TTTQF Chapter 62

Unsightly

Duke Zhongguo Manor

“Che’er, are you saying you want to entrust your brother’s education to that man? I will not agree to this!” Grandmother Pei is originally quite happy to see Pei Che coming over, but upon hearing this matter, her anger flares up instantly.

Pei Che stands respectfully below her, yet firmly holds his stance: “Mu’er has improved significantly over the past month, thanks to my and Ah Miao’s companionship. If we continue to leave him in that small courtyard, all our efforts will have been in vain.”

Grandmother Pei's expression darkens. “Are you blaming me? He has more attendants in his courtyard than you do. How can you say he’s been left there unattended? With so many people looking after him, how can they not take good care of him?”

Pei Che looks directly at Grandmother Pei and says: "I dare not blame Grandmother. However, Grandmother should also know that servants often pretend to obey but instead disobey. I believe your arrangements are proper, but that does not prevent them from being negligent. When I visit Mu’er, the servants appear respectful, but in private, they are lazy. The tea in Mu’er’s room is always cold. Seeing him become more and more lifeless under their care, how can I be at ease leaving him with them?”

“It’s one thing to speak of others, but Xing'er was brought over as your mother’s dowry maid. How could she not take good care of your brother?” Although Grandmother Pei does not like Pei Mu, she will not let others mistreat him. She has specially chosen Xing'er to manage the entire courtyard. Would anyone dare to disregard her and disrespect Pei Mu?

“I cannot be sure of her dedication, but Mu’er is not close to her. He is more comfortable with Ah Miao, whom he has known for only a little over a month. If Grandmother disagrees with giving Mu’er to Ah Miao’s care, then let me take him to the Imperial Academy with me.” When Pei Che returned Mu’er to the courtyard, he noticed that Xing'er tried to lead him inside, but Mu’er seemed to want to avoid her. When she took his hand, he became stiff. If Pei Che had not seen Mu’er’s lively side, he would have thought this behavior normal.

Grandmother Pei's chest heaves with anger. “What are you saying? How can you study if you take him with you? Fine, fine! He is your brother. Place him wherever you want! I am tired; you may leave now!” She stands up angrily and walks inside, supported by Nanny Gao, who silently sighs at Pei Che.

Pei Che knows that he has upset his grandmother, but since it is about Mu’er, he has no choice. If she had promised to look after Mu’er more, he wouldn’t have done this.

…

Pei Che originally plans to let Jiang Miao, Xiao Shitou, and Pei Mu live in Jiang's Manor. The environment there is better, and the staff are all his people. If anyone doesn’t serve well, they can be dismissed directly. Moreover, given Jiang Miao’s personality, Pei Che isn’t worried about him managing the staff.

Jiang Miao refuses. After the lively engagement, the common folk outside the city are very curious about the owner of the courtyard. They come over from time to time to inquire. Last time, they even stopped Jiang Miao as he came out and asked if he was a servant of the mansion.

Jiang Miao pretended to be delivering vegetables and struggled to get away from the crowd. Fortunately, he doesn’t like wearing those luxurious robes. That day, he was wearing patched clothes. Otherwise, he might have to cover his face when going out. A male wife bestowed by the emperor—how rare!

Now is the time when everyone is most curious, but he refuses to be watched like a monkey.

Pei Che didn’t force him. He just ordered someone to tidy up Jiang Miao’s place. When the work was done, Jiang Miao went in to take a look and was surprised. He never knew his place could be transformed like this. However, the rough exterior doesn’t match the finely decorated interior at all.

Pei Che squats down and talks to Pei Mu for a long time. Finally, he reminds him to be good before reluctantly getting on the carriage to the Imperial Academy.

After he leaves, Jiang Miao looks at Pei Mu, who is standing expressionless in the courtyard, and is momentarily at a loss. The child seems quiet but exudes a sense of melancholy, possibly because his brother has left.

