Chapter 1 — Leaving the Capital, Zhaowei

The legal mother had just found me an exceptionally advantageous match. Then, a pair of rustic peasants suddenly appeared, claiming to be my true birth parents. After a tense confrontation, my secondary mother broke down in bitter tears and confessed everything. Years ago, she had faked a pregnancy in order to vie for favor, secretly purchasing an infant girl from the outside. By this time, the Marquis had long since passed away, and the legal mother had always treated all of us with deep kindness. Thus, everyone quietly conspired together; as long as they gave those rustic peasants a modest sum of silver and drove them away, the matter would be settled. Heads nodded in unanimous agreement. Who could have foreseen that the eldest young master, who had recently inherited the noble title, would suddenly sneer bitterly and smash his teacup to the ground.

I have long suspected that she is not my true younger sister. Among our sisters at home, every single one is virtuous and graceful, yet she alone was born with a seductive and languishing air. Now that her true lineage is known beyond a doubt, I absolutely cannot allow her to continue polluting the bloodline of the Marquis Estate. The eldest brother resolutely ordered the ancestral hall to be opened, reported the matter to our ancestors, and struck my name entirely from the family registry. The marriage alliance that had already been negotiated was naturally annulled on the spot. I remained in the estate as a dependent, trembling in fear day after day, never knowing when I might be cast out into the streets. Later, taking advantage of the eldest brother's departure to Jiangnan on official business, the legal mother hurriedly prepared a generous dowry for me and arranged a hurried marriage for me as an adopted daughter.

This time, Pei Yanzhuo returned in triumph after investigating the salt smuggling case in Jiangnan. The Emperor praised him openly in the court, bestowing upon him a jade belt adorned with python patterns, and further promoted him to Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. The aristocracy and nobility throughout the capital all knew that this young master of the Jing An Marquis Estate had truly come into his own. More importantly, Pei Yanzhuo let word slip that upon his return to the capital, he would finally settle his marriage. Consequently, the Marquis Estate held a grand banquet today, and nearly every noble maiden of marriageable age in the capital was in attendance. Within the spacious floral hall, a delicate fragrance drifted through the air. The young ladies of prominent families wore reds and greens, their hair ornaments of pearls and jade lightly swaying as ripples of laughter echoed endlessly. Only I sat in the dimmest corner, keeping my head lowered in silence. Originally, I had no desire to come and join the merrymaking. However, the legal mother had sent word, saying that regardless of everything, Pei Yanzhuo and I shared many years of sibling affection. Now that he had achieved great merit, his mood should be excellent. If I could use this opportunity to mend our relationship, it would be for the best. The legal mother had always treated me with great kindness, planning for every contingency on my behalf. At the very beginning, after my name was purged from the family registry, my former fiance had come pounding on our doors by night to break off the engagement, and every matchmaker in the city fled from me in terror. It was she who adopted me as her foster daughter and provided a lavish dowry, making my eventual marriage possible. I could hardly refuse her invitation. Yet, this banquet made my entire skin crawl with discomfort. Back when I still resided in the Marquis Estate, even if I was merely the daughter of a concubine, I was still recognized as the third young lady. Now, things were vastly different. Whenever others cast their gaze toward me, their eyes held far too many layers of curiosity and probing judgment. One maiden lowered her voice and whispered.

"Is that truly the fake young lady of the Jing An Marquis Estate?"

Another let out a light, mocking scoff.

"Who else could it be? I heard her real parents are nothing more than dirt-poor farmers in some remote village, utterly base and humble!"

"And yet she was raised within a Marquis Estate, living in luxury and eating the finest foods for all those years."

"Fortunately, the Prince of Ning's household called off the wedding in time, otherwise a mere peasant girl would have successfully married into the Prince of Ning's household, wouldn't she?"

I kept my head bowed, pretending not to hear a single word. Such malicious gossip had reached my ears far too often ever since I was driven out of the family registry. Initially, the humiliation had been so acute that I suffered sleepless nights. By now, I had grown completely numb to it. My second sister caught sight of me from afar, her eyes suddenly brightening.

"Third Sister..."

She halted midway through the sentence. A moment later, she awkwardly amended her words.

"Zhaowei, you have arrived."

I offered a faint smile.

"Second Sister."

A look of profound heartache surfaced on her face, as though she wished to say much more. Yet with so many people pressing around us, she ultimately settled for gently grasping my hand. I lowered my head to sip my tea. The tea was of exceptional quality. It was simply a trifle bitter.

