Shen Youran had always enjoyed eating meat, but she had never killed anything herself.
The Chuyao noticed that she hesitated to kill the fish and wanted to help her.
However, today, Zhang Mama beside First Madam had already given strict orders—no one was allowed to assist the Missus.
All the Chuyao could do was lift the fish out of the basin, hold it firmly, and look at the Missus holding the mallet, uncertain.
She taught her, “Missus, you just need to tap the fish’s head with some force like this, that’s all…”
Shen Youran stared at the Mandarin fish that had been taken out of the water, struggling under the Chuyao’s grip.
Its mouth opened and closed, as if begging for mercy.
“I-I don’t dare…”
“The pot will be hot soon, Missus. If the fish isn’t killed in time, once cooked, it will taste fishy.”
“Then you kill it.”
“Forgive me, Missus. I cannot do this on your behalf…”
Pressed by the Chuyao’s urging, Shen Youran could only raise the mallet a bit higher, aiming for the fish’s head on the board.
She bit her lip, closed her eyes, and tapped it once.
Instead of hitting the fish’s head, the mallet struck the back of the Chuyao’s hand.
The Chuyao cried out in pain, loosening her grip, and the fish flailed and slipped off the board, landing right on Shen Youran’s embroidered shoe.
Startled, Shen Youran stepped back repeatedly, screaming louder than the Chuyao.
“Ah…”
Suddenly, a warm chest pressed against her back, someone supported her from behind.
“What happened?”
It was Pei Huaijin.
The fish was still flapping on the ground.
Shen Youran, terrified, dropped the mallet and jumped into his arms to hide.
“Wuwuwu, I don’t dare kill fish…”
Pei Huaijin instinctively caught her around the legs; those slender limbs kicked more vigorously than the fish on the floor.
At the same time, Qingjian walked in, heard about the fish killing, picked up the mallet, pressed the fish down with one hand, and struck with the other.
With a dull thud, Qingjian picked up the now dead fish and showed it to Shen Youran.
“Missus, the fish is killed…”
Resting her head on Pei Huaijin’s shoulder, Shen Youran looked up, meeting the dead fish’s eyes, and screamed again.
“Ahhh, who told you to kill it?”
Then she closed her eyes and muttered, “Every debt has its creditor, fishy fishy, it wasn’t me who killed you, don’t come looking for me after death…”
Qingjian was momentarily stunned and nearly burst into laughter at her words.
He tossed the fish back onto the board and stood quietly by, speechless.
Everyone in the kitchen paused their work, astonished to see the Missus and the Da Gongzi tangled in an embrace.
Pei Huaijin knew this was improper, so he patted her waist.
“It’s alright, no harm done. Come down.”
“No!”
Her arms still wrapped tightly around his neck, her legs clung to his waist, refusing to let go.
“My shoes are wet, I can’t walk…”
“I’ll send someone back to fetch you a pair.”
“My shouyi is wet too, it’s uncomfortable. I can’t wait that long, carry me back to change.”
Wet shoes mean she can’t walk? Such fussiness was unacceptable.
“Carrying you back like this in broad daylight, how improper.”
“If it’s improper, then so be it. I can’t walk with wet feet anyway…”
Pei Huaijin tried to pull her off, but she clung like an octopus, tightening her grip.
Helpless, he lifted her up and carried her out.
“Just this once. No more fussiness next time!”
“Okay.” Just as they were leaving, she suddenly remembered and pointed at the fish on the board.
“Fish fish fish, take the fish with us too?”
Qingjian didn’t understand why she wanted to bring the fish, but still scowled and picked it up, following them out.
Outside the kitchen, Zhang Mama, seeing Shen Youran carried out, thought she was hurt.
Upon learning it was just fright from a fish, she rolled her eyes silently.
She followed behind Pei Huaijin for a while and noticed they weren’t heading toward Haitang Courtyard.
She reminded him, “Langjun, First Madam is still waiting for the Missus to pay her respects…”
“Pay respects?”
Pei Huaijin stomped his foot and stared at Zhang Mama.
“She’s terrified like this; how can she pay respects?”
Zhang Mama didn’t care.
“It’s only a fish.”
“Only a fish?” P
ei Huaijin’s eyes darkened.
“She’s the daughter of a Minister, pampered and delicate. How dare you make her do something like killing fish?”
“No, no, no, I’m not the one…”
Zhang Mama tried to defend herself, but Pei Huaijin wasn’t interested in her excuses.
“Go back and tell Mother that if she wasn’t sincere about the visit, then from now on, the Missus need not come to pay respects at all.”
At Haitang Courtyard, Zhu Shi was furious when Zhang Mama relayed the message.
“Did he really say that?”
“Yes,” Zhang Mama, still resentful over being snatched of the hairpin by Shen Youran before, exaggerated the story.
“She was just asked to make a pot of Guiyu porridge for Madam, but she threw a fit in the kitchen, said she was so scared she couldn’t walk, clung to the Da Gongzi, and had him carry her back…”
“Preposterous! There were so many people around, how could she be so shameless?”
“Exactly…”
Zhu Shi’s headache worsened with anger.
She pressed her forehead and said after a while, “Wasn’t it agreed that if Da Shaofuren accompanied her, she wouldn’t be sent to the kitchen? Why did you still bring her there?”
“It wasn’t my fault. When Missus came to pay respects, she only brought one maid. I even asked why the Da Gongzi wasn’t with her. She said he wasn’t coming, so I took her to the kitchen. Who could have guessed the Da Gongzi followed after? I suspect she faked it to trick me…”
Zhu Shi snorted coldly, “Underestimated her, huh…”
Pei Huaijin carried Shen Youran back to Ci You Courtyard.
