TTTQF Chapter 37

Much More Handsome

“Your Highness, the wife of Duke Zhongguo sends a message.” A young eunuch with a clean-shaven face hands over the visiting card.

Leaning against the couch with her eyes half-closed, enjoying the maid’s gentle massage on her legs, the woman furrows her brows slightly: “Bring it here.” She extends her hand and takes the visiting card to read it.

“Send someone to reply and have her come to the palace immediately.”

“Yes.”

The eunuch goes out for a moment and then brings the person in. Clearly, her carriage has been waiting outside the palace gates for news and has not left.

“This subject greets the Virtuous Consort, wishing you good health and happiness.”

“Rise.” The Virtuous Consort raises her hand with a smile, and a nearby palace maid immediately brings a small stool, placing it beside the embroidered couch.

“Thank you, Your Highness, for the seat.” Li Yijia carefully sits on the edge of the stool.

“You say you have urgent matters to discuss with me today. What is it?”

“Your Highness, this…” Li Yijia glances at the palace attendants serving nearby and hesitates.

The Virtuous Consort waves her hand, and the attendants bow and leave in single file.

“Alright, say what you want to say.”

“Your Highness, you must help us this time. The old lady is pressuring my husband to petition for Pei Che to be named heir!” Li Yijia still looks resentful when she mentions this.

“What do you want me to do for you? Do you want me to speak to the Emperor?” The Virtuous Consort stares at Li Yijia, her smile still present, but her phoenix eyes reveal a trace of authority.

Intimidated by her demeanor, Li Yijia doesn’t dare to speak for a moment, feeling very grateful that her husband reminded her the day before.

“”Your Highness, how could I be so unaware? I was hoping you could help match Pei Che with Princess Anrou. The princess is almost of age to choose a consort, and she has always been raised under your name. You must take this matter to heart!” Li Yijia covers her mouth and laughs.

“You mean, let Anrou choose Pei Che as her consort?” The Virtuous Consort looks at Li Yijia with suspicion, not knowing what she is thinking.

“Yes, if Princess Anrou chooses Pei Che as her consort, he naturally won’t be able to inherit the Duke’s title. When Min’er becomes the heir, we will still look up to you and the Sixth Prince. Moreover, the Feng family is Pei Che’s maternal family. With this connection, the Feng family will likely be more cautious in their actions. My eldest sister-in-law is Old Master Feng’s most beloved daughter.”

The Virtuous Consort sneers inwardly. This doesn’t sound like something her half-sister could come up with on her own; the Duke must have had a hand in this plan. However, it does sound interesting.

“How can you be sure Anrou will like Pei Che? She has always had a strange personality. If she doesn’t like him, I can’t force her. After all, I am not her biological mother.”

“Your Highness, don’t worry. My nephew is elegant, handsome, and skilled in the six arts. There’s no one in Liangjing who can surpass him. Which young lady wouldn’t like such a man? He is very much like the heir of the past! Remember how many girls are infatuated with the heir when we were young…”

Li Yijia speaks excitedly, but upon seeing the Virtuous Consort’s smile fade and her gaze darken, she curses herself for speaking carelessly. After all, the Virtuous Consort had her own feelings back then, but the heir had married Feng Anxue first, leading her to resign herself to becoming a concubine in the Third Prince’s household.

“I will first sound out Anrou. You go back and wait for news.”

…

At night, just as Pei Che’s carriage arrives at the door, the waiting butler comes forward. He sets up the footstool and says, “Young Master, the Duke instructs me to wait here and ask you to visit his study after you return.”

Having spent the day with his grandfather and the other elders in the garden, Pei Che is already somewhat tired. However, since his second uncle has sent someone to wait for him, it wouldn’t be appropriate not to go. He follows the butler to the study.

As soon as he knocks on the study door, a voice from inside tells him to enter. After bowing upon entry, Pei Che asks, “Uncle, what do you need me for?”

