“Miss, Miss’s methods are absolutely not those of a respectable family. They are despicable, shameless, and utterly shameless… If you ask me, we should tell the young master and the old lady. Then we’ll see how she’ll still have the face to stay in the Marquis’s mansion…”

Qingxing chattered on and on. Jiang Shuwan stood by the window. Her courtyard was quite far from Pei Yanzhi's, but from the window of her boudoir, she could see the two-story study in Pei Yanzhi's courtyard.

At this hour, Pei Yanzhi should be reading a book.

Sure enough, the bookshelf was lit, and the light flickered in the darkness. Through the paper window frames, a figure could be vaguely seen reading on the second floor.

"Haha, congratulations indeed! Miss, you've miscalculated. The young master has always loved books, and the library is off-limits to visitors. You'll likely be left with nothing..."

Qingxing suddenly stopped talking halfway through her sentence. Although she couldn't see clearly from a distance, she did see a slender female figure carrying a palace lantern slowly going up to the second floor of the study.

The door on the second floor opened, and the shadow inside changed from one to two.

"Stop looking, go to sleep."

After closing the doors and windows, Jiang Shuwan changed into her undergarments and went to sleep.

Qingxing pouted, feeling wronged. Taking advantage of Jiang Shuwan's inattention, she secretly got off the bed, pushed open the window crack, and peered through the crack.

What does it mean that Miss Biao entered the library?

I might get kicked out soon...

Qingxing leaned against the window and watched for a full hour.

The moon was high in the sky; it was already midnight.

Liu Yunyan hasn't come out yet.

Jiang Shuwan got out of bed, moved the sleeping Qingxing to the bed, and closed the half-open window.

"Enjoying tea under the moon, reciting poems and painting, Xiao Wu, when do you think that young lady from the cousin's family will come down?"

"How would I know about my master's affairs?"

"If you don't know, go ask. I've been waiting here for an hour. It's late and the dew is heavy. I want to go back as soon as possible."

"Young Master Yao, why did you come here? Anyway, you and the young master will be working in the same government office tomorrow."

"Well said, then I'm leaving."

As Yao Zhijie spoke, he turned and left the chess room. However, instead of leaving, he picked up a small stone and threw it onto the second floor of the book pavilion.

With a "bang," a woman's startled voice came from inside.

Yao Zhijie quickly hid in the bushes, and soon the door on the second floor opened from the inside.

A woman dressed in a cloud-like gauze dress with a jade hairpin slanted into her hair walked down from the second floor like a willow in the breeze, carrying a palace lantern.

Watching her departing figure, Yao Zhijie clicked his tongue in confusion.

"I've heard of this former top female scholar in the capital before. I heard she's in poor health and has to take medicine all year round. How come she's wearing such a thin dress even in late autumn? Doesn't she feel cold?"

As he spoke, he rubbed the goosebumps on his arms.

"I'm a grown man, and I felt cold just looking at how thinly she was dressed."

"Why are you here? Didn't I tell you to come less often lately?" Pei Yanzhi also came down from the second floor. As soon as he saw Yao Zhijie, he told Yin Quan to go up and assess the damage.

Yao Zhijie's rock smashed a vase, so he has to pay for it.

"Hehe, thank you so much. I've been your slave, and you expect me to pay for a broken vase? How stingy!"

Yao Zhijie grimaced, but Pei Yanzhi ignored him and turned to enter the tea room.

Xiao Wu has brewed another pot of calming tea.

Before Pei Yanzhi could even drink, Yao Zhijie burst in, sleeves flailing.

"Dad! You really are my dad!"

"Didn't you say we wouldn't get any benefits? How come the Sixth Prince was suddenly made a Prince of the Three Pearls? He's only fifteen years old. Aren't you putting him in a very difficult position?"

"Don't worry, raising commercial taxes is something that will offend people, but the First Prince and the Crown Prince will not target him or the Yao family."

"What do you mean! So you knew all along that His Majesty would bestow the title of Prince upon the Sixth Prince?"

"nature."

"This is not what we said before! Why didn't you tell me about something so important sooner?"

"Yeah, I was just saying it casually, I didn't expect you to actually believe it."

"..."

Yao Zhijie almost choked on his breath.

"Just saying!"

"How dare you say that! My own father, do you know how much risk our Yao family took to make this happen? The Sixth Prince was almost beaten to death by my aunt because of this, and look at me, look how badly my father beat me!"

Yao Zhijie lifted his shirt to show him, revealing dozens of bloody, crisscrossing wounds on his back.

“When I went back last time, as soon as I told my dad about your idea, he started beating me. He said I didn’t know what was important and couldn’t see the situation clearly. Look at me, I’m only back here alive to see you today because I’m usually very healthy. Otherwise, my dad would have beaten me to death long ago.”

He even let out a couple of howls as he spoke, which showed that he had really been beaten badly.

But the person opposite him showed no sympathy whatsoever.

“Minister Yao comes from a humble background. In recent years, the court has been in a state of chaos. Although Minister Yao has chosen to keep a low profile, I believe he will agree to this matter.”

"Well, you've even schemed against my father! And the Sixth Prince, you know how stubborn he is. With your help, he'll definitely go head-to-head with his aunt. Since he can't win against his son, his aunt will naturally have no choice but to compromise."

"I really thank you. You've really outmaneuvered your Yao family."

"I've realized I really can't trust you. I might get betrayed by you without even knowing it!"

Yao Zhijie grew angrier as he spoke, and seeing that Pei Yanzhi was still in the mood to enjoy his tea, he snatched his teacup and teapot away.

"I won't give you any, you'll die of thirst!"

"childish."

Pei Yanzhi gave him a cold glance and had Xiao Wu bring another pot of tea.

He sipped it slowly, finding it light and peaceful, even better than usual.

"Your Highness, this is tea that I just brought back today. The tea we drank before was the tea when Madam was in charge of the household. This tea was purchased by the young mistress. Since the young mistress took charge of the household affairs, all the food and drinks in the mansion have been of a higher quality than before, even though the price is the same."

"..."

Upon hearing the familiar name, the boy paused for a moment before nodding and humming in response.

Across from him, Yao Zhijie's anger had subsided.

"Forget it, the First Prince and the Crown Prince won't target the Sixth Prince anyway. Once the Sixth Prince finishes handling the commercial taxes, we'll request permission to go to our fiefdom. The Emperor is far away, so whatever they do is none of our business."

He said with a grin, and Pei Yanzhi glanced at him with a deep look in his eyes.

The next day, Pei Yanzhi got up very early.

Today was his first day on duty. He first went to see the old lady before putting on his official uniform and walking out.

The boy strolled leisurely through the garden.

Even a minor official of the sixth rank doesn't need to attend court; he can simply count eggs according to the appointed time.

"Young Master, it is the Young Mistress."

Hearing Yin Quan's words, he looked over and saw a girl wearing a moon-white long dress embroidered with apricot-pink peony patterns, elegant and refined, yet charming.

She seemed to be out on business, and she didn't wear any extra jewelry. She only had two butterfly hairpins on her head and a gold bracelet with rubies on her wrist.

Her eyes were bright and sparkling, like stars, and she was standing opposite me, seemingly looking at something.