Chapter 41
Chapter 41
Pei Xianjing arranged for a maid to escort Zheng Yan out of the estate, then went to the front courtyard himself.
The banquet was in full swing. He walked straight up to Princess Jin’an and cupped his hands in greeting.
Princess Jin’an sat up straighter, a smile appearing on her face after it had been rigid for so long.
Someone at the banquet began showering them with flattery.
“Eldest Young Master Pei is talented and the Princess is beautiful. They truly are a match made in heaven.”
“Eldest Young Master Pei is wholly devoted to the Princess. To this day, he hasn’t even taken a bedchamber maid. Look across the entire Great Yue dynasty-what other man is like him? He holds the Princess so dear that he cannot bear to let her suffer the slightest grievance.”
“Once they marry, theirs will surely be an unbreakable love, a beautiful tale passed down for ten thousand generations.”
“Eldest Young Master Pei rarely shows his face at gatherings. Only the Princess could make him set aside his official duties for a while.”
Every word was meant for Princess Jin’an, and the praise filled her with delight.
She rose with smiling eyes and said to Pei Xianjing, “What could you possibly say that cannot be said here and must be discussed in private?”
Pei Xianjing’s expression did not change. “Some things are not suitable for public discussion.”
At those words, Princess Jin’an’s mind filled with fantasies of the upright, self-possessed man casting off his gentlemanly reserve and whispering sweet nothings to her.
One after the other, they left the banquet.
They crossed the courtyard, entered a covered corridor, and walked a dozen or so paces.
As the revelry behind them gradually faded, Pei Xianjing stopped.
“Your Highness.” His voice was distant and cold.
“Yes?” Princess Jin’an stopped and turned back to look at him.
The instant their eyes met, she felt as though she were looking at a statue carved from ice.
Pei Xianjing stood five or six paces away. “Weiwei has suffered a tragic life and now lives under another’s roof. She is truly pitiful.
“Your Highness is a paragon among women and has always been magnanimous. Please do not lower yourself by quarreling with her.
“She prefers quiet and spends every day in Qianchen Pavilion, embroidering or reading. She never stirs up trouble.
“She cannot even bring herself to step on an ant and panics at the sight of a spider.
“She truly has no courage to provoke Your Highness. From now on, I will ensure she never appears before you again.”
“Pei Xianjing.” Princess Jin’an’s expression fell. “In all the years I have known you, this is the first time you have said so much to me.
“Yet it is all for some insignificant, lowborn merchant’s daughter.”
In the end, Jin’an could not bring herself to ask what he meant.
She feared that Pei Xianjing would give her an answer she did not want to hear.
“She is a merchant’s daughter, but she is not lowborn.
“Nearly half of Great Yue’s tax revenue comes from its merchants. Since Your Highness benefits from them, you should not look down upon them.
“Your Highness should remember: ‘When the Son of Heaven breaks the law, he is punished like any commoner.’
“And, ‘The sovereign is the boat; the common people are the water. Water can carry the boat, but it can also overturn it.’
“You were taught by tutors from childhood and instructed by the Emperor’s own words and example. It would be best to voice such opinions less often in the future.”
Jin’an was speechless.
For the sake of that wretch, he had actually begun lecturing her?
Jin’an felt that Pei Xianjing took her far too lightly.
She stared at his frost-cold face, nearly unable to resist slapping him twice to vent the fury in her heart.
But remembering her mother’s words, she forced herself to endure it.
The Empress had no prince of her own, while the civil and military officials of the entire court were pressing the Emperor to name a crown prince.
With the Pei clan now showing signs of dominating the court, she and her mother’s source of support had to shift from the Emperor to the Pei clan.
By holding the Qizhou military defense case in his hands, Pei Xianjing held the fate of Consort Chu’s entire family.
Whether her mother could successfully adopt her eleventh imperial brother into the Central Palace and install him as crown prince depended on whether Pei Xianjing was willing to spare the Chu clan.
