Chapter 10 – Youthful Days

Times change, and the once quiet and secluded south courtyard has quickly become the most beloved place in the Xining Count’s residence. The young ladies there have become the true misses, receiving waves of visitors coming to offer congratulations and flattery. Bai Ge still felt like she was dreaming, unable to snap out of it.

She pinched her cheek and felt the pain, her face instantly lighting up with joy. “Miss, it’s real! Did you hear what they were saying? You’re going to be the Zhuangyuan’s wife, the young madam of the Pei Family!”

Bai Ge giggled foolishly, happy for Cui Ti and relieved that her own future no longer seemed bleak and hopeless.

“Gentleman Pei is a good man, a truly trustworthy and excellent person. I’ll never speak ill of him again!”

The air was fresh and clear after the rain, with the spring breeze carrying the scent of flowers. Bai Ge showered Pei Xuan with praises, almost lifting her to the heavens with her words. In her eyes, anyone who didn’t look down on her miss and could see her worth had good judgment.

And Gentleman Pei, by marrying Cui Ti, was the wisest person in the world.

“Today, I’ve seen it all. Those people who used to look down on us with their noses in the air and their hard, foul mouths can actually speak well…”

After saying this, she tirelessly recounted Pei Xuan’s heroic act of snatching the bride to Cui Ti, as if she had witnessed the scene herself, describing it no less vividly than the old women who came to congratulate them.

Cui Ti listened to her tell the story once, twice, and patiently for the seventh time. Her brows slightly curved, her voice gentle, and her expression helpless, she said, “Baibai, aren’t you tired yet?”

“How could I get tired of such a wonderful event? Why should I be tired?”

Her delicate features were so full of joy they seemed ready to jump off her face. She put her hands on her hips, looking adorably stubborn. “I’m not tired, and you shouldn’t be either, Miss.”

Before Cui Ti could say more, Bai Ge playfully exclaimed, “Oh my, I’ve committed a crime, how could I speak to the Zhuangyuan’s wife like this?”

She playfully slapped her own cheek, clearly teasing Cui Ti.

Cui Ti blushed at being called “Zhuangyuan’s wife,” feeling both embarrassed and helpless. “Stop joking around. Do you have nothing better to do? Go and get to work.”

Bai Ge laughed heartily.

In truth, she had plenty of work to do. Ever since the good news had reached their little courtyard, visitors, each bringing gifts, had been arriving.

This was a treatment they had never enjoyed before.

Once she finished her urgent tasks, Bai Ge circled the courtyard twice, holding a piece of broken green brick. She marked the spot where Pei Xuan had fallen off the wall and landed, even setting up the Zhuangyuan’s straw mat there as a shrine of sorts, proudly calling it the sacred place where her miss and the gentleman first met.

Cui Ti let her be, sitting alone on the stone steps in front of the door. The older women eagerly gathered around, chattering about how Pei Xuan had snatched the bride. Their words went in one ear and out the other, as her mind was filled with the complex emotions of having to marry this person again. She didn’t hear a single word they said.

However, every word of the seven times Bai Ge recounted the story stuck with her.

The sun was shining brightly, and a beautiful rainbow arched across the sky. Cui Ti looked up and let out a long breath, hoping that in this lifetime, she and Pei Xuan could have a happy and long-lasting relationship.

In her previous lifetime, he didn’t love her. What about this lifetime?

She thought about Pei Xuan again.

No matter how much she pondered, she couldn’t figure out what he was thinking.

He didn’t love her, yet he cherished her like a precious jade, and regarded her as the bright moon.

He didn’t love her, yet when a kite flew high, he rode through the rain to come to her.

He didn’t love her, so why did he marry her against all odds?

Without needing others to tell her, Cui Ti already guessed how people outside were talking.

They probably said she got lucky, and Pei Xuan was out of his mind.

Why would he ignore all the noble girls in Xi Jing and marry a blind woman?

With Pei Xuan’s status, he could easily marry a noble girl from any prestigious family, or even a princess, and have many people fighting for the chance.

