"Mother!"
With Sui's clear, urgent cry, his small figure rushed in like a gust of wind, appearing at Yun Wan's bedside.
Yun Wan blinked in disbelief. "My dear, am I seeing things? How are you back?"
Sui hugged her tightly and said obediently, "Don’t worry, Mother. I asked for leave, and His Majesty permitted me to return!"
Before Yun Wan could ask further, Sui let go and leaned over the edge of the bed, gazing at her pitifully. "Mother, how are you feeling? Is it very bad?"
Sui knew what it was like to be sick—unable to eat or sleep well, enduring needles and bitter medicine, lying weak in bed with no strength to do anything.
When he had been ill before, those few days had been unbearable. He couldn’t imagine how much worse it must be for his mother after being sick for so long.
Just the thought made his eyes redden, and he cried, "Mother, I wish I could take your place! My body is strong—I wouldn’t mind the suffering!"
Yun Wan’s heart ached and swelled with sweetness, as if soaked in honey and vinegar. "Silly child, I won’t allow such talk. Never say that again, understand? Or I’ll be angry."
She deliberately put on a stern expression, pinching Sui’s cheek, which had also thinned from worry.
Sui pouted. "Understood..."
After a moment of gloom, his eyes sparkled again. "Then you must get better quickly, Mother! I want to go on a spring outing with you!"
Yun Wan ruffled his hair, her gaze tender. "Yes, I’ll do my best to recover."
While the mother and son were deep in conversation, a panting, exasperated voice came from the doorway:
"Lu—Lu Changsui! Wait for me! How can you run so fast?!"
Pei Qian couldn’t understand it. The boy was younger and shorter than him, yet he could sprint like the wind!
From the moment they stepped off the carriage, Sui had vanished ahead, leaving Pei Qian chasing after him in vain. Now, as he stumbled into the room, he collapsed onto the floor.
Sui looked sheepish and hurried to help him up, explaining, "Sorry, I just wanted to see Mother sooner."
He had accidentally run too fast—definitely not because he’d forgotten about Pei Qian.
Pei Qian’s face was flushed and sweaty from exertion. He rolled his eyes. "Did you have to run like that? It’s not like your mother was going anywhere!"
The maidservants eyed the slightly tanned but undeniably noble young boy with curiosity.
Yun Wan stepped out from the inner chamber and smiled warmly at Pei Qian. "You must be Young Master Pei Qian?"
Her attire was simple, her hair loosely pinned up with a hairpin. Though her face bore traces of illness, her beauty remained undiminished.
Her gentle eyes and soft smile carried a soothing warmth, like a spring breeze.
Meeting such a kind elder for the first time, the usually bold Pei Qian scratched his head, suddenly shy. "A-Auntie Lu, hello! I’m Pei Qian—just call me Pei Qian."
Before seeing him, Yun Wan had assumed the young noble would be unruly and arrogant. But now, she found him to be quite polite.
His features resembled Princess Yongshou’s—bold and spirited, with thick brows and large eyes. His darker complexion didn’t seem natural but rather the result of too much sun.
Yun Wan nodded and addressed him by name.
Pei Qian blinked, then leaned closer to study her face. "Auntie, are you a fairy from heaven? How else could you be so beautiful?"
At five or six years old, he already understood beauty. To him, Yun Wan was like the celestial beings described by storytellers—ethereal and enchanting.
Yun Wan was momentarily stunned. Yue'e chuckled nearby. "Young Master jests! Our mistress is no fairy—just an ordinary mortal."
Yue Ya teased, "If Madam is a fairy, then doesn’t that make you a little immortal too, Young Master?"
Yun Wan shot them an exasperated look. "Enough. Go fetch some snacks, will you?"
After chatting with the boys for a while, Yun Wan worried about passing her illness to them and gently urged them to go play outside, reminding Sui to be a good host.
Servants brought out pastries, candied fruits, and two bowls of creamy curd.
Pei Qian, already starving and unfussy about food, devoured half a plate of pea-flour cakes.
After a sip of the fresh curd, he asked curiously, "Lu Changsui, your mother is so gentle. Does she ever scold you?"
In contrast, Sui had a much smaller appetite. He nibbled on a chestnut cake and nodded firmly. "Of course! Mother is the best. Even if I make mistakes, she never yells—she just explains things to me."
Pei Qian sighed enviously, his little face full of longing. "I wish my mother would just talk to me like that."
Sui didn’t quite understand his troubles but set down his cake and said earnestly, "Thank you for today, Pei Qian."
"And I’m sorry for calling you ‘Money Loser’ before. That was wrong of me."
His mother had taught him to distinguish right from wrong—to give thanks and apologies openly and honestly. He had taken those lessons to heart.
Sui was grateful that Pei Qian had dragged him before Emperor Jingxuan earlier. Though impulsive, it had worked out well.
Pei Qian was startled by his sudden formality. "Hey, that’s all in the past! Why bring it up now? I’d almost forgotten!"
He huffed, then added awkwardly, "But I wasn’t right either, snatching your things before. So we’re even!"
Sui nodded. "Agreed."
Pei Qian stroked his chin, eyeing Sui before declaring with exaggerated gravity, "Since you’re not so bad, I’ll reluctantly consider you a brother now. From now on, at the Hongwen Institute—no, in the whole capital—if anyone dares bully you, just mention my name! They won’t dare touch you!"
Sui smiled. "Good. We’re friends now."
......
After spending an hour at the Lu residence, Pei Qian returned to the Duke’s estate by carriage.
The moment he entered the courtyard, Princess Yongshou stood with hands on her hips, glaring. "Where have you been all day, coming back so late?"
Unexpectedly, Pei Qian bounded up to her like a monkey, grinning. "Mother, can I ask you something?"
Princess Yongshou narrowed her eyes. "Go on."
Pei Qian chuckled. "Well... from now on, if I get into trouble, could you not hit me? Just talk to me instead?"
Princess Yongshou scoffed. "So you admit it’s trouble?"
A mother knows her son best—whenever this rascal acted sweet, mischief was surely brewing.
She grabbed his ear and twisted. "You know it’s wrong, yet you still do it, and now you want me to ‘talk’? Sounds like you’re itching for a beating, hm?"
Pei Qian yelped, grimacing. "Ow! Mother, ease up!"
"Lu Changsui’s mother is beautiful and kind! Even when he messes up, she never hits him—she just explains things!"
Princess Yongshou snorted. "Lu Changsui studies without needing reminders. Can you recite the Thousand-Character Classic?"
Pei Qian fell silent, guilt written all over his face.
Princess Yongshou scoffed, "You can't, can you? Yet little Lu Changsui could recite it backward at such a young age!"
"Wait—you went to the Lu residence today?"
Her eyes narrowed as she commanded Pei Qian to explain everything that had happened that day.
After listening, her expression turned stunned, laced with disbelief. "You're saying your imperial uncle, His Majesty, sent Imperial Physician Zhou to treat Madam Lu?"
Pei Qian rubbed his ear and muttered, "Yes, Mother. Is there a problem?"
A massive problem!
Princess Yongshou's mind was roiling with shock.
She knew Emperor Jingxuan well—her imperial brother was never one for mercy or tenderness toward women.
After turning it over in her mind, analyzing it from every angle, Princess Yongshou felt she had stumbled upon something earth-shattering!
