Chapter 22
That can only be...
As if by some kind of telepathy, Pei Lingjun tilted his head slightly and unexpectedly met Wen Shu's surprised gaze.
His eyes were filled with a myriad of emotions: confusion, doubt, suspicion, and distrust.
In that instant of silence, the old nanny spoke up at just the right moment, "Fourth Miss, the Old Madam said that our Wen family is one family. Even if we break bones, we are still connected by tendons. Even if the eldest daughter is wrong, you are the one who was wrong first. Kneel in the ancestral hall all night tonight, and this matter will be over."
Hanxiang frowned deeply, but out of respect for the old lady's status, she only dared to retort in a low voice, "That old hag is certainly fair in dealing with everyone."
Wen Shu had no objection. It was just a matter of kneeling in the ancestral hall for one night. It was all bark and no bite, and the Wen family didn't want to make a big fuss about it.
Before nightfall, Qi Chengxuan did come by once, bringing two jars of Ji'antang ointment. He hurriedly told Wen Shu to get some rest before leaving.
Hanxiang held the two small jars of ointment, her mouth practically agape. "Now you remember the young lady's face is injured? She didn't seem to care much for her at the pharmacy during the day, and now she's about to get engaged to her. She seems less caring than even a distant cousin..."
"Alright, there's no point in saying more."
After visiting the medicine shop, Hanxiang completely believed Pei Lingjun's story and concluded that he was Song Yuanzhuo, the son of Song Jiarui from Jinzhou.
He never mentioned the incident at the medicine shop where he conspired with Wen Shu to make him wash and pick herbs.
After nightfall, the old lady's maid came over with a key, "invited" Wen Shu into the ancestral hall, and then locked the door.
During the day, the ancestral hall is no different from an ordinary house. After dark, all is quiet. The flickering candlelight dances from the upside-down altar, its light reflecting on the cold, damp floor tiles, giving one an unsettling feeling.
The old woman's shadow flashed past the window, muttering a few words as she swatted away the mosquitoes buzzing around her and hurried back.
Aside from the worship during festivals, the ancestral hall is usually deserted, and mosquitoes are rampant. In no time, I had two big welts on my body.
She must have had the worst luck in eight lifetimes to be assigned to guard the punished Fourth Sister during her sleeping hours.
If you stay outside all night, won't your blood be drained?
Inside the ancestral hall, occasional drafts would pass through, causing the candlelight on the upside-down offering table to flicker. In the very center of the floor tiles, a woman dressed in a thin, plain white dress with subtle embroidery, her shoulders and back forming a smooth curve, appeared slender and delicate from behind, yet she knelt motionless, her eyes fixed intently on the memorial tablet.
"Don't you feel creeped out after looking at it for a while?"
A figure appeared by the side window at some point, wearing a neat white jade robe with a leather belt around the waist, and her hair was tied up in a simple high ponytail.
Upon hearing this, Wen Shu glanced at him lightly before looking away.
Shedding the ordinary gray-brown short jacket worn by servants, and donning the round-necked robe that better suited his temperament, one could see that this man was as upright as a pine tree, with a cold yet gentle temperament. These two seemingly incompatible qualities blended perfectly together to form a complex character.
Only a prominent family in the capital could raise such a noble young master.
They shouldn't be in a small place like theirs.
"If my cousin were like me, kneeling in the ancestral hall every few days, he would naturally get used to it after a while."
The young man, intrigued, rested his arms on the waist-high lattice window and stood outside, watching the girl kneeling upright without blinking. He teased, "Fourth Miss is so dull and boring, always threatening to kill people to use as fertilizer. How come she hasn't learned how to please the Old Madam? Kneeling alone in the dark ancestral hall?"
Wen Shu's face darkened, and she remained noncommittal: "Not as capable as my cousin."
The words "cousin" were pronounced with unusual emphasis, which was clearly a silent warning, but to Pei Lingjun, they took on a different meaning.
I don't know what he was thinking, but he blurted out, "That's true, that's true. Then I'll teach you another day."
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