The atmosphere in the main hall of the Shen Manor was so heavy that it felt as if water could be wrung from it. When Pei Cijing followed the guiding servant boy over the threshold, he was almost forced to a halt by the invisible pressure radiating from within.
Looking up, the hall was packed.
Yet, it was dead silent.
Only the bronze beast-head incense burner in the corner exhaled curling blue smoke, sketching the shape of the air on its own.
Because Yuanbao had been searching the streets for him.
Wasting a lot of time.
Pei Cijing was actually the last to arrive.
If it were an ordinary day.
Arriving so late would inevitably be met with the scrutinizing, eagle-like gaze of his eldest uncle, the Marquis of Weiyuan, Pei Fucheng, followed closely by the veiled, needle-in-cotton scolding of his aunt, Madam Li: "Where did Cijing go running wild again?" "Being so undisciplined, what a disgrace!" "After all, they are the concubine-born second branch, their manners are always lacking," and so on.
But today.
Everything was a little different.
Sitting on the left side of the main seat of honor was his eldest uncle—the current Marquis of Weiyuan, Pei Fucheng—and his wife, Madam Li.
Pei Fucheng had a stern face.
And sharp eyes.
Yet at this moment, he rarely did not direct his dissatisfied gaze at his "good-for-nothing" nephew.
The Marquis's wife, Madam Li, who usually looked down on the concubine-born second branch and always gave him a faint, picky look, actually turned her face slightly to the side, avoiding his gaze. On her well-maintained face, there was a very faint, almost embarrassed... blush of shame?
His usually smiling, broad-minded, and plump parents were sitting side by side on the lower right seats.
The amiable smiles on their faces.
Had disappeared without a trace.
All that was left was the anger after being humiliated and the dignity they were trying hard to maintain.
This was too unusual.
Pei Cijing's heart sank, and his gaze followed everyone's line of sight to the center of the hall.
Two people were kneeling on the ground.
The man was dressed in fine clothes, his hair crown slightly askew. It was his always elegant and highly regarded eldest brother, the heir—Pei Ciling. And beside him was a slender woman in a light pink dress. That familiar silhouette belonged to his unmarried fiancée—the Shen family's concubine-born daughter, Shen Ningyue.
Although the two had straightened their clothes.
Their slightly messy hair, Shen Ningyue's flushed face, a suspicious red mark on her neck, and the indescribable ambiguous atmosphere permeating between them...
This scene!
This atmosphere!
This character relationship!
No need for a narrator to say more, the truth was as obvious as a louse on a bald man's head—it was clear that his good eldest brother and his former fiancée had done a "good deed."
They were probably caught red-handed on the spot.
Pei Cijing's mouth could not help but twitch. He felt as if he could see the warm, mutton-fat white jade on his hair crown being slowly dyed by an invisible, rich green hue!
He hadn't even married a wife yet.
And he was already cuckolded?
No, no, there were no feelings between him and this Shen Ningyue, nor had she officially married into his family, so she couldn't really be considered his wife. Since she wasn't his wife, the color above his head should still be pure and not skewed.
Besides, it was better for this matter to blow up early than to find out after getting married.
He didn't want to suddenly discover one day in the future that the child at his knee didn't resemble his features; when that time came, that would be a true loss of face, making a wedding dress for someone else.
Having forcibly fed himself this logic.
Pei Cijing felt the stifling breath stuck in his chest ease up a bit.
He steadied his mind, ignored the various sympathetic or awkward gazes in the hall, walked forward quickly, and bowed to the elders at the head of the hall with a respectful but unpanicked posture.
"Cijing is late, please forgive me, elders."
Shen Zhongcheng, Pei Cijing's former prospective father-in-law, who was sitting at the main seat with a face as deep as water, looked at him with a complex gaze, sighed almost inaudibly, and raised his hand in a void gesture to help him up: "Never mind, it was a sudden incident. Cijing, take a seat first."
Pei Cijing followed the instruction and sat in the empty seat below his parents.
Inadvertently, his eyes.
Met his good eldest brother's.
