As Pei Yan saw Jiang Ci turn behind him with her hands behind her back, her eyes still glancing at him, he suddenly realized that he had carelessly admitted she was “flattering” him, allowing this girl to mock him thoroughly.
Seeing Jiang Ci’s face full of smug satisfaction, making occasional “clop-clop” horse-riding sounds, Pei Yan glared at her, turned around, and smiled self-mockingly before leaving the envoy’s residence.
As the two came out, the Chang Feng Guards led over their mounts. Pei Yan leaped onto his horse but saw Jiang Ci gently stroking her mount’s hindquarters, muttering: “Horse, oh horse, I know many people usually flatter you, flattering you to the point where you forget you’re just a horse and think you’re a deity descended from heaven, able to control all living beings. This time, as I pat your hindquarters, I just want you to know that you’re nothing more than a—”
Before she could finish, with an “Ah!”, she was lifted onto the horse’s back by Pei Yan’s reaching hand. He then patted the horse’s rump, sending Jiang Ci forward with shouts and screams as she gripped the reins tightly.
Pei Yan spurred his horse to catch up, riding beside her. Seeing her flustered state, he smiled smugly and said, “Remember, you can’t eat everything carelessly, and you can’t flatter indiscriminately either.”
Jiang Ci was prepared. She pretended to sway, her right toe fiercely kicking the hindquarters of Pei Yan’s mount, “Yu Hua Cong.” Startled, “Yu Hua Cong” let out a long neigh and galloped forward. Caught off guard, Pei Yan lurched forward, his body suspended in mid-air. He quickly channeled his Yuan Power, tightened the reins, and landed back on the saddle.
After calming his startled “Yu Hua Cong,” Pei Yan turned his horse around, a cold smile on his face as he looked at Jiang Ci, who was slowly catching up.
Jiang Ci didn’t look at him. Her left hand lightly waved the horsewhip while her right hand kept patting her mount’s hindquarters. She hummed the tune of “Ballad of Riding Horses.” Thinking about how she had finally mocked this big crab thoroughly, venting the frustration that had been pent up in her chest for days, she was quite pleased. Her song became increasingly melodious and joyful, and the fake beauty mark on her right cheek seemed about to slide into the deep dimple beside it.
Pei Yan watched her slowly ride past, raised his horsewhip, and then slowly lowered it, giving “Yu Hua Cong’s” hindquarters a light pat as he galloped past her.
Jiang Ci realized that Pei Yan’s earlier words about dining in the West Garden from now on were not a joke. The thought of having to see this detestable crab’s face every day during meals was quite vexing. But being under someone else’s roof, she had no choice but to comply. She patiently prepared a few delicious dishes.
Seeing Pei Yan eating with great gusto, she felt even more annoyed and sat far away with her bowl and chopsticks. Cui Liang, remembering something in his heart and fearing Jiang Ci might suffer in the future, wanted to ease the tension between them. He smiled and said, “Xiao Ci, come sit with us.”
Jiang Ci mumbled, “No need. You are the masters, and I’m a servant. I must observe the rules.”
Cui Liang exclaimed in surprise, “Who’s treating you as a servant? You’re not originally from this mansion.”
Pei Yan picked up some food with his chopsticks, changing the subject: “Miss Jiang, what dish is this? I haven’t seen it before.”
Jiang Ci turned to look and burst into laughter: “This is a braised horse hoof.”
Cui Liang laughed heartily: “Where did you get horse hoof? Can horse hoof even be eaten?”
Jiang Ci sat down at the table with her bowl, pointing at the dishes: “This is braised horse hoof, this is horsetail on a tree, this is pan-fried horse ear, this is—” She paused, unable to think of a suitable dish name.
Seeing her pointing at a plate of green vegetables, Pei Yan put down his bowl and chopsticks, smiling as he looked at her: “What’s this? Please enlighten us, Miss Jiang!”
After thinking for a while, Jiang Ci smiled and said, “This is jade horse rump!”
Cui Liang choked, unable to catch his breath, and coughed while clutching his chest wound. Jiang Ci quickly supported him: “Are you alright? Does it hurt?” She was about to open his robe to check.
Pei Yan came over and undid Cui Liang’s robe, took a look, and knowing it was just the wound reopening with no serious harm, returned to the table to continue eating.
Jiang Ci, still worried, took out some medicine powder and reapplied the dressing for Cui Liang. She picked up her bowl and saw Pei Yan looking at her with a cold smile on his lips. She felt an inexplicable chill in her heart and retreated far away.
After Jiang Ci’s reminder and reviewing the records from that day, Pei Yan had a plan in mind. He gave orders, and the Chang Feng Guards made thorough arrangements.
He also took Cui Liang to question the Huan Kingdom’s envoy team in detail. Cui Liang matched the questioning content with the autopsy results, further confirming that the deceased was not the real Jin You Lang. Although Pei Yan still didn’t understand why someone would want to abduct Jin You Lang, he could determine who the culprit was, so he settled his mind and waited for that person to appear voluntarily.
