Shen Yunshu steadied her emotions and asked Shen Youran, “How did you meet Lu Yi? What did he say to you? Tell me everything in detail, don’t leave out a single word.”
“It was a chance encounter. He mistook me for you…” She and that young master from the Lu family hadn’t exchanged many words, but she remembered those few lines clearly and repeated them to her elder sister one by one.
After listening, Shen Yunshu’s face remained expressionless, but in her heart, panic was already rising.
Shen Youran noticed something off in her sister’s expression. “Sister, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Shen Yunshu didn’t want her younger sister to know of Lu Yi’s unsavory thoughts, so she forced a smile and acted as if nothing was wrong. “You’ll need that hand to practice the zither tomorrow. Have Qing He fetch some ice for you to put on it. I’m a bit tired today, so I’ll go rest first…”
“Then you go have a good rest.” Shen Youran watched her sister leave, unable to help feeling something was odd.
Mother will be arriving in the capital soon. Why does Sister seem unhappy?
And her attitude toward that Lu family stepbrother was also strange. Shen Youran couldn’t figure it out, so she decided to ask her sister directly the next day.
But who would have thought that at dawn the next morning, Dan Ruo came to wake her, bringing along Sister’s maid, Ting Lan. Ting Lan was holding an unsealed letter, saying it was from the eldest sister to her.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Shen Youran took the envelope, puzzled as to why her sister would write her a letter when they lived in the same residence. But as soon as she unfolded the paper, her sleepiness vanished by half.
“The young miss said she’s going to the Pei family’s estate outside the city to accompany Old Madam Pei and avoid the summer heat. She doesn’t know when she’ll return. This letter contains the assignments she’s arranged especially for Third Miss. While she’s away, she wants me to watch over your daily studies…”
Shen Youran fell back on the bed in frustration. “Elder Sister goes off to enjoy herself in the cool while she assigns me all this work. I won’t stand for it, I won’t stand for it…”
In truth, Shen Yunshu had considered taking her third sister with her to the Pei estate to escape the summer heat. With a bit of effort, Old Madam Pei would probably have agreed, but the thought of that rake Pei Huaian being there put an end to that idea.
Originally, Old Madam Pei hadn’t even invited her to the estate for the summer. She only learned about it from Pei Huaian’s words the previous day. If not for wanting to avoid Lu Yi, she wouldn’t have had the cheek to stay at the Pei family’s estate in the capacity of a yet-to-be-wed granddaughter-in-law.
Her engagement with Pei Huaijin had been kept secret from her mother and the Lu family. Now that Lu Yi had entered the capital, he would likely soon learn of it. With Lu Yi’s obsessive nature, he would surely come to her, using whatever means to force her to break the engagement…
She couldn’t afford to provoke that lunatic Lu Yi, so she could only hide. For now, the safest place was her future husband’s home. No matter what tricks Lu Yi played, his influence couldn’t reach into the Pei family. After two months, when Pei Huaijin was reassigned to the capital and she married into the Pei family as planned, all worries would be behind her.
Shen Yunshu didn’t sleep a wink that night. She spent the first half pondering how to avoid Lu Yi, and the latter half considering how her third sister would be taught in her absence. She wrote out all the assignments for the next two months, creating a thick stack of papers to be stuffed into an envelope. At dawn, she handed the letter to her capable maid Ting Lan, then went to see her father, who was preparing to leave for court, to inform him she would be away for two months…
Father knew she had a mind of her own and didn’t say much, only telling her to take care of herself, and promising to pay more attention to Third Miss in her absence.
However, with his busy official duties, Father could never be as attentive as she was as a sister. But now, Shen Yunshu had no other choice. With her worries in tow, she brought along her other trusted maid Qiong Zhi and left the residence by carriage, heading toward the city gates.
The Pei family’s estate outside the city wasn’t hard to find. They asked along the way, and without much trouble, arrived at the foot of the hill where the estate was located. The Pei family’s villa was halfway up the mountain, with blue-tiled roofs and white walls set amidst the lush green slopes, giving off the charm of an ink-wash painting.
Shen Yunshu enjoyed the scenery at the foot of the hill for a while. Near noon, she and her maid alighted from the carriage, weighing the five taels of silver in her pouch, and started up the mountain.
She needed a reason to stay at the Pei estate. The five taels of silver debt from the Mohele game that Pei Huaian handed her yesterday happened to provide the perfect excuse. It was a bit far-fetched, but better than none.
So, when Pei Huaian saw her, his sharp phoenix eyes went wide, his handsome face full of astonishment. “You actually came all the way here just to pay me back those five taels of silver?”
“Didn’t you say, if I wanted to return the money, to bring it here to the estate?” She knew he was just making an offhand remark yesterday, but to achieve her goal, she had to take advantage of her future brother-in-law.
It was Pei Huaian’s first time meeting such a persistent woman. He wanted to ask, “Was that really necessary?” But seeing her pale face, forehead beaded with sweat as if she was about to faint from the heat, he held his tongue. Instead, he instructed the nearby maid, “Go bring some cooling sweet water…”
It was the hottest time of day, and Shen Yunshu had walked up the hill on foot, inevitably succumbing to the heat. Even after drinking a cup of sweet water, she didn’t feel any better. By now, news of her arrival had reached Old Madam Pei, who came to see her. After learning what had happened, the old lady scolded her youngest grandson and sent for a physician to check Shen Yunshu’s pulse…
Having stayed up all night and now suffering from heatstroke, Shen Yunshu’s body was terribly weak. The physician advised several days of rest. The old madam offered to let her recuperate at the villa, which fit perfectly into her plans. Maintaining her reserved demeanor, Shen Yunshu agreed.
