What did Yu Tang mean by this?

If he didn’t tell her, she’d go ask his mother… Was she threatening him?

Pei Yan’s hand holding the tea cup paused.

She didn’t actually think his mother would take her side, did she?

Pei Yan scoffed.

It seemed this Miss Yu was quite naive!

He felt he should teach Yu Tang a lesson.

“You might as well go ask my mother,” Pei Yan said with a laugh born of extreme anger. “My mother indeed knows more about the Buddha Bathing Festival matters than I do.”

Hearing this, the little person in Yu Tang’s heart proudly lifted her chin.

She knew it—this fellow, after hearing her words, definitely thought she was going to tattle to Old Madame Pei.

Was she that stupid?

No matter what, Old Madame Pei and Pei Yan were birth mother and son. Even Fifth Miss probably didn’t have as much face before Old Madame Pei as Pei Yan did, let alone her, an outsider.

However, Yu Tang was at most like a little cat—boldly swatting at Pei Yan once had already made him change his expression. She dared not scratch at him again. Besides, her original intention was just to annoy Pei Yan. Now that her goal was achieved, provoking Pei Yan further and making him angry from embarrassment would be counterproductive.

Yu Tang hurriedly said: “You think so too! That’s wonderful.” She pretended to breathe a sigh of relief, her tone becoming lighter: “After I promised Third Miss and Fifth Miss to help them with Ku’an Temple’s incense-making, I came straight to you because there were some things I couldn’t decide and felt I should discuss with you first. Now I can finally relax. Since the matter of Miss Gu presenting the incense formula was agreed to by both you and Old Madame, when the time comes, our family will present the merit box to Zhaoming Temple right after Miss Gu.” As she spoke, she stood up with a smile, her bright black and white eyes gazing at Pei Yan without blinking. Pei Yan could even see his own reflection in her eyes—her expression was not only earnest but also extremely sincere. “Then I won’t disturb Third Master’s lunch. I’ll eat some pastries on the road and should arrive at your residence just when Old Madame has time. I’ll take my leave first!”

Having said this, she curtsied to Pei Yan, turned, and left, not only catching Pei Yan completely off guard but also leaving him unable to decide whether to call her back or not. In his moment of hesitation, Yu Tang’s figure quickly disappeared from his view.

Pei Yan’s brow immediately furrowed tightly.

This left him with a feeling of anticlimax.

He’d stayed here for several days, partly to avoid Shen Shanyan, partly because he felt Yu Tang would definitely come find him. Yu Tang had indeed come as he predicted, but after saying just a few words, she ran off. This not only failed to give him the leisurely satisfaction of waiting by the stump for a rabbit, but actually made him feel somewhat foolish.

He could have avoided Shen Shanyan anywhere else—why did he have to suffer here?!

Pei Yan’s mood suddenly became somewhat dejected.

Especially that last statement Yu Tang had dropped.

The Yu family was preparing to present a merit box to Zhaoming Temple following the Gu family’s incense formula presentation.

Why did the Yu family want to compete with the Gu family?

Did she think he would show special favor to the Gu family?

Pei Yan irritably took a sip of tea.

Shu Qing appeared from somewhere, thoughtfully calling out “Third Master.”

Pei Yan turned around.

Shu Qing stepped forward and said in a low voice: “I actually think Miss Yu’s words make sense—should the matter of Miss Gu presenting the incense formula be reconsidered?”

Pei Yan was displeased, but he didn’t know whether his displeasure stemmed from Shu Qing having overheard his conversation with Yu Tang or from Shu Qing taking Yu Tang’s side. If it was the former, he’d had a rough temperament since childhood. After entering official circles, to check for gaps and make up for deficiencies, he often arranged for Shu Qing to listen behind curtains when he spoke with others, having Shu Qing tell him things he hadn’t noticed or hadn’t been aware of—he shouldn’t be angry about this. If it was the latter, that made even less sense. Yu Tang was a clever little girl, and even if Shu Qing sided with her, it was about the matter, not the person. Shu Qing was ultimately his advisor—what was there to be unhappy about?

For a moment, he was trapped in his own emotions and said nothing.

Shu Qing had always felt Pei Yan was someone he couldn’t read through either. He’d long ago given up trying to guess Pei Yan’s thoughts and learned to say whatever came to mind. This time was the same. Without reservation, seeing Pei Yan still seemed to be deep in thought, he spoke directly: “Miss Gu indeed isn’t suitable for showing off, otherwise many people will speculate like Miss Yu did. For the first branch, this isn’t a favor but cruelty. You know clearly in your heart that the Pei family clan head position will under no circumstances be given to the first branch. If the incense formula presentation causes baseless speculation, I think it’s better to cancel this matter. This would be better for the Pei household, for First Madam, and for you.”

Pei Yan was still trapped in what Yu Tang had said before leaving. He waved his hand, not discussing Gu Xi’s matter with Shu Qing, but instead said: “Tell me, what does Miss Yu mean? The Yu family presenting a merit box after the Gu family—what is she thinking?”

Shu Qing was astonished.

In his view, this wasn’t even a problem.

“Miss Yu probably doesn’t have any special intention, does she?” he said cautiously, worrying in his heart that perhaps some matters had been overlooked by him and thus he couldn’t guess Yu Tang’s intention. “I think Miss Yu meant it as just a casual remark.”

