Chapter 56

Chapter 56

It was dusk. The slanting, orange sunlight filled Serene Splendor Hall, illuminating Pei Ze’s face and highlighting the tears welling in his eyes. This was the first time Mrs. Pei had gone out and only remembered her young grandson upon returning home. Seeing his distress, her heart ached. She bent down, gently wiping the tears from his eyes, and whispered, "Grandma was wrong. Will A Ze forgive Grandma?"

Pei Ze pouted, clutching the hem of Mrs. Pei’s robe as he followed her, step by step, into the main room. He nodded but remained silent, his expression still deeply aggrieved.

It was late autumn, and Pei Ze had been in the courtyard for a while. With the tears on his face, Mrs. Pei felt a slight chill when she touched his cheeks. She immediately called for a maid to bring warm water, coaxing Pei Ze to drink.

Held in Mrs. Pei’s arms, Pei Ze slowly sipped half a cup of warm water, his emotions gradually calming. Nestled against her, his voice still carried a sob as he stammered, "A Ze... today... alone... at home."

Mrs. Pei patted his back soothingly. Yet, seeing him remain upset for so long, she couldn’t help but feel puzzled. In the past, there had been times she went out without him, but he had never been this distressed.

Could it be because Ming Tang hadn't yet married into the household...?

The thought flashed through her mind. Mrs. Pei looked up at Ming Tang, giving her a meaningful glance, signaling her to offer comfort as well.

Ming Tang pondered for a moment. Instead of apologizing like Mrs. Pei, she picked up on Pei Ze’s words and asked, "A Ze was home alone today. What did you do?"

Hiding in Mrs. Pei’s embrace, Pei Ze momentarily forgot his grievances. After a moment’s thought, he answered haltingly, "A Ze... ate... drew uncle... taught the silly bird... to talk."

"Really? A Ze did so many things all by himself? You’re so clever!"

Praised, Pei Ze, even while being held, couldn't help but straighten his back slightly, a hint of childish delight flickering within him.

But praise couldn't erase the sadness of waking up to find himself alone at home, waiting an entire day before seeing the two of them return.

So, after accepting the compliment and feeling happy for a brief moment, Pei Ze returned to his original grievance, accusing, "You went out... without A Ze!"

Ming Tang suddenly understood: the key wasn't being left alone, but being excluded from the outing.

Mrs. Pei also grasped Pei Ze’s true desire. He had grown accustomed to outings during the hunting trip and hadn’t yet settled back into home life.

However, with the weather growing colder, Mrs. Pei absolutely couldn’t agree to take Pei Ze along on outings. If he caught a chill, it would be a serious matter. Her brows furrowed slightly in concern.

Ming Tang smiled and said, "Auntie and I were wrong. We won’t go out again before the New Year. We’ll stay home with A Ze every day so he’s never alone. How does that sound?"

Pei Ze froze, wide-eyed with surprise.

Mrs. Pei chimed in, "Yes, Grandmother and your aunt won’t go out these days. We’ll stay home with A Ze."

Pei Ze hadn't expected the adults to offer staying home with him as a solution. He had originally planned to push for an outing, but seeing their resolve, he was momentarily speechless. After a long pause, he mumbled, "Can go out..." He meant, it would be best if they took A Ze along.

Ming Tang patted his head, cutting him off before he could finish his thought. "How could we? Mother and Aunt feel so bad about today. From now on, we’ll definitely stay home and keep you company."

Mrs. Pei sat nearby, watching as Pei Ze, his eyes still red, began playfully bickering back and forth with Ming Tang. For some reason, she felt a smile tugging at her lips.

As they talked, Pei Ze wriggled free from Mrs. Pei’s arms, placed his hands on Ming Tang’s knees, and looked up to continue his halting arguments with her.

After watching them chatter for a while, Mrs. Pei turned to give Lin Ma a few instructions. When she turned back, the two had already regained their usual closeness.

Pei Ze walked ahead, his small hand gripping Ming Tang’s index finger, looking quite cheerful. Ming Tang followed behind, taking half-steps to match his pace—effortlessly keeping up, a smile playing on her lips.

Noticing Mrs. Pei looking their way, Ming Tang paused slightly and nodded at her. In that brief moment, Pei Ze stopped and turned to Ming Tang. "Mother, hurry up~"

How could someone so tall walk slower than A Ze?

All trace of his earlier distress was gone from his voice.

Mrs. Pei massaged her temples, waving them off as she watched the two walk out of the sitting room, heading toward the study on the west side. She sighed, but a full smile spread across her face.

After admiring the red plum flowers Pei Ze had painted with Nanny Zhou’s help, and sighing with him over the parrot under the eaves—which could only utter one phrase—Pei Ze was finally satisfied.

Back at Chengyi Hall, Ming Tang was equally content, looking over the fabrics and jewelry the maids had brought back, now being inventoried by Wen He.

Hong Ying, who had personally led the retrieval of the items, approached hesitantly. "Young Madam, when we were collecting things at the gate earlier, I spotted a maid who looked familiar lingering nearby. She seemed to have business but didn’t approach."

Before finishing, she lowered her head in embarrassment—her vague report wasn't very helpful.

Ming Tang reassured her, "Don’t worry about it. I appreciate you bringing this to me when you notice something amiss." Privately, she considered that Hong Ying had few opportunities to see other households’ maids outside of the hunting trip. If one seemed familiar, it must have been from there.

Hong Ying visibly relaxed and happily joined Wen He and the others in organizing today's purchases, the atmosphere cheerful.

Outside the estate, in the alley, Huang Shi’s tone was icy as she confronted the maid who had returned empty-handed. "You’re telling me you went all that way and came back without saying a word?"

