Shen Yunshu had already been holding back her surprise upon seeing the marks on Pei Huaijin’s neck, but seeing even more on her sister, no matter how calm she usually was, her expression faltered.
“Eat more,” Shen Yunshu urged her sister, offering a piece of fish to help restore her strength.
Before Shen Youran could reach for her chopsticks, the fish was taken away and placed in front of Pei Huaijin.
He carefully picked out a small bone and fed it to Shen Youran.
Not forgetting to explain to Shen Yunshu, “Her hand was stepped on yesterday…”
It was true she had been stepped on, but there was no serious injury, and after a night’s rest, it no longer hurt much; she could use chopsticks.
But since the fish was already at her lips, Shen Youran opened her mouth and swallowed before saying, “I can eat by myself now.”
Pei Huaian was unsurprised; after all, he had watched Pei Huaijin feed Shen Youran like this the night before at Fengle Restaurant.
However, when he left Fengle Restaurant last night, Shen Youran was clearly sulking with his brother.
How did they end up biting each other’s necks by nighttime?
He tried not to look at their necks, but knowing his usually strict and serious brother had marked his wife like this, he couldn’t help but laugh.
He had just learned from books that “appetite and lust are natural; a gentleman enjoys beauty but is not licentious.”
Now he had firsthand proof.
“Pfft…”
He spat rice again.
What to do?
He still wanted to laugh, no matter how much he pinched his thigh.
Seeing Pei Huaian take three bites and spit twice, his face red, Shen Youran shot Pei Huaijin an annoyed glare while he was still feeding her, “I don’t want to eat anymore…”
How embarrassing!
There was nowhere to hide on the floor; she just wanted to go back to Yunzhi Courtyard as soon as possible.
“Why don’t you want to eat?”
Pei Huaijin ignored Seventh Brother and focused on her.
“Does the medicine make you uncomfortable?”
Shen Yunshu couldn’t help but ask, “What medicine? Youran, are you sick again?”
“…”
“Shut up!”
Shen Youran covered his mouth and turned to her sister.
“I’m not sick. Sister, I just took the wrong medicine…”
Pei Huaian: “Pfft…”
There was no way to eat like this.
Pei Huaijin suggested, “Seventh Brother, why don’t you take the bowl and eat in the courtyard…”
There was plenty of space there, perfect for spitting rice.
After a bumpy lunch, Tinglan came over to clear the dishes, Qiongzhi grabbed a broom to sweep the floor, and Pei Huaian, holding back laughter, accidentally got a grain of rice stuck up his nose.
Going to fetch water to wash it out, Pei Huaijin took the opportunity to discuss the Dali Si matter with Shen Yunshu.
“I went to Xiao’s residence this morning. Xiao Ci told me that the abduction case is linked to something else. In a few days, officials from Dali Si will come to take you for questioning. You should be prepared.”
“Yes, thank you for the reminder.”
Shen Youran asked curiously, “Is only my sister going to Dali Si for questioning? I don’t have to go?”
Pei Huaijin looked at her, “You don’t. That place isn’t a good one.”
“Then will they make things difficult for her alone?”
“With Xiao Ci there, no.”
“Who is Xiao Ci?”
“Dàyǐsì Sīzhí, my classmate when I was a scholar, and also Xiao Gugu’s nephew.”
“Xiao Gugu’s nephew? That’s quite a coincidence.”
Since there was this connection, she didn’t need to worry about her sister.
Three days later, shortly after dawn, two officials from Dali Si arrived.
They had informed Pei Huaijin in advance, so he left Qingjian at the back gate to wait.
When they arrived, Qingjian told them to wait at the back gate while he went to fetch Shen Yunshu.
At that time, Shen Youran was helping her sister with some affairs.
She had asked Qinghe to make a rabbit-fur collar to tie around her neck, perfectly covering the embarrassing red marks.
Most of the day’s tasks were done; only some minor things remained.
When Qingjian arrived, Shen Youran volunteered to go with him, letting her sister follow behind.
