Chapter 43
After writing his reply, Xie Qinghong belatedly realized that he hadn't opened Pei Du's letter yet. But once he did, he discovered that Pei Du was a man of few words, and he couldn't even fill half a page, which was his usual style.
She didn't notice anything amiss, sealed the letter she had written, and then, after thinking for a moment, found the snow-melting ointment, which was extremely effective at removing scars. Although, objectively speaking, Pei Du's injury had absolutely nothing to do with her, from a superstitious perspective, anyone who believed even a little would think she was jinxing someone...
She lowered her eyelashes, casting a small shadow that obscured her eyes. Therefore, no one could know her secret.
Xie Qinghong calmly packed the items into a small box, including the letter, and handed it to his attendant to take away, adding, "Since you are injured, Your Highness should rest more. It's not too late to study and answer questions after you've recovered." But you must not stop studying.
Her father was always strict with the younger generation's studies, even her, the youngest and most beloved daughter, was no exception. She never expected that Pei Du would also be under his control now. She could only express her sympathy and hope that he would have time to answer the questions, otherwise he would know that a teacher can also hit people.
This shallow concern still couldn't completely soothe her worries and guilt. After returning to her room, she looked at the book and inexplicably wanted to make another wish. But as soon as her fingertips lightly touched the pages, she suddenly came to her senses, grabbed the spine of the book, and locked it deep inside the drawer, with the key also under the drawer.
It's best to be cautious with books of such strange and somewhat eerie origin.
Thinking of Pei Du's serious injuries and the cut on his face, Xie Qinghong hesitated for a long time before taking out the grudge book. He silently wrote a small note in red ink after the tenth entry: Pei Du was cursed and became ugly, so this is offset.
After thinking for a moment, she added: "It will only make me half ugly."
She thought to herself that even if Pei Du became ugly, she would still be willing to marry him. The young man who carried her to watch the fireflies in the dead of night was purer than the stars.
——
Pei Du finished answering all the questions in half an hour. Once he was done, he felt like he had completed a task, rolled it up into a tube, and threw it into a jade bottle. As for the book that Xie Gong had sent, he only flipped through a few pages before becoming impatient and putting the book aside, preparing to go to the secret room to seek trouble with the pirates.
But when he arrived at the door of the secret room, the guards refused to let him in, saying that it was the prince's order and that he should rest in peace. If he had any free time, he should go to the study to read.
The guard was unmoved by reason, and Pei Du's murderous aura couldn't make him budge an inch. He could only turn around with a disgruntled snort. Of course, he wouldn't go back to his study to read. Since he had nothing else to do, he would go back to his room to see if there was anything related to that Xie Ayao.
His bedroom was always simply furnished, and at first glance, he didn't find anything illogical—such as wind chimes or scrolls—which briefly reassured him. But when he got to the bedside, he discovered something unusual.
He usually slept on a jade pillow, but a few days ago he had been injured and had a headache, so his mother had someone change it to a softer pillow for him, and the jade pillow was placed aside for him to lean on. But now he noticed that there seemed to be a corner of paper sticking out from under the jade pillow. He was startled and reached out to pull it out.
It was a letter, stamped with the character "鸿" (Hong). Pei Du racked his brains for a moment but couldn't recall anyone he knew whose name contained the character "鸿". He quickly opened it and found a thick stack of letters. He couldn't help but gasp in amazement.
Could this be some important secret? Why would he hide it by his bedside and check on it every night before going to sleep, just to prevent it from being lost?
The more I looked, the more silent I became. The entire letter was written in a slightly delicate and elegant running script, clearly the work of a woman. Its graceful style possessed a unique charm, making it obvious who wrote the letter.
He quickly flipped to the last page to see the signature, which was Xie Qinghong's own handwriting.
Her name was Xie Qinghong.
The pages of words suddenly felt incredibly heavy, almost too heavy for him to hold. He felt a wave of dizziness and a sharp, stabbing pain in his head. Just then, the Princess Consort of the Southern Kingdom came to visit him. She was startled by his appearance and, seeing the stack of letters in his hand, sighed and complained, "Don't read them yet, you're not fully recovered. Anyway, Pei An has already gone to Huaizhou. He'll return in a couple of days and relay Miss Xie's words to you in person."
