Pei Huaijin had always been calm and composed, unflappable even in the face of chaos, but he never expected that the first time in his life he would feel his soul scatter in fright would be on his wedding night.
After a brief, suffocating silence, the person beneath him let out a shriek and shoved him away with all her might.
He nearly fell off the bed, scrambling to pull his own clothes from the mess on the floor and hastily putting them on. He also picked up hers, and handed them over through the bed curtains. When she didn’t take them for a long time, likely refusing to even look at him, he didn’t dare look back at the bed. Left with no choice, he dropped the clothes, fetched his outer robe from the wardrobe, dressed quickly, and finally opened the door.
Outside the door, at the very front, stood Pei Huai’an in wedding robes, his face filled with anxiety, alongside Shen Yunshu.
Pei Huaijin’s gaze shifted from his seventh brother to Shen Yunshu. Seeing her face, he was momentarily dazed: her looks matched the woman he had met at Hongqiao…
The two sisters had similar features, and today, with heavy bridal makeup, their faces were nearly identical. That’s why, when he lifted the bridal veil and saw Third Lady Shen, he hadn’t thought much of it…
“Eldest Brother, you…” Pei Huai’an saw his elder brother’s disheveled hair and half-dressed state, and had a sinking feeling in his heart.
Shen Yunshu glanced at Pei Huaijin. With all the maids and servants watching, she couldn’t ask questions immediately. She decided to check on her third sister first, so she skirted around him and slipped into the bedchamber.
Pei Huaijin promptly closed the door, blocking the others’ view into the room. Composing himself, he ordered a few servants to go to the courtyards of the first and third branches to inform the elders and have them all gather in Grandmother’s courtyard to discuss the matter.
The maids and servants hurried off with their orders. Pei Huaijin looked at his seventh brother, “Let’s talk as we walk…”
Meanwhile, Shen Yunshu entered the bedchamber and saw that all the lamps but the pair of dragon-phoenix wedding candles were out, immediately guessing what had happened.
Pulling aside the bed curtains, she saw white sleeping clothes and bright red undergarments tossed to one side. The crimson quilt was curled into a long shape, trembling like a frightened shrimp. Shen Yunshu’s last hope died.
It was too late after all.
During the wedding earlier, the bridal veils of the two sisters had been switched by mistake. That night, Grand Tutor Pei had suddenly fallen ill and called Pei Huai’an away. Of the four dowry maids, two had been injured in the confusion, while the other two had been busy guarding the dowry. And before all that, at Hongqiao, it had been her third sister who stood in for her during the introduction, so Pei Huaijin had actually seen Third Sister dressed as her. But Third Sister’s eyesight was poor, and she hadn’t clearly seen Pei Huaijin’s face that day, nor did she know what Pei Huai’an looked like. All these coincidences had led to tonight’s marriage mishap…
Shen Yunshu bit her trembling lips, forcing herself to calm down.
She sat by the bed and patted the quilt, “Youran, come out, don’t stifle yourself…”
At the sound of her voice, the quilt shook even more violently.
“Elder Sister,” came the tearful voice from under the covers, “I can’t face you.”
“It’s not your fault,” Shen Yunshu coaxed softly. “If the sky falls, your sister will hold it up. Come out first.”
After much coaxing, Shen Youran finally crawled out from under the covers and threw herself into her sister’s arms, sobbing and trembling. Shen Yunshu pretended not to notice the red marks on her sister’s skin, comforting her while helping her dress.
Things had come to this; it was impossible to turn back. The result was predictable: either let things be as they were, and the sisters swap grooms, or split the pair, leaving only one marriage intact.
If they split, Shen Youran’s match with Pei Huai’an would be ruined. But even so, Pei Huaijin and Third Sister had already shared intimacy, and as her elder sister, Shen Yunshu could not, with a clear conscience, continue as Pei Huaijin’s wife.
Moreover, now that Third Sister had lost her purity and her betrothal, how was she to face the world in the future?
But if they let things be, with Third Sister’s temperament and abilities, she would be hard-pressed to serve as the legitimate eldest daughter-in-law of the main branch, and life would not be easy for her.
She had originally wanted Third Sister to marry into the Pei family and enjoy good fortune. Now, she had put her in a dilemma. What could she do to make amends for this mistake?
In the Hall of Spring and Mulberry, the Pei family’s eldest master, Pei Yuanji, and his wife, Lady Zhu, the third master Pei Yuanzhou, and the day’s two grooms, Pei Huaijin and Pei Huai’an, were all gathered in the main hall, their faces grave. After dismissing the servants, they began to discuss the day’s events and how to handle them.
Lady Zhu, physically frail, nearly fainted upon hearing the news.
Pei Yuanji wanted her to rest in her room and not trouble herself, but since it concerned her son’s lifelong happiness, Lady Zhu forced herself to come despite feeling unwell.
Beating her chest in distress, she exclaimed, “How could such a mix-up happen? Wasn’t there anyone who noticed something was off beforehand?”
“Enough, what’s done is done. Complaining won’t help,” the Old Madam Pei glanced at her daughter-in-law, then swept her gaze over the others, her eyes lingering in pain especially when she looked at her two grandsons. With a sigh, she said, “Let’s hear it—what should we do?”
