Chapter 5

Chapter 5

But I still felt humiliated, as if someone had laid out before him the very thing I least wanted him to see. My maiden family was not respectable, not reputable, and would never back me up. I feared he would regret marrying me.

I asked quietly, “Pei Guanli, why did you marry me back then?”

The rain was low, he held the umbrella handle, and after a while said, “Because I wanted to.”

I didn’t believe it: “What were you after?”

He looked at me: “You.”

I was stunned. He finally made it clearer: “Song Zhining, I married you not for the Song Family, nor because of the Emperor’s decree. I sought the decree first.”

Rainwater dripped down along the umbrella ribs.

He tilted the umbrella toward me, and soon half his shoulder was soaked.

I reached out to push the umbrella back, but Pei Guanli pressed the handle: “Don’t move.”

“Your official robes are wet.”

Pei Guanli glanced down at the water stains on his robes: “I can change when I get back.”

I took out a handkerchief to wipe away the stain: “What if I’m always this much trouble?”

He looked down at me, as if not understanding why that would be a problem: “Then I’ll always deal with it.”

I lowered my head. Pei Guanli took out a neatly folded handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it to me.

He said earnestly, “Song Zhining, trouble is not wrong. The people who see you as trouble are the ones who are wrong.”

That night, I couldn’t sleep.

Pei Guanli saw me back to my room: “If you want to ask tomorrow, I’ll answer everything.”

Early the next morning, a post came from the palace. The Grand Princess was holding a Lotus Appreciation Banquet, inviting noble ladies of the capital.

I didn’t want to go at first, but my name was clearly written on the invitation.

After Pei Guanli read the invitation, his brows slightly furrowed.

“If you don’t want to go, then don’t.”

I hesitated: “Would it be discourteous?”

He smiled: “Just say you’re ill.”

Watching him earnestly think of excuses for me to feign illness, I couldn’t help but smile: “Lord Pei, are you so practiced at lying now?”

He paused: “For my wife’s convenience, it’s not lying.”

I reached out and took the invitation: “I’ll go. They want to see me make a fool of myself; if I don’t go, they’ll think I’m afraid.”

Pei Guanli didn’t persuade me further, just said, “Take Qinghe with you.”

Qinghe was the maid he assigned to me, very sharp.

The day of the banquet, I purposely wore a plain cyan dress and didn’t wear too expensive jewelry.

The lotus flowers at the Grand Princess’s Mansion were exceptionally beautiful.

As soon as I took my seat, someone laughed and said, “This must be Madam Pei, I heard you’re from Jiangnan, no wonder you look so delicate and fresh.”

This sounded like praise at first.

But someone immediately added, “Jiangnan merchants are wealthy, so their daughters are naturally pampered. But the capital has many rules; I fear Madam may not be accustomed to them yet.”

Before I could speak, a girl in a moon white dress covered her mouth and laughed: “Lord Pei oversees rites and law, so he must be strict at home. Madam Pei, after all this time married, have you learned the capital’s rules yet?”

All around, light laughter.

I lifted my tea cup and took a slow sip.

The tea was a bit bitter. I recalled the line from Pei Guanli’s booklet: *Song Zhining does not like bitter tea.*

So I set the tea down.

The girl in moon white raised an eyebrow: “Madam does not like the tea?”

I shook my head: “Too bitter.”

Her smile faded a bit: “This is Junshan Yinzhen from the Grand Princess’s Mansion.”

I put down the tea cup: “The tea is good tea, it just doesn’t suit my taste.”

The table fell silent for a moment.

Someone sneered softly: “A merchant’s daughter is indeed blunt.”

I looked up at her: “Young lady, you’re right. People in business most dread calling bad things good.”

That girl’s expression stiffened.

I continued: “If silk is flawed, it is flawed. If grain is moldy, it is moldy. If tea is too bitter, it is too bitter. If for the sake of face, everyone says it’s good, in the end the ones who lose are both the tea buyer and the tea seller.”

The Grand Princess, seated at the head, suddenly glanced at me.

The girl in moon white, unwilling to back down, smiled: “Madam is quite eloquent, but today is a Lotus Appreciation Banquet, not a bargaining session.”

I nodded: “What the young lady reminds me is correct.”