Chapter 45 – Fear of the Thief

The Pei Residence was a picture of tranquility, but the Xining Count’s residence on Peony Street was in an uproar.

A letter of accountability had arrived in the Count’s hands. Reading the sarcasm between the lines from his good son-in-law about his failure in raising his daughter, the Count’s lips trembled. “Where is Cui Dai? Bring her to me, bound!”

At this moment, the spoiled third miss Cui, who was much pampered within the Count’s residence, was busy training her newly bought cat. The little persian cat had eyes of different colors-one a clear blue, the other a bronze brown. Its fur was soft and incredibly beautiful.

Cui Dai had instantly taken a liking to the cat and couldn’t put it down.

A close confidant of the Count barged in with trepidation, while the maids outside the door were shouting and making a racket, lacking any decorum.

The commotion was unbearable.

Cui Dai frowned, full of impatience, and walked out with a scowl at the aggressive servants: “What is this ruckus? Do you think you can make a scene here? Look at yourselves!”

In third miss Cui’s eyes, all the servants in the residence were mere slaves. She had finally found some solace in the cat, which had soothed her irritable mood, only to have it ruined again.

She was furious, glaring at the unruly servants with anger.

Cui Jian, a personal attendant to Count Cui Shao, had been with the Count since his youth and held a great deal of favor with him. Over the years, he rarely had to perform tasks, living a pampered life that had added over ten pounds to his frame. His face was round, and when he smiled, his eyes turned into thin lines.

Cui Jian understood the Count’s intentions. Cui Dai was, after all, a pampered and spoiled daughter, and others dared not come to her, let alone act rough with her.

But Cui Jian dared.

He greeted third miss Cui with a smile, bending low before slowly straightening up, his expression changing: “Tie her up!”

Cui Dai took a sharp breath, her eyes widening: “How dare you?!”

“A servant wouldn’t dare, but a servant must follow the Count’s orders.” At Cui Jian’s command, his men rushed forward and bound Cui Dai tightly with ropes.

He had long been displeased with the spoiled and willful third miss.

The Count had two daughters. Cui Jian pitied the eldest daughter but despised Cui Dai.

Years ago, he had advised the Count to treat the eldest legitimate daughter well. However, Cui Shao was very sensitive about the fact that his eldest daughter was blind. Further advice only earned Cui Jian the Count’s displeasure.

Now, the eldest daughter had risen high like a phoenix on a branch, and the third miss had used her elder sister’s influence to become engaged to the legitimate second son of Marquis Chenming. This had significantly changed the Count’s attitude.

This time, Gentleman Pei’s letter of accountability was essentially forcing the Count to provide an explanation. To maintain this marriage alliance, the Cui Family had to give the Pei Family an impeccable account.

“Take her away!”

“You damn servant! Let go of me! This is insubordination!” The fourteen-year-old girl, lacking much strength, struggled a few times but couldn’t break free, her eyes reddening with anger.

Cui Jian remained unmoved. In his view, the Count should have disciplined this truly unruly daughter long ago.

She was already causing trouble at home. If she were to marry into the Marquis’s residence and failed to bring benefits to the Count’s residence, it would be bad enough. Worse still, if she caused unnecessary trouble, it would be better to give her a good beating now to teach her a lesson.

The group came with great momentum and left the same way, taking the miss of the courtyard with them. The servants in Chenxiang Courtyard, unaware of the details, collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

It was just as well that Cui Dai was taken away; at least they wouldn’t have to serve her or endure her baseless scolding anymore.

At this moment, they even envied Bai Ge, who had moved to the Chancellor’s Residence with the eldest daughter.

It was said that Gentleman Pei had personally renamed Bai Ge to Bai Tang, a name given by the most literarily gifted Zhuangyuan in all of Dazhao. Initially, they didn’t believe it, but later, it was confirmed, and they had to accept it.

Bai Tang was truly fortunate, and so was the eldest daughter.

The servants shook their heads and sighed, sitting idly in the courtyard, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Cui Dai was humiliatingly dragged to the main hall.

The Countess, hearing the commotion, hadn’t even stepped inside when she shouted from outside, “What’s going on? Why are you tying up Dai’er for no reason?”

Cui Dai’s face was pale with fear, and she knelt on the ground, crying.

Cui Shao sneered at her words, “What’s going on? Look at what your well-taught daughter has done! People are writing letters to reprimand me!”

In his mind, any good in their daughter was his doing, and any bad was the mother’s fault.

