The seat of that armchair was brownish-red in color. She didn’t know what material it was made of, but sitting on it felt soft yet cool.

Yu Tang really wanted to know, but was too embarrassed to ask.

Pei Yan casually waved his hand, and the two pretty little maids both curtsied and withdrew.

A-Ming served Yu Tang tea and refreshments.

Only then did Pei Yan ask: “What did you come to see me about?”

Yu Tang quickly handed the tea leaves she was carrying to A-Ming and said: “I went to Suzhou Prefecture a few days ago and bought several boxes of tea leaves. They tasted quite good, so I brought two boxes for you to try.”

The Pei family had large tea plantations.

Besides the ones near Lin’an, there were also some in Meiwu.

The corner of Pei Yan’s mouth twitched.

Yu Tang knew she was showing off her skills before an expert and didn’t try to gild her own face. Instead, she said quite sincerely: “I know you don’t care for these things, but I’m coming to visit you—I can’t very well come empty-handed. Just consider it as fulfilling my courtesy so I can feel at ease!”

A pile of twisted logic!

Pei Yan glanced at Yu Tang sideways but didn’t pursue the matter of the tea leaves further. Instead, he had A-Ming accept them and put them in his study for entertaining guests.

Yu Tang secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that Pei Yan truly was cold on the outside but warm on the inside—he seemed bad-tempered, but was actually quite lenient.

Her mood immediately became lighter.

What’s more, Pei Yan even pointed to the crystal fruit plate on the tea table and said: “Do you want to eat watermelon or pear? They were all sent over from the farm early this morning.”

The content of his words was very casual.

Yu Tang’s mood relaxed even more. She smiled and thanked Pei Yan, and while forking a piece of pear, said: “There are pears this early? Is this from your farm near Lin’an?”

“Mm!” Pei Yan nodded and said, “I had people try planting some early pears, and they turned out surprisingly good. Next year we should be able to sell them to vendors.”

Yu Tang felt quite dejected.

Why was Pei Yan so good at farming?

She asked: “So what else is planted on your farm?”

Pei Yan said leisurely: “Too many things—I can’t remember them all at once. Sometimes when they come to ask, I just look and make suggestions. If something grows successfully, I reward them. If it doesn’t work, that’s fine too—just consider it gaining experience and learning lessons.”

This meant casting a wide net.

Yu Tang asked: “So how many farms does your family have?”

“Can’t say for sure off the top of my head,” Pei Yan said. “Would have to check the account books.”

He probably couldn’t discuss such things with an outsider like her.

Yu Tang didn’t press further and pointed to the pears in the crystal plate with a smile: “These pears really are quite sweet. Not only sweet, but they also have a pleasant aftertaste.”

Pei Yan nodded and said: “Unfortunately the flesh is a bit grainy. Probably won’t sell for a good price. Still need to have them continue finding solutions.”

Yu Tang couldn’t help herself now and said: “How do you understand all these things?”

Pei Yan looked at her uncomprehendingly and said: “From reading books! It’s all in books!”

The little person in Yu Tang’s heart was jumping up and down in frustration, thinking that if it was all in books, why was only Pei Yan good at farming?

She said: “Then the books you read must be different from what others read?”

But Pei Yan disdainfully raised an eyebrow and said: “It’s just that those scholars consider themselves superior and aren’t willing to learn about agricultural matters.”

Her father was willing to learn, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t do it well. Even the flowers and plants he planted would die—he wasn’t even as good as her mother.

Yu Tang didn’t believe it and said: “Are farming books very precious? Can they be lent to others?”

Pei Yan smiled and said: “You want to read them?”

Yu Tang nodded repeatedly and said somewhat embarrassedly: “Doesn’t my family have that patch of mountain forest?”

Pei Yan was unconcerned and said: “You’re still working on that mountain forest? Well, you do have a bit of a stubborn streak, and usually people like that can accomplish things. You just keep at it slowly. I’ll have someone gather a few books for you. Read them first, and if there’s anything you don’t understand, ask your father or ask your family’s tenant farmers.”

“Ask my father?!” Yu Tang doubted her father could understand them either.

Pei Yan could tell what she was thinking at a glance and smiled: “Your father certainly doesn’t know how to farm, but he can read! When you encounter passages you can’t understand, ask your father what they mean, then go ask the tenant farmers who farm for your family. Those tenant farmers are usually quite good at farming.”

Was this how Pei Yan managed his farms?

Learning how to farm from books? How strange! Didn’t everyone learn farming by following the farm stewards who managed their estates? Was it because of this difference that his land could be farmed exceptionally well?

Yu Tang was pondering this in her heart when she heard Pei Yan call A-Ming over and have him collect things like “Records of Farming and Reading,” “Complete Book of Agriculture,” “Material Works,” “Notes from the Grass Hall”… He mentioned seven or eight book titles: “Pack them up for Miss Yu.”

A-Ming looked at Yu Tang curiously, probably unable to understand why Yu Tang would be borrowing books from Pei Yan.

Yu Tang’s face felt a bit hot, but she really wanted to understand why in her previous life Pei Yan had planted sea buckthorn trees on their family’s mountain forest and eventually made preserved fruits to sell for profit, so she pretended not to notice. Seeing that Pei Yan was being quite amiable toward her at the moment and the atmosphere was just right, she boldly stated her purpose in coming: “Have you heard? The Li family from the south of the city—Master Li who serves as prefect in Rizhao—they say Master Li is staying in the capital as an official and was appointed Left Vice Minister of the Office of Transmission?”

