Yu Tang’s eyes widened, feeling as if her jaw was about to drop.

“The eldest young master… Miss Gu is to be betrothed to the eldest young master… Is, is that the eldest young master of the Pei residence? The eldest master’s son, your nephew?” She stammered, her mind feeling as if it had been pasted over with glue, unable to think and only able to speak by instinct. “Then the Yang family—that’s the eldest madam’s maternal family?”

How could she have thought it was Pei Yan who was going to form a marriage alliance with Gu Xi?

Yu Tang said in confusion—she had asked Pei Yan earlier, and he had clearly responded by telling her “then don’t say it,” but “then don’t say it” didn’t necessarily mean denial!

Moreover, he truly hadn’t denied it!

Only now did Yu Tang belatedly realize that Pei Yan had been teasing her all along!

Her face immediately burned hot. Unable to contain her temper any longer, she shouted at Pei Yan: “You, you were just watching me make a fool of myself!”

“What nonsense are you spouting now?” Pei Yan raised his chin and looked at her sideways, his gaze exactly like someone looking at an unreasonably quarrelsome child. “Clearly you suddenly rushed before me and told me that you and Gu Xi don’t get along, that Gu Xi isn’t worthy of me. I carefully considered it for quite a while and felt what you said made quite a bit of sense, so I declined the marriage proposal with the Gu family. I just didn’t expect that after I finally let you persuade me, my eldest sister-in-law would jump into the pit instead. Aren’t I still troubled about what to do about this matter?”

Yu Tang had no face to confront Pei Yan. Without a word, she turned and ran.

Pei Yan could no longer hold back and burst into hearty laughter.

Even after Yu Tang had run out of Geng Garden, she felt as if she could still hear Pei Yan’s laughter behind her.

How could she be so stupid!

How could she have thought that while Pei Yan was cut out for studying, even if he could learn to manage practical affairs well, he would surely be lacking in human relations and worldly wisdom… But now it seemed he clearly had everything figured out!

She deserved to be laughed at by Pei Yan.

A’Ming caught up, panting heavily, calling out loudly “Miss Yu.”

Yu Tang very much wanted to bury her head and walk away, but her home was at least two quarters of an hour’s journey from Xiaomei Alley, and the sedan chair she had hired was still parked in the Pei family’s sedan hall. Even if she wanted to avoid this, she couldn’t.

Yu Tang had no choice but to stop and, acting as if nothing had happened, asked A’Ming with forced composure: “What is it? Did you call me because there’s something urgent?”

A’Ming said: “The Third Master told me to arrange for the family’s sedan chair to send you home, and also had me take two boxes of pastries. He said to bring them back for your esteemed household’s madam to try something new—they were just sent from the capital yesterday. They’re very different from our southern pastries.” He explained, as if afraid Yu Tang wouldn’t accept. “I’ve already arranged the sedan chair. Please come with me. Our Third Master also said that in the future, when people from your esteemed household come calling, they can be led directly to Third Steward.”

There weren’t many families treated this way by the Pei family. In Lin’an City, it was the supreme honor.

Yu Tang’s expression was wooden. She decided never again to be clever and run to see Pei Yan.

Her mind was blank, not knowing how she got home.

At Pei Yan’s side, however, he couldn’t stop laughing.

This young lady from the Yu family was truly quite interesting.

It showed he still had some eye for people. Otherwise, when he first saw her using the Pei family’s name to swindle people, he would have felt displeased and thought this little girl was a troublemaker.

Now, mistakenly believing he was going to form a marriage alliance with the Gu family, she actually came to warn him.

If he hadn’t listened, he wondered whether she would try to sabotage “his marriage with the Gu family” the same way she destroyed the marriage between the Gu and Li families.

These thoughts flashed through his mind, and he felt a vague sense of regret.

Should he not have called her back? Should he have just let her remain mistaken, then watched to see what methods she would use to sabotage “his marriage with the Gu family”? However, if he had waited until she returned to the Yu residence to discover that what she heard was a rumor, he definitely wouldn’t have been able to see her interesting reaction just now. Thinking of it this way, keeping her a little longer and letting her know the truth was more amusing.

Pei Yan felt satisfied, thinking this was the most delightful thing that had happened to him during this period.

This made Shu Qing, who had just rushed over after hearing the news that the Pei and Gu families might form a marriage alliance, stop in his tracks with astonishment and ask in confusion: “Did something happen worth being happy about just as I arrived?”

Pei Yan restrained his smile and said calmly: “No, nothing happened.” But after saying this, a trace of amusement he himself hadn’t noticed flashed through his eyes.

Shu Qing was full of confusion, but since Pei Yan had already refused to answer him, naturally he couldn’t ask more. He could only file this confusion away in his heart, planning to inquire with Pei Man when he had time. He stated his purpose for seeking out Pei Yan: “The eldest young master’s marriage—are we just letting the Yang family act so recklessly? Forming a marriage alliance with the Gu family is certainly good, but for the eldest young master it’s not the best choice.”

Pei Yan shook his head, the corner of his mouth revealing a mocking smile as he said: “Do you think the Yang family doesn’t know? But they’re more afraid that Mother and I will use the eldest young master’s marriage to make an issue of things. They’d rather secure it first. Besides, Gu Chang has developed quite well these past two years. Although marrying Miss Gu is somewhat risky, it’s not really a loss. Since Mother has agreed to the Yang family, she presumably doesn’t want to manage affairs on that side anymore. Then let it be this way. Whether it’s fortune or disaster in the future, they chose it themselves. Just don’t blame me later for not stopping it.”