Previously, when the eldest daughter returned home for a few days, the Count and Countess had a huge fight after she left, followed by days of cold war, before eventually reconciling.

Not long after making up, this incident occurred. As he berated her furiously, the Countess, in a fit of rage, took a step inside the door: “What about me? If I’m so terrible, you might as well divorce me!”

“…”

Her words rendered Count Xining speechless, his face contorted with anger. He squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth, “You’re simply unreasonable!”

“Unreasonable?!” The Countess had no patience for arguments. She grabbed her younger daughter.

Cui Dai had barely gotten halfway up when Cui Shao picked up a teacup and smashed it to the ground!

Shards of porcelain scattered, nearly cutting Cui Dai’s face, making her scream.

Thud!

Her knees buckled, and she knelt back down, “Father, Father…”

“Are you insane?! If you can’t stand us, then we’ll leave!”

Count Xining, who rarely lost his temper, stood his ground this time. The seemingly honest and simple man was unyielding. He didn’t bother arguing with his wife and threw a letter on the ground: “See for yourself what your daughter has done!”

“Mother, save me…” Cui Dai whispered, pleading for help.

The Countess hesitated for a moment before crouching down to pick up the letter. She scanned it quickly, her eyes widening in disbelief as she looked at her daughter.

Pei Xuan truly lived up to her reputation of extraordinary talent. Her writing was impeccable, and though the letter to her father-in-law contained no vulgarity, it vividly described what a precious little troublemaker they had in their family.

Anyone who read the letter would feel their face burn with embarrassment, for the legitimate son of the Pei Family never made baseless accusations.

If Pei Xuan said that Cui Dai had instigated a servant to harm someone, it must be true.

Given her reputation, no one would doubt her words.

“Mother…”

The Countess’s fingers felt cold as she looked at her daughter with a complex expression: “How foolish can you be? Even if you don’t like her, you can’t harm her. You’re siblings by blood; how can you hurt each other?”

She couldn’t say more. Knowing she couldn’t protect her daughter and had no grounds to do so, she chose to step aside.

Count Xining snorted coldly: “So young and already so vicious. Who taught you this?”

After reading the letter from his son-in-law, Cui Dai’s face turned as white as paper: “Father, Mother, I am innocent! I only wanted to teach that blind girl a lesson, not take her life! It was her—it was that wretched servant who acted on her own! I am innocent, Father!”

Repeatedly calling her “blind,” Count Xining, enraged, stepped forward and kicked her in the shoulder: “If you dare speak nonsense again, see if anyone cares about your life! That is your eldest sister, and our entire family depends on her. How dare you harm her? Where do you get the nerve?”

A few days ago, upon learning that Cui Ti had fallen mysteriously ill and was unconscious, he had been restless day and night. He hadn’t expected the root of the trouble to be within his own family.

The kick sent Cui Dai into tears, her breath coming in gasps as she looked at her familiar yet now strange father.

“Enough! Lock her in the wood shed, and without my permission, no one is to visit her!”

These words were clearly directed at the household’s miss. After a minor punishment to serve as a warning, Cui Shao, with a blistered lip, sipped his tea and began the task of mending relations with his son-in-law.

Upon reading Count Xining’s handwritten letter, Pei Xuan’s gentle expression turned cold: “So, the pampered darling who has never faced hardship considers being locked in a wood shed a punishment?”

She set the letter aside: “Return all the gifts the Cui Family sent. The Pei Family is large and prosperous; we don’t need these.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The sun had not yet set as Count Xining anxiously waited at home.

The steward walked in with a troubled expression: “Count, all the gifts we sent have been returned.”

“Returned?”

“See for yourself.”

Several large boxes were brought back, untouched. Cui Shao deeply regretted his actions; it was clear their son-in-law was unwilling to forgive.

“Count, what should we do next?”

“Let me think, just let me think.”

Having been out of touch with affairs for years, he found himself at a loss when faced with such a thorny issue.

“At this point, we should take Dai’er to the Chancellor’s Residence and humbly plead for forgiveness.” The Countess, wearing a floor-length gown, approached from a distance: “We are clearly at fault here. Let’s hope our son-in-law is magnanimous enough to spare Dai’er this time.”

Otherwise, if relations soured, the Cui Family couldn’t bear the consequences.

“Madam?”

The Countess glared at him: “What are you hesitating for? If you delay any longer, you can kiss your title goodbye!”

The Cui Family now had only their prestigious name left. If they couldn’t appease Pei Xuan, and the matter reached the Chancellor, it wouldn’t take much—just one memorial of impeachment, and the Cui Family’s remaining glory would be stripped away.