Although she wasn’t heavy, the kitchen was quite a distance, and his arms started to ache halfway.
He couldn’t put her down and barely managed to support her back.
She was light enough, swinging her little legs and lounging comfortably.
Once in the bedchamber, he finally checked her embroidered shoes.
Only a small patch of water had soaked the pearl-embellished surface.
After removing the shoes, her shouyi was damp only on a thumb-sized spot.
Such a tiny wet patch made her so uncomfortable she refused to walk.
Clearly, she was deliberately playing the victim.
Pei Huaijin pinched her with some force; she cried out in pain, but he ignored her and left the room.
Qingjian, holding the fish, asked him, “Langjun, what shall we do with this fish?”
Pei Huaijin didn’t understand why she insisted on taking the fish.
“Wait for her to come out and ask her yourself.”
After changing into dry shouyi and shoes, Shen Youran called Tinglan to fetch a small shovel and a piece of black cloth.
She then approached Qingjian, looking at the dead fish in his hand with a guilty expression.
“Although I didn’t kill this fish with my own hands, it died in front of me. I just can’t bear it. Let’s bury it later, okay?”
Qingjian couldn’t understand.
“Missus, it’s just a fish…”
“So what if it’s a fish?”
“It would be a pity to bury it. Missus, why not let me have it? I’ll steam it for you.”
“Yo…”
Shen Youran frowned and gave him a look.
“You killed it and still want to eat it? Then a proper burial it shall be…”
A proper burial?
Qingjian, usually expressionless, showed the first hint of losing control.
“Should we erect a tombstone for it?”
“No need for that.”
Qingjian said no more, turning to Pei Huaijin.
“Langjun, what do you say?”
It was the first time Pei Huaijin saw Qingjian speak so much, and he felt amused.
“Well…then bury it.”
Qingjian fell silent.
But Shen Youran felt his gaze was scolding her.
Danruo brought the shovel and cloth.
Shen Youran asked her to wrap the fish with the cloth and dig a hole beneath the Yulan Tree in the courtyard to bury it.
Danruo and Qinghe were used to their young mistress’s occasional childish acts and didn’t comment.
They followed her instructions and went about their tasks.
Meanwhile, the kitchen servants delivered breakfast.
After a morning of chaos, Shen Youran was hungry and sat down to eat a few bites, but felt the taste was off.
“The breakfast in the past few days tasted good, why does today’s taste so different?”
“The past few days, before we found out who was poisoning you, we didn’t dare let you eat meals cooked here. The meals you ate three days ago were bought from outside by Qingjian himself.”
“Alright…”
Shen Youran pinched her chopsticks and reluctantly picked up a piece of Stewed Mandarin Leaves.
If only she hadn’t deliberately annoyed him earlier.
After breakfast, Pei Huaijin left, reminding her to visit Ci You Courtyard today but to be cautious around Uncle and Aunt, not to get too close to Pei Huaian, and to return before lunch.
His words sounded as if there was some secret between her and Pei Huaian.
“Don’t trust me but trust your own younger brother?”
“Neither of you makes anything easy…”
Near midnight, the housekeepers of the Pei residence arrived one after another at Ci You Courtyard.
Shen Yunshu was already waiting in the main hall.
Following order, only one housekeeper would enter the hall at a time, while the others gathered outside in small groups, whispering and chatting.
Pei Huaian walked through, heading toward the study, when he overheard their talk of a recent amusing event.
“Did you hear? This morning, the Da Shaofuren was scared faint by a fish in the kitchen…”
“What kind of fish? Could a fish really scare someone unconscious?”
“They said it was a palm-sized small Mandarin fish…”
“The fish might look ugly, but it shouldn’t be able to scare someone like that…”
“It’s true. After fainting, the Da Shaofuren was carried back by the Da Gongzi…”
“Sounds like she really was scared stiff…”
Shen Youran was scared faint by a fish?
Such a funny thing, yet he didn’t get to see it himself.
Thinking of her coming to Ci You Courtyard soon, Pei Huaian got a mischievous idea.
Before Fuzi arrived, he quickly went to the study and asked Qing Wu to grind ink.
He spread out Xuan Paper, dipped his Zitan Goat Brush into ink, and began to draw.
Though poor at studies, he had some talent in painting.
Soon, a lively Mandarin fish appeared on the paper.
Pei Huaian glanced out the window; Shen Youran hadn’t arrived yet.
Good.
He blew on the ink to dry it, rolled up the paper, tucked it away, and waited quietly along the path leading to Ci You Courtyard.
In the hall, Shen Yunshu flipped through account books and listened as the estate’s housekeepers reported the year’s harvest.
She casually noticed a familiar figure sneaking out of the courtyard.
It was Pei Huaian—was he trying to escape again?
Busy as she was, she ordered Tinglan to follow him.
In no time, Tinglan returned and whispered, “Langjun didn’t run off. He’s hiding behind the Yin Xing Tree, saying he wants to surprise the Da Shaofuren.”
That rascal! Last night, he was ashamed because of a dream about Third Miss.
Knowing she was coming this morning, he eagerly waited outside the courtyard…
Shen Yunshu put down her brush with a bang, startling the housekeeper who was reporting.
“Seventh Young Madam, did I say something wrong?”
“Housekeeper Li, have some tea and moisten your throat. I’ll be right back.”
She had to go catch that rascal.
Early winter’s chill still lingered in the air.
Overnight, many fallen leaves and ginkgo fruits covered the bluestone paths, crushed by housekeepers visiting Ci You Courtyard.
Even after sweeping, clusters of dirt remained.
The maids responsible had to fetch several buckets of water to wash it away.
Pei Huaian crouched behind the thick Yin Xing Tree, occasionally peeking out.
He finally saw the belated Shen Youran.