At this moment, Yan Sanhe was expressionlessly looking at the two people before her, thinking of the three words Li Buyan had once said to her—

Rotten peach blossoms!

Rotten peach blossom number one, Young Master Pei, raised his eyebrows.

“Oh my, what wind blew Second Master Xie here? Are you that idle?”

Rotten peach blossom number two, Second Master Xie, replied with two words in a light and breezy tone: “Indeed!”

Young Master Pei’s eyebrows nearly shot to the sky.

“Second Master used to be quite straightforward, but now you’ve become so roundabout. Not only flexible and adaptable, but also trying to steal someone’s sweetheart!”

“Oh?”

Second Master Xie said mildly, “I remember some days ago the two Pei family elders came to our Xie household and demolished the wall completely. Where’s this ‘corner’ you speak of?”

Young Master Pei choked.

Second Master Xie pressed his advantage. “Young Master Pei, one mustn’t covet what’s in the pot while eyeing what’s in others’ bowls. That’s too greedy.”

Young Master Pei: “Good heavens! Nothing’s even remotely settled yet—how did it become ‘in your bowl’ from that mouth of yours?”

He clicked his tongue. “Never seen anyone as shameless as you. Absolutely shameless.”

When it came to cursing, Second Master Xie was no match for Young Master Pei. But when it came to hitting where it hurt, Second Master Xie was also quite ruthless.

“Young Master Pei, as a person, first one must be filial. Your parents gave birth to you not so you could anger them.”

Hitting where it hurts?

Young Master Pei feared no one!

“Second Master Xie, as a person, besides being filial, one must also have some self-awareness. A concubine’s son, a bastard—don’t spend all day coveting people and things you shouldn’t covet. You know what that’s called?”

The color drained from Xie Buhuo’s face in an instant.

Young Master Pei raised his chin proudly. “…That’s called having ambitions higher than the sky but a fate thinner than paper!”

“Pa—”

Yan Sanhe couldn’t listen anymore and slammed the table, standing up. “Li Buyan, see them out.”

Young Master Pei lifted his chin arrogantly. “Hear that? Yan Sanhe said to see you out—that means get lost!”

Yan Sanhe: “Both of you get lost!”

Young Master Pei’s face visibly deflated. “Sanhe, why am I…”

“You get lost too!”

Xie Buhuo felt thoroughly refreshed, the color returning to his face. “Can’t Young Master Pei understand human speech?”

Li Buyan drew her soft sword from her waist, placed one hand on her hip, and made a sweeping gesture between the two men.

“Both of you shrews, please leave!”

Young Master Pei: “…”

Xie Buhuo: “…”

…

Half a cup of tea later, the villa’s doors slammed shut with two loud “bangs.”

Outside the door, Pei Xiao and Xie Buhuo locked eyes, both finding the other distasteful, and swept off in opposite directions.

Inside the door, Yan Sanhe watched Li Buyan laughing so hard she was bent over, feeling quite irritated.

“That’s enough, stop laughing.”

“I can’t even laugh?”

Li Buyan pinched her aching temples, imitating Young Master Pei’s tone.

“Oh my, what wind blew Second Master Xie here? Are you that idle?”

Then she turned around, imitating Xie Buhuo’s tone.

“Young Master Pei, as a person, first one must be filial. Your parents gave birth to you not so you could anger them.”

Yan Sanhe met her gaze for a moment, then also laughed despite herself.

“Having two men fighting over you—don’t you feel even a little accomplished?”

“No, I just feel annoyed.”

Li Buyan was quiet for a moment. “Do you know why my mother left my father?”

Yan Sanhe shook her head.

“One day, she and another woman were competing for my father, just like Young Master Pei and Second Master Xie just now—you stab me in the heart, I stab you in the heart.”

Li Buyan: “My mother said at that moment she suddenly felt disgusted with her own sharpness. Not long after, she took me and left the Li household. She never returned for the rest of her life.”

Yan Sanhe walked over and embraced her. “Do you miss her?”

Li Buyan looked up at the sky. “I missed her yesterday. Today I don’t. I’m living well—that’s better than anything.”

Yan Sanhe: “What about your father? Do you miss him?”

Li Buyan was silent for a while, then shook her head.

“Silly girl.”

Yan Sanhe stood on tiptoe and ruffled her hair. She was about to say more when suddenly the main gate was pounded loudly.

Came back?

Yan Sanhe called to Old Man Ding at the gate: “Don’t move, I’ll open it.”

Old Man Ding quickly held back.

The door bolt pulled, the door creaked open. Yan Sanhe was about to speak with a stern face when she saw an unfamiliar pale-faced man and paused, asking:

“Who are you looking for?”

“Does Li Buyan live here?”

The man’s voice was somewhat shrill. Yan Sanhe frowned. “What business?”

“Someone from the south sent a box of mooncakes for her.”

“Who sent them to me?” Li Buyan leaned out, her face puzzled.

The man shoved the mooncakes into Li Buyan’s hands, saying in a shrill voice, “From the young master of Duanmu Palace.”

Duanmu Palace?

Young master?

Who?

But the man had already turned around, jumped into a carriage, and rode off, leaving the two dumbstruck people looking at each other.

Yan Sanhe thought of how the Li family’s roots were in the south. “Could it be the Li family… has found you?”

“But the Li family doesn’t live in Duanmu Palace, and my father isn’t a young master—he’s an old master.”

“Then who could it be?”

“What ‘who’?”

Xie Zhifei dismounted, tossing the reins to Ding Yi, looking at the two people in the doorway. “Why are you standing here?”

Yan Sanhe was about to speak when her gaze caught sight of the person behind Xie Zhifei. “Why did you come back?”

“I can’t rest in peace!”

Young Master Pei slapped his chest. “I shamelessly ran back to ask—why was even I kicked out?”

Yan Sanhe: “…”

Young Master Pei climbed one step. “How can that bastard compare to me?”

Yan Sanhe: “…”

Young Master Pei climbed another step. “We have a life-and-death friendship. What kind of friendship do you have with him?”

Yan Sanhe: “…”

Completing the last step, Young Master Pei stood before Yan Sanhe, demanding in a suppressed voice:

“When you need me, ‘Young Master Pei.’ When you don’t, you tell me to get lost. Yan Sanhe, whose side are you on?”

Yan Sanhe: “…”

“You actually have to hesitate?”

Young Master Pei stomped his foot. “You’ve wounded my heart!”

With that, he swept his sleeves and strode across the threshold, huffing angrily inside.

Yan Sanhe closed her eyes. She’d seen unreasonable women before, but never an unreasonable man. Today she’d gained new insight!

“I ran into him at the alley entrance, squatting under a tree feeling sorry for himself!”

Yan Sanhe opened her eyes to find the man right before her. She quickly retreated half a step and sneered. “So it’s my fault!”

“Not your fault. I’m the one who pulled him back.”

Xie Zhifei looked at her mildly. “The items are in the bundle. Let’s get down to business.”

Yan Sanhe’s eyes immediately brightened. “Let’s go!”

“Wait!”

Li Buyan extended one hand, blocking Xie Zhifei. “Before we get down to business, can Third Master solve a mystery for me?”

Xie Zhifei: “What?”

Li Buyan placed the mooncakes forward. “Someone sent me a box of mooncakes.”

Xie Zhifei: “Mm.”

Li Buyan: “The person delivering them said it was sent by the young master of Duanmu Palace.”

“Thud—”

In the courtyard, Young Master Pei’s feet stumbled and he fell flat on his face.