A trace of guilt flashed quickly through Pei Ciling's eyes, but it was mostly replaced by a stubborn and firm determination to fight for "love." He only locked eyes with Pei Cijing for a brief instant before quickly looking away, turning back to Shen Ningyue, who seemed to be trembling slightly beside him.
His gaze melted into a pool of spring water.
So deeply affectionate that it could almost draw sticky threads.
Pei Cijing: "..."
"Since everyone is here," Shen Zhongcheng's voice sounded again, carrying the steady weight of someone long in officialdom, but also an undeniable heavy pressure. "We need both families to discuss and come up with a plan on how to handle this... matter today."
He paused, his gaze like a knife, slowly sweeping over the two kneeling people, and finally landed on the Marquis of Weiyuan, Pei Fucheng's face: "Marquis, this happened in the Shen Manor. It is my failure in discipline, and I apologize first."
Shen Zhongcheng spoke with great measure.
He first lowered his posture.
And took some of the blame.
But then the topic changed sharply, "However, why would the Heir appear in my daughter's boudoir? And why did it result in such a situation? I still need a clear explanation for the reasons behind this. After all, it concerns the reputation of both our manors. If it cannot be handled properly, I fear both our families will lose all face and become a laughingstock in the court and the public."
The pressure was shifted to the Marquis of Weiyuan's Manor.
Pei Fucheng's face darkened even more.
He glared fiercely at the useless, rebellious son kneeling on the ground, the veins on his forehead bulging.
Madam Li tightened her grip on her handkerchief, wanting to say something to plead for her son who had been kneeling for a long time, but finally swallowed her words under her husband's stern gaze.
This matter was hard to handle!
The Marquis of Weiyuan had a headache.
Not only did he have to give an explanation to the Shen Manor, but he also had to give an explanation to his second brother. After all, his son had slept with the second branch's future daughter-in-law. This was simply a monstrous humiliation!
Even if his second brother was concubine-born.
They were still blood brothers!
With such humiliation, if not handled properly, brothers turning against each other and family unrest would be right before their eyes!
But this Shen Zhongcheng, with just a few light words, had tossed the difficult problem to him. What an old fox. These civil officials had more holes in their hearts than a honeycomb!
Pei Fucheng cursed inwardly, but his face grew more solemn. For a moment, he couldn't come up with a foolproof plan that could both preserve the Marquis Manor's face and appease the anger of both families.
Pei Cijing, on the other hand, slumped in his chair.
As the victim.
His family definitely wouldn't want a ruined reputation like Ningyue anymore. She would most likely end up entering his eldest brother's inner court. As for what would happen to his eldest brother's original marriage arrangement, that actually had little to do with him.
However...
Did this count as an immersive, live gossip-eating experience?
As one of the core subjects of the gossip.
Once this shocking drama settled, the "gossip points" settled by the system surely wouldn't be few. He wondered if, added to his previously accumulated balance, it would be enough to redeem a bottle of Face Retaining Pills?
With this messy business happening.
The two at home.
Especially his mother, must be feeling incredibly stifled and terrible.
She would probably get a few more worry lines around her eyes. Although he had acquired the "Divine Healer" skill and could formulate some beauty pastes, they ultimately couldn't compare to the premium pills produced by the system.
One Face Retaining Pill could preserve one's youth for over a hundred years.
It was just that the system was a profiteer, insisting on selling them in a bundle of five pills for five thousand points a bottle. It refused to sell them individually and offered no flexibility, so he could only wait until he had gathered enough points to buy the whole bottle.
When the time came, he would give one pill to his dear old dad, and one to his wealthy mother.
One for himself.
One for his future, yet-to-be-found darling wife.
As for the last one, he would save it for the future; perhaps it could be used to win over a crucial figure.
Just as Pei Cijing's thoughts drifted away, nearly lost in his own daydreams, he completely failed to notice the other party involved in this marriage arrangement. Standing quietly behind her father, Shen Zhongcheng, was the legitimate daughter of the Shen family, Shen Ninghuan. She had secretly raised her gaze, letting it linger on him for several moments.
Her eyes were as clear as water, yet as profound as a deep, ancient well.
Beneath that calm surface.
Swirled a subtle sense of scrutiny, along with a faint, almost imperceptible trace of... contemplation and budding interest.