Pei Huai’an, unable to hold it in any longer, spoke first, face mournful. “What else can we do? Just swap them back, and pretend nothing happened…”
“No.” Pei Huaijin rejected the idea outright. He stood in the hall, the celadon-glazed lotus lamp at his side casting shadows on his face. “I have already fulfilled the rites with Third Lady Shen. I must take responsibility for her…”
“So Eldest Brother means not to swap back?” Pei Huai’an looked at him in shock, protesting repeatedly. “That won’t do! I’ve always considered Elder Sister Shen as my sister-in-law. How can I become her husband? I refuse…”
Lady Zhu, already knowing that Shen Youran could not compare to her elder sister, had previously spoken disparagingly. Now, to think she would become her daughter-in-law left her reeling, dizzy with disbelief. “No, son, Third Lady Shen simply isn’t worthy of you…”
“They are both daughters born of the main Shen line. Worthiness doesn’t come into it. If her talents fall short, I’ll teach her in time,” Pei Huaijin said firmly. When it came to a woman’s chastity, all else—family background, virtue, ability—was secondary. He had already touched her; they had done what only husband and wife should. He could not push her onto his seventh brother.
“Seventh Brother, in this matter, it’s I who have wronged you,” Pei Huaijin finally turned to look at Pei Huai’an, recalling how, before the wedding, they had sat together on one bed, talking heart to heart. His seventh brother had confessed to falling in love with Third Lady Shen at first sight, even pining for her. Yet today, he had no choice but to take what his brother cherished most. “Third Lady Shen… I cannot return her to you.”
“Why not?” Pei Huai’an, seeing his brother’s determined expression and resolute tone, became desperate, his voice breaking. “Why can’t you give her back? Did you ask what I want? Did you ask Third Lady Shen what she wants?”
“Enough, enough,” Pei Yuanzhou tried to soothe his son. “An’er, speak properly with your brother…”
Pei Huai’an fell silent, standing off to the side in a sulk.
The Old Madam Pei took the opportunity to turn to Pei Yuanzhou. “Third, what do you think?”
Pei Yuanzhou had been just as shocked upon first hearing of the incident, but now that it couldn’t be undone, he knew that his son’s wishful thinking of “pretend it never happened” was impossible.
“In my opinion, both daughters of the Shen family are fine matches. No matter which of our sons they marry, it’s a good match…”
“So Third Brother, you’re in favor of swapping brides?” Lady Zhu sneered. “If Eldest Miss Shen is given to our little seventh, naturally you’d be happy…”
She had always looked down on the Shen family’s third daughter, her words dripping with disdain.
The Old Madam Pei ignored her and asked the eldest son for his view. “Eldest, what do you think?”
Pei Yuanji frowned, exhaling slowly. “Third Brother is right. Both are legitimate daughters of the Shen family. Even if Third Lady Shen isn’t quite equal to her elder sister, she isn’t lacking by much. I say, just let things be…”
“What do you mean, ‘just let things be’?”
Lady Zhu tried to argue again, but was cut off by Pei Yuanji. “Since the young lady has been wronged, it’s only right to take responsibility. Or do you wish your son to be known as a callous man with no sense of duty?”
Lady Zhu muttered, “But Little Seventh said he doesn’t mind…”
Pei Yuanji’s tone was stern. “The words of a half-grown child can hardly be taken as truth.”
Hearing this, Pei Huai’an bristled like a cat with its tail stepped on. He snapped, “Why can’t my words be taken as truth? I want to marry Third Lady Shen! If you’re all worried it will be awkward in the future, I’ll just take her and live in Quanzhou…”
“You’re still young. Things that don’t bother you now may well matter to you later,” Pei Yuanji said gently, unwilling to scold his nephew too harshly. “Besides, what does Eldest Miss Shen lack compared to Third Lady Shen? Such a fine girl as your wife, and you feel wronged?”
Lady Zhu suddenly recalled something and nudged Pei Yuanji’s arm. “Didn’t Little Seventh say before that he doesn’t like girls older than him…”
Earlier, when Lady Zhu had wanted to betroth the seventeen-year-old Meng Wanxin to him, he had used that very reason to refuse. And Eldest Miss Shen, at twenty-eight, was even a year older than Meng Wanxin. No wonder he was so adamant.
But Pei Yuanji was unfazed. “Just two years older, that’s nothing. Third, what do you think?”
By now, Pei Yuanzhou had completely accepted the idea of swapping brides, and answered calmly, “As I said, as long as it’s a Shen family daughter, they’re all good matches…”
At that, everyone turned their eyes to the Old Madam Pei, sitting at the head of the hall.
Having listened to all the discussion, the Old Madam had made up her mind. “In that case, let’s—”
Just as the matter was about to be settled, Pei Huai’an burst out, “Grandmother, I don’t want Eldest Miss Shen…”
“Grandmother,” Pei Huaijin also spoke up, not as loud as Pei Huai’an but steady and commanding, drawing all eyes to him. “Just now, I only said that I cannot return Third Lady Shen to my seventh brother, not that I agree to swap brides. Eldest Miss Shen and Seventh Brother are still untouched, and she may not accept such an arrangement. We should ask for her wishes as well…”
“That’s true,” the Old Madam said. The eldest grandson and Third Lady Shen had already crossed that line, but the youngest and Eldest Miss Shen still had a chance. She had wanted to summon Eldest Miss Shen, but after some thought realized it would be improper—newly married brides were shy and it would not do to discuss such matters face to face with elders. So she turned to Pei Huaijin. “Then go and ask Eldest Miss Shen what she wishes.”
“Yes.” Pei Huaijin bowed to the elders and turned to leave the hall.
Pei Huai’an, unwilling, shouted, “Why only ask Eldest Miss Shen? I want to ask Third Lady Shen too!” With that, he rushed out after him.
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