Chapter 7 It's hard to imagine what would happen if Pei Lang fell in love...
"Sister-in-law, this is a birthday gift I prepared for you. May you stay beautiful and happy forever!"
Lin Shaowan smiled and invited the people in, holding the hands of her sisters-in-law.
"It's just an ordinary birthday. Look at your brother, he even made you all come all this way. You've really gone to a lot of trouble."
"Today is a family dinner, sisters-in-law, please take your seats."
Pei's father was the eldest grandson of the eldest branch of the family and the most successful member of the Pei family, so the Pei family members would naturally not miss such an opportunity for reunion.
The banquet was about to begin, but apart from Pei Lang, Pei Mingli and Lin Zhi were still nowhere to be seen.
Lin Shaowan frowned almost imperceptibly, turned her head and whispered, "Quickly go and call the Second Young Master and Miss Biao here."
"They are so impolite today."
Pei Lang's ears twitched slightly, and he called out loudly to the maid who was about to leave.
"I just saw my second brother and cousin saying they went to pick up a birthday gift for Mother. I'll go find them."
Lin Shaowan's expression stiffened slightly, but she nodded because everyone was present.
"Oh my, sister-in-law is so blessed! Not only are her two children both academically and athletically gifted, but she also has a sweet niece. She is truly enjoying the bliss of family life!"
Lin Shaowan was distracted by the flattery and could only watch hurriedly as the servant pushed Pei Lang towards the backyard, her heart filled with unease.
Today, Xingyun was sent away from the manor by Pei Lang, and the servant who pushed him over was an unfamiliar face.
Pei Lang leaned back in his wheelchair and raised his hand to signal him to stop.
"You're not pushing me properly, my legs hurt."
"Go to Lanxue Pavilion and call someone here."
The servant hesitated for a moment: "Young master, if we leave you here alone, I'm afraid the madam will blame me."
Pei Lang clicked his tongue impatiently: "How could I, a living, breathing person, get lost in my own home? Hurry up and go."
"Yes, yes!"
The servant dared not say anything more, and with his back hunched, he hurriedly ran towards Lanxue Pavilion.
As soon as the servant left, Pei Lang, who had been weak and ailing, stood up from his wheelchair with ease and walked towards the backyard not far away. But when he reached the vicinity of the rockery, he heard hushed conversations.
Since there were few women in the household, the servants dared not slack off on such an important day, and they quickly recognized that the girl speaking was Lin Zhi.
Pei Lang stood leisurely behind the artificial hill, showing no embarrassment at eavesdropping and maintaining his composure and dignity, but his eyes were fixed on the two people who were very close to him.
Lin Zhi handed Pei Mingli the congratulatory gift she had prepared. She looked as haggard as a dehydrated rose, and even the slow-witted Pei Mingli noticed that something was wrong.
"Ah Zhi, are you feeling unwell?"
Lin Zhi forced a smile and shook her head: "I'm just a little worried about you because my cousin is going to war again."
Pei Mingli thought it was something serious and patted his chest: "Don't you know what kind of skills your cousin has? I'm tired of those little tricks on the battlefield."
Lin Zhi's worried expression was still quite noticeable. Although Pei Mingli was usually careless, he wasn't stupid.
Are you still worried about Lu Jue?
Lin Zhi pursed her lips and remained silent, but nodded under his persistent questioning.
Pei Mingli held back for a long time, and finally reached out and took Lin Zhi's hand when she couldn't help but wonder. His honey-colored face turned blush.
"Don't worry! Since I promised you, I will definitely protect you..."
"A generation!"
These words were, in effect, another promise that he would marry her. When he returned victorious, Lin Zhi's wish would come true.
It was as if the heavy stone that had been pressing on Lin Zhi's heart for so long had been lifted away by someone. The burden that had weighed on her heart for six years, leaving her with only half a breath left, was finally broken by Pei Mingli.
Even though there was no romantic love between them, she felt only gratitude at that moment. She couldn't help but hold Pei Mingli's hand back and gave him a relaxed smile, like a thousand lilies in full bloom, exuding a rich fragrance.
