TTTQF Chapter 51

Advantages Outweighs the Disadvantages

“Xiao Shitou, this is my younger brother. His name is Mu’er. He doesn’t usually like to talk much. Can you take him out to play for a while?” Pei Che squats down, pulls Pei Mu to his side, and introduces him to Xiao Shitou.

Xiao Shitou can’t refuse such a small request after receiving something from Pei Che. He immediately nods in agreement and takes Pei Mu’s hand, saying he will take him to see Dahua’s children.

After the two little ones go out, inside the room, Jiang Miao is sitting on a small bench holding a pair of chopsticks, adding seasonings to the stuffing in his hand. Pei Che sits opposite him, watching his movements, seemingly lost in thought.

Seeing Pei Che not speaking for a while, Jiang Miao looks up in confusion, “What did you say you were here for again?” He only remembers Pei Che talking about taking his brother out for a change of scenery but can’t recall the earlier part.

Pei Che says, “Today, Li Dian, the Supervisor from the Imperial Observatory, came to the residence. He said he wanted to take our birth dates to match.”

“Match the birth dates?” Jiang Miao’s hands slow down. “I don’t seem to remember my birth date very well.” He isn’t the original owner. He only glanced at the family genealogy once last time and vaguely remembers the date as the eighth day of the ninth month.

“This thing should be kept by your elders and will only be taken out to match with the bride’s birth date when you are about to get married,” Pei Che says.

“So, matching the birth dates means we are going to get married?” In modern times, marriage doesn’t have such a rule. It’s just about getting a certificate directly. When Pei Che says this, Jiang Miao realizes it, and he is so shocked that he drops his chopsticks on the ground.

“That’s right. After matching the birth dates, the Astronomical Bureau will calculate an auspicious date for the wedding,” Pei Che adds, instantly stabbing Jiang Miao’s already fragile heart.

“No, you’re too devious!” Jiang Miao is anxious. “You didn’t mention this process when you first talked to me! You said we were just going to pretend and find an excuse to break up after things calmed down.”

Pei Che looks guilty, “I didn’t think it through. I only found out today about the emperor’s entanglement with my family. He definitely won’t let this matter go easily.”

“Then what kind of grudge does the emperor have with your family?” Jiang Miao is speechless.

Pei Che doesn’t intend to hide it from him. He organizes his thoughts and recounts what he has heard before.

Jiang Miao is dumbfounded. A grudge over stealing his wife and a hatred for siding with the wrong faction—even though these are merely the emperor’s own beliefs, the emperor’s power can’t be denied. No wonder he is forcing Pei Che. It’s clear that he is taking out his anger on the son because the father is gone.

“If you don’t want to, I will find another way to resolve this,” Pei Che says, knowing that Jiang Miao must be opposed to the idea of marriage since he remains silent.

“Find another man to marry you?” After the imperial decree is issued, his secrets are likely already exposed. Can he still pull off a switcheroo?

Pei Che shakes his head. “The emperor’s goal isn’t to see me marry a man. He just wants to see the Duke’s household become a laughingstock. If there was something even more scandalous than marrying a man, the emperor would probably not insist on it.”

Even more scandalous? Jiang Miao’s mind floods with countless thoughts. He cautiously asks, “You wouldn’t think of something desperate, would you?” Is Pei Che planning to end his life to resolve the emperor’s resentment?

Pei Che laughs. “Nothing so extreme. I’m just thinking of finding an opportunity to let everyone know that I’m impotent.” If he is impotent, he naturally can’t get married, and it will make him a joke throughout Liangjing. The emperor would surely enjoy that.

Pei Che doesn’t realize the ambiguity in his words. Hearing this, Jiang Miao’s eyes immediately drift to three inches below Pei Che’s navel, unable to help feeling a bit sympathetic. For a man, such a thing is hardly better than death. Although he has never used that part for actual intercourse, he does maintain it occasionally.

Pei Che awkwardly turns sideways, avoiding his sight, and growls in a low voice, “I’m only pretending to be impotent!” No man wants to be suspected of being dysfunctional.

“Oh, oh,” Jiang Miao quickly corrects himself. “I thought so. You look healthy, so how could you be impotent? But with this plan, won’t it be hard for you to marry and have children in the future? Would anyone still marry you?”