She had waited in the carriage since noon, sitting stiffly for nearly the entire afternoon, only for the maid to accomplish nothing. Huang Shi was boiling with frustration and anger.

The maid knelt on the thin rug inside the carriage, head bowed, stumbling through an explanation. "Young Madam, you didn't see—that strong maid of the Pei family’s young mistress had so many people carrying things. There were boxes of jewelry... I don’t know what was inside, but they looked expensive. And the fabrics—some were ones Madam had seen but didn’t buy..."

As for why they hadn’t been bought, of course, it was because of the price.

Glancing at Huang Shi and seeing her anger slightly abate, the maid continued, "I asked around. Those were all things the two Pei ladies bought on a whim this afternoon. It shows... it shows how wealthy they are."

As if sharing the same thought, their eyes simultaneously fell on a flat box on the carriage table. The maid, being Huang Shi’s confidante, knew it contained enough silver certificates to represent a year's worth of her mistress's spending money. They had come to seek an audience with the Pei family’s young mistress, hoping she would, for the sake of the silver, retrieve the servants sent to the capital’s prison before they implicated Huang Shi.

But... recalling what she had just seen, the maid suspected the few bolts of fabric alone might be worth the contents of that box. The sight had deterred her. And remembering how the strong maid had laid hands on them last time without reprimand, the Pei young mistress must hold considerable influence. She hadn’t dared approach.

Her own mistress was more pliable... Switching tactics, the maid spoke earnestly, "Madam has always been close to Young Madam, and Young Madam often gifts her things. This is just a family matter. Why not confess to Madam and ask her to intercede with Mrs. Pei? After all, they’re in-laws. Mrs. Pei would surely grant her that favor."

By the end, the maid nearly convinced herself. Huang Shi, too, was persuaded.

Her mother-in-law was her aunt, and with two sons and a daughter, she had always held more sway than her sister-in-law. The thought appealed to her.

Why bother sending money to the Mings when she could use her aunt’s influence? Perhaps the Mings’ favor wasn’t even that valuable—even if willing, they might not be able to help.

"Get up." Decision made, Huang Shi ordered the coachman to turn back. Passing a shop, she had the carriage stop to buy her mother-in-law’s favorite pastries, wondering how to broach the subject.

The next day, the Pei household settled back into routine. Servants woke from sleep and went about their duties, the vast estate gradually coming awake.

As always, Ming Tang joined Mrs. Pei in the flower hall to handle affairs, offering her opinions when asked, the teaching and learning harmonious.

The recently retired housekeeper, Mrs. Pei Fu, suddenly returned, beaming. "Wonderful news! There's an imperial decree—Young Madam’s honorary title has been granted! The messenger is Li Yun, the emperor’s attendant, now drinking tea in the outer courtyard."

Mrs. Pei was startled. Glancing at Ming Tang, she noted her attire, though simple, was not overly plain, and relaxed slightly, immediately ordering preparations to receive the decree.

Those tasked hurried off, while the rest offered congratulations, all sharing in the honor.

Seeing Ming Tang’s rare look of surprise, Mrs. Pei found it rather novel. Smiling, she patted Ming Tang’s hand. "I’d been thinking of having Yue put in a request, but with your marriage so recent, it might have seemed too eager, so I held off. Who knew yesterday’s palace visit would bring the decree today? Regardless, it’s good news. Just receive it with joy."

Ming Tang nodded, straightened her attire, and gave Hong Ying a few instructions before going to Dingyuan Hall to receive the decree.

The decree contained the standard praises of her virtue and background. Had it not lacked any mention of bearing heirs, Ming Tang might have thought it a pre-written template with names inserted.

Once the ceremony ended, Li Yun, the messenger, smiled warmly. "Congratulations, Duchess. Congratulations, Marchioness."

Mrs. Pei inclined her head and presented him with a pouch. Li Yun, often overshadowed by Wang Shen in the emperor’s service, rarely received such gifts. Fingering the pouch and sensing banknotes inside, his smile grew more genuine.

After exchanging pleasantries, he added, "At last night’s palace banquet, Princess Taihua mentioned your young mistress. Her Majesty the Empress also praised her as a dignified lady."

With a slight bow, he departed with his entourage.

Once the imperial messenger departed, the previously somewhat restrained crowd couldn't help but relax. Pei Ze, who had been brought over by Nanny Zhou, became curious about the strikingly colorful scroll in Ming Tang's hands and begged to see it.

The scroll was made of fine fabric and they were at home, so Ming Tang nodded and handed it to him. "Here, see if you can make sense of it."

Mrs. Pei hesitated, wanting to say that it was the imperial decree granting the honor, but seeing Ming Tang clearly didn't mind and Pei Ze only had someone unroll it to stare intently at the patterns on the back, she changed the subject with a smile. "It seems you caught the Empress's favor during your visit to the palace yesterday."

Ming Tang receiving the honor was an added protection for her position and a joyous occasion for the Duke's household. Mrs. Pei had rewards distributed to everyone, and those around her chimed in, suggesting they should set off firecrackers to share the good news.

Mrs. Pei nodded in agreement.

The imperial edict had arrived earlier than usual for such households, a sign of the Emperor's boundless grace. It was only fitting for the Pei family to appropriately express their joy.

The crackling sounds of firecrackers echoed from the Duke's residence all the way to the street corner. Mrs. Yun, who was on her way to the Pei residence in a carriage with her second daughter-in-law, heard the noise. Her carefully prepared words instantly scattered into frustration. She lifted the carriage curtain to look outside and, seeing that the firecrackers seemed to be coming from the Pei residence, couldn't help but wonder: What joyous occasion could the Pei family be celebrating that warranted setting off firecrackers at this time?