“Teasing you?”
Pei Huaijin’s gaze deepened, carrying a hint of disbelief. “How did she tease you?”
“She asked me to show her some lightness skills. I refused, so she asked me to do a backflip…”
Qingjian trailed off.
That Missus really had patience.
She had leaned by the window, pestering him for a whole hour until he finally gave in and performed a full set of punches.
Only then was she satisfied enough to go rest.
Pei Huaijin chuckled after hearing this.
“Oh, so she was just making a monkey out of you?”
Qingjian’s face turned green.
“All right,” Pei Huaijin patted his shoulder, “I’ll go check on her and say a few words for you…”
“She’s not in her room,” Qingjian replied.
“You just lifted her confinement, and she ran right out.”
She ran pretty fast.
In this vast Pei Residence, the only place she could have gone was probably the Ci You Courtyard where Shen Yunshu lived.
Confined for two days, she must have bottled up a whole lot of grievances to go and find her sister.
That morning when he left, he had heard that Seventh Young Master had sneaked out early again and probably wouldn’t return before nightfall.
Since Seventh Young Master wasn’t in Ci You Courtyard, Pei Huaijin wasn’t in a hurry to order someone to fetch her back.
Ci You Courtyard.
When Shen Youran entered, the kitchen staff were just delivering dinner, and Tinglan was arranging the dishes.
Her sister stood in the corridor, feeding a small, delicate Painted Thrush.
It was Shen Youran’s first time visiting Ci You Courtyard.
From the moment she stepped inside, she was stunned by the exquisite and intricate decor — green bamboos and pines, multicolored flowers and trees, all creating a unique charm.
At this season, the Chrysanthemums and Wenxin Orchids were in full bloom, and over a dozen pots of Longevity Flowers were blossoming everywhere, their fragrance filling the air.
Compared to Yunzhi Courtyard, this place felt like a fairyland.
This was truly her dream courtyard.
If not for the switched marriage, she would be the one now enjoying flowers and teasing birds here.
ASOS……
“Sis, I was confined and you didn’t even come to see me. Now you’re here playing with birds?”
Shen Youran pouted, hugging her sister with a face full of grievance.
Shen Yunshu quickly wrapped her arms around her sister and explained, “No, it’s this bird making a racket, so I came to feed it…”
“Sis, you don’t know how unreasonable Pei Huaian is,” Shen Youran complained, “Not only did he confine me, he made me eat leftovers…”
“He made you eat leftovers?”
Shen Yunshu was surprised.
“What happened?”
“How would I know? Early this morning they brought me leftovers, saying since I could swallow that watery dumpling soup, eating leftovers wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Wait, dumpling soup?”
“Just the night before last, I was starving. Seventh Young Master took me to the kitchen to find something to eat. There was nothing, so he made me a pot of dumpling soup. It was awful, but I was so hungry I drank half a bowl…”
Pei Huaian had already explained that night to her; Shen Yunshu only knew he felt sorry for her starving and made something simple for her.
So it was that pot of dumpling soup.
After thinking it over, Shen Yunshu pieced it together.
“That must have been the night you were starving. Pei Da Lang was worried you’d get sick, so he sent food. But you had just sneaked out with Seventh Young Master and missed the good food, ending up eating half a bowl of terrible dumpling soup. Pei Da Lang was probably jealous and deliberately sent you the reheated leftovers from that night.”
“He’s jealous? Of what? He doesn’t even like me…”
“But I heard last night…”
Shen Yunshu dismissed the maid nearby before continuing, “Last night he stayed in your room?”
At the mention of this, Shen Youran became even angrier.
“That old stick has no sense of romance. Matters of the heart should flow naturally. How can he force things?”
“Good heavens!” Shen Yunshu gasped.
“Did he force you?”
Seeing her sister’s shocked face, Shen Youran quickly clarified.
“No, not forced like that…It’s just that he knows I’m very resistant, so he purposely does things to get closer to me.”
“So what exactly did he do?”
Shen Youran recounted everything that happened that morning to her sister.
To her surprise, after a moment of thought, Shen Yunshu actually approved of his approach.
“Actually, there’s nothing wrong with what he did. You pushed him away, but he’s the one trying to bridge the gap between you. If he also froze and did nothing, when would you ever truly accept each other?”
“But at least he shouldn’t say it out loud! Once he says it, it loses all the charm.”
“I think being open and straightforward isn’t bad at all…”
Shen Youran’s small face fell as she let go of her sister’s hands, staring at her for a long while before saying, “So you two really are a perfect match. Pity I ruined it…”
“Don’t say that,” Shen Yunshu stroked her sister’s nearly tearful face, “The switched marriage isn’t your fault.”
Shen Youran insisted, “It is my fault! It’s because I got involved with the Lu family’s stepbrother that all this happened.”