For now, she would just be staying for a few days. But as long as she won Old Madam Pei’s favor, she could remain for the long term.
The day after Shen Yunshu left home, the Lu family arrived in the capital and sent an invitation to the Shen residence. The following day, Lu Yi, entrusted by his parents, came with gifts to visit and intended to take Shen Yunshu back to the Lu family.
Shen Tingyu did not wish to meet his ex-wife’s stepson, using his busy official duties as an excuse and leaving the task of entertaining Lu Yi to Madam Wei.
Upon learning that the other party wanted to take Shen Yunshu back, Madam Wei replied truthfully, “Unfortunately, the young lady left a few days ago to accompany Old Madam Pei to their estate for the summer. We don’t know when she’ll return.”
Lu Yi wasn’t surprised that she had run away again, but still…
“May I ask, Old Madam Pei is…”
Madam Wei found it odd. “You don’t know? The young lady is engaged to the eldest legitimate grandson of the Grand Tutor’s household. Old Madam Pei is her future grandmother.”
Lu Yi’s expression changed abruptly. “She’s engaged? When did this happen?”
Madam Wei fanned herself calmly, watching him without betraying any emotion. Unlike his sudden reaction, her tone remained unhurried: “The engagement was made early in the spring. She’ll be married in two months’ time. Why, didn’t you know?”
By rights, for such a major affair, the young lady should have already written to inform her birth mother. Why was this young master of the Lu family still left in the dark?
“Heh…” Lu Yi’s clenched fist thumped his knee, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
She had actually kept this from him and promised herself to someone else.
Did she think that hiding at her future husband’s home would render him powerless?
Lu Yi’s lips curved into a smile, his expression returning to normal. “Since A’Shu isn’t here, I’ll wait for her to return before coming to fetch her.” After a pause, he asked, “By the way, is Third Miss at home? My mother has something she’d like me to relay to her in person…”
His use of “Third Miss” was intimate, but Madam Wei was not at liberty to decide for Shen Youran. She sent a maid named Lyu’e to the back courtyard to ask.
At that time, Shen Youran was being watched by Ting Lan as she practiced her calligraphy in her room. The ink she used was fragrant with flowers, infusing her page with scent, but her writing was much worse than in previous days.
Ting Lan sighed inwardly: Ever since the young lady left, Third Miss has slacked off. No matter how strict she is, as a maid she has no real authority. When the young mistress grows lazy, there’s nothing a servant can do.
In truth, Shen Youran wanted to concentrate on her studies, but her elder sister’s sudden departure was hard to adjust to. On top of that, her mother should have already arrived in the capital by now, and she missed her dearly. Her heart was pulled in three directions, so her handwriting naturally suffered.
She decided to give up for now, propped her cheek on her hand, and bit the end of her brush, gazing blankly out the window.
Ting Lan watched as Third Miss’s delicate, fragrant beauty was bathed in the fragmented golden sunlight streaming through the window, so lovely it was hard to look away. She was about to remind her to continue practicing when she saw the girl’s eyes light up under the sunlight: “Oh? Why is Lyu’e from Mother’s side coming over?”
Lyu’e hurried along the eaves corridor, seeing Third Miss already watching her from the window.
She quickly approached and curtsied. “Third Miss, the eldest young master from Lord Lu’s household is here. He says he’s come at Lady Lu’s request to deliver a message to you…”
Shen Youran had been thinking of her mother these past days. At this, she could sit still no longer and ran out, leaving her brush behind.
In the flower hall where guests were received in the front courtyard, Lu Yi had only drunk half a cup of tea when he saw the girl he’d met on the street that day running toward him, holding up her pale green skirt. Her figure was slender and graceful, swaying with every step. Madam Wei, not knowing the two had already met, introduced them and then took her leave, leaving a few servants to attend them.
“What does Mother want to say to me?” Her brows and eyes, so similar to A’Shu’s, shimmered with anticipation, as clear as morning dew, allowing anyone to see straight through her innocent thoughts.
Lu Yi hid his own thoughts, pulling the corners of his mouth into a harmless, gentle smile. “Mother says she misses you and wishes to see you, but she can’t conveniently come here, so she asked me to invite you to visit her at the Lu residence.”
Of course, Shen Youran wanted to go.
Although she and her mother had been separated for twelve years, Father had never spoken ill of her mother. Back then, Father had insisted on taking one child away, hoping to use her to force Mother to return.
But Mother had not looked back, instead remarrying with Sister in tow, and Father eventually abandoned that hope and took a second wife.
There was no portrait of Mother in the residence. Shen Youran no longer remembered her mother’s appearance. Now, finally able to see her again, she immediately agreed.
“I want to see her. I can go right now!”
“Don’t be so hasty, Third Miss. Since you’re willing, I’ll go back and report to Mother, and soon I’ll come to fetch you…” Lu Yi lowered his gaze to the impatient girl before him, secretly sneering: A’Shu, did you think hiding would solve everything? Did you forget you still have a lovesick little sister in the palm of my hand?