Five days passed in the blink of an eye. The Ministry of Justice’s investigation yielded results, with clear evidence confirming it was deliberate arson. This result caused quite a headache for the court. With the real culprit not yet captured, if this conclusion were directly reported to the Huan Kingdom’s deputy envoy, and the Huan Kingdom insisted it was the Hua Dynasty who sent someone to set the fire, the consequences would be endless.
After the court was dismissed that day, the important ministers were summoned to Yan Hui Hall to discuss the case of the fire at the envoy’s residence. Finally, following Pei Yan’s suggestion, they decided to delay reporting the investigation results to the Huan Kingdom’s deputy envoy until the real culprit was found.
To prevent Huan Kingdom’s deputy envoy Lei Yuan from being overbearing and causing trouble, Pei Yan, the Earl in charge of the investigation, suddenly “fell ill with a cold and took sick leave for several days.” However, under the roundabout pursuit of Prince Zhuang and others, Pei Yan had to agree to catch the real culprit within half a month, or he would be willing to accept punishment.
Faced with Prince Zhuang’s schadenfreude smile and the Crown Prince’s concerned inquiries, Pei Yan wore a worried expression, appearing at a loss, which made the Quiet Prince break out in a cold sweat.
In Butterfly Garden, under the osmanthus tree.
Madam Pei lowered her head and brows, lightly tapping the head of the pipa. Her slender fingers moved like swift wheels, and the sound of the pipa seemed to have the clash of metal, with a murderous aura gradually filling the entire Chrysanthemum Garden. The maids standing far away all lowered their heads as if being swept by a desolate autumn rain.
The music rose higher, piercing through clouds and sky, like silver fluid suddenly splitting, or like spring thunder after the awakening of insects. Everyone in the garden lost color. Just as it seemed to reach the clouds, the music suddenly turned gentle, like white feathers floating down from the sky, lowering to the dust, sobbing and whimpering.
When all settled, Madam Pei struck the pipa board again, and the music rose once more, unrestrained and vast, thorough and unrestrained. The maids’ faces gradually returned to calm, all feeling as if hundreds of flowers were blooming in the garden, beautiful and splendid.
Weak footsteps stopped at the garden gate. Madam Pei’s ten fingers paused, and after a moment, she stroked the pipa strings and said, “Come in.”
Shu Yun lowered her head and entered the garden, kneeling beside Madam Pei. The other maids retreated into the rooms.
Madam Pei stared at Shu Yun for a while, then said flatly, “I heard that the Earl hasn’t returned to Shen Garden for meals for several days, staying in the West Garden every day. Why didn’t you come to report earlier?”
Shu Yun lowered her head and said, “The Earl, already knows that this servant secretly reports his daily activities to Madam. This servant fears—”
Madam Pei smiled, “I am his mother. As a mother, I care about my son, afraid he might not eat or sleep well. That’s why I asked you to inquire. What are you afraid of?!”
Shu Yun only kowtowed, remembering that night when a long, warm hand tightly gripped her throat, and her whole body trembled slightly.
Madam Pei looked at her and said slowly, “Remember, you are from Chang Feng Mountain Villa, not from his Earl Pei’s mansion. He won’t dare to mistreat you. Put more effort into persuading him to return to Shen Garden to cultivate himself and diligently practice martial arts. This is your duty.”
Shu Yun kowtowed, “This servant obeys.”
“Also, since he already knows, you might as well come to me openly every day to pay respects. I will choose a day to let him officially take you as a concubine. A daughter-in-law coming to pay respects to her mother-in-law every day, he can’t say anything about that either.”
Shu Yun didn’t know whether to be sad or happy in her heart and said softly, “Thank you for Madam’s kindness!”
“So, when he dines in the West Garden, is it the people from the main kitchen who prepare his meals?”
“In response to Madam, Chang Feng Guards are guarding outside the West Garden day and night, and this servant can’t enter. I heard from the main kitchen staff that there is a girl inside the garden, the one who was brought back severely injured by the Earl from Chang Feng Mountain Villa last time. Later, she was assigned by the Earl to serve Young Master Cui. The meal preparation should be handled by this girl.”
Madam Pei was stunned, recalling the events at Chang Feng Mountain Villa that night. She called out, “Shu Xia!”
The maid Shu Xia responded, “Madam.”
“Send someone to investigate the background of that girl in the West Garden.”
About seven or eight miles west of the capital, there was a graveyard. At the hour of Si (9-11 AM) that day, a woman in a blue robe carrying a basket of offerings bowed gracefully before an earthen grave.
Her figure was slender, her eyebrows and eyes as elegant as an orchid in a secluded valley. She kowtowed at the grave and said softly, “Grandfather, Grandmother, Shuang Qiao has come to see you.”
She slowly pulled out the weeds on the grave, saying as she did so, “Grandfather, Grandmother, Mother repeatedly urged me before she died to come see you, to kowtow to you, and to find a way to locate my aunt. But I didn’t want to come to this capital. I wanted to stay in Deng Family Village for life, living a plain and quiet life. So I haven’t been able to come see you. Please forgive Shuang Qiao.”
