TTTQF Chapter 82

Little Money-Grubber

Pei Che leads the guards from his residence to Pei Mu's courtyard. He orders the guards to go into each room and bring all the servants to stand in the center of the courtyard, forbidding them from talking to each other..

Before being brought over, the servants are all engaged in different activities. Some are even running a dice gambling game, inviting others to place bets and gamble money.

Pei Che sits inside, watching the group of people nervously standing in the courtyard. They glance around anxiously, but none of them know why the heir has suddenly called everyone together.

"Where is Xing'er?"

"Your Lordship, Xing'er is not in her room. According to some of the younger maids outside, it seems she went to visit another courtyard. Should I send someone to fetch her?" asks Gao Tianchuan, the commander of the Duke's household guards, who was promoted by Pei Che’s father.

Pei Che’s second uncle has always wanted to replace Gao Tianchuan with his own people. Although the guards seem to hold a low status, they actually control the flow of information throughout the entire Duke’s residence. It's nearly impossible for anyone to bypass them and do anything unnoticed. How could Pei Shiyuan allow his mouthpiece to be controlled by someone else? Three months after he takes over as the Duke, he brings someone in from outside, claiming that this person is highly skilled in martial arts and can better ensure the safety of the residence. The implication is that this person is more capable than Gao Tianchuan.

Gao Tianchuan, however, remained calm and immediately expressed his willingness to spar with this skilled individual, stating that if he was outmatched, he would resign as the commander of the guards. Pei Shiyuan had been waiting for this statement and quickly arranged for the two to spar. Originally confident, Pei Shiyuan's mood darkened when he heard Gao Tianchuan humbly express his concession after the match.

He had intended to find an excuse to remove Gao Tianchuan, but the old lady quickly intervened, telling him that Gao Tianchuan was Pei Shijie's man and that seeing him always reminded her of Pei Shijie. At that time, Pei Shiyuan only held the nominal title of Duke, while the old lady still controlled everything in the household, so he had no choice but to accept it.

"No need. Since she enjoys being outside, let her stay outside. Bring in the others," Pei Che says expressionlessly.

One by one, the terrified servants are brought in, questioned extensively, and then led out again. Some are completely confused, unable to make sense of the situation, while others feel as if their world is collapsing, standing in the sunlit courtyard with hearts sinking to the bottom.

Sitting inside the room, Pei Che’s anger grows more intense by the minute. As he listens to the testimonies extracted from these people, he feels an overwhelming urge to tear Xing'er apart. At the same time, he loathes himself for being so lost in his days that he doesn’t even realize Mu'er is being tormented right under his nose!

He now knows that the reason why Mu'er likes to crawl into the cabinet is because that venomous woman initially wants to punish him but is afraid of leaving marks that others might notice. So, she locked him in a pitch-black wooden cabinet, sometimes for an entire hour at a time. Over time, Mu'er becomes accustomed to staying in the cabinet; at least in there, he doesn’t have to face those people.

"Your Lordship, Xing'er is back," Gao Tianchuan reports. His men relay that when Xing'er sees the guards at the gate, she tries to turn around and leave, but luckily they see her and stop her in time.

"Bring her in," Pei Che says, a flash of murderous intent in his eyes. He looks once more at the contents on the paper, the veins on his hand gripping the paper bulging with rage.

When Xing'er is brought in, she looks a bit guilty. She has just come from the Madam’s place.

"Your Lordship, what do you need me for?" Xing'er asks sweetly, putting on a smile.

Pei Che looks at her coldly. "Where did you go just now?"

"I..." Xing'er hesitates for a moment before suddenly coming up with a good idea. "I just went to the Fourth Madam's place to get some trinkets that Young Master Pei Qi likes. I thought that perhaps the Young Master found the courtyard too boring, and with these things, he might be willing to come back. Unfortunately, the Fourth Madam wasn’t there, so I made the trip for nothing."

"Oh? So, I should be thanking you then, since you're thinking of Mu'er," Pei Che smiles at her.

Xing'er immediately blushes, too focused on her shyness to notice what’s lurking behind Pei Che’s smile. Pretending to be modest, she says, "Your Lordship, it's nothing. This is just what I should do. The old lady and you trust me to take care of the Young Master, and with him not around, my heart feels so heavy."

"In that case, you should continue serving by Mu'er's side from now on." Before Xing'er can smile, Pei Che adds, "But before you go to care for Mu'er, I have a few questions for you."

"Your Lordship, please ask anything you want," Xing'er says, suppressing her inner joy, and looking at Pei Che with anticipation.

"Why did you harm Mu'er?"

Xing'er's face turns pale in an instant. Forcing a smile, she pretends not to understand, "Your Lordship, what are you saying? I’ve watched the Young Master grow up; how could I ever harm him?"

"You still want to deny it?" Pei Che, no longer willing to waste words with her, instructs Gao Tianchuan to show her the testimonies from the other servants.

Xing'er tries to suppress her anxiety as she takes the testimonies, but after reading just a few lines, she collapses to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. "Your Lordship, please believe me, I'm innocent! Those people... they're just jealous that I get to serve the Young Master, so they’re slandering me! You have to believe me, I never did anything to harm the Young Master!"