Pei Yan shook his head and said: “This young lady is no ordinary young lady—her mind works in complex ways! She wouldn’t possibly have run all this way for no reason just to say this one sentence to me before leaving.” He stroked his chin, speculating: “Tell me, could it be that she wants to make Miss Gu lose face at the incense gathering, but because Miss Gu will be our Pei household’s eldest grandson’s wife, she’s afraid of offending me and Old Madame? So she’s giving me an oblique heads-up. If we pursue the matter afterward, she can say she already gave us advance notice…”

Could Miss Yu really have such deep schemes?

Shu Qing wanted to object, but seeing Pei Yan’s serious expression, and being unfamiliar with Yu Tang himself, he didn’t know what to say for a moment.

Seeing Shu Qing remain silent, Pei Yan simply told Shu Qing not to worry about this matter: “I’ll keep an eye on it. You just continue helping me monitor news from Gu Chang’s side.”

Whether the Yang family or his sister-in-law, both liked to speculate. Forming a marriage alliance with the Gu family surely wasn’t as simple as just wanting Pei Tong to study at the Gu family. He pondered: “That cousin of Pei Tong’s—did she really die of illness, or did something else happen?”

Otherwise, his sister-in-law wouldn’t have changed her mind to form a marriage alliance with the Gu family.

“She truly died suddenly of illness,” Shu Qing said. “Pei Wu personally attended the funeral and saw Miss Yang’s body. The Yang family panicked at the time, not knowing what to do. Later, after receiving First Madam’s letter, the Yang family’s two maternal uncles discussed for several days before deciding to form the marriage alliance with the Gu family.”

Pei Yan laughed coldly: “Good that she truly died of illness. Otherwise, if she suddenly appeared from somewhere later, everyone would get quite a shock.”

Shu Qing thought of some things the Yang family had done before, lowered his head without speaking, offering no comment.

Pei Yan then said: “Are there really no tea houses at all along the road? Send someone to check how Miss Yu and her party are managing lunch.”

Shu Qing kept complaining inwardly.

If you’re so concerned about whether others have eaten lunch, why didn’t you keep her here to eat before leaving?

Even being discourteous doesn’t reach this level.

Miss Yu was truly unlucky today.

Shu Qing’s face showed none of this. He respectfully agreed and withdrew.

Pei Yan pondered Yu Tang’s words, feeling he needed to return to the Pei residence.

This young lady was too good at fooling people—he’d better make sure she didn’t actually fool his mother.

Pei Yan hastily finished lunch, handed the road repair matters to Pei Qi, and rushed back to Lin’an.

If Yu Tang knew that Pei Yan had been fooled by her, she’d surely jump for joy. But right now, gnawing on pastries and drinking water, she’d cursed Pei Yan at least three times in her heart.

She’d seen petty people before, but never anyone pettier than Pei Yan.

If her words failed to fool Pei Yan, she’d be even angrier.

However, regarding the sermon ceremony, she really did need to think carefully. In her previous life, when Gu Xi presented the incense formula to Zhaoming Temple, she’d personally delivered it herself. To elevate her, the head master of Zhaoming Temple had even gifted her a lotus lantern. The base of this lotus lantern bore a chapter of the Diamond Sutra written personally by Zhaoming Temple’s head master, reportedly even blessed at Mount Wutai.

Gu Xi’s glory was unmatched for a time.

Speaking of which, it was strange. In her previous life, after Gu Xi married into the Li household, everything went smoothly for her. Whatever she did attracted people to imitate her, as if she were Lin’an’s premier noble lady. Not a single woman from the Pei family competed with her.

This didn’t make sense no matter how you thought about it!

Even if Old Madame Pei and the older generation disdained competing with her for such things, what about the younger generation in the Pei household?

Yu Tang carefully recalled the Pei household sons and daughters who had left an impression on her.

Besides eldest young master Pei Tong, there was Pei Tong’s full brother Pei Fei, and branch family members Pei Chan and Pei Bo. Pei Tong and Pei Chan had passed the palace examination, while Pei Fei and Pei Bo had passed the provincial examination.

Not to mention the first branch—Pei Chan and Pei Bo’s wives also seemed extremely low-profile. She, as the Li household’s second daughter-in-law, had never even met them.

And there was Pei Yan.

Had he married in her previous life? Whose family’s daughter had he married?

This was so troublesome!

The more Yu Tang thought about it, the more annoyed she became. She bit into her pastries resentfully, feeling that her current situation was entirely Pei Yan’s doing.

Fortunately, the Pei residence was approaching. She straightened her clothing and makeup and went to see Old Madame Pei.

When Old Madame Pei heard Yu Tang wanted to see her, she immediately had Nanny Chen bring her in and spoke directly upon meeting: “Did Third Girl and Fifth Girl trouble you? I guessed they’d go find you!”

If it weren’t for Gu Xi and Pei Tong about to become engaged, they might have even pulled Gu Xi in too.

Yu Tang felt somewhat embarrassed. After paying her respects to Old Madame, she sat on the embroidered stool a maid brought over and spoke gently with Old Madame: “This matter was also started by me—I can’t leave it all to the Pei young misses while ignoring it myself. Besides, this is a good deed. Being able to help makes me very happy too.”

Old Madame Pei nodded and smiled: “Speaking of which, the young ladies aren’t that young anymore. It’s just that our family has many boys and few girls, so we older generation unconsciously spoil them. Knowing we shouldn’t, we play dumb anyway. That they could invite you here shows their capability. Regarding this matter, what ideas do you have? Since you came to see me, you must want to know my thoughts, right?”