Meeting Pei Xuan was indeed the best luck she had.

No wonder she had been pushed into the lotus pond in her previous lifetime; she must have been in someone’s way or caught someone’s eye.

She could count ten or more girls who admired Pei Xuan with her eyes closed. She had even tested Pei Xuan about it before, but each time, Pei Xuan just laughed at her for overthinking.

The time she was most jealous was the time Pei Xuan laughed the happiest.

He hugged her from behind, his fresh scent enveloping her ears. He didn’t have the sweat smell that Bai Ge said was hard to wash off from ordinary men, nor did he have the powdery scent of some gentlemen with delicate fingers. He was as clean as a clear spring, his breath softly surrounding her.

He wouldn’t say many sweet words, and his properness made him seem a bit foolish.

Perhaps he knew his own tongue was clumsy, so when he coaxed her, he’d circle his slender arms around her waist, holding her tight to prevent her escape. He’d lean close to her ear, gently and elegantly, and say—

“Don’t be angry.”

“Don’t be angry, Niangzi.”

His words were tender and devoid of any frivolity.

Each time Cui Ti was coaxed into submission, she would then fall into another layer of frustration.

Pei Xuan’s carefree and unrestrained youth was too short-lived. He became an official at a young age, possessing a maturity and rationality far beyond his peers.

As the son of the Chancellor, a future pillar of the state, he grew steadily, and his rapid ascension in the political arena garnered both admiration and envy.

Though he was a few months younger than Cui Ti, she was the one protected by him.

Compared to the highly sought-after pure minister he would become in a few years, Cui Ti preferred the Pei Xuan who fell off the wall, the one who ran out barefoot.

This version of Pei Xuan was lively, as if he had shed many burdens, making him relaxed and attractive, unlike the Fujun in her dreams who made her heart race with anxiety, sweetness, and bitterness.

It felt as if all the missed opportunities could start anew.

Given another chance, Cui Ti wanted a complete and perfect relationship with him.

“Miss, Miss?”

Bai Ge’s voice pierced through her thoughts of past and present, reaching Cui Ti’s ears. She looked up, the white gauze covering her eyes dazzling in the sunlight.

Countess Xining stood a few steps away, her expression peculiar. “Your luck has come; do I need to tell you what to do?”

Cui Ti slowly shook her head.

How could someone like her attract a man?

Countess Xining, her tone stern, offered advice: “Entering a noble family is like plunging into deep waters. Although the Pei Residence isn’t a noble family, Chancellor Pei holds more power than any marquis. Chancellor Pei has only one child, and the Pei Family’s son has chosen you and likes you. When you marry, you must serve him well.

“Your father and I don’t expect to benefit greatly from you. We only ask that you don’t cause trouble and bring disgrace to our family.”

Bai Ge suddenly looked up, unable to believe a mother could say such things.

Cui Ti lowered her eyes, her response subdued.

“The south courtyard is no longer suitable for you. You are to become a noblewoman of the Pei Family. Starting today, you will move back to Chenxiang Courtyard to avoid any gossip that I am biased.”

“I understand.”

She was taciturn, not as eloquent or charming as her younger sister. Countess Xining grew irritated just looking at her. Having said what she wanted, she got up and left.

Cui Ti was frail, and for the first three years of her life, she lived in Chenxiang Courtyard, the best environment in the Xining Count’s residence. After those three years, she was ‘banished’ to the desolate south courtyard.

According to the Countess, moving back to Chenxiang Courtyard was thanks to Pei Xuan. If she couldn’t become a noblewoman of the Pei Family, she wouldn’t be qualified to live in the largest and best courtyard.

Bai Ge felt indignant on behalf of her miss, but since the Countess was Cui Ti’s birth mother, there were things she could only swallow back.

She stood there, sulking, while Cui Ti, as if having a third eye that could see into her thoughts, smiled faintly, “Haven’t we gotten used to this by now? Pack up, we’re going to Chenxiang Courtyard.”

She said “going,” not “returning.”