Outside, a sudden commotion erupted. Someone laughed and called out.

"The Marquis has returned!"

Everyone in the hall rose to their feet. I stood up right along with them. Through layers of shifting figures, I watched Pei Yanzhuo stride forward from beneath the covered corridor. A full year had passed, yet he seemed entirely unchanged, save for the brows and eyes that appeared even colder than before. His deep purple official robes accentuated his tall, slender, and straight figure, while the python-patterned jade belt at his waist was striking in the extreme. The guests at the banquet stepped forward one by one to offer their congratulations. Pei Yanzhuo acknowledged each person in turn, his demeanor calm and composed, flawless in every gesture. Sitting in a distant corner, I naively assumed he would pay me no heed. Yet as he conversed with another guest, his gaze suddenly swept across the crowd and locked firmly upon me. With no way to avoid it, I stepped forward and offered a formal bow.

"Greetings, Lord Marquis."

The surrounding area plunged into an instantaneous silence. Pei Yanzhuo lowered his gaze to look down at me.

"A full year apart, and you can no longer even bring yourself to address me as elder brother?"

The tips of my fingers twitched involuntarily. Those two words, elder brother, were simply something I could never force past my lips. From the very day he forced open the ancestral hall and struck my name from the registry, I was no longer a member of the Pei family. Therefore, I replied in a low voice.

"I am no longer a daughter of the Pei family, and I dare not presume to claim kinship with the Marquis."

Pei Yanzhuo's expression darkened. After a long, lingering silence, he let out a soft, low chuckle.

"You resent me?"

I did not answer. He continued.

"Regarding the events of the past, I will eventually give you an explanation."

I had no idea what kind of explanation he intended to offer. Nor did I desire one. Back then, all the sisters in the household had knelt and begged him for mercy, and the legal mother had exhorted him with bitter tears. Yet he had refused to spare me, deliberately leaking the news to the public to ruin my prospects, rendering any future marriage extraordinarily difficult. Now that the most arduous days had passed, and I was already wed as another man's wife, his so-called compensation would amount to nothing more than a few trinkets or bolts of fabric at best.

The legal mother stepped forward to defuse the tense atmosphere for my sake.

"Very well, today our hall is filled with distinguished guests, and we should not keep them waiting any longer. Let us be seated for the banquet first."

Only then did Pei Yanzhuo withdraw his gaze.

"Understood, Mother."

The banquet instantly recovered its lively hum. Before long, someone chimed in with an amused smile.

"Since the Marquis has achieved such monumental merit this time, have you decided what reward to request from the Emperor?"

Pei Yanzhuo set down his wine cup, his gaze lifting slightly. Perhaps because his mood today was exceptionally fine, the chill between his brows had receded somewhat, and the corners of his lips curved faintly upward. Several young maidens at the banquet blushed as they stole glances at him. I lowered my head to toy with my teacup, thinking only about what I should cook for dinner that evening. The legal mother had mentioned that some exceptionally plump fish had just been delivered from the country estate, instructing me to take a few along when I returned later. My husband had been studying diligently of late, and a simmering pot of fish soup would be just the thing to warm his stomach. I had also embroidered two pairs of pillowcases, one for the legal mother and one for my secondary mother. Once the winter cold set in, their knees were always prone to aching. I decided that once the banquet dispersed, I would first pay my respects to the legal mother, then visit the secondary mother's courtyard for a while. While lost in these wandering thoughts, I heard Pei Yanzhuo calmly state.

"There is indeed one matter for which I wish to beg a favor from His Majesty."

The guests chuckled and inquired.

"Could it possibly be a marriage alliance?"

Pei Yanzhuo lowered his eyes, his fingertips gently stroking the rim of his cup.

"Indeed."

The entire banquet hall fell abruptly silent. He continued.

"I wish to... request the hand of a certain maiden in marriage."

Once the banquet concluded, I proceeded to the courtyard of the legal mother to pay my respects. Having consumed a few cups of wine too many that day, she was suffering from a splitting headache. Her personal maid assisted her into the inner chambers to rest, merely instructing me to wait for a short while. Consequently, I took a seat in the outer parlor. The bronze brazier burned brightly with glowing coals, and the tea and pastries were both delicate and satisfying. Having kept my nerves tightly strung throughout the entire day, I finally allowed myself to relax. Behind the painted screen, the sound of exceptionally light footsteps drifted over. Believing it to be a servant girl, I did not bother to raise my head, until a clear, cold voice resonated through the room.

