The first light of dawn stretched across the sky, casting a delicate, gauzy glow over the white walls and black tiles.
At the first quarter of the Mao hour, Pei Huaijin, accustomed to rising early, sat up in bed and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to summon his energy.
The person beside him was still asleep, no longer in the obedient pose she had held the night before.
Both hands rested casually on the pillow, her face tilted to one side, without a trace of sleepiness.
Her breathing was steady and deep, clearly still immersed in slumber.
The charcoal in the incense burner had burned out, leaving a chill in the air.
Pei Huaijin gently slipped her hands under the quilt before drawing back the curtain and heading downstairs to change.
After washing up, he went to the courtyard for his morning exercises.
Qingjian was already waiting in the yard to join him.
“Langjun, did you not sleep well last night?”
Qingjian asked, noticing the dark circles under his eyes.
“Mm, I was chasing a cat all night.”
“A cat in your room? I didn’t hear a thing.”
“Just joking…”
Pei Huaijin replied, a faint smile playing on his lips.
It wasn’t a cat, but a little lady frightened awake by a nightmare.
He didn’t know what she had dreamt, but she’d cried out that someone was going to eat her, then got up begging and kowtowing, turning the bed into a mess.
He had been woken by the noise and couldn’t bear to watch any longer, so he sat up, gently patting and soothing her.
Before marriage, he never imagined he’d have to get up in the middle of the night to comfort his wife.
After morning exercise, he went to Haitang Courtyard to pay respects to his mother.
Because of his support for Shen Youran, his mother was still sulking and refused to see him.
After asking the serving maid, he learned that her health was fine, so he returned.
By now it was past the midpoint of the Mao hour, and the daylight had grown brighter.
He spent some time in his study reading and practicing calligraphy.
Without realizing it, half an hour had passed.
At the Chen hour, the kitchen sent in the breakfast.
Pei Huaijin had come to the side hall to eat, but to his surprise, Shen Youran had yet to leave her room.
Her maid Danruo approached him hesitantly.
“Young Madam is still washing up. She said for Langjun to start without her.”
Since she’d already started washing up, it shouldn’t be long.
Pei Huaijin didn’t move his chopsticks.
“No matter. I’ll wait for her.”
Danruo bowed and retreated.
Back in the bedroom, she helped the half-awake Shen Youran sit up; half her body was still draped over the bed.
She urged anxiously, “Young Madam, Langjun is waiting for you to eat breakfast. Please hurry.”
“Danruo…”
Shen Youran leaned weakly against her, “I feel so exhausted from that sleep.In my dream, I was reciting books and being chased by a tiger. When I woke, I didn’t feel rested—my head is buzzing.”
“Please wake up quickly, miss. I told Langjun you had already started washing up. We need to hurry…”
Danruo had earlier brought water and swiftly helped Shen Youran rinse her mouth and wipe her face, then loosely tied up her hair and helped her to the side hall.
Shen Youran forced herself to stay alert, but the drowsiness lingered.
She had no appetite and sat listlessly at the table, staring blankly at the breakfast.
“This time it’s not leftovers,” Pei Huaijin said when he saw her delay in picking up her chopsticks, recalling the pitiful look she had worn the night before.
“Oh.”
Shen Youran responded expressionlessly, her heavy eyelids nearly falling shut again.
Pei Huaijin realized then she was still half-asleep.
“Didn’t you go to bed at the Hai hour last night?”
He calculated.
She’d slept for about five hours, so why did she still look so tired?
“I really can’t eat right now,” Shen Youran said absently, having already come up with an excuse to take a nap later.
“My hair isn’t done yet. It’s the Return Visit Ceremony today; I want to wear a more formal hairstyle. You go ahead and eat; I’ll go back to get ready…”
She called Danruo and, still groggy, returned to the bedroom.
She didn’t dare lie back down for fear of oversleeping, so she sat at the dressing table and rested her head on the surface, intending to nap for just a little while.
“I’ll just sleep a bit. You have to wake me up to do my hair…”
Danruo knew her young mistress was fond of sleeping in, so she took charge of arranging the hair and picking out the accessories.
After about fifteen minutes, she called again to wake her.
By the time Shen Youran returned to the side room, her hair was done and makeup applied, but the breakfast had already been cleared away.
“Where’s the breakfast?”
Shen Youran asked the maid wiping the table.
“Didn’t he leave me some?”
“Langjun said Young Madam doesn’t eat leftovers, so he told us to clear everything away.”
She had indeed said the night before that she didn’t want to eat leftover food—but she meant not eating the previous meal’s leftovers, not this one’s.
“Don’t worry, Young Madam,” Danruo said, “I’ll go check with the kitchen and have them make some fresh food to send over…”
Before Danruo could leave, Qingjian entered.
“Young Madam, the carriage is ready. Langjun is waiting for you in the yard.”
