Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Xing Shuwei slept deeply that night. When she opened her eyes again, it was already midmorning the following day.
“Miss, the Fourth Young Master is still waiting for your answer,” Qiutong said when she saw that Xing Shuwei was awake.
“Did he send someone to ask again?” Xing Shuwei sat up as she spoke.
The Fourth Young Master, Pei Guofei, was the son of Pei Xianjing’s third uncle. Half a year older than Xing Shuwei, he was the one member of the Pei family who treated her sincerely and had always regarded her as his own younger sister.
“Yes,” Qiutong said. “You were sleeping so soundly that I couldn’t bear to wake you. Besides, the Shen family’s banquet is still several days away.”
“All right. Once I’ve washed and dressed, I’ll go give Fourth Brother my answer.”
Xing Shuwei nodded.
Pei Guofei had not entered officialdom. Instead, he had followed his mother into commerce and proved highly capable at business.
He also enjoyed entertaining guests and was popular among the capital’s young gentlemen.
Xing Shuwei learned much of what happened outside the estate from him.
Unexpectedly, after washing and dressing, Xing Shuwei had only just stepped out of Qianchen Pavilion when she ran into Chengde.
“Miss, the Eldest Young Master asks to see you.” Chengde respectfully saluted her with clasped hands, then gestured for her to follow.
He was not a hereditary household servant of the Duke’s estate, but an attendant Pei Xianjing had purchased from a servant broker.
Xing Shuwei’s heart sank-
They had only met yesterday. Why had he sent for her again so soon?
As she headed toward Qiansheng Pavilion, she tried to guess what urgent matter had made him summon her.
Upon reaching the outside of Qiansheng Pavilion and ensuring no one was around, she slipped onto the narrow path through the bamboo grove and walked inside.
Qiansheng Pavilion stood near the rear courtyard, separated from Qianchen Pavilion by nothing more than a dense grove of emerald bamboo.
When Xing Shuwei first came to the Duke’s estate, the bamboo had still been sparse.
Now it had grown lush enough to conceal all of Qiansheng Pavilion.
Chengde withdrew after bringing her there.
Xing Shuwei walked slowly through the door.
Pei Xianjing sat at a desk in his bedchamber, with all four windows open and an enormous bed positioned in the center of the room.
The window directly opposite the bed faced toward Qianchen Pavilion as well.
“Weiwei.” Pei Xianjing called to her gently and set the dossier in his hands down on the sandalwood desk.
When he was not angry, he was as warm and polished as jade, and his presence felt like a spring breeze.
“You must be tired from all your official work.” Xing Shuwei approached and placed both hands on his shoulders, kneading them with just the right pressure.
Pei Xianjing tipped his head back and casually bent one leg.
As he leaned back, his broad shoulders pressed against Xing Shuwei.
“The investigation into the northwestern military provisions case has reached a critical point,” he said.
Weariness threaded his voice.
This case was the very reason he had spent six months in Qizhou in the northwest.
He had killed Qizhou’s prefect and finally suppressed the military unrest, but the underlying corruption had not yet been eradicated…
Without a flicker of expression, Xing Shuwei changed the subject. “You’re so busy, yet you had Chengde summon me in such a hurry. Is something important the matter?”
The waters of the imperial court ran deep. Knowing too much was not necessarily a good thing.
At her words, Pei Xianjing reached out and rested one hand over hers, his voice rising slightly. “Can I not ask you here unless something important is the matter?”
“That isn’t what I meant.
“I simply cannot help you here and may distract you instead,” Xing Shuwei replied softly.
Pei Xianjing turned to look at her and suddenly asked, “Come to think of it, Qizhou is your home. Have you ever thought of going back?”
Unsure why he would suddenly ask such a question, Xing Shuwei hesitated before answering with a smile. “What is so good about Qizhou?
“It lies on the frontier, ravaged by war, where no one knows if they will survive the day. How could it compare to the capital?”
Pei Xianjing watched her lips open and close, his expression unreadable. “True. Qizhou is a place of sorrow for Weiwei.”
Xing Shuwei’s hands stilled, and her smile froze.
Of course. Both her parents had died in Qizhou.
When Qizhou was mentioned, she should never have smiled. It was far too deliberate.
After a while, she said quietly, “One endures bitter days by finding what little joy one can.”
“Fortunately, I have Brother Jing. Only because of you have I known the occasional happy day these past few years.”
Pei Xianjing caught her hand and twined his fingers through hers. “Oh? Then was Weiwei happiest yesterday, or before?”
Xing Shuwei’s face flushed in an instant. His fingers coiled around hers, making her fingertips burn.
Pei Xianjing watched her at his leisure, unwilling to miss the slightest emotion in her eyes.
She played the obedient girl, but in truth, her thoughts ran deep.
When Pei Xianjing continued staring at her, Xing Shuwei collected herself and chided him with feigned shyness, “You really…”
Pei Xianjing seemed quite pleased by her coy protest. The corner of his mouth curved as his long arm encircled her slender waist, drawing her into his embrace and settling her on his lap.
He picked up the dossier again with his right hand, while his left rested at her waist and stroked it idly.
Before yesterday, they had never behaved this way.
Pei Xianjing had never so much as looked at her with covetous desire.
But now, everything had changed.
She had yet to accept the sudden shift in their relationship, but he seemed to have adapted in an instant, as though they had always been this intimate.
“Turn the page.” His chin rested on her shoulder as he coaxed her gently.
Xing Shuwei obediently reached out and turned a page of the dossier.
A husband and wife who raised a tray level with their brows were said to treat each other with mutual respect.
But the two of them… what were they?
Surely he had not summoned her so urgently merely to turn the pages of his dossier for him…
As Pei Xianjing read, his fingers wandered restlessly beneath her clothes.
Xing Shuwei frowned faintly and glanced back at him. “Can Brother Jing truly do two things at once, no matter what they are?”
Pei Xianjing’s fingers did not stop. “When you’re here, I find it difficult to concentrate on anything else.”
Xing Shuwei caught his wandering hand. “Your official duties are more important. I’ll wait for you to the side.”
Pei Xianjing withdrew his hand. “Be good, Weiwei. I’ll finish reading soon. I won’t keep you waiting long.”
Xing Shuwei quickly rose from his lap.
He would not let her go elsewhere and made her sit on the bed behind him to keep him company.
After sitting for some time, Xing Shuwei wanted to lean back.
The moment her gaze fell upon the pillow, she noticed a small box made of golden-thread nanmu wood beside it.
Only members of the imperial family were permitted to use golden-thread nanmu wood.
The Emperor had only one daughter, Princess Jin’an, who remained unmarried.
The Emperor cherished Princess Jin’an as his greatest treasure and had yet to find a suitable Prince Consort for her.
Could the Emperor have set his sights on Pei Xianjing now?
Xing Shuwei thought, Pei Xianjing and I truly are worlds apart.
She struggled merely to stay alive, while he already had one foot inside the imperial family.
Before long, the entire Pei family would likely rise with him and become relatives of the imperial house.
Pei Xianjing called, “Weiwei.” When she did not answer, he turned and found her staring at the box in a daze.
He came to the bed, sat down, and pulled her into his arms.
His cool lips descended on hers at once.
As his movements grew bolder, Xing Shuwei began to panic. “Brother Jing, don’t do this.”
Too many eyes watched within the estate. If this kept happening every day and someone saw her, what would she do?
“So timid, hmm?” Pei Xianjing seemed to tease her. “How will you survive under the mistress of the household in the future? I cannot remain at the estate every day to make decisions for you.”