Pei Yan looked at her and said: “You came here for this matter?”

Yu Tang coughed twice and uncomfortably justified herself: “How can you say that? I’m just curious, aren’t I? Besides, in all of Lin’an city, who has better information than you? The Li and Gu families first broke off their engagement, then there’s a promotion—how can I not overthink it?”

Pei Yan looked her up and down several times.

His original intention was to let her know his contempt for her schadenfreude mentality, but as he looked her over from top to bottom, seeing her large eyes sparkling with happiness, her cheeks as lovely as peach blossoms from excitement, and the sly expression revealed by her enthusiasm, he suddenly felt his heart skip a beat, with a moment of suffocation.

How could this be?

Pei Yan involuntarily wanted to raise his hand to touch his chest, but as soon as his hand moved, the rules and upbringing carved into his bones since childhood made him instinctively feel such a gesture was improper. His fingers slightly curled and he simply clenched them into a fist. The confusion in his heart only grew greater.

Why would this Miss Yu make his heart suddenly palpitate?

Was it because he had too little contact with young ladies? Was it because no girl had ever been so unguarded in front of him? Or was it because he had nothing to do today and had the mood and time to chat idly with Miss Yu? Or was it because Miss Yu like this seemed particularly beautiful?

Pei Yan examined Yu Tang again.

Yu Tang secretly pouted.

This Pei Xiaguang, just like all scholars, practiced “do not look at what is improper, do not speak of what is improper.” Even if he was dying of curiosity inside, he wouldn’t casually discuss others, and he forbade others from discussing things too.

Perhaps in others’ eyes, this was a gentleman’s manner, with proper speech and conduct. But in her view, it was rigid and boring, it was affected pretense.

She didn’t know how these men’s wives could endure such lives.

Fortunately her father wasn’t like this—he would help her mother tend to flowers and plants and talk with her mother about household matters and amusing incidents.

But after Pei Yan’s thorough examination, he had to admit that Miss Yu did indeed look very beautiful like this.

But Miss Yu was always beautiful—why did he feel it was particularly different today?

As Pei Yan was thinking this, he saw Miss Yu, as if she thought he wasn’t looking, secretly smile with pursed lips.

Extremely pretty and lively.

Completely different from the dignified and demure manner she usually displayed before him.

It was as if she had been observing the rules of a refined young lady all along, and suddenly she had shed the outer garment of a refined young lady, revealing her true emotions and being herself for a while.

Like a paper cutout person who suddenly had their own emotions and their own characteristics, becoming distinctive and different.

How could such a person not leave a deep impression?

Pei Yan felt relieved.

But he didn’t realize that from this moment on, Miss Yu became vivid in his impression, no longer just a rather bold daughter of a scholarly family.

His tolerance toward her had also increased.

“Don’t you just want to know if your complaint had any effect?” Pei Yan mercilessly stripped away the outer garment covering Yu Tang’s gossiping heart and said coolly, “You succeeded!”

“Really?!” The joy in Yu Tang’s heart came bursting out. She almost jumped up, and without realizing it, her eyes shone brilliantly as she looked toward Pei Yan. “It really was related to my complaint? I didn’t expect the Gu family to value Miss Gu so much. Knowing Li Duan wasn’t a good person, they decisively helped Miss Gu break off the engagement, and even for Miss Gu’s reputation, they went to such great lengths to secure a good position for Master Li. So this means I’ve done a good deed…”

She understood the Li family.

For the Li family, the Gu family breaking off the engagement was humiliating.

Even if the Li family wanted to continue clinging to the Gu family, there would be resentment in their hearts, and they definitely wouldn’t be able to be as sincere as in her previous life. As for the Gu family, since they broke off the engagement, they certainly looked down on the Li family from the bottom of their hearts. Having helped the Li family once as an exchange, they definitely wouldn’t do it a second time.

If she wanted to deal with the Li family in the future, wouldn’t it be even easier!

Seeing her jubilant and encouraged appearance, Pei Yan thought she felt she had done the right thing by going to complain.

The corner of his mouth lifted as he said slowly: “What do you have to be so happy about? The Gu family simply looked down on Li Duan for being incapable. What does it have to do with whether Li Duan’s character is good or bad?”

Yu Tang’s almond eyes widened.

Wasn’t it because Li Duan had done something wrong?

In her bright clear eyes, there was shock, incomprehension, confusion, and also doubt.

All her emotions were written on her face—she didn’t even know to guard against others!

No wonder she always slipped up in front of him.

Pei Yan grumbled internally.

He was particularly bothered by that little bit of doubt.

He felt he must make her swallow that little bit of doubt, and she owed him an apology too.

Therefore Pei Yan said without leaving any face: “Marriage between two families was originally for mutual benefit. The Gu family needed someone in officialdom who could support Gu Chaoyang. The Li family needed the Gu family’s connections in officialdom. But the prerequisite was that Li Duan had to be someone who could be helped up. But look at what Li Duan has done? He can’t even compete with you. Such a son-in-law, with neither three inches of nail at home nor strength to truss a chicken, what use is he? Naturally this marriage was called off. It has nothing whatsoever to do with whether the Gu family felt heartache for their daughter. It’s mainly that Li Duan himself didn’t strive for success and had no ability.”

Was it really like this?

But in her previous life, Gu Chang truly treated Gu Xi very well.

She didn’t quite believe that between Gu Chang and Gu Xi, benefits outweighed sibling affection.

Yu Tang asked weakly: “Then, for the matter of breaking off the engagement, it should have been Young Master Gu who handled it, right?”