Cui Shao appreciated her wisdom and quickly ordered preparations for the birch rods, then went to the wood shed to ‘invite’ Cui Dai out.

In Xi Jing, little escaped the notice of the observant. The Pei Family had just sent a maid to the government prison for the crime of insubordination. Shortly after, Young Madam Pei fell ill. Within days, the Cui Family started sending gifts to the Pei Family, all of which were returned in the same manner they were sent.

The intricacies of the situation were truly intriguing. With the two families on the verge of a fallout, Count Xining could no longer sit idle.

“Gentleman Pei, they have arrived.”

“How did they come?”

“They came bearing birch rods.”

Pei Xuan set down the book she was reading, her elegant brows relaxing. “At least they know what’s proper.”

“Shall we meet them?”

“Let’s see them.”

“Young Madam, Gentleman Pei asks that you rest well in the room. She will handle everything outside; you needn’t worry.”

Count Xining led Cui Dai to the Pei Family to plead for forgiveness. Outsiders only knew that the young and foolish Third Miss Cui had done something to displease Gentleman Pei.

Pei Xuan did not want to involve Cui Ti in this matter. After all, they were sisters by blood, and it would be best to avoid giving people something to talk about.

She took it upon herself to confront the Cui Family, leaving Cui Ti to sit in the room and listen to the commotion.

Bai Tang smacked her lips. “Gentleman Pei is considerate, but it’s a pity we can’t see third miss Cui groveling and admitting her mistakes.”

“There’s nothing much to see.”

Living a second life, Cui Ti had lost her previous naivety when dealing with her relatives. She stared blankly at the rabbit in her arms.

Everything happening now was different from her previous lifetime.

For instance, the curse.

The curse had been placed on her long ago, and Xiaohong from the outer courtyard had merely triggered it by accident.

The nightmare of her death and the regrets before dying were what Cui Ti couldn’t let go of, thus fear had entered her heart, magnified by the dream curse, becoming a prison for her soul.

Someone wanted to extinguish all her hope, to make her heart as dead as ashes.

Cui Dai was foolish and evil but didn’t have the brains for something like this.

Yunhong was an insignificant pawn, not worth paying much attention to.

As for the Dou Qingyue…

Cui Ti couldn’t ‘see’ through her.

But she instinctively rejected her.

Even in the best-case scenario, the relationship between cousins was inherently ambiguous. In Dazhao, it was common for cousins to marry each other, bringing the families closer together.

In her previous life, before her death, that frail cousin miss hadn’t been betrothed.

Xingguang was a woman, and for the Pei Family to pull off such a deception, the marriage had to be flawless.

In both her past and present lives, she was the Young Madam Pei. So, who was intended to be this fake ‘Young Madam Pei’ before her?

Could it be Dou Qingyue?

Dou Qingyue was weak and likely wouldn’t live long. Moreover, she came from the Dou Family. Her father, the great general, was Madam Pei’s beloved brother, making her family.

Cui Ti wasn’t overly suspicious, but she was acutely aware of how wonderful her partner was and how many people coveted her.

In her previous lifetime, Cui Ti had often endured cold stares from those sour-faced young women and brides.

The Dou Qingyue has a frail constitution but frequently visited the Pei Residence. When in high spirits, she would stay for ten days or even half a month, which was not unusual.

She was too close to the Pei Family.

Cui Ti doesn’t like Dou Qingyue.

She had all sorts of reasons to dislike her.

All sorts of reasons to mind her.

If she said too much, she’d come across as petty, but the truth was, she wasn’t very magnanimous to begin with.

People who had lived through hard times and suddenly amassed a fortune were more afraid of thieves and even more afraid of being eyed by them.

No one provoked her, yet she was jealous all by herself.

Cui Dai, who had come to plead for forgiveness with birch rods, was taken away by Count Xining in tears. Pei Xuan, having vented thoroughly, returned to the back courtyard feeling refreshed. She lifted the curtain and entered, only to see Cui Ti frowning, looking as if she were arguing with someone.

Unbeknownst to Pei Xuan, Cui Ti had already fought hundreds of rounds in her mind with faceless rivals.

The battle was a stalemate. Pei Xuan leaned in, “Niangzi?”

“Wait a moment.”

“…”

A moment later, Cui Ti’s expression cleared up. “Is it handled?”

Pei Xuan responded affirmatively and curiously asked, “What were you thinking about, so engrossed?”