Pei Mingli had never seen his cousin like this before, and he was momentarily captivated by her beauty.
"It's almost time, cousin. Let's go pay our respects to Auntie soon. I've kept all your words in mind. I'll be waiting for you to come back."
Pei Mingli followed Lin Zhi to the front hall, feeling somewhat dizzy.
Neither of them noticed the tall figure in the shadows.
"Young master? Your leg injury hasn't fully healed yet, how come you can stand up?"
Xingyun returned with the items, completely baffled as to why the young master would buy these things that young women liked.
Pei Lang watched the two leave, recalling the scene he had just witnessed. He narrowed his long, dark eyes dangerously. It seemed that taking things slowly was no longer an option. He glanced at the pile of delicate items in Xingyun's hand and casually said coldly, "Throw them away."
As he sat back in his wheelchair, Pei Lang's mind, filled with court intrigues, suddenly flashed back to the day he had taken the ruler and reprimanded Lin Zhi.
No matter how much he cared for her these past few days, Lin Zhi avoided him like the plague, showing no emotion whatsoever. He had thought she was still putting on an act, pretending to be weak, but he never expected that she had already hooked up with Pei Mingli.
Pei Lang raised his long, calloused hand and lightly brushed it across his chin, his eyes showing increasing interest.
He had been outstanding for half his life, surpassing Pei Mingli in every way, yet he suffered a hidden loss because of this person. If it came down to the time he spent with her and the silly smiles he shared, he was indeed no match for Pei Mingli.
Unfortunately, he was clever and had long ago seen through what that fool Pei Mingli couldn't see. Lin Zhi's cleverness could usually be put on a show, but it was full of flaws when he was in front of him.
At the dinner table, everyone was toasting and laughing, and some people even joked about Pei Mingli and Lin Zhi.
"I was originally thinking of finding a good family for Azhi, but I forgot that the two children are about the same age. Did you already have plans for this, sister-in-law?"
The elders teased and laughed, and Lin Zhi blushed with embarrassment, like a peach blossom in March. She glanced up and saw Pei Lang, who remained unmoved. A few days ago, her older cousin had been unusually kind to her, and they kept bumping into each other.
She had her doubts, but she always felt that Pei Lang was different from other men, especially since he had previously disliked her so much.
To avoid getting in her cousin's way, Lin Zhi avoided him whenever possible. Now it seemed that this was the Pei Lang she knew—calm, indifferent, and no one or nothing deserved to be in his sight.
Lin Zhi realized that she was just being presumptuous, and after a moment of relief, she forcibly ignored the faint sense of loss.
On the day Pei Mingli set off for the expedition, the entire Pei family came to see him off, and even Pei Lang, being pushed by servants, didn't miss it.
Lin Shaowan held his hand and talked for a long time. Her eyes, which were etched with fine lines, were glistening with tears: "You must take good care of yourself while you are alone. Be careful. You are my only son. I can't live without you."
Lin Zhi watched her aunt and cousin's deep affection for each other, raised her hand to wipe the corner of her eye with a handkerchief, but out of the corner of her eye she noticed Pei Lang looking somewhat lonely.
He sat alone to one side, his eyes seemingly looking at his father's family but not in their direction.
Lin Zhi felt a pang of sadness again. She suddenly wondered what Pei Lang's feelings were when the late Madam left. He was still young then, so was he as sad as she was back then?
"A-Zhi?"
Lin Zhi came to her senses and realized that Pei Mingli was already standing in front of her, taking out a piece of mutton fat jade of excellent quality from his pocket.
"This is a birthday gift my grandfather gave me when I turned one year old. Now I'm giving it to you. Wait for me to come back."
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Pei Mingli's actions elicited a look of satisfaction from Lin Shaowan, a mixture of joy and anger from Pei's father, and indifference from Pei Lang. Lin Zhi knew what she wanted and naturally didn't care what others thought. She gracefully accepted the gift and smiled, "Alright, I wish my cousin a triumphant return."
