightly fastened collar was not as handsome as the other. He had swordlike brows and thin lips, the very picture of a coldhearted man. His phoenix eyes were cool and indifferent, and his complexion was too pale and delicate. For some reason, the longer one looked at him, the more a sense of bleak loneliness seemed to emerge.

I guessed they must be members of the Pei Family, or at least one of them was. Otherwise, they would never have been able to enter this courtyard.

In the past, I had seen many handsome young gentlemen. The Fifth Young Master of my own family, for instance, was a man as elegant as an orchid and a jade tree. I had heard that Pei Qian was the Number One of Hedong in romance and refinement. Could this immortal-like gentleman baring his chest be him?

“So you are the Fifth Lady Cui?” the bare-chested gentleman spoke first, his voice clear and pleasing to the ear.

“I am. May I ask who you are, sir?”

“Pei Erlang Pei Qian of the Hedong Pei Family. This is my good friend, Seventh Young Master Yuan, Yuan Shen.” He narrowed his eyes at the cold-faced Yuan Shen beside him, smiled for some unfathomable reason, then looked back at me.

So it really was Pei Qian.

Though the Yuan Family was not as prominent as the Pei Family, it was still a great aristocratic clan. Rumor had it that all the men of the Yuan Family were born with peach-blossom eyes, romantic and fickle by nature. Yuan Shen, however, was not like that. With such an aloof appearance, I wondered whether young ladies liked him or not.

“It seems Master Pei has fully recovered. May I ask what brings you here today?” Had he not forgotten all about me? Surely he had not gone to sleep and suddenly remembered again?

I glanced at his fair chest exposed to the air. Even if he looked like an immortal, I truly could not bring myself to be delighted.

“I fell and forgot a great many things. My family all says I am to marry the Fifth Lady of the Cui Clan, so naturally I had to come and take a look.” He raised a brow and smiled, probably thinking himself exceptionally charming. I resisted the goosebumps that were about to rise all over me.

“And what does my lord think, now that you have looked?”

“Not quite what I imagined.” Pei Qian stroked his smooth chin as he spoke, seeming as though he still wanted to find a more suitable way to phrase it.

I waited patiently for him to continue. Since he had come here himself, he must not have succeeded in persuading his family to cancel the marriage. Coming now, he was likely planning to start with me.

Once I had a sense of that, I was not so nervous anymore.

“Is this how the Cui Family receives guests? Not even offering a bowl of sweetened drink?”

Unexpectedly, Yuan Shen had surveyed the courtyard, then turned his gaze on me. His face showed little expression, and his voice was extremely pleasant, slightly low, with a quality that could almost beguile a person.

I could tell he was serious when he said this. He was not trying to cause trouble; he truly felt that my family’s hospitality left something to be desired.

I had intended to send them away as quickly as possible. Now, it seemed that would not do.