Shu Qing sighed.

Pei Yan couldn’t help but say: “What a fool! Even a young lady who knows nothing realizes this marriage proposal isn’t any good, yet this grown man listens to women’s words and does whatever they tell him to do. Even if he enters official service in the future, I expect he’ll be a muddled official. As long as he doesn’t harm lives or bring trouble to the family, that’ll be fine.”

A young lady?!

Shu Qing’s eyes turned, feeling as if he understood something, yet not quite daring to believe his own speculation.

If the Third Master truly had such intentions, the disparity in their status and position was perhaps too great. This matter would be difficult to manage!

While he was pondering this in his heart, Pei Yan was already saying: “This matter will probably require you to step forward and see what the Yang and Gu families have to say. I’m too lazy to haggle with them over details like small merchants and peddlers. I’ll leave these matters to you.”

Shu Qing immediately felt an oncoming headache, but still could only agree.

By this time, Yu Tang had already arrived home, and her mood had gradually calmed down.

She found it strange—how had she been so certain at the time that the marriage alliance between the Pei and Gu families would be between Pei Yan and Gu Xi? If even she had developed such a misunderstanding, what about the several young ladies of the Pei residence? She wondered what their expressions would be when they learned that Gu Xi was to marry the eldest young master of the Pei residence’s principal branch, Pei Tong, and would become their sister-in-law?

Tomorrow she still had to go to Ku’an Temple with the female members of the Pei family… If Pei Yan also accompanied them to Ku’an Temple like last time, wouldn’t she see Pei Yan tomorrow as well?

Yu Tang immediately became restless.

That man Pei Yan was usually so cold and aloof—forget about laughing, he didn’t even speak pleasantly. But today, right in front of her, he had laughed heartily without any regard for his image, delighted beyond measure. If he saw her tomorrow, who knew how he would tease her?

Could she not go to Ku’an Temple tomorrow?

Yu Tang calculated in her mind, thinking of many excuses that all seemed insufficiently convincing.

Did she really have to go to Ku’an Temple with Pei Yan tomorrow?

The little person in Yu Tang’s heart squatted by the threshold, holding its head.

If there were a crack in the ground, she would crawl into it.

But how did the Gu family suddenly collude with the principal branch of the Pei family?

She remembered that when Gu Xi was at the Pei family’s villa, she hadn’t had any dealings with the eldest madam. Moreover, Gu Xi had previously been infatuated with Pei Yan, so how could she agree to marry Pei Tong? Wouldn’t that be awkward for her? Or were young ladies from wealthy noble families different from what she imagined? Hadn’t someone said before that wealthy noble families could only match with those few families, so the range of choices was very small? Was it because of this that Gu Xi changed her mind?

In any case, since Gu Xi couldn’t marry Pei Yan, Yu Tang was quite happy in her heart.

When Chen Shi asked her to help make two pairs of socks for her unborn little nephew, she immediately agreed.

“What’s gotten into her?” Chen Shi said curiously to Chen Pozi. “Wasn’t she supposed to go out to buy pearl flowers? How is it that she didn’t buy any pearl flowers, but instead looks like she was hit on the head by something, only knowing how to smile foolishly?”

Chen Pozi laughed: “She must have encountered something good.”

Hearing Chen Pozi’s words, Yu Tang smiled even more brilliantly.

In the future, Gu Xi would have to be managed by Pei Yan’s wife. When she saw Pei Yan’s wife, she would have to respectfully curtsy and address her as “Aunt.” Just thinking about it made her feel triumphant.

She didn’t need to leave Lin’an City anymore.

Yu Tang called out loudly: “Mother, shall we make water shield and whitebait soup today? The streets are already selling water shield!”

Chen Shi teased her deliberately, snorting lightly: “Do you know how much water shield costs per catty now? It’s more expensive than meat. You want to eat water shield? Either wait a few days, or wait until tomorrow when you go to Ku’an Temple with Old Madam Pei and see if the people at Ku’an Temple will serve it to you.”

Yu Tang pouted, but even this couldn’t dampen the joy in her heart.

However, in the afternoon, she still quietly sent Shuang Tao to see the Fifth Miss to ask whether Pei Yan would go to Ku’an Temple together tomorrow.

This time the Fifth Miss’s response was quite definite. She said: “Something came up at home. My third uncle probably won’t have time. Even my grandmother—we don’t know if she’ll be able to make it to Ku’an Temple tomorrow. As for what the matter is, it can’t be explained in a short time. We’ll talk about it when we meet.”

Yu Tang suspected it was about the marriage alliance between the Pei and Gu families.

But the fact that Pei Yan wasn’t going to Ku’an Temple gave her considerable peace of mind.

Early the next morning, she went to the Pei residence.

As expected, both Pei Yan and Old Madam weren’t available. Leading them instead were Dowager Madam Yi and the second madam. But the several young ladies of the Pei residence all already knew about Gu Xi forming a marriage alliance with Pei Tong. The Fifth Miss sat in the mule cart and immediately began discussing it with Yu Tang in low voices: “We were all greatly shocked. Our eldest cousin is only eighteen this year and still in mourning. We all thought he would at least wait until after the mourning period to get engaged. Another thing is, wasn’t there a rumor before that our eldest cousin and his maternal cousin were childhood sweethearts? How did he suddenly decide to marry Sister Gu? Could it be that when Sister Gu came to our home as a guest some days ago, she was inadvertently taken with by our eldest aunt?”