After her second sister’s untimely death, Chenxiang Courtyard no longer belonged to her.

It was March, and to have a grand wedding in May, not only did the Xining Count’s residence need to prepare in earnest, but the Pei Residence also had to hasten their preparations.

Fortunately, Pei Xuan’s ‘marriage’ had been planned for a while, so the arrangements weren’t rushed.

Madam Pei busied herself for her ‘son,’ and Xijing City was abuzz with the news of the marriage. Some said Pei Xuan was crazy; others said the Xining Count’s residence had hit the jackpot.

Noble girls who admired Pei Xuan secretly envied and resented a blind girl, and the curious began to wonder just how beautiful and graceful the blind girl from the Cui Family was.

“Chancellor Pei personally visited to propose for his legitimate son. As soon as he spoke, guess what? Young Master Sun the Third was so scared he wet himself and was dragged out by the Chancellor’s people. Oh, what a pitiful sight!”

“Who is Young Master Sun compared to Gentleman Pei? How can a firefly’s light compete with the brilliance of the moon?”

“But I’ve heard that our Zhuangyuan, in his haste to secure his bride, didn’t even have time to put on his boots. He rode a fast horse to the Xining Count’s residence, where he was stopped. With a whip cracking through the air and rain soaking his clothes, he boldly declared his intention to marry in front of the Countess.”

“A single ‘no’ and a reference to ‘the girl living in the south courtyard,’ that’s the true spirit of our outstanding young man from Xijing-bold and daring in love and marriage! Young Master Sun? He’s nothing but a lascivious scoundrel.”

Pei Xuan’s reputation in Xi Jing was well-known; she was a young prodigy and the youngest Zhuangyuan in Dazhao.

Her galloping to the rendezvous with a whip in hand wasn’t the issue. Because of her, Cui Ti went from being a pitiable blind girl to the first love who could make the Zhuangyuan lose composure in just one day.

Song Zizhen grinned mischievously. “I was wondering who could make our Xingguang so furious. Turns out it was the girl from that painting. Tsk tsk, having feelings really changes things.”

Zheng Wuji clicked his tongue as well. “The Zhuangyuan storming in with a whip, boldly declaring love-Xingguang, Truly impressive!”

This year’s Bangyan and Tanhua were teasing the younger Zhuangyuan together, but Pei Xuan just smiled at them without taking offense.

She didn’t have many bad habits, but she did enjoy drinking when she was happy, and also when she wasn’t.

As the fragrant pear wine went down her throat, her eyes softened.

“Oh dear, oh dear, I can’t take it! Xingguang, could you please tone down your overwhelming charm?” Song Zizhen clutched his chest dramatically, acting in a ridiculous manner.

He and Zheng Wuji played off each other, but Pei Xuan remained unperturbed, her phoenix-like eyes captivating. She glanced lightly at Song Zizhen, and he quieted down immediately.

“Thank goodness Xingguang doesn’t like men. Otherwise, who would want to marry with her around?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Xuan, with a smile concealing a hidden threat, poured him more wine.

Song Zizhen was a talker but couldn’t hold his liquor. After calling everyone “brother,” “sister,” “grandpa,” and “grandma” in a confused mess, Pei Xuan finally let him off.

The Zhuangyuan calmly brushed her sleeves, and the Bangyan and Tanhua didn’t dare tease her further. Zheng Wuji asked, “Xingguang, how did you get past the Chancellor?”

Pei Xuan frowned, her knee instinctively aching at the memory. She put down her wine cup and replied lazily, “I just kept kneeling until he felt sorry for me.”

“Incredible!” Song Zizhen said seriously. “I’ll have to learn that trick and use it on my father someday.”

The straightforward Zheng Wuji laughed at him. “What’s the use of learning it? You don’t even have a girl you like.”

“Nonsense! A big man never worries about finding a wife!”

“Oh…” The Bangyan glanced three inches below the Tanhua’s waist. “What’s so big?”

Pei Xuan choked on her wine, coughed twice, and then burst into laughter, pounding the table.