It also depended on whose hands he placed Qizhou’s military authority in.
Pei Xianjing was a brilliant strategist. With his refusal to let go of Qizhou, there was no telling whether he was waiting for the right opportunity to take command himself.
Princess Jin’an was weighing the advantages and disadvantages and urging herself to remain calm when Pei Xianjing suddenly said, “I still have important matters to attend to. Please make yourself at home, Your Highness.”
With that, he swept past her and strode away without looking back.
The Duke’s estate had a resident physician, whom Pei Xianjing summoned to treat Xing Shuwei’s injuries.
Her wounds were not severe. They were merely superficial injuries.
Pei Xianjing went off to attend to some unknown business and did not return to Qianchen Pavilion.
Gao Li bustled about attending Xing Shuwei for quite some time. Xing Shuwei sent her away on the pretext of craving pastries from outside the estate.
Only she and Qiutong remained in the room. Master and maid finally had an opportunity to talk.
Qiutong asked anxiously, “Miss, I was away from your side for only a little while. How did you end up so badly hurt?”
Xing Shuwei shook her head to show that she was all right.
She said, “I’m afraid Princess Jin’an can no longer tolerate me.
“What puzzles me is that she tested me twice before, and I clearly dispelled her suspicions both times.
“Why did she suddenly turn on me today? She was plainly determined to put me to death.”
“Lady Pei’s behavior was also highly unusual. Surely she didn’t do all that merely for the pleasure of making things difficult for me.”
Xing Shuwei repeatedly turned Pei Xianjing’s words from earlier over in her mind. She could not shake the feeling that some unspeakable secret lay between him and Lady Pei.
She suppressed the thought and did not dwell on it. Her most urgent tasks were to get Yan’er into the Embroidered Uniform Guard and find a way to leave the Duke’s estate.
“By the way, did Deputy Commissioner Shen ask about anything when he failed to see me?” Xing Shuwei asked.
Qiutong pouted. “Don’t even mention it, Miss. I was just about to bring Deputy Commissioner Shen to see you.
“On the way, the Princess’s senior maid called him away. I saw them heading toward the rear courtyard. Who knows what shameful business they were up to?”
At this point, she paused before adding, “I don’t think Deputy Commissioner Shen is even as dependable as the Eldest Young Master.
“He agreed to meet you, Miss, but never showed up afterward. I waited a full half hour.”
Understanding dawned in Xing Shuwei’s heart.
After all, people had died, and Zhang Mingan was an impossibly troublesome rogue.
She had no idea how he had pestered and wrangled with Princess Jin’an, but the Princess must have been unable to deal with him and therefore called Shen Yanqi in.
That was for the best.
The more thoroughly they cleaned it up, the less trouble she would face.
Otherwise, Lady Pei would likely seize the opportunity to make trouble for her again.
It was simply that Shen Yanqi’s obedience to Princess Jin’an meant he was not her best choice.
At that thought, Zhang Mingan’s words suddenly surfaced in her mind. That scoundrel had said Shen Yanqi had no say in his own marriage.
Could it truly be that getting Yan’er into the Embroidered Uniform Guard was possible only through Zhang Mingan?
Xing Shuwei calculated silently, then told Qiutong, “Qiutong, bring out the fan Miss Zheng gave me. I want to examine it again.”
“Yes.” Qiutong rose, unlocked the cabinet, and took the brocade box from the very bottom.
Reclining against the pillow, Xing Shuwei opened the fan and carefully examined its calligraphy.
Rather than merely resembling her own handwriting, the script looked as though it had come from the very same hand as her mother’s.
Pei Xianjing was knowledgeable and widely traveled. Surely he knew no less than Zhang Mingan. She wondered whether she should show it to him.
“What are you looking at?” Pei Xianjing’s voice suddenly came from the doorway.
Xing Shuwei jerked her head up in alarm and saw that he had already approached without a sound.