He was signaling her to hurry.
On purpose!
On purpose not leaving her breakfast!
Daring to let her go hungry on the Return Visit—she would definitely complain to Father when she got back!
Shen Youran stomped out in a huff.
Outside the hall, she spotted the tall, poised figure standing in the courtyard.
Pei Huaijin wore a solid dark blue robe with wide sleeves and a black leather belt trimmed with gold.
The somewhat muted colors made him appear even more mature.
Compared to him, she was dressed all in delicate peach pink, looking much too youthful.
But she wouldn’t pick dull colors to match him—at her age, it was only natural to like bright, lively shades: cherry blossom pink, sunset haze, coral red—she loved them all.
She walked over.
He turned just in time to see her, but she snorted and looked away, quickening her pace.
She refused to walk beside him.
At the Pei Residence gate, Shen Yunshu arrived and saw Pei Huaian leaning against the carriage, chatting casually with Qing Wu.
Seeing her approach, Qing Wu took his leave.
Yunshu was somewhat surprised.
“I thought you wouldn’t be out today.”
Last night, their third sister had mentioned his intention to become a monk during dinner.
Yunshu had wanted to ask him about it but hadn’t been able to catch him before going to bed.
This morning, she asked Tinglan about him and was told he’d gone out early again.
She had assumed he wouldn’t accompany her on the Return Visit and was quietly wondering how to explain it to Father.
She hadn’t expected him to be waiting right outside the gate.
“I went out to breakfast with Qing Wu this morning. The meals here are all the same few dishes, and I was tired of them.”
Pei Huaian didn’t admit that he had originally planned to sneak out but had turned back because Qing Wu insisted it would be improper for the bride to go without her husband on the Return Visit.
As for breakfast, he hadn’t actually eaten yet and was enduring hunger.
Yunshu didn’t suspect anything and stood by him, both looking toward the residence, waiting for their sister and the Pei Eldest Young Master to arrive.
With a beauty by his side, Pei Huaian’s thoughts drifted to a dream from the night before.
Because he hadn’t seen her all day yesterday, he hadn’t had any lustful dreams but instead dreamed of the temple fair when he first met Shen Youran.
When the wind lifted her veil, his vision blurred, and he saw only a vague figure, sometimes like Shen Youran, sometimes like Shen Yunshu.
The indescribable feeling in that dream made him think it was trying to tell him something.
Today, he intended to visit the temple master to interpret the dream, but first, he needed to accompany Shen Yunshu on the Return Visit.
Soon, Shen Youran approached with her cheeks puffed out, walking quickly with a bold and defiant air, clearly displeased.
Behind her strolled Pei Huaijin, who easily kept pace due to his longer legs.
Shen Youran spotted her sister and, lifting her skirt to step over the threshold, went straight up to her.
“Sister, I want to ride in the same carriage as you.”
Two carriages and two mule carts stood outside the gate.
The mule carts carried wild geese and various Return Visit gifts, prepared lavishly since they would be visiting both the Shen and Lu families today.
Some pastries that wouldn’t fit were placed atop one of the carriages.
Yunshu would have liked to share a carriage with her sister, but since each now had a husband, they were technically sisters-in-law at the Pei Residence and had no reason to ride together.
Moreover, she rarely had the chance to be alone with Pei Huaian and wanted to use the trip to ask about his plan to become a monk.
So she gently declined her sister’s request.
“It’s the Return Visit, so let’s follow the proper etiquette. You ride in the eldest brother’s carriage. If there’s anything, we’ll talk about it when we get home.”
“All right…it’s not really anything important…”
She didn’t want to complain about skipping breakfast to her older sister.
Just as she was about to leave, her stomach suddenly growled.
“You didn’t eat breakfast?”
Pei Huaian, also feeling hungry, asked.
Shen Youran nodded, embarrassed to admit that she had snuck back to sleep again, and that was why Pei Huaijin hadn’t saved her any breakfast.
“I know a place with good meat-filled pastries. I’ll buy you two on the road…”
Pei Huaian hadn’t planned to eat today but now had a reason to buy her breakfast.
He could get an extra one, and since she probably wouldn’t eat both, the leftovers would naturally become his.
“Thank you, you’re such a good person…”
Shen Youran said gratefully.
Two Pei family young masters—one who made her starve for being late, the other willing to buy her food halfway through the trip.
Too bad she hadn’t chosen the latter from the start; she regretted it deeply now.
A good person?
The moment Pei Huaijin stepped outside the gate, he heard her praising the other as a “good person” just for two pastries.
Did that make him, the one who didn’t leave her breakfast, a “villain”?
Meanwhile, the lucky one with pastries raised his head arrogantly, passed right before him, ignored him, and climbed into the carriage ahead.
Qingjian emerged from behind Pei Huaijin, holding two freshly brought hot pastries.
“Langjun, do you want more?”
