Gu Xi knew her elder brother wanted her to marry into the Pei family, but the person her brother wanted her to marry was Pei Yan, who held actual power, not Pei Tong, who only had the empty title of eldest grandson.
However, after interacting with Pei Yan, she changed her mind.
Rather than spending a lifetime as a courteous but distant couple with Pei Yan, she would prefer to marry Pei Tong, who needed something from her.
This was what she told Gu Chang. But in reality, deep down she felt that Pei Yan was not so easily manipulated. At least from her impression, Pei Yan showed no special treatment toward her. He looked at her as if she were a stranger—even colder than he would look at a stranger, with a hint of disdain and contempt, as though he could see through her thoughts and know her intentions at a glance. This made her feel both anxious and afraid.
Especially since Pei Yan was so strikingly handsome—so handsome that even she, as a woman, felt uncomfortable having such a jade-like figure beside her.
She felt she had no advantages whatsoever in front of Pei Yan, and was even somewhat afraid of him.
This was completely different from how Pei Tong made her feel.
Pei Tong was also very handsome, in no way inferior to Li Duan, and even surpassed Li Duan somewhat in temperament. More importantly, he treated people with warmth and courtesy, was modest and humorous, frank and sincere, and looked at her with incomparably gentle eyes, which instantly gave her confidence in his presence—specifically the kind of confidence unique to being a woman.
Compared to Pei Yan, she preferred Pei Tong far more.
Even though the Pei family was currently under Pei Yan’s control.
If Pei Yan could not be used by her, what did it matter if he held power? What benefits could she obtain from Pei Yan anyway?
Having thought through all this, she chose Pei Tong without hesitation.
This was why she deliberately brought up the Li family matter, and with considerable calculation said, “Elder brother, look at what kind of families Mother has been finding for me!”
Gu Chang remained silent, feeling guilty.
Gu Xi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She had achieved her goal.
As long as her elder brother felt somewhat guilty toward her, he would not only refrain from pursuing the matter of her going against his wishes to become engaged to Pei Tong, but would also protect her.
She quickly said, “Elder brother, let’s not mention past matters anymore. Regarding Young Master Pei going to Hangzhou to study, what did Third Master Pei say?”
Gu Chang was also troubled by this matter.
In his view, unless Pei Tong had no talent for studies and relied entirely on hard work, even if Pei Yan wanted to prevent Pei Tong from advancing, he could at most suppress him for a few years—it would be impossible to keep him down forever. If so, why not do Pei Tong a favor and simply let him go study in Hangzhou? Moreover, the Gu family was unlike the Yang family. The Yang family had no foundation and acted rather rashly, clinging to Pei family’s eldest master Pei You and refusing to let go, wishing they could rope in his children and grandchildren for the Yang family’s use of the Pei family’s network and resources—naturally the Pei family resented this.
The Gu family, however, had generations of scholarly tradition, operating on the principle that helping in-laws was creating good karma and bringing blessings to future generations. They had mentored countless talented relatives and friends in their studies. Of course, he also had his own selfish motives. If Pei Tong accepted the Gu family’s kindness, he would certainly regard Gu Xi more highly after marriage, which would benefit Gu Xi’s married life.
This was also why he initially agreed to help speak on her behalf when Gu Xi first mentioned it.
Hearing Gu Xi bring it up again now, he gave a few bitter laughs and said, “Pei Xiaguang didn’t agree. According to him, where to study depends on Pei Tong’s own wishes. If Pei Tong wants to study away from home, Pei Tong should go speak with him himself.”
Gu Xi was stunned. “Young Master Pei hasn’t spoken with Third Master Pei about this?”
The siblings looked at each other in dismay.
Gu Chang immediately stood up and said, “Something’s not right about this—if Pei Tong is truly as good as you say, why wouldn’t he take responsibility for even this small matter, instead having you, a woman who hasn’t even officially married him yet, come forward? A’Xi, you need to reconsider this marriage.”
Gu Xi obviously realized this too, but she still held onto a bit of hope and said, “Then I’ll go ask him. Elder brother, don’t be so nervous. Perhaps something happened that we don’t know about?”
The two families had already exchanged betrothal cards and matched the eight characters; they were just short of the formal betrothal gifts. The marriage was essentially settled. If they were to break off the engagement now… Gu Xi had already broken off one engagement before… the situation would be very unfavorable for Gu Xi.
Gu Chang said with a grim expression, “Don’t worry about this matter for now. I have important business to discuss with Pei Xiaguang tonight. After I see him, I’ll find time to talk with him properly about this. If the First Madam asks, just say you don’t know and have left everything to me.”
The First Madam was, after all, Gu Xi’s future mother-in-law, so Gu Xi certainly wouldn’t dare openly offend her.
Gu Xi nodded.
Gu Chang asked again, “Did the First Madam come to this scripture lecture? What about Pei Tong and Pei Fei? Did they come?”
As a widow, the First Madam shouldn’t normally attend such gatherings. But first, this was a temple, a place for worshipping Buddha, and second, it was hosted by the Pei family, so her appearing as the senior daughter-in-law of the main branch to help Old Madam Pei receive guests was acceptable.
Gu Xi said, “The First Madam and both young masters came. But the First Madam prefers quiet, so she only met with me.”
Gu Chang caught the implication and asked her, “You’ve met the Pei family’s eldest and second young masters?”
Though he was asking Gu Xi, his tone was quite certain.