“I can only manage the present. As for long-term plans, we’ll have to take it one step at a time.” To speak disrespectfully, the emperors of Daliang are not particularly long-lived. “The most important thing now is your decision. What do you think?”

The ball is kicked back to him. Jiang Miao stands there, caught in a fierce mental struggle. On one hand, he feels he should seize the opportunity to extricate himself; after all, he is unfortunately implicated in this mess. If not for his momentary greed, he wouldn’t be in this situation. On the other hand, he looks at Pei Che. Although Pei Che can be exasperating at times, he has treated Jiang Miao well. Even before all this, despite their vastly different statuses, Pei Che treated him as an equal.

Unable to make a decision, Jiang Miao resorts to his best method of choice: calculation. Businessmen weigh pros and cons. If the cons outweigh the pros, there is no discussion. If the pros outweigh the cons, everything can be negotiated.

First, the disadvantages: as a man, not marrying a wife but becoming the one to be married harms his male dignity. Moreover, since their marriage is decreed by the emperor, once they truly get married, divorce won’t be easy, which means he definitely won’t have his own descendants. Furthermore, it’s said that large families have many rules; if he had to spend his entire life in the back courtyard after marrying, there is nothing more to say.

As for the advantages: firstly, Pei Che is wealthy and influential. As the saying goes, having someone in the court is beneficial. With the support of the Duke’s household, thriving in business wouldn’t be a problem. Secondly, not having descendants isn’t a concern for him—he wasn’t originally from this world. He died young in his previous life, without any descendants and as a bachelor, so there are no regrets. If he can use the Duke’s influence to raise Xiao Shitou well, it can be regarded as worthy of the Jiang family. Finally, Pei Che is very good-looking. Even if he does nothing, just looking at him is pleasant. Even if he could marry a wife, she wouldn’t be as attractive as Pei Che. As a modern man, Jiang Miao has long since abandoned any pretense of moral integrity.

Jiang Miao mentally calculates the pros and cons, occasionally giving Pei Che a strange look. Pei Che can see through Jiang Miao’s little calculations at a glance. Because of this, Pei Che is still 80% confident that Jiang Miao will agree.

“Are there many rules in your household? After… going over, I won’t be confined to the back courtyard, will I?” The word “marry” is still somewhat shameful to say directly.

Seeing Jiang Miao looking at him nervously, Pei Che knows this is what Jiang Miao cares about most. He immediately says, “Although you enter my household, your status as a man won’t change. I can assure you, whatever I can do, you can do too. I will never selfishly confine you to the back courtyard for my own selfishness and waste your life.”

His eyes are sincere, and Jiang Miao looks at him for a long time before finally sighing in compromise, “Jiangjiawan is a bit far from here, but you have a carriage. The birth date should be brought back today.” Overall, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Pei Che chuckles softly and looks at Jiang Miao tenderly. He knows Jiang Miao values loyalty. Of course, he won’t mistreat Jiang Miao. Whatever Jiang Miao wants, he will ensure it will be fulfilled.

While the two older brothers discuss marriage matters inside, the two younger brothers are outside, happily watching cats. Though only Xiao Shitou is talking, Young Master Pei’s eyes are also fixed on the cats.

“…Look at this one, it’s called Little White Spot because its whole body is black, but it has a white spot on its head, so my brother called it Little White Spot.” Xiao Shitou points to a small black cat and introduces it to Pei Mu. This is his favorite, skinny and small, a bit like how he used to be.

Pei Mu silently stares at the little black cat. Such a creature had never appeared in his world before.

“Do you know why it’s so black?” Xiao Shitou asks. Without waiting for a response, he continues, “Its mother is called Dahua, a yellow and white cat, but my brother said Little White Spot’s father was a black cat, which is why it’s so black.”

Xiao Shitou glances at Pei Mu and notices that he still isn’t speaking. He bends down and picks up Little White Spot. Ever since Jiang Miao and the others came back for the New Year, they have been bringing things for the cats to eat almost every day. The kittens are closer to them than to their own mother.

“Do you want to pet it?” Xiao Shitou asks, holding the kitten close to Pei Mu.

Little White Spot raises its black head, looking curiously at the dazzling person in front of it with its amber-like eyes. Its small furry paw reaches forward tentatively, seemingly trying to bat at the small jade pendant hanging from Pei Mu’s waist.

Pei Mu’s hand moves slightly at his side, but he still doesn’t lift it to touch the fluffy creature in front of him. It doesn’t matter, though, because Xiao Shitou has already moved the kitten to his hand.

