Chapter 25 (1/2): Room, who told me to like you so much?

On another carriage bearing the Pei Residence’s family crest, Pei Huaian held four freshly cooked meat pies in his hands.

Seeing no chance of catching up with the carriage ahead, he reluctantly swallowed his saliva and said, “Big brother’s carriage is really too fast. Once these pies get cold, they won’t taste good. I guess I’ll just have to eat them myself.”

With that, he handed two to Shen Yunshu.

“Do you want some?”

Shen Yunshu had already eaten breakfast, so she naturally declined.

Pei Huaian pretended to sigh, “Then I guess I’ll just eat them all.”

“But didn’t you already have breakfast?”

Shen Yunshu looked at him in surprise.

“Can you really finish four pies?”

“Of course. At my age, I’m always hungry and have a big appetite…”

So, Shen Yunshu watched as he devoured the four meat pies voraciously, tearing through them one after another like a gust of wind sweeping through a scroll.

“Do you really like eating meat?” she suddenly asked.

Pei Huaian answered without hesitation, “Meat smells so good, of course I love it.”

Since he loved meat so much, the matter of Third Sister saying yesterday she wanted to “become a monk” seemed to be a misunderstanding after all.

“Can I ask you something?”

Seeing his mouth covered in grease, Shen Yunshu took out a handkerchief and handed it to him.

“What is it?”

Pei Huaian took it, casually wiped his mouth, and then tried to stuff the handkerchief into his sleeve.

“I’ll have someone wash it and return it to you later.”

Shen Yunshu didn’t mind at all; she had plenty of handkerchiefs.

But seeing that he hadn’t wiped the corner of his mouth clean, she pressed his hand gently to stop him from putting it away.

“You still have some here; wipe it again.”

Pei Huaian pulled out the handkerchief once more and aimlessly wiped his mouth again.

“How about now? Clean?”

Shen Yunshu raised her hand and lightly tapped the corner of his mouth.

“Here…”

The softness and faint fragrance from her fingertip brushed against his lips and vanished in an instant.

Pei Huaian was stunned, and on impulse, he leaned closer to her.

“I can’t see, help me wipe it…”

His suddenly enlarged handsome face made Shen Yunshu instinctively recoil an inch.

The sixteen-year-old boy had rosy lips, white teeth, and clear, pure eyes.

Coming so close without hesitation didn’t feel unpleasant; rather, it made him look like a fluffy big puppy, softening the heart of anyone who saw him.

Shen Yunshu smiled gently, took the handkerchief, lowered her lashes slightly, and carefully wiped the corner of his mouth.

That small patch of grease quickly disappeared into the fabric.

“All done.”

Since she had the handkerchief back in her hands, there was no need to hand it back and ask him to wash it.

“I’ll ask Tinglan to wash it.”

Pei Huaian stared at the handkerchief she’d taken back, feeling an inexplicable sense of loss.

Shen Yunshu put away the handkerchief and returned to their earlier topic.

“Why have you been going to the temple so often these past two days?”

“Youran told you?”

He couldn’t bring himself to say “sister-in-law,” since they were about the same age, so he just called her by name.

Shen Yunshu didn’t want to betray her sister and feigned ignorance.

“Hmm? Youran knows about this too?”

Pei Huaian thought it over.

Since Shen Youran had guessed it, it was no surprise that the sharper Shen Yunshu could guess as well.

“You don’t really think I want to become a monk, do you?”

Pei Huaian’s eyes flickered evasively.

“I have no such intention.”

“Then what do you go to the temple for?”

“To listen to the sutras and calm my mind.”

“Because of the marriage swap?”

Pei Huaian replied vaguely, “Sort of.”

Shen Yunshu studied his subtle expressions closely, noticing his evasiveness and half-truths.

She felt that aside from the marriage swap, there was something else troubling him.

What was it?

What could make such a bold, unruly youth willingly sit in a temple listening to sutras to calm his heart?

Was it for love?

After the marriage swap, perhaps he couldn’t let go of his feelings for Third Sister, so he turned to Buddha for help.

Though he looked frivolous, it seemed he was a man deeply in love.

Since he had no plan to enter the monastic life, Shen Yunshu did not press further.

If this method worked, she hoped he would soon let go of his obsession with Third Sister.

The carriage passed through bustling streets and turned into an alley, stopping not far from the Shen Residence.

Fifteen minutes later, Pei Huaian’s carriage caught up.

Both carriages arrived at the Shen Residence together.

Shen Youran leaned out from the carriage, and Pei Huaijin, who had gotten down earlier, stood elegantly beside the carriage, reaching out to help her down.

On the other side, Pei Huaian had just stepped down and hurried over to Shen Youran.

“I already bought you meat pies. Why didn’t you wait for me?”

Shen Youran shot a sharp glance at Pei Huaijin, signaling with her eyes, “It’s all his fault…”

Pei Huaian understood immediately.

It was a trick played by Big Brother.

“Big brother, you’ve got some nerve. Coming back to the Shen Residence today, you still let Shen family’s lady come home hungry?”

Pei Huaijin was indifferent.

