Chapter 92 Meeting the Elders
Pei Zhi winked at her, then picked up a pastry, put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly in front of the messenger, and said with a smile, "Wan Ning's pastries are delicious, even more fragrant than those from the best pastry shops in the capital."
Ye Wanning immediately understood what he meant and said, "I'm glad the general likes it. I had the kitchen make it specially, with maltose that you like."
The messenger saw that Pei Zhi had eaten quite a bit and still seemed unsatisfied, and became anxious—had he not put in enough powder? Or had it simply not worked?
Pei Zhi ate two pieces, then picked up another and smiled at the messenger, saying, "Go back and tell Miss Ye that the snacks were delicious and that I liked them very much. Tell her not to worry about them."
After saying that, he handed the snacks to the guard and ordered, "Send them back to the Ye residence as fast as you can, and give this note to Miss Ye as well."
The note read: "Thank you for the gift, Miss Ye. However, I have been fighting on the border for many years. What kind of poison haven't I seen? General Pei's mansion is not short of this little bit of 'poison.' You should keep it for Miss Ye to enjoy."
The guards received the order and immediately rushed back to the capital with the snacks and the note.
Not long after, Ye Lingwei waited for news in her room. When the messenger returned, she quickly asked, "How is it? Did General Pei eat any snacks? Does he have diarrhea?"
"He ate it, and the general said it was delicious and he enjoyed it very much." The messenger lowered his head, not daring to look at her. "Miss Ye Wanning was also there and said that she made the snacks."
Ye Lingwei was dumbfounded, unable to believe her ears: "How is this possible? I clearly added the powder!"
Just then, a servant rushed in, flustered: "Miss, something terrible has happened! General Pei has sent someone back with some pastries and a note!"
Ye Lingwei snatched the note, and after reading the words on it, she trembled with rage. She tore the note to shreds: "Ye Wanning! Pei Zhi! You just wait! I will never let you get away with this!"
Cui'er was also terrified, her face turning deathly pale: "Miss, what do we do now? General Pei knows it was us..."
"What can we do? What else can we do!" Ye Lingwei roared, "Since framing her won't work, we'll think of another way! I refuse to believe we can't deal with that bitch Ye Wanning!"
However, she was unaware that Pei Zhi had already told Ye Mingyuan, the master of the Ye family, about her plot to poison someone. Ye Mingyuan was already furious with Ye Lingwei's actions, and now that he heard she had tried to poison General Pei, he was enraged. He immediately locked her in the courtyard and placed her under surveillance, forbidding her from running around.
Not long after, Ye Wanning looked at Pei Zhi and couldn't help but laugh, "General, you really made me feel better. Ye Lingwei must be furious."
"Who told her to mess with my people?" Pei Zhi chuckled and ruffled her hair. "If she dares to pull any more tricks in the future, I have plenty of ways to deal with her."
As soon as the carriage carrying them back to the capital entered the city gates, Ye Wanning couldn't help but clench her handkerchief tightly, her knuckles turning white. Outside the carriage curtain, the familiar sounds of street vendors hawking their wares filled the air, but she was completely oblivious, her mind consumed by Pei Zhi's words, "I'll take you to see my father tomorrow."
"So nervous?" Pei Zhi's laughter rang out from beside her. He reached out and gently patted the back of her hand, the warmth of his palm coming through the thin handkerchief. "My father isn't a man-eating tiger, what are you afraid of?"
"Who's nervous?" Ye Wanning turned her face away, but the blush on her ears was impossible to hide. "It's just... it's just that it's the first time meeting an elder, so I have to be more solemn."
Despite saying that, that very night after returning to the General's Mansion, she locked herself in her room and took out the old wooden box she had brought with her when she escaped from the Ye Mansion. Inside the box were a few pieces of jewelry left by her mother: a plain silver plum blossom hairpin, a pair of silver bracelets engraved with begonia patterns, and a hair ornament inlaid with broken jade—those were her mother's dowry and were among the few valuable items she still owned.
She tried on her hair in front of the mirror, first inserting a silver plum blossom hairpin, which was too plain and made her face look pale; then she changed to a rubber band with a jade hairpin, which jingled as she walked, making her look frivolous; finally, she grabbed a pair of begonia-patterned bracelets and just put them on her wrist when a soft laugh came from behind her.
Ye Wanning turned around abruptly and saw Pei Zhi leaning against the door frame, holding a bowl of sweet soup in his hand, his eyes full of smiles: "It's been half an hour, and you still haven't made your choice?"
"How did you get in?" She hurriedly tried to take off the bracelet, but Pei Zhi quickly stepped forward and pressed her hand down.
"Don't pick it, this one is pretty." His fingers traced the begonia pattern on the bracelet, his eyes full of tenderness. "My mother also has a similar pair. My father said that begonias symbolize 'wealth and honor,' which is a good omen."
Ye Wanning's heart skipped a beat, her fingertips gently stroking the cool silver bracelet: "Really? Isn't it too ordinary? Will the old general think I'm... shabby?"
“My father doesn’t care about these things at all.” Pei Zhi put down the sweet soup, picked up the plain silver plum blossom hairpin, and carefully inserted it into her hair. His fingertips occasionally brushed against the top of her hair, carrying a warm touch. “He spent his whole life in the military, seeing all the dangers of war. He cherishes sincere people the most. You are fine as you are. You don’t need to dress up deliberately.”
The woman in the bronze mirror wore a moon-white ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with a plain silver hairpin in her hair and a silver bracelet on her wrist. There was no trace of jewels, yet she exuded a clean and neat aura. Ye Wanning looked at herself in the mirror, then at Pei Zhi's focused gaze behind her, and her nervousness lessened somewhat.
"But I'm still scared," Mu Zixi said softly. "I'm of lowly status, and I'm leading a group of children. What if the old general doesn't approve of us..."
"No ifs." Pei Zhi interrupted her impatiently, put his arm around her shoulder, and pressed her head to look in the mirror. "The woman Pei Zhi wants to marry, even if he doesn't like her, I'm determined to marry her."
His voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable firmness. Looking at his earnest reflection in the mirror, Ye Wanning suddenly felt a lump in her throat. Since her rebirth, she had long been accustomed to being alone, bearing everything on her own. But after Pei Zhi appeared, she realized that there really was someone who would hold an umbrella for her, shelter her from the storm, and let her no longer fear anything.
"Have some sweet soup to calm your nerves." Pei Zhi handed the sweet soup to Mu Zixi's lips. "I've already told my father about you. I said you're skilled in medicine, good at business, and even helped me draw border defense maps. He was very happy to hear that and said he must meet this talented and capable girl."
Mu Zixi opened her mouth and took a sip of the sweet soup. The warm sugar water slid down her throat, warming her heart. She looked at the two people in the mirror, their faces close together—Pei Zhi's chin resting on the top of her head, his eyes so tender they could melt water. Suddenly, she felt that even if the old general really didn't like her tomorrow, with Pei Zhi by her side, she had nothing to fear.
"Oh, right." Pei Zhi seemed to remember something and took out a small brocade pouch from his pocket. "This is for you."
Ye Wanning took it and opened it; inside was a round pearl strung on a red string: "This is..."
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