The moment the soft cat fur touches his hand, Pei Mu freezes involuntarily. The next instant, Little White Spot rubs its head against his hand, meowing as if talking to him.

Pei Mu gently squeezes his hand and then, like stroking a jade-carved fish, he softly pets the kitten’s head.

Xiao Shitou imitates the kitten’s meows. With someone responding, the kitten meows even more happily. The other kittens on the ground join in, adding to the chorus. The continuous meowing fills Pei Mu’s ears, bringing an unprecedented liveliness to his heart, which had been like an endless desert, now receiving its first drop of dew.

After holding the kitten for a while, Xiao Shitou’s hands feel sore, so he puts the kitten down and crouches on the ground to pet it. Pei Mu’s hand suddenly loses the warm, soft sensation, and a look of disappointment appears on his face. He frowns, looking at Xiao Shitou, his lips tightly pressed together.

“You can crouch down and pet it too,” Xiao Shitou says, tugging at his clothes. When Pei Mu doesn’t crouch down, he tugs several more times. Finally, Pei Mu slowly crouches beside him and reaches out to pet the kitten.

“Do you know what kittens love to eat the most?” Xiao Shitou asks, not content with silence. He looks at Pei Mu, who is only staring at the kitten. If one looks closely, they would notice that his hand pauses for a moment before continuing.

“They love to eat fish, the kind of small fish you have in your hand. Little White Spot can eat three at a time! But Grandma Liu said we shouldn’t let them eat too much fish, or they won’t catch mice anymore. Have you seen a mouse? They’re black too, but very ugly, not at all like Little White Spot…” Xiao Shitou is used to talking to himself. He has few playmates in the city, so when he plays games, he pretends to be several people playing together.

Pei Mu listens to his voice, his hand petting the kitten, but his eyes are on the jade-carved fish in his other hand. After a moment, he slowly moves the hand holding the fish towards Little White Spot’s mouth.

Little White Spot tilts its head in confusion and meows. Just as it is about to stretch out its tongue to lick the fish, Xiao Shitou pulls it back.

“Kittens can’t eat this kind of fish, they want to eat real fish!” Xiao Shitou hurriedly corrects himself. “This kind of fish is only for playing with in your hand.”

The mention of the small fish leaves Pei Mu a bit confused. He stares blankly at the jade-carved fish, not sure what to think.

“Xiao Shitou, do you want to come back to Jiangjiawan with me, or stay at home?” Jiang Miao and Pei Che walk out of the house together and ask for his opinion.

Xiao Shitou thinks for a moment. “When will you be back, brother?”

“I’ll be back today. You have to go to school tomorrow.” Without special reasons, Jiang Miao would not agree to children skipping school.

“Then I’ll stay home. Brother, come back early!” Since starting school, Xiao Shitou has become much braver and no longer sticks to his brother all the time.

“Alright then. Stay in the yard. That uncle will bring you lunch at noon. After eating, practice your writing,” Jiang Miao points to the guard at the gate and habitually instructs.

“Okay!” Xiao Shitou nods to show he will obey.

As the brothers speak, Pei Che keeps staring at Pei Mu who is petting the cat under the tree, feeling a bit excited as he sees him petting it over and over again.

“Mu’er, what about you? Will you follow brother, or stay here?” Pei Che asks, hoping Pei Mu will answer him crisply like Xiao Shitou does.

As expected, Pei Mu doesn’t answer. But when Pei Che is about to take his hand and lead him away, Pei Mu slightly avoids him.

This action has never happened before, and Pei Che is stunned. He suddenly realizes Pei Mu’s answer—he is expressing refusal!

“Mu’er, since you want to stay, brother will let you stay here.”

After saying that, Pei Che instructs the guard to take good care of the two children and asks Xiao Shitou to include Pei Mu in his activities. Naturally, Xiao Shitou agrees obediently.

“Ah Miao, you’re right. The cure for heartache lies in the heart itself. I think Mu’er will recover soon!” Pei Che can’t contain his emotions as he speaks with deep feeling in the carriage.

“Don’t be too hasty. If you push too hard, the child might withdraw again.”

Pei Che’s high spirits gradually settle after hearing this. “You’re right. We mustn’t rush things. As long as he gets better day by day, even if it takes another eight years, it will be worth it.”

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