The cloth and charcoal bought yesterday had to be distributed to the various courtyards today.
“Steward Zhang, I’m a bit slow with the accounts, please be patient.”
Shen Youran sat in her sister’s place, speaking kindly to the steward.
Though the stewards knew this Second Young Madam wasn’t as capable as the Seventh Young Madam, she was always polite and never acted superior.
She also seriously asked for help when she didn’t understand something, so the stewards were naturally quite tolerant.
“Second Young Madam, no need to rush. Take your time, we’ll wait.”
Shen Youran flipped through the accounts while calculating…
Fortunately, the household wasn’t large.
After nearly half an hour, she had finished all her sister’s remaining tasks.
Pei Huaian was still in the study reading.
With her sister away, Shen Youran didn’t stay long and was about to leave when someone else arrived in the courtyard.
It was Mingxia, a maid from Grand Madam Pei’s quarters.
“Second Young Madam, greetings.”
Mingxia greeted her before stating her purpose, “Madam asked me to come for two bolts of cloth and ten jin of charcoal for the girls in her courtyard…”
Shen Youran opened the ledger.
The cloth had been purchased yesterday and already distributed according to the number of people in each courtyard; there was none left.
The charcoal was also allocated according to the amounts her sister had assigned.
“I can give you the charcoal, but the cloth is gone.”
Shen Youran could decide on small amounts of charcoal, but the cloth was purchased with public funds.
She wasn’t in charge of the household yet and would have to wait for her sister’s return to discuss.
Mingxia glanced at a nearby table. “Second Young Madam, aren’t there two bolts of cloth there?”
Shen Youran glanced back, “That’s mine…”
“But if I only take the charcoal back, Madam might not be pleased?”
She could tell the maid was trying to pressure her using Grand Madam’s authority.
When her sister was present, the people from Grand Madam’s quarters never complained when receiving cloth and charcoal, but now that her sister was gone, the maid was sent to ask her for supplies.
Was she expected to cover with her own cloth?
Thinking this through, Shen Youran didn’t even want to give the charcoal anymore, but having already said so, she couldn’t backtrack.
Her face grew cold.
“If you want cloth, you’ll have to ask my sister tomorrow. As for the charcoal, fragrant charcoal is scarce and reserved for Grand Madam’s side. Take ten jin of regular charcoal…”
That ended it.
Seeing her anger, the maid said no more and silently took her tally and left.
A black canopy carriage stopped in front of Dali Si.
Qingjian followed on horseback.
After helping Shen Yunshu down, he led the horse to the side and waited while Shen Yunshu was taken into a case-hearing hall to wait.
About two hours later, Xiao Ci in green official robes entered, accompanied by two others in dark blue.
Perhaps from judging cases for so long, they carried an imposing air.
Seeing them, Shen Yunshu couldn’t help but feel nervous.
“Mrs. Shen, no need to be anxious.”
Xiao Ci raised his hand, inviting her to sit.
Compared to his stern face, his tone was rather gentle.
“We invited you here hoping you could provide us with some clues about Lu Yi’s activities in Chengzhou. Tell us everything you know.”
“Yes.”
The two officials sat across from her—one asking questions, the other taking notes.
Xiao Ci sat aside, rarely speaking unless some questions were difficult, then he’d patiently guide her.
Shen Yunshu sensed that the Lu Yi abduction case was connected to a bigger matter.
They wanted to trace the bandits by following Lu Yi’s trail.
After about an hour, the two officials ended the questioning, unable to draw out more information.
“Mrs. Shen, I will escort you out.”
Xiao Ci stood beside her.
“Thank you, Lord Xiao.”
As they left, Xiao Ci spoke more about Lu Yi: “According to the evidence so far, there’s enough to arrest him at Lu Manor. But we’ve learned the bandits still roam near the capital. The higher-ups want to use Lu Yi as bait to lure them out and capture them all at once. So for now, they can’t arrest him to avoid alarming the bandits. I hope you understand.”
Shen Yunshu had guessed this and wasn’t surprised hearing it now.