“It really isn’t your fault. If anyone is to blame, it should be me.”
Shen Yunshu pinched her sister’s cheeks, then took her hand.
“Things have come to this, so we have to look forward. Didn’t you say you’ve been eating leftovers all day? Today I have fresh dishes in the courtyard. Stay here and eat with me.”
Dinner.
Shen Youran’s eyes brimmed with tears as she whimpered, “I haven’t had a proper meal since last night…”
“Just so happens I asked the kitchen to make your favorite Crab-stuffed Orange today. Eat a lot later.”
Danruo and Tinglan washed their hands and stood by their mistresses, helping crack open the crab.
Shen Youran ate a few bites of other dishes, then lifted her chopsticks, waiting patiently for the crab meat.
Once the crab was all picked apart, she told Danruo and Tinglan to eat too — they didn’t need to serve anymore.
“Sis, actually, there’s something very important I want to tell you tonight.”
In front of her own sister, she naturally didn’t follow the “No talking while eating” rule, whispering as she ate.
“Pei Huaian is going…to become a monk.”
Shen Yunshu burst out laughing.
“Impossible! Where did you hear that? He’s a profligate who enjoys life to the fullest. How could he abandon joy and retreat into a temple?”
Shen Youran grew anxious at her sister’s disbelief.
“Really! He said it himself, I heard it with my own ears!”
“Oh? What exactly did he say?”
Shen Youran thought for a moment.
“I guessed it first because I smelled sandalwood on him. I guessed he’d been to a temple. He told me he was listening to the Abbot and monks chanting. But why would he go listen to scriptures the day after our wedding? When I asked if he wanted to become a monk, he dodged the question and said no matter whether he became a monk or not, he wouldn’t let me become a widow…”
Although under her pressing, Pei Huaian swore not to become a monk, it was clear his oath wasn’t sincere.
“He also told me not to tell anyone. I haven’t even told Pei Huaijin, but you’re my sister and his wife, so I have to tell you…”
Seeing her sister so serious, Shen Yunshu, though doubting the likelihood, still had a twinge of worry.
That night she had indeed smelled that temple incense on Pei Huaian but hadn’t thought much of it or asked further.
After all, they were just a fake couple, agreed not to bother each other privately.
He left early that morning, and now, with night falling, he still hasn’t returned.
Could he be at the temple again?
Does he really want to become a monk?
But judging by how he looks, it didn’t seem so.
Though she couldn’t understand his strange behavior, now even her youngest sister knew about it.
If they couldn’t get to the bottom of this, her sister would keep worrying.
“Thanks for telling me this, but don’t worry too much. I’ll find out what’s going on,” Shen Yunshu comforted her sister.
Seeing her sister’s expression turn serious, Shen Youran finally relaxed a bit and took another bite of crab roe.
Before long, she had finished the whole crab.
Seeing her appetite, Shen Yunshu handed over her own untouched crab meat.
Without hesitation, Shen Youran accepted it and continued eating heartily.
“…”
“Hm?”
“You tell me, why on earth would Pei Huaian want to become a monk?”
Although there was no conclusion yet, Shen Youran had already made up her mind.
“I can’t guess now, but if he really has this idea, it’s probably related to the switched marriage.”
“So he wants to escape the marriage by becoming a monk?”
“No, I talked to him. He has accepted the switched marriage. Besides, the divorce papers are signed. Becoming a monk now wouldn’t make sense.”
“Then why?” Shen Youran looked troubled.
“Could it be because he loves me but can’t have me, so he wants to become a monk?”
She had never believed that people would do crazy things for love, like the protagonists in storybooks.
But after suspecting that the kidnapping might have been Lu Yi’s doing, she believed there were indeed obsessive people who’d go mad over invisible feelings.
Shen Yunshu glanced at her youngest sister’s innocent face and found it adorable.
“Maybe it’s because you’re just very good.”
Shen Youran suspected her sister was teasing her.
“I’m lazy and greedy, what’s good about me?”
“You don’t even know how good you are…at playing around!”
Shen Youran snorted.
“I knew you were joking…”
After dinner in her sister’s courtyard, Shen Youran dragged her to stroll around the garden.
Even after night fully fell, she didn’t want to go back.
Shen Yunshu had to urge her, “It’s late, you should go rest. We’ll return to our families tomorrow, and there’ll be plenty of time to talk.”
“But I don’t want to go back…”
Shen Youran tugged her sister’s hand, whining, “Sis, can I sleep with you tonight?”
“We’re both married women now; we can’t be like before.”
Shen Yunshu guessed the reason for her reluctance immediately.
“Are you afraid of Pei Da Lang?”
“Mm,” Shen Youran lowered her head.
“Today he made me copy the fourth chapter of The Etiquette for Women ten times. I haven’t written a single word yet.”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.