“No,” Pei Huaijin snorted coldly, “You can eat them.”
Very well then…
Qingjian tucked them into his own robes, planning to eat them after they reached the Shen Residence.
The carriage rumbled out of the gate, the interior quiet except for the sweet aroma of pastries filling the air.
If not for the fact that half the seat was occupied by pastries, Shen Youran would never have wanted to sit so close to Pei Huaijin.
Though sitting upright, her mouth watered at the sight of the pastries.
But since Pei Huaian had promised to buy her meat pies, she swallowed her saliva and hoped he would return quickly.
About a quarter of an hour later, she peeked out the curtain for the third time and saw Yunshu’s carriage and Pei Huaian’s stopped ahead.
Qing Wu leapt down to enter a nearby eatery.
He must be buying the pies.
Shen Youran’s heart leapt with joy—soon, she would have warm meat pies to eat.
“Qingjian,” Pei Huaijin suddenly spoke after a long silence, addressing the coachman outside the curtain, “It’s a bit slow. Don’t let us be late.”
“Yes.”
Qingjian responded and flicked his whip, and the carriage picked up speed noticeably.
Shen Youran, leaning forward, almost bumped her head on a post.
A large hand caught her face and steadied her.
“Don’t pretend to be kind!” she pushed him away, glaring.
“You didn’t let me eat breakfast, and now Seventh Young Master wants to buy me pies. Why not?”
Pei Huaijin showed no anger at being pushed aside.
He called Qingjian again and then held out his hand.
“Slap!”
Qingjian tossed a neatly wrapped oil paper package into his hand, tinged with emotion.
Earlier, Pei Huaijin had said casually for Qingjian to eat the pies, but since Qingjian was busy driving, the pies remained untouched.
“Weren’t you going to eat pies?”
Pei Huaijin handed the still-warm package to her.
“Eat.”
It was the Return Visit, after all—how could he let his new wife return hungry?
He hurried her along because they had to visit not only the Shen family but also her birth mother’s Lu family.
According to custom, the bride had to return before noon, and since she was taking her time in the bedroom, he had no choice but to clear breakfast early and send Qingjian, the fastest runner, to fetch two fresh hot pies to eat on the road.
But before he could give her the pies, Seventh Young Master had already offered to buy her some.
If she ate his pies without knowing he had brought some too, she’d surely be sulking all the way back.
Sure enough, when she saw the pies in his hand, her face changed in surprise.
“Where did you get these?”
Seeing she didn’t take them right away, Pei Huaijin unwrapped the paper, revealing two meat pies bursting with fragrance.
Her hungry eyes lit up.
Shen Youran accepted the package with mixed delight and suspicion.
Taking a bite, the meat was fresh and flavorful, the juice abundant, neither cold nor too hot—perfect for her stomach.
She ate half a pie before slowly realizing that although he had already cleared breakfast, he hadn’t intended to starve her.
And she had unknowingly sulked at him repeatedly.
She wasn’t one to refuse blame if it wasn’t hers, but when it was, she admitted it faster than anyone.
Not long after a warm pie settled her stomach, she took the initiative to apologize.
“Sorry, I misunderstood you. I’ll get up earlier next time.”
Pei Huaijin expected her to be sulky longer—after all, she was stubborn.
After the time she fainted her mother and was grounded, she still insisted in her dreams that she was right.
Yet today, her mood had shifted so quickly, from giving him the cold shoulder before eating to soft words of apology after.
“You didn’t sleep well last night. It’s fine to get up a bit later.”
Since she had apologized, he didn’t reprimand her further but still gave a reminder, “Just this once. Don’t make it a habit.”
“I know.”
Shen Youran smiled at him and bit into the second pie.
After eating half the second pie, she found it greasy.
Pei Huaijin poured her a cup of tea from the small table.
After drinking it, she took two more bites of pie and then set it down.
“I’m full.”
Though not entirely full, without a light side dish to balance the rich pies, she truly couldn’t finish both.
Pei Huaijin glanced at the remaining small piece of pie on the paper, which could be eaten in three or four bites, and advised, “It’s the Three March this year; the northern region has had less rain, and the wheat harvest is worse than usual. Don’t waste food.”
“I know wasting food is bad,” Shen Youran frowned at the leftover piece, “but I really don’t want to eat anymore.”
“Fine.”
Pei Huaijin didn’t force her and instead picked up the pie himself, eating it one bite at a time.
Shen Youran watched as he calmly and elegantly finished her leftovers, shocked.
“You…you’re eating my leftovers?”
Pei Huaijin swallowed the last bite and said, “I can’t just throw it away.”
“But…it has my saliva on it?”
Shen Youran said awkwardly.
“Aren’t you disgusted?”
“Not at all,” he looked at her calmly.
“We’ve kissed, haven’t we?”
“Alright, enough said…”