She moved to the other side of the grave and suddenly noticed some offerings placed beside it. After a moment of surprise, her face lit up with joy, and she murmured, “Could it be Aunt?” Seeing that the fruits among the offerings were still very fresh, she stood up and looked around, unable to help calling out loudly, “Aunt!”
The wind in the wilderness was strong, and her voice carried far, but there was no response.
The woman in blue felt a bit dejected and sat down in front of the grave. Suddenly remembering another delicate face, she said hatefully, “You little wretch, just don’t let me catch you!”
At dusk, the blue-robed woman walked along the bustling streets of the capital, entering taverns or jewelry shops to inquire. After half an hour, she had no results.
Seeing that it was getting dark, she found an inn and was about to enter when a cry of surprise rang out. A fine horse came galloping from the end of the main street. People scattered to avoid it, and the blue-robed woman also swayed to the side.
The horse reached the inn’s entrance and suddenly reared up on its hind legs. The rider cried out “Ah!” and was thrown to the side, heavily colliding with the blue-robed woman.
Caught off guard, the blue-robed woman was knocked to the ground by the fallen rider, clutching her left leg and crying out in pain. The person got up, repeatedly apologizing.
The blue-robed woman’s left leg was in severe pain, but she knew it was unintentional and didn’t want to blame them. Not wanting to speak with a strange young man, she limped towards the inn.
The young man in green quickly caught up, bowed, and said, “Miss, it’s all my fault. Would you give me a chance to make amends?”
The blue-robed woman turned away coldly and said, “No need. Please move aside.”
The young man in green bowed again and said, “Miss, I’ve caused you injury. If you just leave like this, wouldn’t that put me in an unkind and unjust position? I’m willing to invite a famous doctor to examine your injury. Please allow me this, or else I’ll have no choice but to knock myself dead here to avoid being an unkind and unjust person.”
The blue-robed woman found this person somewhat pedantic, but also sincere. As she hesitated, a middle-aged woman nearby spoke up, “Miss, just let this young master call a doctor to examine you. You’re so young, it wouldn’t be good if your leg develops a chronic problem.” Others around also chimed in agreement.
The blue-robed woman also felt severe pain in her left leg, so she nodded slightly. The young man in green was overjoyed. Turning his head to see his servants catching up, he quickly ordered them to fetch a carriage. The blue-robed woman was helped into the carriage by the middle-aged woman, and the young man in green instructed his servants to drive the carriage towards “Hui Chun Tang” in the west of the city.
Pei Yan arranged everything and then “reported sick to rest.” Apart from returning to Shen Garden to sleep at night, he spent the rest of his time in the West Garden, drinking and chatting with Cui Liang about poetry, song lyrics, astronomy, and geography.
The two of them chatted very happily, but Jiang Ci was full of resentment. Pei Yan didn’t allow other attendants to enter the West Garden, so the heavy task of serving these two fell solely on her. Moreover, Pei Yan was a very particular person. At times he complained that the tea wasn’t clean enough, at times he said the ink wasn’t up to standard, and at other times he said the incense wasn’t used correctly, keeping Jiang Ci running around in circles. However, Pei Yan didn’t pick on her culinary skills. Even if Jiang Ci only prepared two simple home-style dishes, he ate them with relish and had a great appetite.
After a few days, Jiang Ci hadn’t had a moment’s rest. If it were her usual temperament, she would have long since thrown up her hands and left, not without giving this big crab a good thrashing before leaving. But now her life was in his hands, and only he could neutralize the poison. She had no choice but to swallow her anger, thinking of how to coax the big crab into a good mood, and let down his guard, so she could slip out and implement her plan.
On this day, at the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), as night deepened, Pei Yan still hadn’t left. Instead, he was suddenly inspired to paint and ordered Jiang Ci to grind ink. Jiang Ci, exhausted from a day’s work, listlessly ground the ink, unable to suppress a yawn.
Pei Yan glanced at Jiang Ci, his eyes filled with increasing amusement. “Miss Jiang, you need to practice more. At this hour, you seem exhausted; it must be due to your shallow internal energy.”
Jiang Ci cursed inwardly but managed to force a smile. “I’m just a lazy and clumsy person. Compared to Your Excellency, who is like a magnificent black steed that can travel a thousand miles a day, even if I had four legs, I could never catch up with you.”
Just as Pei Yan was about to reply, An Cheng entered, glanced at Jiang Ci, and stood silently.
Pei Yan set down his brush, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and frowned slightly. “The water you used isn’t from a nan bamboo but rather seems to be from smoke wood. It has a smoky smell. Go and make a fresh pot.”
Cui Liang took a sip, laughing, “I don’t see much difference.”
Jiang Ci, feeling Pei Yan’s sharp gaze on her, pouted and left the room.
She had cursed the “Big Crab” countless times, cut the nan bamboo properly, and boiled a fresh pot of water. Carrying the copper kettle, she entered the main room. As she crossed the threshold, she saw Pei Yan smiling at her and asking, “I’m going to see a performance. Do you want to come?”