“Che’er, you just got back from your grandfather’s place, right? Sit down. It’s been a while since we had tea together. I’ve heard people outside have recently taken a liking to chrysanthemum tea, so I had some top-quality tribute chrysanthemums prepared. You should try it too.” Pei Shiyuan’s tone is full of emotion. Pei Che doesn’t know what his uncle wants to say, so he sits across from him, picks up a cup of tea, and lightly blows on it before taking a sip.

“This tea has a vibrant color, its aroma is subtle and clear, and it tastes initially bitter but leaves a sweet aftertaste. It is indeed a top-quality tribute chrysanthemum tea,” Pei Che praises after taking a sip.

“As long as you like it, I’ll have someone send some to your courtyard later,” Pei Shiyuan says with a smile, looking very pleased.

Pei Che shakes his head: “A gentleman should not take away what others like. You should keep it for yourself, uncle.”

“What is meant for you should be given to you. This applies to tea, as well as to other things,” Pei Shiyuan says meaningfully.

“Uncle, I’m not sure I understand your meaning.” Faced with his uncle’s cryptic words, Pei Che pretends not to understand.

Pei Shiyuan smiles and says, “Then I’ll speak plainly. When your father suddenly passes away, the position of heir should have been yours. But before we could petition for your title, your grandfather passes away due to excessive grief. With no one to manage the Duke’s household, your grandmother asks me to temporarily assume the title and handle all affairs. I swear at the Pei family shrine that once you come of age, I will return the title to you, as you are the rightful eldest grandson of the Zhongguo Duke. Now that you have come of age, it’s time for you to take on this responsibility.”

He speaks openly, seemingly without any attachment to the title of Duke.

Pei Che feels a bit moved and says, “You and Aunt have worked tirelessly for the Duke’s household. It hasn’t been easy. Although I have come of age, I lack experience and may find it difficult to shoulder such a great responsibility. I ask that you continue to manage things for a while longer.”

“No one is born knowing how to manage affairs. If you follow me for a while, with your abilities, you’ll soon be able to handle everything smoothly,” Pei Shiyuan says with a self-deprecating smile. “If I don’t return the title to you soon, your grandmother and grandfather might come to question me.”

Pei Che hurriedly says, “Why do you say that, uncle? Grandmother has always relied on you. How could she do such a thing? As for my grandfather, he wouldn’t interfere in the Pei family’s matters.”

Seeing Pei Che’s earnestness, a fleeting look of satisfaction appears in Pei Shiyuan’s eyes before quickly vanishing.

“Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore.” Pei Shiyuan raises his teacup. “Drink your tea before it gets cold.”

After finishing his tea, Pei Che prepares to take his leave when Pei Shiyuan suddenly asks, “Che’er, are you free the day after tomorrow?”

“Yes, I wonder if my second uncle has any instructions?”

“The day after tomorrow, your sisters are going to a banquet at the Princess’s residence. Your aunt happens to be occupied and can’t accompany them. Since you have always been on good terms with Prince Su, why don’t you escort them?”

The “Prince Su” mentioned by Pei Shiyuan is none other than Pei Che’s good friend, Su Jin. Back when Princess Chang married into the Pingnan Marquisate, she gave birth to Su Jin within a few years. Later, conflicts arose between the couple, leading them to live separately in different mansions. Princess Chang then stayed in the princess’s mansion for long periods, only visiting the marquisate on special occasions.

Out of concern for his daughter, the old Emperor established a rule that henceforth, anyone marrying the Princess would not inherit their family’s title. They must live together in the Princess’s estate to prevent her from being bullied. For this reason, whenever a princess reached marriageable age, a suitable match was quickly made for eligible heirs in a family to prevent them from being favored by the princess.

After Pei Shiyuan’s recent discourse, there is now a request. Given the circumstances, Pei Che cannot refuse.

“I will take good care of my younger sisters.”

“In that case, I’ll rest assured.” Pei Shiyuan strokes his short beard and smiles contentedly.