Gu Xi’s face flushed red, and she said in a low voice, “Before Father agreed to the Pei family marriage, I had already met Young Master Pei. He… he’s actually quite nice. He even told me that he and his Yang family cousin were childhood sweethearts, but unfortunately his cousin was ill-fated and died suddenly from illness.”
Pei Tong had also confessed to her that his heart still remembered how well his cousin had treated him, but from the moment he decided to marry her, he would only keep his cousin in his heart and would treat his future wife and children well. Because his future wife and children were innocent and shouldn’t have to bear the burden of his feelings for his cousin.
This made Gu Xi feel that Pei Tong was exceptionally sincere in his treatment of people.
Gu Chang was a clever man; he could guess Pei Tong’s attitude toward his sister.
His expression became inscrutable.
This Pei family eldest young master whom he had never met was clearly no pushover either. If this person weren’t his brother-in-law, he would applaud him, but since this person was his brother-in-law, his requirements were different.
Gu Chang felt very uncomfortable listening to this.
He looked up at his sister’s satisfied expression and the trace of relief flashing in her eyes, knowing that anything he said now was too late—his sister had probably taken a liking to Pei Tong.
The relationship between husband and wife was also like a game—whoever invested more would lose!
Gu Chang couldn’t help but warn his sister, “Be careful that he’s using you!”
But Gu Xi was very confident, her eyes shining as she said, “Being used by someone means having value. He’s using me, but aren’t I also using him? It’s just a matter of comparing who has better methods. Young Master Pei’s chances of winning are too slim right now. If he’s willing to play the devoted lover in front of the Yang family, it’s naturally better for him. Perhaps I can even make friends with the Yang family’s womenfolk!”
That was true.
Gu Chang only feared that when the time came, Gu Xi would become too sentimental.
Gu Xi said, “Elder brother, I can’t rely on you forever. Just try letting me walk this path on my own. If it doesn’t work out, it won’t be too late for you to support me then.”
Gu Chang thought about it and felt his sister’s words weren’t unreasonable.
As long as Gu Xi became a daughter-in-law of the Pei family, even if the couple turned against each other, Gu Xi would still be a Pei family daughter-in-law. Perhaps this would even lead to unexpected opportunities—Gu Xi might gain value for Pei Yan to use, and receive Pei Yan’s protection.
“Alright!” Gu Chang ultimately decided to let his sister walk this path on her own. “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. If it doesn’t work out, you still have your elder brother!”
Gu Xi smiled gratefully at her brother.
Without her elder brother, where would she find such courage to take this gamble?
Not wanting to continue this topic, she changed the subject to ask about something she cared deeply about: “I’m about to leave the family, but elder brother still hasn’t chosen a sister-in-law?”
Upon hearing this, the image of the woman in honey-colored robes he had encountered in the corridor immediately surfaced in Gu Chang’s mind.
If only she were a young lady from the Song or Wu families.
A great man standing in the world couldn’t rely entirely on others, but couldn’t rely entirely on himself either.
Though the Song family had now declined and the Wu family was calculating, they were at least passable as in-laws.
Gu Chang felt warmth spreading through his heart. The corners of his mouth lifted without him even noticing as he said, “Your elder brother has his own plans. Just take care of your own affairs.” Before he finished speaking, he suddenly felt restless, as if this small room was both stuffy and cramped, and he couldn’t stay even a moment longer. Following his heart’s impulse, he said, “I’ll be going first. Stay in your room and rest well so you’ll have energy to accompany Old Madam Pei to the scripture lecture tomorrow. This will be your first time appearing before everyone alongside the Pei family womenfolk. Many people will notice you, so you must pay close attention.”
Gu Xi also needed to prepare her attire for attending the scripture lecture tomorrow, and since it was already late, even though they were siblings, there were still proprieties between men and women. She didn’t try to keep Gu Chang, personally seeing him to the main gate and standing under the eaves until Gu Chang’s figure disappeared beyond the courtyard wall before returning to her room.
As soon as Gu Chang left his sister’s residence, he asked Gao Sheng somewhat impatiently, “Did you find out about the person I asked you to investigate?”
“I only know she came with the Pei family womenfolk to attend the scripture lecture,” Gao Sheng said guiltily. “I haven’t yet found out which family or branch this young lady is from.”
Gu Chang gave a somewhat disappointed “oh” and instructed Gao Sheng to continue investigating, not knowing that Gao Sheng, like him, had searched in the wrong direction, focusing all attention on investigating the young ladies from the aristocratic families who came to worship Buddha, subconsciously overlooking that Yu Tang might just be from an ordinary family, merely someone who came along with the Pei family womenfolk.
On the Song and Peng families’ young ladies’ side, however, they quickly uncovered Yu Tang’s background.
Miss Song the Sixth widened her eyes, asking in disbelief, “She’s really just a young lady from an ordinary scholar’s family? Then why does the Pei family treat her so well? And Miss Xu, who’s the most particular of all, is also friendly with her. Could we have made a mistake?”
It was the Peng family’s people who investigated Yu Tang.
Miss Peng immediately became unhappy and said, “How could we have made a mistake? I asked our family’s Eleventh Brother to investigate this. We can only get Eleventh Brother to help when our family has important matters.”
If it weren’t for the Peng family’s plans for a marriage alliance with the Pei family this time, they wouldn’t have been able to get Peng the Eleventh to help.