“If you need my help in the future, please just say so.”
Since they wanted to use Lu Yi as bait, he first had to be drawn out.
She would be the lure.
“This matter is dangerous. We’ll try not to trouble you.”
They were already planning the capture.
Some suggested using Mrs. Shen to draw out Lu Yi and then follow the trail to the bandits, but Xiao Ci felt it wasn’t right to involve her if her safety couldn’t be guaranteed.
So for now, she was left out of the plan.
When Shen Yunshu returned, it was past lunchtime.
Pei Huaian was walking gloomily around the courtyard.
Seeing her, he came over quickly.
“Sister, where did you go?”
“I went to check the shop…”
Shen Yunshu didn’t want him to know about the messy business to avoid disturbing his studies.
Pei Huaian didn’t suspect a thing.
“Did you eat lunch?”
“Not yet.”
“Me neither.”
He took her hand and led her to the side room.
“Let’s eat quickly. I’m starving…”
“How come you haven’t eaten yet at this hour?”
“I wanted to wait for you…”
“Next time, if I’m late, you don’t have to wait.”
“No, it’s not tasty without you…”
Shen Yunshu smiled helplessly.
Maybe because of his recent nightmares, he was clinging to her more.
At night, she had the middle screen removed so she could reach him faster if he woke from nightmares.
Pei Huaian, however, brought his quilt and pillow to her side and stood at her bedside with a pitiful look.
“Sister, can I sleep on the floor next to your bed?”
Shen Yunshu glanced at the nearby Luohan couch.
“No, the floor is cold and hard. You wouldn’t sleep well…”
A bad night’s sleep means no energy for studying.
“But I want to be closer to you…”
Having had nightmares for three nights straight, Pei Huaian vaguely remembered some of those hellish scenes.
The memories unsettled him; he felt he had forgotten something important.
Fortunately, each time he had a nightmare, gentle whispers helped him escape the fear.
Every morning when he opened his eyes, Shen Yunshu was hugging him, asleep on the Luohan couch.
But the couch was small.
This morning, when he shifted, he almost made her fall.
He didn’t want her to keep squeezing on that tiny couch.
He wanted to sleep in her bed.
But he didn’t dare say so directly, so he brought his quilt over and said he wanted to sleep on the floor.
He was hoping she’d soften and invite him into bed.
Shen Yunshu saw through his plan as easily as she did with her third sister—both were hopeless at hiding things, their little schemes written all over their faces, yet they thought no one noticed…
So she deliberately frustrated him, “Since you insist on sleeping on the floor, I’ll get you an extra mattress to put underneath…”
Pei Huaian saw she didn’t invite him to bed and felt too shy to speak up.
He stood there awkwardly humming, “Sister, do you really want me sleeping on the floor?”
“I don’t want that, so I’m letting you sleep on the Luohan couch…”
“But I want to be closer to you, maybe the nightmares won’t come if I’m near.”
“I already had the screen taken down. Isn’t that close enough?”
“…”
Shen Yunshu asked knowingly, “Then what exactly do you want?”
“I want…”
He glanced at the couch and looked at her beseechingly, “I want to sleep in your bed, is that okay?”
Before Shen Yunshu could answer, he hurriedly explained, “I haven’t had any…spring dreams recently…”
“I’ll wrap myself in blankets and promise not to offend you…”
“Is that okay, Sister?”
His pitiful expression and refined, ethereal face made it hard to refuse.
But Shen Yunshu felt that sharing a bed was too intimate.
Although they had shared the Luohan couch these past few nights to soothe his nightmares, this was different…
On the other hand, the couch was cramped, and she hadn’t been sleeping well.
Inviting him to sleep in her bed for a few nights seemed no different than her going to the couch with him.
She wrestled with her thoughts for a while, then met his pure, watery eyes.
“Let’s agree on this: if you stop having nightmares in a few days, you go back to your Luohan couch…”
Pei Huaian happily hugged his quilt and rolled onto the bed.
“Got it!”