"Mu'er, do you want to go see the cat?" he asks tentatively, knowing that this child seems to like kittens. Seeing that Pei Mu does not show any sign of reluctance, Jiang Miao takes his hand and leads him to the corner of the wall. After calling "meow meow" twice, a kitten with a white tuft on its black head pokes its head out of the corner. The kitten, with eyes like amber, stares at the two of them, meows, and jumps off the wall, rubbing against Jiang Miao's leg.

Dahua has given birth to five or six kittens, most of which are taken by others. This one, called Little White Spot, is reserved by Jiang Miao. The two houses are close, so the kitten often comes back for food. Sometimes Jiang Miao sends fish and shrimp to the neighbors to make sure Dahua has enough to eat.

The child becomes much happier upon seeing the cat. He sits on a small stool, petting the cat with one hand while holding his jade-carved little fish in the other. Little White Spot is very intelligent. Every time the two children play with it, it begs for food, seemingly knowing that the children will always fulfill its wishes.

Pei Mu hasn’t played with it for long before the cat starts circling his legs, meowing non-stop, and nudging his leg with its head.

Pei Mu understands and stands up. The kitten follows him all the way to the kitchen.

After waiting for a while and seeing that Pei Mu hasn’t given it any dried fish, the kitten becomes anxious. Pei Mu watches Jiang Miao’s back as he chops the stuffing and feels a bit anxious himself. Usually, when he is with Xiao Shitou, it is Xiao Shitou who asks Jiang Miao for the dried fish.

Pei Mu hesitates for a moment, then reaches out and gently tugs on Jiang Miao’s sleeve. Jiang Miao notices and turns his head to see Pei Mu, asking him what is wrong.

Pei Mu points at the kitten. Following his direction, Jiang Miao sees the kitten sitting there and guesses, “Mu’er, do you want to say something? Is the kitten hungry and wants to eat? If so, just nod your head. If you nod, I’ll get you some dried fish.” As he speaks, he nods to demonstrate.

Pei Mu hesitates for a while and then nods his little head up and down.

Jiang Miao smiles and pats his head. “That’s right. From now on, if you want something, nod your head. If you don’t want it, shake your head. That way, others will know what you want.”

He turns around and takes a small jar from the top of the cabinet. Inside are some small dried fish he has smoked. These dried fish are given by Sister Yu from the courtyard and have been cleaned thoroughly by him. They can be used not only to feed the cat but also to add to dishes when there is not enough food.

Pei Mu takes a small dried fish, squats down, and stuffs it into the meowing kitten's mouth. The kitten immediately starts eating, and a pleasant purr comes out of its throat. After eating one, the kitten raises its head to beg for food again. Pei Mu is much more skilled this time, nods to Jiang Miao, and stretches out his hand.

Jiang Miao gives him another piece, and they repeat this several times until the kitten is full and no longer asks for more. Pei Mu reluctantly ends the feeding game, his regretful expression looking very similar to Pei Che’s.

On the other side, Pei Che rushes to the Imperial College to cancel his month-long vacation and then goes straight to the teaching dormitory. At this time, the teacher has not come yet. As soon as Pei Che enters the door, several people ridicule him:

“Well, if it isn’t the heir, Young master Pei. I heard you married a male wife. Why not spend more time with him?”

“Yes, indeed. I wonder what the difference is between a male wife and a female wife. How about bringing him out for us to see sometime?”

“Oh, please. I hear the heir’s wife is a common street vendor, unfit for polite society. I wouldn’t want to be in the same room with someone like that.”

These few have always been jealous of Pei Che. Even before he is named heir, they mock his family background. When he is named heir, they haven’t had time to envy him before hearing about his male wife, which makes them feel superior again.

Pei Che glances at the three of them and says coolly, “If you’re curious, you could also marry a male wife. Since you already have heirs, even if you married a dog, no one would interfere. As for Brother Wu, who claims he doesn’t want to associate with commoners, I recall that your mother was a merchant’s daughter. Oh, I forgot, you’re registered under the main wife’s name. You’ve probably long forgotten your birth mother.”

