Chapter 80 Absurdities
Evening, Wenxin Pavilion Study.
Wu Yang entered from outside, bowed, and reported: "My lord, the magistrate requests an audience!"
Pei Yanzhi paused slightly in his writing, and without raising his head, said, "Let him in."
"yes."
Pei Song walked in with a look of shame on his face and called out softly, "Big Brother."
It was already late at night when Pei Yanzhi glanced at him indifferently and asked, "What is it? Why are you here at this hour?"
Pei Songli stood below the hall, watching his elder brother, who was busy with official duties all day long, now have to be distracted by matters concerning the inner quarters.
He was suddenly reminded of his father, and when he saw his elder brother who was shouldering the heavy burden of the entire Yanzhou, he was filled with mixed emotions.
“Brother, I asked about the matter you inquired about this afternoon. She already knows she was wrong, but she's been pampered for so long that she can't bring herself to apologize right now.”
Pei Yanzhi looked at his younger brother, who was speaking evasively and trying to exonerate Song Shi, and felt a chill in his heart. An hour earlier, he had already found out what had happened that afternoon.
He originally intended for Madam Song to come and apologize to Ji Shu in person, but he never expected that the person who came would be his younger brother.
When his elder brother remained silent for a long time, Pei Song looked up and saw Pei Yanzhi staring at him with sharp eyes, as if nothing could be hidden from him.
Pei Yanzhi put down his pen and let out a cold laugh: "Do you two think you're fooling me?"
"The Song family didn't want to come themselves, so they sent you to act as their persuader? Since when has my Wenxin Pavilion become a place she can order around at will?"
Pei Song's heart tightened, and he didn't care about anything else. "Brother, Yun Shu and I were childhood sweethearts. I know that she is not a bad person at heart. She just sometimes speaks without thinking."
"If she said anything she shouldn't have, I'll apologize to her and my sister-in-law on her behalf, okay?" Perhaps it was because of being called "sister-in-law" that Pei Yanzhi's expression softened slightly.
In just a moment, the previous indifference returned.
"I will make my own decision on this matter. Let's leave that aside for now and talk about something else."
“You are the governor of Yanzhou, and the younger brother of the orphan. You have been married for six or seven years, but there is still no child in your harem.”
"Do you know how long your mother has worried about you? Can't you even make a decision about something like this?"
The more he spoke, the more serious his tone became. "Do you expect me, Mother, or even myself, to personally arrange a concubine for you and bring her into the house?"
Pei Song hesitated and said in a low voice, "I know all of this. Yun Shu has suffered a lot with me. In the past two years, her mother kept urging her to have a child. She secretly took a lot of medicine and went to the temple to burn incense time and time again."
"Perhaps we were not meant to be, and we were never meant to have a child..."
Pei Yanzhi smiled indifferently. In the end, it was just that Song was weak and afraid that a concubine would come into the house and share her favor, and that the birth of a son from a concubine would threaten her position.
Little did they know that there are countless solutions in the world, and there is always a way to solve it.
If they truly wanted offspring, removing the mother and keeping the child might have been the best option, but the couple simply couldn't see through it.
Pei Yanzhi said coldly, "That's why you raised Song to be this kind of person, and you'd rather spend your time outside indulging in pleasure and debauchery to escape from it all."
Pei Song said dejectedly, "Yes, my elder brother has been more outstanding than me since childhood. He was able to lead troops into battle at the age of twelve, while I was still an age where I didn't understand anything at twelve."
"Brother, you have no idea how much I've suffered all these years."
“My mother always says I’m idle all day long, and Mrs. Song complains that I spend all my time indulging in pleasure. But besides these things, I really don’t know what else I can do!”
Pei Yanzhi frowned, looking at his seemingly insane words. What did he mean by not knowing what to do besides these things? Since the day he took charge of Yanzhou, he had never heard such absurd words.
For him to say this now, coming from his own younger brother, is utterly ridiculous.
He looked displeased: "If you want to whine about nothing, I don't have time to listen to you. But there is one thing I know clearly: there are so many people in the world who are starving, and you, as a member of the Pei family, are venting the sorrows brought by your ancestors."
"Who do you think you've done right by?"
Having said that, he didn't want to listen anymore, so he leaned back heavily in his chair, his face full of exhaustion: "That's enough, let's get out!"
Pei Song left dejectedly, it's unclear whether he took those words to heart.
After the magistrate left, Wu Yang stood quietly to the side, watching his lord remain silent for a long time under the candlelight.
He could vaguely sense that his lord was not in a good mood at the moment, perhaps because of the governor, or perhaps because of Lady Ji.
Wu Yang gritted his teeth, stepped forward, bowed, and said, "My lord, Lady Ji hasn't eaten a single thing yet. Do you think we should let those two maids go in and serve her?"
"Madam Ji is delicate and of high health; if she were to harm herself because of this..."
Pei Yanzhi suddenly looked up: "Has she not eaten yet? Has she drunk the medicine that was brewed earlier?"
Wu Yang shook his head.
Upon seeing this, Pei Yanzhi's face darkened. Thinking of the anger that had been burning within him that afternoon, he said with a hint of rage, "Who is she trying to impress?"
This little girl has such a stubborn temper; I don't know where she got it from.
"Have those two maids go in and watch over her, and make sure she gets all the food and medicine she needs."
Wu Yang exclaimed in surprise and hurriedly tried to leave to inform the two maids.
Pei Yanzhi added, "Clean up the east wing of Wenxin Pavilion and let her move in tomorrow. She won't need to go back to Shanshui Residence anymore."
Wu Yang was stunned. His lord was making such a big fuss about the matter, so he clearly knew what had happened that afternoon. He thought that the matter would be minimized and resolved, after all, she was the wife of the governor, the second lady of Yanzhou.
But to his utter surprise, the lord allowed Lady Ji to live in Wenxin Pavilion, the residence of the Marquis of Yan throughout the ages. No one was allowed to approach it, and even the old lady had to be informed before she could come.
This will surely be a severe blow to the Song family.
Wu Yang glanced at his lord's expression subconsciously. He saw that the lord had lowered his head to read the memorial in his hand, and his expression was inscrutable in the candlelight.
After thinking for a moment, he accepted the order and withdrew.
...
Upon receiving the news, Chunzhi and Lian'er immediately carried the food box into the inner room.
It was past dusk, and the room was dimly lit because no one had lit candles. Chunzhi went forward and called out to the young lady, while hurriedly lighting the candles one by one.
As the light gradually brightened, Ji Shu was seen slumped on the ground, her face deathly pale, her eyes fixed on the distance, like a doll that had lost its soul.
Chunzhi cried out in alarm, "Young lady! Young lady!"
Lian'er stepped forward and touched Ji Shu's hand. Despite the sweltering heat, the young lady's hand was icy cold. She said with concern, "Young lady, are you hungry? Please answer me."
Ji Shu slowly turned her head, her eyes finally no longer showing the same expression as before, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Why are you here?"
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