Pei Du rubbed his forehead to clear his mind. Hearing his mother mention Miss Xie, he suddenly asked cryptically, "Does Mother like Miss Xie?"
Princess Nan smiled gently: "Of course I like her. I've heard you say she's very cute, haven't you? You also said she has a sweet tooth, so we should get along well."
Pei Du frowned slightly, not quite understanding his own actions. How could he know the Xie family's daughter's tastes and tell his mother? He didn't like sweets. He had silently thought that if he were to marry someone in the future, he would marry someone with similar tastes and interests. If not, it wouldn't matter if he didn't marry.
So why did I agree to this marriage arranged entirely by my parents?
Seeing his displeasure, the Princess Consort of the South tentatively asked, "I heard from your cousin that you and Miss Xie had a fight. What was it about? Perhaps your mother can help you sort out your thoughts."
Although Pei Du only guessed at the argument from Zhou Yujin's words, he was inexplicably confident that even if it wasn't for the reason he thought it was, it was probably close to the truth. Therefore, he said nonchalantly, "It's nothing important, she just thinks I don't write enough letters."
As for the suspicion that Xie's daughter was angry and complained to her father, so her father sent her many books and test questions to punish her—it's better not to mention such things. He wouldn't be like Xie Ayao, complaining to his own mother.
Princess Nan hesitated for a moment, feeling that it couldn't be that way, but seeing her son's confident expression, she thought she must be overthinking it. Pei Du was much more sensible than Pei Liangsong; he shouldn't do something so outrageous.
While comforting the Princess Consort and telling her not to worry, Pei Du went to the Prince's study to find the Prince. When he pushed open the door, the Prince was racking his brains to reply to Xie Wen. Hearing the impolite sound of the door being pushed open, the Prince's brow twitched. He thought to himself, "This rebellious son is here to bring bad luck again. Calm down, calm down. If I get sick from anger, I'll have to let this rebellious son take the throne."
He glanced at me sideways, adopting the air of a prince, and questioned me in a booming voice: "Why aren't you studying properly? What are you doing here?"
Pei Du sat down in his usual spot and asked, "I've already finished answering the questions, why do I need to read so many books?"
Seeing that he was indeed not happy, the Prince of the South felt relieved. It was worth it to come up with this brilliant idea. Ordinary people really couldn't resolve this. Pei Du, Pei Du, your father is still your father.
He cleared his throat and said earnestly, "Master Xie is doing this for your own good. You've been shouting and fighting all day, and now you've made yourself into this state. Master Xie would only feel sorry for you. What's wrong with letting you study for a few days? That young lady always gets the top score in the academy. How can you be so ignorant and incompetent?"
This was a slight exaggeration. Pei Du was by no means "unlearned and incompetent," so he sneered, "You mean Zhou Yujin, right? He's the one who's unlearned and incompetent."
Fortunately, Zhou Yujin couldn't hear, otherwise he would have had to rely on fantasy to barely quell his anger.
"Besides, what does her ranking at the academy have to do with me?" Pei Du sat upright, but his expression revealed a hint of weariness and annoyance.
The Prince of Nan looked at him suspiciously at first, then slightly shocked. If Miss Xie hadn't written to you after winning the top spot on the list, and you hadn't been showing off to everyone you met after receiving the letter, how would I have known that she was the top scorer? And you still say it has nothing to do with you?
Recalling Pei Du's behavior over the past few days—no, the Prince of Nan didn't want to recall it at all. He asked him, "Why did you seek out the teachers of Baihe Academy?" Pei Du replied, "How did you know that Miss Xie had won first place in the academy's rankings and even surpassed all the talented scholars and Confucianists at Baihe Academy?"
The Prince of the South sneered, "It's best if it has nothing to do with you. I told you you went too far last time. Luckily nothing serious happened, so I didn't punish you. If something had really happened, you would have been held responsible even if I beat you to death. You should think twice in the future. You can't always run into such insignificant bandits. For example, you were ambushed this time and ended up like this. You should really call Miss Xie to take a look!"