After that day, everyone in the Pei household treated Lin Zhi with even more respect. The status of an orphan girl staying there and the future young mistress carried entirely different weights.
Lin Zhi didn't care what others said; she was focused on embroidering the wedding dress she had started working on long ago. The sea of red seemed to remind her of the unbearable ordeal of being bound hand and foot and sent into the sedan chair, but Lin Zhi no longer cared.
After embroidering for half a day, Lin Zhi stretched her sore and stiff body, but she still felt like she had forgotten something. It wasn't until she saw Chun Tao carrying books outside to air them that her mind went blank, and she realized she had forgotten to hand in her homework to Pei Lang.
Since she came to the Pei family three years ago, Pei Lang would send someone every three months to collect the lessons he had previously assigned her and bring her new ones.
At first, Lin Zhi was also annoyed, but later at a banquet for noble ladies, when she was being harassed, she wrote a beautifully written poem, and only then did she realize how much Pei Lang had helped her.
Although she was afraid, she was also genuinely grateful to him.
Lin Zhi flipped through the blank books, biting her lip nervously. Pei Lang was the most punctual person, never absent or late even once in three years. This was probably intentional.
Is he still angry about his previous inappropriate words and actions? But he's already been punished...
Lin Zhi was troubled by this matter all night, and when she got up to wash up the next morning, she startled Chun Tao.
"Miss, did you not sleep well last night? The dark circles under your eyes can't be covered up with makeup."
Lin Zhi stared listlessly at her reflection in the bronze mirror, her bright eyes appearing somewhat dim.
"It's nothing. I just did some writing last night and helped me with my makeup. Did you tell the kitchen to prepare the bone broth?"
As Chuntao drew her eyebrows, she nodded and asked, "Miss, you usually dislike soup the most, what's wrong today?"
Lin Zhi pursed her lips and remained silent. She simply carried the food box and had Chun Tao take the homework she had finished studying late into the night to Lanxue Pavilion. Standing at the entrance of Lanxue Pavilion, Lin Zhi took a deep breath, gave herself a pep talk, and then went inside with the food.
This time, someone opened the door as soon as I knocked.
Seeing the wary expression on the maid's face, Lin Zhi gave a slightly stiff, dry laugh: "Please tell my cousin Lang that I've come to visit him."
The maid was also quite beautiful; she could easily pass for a young lady from another family. However, her expression was as cold as her mistress's.
"This servant understands. Please wait here, Miss." With that, she slammed the door shut.
Lin Zhi, who had almost been bumped in the nose, took a small step back, her expression somewhat displeased. Even though she was staying at the Pei residence, the servants there outwardly treated her as their mistress.
I've never seen such a haughty servant before. Does Pei Lang consider even his servants superior?
Chun Tao glanced at her young mistress and saw her slightly biting her lip, knowing that she was aggrieved, but she sighed softly: "Miss, please don't be offended. This person is called Lan Xin. She was selected to serve the eldest young master when the late Madam was still alive."
“When the eldest young master is in the palace, Lan Xin is in charge of Lan Xue Pavilion. It’s no exaggeration to say that she is half the mistress.”
Chun Tao stopped abruptly, looked around, and then lowered her voice to Lin Zhi: "I also heard that Lan Xin is one of the 'own people' taken into the eldest young master's household, which is why he indulges her temper so much."
Lin Zhi raised an eyebrow in surprise. How could someone as cold and aloof as Pei Lang, as the bright moon in the sky, actually have emotions and desires?
Thinking back to the day he reprimanded her, only showing a slightly different expression than usual, Lin Zhi was already surprised. She couldn't imagine what Pei Lang would be like if he fell in love...
Realizing what she was thinking, Lin Zhi's ears turned slightly red, but just as her mind was wandering, the door in front of her opened.
"Miss, the eldest young master invites you in."
A note from the author:
----------------------
Thanks for adding this to your favorites, little ones! [Upright-eared bunny head]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