On the day of departure, Pei Che watches as his second uncle’s daughter Yage, his third uncle’s daughter Yayun, Yaning, and his fourth uncle’s daughter Yashi all board the carriage. Only then does he mount his horse, escorting them by their side as they travel together to Princess Chang’s mansion.

Once there, these delicate guests are led by a female attendant into the back courtyard. Pei Che, meanwhile, inquires about Su Jin’s location and follows a servant to the front courtyard’s martial arts arena.

Su Jin enjoys practicing martial arts, and as the Princess favors him, she has a distinctly different martial arts arena built within her otherwise delicate and luxurious mansion. It is designed to allow her son to spend more days there.

Su Jin is practicing swordplay. When he sees his friend arrive, he doesn’t speak but instead takes a sword from the nearby weapon rack and tosses it to Pei Che.

Pei Che catches it and laughs, “Ah Jin, aren’t you afraid of hitting me?”

Su Jin snorts coldly, “You’re not Han Qin.” With that, he thrusts his sword towards Pei Che.

Pei Che tosses the scabbard aside, blocks his attack, and then counters by deflecting Su Jin’s sword with his elbow before launching his own attack.

They exchange moves back and forth, their snow-white blades glinting so brightly in the sunlight that it’s hard to keep their eyes open.

After about a hundred exchanges, Pei Che suddenly raises his sword and steps out of the sparring ground, saying, “That’s enough for today. I didn’t bring enough clothing, and it’s uncomfortable with all this sweat.”

Su Jin looks resigned as he stops. Whenever they spar, he never feels satisfied. Although others think his martial arts are stronger, for some reason, he always feels that Pei Che never exerts his full strength.

The servants beside them bring water over, and both men clean their hands and faces. They sit down in a pavilion beside a fake mountain, warm a pot of wine, and slowly drink together.

Suddenly, a maid servant from the Princess’s side hurriedly rushes over, calling out, “Young Master, Master Pei, something’s wrong! Miss Pei sprained her foot and is crying loudly. The Princess asks you to come quickly.”

“What?” Pei Che quickly stands up and follows the maid servant towards the back courtyard. “How did the fourth sister sprain her foot?”

“They were originally enjoying poetry and flower appreciation in the back courtyard. Someone suddenly suggested flying kites, so the maids fetched some kites. Miss Pei was running with her kite when she tripped on a stone or something and fell. Everyone tried to help her up, but she cried and wouldn’t let anyone touch her, insisting on finding her big brother to take her home.” The maid servant relays the situation to Pei Che as they walk.

Pei Che feels anxious. His fourth sister is only eight years old this year. She has always been spoiled at home. Now that she is injured, she is probably scared and crying, wanting to go home.

Su Jin follows behind them and says, “I have some excellent medicinal wine in my room. I’ll fetch it, and you can use it to massage her later.”

“Ah Jin, thank you, but considering her delicate health, she might not endure the pain. I’ll take her home and have a doctor check on her.”

Su Jin clicks his tongue, muttering about how troublesome young girls are, easily injured and unable to tolerate even medicinal oils.

Pei Che hastens his steps towards the back courtyard. When they arrive, the Princess has already arranged for the other families’ women to be settled elsewhere, leaving only the Pei family on the field.

When Pei Yashi sees Pei Che, she cries even harder, raises her hands for him to hold her, and shouts, “Big brother, it hurts so much.”

Pei Che carefully avoids her injured foot, lifts her up, apologizes to the Princess, and then takes the girls back home.

No one notices that there is a woman hiding behind the plum tree. She looks at Pei Che’s back with shining eyes and says to herself, “Pei Yage is right. There really is such a handsome man in the world!”

“Princess, why are you standing here? Let’s go back to the palace. The Empress only allowed you a short outing.” A young palace maid, who has been searching everywhere, is now panting with exhaustion.

“What’s the rush? Let me bid Aunt farewell first!” The young princess glares at the maid and walks towards the Princess. In her heart, however, she thinks of the young man she has just seen. He is much more handsome than her cold-faced cousin!

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