"One person might lie, but ten people, twenty people, a whole group—would they all conspire together?" Pei Che looks at her with disgust. "Or perhaps you don't realize that Mu'er himself tells me about this!"

"Impossible!" Xing'er screams, "He hasn't spoken a word in so long, how could he suddenly start talking?"

"From the way you’re speaking, it seems you don’t want Mu'er to be able to talk? Yet just a moment ago, you claimed everything you did was for his sake." Pei Che sneers.

"I didn’t mean that! I just find it strange that so many doctors said the Young Master couldn’t be cured, and now suddenly he’s better? Did that person outside use some kind of dark magic?" Xing'er tries to shift the blame.

Pei Che explodes with anger, "Even now, you can't speak a single truth, and you're still trying to sow discord! I really misjudged you!"

"Every word I say is the truth. If Your Lordship won’t believe me, there's nothing I can do," Xing'er stubbornly refuses to admit she ever harms Pei Mu. She's gambling, betting that Pei Mu won't be able to speak! After all this time, he hasn’t said a word, so how could he suddenly talk now?

Pei Che glances at Gao Tianchuan, who then takes out a bundle from one of his subordinates. Seeing the familiar fabric of the bundle, Xing'er’s expression turns frantic.

"You should be very familiar with what’s inside, right? All of this is found in your room. But some of these items, I find them quite familiar too."

Pei Che looks at the contents of the bundle. There are jade pieces he has given to Mu'er, gold and silver ingots from elders during the New Year, and many other items meant for Pei Mu. All of these have ended up in someone else's pocket. Over the years, the greatest harm to Pei Mu has come from someone who disguises themselves as harmless, deceiving everyone—including him.

Xing'er can no longer argue; she just kneels down and begs for mercy, hoping Pei Che will forgive her for the sake of her parents.

"How many times have you used this excuse over the years? Let me tell you, today, it won't work. Your parents died because of a natural disaster, not because of human fault. The household showed mercy by not holding them accountable for failing to protect their master, and yet you dare to repeatedly seek forgiveness using their names? Commander Gao, take her away and sell her directly tomorrow."

"Your Lordship, you can't do this! The reason I treat Pei Mu like that is for you! He's the one who caused the death of the former heir and Madam, and he's the one who caused the death of my parents! He made us lose our loved ones, so why should he go unpunished?" Xing'er shouts as she is being dragged away.

"Is that how you see him? Mu'er was only a year old at the time; in that whole incident, he is the most innocent of all! There's no need for you to say any more—I won't listen. Commander Gao, gag her and drag her out. Tomorrow morning, sell her off to the most remote region so she'll never return to Liangjing! As for the others, transfer those who didn't harm Mu'er, and for those who did, give them a beating and throw them out of the estate!"

"Yes, Your Lordship! I will carry out your orders!" Gao Tianchuan felt a bit of relief as he saw Pei Che sternly giving the orders. The former heir had the same nature. He appeared gentle and refined on the surface, but he never hesitated when it came to making decisions.

By the time Pei Che finishes handling the matters in Pei Mu's courtyard, it is already near dusk. When he returns to his own courtyard, Pei Mu has already finished practicing his writing.

"Mu'er!" Pei Che squats down, softly calling his name, and stares at him earnestly. "It was my fault before. I don’t realize you are being bullied. I have driven all the bad people away, and they will never come back. Don’t worry; from now on, no one will be able to hurt you again."

Pei Mu tilts his head, seeming a bit puzzled. But the next moment, he takes the initiative to hold Pei Che's hand and starts leading him outside. At first, Pei Che doesn’t understand what he means, but after walking for a while, he realizes that Pei Mu wants to take him to that courtyard.

"Mu'er, you want to see if what I say is true, don’t you? Don’t worry, I keep my promises and won’t go back on my word."

When Pei Mu returns to his old courtyard and sees that those people are really gone, he can’t help but smile with satisfaction. He lets go of Pei Che's hand and walks a few steps further inside, his gaze wandering as if everything around him fascinates him.

Pei Che feels a pang of sadness. His brother is the owner of the courtyard, yet he can only freely explore it after those people have left. This is another reminder of how poorly he has fulfilled his role as an older brother.

Suddenly, Pei Mu's gaze fixes on something. Following his eyes, Pei Che notices that the items confiscated from Xing'er are still on the table.

Oh no, Pei Che thinks, these things were used by that woman—Mu'er will definitely be frightened when he sees them! Just as he is about to go over and take the items away, he sees Pei Mu quickly rush over, stand on his tiptoes to peer at the table, and carefully inspect the items. Then, he opens his hand, takes out a silver ingot, and tucks it into his clothes, completely ignoring the gold ones.

Watching his brother’s actions, Pei Che can’t help but feel amused. It seems that after spending so much time with Jiang Miao, his little brother has turned into a bit of a money-grubber.

"Are you taking that silver to give to Brother Miao?"

Pei Mu nods, but his hand does not stop grabbing more silver. Brother Miao has told him that silver is a good thing!

"How about taking these as well? Your Brother Miao will be even happier." Pei Che puts two gold ingots into Pei Mu's hand.

Pei Mu frowns, shoots a suspicious glance at Pei Che, and then puts one of the gold ingots back on the table. He waves his hand dismissively, indicating that one is enough.

Brother Miao doesn’t have these! They must not be any good!

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