chapter 4
“Second Master, what do you think Miss Wen means by this?”
Seeing the Second Young Master’s fiancée send a food box to the Second Master, the servants below were utterly perplexed.
Pei Du opened the food box. Inside, a stack of enticing peach blossom cakes and a bowl of steaming snow pear and white fungus soup filled the air with a sweet fragrance.
A servant blurted out, “She even knows that Master has a sweet tooth!”
She must have gone to some trouble to find that out.
The servants of the Pei Family were not the type to gossip, so Miss Wen was truly skilled at winning people over.
“Could it be that Miss Wen, seeing her engagement with the Second Young Master falling through, is now trying to attach herself to you?”
Pei Du’s gaze paused, and he glanced up at the servant.
“When did you learn to judge others with such malice?”
The servant hurriedly corrected himself, “It must be that she is grateful for your kindness in taking her in, Second Master, and sent these as a token of thanks.”
A token of thanks?
That explanation sounded even more unpleasant than the last.
He picked up a piece of cake and took a small bite.
Sweet but not cloying.
He tasted the snow pear and white fungus soup-delicate and delicious.
“Did she make all this herself?”
“Yes, the kitchen staff saw her do it.”
After finishing at a leisurely pace, Pei Du pondered, “Pick out some fabric from the storeroom and have a few new outfits made for her.”
The servant asked cautiously, “Master, for how many seasons? If the Second Young Master is truly determined not to return…”
The engagement between the Second Young Master and Miss Wen was known to everyone in the Pei Family from early on.
When the Second Young Master was a child, he fell ill with a strange disease. The Eldest Master took him to seek out the already retired Physician Wen for treatment, and they stayed for a time in that rural place.
The Eldest Master was fond of Mystical Arts, and on a whim, matched the Second Young Master’s and Miss Wen’s Four Pillars of Destiny.
The result was a perfect match, so without consulting anyone, he promised the Second Young Master’s marriage away.
Some time ago, Old Wen wrote to say he was not long for this world and that his granddaughter would soon be coming to the Capital to seek refuge. The Eldest Branch of the Pei Family was in an uproar.
The Eldest Master insisted on keeping his promise, while the Eldest Madam and the Second Young Master were adamant in their refusal, leaving both sides at an impasse.
Then Miss Wen’s letter arrived, making things even livelier.
In the letter, she insisted that someone come to fetch her, even drawing a large circle for emphasis. The Eldest Madam and the Second Young Master immediately thought Miss Wen was a crude and overbearing girl, and became even more unwilling.
The Second Young Master took the opportunity to go on a study tour to Jiangnan, accompanied by Miss Jiang, who was visiting her ancestral home there. Presumably, when they returned, something good would come of it.
The Second Young Master left, fearing that once Miss Wen arrived in the Capital, the Eldest Master would force them to marry-perhaps even having a rooster stand in for him at the wedding. So he turned to the Second Master, asking him to send her away.
The Second Master and the Second Young Master had always been close, being only five years apart. When they were young, the Second Young Master couldn’t tell the difference and clung to his elder brother, calling him “big brother” all the time.
With the Second Young Master so anxious and fearful, the Second Master naturally had to help.
But what was the Second Master thinking?
By his usual style, he would have acted swiftly, offered compensation, and sent the person away. Why did he let her stay?
And now he wanted to have clothes made for her…
Could it be he was captivated by her beauty?
To be fair, Miss Wen was strikingly beautiful, rare in the world, and certainly did not resemble a girl raised in the countryside.
If the Second Young Master had left a day later and seen what his fiancée looked like, he probably wouldn’t have resisted.
“Make outfits for every season, and have someone buy her some jewelry as well.”
Pei Du thought for a moment.
“The weather is getting cold. Arrange for charcoal in her room, the same allowance as mine.”
The servant left, his head full of questions.