Pei Du paused, realizing that his perception might have been flawed. He had thought that the only outrageous thing he had done was not writing to Xie Ayao, but now it seemed to be much more serious.
Did I give Xie Ayao a hard time to her face?
He suppressed his suspicion and said in a normal tone, "Why would I show her this? A young lady would definitely be frightened if she saw this wound." He still couldn't move his left hand much, and his face was visibly pale, looking like he was recovering from a serious illness.
The Prince of Nan looked surprised: "Could it be that the wound on your face wasn't exposed for her to see?"
Pei Du was also surprised: "She is far away in Huaizhou, and I am in Yuecheng. How could she see me? Father, what you are saying is truly bizarre."
The Prince of Nan remained silent, sensing something amiss about his rebellious son, yet unable to pinpoint what it was. After a long pause, he examined his son from head to toe, finding that aside from his sickly appearance, his sharp tongue was as venomous as ever.
He asked tentatively, "I heard from Yu Jin that you and Miss Xie had a fight?"
Pei Du took a deep breath. "Well done, Zhou Yujin. He's only been here for half an hour, and he's already spread his private affairs throughout the entire household. Next time he enters my study, I'll make sure he leaves with his mouth shut."
"It's nothing, Father, please don't worry about it." He replied casually. "The Xie family values education, and my temperament is not very compatible with theirs, which is inevitable. But since we will be husband and wife in the future, it's alright to bear with it."
Pei Du deliberately revealed his annoyance, hoping to show his domineering father what kind of consequences a forced relationship would bear. If the two eventually became a bitter couple, who knows if his father would regret it?
The Prince of Nan seemed stunned, remaining silent for a long while, his gaze fixed on Pei Du, scanning back and forth as if to confirm that this son was indeed the real one. After a long while, he stared at Pei Du's head, revealing a gentle yet slightly eerie smile: "Since our temperaments are incompatible, your father will not force you. From what you've said, you're dissatisfied with this marriage. Very well, it's up to you. If you're unwilling, it's not impossible to break off the engagement with the Xie family."
Although Pei Du had lost important memories, his innate keen intuition still made him realize that there was a trap in these words. He frowned and refused: "The marriage is arranged by parents and matchmakers. The two families have agreed to the marriage. How can we break the agreement at will? Father and Lord Xie are old friends. If the two families sever ties because of the marriage, how can I face them?"
The Prince of Nan stroked his beard with a slight tremor in his hand, and then advised, "It's alright. I was just about to write a letter to Master Xie. If you think this marriage is not going to work out, I will write it down now. Then the blame for breaking off the engagement will fall on our family, and Miss Xie will be cleared of all wrongdoing. She can then get engaged to another family without any problem, and the Xie family will not pursue her relentlessly."
As he spoke, it seemed he was really about to write, but Pei Du swiftly snatched the paper from his hand. It was an instinctive reaction; before he could react, the paper was in his own hand. He didn't understand why he had so quickly pulled the paper away to prevent his father from writing.
He said with a stern face, "No need, Father, I have no intention of breaking off the engagement."
The Prince of the South sighed, his voice trembling slightly at the end of his sentence: "Isn't it that even I, as your father, can't bear to let you endure this? This is a matter for a lifetime."
Pei Du simply said, "No need, I can endure it."
Prince Nan: "Alright, you'll have to bear with it. I have important matters to discuss with your mother. You should go back to your study and read. Once you've finished the exam questions, have someone send them back to Wangjing. Lord Xie will need to review them for you."
Pei Du gave him a deep look, feeling that his father seemed to be suppressing a laugh. He immediately became suspicious. Was there something funny he had just said?
He went out with a belly full of doubts. As soon as he stepped out the door, he heard his father burst into laughter behind him. He turned around abruptly, puzzled: "Father, what are you laughing at?"
The King of the South's laughter faltered awkwardly. Meeting his surprised and suspicious gaze, he silently swallowed it back down, thinking to himself: "I think you've hit your head while laughing."
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