The few men are stunned. Pei Che is not one to engage in verbal disputes; he usually ignores their taunts. But mentioning his male wife seems to have hit a nerve. 

Just as they are about to retort, they see the tutor appear at the door and have to swallow their words. After greeting the tutor, Pei Che returns to his seat.

When Han Qin and his friends arrive, they immediately notice Pei Che. They quickly greet him and sit around him. Han Qin, sitting to his left, opens a book to cover his face, then turns to Pei Che and whispers, "Ah Che, why didn’t you say anything about coming back today?"

Pei Che lowers his head, writes a note, and passes it to Han Qin under the table. Then he takes out his book and begins to read aloud. Han Qin stealthily unfolds the note, which reads: ‘Talk later, the teacher is watching you.’

Startled, Han Qin quickly looks up and meets the tutor’s frowning gaze. He immediately joins in the reading. Seeing this, the others refrain from asking further questions.

Finally, after the morning class ends, several people surround Pei Che as soon as they leave the room. "Ah Che, have you heard about the rumors? Word from the Ministry of Rites says that the man you’re going to marry is extremely rude and vulgar. We’ve met Jiang Miao and know better, but many people believe it, and the rumors are spreading uncontrollably. They even say that you’re so controlled by him and dare not say a word."

Although Han Qin and the others have beaten up the most aggressive scholar, stopping the widespread rumors isn’t so simple. They are worried about Pei Che’s reputation being ruined.

Pei Che is very touched to have such good friends who always think of him. He says, "There's no need for thanks between us brothers. However, you don’t need to suppress those rumors. The more outrageous they become, the better. I can’t explain the reasons in detail right now, but when the time is right, I will reveal everything." Until everything settles, it is best not to let too many people know the truth.

The three friends exchange confused glances. They don’t understand, but since Pei Che says so, it must involve something important.

Among them, He Chen is the oldest. He says, "Since A-Che has his reasons, we won’t press you. Those who only say a few sour words are one thing, but if anyone tries to take advantage of the chaos to slander you, just let us know. We won’t let them off."

"Mm." Pei Che responds with a smile and then walks with the others towards the dining hall.

After dinner, they return to their quarters. The rooms here are shared by two people each, and this is the case for everyone. Since Pei Che has been coming and going at the time, he is assigned to share a room with someone else.

When he returns to his quarters, he finds that the occupant of the opposite bed is packing up their things. The bed has been taken away, leaving only a bare wooden board. Clearly, this person has still been living in the room when he came before.

Pei Che, who has a merely cordial relationship with him, asks, "What’s going on?" To his surprise, the person immediately looks at Pei Che with suspicion and takes a step back. “What do you want?”

Pei Che is puzzled. “I am just greeting Brother Wang. I mean no harm.”

"Who knows what dirty thoughts you might have? If I had known you were into men, I wouldn’t have shared a room with you! I don’t know what kind of sordid activities you might have been involved in behind my back!” The man stares, as if Pei Che has tarnished his innocence.

Pei Che’s smile fades. “Rest assured, Brother Wang, even if I were starving, I would never have set my sights on you.”

“Hmph, whether you did or not, I can’t stay in this room any longer. Being in the same room with someone like you is utterly disgusting! How dare you come back here, being all show on the outside but rotten on the inside?” Wang’s face flushes red from embarrassment and anger. His words are even more hurtful, as if he believes he can restore his dignity by lashing out.

“By the way, I’ve been meaning to tell you, after you move out, make sure not to share a bed with anyone else.” Pei Che says coldly with a sneer.

“Why?” Wang wonders if there are other so-called ‘broken sleeves’ targeting him here.

"Brother Wang's appearance is unsightly. I often get a fright when I wake up at night. Fortunately, I have a strong constitution, but if someone else were frightened into having a problem, wouldn't that be your fault?" With this remark, Pei Che passes by him and walks inside.

Wang, enraged, wants to step forward and demand an explanation but remembers Pei Che’s top-notch archery skills and his group of friends. In the end, he can only throw out a dismissive "nonsense" before hastily grabbing his things and leaving.

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