"Cousin of the Ye family."

My hand trembled violently, and the tea threatened to slop over the rim of the cup. Pei Yanzhuo stepped out from behind the screen. He had changed into casual indoor garments, shedding the stern solemnity of the banquet and revealing the refined, peerless elegance of a high-born noble scion. Only his dark, fathomless eyes fixed unwaveringly upon me, leaving no room for evasion.

Pei Yanzhuo's use of cousin had a distinct reason behind it. In his youth, he had studied at the distant Yunshan Academy, returning to the estate only during major festivals and New Year celebrations. Furthermore, whenever winter arrived, I was invariably delicate and sickly, confined to my bed for weeks on end and unable to meet visitors. Thus, as far back as my memory reached, we had never truly crossed paths. Our very first encounter occurred when I was ten years old. That particular winter was unusually warm, and before New Year's Eve had even arrived, the capital was already brimming with bustling vitality. Both sides of the long avenue were hung with countless lanterns—lotus lanterns and revolving shadow lanterns, one linked seamlessly to the next. The young ladies of the household had received permission from the legal mother to go out together to view the year-end lanterns. My secondary mother, however, forbade me from joining them, warning that because I had been coughing just days prior, exposure to the night wind would undoubtedly cause me to fall ill all over again. I moped inside my room, feeling an unbearable ache of resentment in my heart. Ultimately, unable to restrain myself any longer, I changed into a lightweight gown and furtively slipped out through the side gate. The capital lantern festival was an overwhelming spectacle of noise and color. Every street was lined with stalls selling festive lanterns, sugar figurines, and fragrant sachets. Having never ventured out of the estate entirely by myself, I found every single sight novel and mesmerizing. I purchased a rabbit-shaped lantern, then bought a hairpin adorned with plum blossoms, before finally halting before a stall selling crisp sugar-crusted pastries. The cakes were baked to a golden brown, sprinkled with sesame seeds on the exterior, and radiating a tempting heat that smelled so divine I found myself rooted to the spot. I greedily devoured two of them on the spot, then reached into my sleeve to pay, only to find it completely empty. A thief must have picked my pocket at some point without my knowledge. Seeing me consume the pastries without coughing up any silver, the vendor immediately seized my sleeve.

"Little girl, you are dressed so impeccably and gracefully, yet you resort to dining and dashing?"

I flushed a fiery crimson with panic.

"I am not running away from the bill! My money pouch has simply been stolen."

The vendor refused to release his grip, kicking up a loud fuss and demanding that my family come forward to pay the debt. At that tender age, utterly terrified that someone from the estate might discover my unauthorized escape, I was on the verge of tears. At that exact moment, a hand reached out from the crowd and tossed a fragment of silver onto the counter.

"Her debt, I will pay."

I raised my head, catching sight of a young scholar standing amidst the radiant glow of the lanterns, clad in an ivory-white academy robe. His brows and eyes were clean and gentle, his stature tall and handsome. The illumination of the entire street fell upon him, making him appear remarkably more breathtaking than anyone else around. The vendor pocketed the silver, his face instantly blooming into a wide, flattering smile.

"The young master is truly generous."

I hurriedly expressed my gratitude. He looked down at me and asked.

"From which family does this young lady hail? How should I address you?"

My heart instantly tightened. If word of this reached my secondary mother, I would be utterly finished. Therefore, I hastily fabricated a falsehood.

"I am the cousin-miss of the Marquis Estate, surnamed Ye."

Because the heroine of a vernacular romance I had recently read happened to share that background, the name slipped naturally from my tongue. Yet I completely forgot the crucial fact that the legal mother of our own household indeed bore the surname Ye. The young scholar looked at me and suddenly burst into laughter.

"Meeting one another is a form of fate; might Miss Ye grant me the honor of your company as we stroll through the lanterns together?"

His smile swept across my heart like a spring breeze brushing over willow branches, kindling a fragile burst of joy within my chest. Thereafter, we wandered together until the lanterns along the long avenue slowly flickered out, eventually strolling back and forth until we found ourselves standing directly before the gates of the Jing An Marquis Estate. The towering crimson gates stood grandly in the dead of night. Hesitant and fearful, I dared not step inside. Yet the young scholar lingered by my side, smiling as he asked.

"Cousin, why have you yet to enter the doors?"

That single word, cousin, made my heart detonate with a silent roar.