“Who said she came back hungry?”

Shen Youran said, “I ate two on the way…though one of them was eaten by Pei Huaijin.”

“You ate?”

Pei Huaian naturally assumed she had bought them herself.

“Weren’t you going to wait for the ones I bought?”

“They weren’t bought. Big brother conjured them.”

Shen Youran said this teasingly, stepping inside.

At the gate, Li Mama led the maids standing on both sides to welcome them.

“How did big brother conjure them?”

Pei Huaian followed her in.

“Just like that, he stretched out his hand, and whoosh—they appeared.”

She knew that the pies were probably held by Qingjian, but she still teased Pei Huaian.

“And then I got to eat pies.”

Pei Huaian wasn’t stupid and quickly guessed, “I see, big brother had Qingjian hold the pies and then made a show of it in front of you…”

“You’re so clever!”

Shen Youran caught the faint scent of meat pies on him and asked, “Then what about the pies you bought for me?”

“I couldn’t catch up with your carriage, so I had to eat them myself.”

“How many did you eat?”

“Four.”

“So many? Didn’t you have breakfast?”

“I…did.”

Shen Youran looked at him in disbelief.

“You had breakfast and still ate four pies? Your appetite is really big.”

“Then you’re in luck today. My Chuyao cooks very well…”

“Then I’ll eat more later…”

They chatted as they walked in, approaching the main hall.

Pei Huaijin and Shen Yunshu exchanged a glance behind them.

Pei Huaijin called out to the two in front, “Stop.”

The two ahead immediately stopped and turned their heads to look at him.

Pei Huaijin looked at his seventh younger brother.

“Which of us is her husband?”

Pei Huaian was stunned for a moment, then blushed and switched places with Big Brother.

The two couples entered the hall, bowing to the elders seated at the head.

“Huaijin pays respects to father- and mother-in-law…”

“The younger son-in-law pays respects to father- and mother-in-law…”

Shen Yunshu and Shen Youran, as sisters, also bowed gracefully to their father and stepmother.

Madam Wei smiled and gestured for them to rise and take seats.

Shen Tingyu’s gaze swept over the four children, lingering on his third daughter.

Seeing her rosy cheeks and spirited look without a trace of grievance, he finally relaxed slightly.

The marriage swap was only learned by the Shen family the next day.

At that time, Pei Yuanji and Pei Yuanzhou came in person to inform them.

When Shen Tingyu found out both daughters agreed, he no longer opposed the marriage swap, only asking them to promise not to let the daughters suffer in the Pei family.

They all swore on their chests.

Shen Tingyu was not worried about his eldest daughter; she was sensible and clever enough to thrive no matter whom she married.

But he was concerned about his third daughter.

She lost her biological mother at four years old.

Shen Tingyu knew very well how he had raised her.

He worried that as the eldest daughter-in-law of the main branch of the Pei family, she would suffer, yet also feared she might cause trouble.

Sure enough, news came in the afternoon that Third Daughter You Ran had angered the Madam Lu so much she fainted, resulting in two days of house arrest as punishment.

These two days, Shen Tingyu was restless and had grown haggard. T

oday, seeing his two daughters safe and sound, getting along harmoniously with their spouses, a faint smile finally appeared on his face.

No one spoke of the marriage swap again.

They drank tea and chatted in the hall, the atmosphere surprisingly pleasant.

Once the banquet was ready, the two sons-in-law sat on either side of their father-in-law, intending to enjoy a good drink with him.

After three rounds of wine, Shen Tingyu looked at the dignified and mature Pei Huaijin and then at the young-faced Third Daughter beside him, and sighed deeply.

They were not a good match. Really not a good match.

He couldn’t relax, no matter what.

“Xianyu Huaijin, Youran has been spoiled since she was little. Now that she’s the main branch’s eldest daughter-in-law, she will inevitably struggle. You’ll have to teach her more. If she misbehaves, you can put her under house arrest, but don’t hit or scold her. If you think you can’t teach her, send her back to me. I’ll teach her personally. If I’m still not satisfied, you can give her back to me, and I…”

Madam Wei interrupted hurriedly, “Husband, it’s a happy day, why say such things about giving her back?”

Wasn’t that cursing the newlyweds to divorce?

Pei Huaijin understood Shen Tingyu’s deep love and worries for his daughter, and the hint of complaint in his words, so he promised, “Father-in-law, rest assured. I’ll be patient and teach her without being too harsh.”

Shen Yunshu also said, “Father, don’t worry, I’ll help too.”

Shen Tingyu, drunk and emotional, wished he could keep Third Daughter at home and not send her back to the Pei family.

He knew his own daughter’s character very well.

Although headstrong, she wasn’t a troublemaker.

As for making Madam Lu faint, who knew who had bullied whom first?

But filial piety was paramount.

She was still a daughter-in-law, one generation below.

No matter what, she must observe “filial piety.”

It was pitiful that she had been confined in the first two days of marriage.

Though Shen Tingyu said nothing, his heart ached.

Madam Wei saw his mood was off and feared he might say something worse, so she blamed the drunkenness and had someone escort him back to rest.