"Without me, no one in the entire Marquis's mansion will know his true colors anymore..."
—Wen Shi also said this.
We'll leave aside the question of Pei Yanzhi's true nature for now.
However, the word "filial piety" always weighed heavily on Pei Yanzhi's mind. If Pei Yanzhi discovered that the Wen family had colluded with outsiders to frame him, he would naturally turn the tables on them.
Frame a parent for cheating in the imperial examinations, which is tantamount to a mother killing her child and would cause immeasurable damage to the entire Marquis's household.
Once this matter came to light, the Wen family could no longer use filial piety to pressure him.
Later, he proved his innocence and investigated the mastermind behind the corruption case. From then on, Wen could no longer hinder him, and he could also strike at his political enemies.
This can be described as killing two birds with one stone.
But unexpectedly, the old Marquis found out.
For the old Marquis, whether it was Wen framing Pei Yanzhi or Pei Yanzhi turning the tables on him, it was something he could hardly accept.
What's more, Lord Yun also lost his life in this incident...
Moreover, judging from what the aunt said, this wasn't the only incident...
Several incidents piled up, finally enraging the old Marquis, who then drove him out of the house and removed him from the family genealogy.
Taking a deep breath, Jiang Shuwan realized how little she knew.
In her previous life, she was oblivious to what was happening around her and knew little about Pei Yanzhi or the Marquis's mansion.
However, there was one thing she knew.
To be precise, only she and Pei Yanzhi in the world knew.
Thinking of that incident, Jiang Shuwan's brows furrowed even more.
That night, she even suffered from insomnia, tossing and turning in bed unable to fall asleep.
The next day, Liu Yunyan came to serve her tea, but she was listless.
Liu Yunyan was also in low spirits, forcing a smile on her face. She quickly served tea and left, with Granny Xia obediently following behind her.
The master and servant were much more low-key than before they entered the manor.
Staring at Liu Yunyan's back, Jiang Shuwan couldn't help but think of Pei Yanzhi last night. The man expressionlessly folded the exam questions back up layer by layer and then stuffed them into the book. The whole action was silent and quiet, as if he were doing something very ordinary.
His intuition should have told him what this meant.
He showed no unusual reaction whatsoever.
Perhaps, he never needed her to save him...
Looking up at the sky, Jiang Shuwan's gaze passed through the window and landed in the direction of Pei Yanzhi's courtyard.
I don't remember the exact date.
All she remembered was that day, the rain was pouring down, the sky seemed to have a huge hole in it, and the Milky Way was pouring out. She took a few steps with her umbrella and her skirt got soaked. Pei Yanzhi was forced to kneel in the Wen family courtyard by the rules.
Despite the heavy rain, Wen didn't let him go inside or get up, leaving him soaked in the rain.
No one helped him at the time; she used a clever trick to get the servants to help Pei Yanzhi away.
She thought she was quite clever at the time.
Looking back now, maybe he didn't need her to save him at all...
"Miss, the doctor and midwife are here again..."
Upon hearing Qingxing's words, Jiang Shuwan quickly composed herself and continued discussing the cesarean section with the doctor and midwife, a topic she herself only had a vague understanding of.
After the research was nearly complete and the person was sent to the north, it was time for the imperial examination.
In just a few days, the winter snow melted away, and occasionally a touch of green could be seen on the branches and treetops.
Spring has arrived.
Staring blankly at the new green of the paulownia tree in front of the Marquis's mansion, Jiang Shuwan was lost in thought. On the other side, just like the autumn examination, the whole family solemnly sent Pei Yanzhi off to the spring examination, and even the old lady got up.
That's probably what a family that lasts for a century looks like.
Despite having the prestige of the Marquis's mansion, Pei Yanzhi could have lived a life of luxury and wealth even if he just lazed around and did nothing, but his family still valued his studies highly. Even Madam Wen pretended to say, "You need to study hard, because the future of the Marquis's mansion depends on you."
Pei Yanzhi, for reasons unknown, responded to Wen Shi as usual.
On the surface, the mother and son were a model of maternal love and filial piety; at least the old lady and the old marquis nodded in satisfaction.
For them, wealth and power are all they need; what they probably seek is harmony within their families.
Liu Yunyan's demeanor was also different from a few days ago; her eyes and brows exuded a smugness. Jiang Shuwan looked left and right before noticing a familiar-looking purse hanging from Pei Yanzhi's waist.
The purse was originally made by Liu Yunyan herself during the autumn examination, but she couldn't give it away because of Wen's urging.
Several months later, the purse was finally hanging on Pei Yanzhi's waist.
The light blue embroidered pouch with the Four Gentlemen motif, paired with Pei Yanzhi's moon-white robe, was indeed eye-catching. Jiang Shuwan stared at it for several moments. Liu Yunyan, who had been paying attention to her, quickly squeezed in and asked, "Does Madam like it? If so, I'll embroider one for you too."
Despite her best efforts to suppress it, Liu Yunyan couldn't hide the smile in her eyes and brows.
Yes.
She had been in the Marquis's residence for so long, and she had never seen Pei Yanzhi bring any gifts from any woman. The only gift she had given him was a sachet for repelling insects when he went to study in the south. Pei Yanzhi accepted it politely at the time, but she had never seen him wear it.
Tsk tsk tsk...
I should have known better than to pretend to be virtuous. That purse, though ugly, still took her three days of work.
With a sigh in her heart, Jiang Shuwan looked at Liu Yunyan with gentle eyes and said, "That's great, then embroider a magnolia flower for me."
As he spoke, he took out a piece of silver and gave it to Liu Yunyan.
Liu Yunyan was furious; she was just joking, but Jiang Shuwan actually took it seriously...
Being a concubine was already a great injustice to her.
Jiang Shuwan even asked him to embroider a purse for her.
Why should I...?
"Miss, get in the carriage."
In the end, Jiang Shuwan still didn't give away the money. Qingxing pulled her into the carriage and said angrily, "Who doesn't need a purse? We don't need anyone else to embroider it. Miss, wait a minute, I'll embroider one for you tomorrow."
Jiang Shuwan: "..."
She thought of Qingxing's embroidery skills, "How about... how about letting Chun Jiaomei Xue do the embroidery?"
Qingxing pouted, about to burst into tears, "Miss, you dislike me."
Jiang Shuwan shifted uncomfortably in the carriage, thinking to herself, "Your embroidery skills are comparable to my painting skills, how can I not find fault with you?"
"Whom do you dislike?"
Pei Yanzhi suddenly came up, and Jiang Shuwan quickly sat up straight, but then relaxed a second later.
Pei Yanzhi used to be a small business owner, so she had to pretend, but now she's a county princess.
With her back relaxed, Jiang Shuwan leaned comfortably against the carriage.
The phrase "the emancipated serfs sing songs" probably describes her current situation perfectly.
Soon the carriage arrived at the street where the examination hall was located. They had arrived early enough, but the entrance to the examination hall was still packed with people, both from out of town and locals. The carriage couldn't move at all and stopped a hundred meters away from the examination hall.
During the journey, Jiang Shuwan and Pei Yanzhi did not exchange a single word.
Although they weren't close in the past, they still had a lot to talk about. But after spending a night in the library, many things became difficult to bring up.
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