Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Ye Shuang stared at the broken porcelain shard in her hand for a moment, then suddenly raised it and extended it toward County Princess Shuning.

Shuning flinched, raising her sleeve to shield her face, her brows furrowed as she eyed the shard. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Perhaps the County Princess should go first!"

The young noblewoman in pink immediately snapped, "How dare you!"

Shuning, however, became intrigued and asked, "Why should I go first?"

"Didn’t the County Princess say that divorce is so shameful that Ye Shuang should be the one to go through with it?"

Shuning eyed her suspiciously, saying, "That’s right."

Ye Shuang then turned to the other two. "You both think so too, don’t you?"

The young noblewoman in pink replied, "Naturally. If I were you…" She was the one who had earlier urged Ye Shuang to dash herself to death.

Ye Shuang cut her off. "But I don’t think so."

The three exchanged bewildered glances.

The other young noblewoman in green stepped forward. "Stop playing mysterious. Hurry up and do it; don’t delay our County Princess’s elegant gathering."

"Since you all believe divorce is so disgraceful that one should commit suicide to atone, why don’t the County Princess and you two go first?"

The pink-clad noblewoman exclaimed, "Outrageous! How dare you offend the County Princess!"

"I’m speaking the truth. You’re the ones who think returning home after divorce means you’re too ashamed to show your face. I don’t feel that way, so why should I take action? Instead, I’m truly concerned for you ladies. With such terrible temperaments, you might end up divorced and cast out in the future. Rather than living in humiliation later, why not end it now and preserve your virtuous reputations?"

Shuning was so angry she could hardly speak, clutching her chest and pointing at Ye Shuang. "You… you! How dare you!"

Ye Shuang reached out to pull Shuning, trying to place the shard in her hand. "Come, come, don’t be shy. I’ll give this to the County Princess as a small contribution to your reputation!"

The noblewoman’s eyebrows shot up, her face flushed with rage. A few low chuckles came from the onlookers behind them. Shuning furiously shouted, "No laughing! I’d like to see who dares to laugh!"

Ye Shuang suppressed a smile, her eyes sincere as she blinked at Shuning.

Shuning was furious but couldn’t vent her anger, so she could only issue a warning: "Ye Shuang, you just wait!"

With that, she pulled the other two upstairs.

Ye Shuang sneered, dropping the shard on the floor with a clatter, and was about to signal a waiter to clean up when she heard the voice of one of the noblewomen behind her.

"Pei… Military Advisor Pei, what are you doing here?"

Ye Shuang turned around and saw Pei Yu coming down from upstairs, just as he ran into County Princess Shuning and the others.

Pei Yu also saw Ye Shuang. After exchanging greetings with Shuning, he walked toward Ye Shuang.

Ye Shuang lowered her eyes and bowed slightly, addressing him as the others did: "Military Advisor Pei."

Pei Yu smiled and asked, "Did you receive the flower note from yesterday’s Spring Banquet?"

Ye Shuang looked up in surprise. "It was you?"

Shuning was standing on the stairs watching them, and the onlookers hadn’t fully dispersed yet. Everyone heard Pei Yu’s words.

Pei Yu smiled even more broadly. "Indeed."

"Why didn’t you sign it?"

Pei Yu chuckled with amusement. "At the time, I didn’t sign it for two reasons: first, I was afraid of causing Miss Ye any trouble, and second, I was worried someone might see it and throw it away for me."

It didn’t take much to guess who he meant by "someone"…

"Miss Ye, please don’t feel pressured. I simply admire your determination. If this causes you any distress, just pretend you never received that flower note."

Ye Shuang smiled gratefully.

Pei Yu’s eyes darkened slightly, and the smile on his lips faded for a moment before quickly returning to normal.

Shuning rushed over, questioning in a hurt voice: "Brother Pei, what did you just say? You gave Ye Shuang a flower note yesterday!"

Just then, someone entered through the door, and Shuning’s words happened to drift into his ears. The newcomer immediately clenched his fists in anger, glaring hatefully at Pei Yu.

Pei Yu replied calmly, "That’s right."

Shuning stamped her foot anxiously. "I was there yesterday too. Why didn’t you give me one?"

Pei Yu looked bewildered, momentarily unsure how to respond.

Shuning seemed to realize she had misspoken and vented her anger on the onlookers. "What are you looking at? If you keep staring, I’ll have my royal father arrest all of you!"

The onlookers, intimidated, muttered quietly and dispersed.

Shuning, with red, tearful eyes, glanced at Pei Yu, then glared fiercely at Ye Shuang before turning and leaving.

Pei Yu stood dazed for a while, only snapping out of it after Shuning had gone upstairs.

Ye Shuang asked, "You know County Princess Shuning?"

"It’s a long story," Pei Yu regained his composure and composed himself. "Earlier, I heard some commotion upstairs. When I came out, I saw you surrounded by people. I listened for a while to understand what was happening but didn’t intervene immediately. Please forgive me, Miss Ye."

Ye Shuang nodded. "It’s fine. Besides, didn’t you just stand up for me?"

Pei Yu relaxed and explained further, "What I said earlier wasn’t entirely to help you vent your anger. I was also speaking the truth."

Ye Shuang smiled without commenting, only saying, "I understand."

Pei Yu didn’t press her further. He called over a waiter, slipped a piece of silver into his hand, and said, "I’ll pay for the cup this young lady broke."

Ye Shuang quickly refused. "There’s no need!"

Pei Yu brushed her hand aside. "Don’t stand on ceremony with me."

As the two were pushing the silver back and forth, a hand reached out from the side, took the silver from the waiter, replaced it with a larger ingot, and tucked the original silver back into Pei Yu’s waist.

The waiter’s eyes lit up. He pocketed the silver, deftly and quickly cleaned up the fragments, and wiped the table.

A voice rang out, barely containing its anger. "She said there’s no need! Can’t you understand?"

Xiao Lin grabbed Pei Yu’s hand, and the two stood in silent confrontation. Ye Shuang shook her head slightly and sat down first.

Xiao Lin snorted, released Pei Yu, and sat down across from Ye Shuang. His attitude completely changed as he asked her gently, "I went to the bookstore early to find you, but the manager said you’d gone out. I didn’t expect you to be here. Have you eaten yet? What would you like? I’ll order."

Ye Shuang straightened her skirt, lowered her eyes, and said nothing.

Xiao Lin wasn't deterred, softening his voice as he patiently asked, "Was someone bothering you just now? Tell me, and I'll deal with them for you!"

Ye Shuang finally looked up, her gaze sharp: "Marquis, if you can't keep your word, don't make empty promises."

Xiao Lin pounded his chest: "Just tell me, I’ll definitely make it happen!"

Pei Yu chuckled lightly and also sat down.

Xiao Lin’s expression instantly darkened: "What are you laughing at?"

Pei Yu: "Marquis, the ones troubling Miss Ye Shuang earlier were the County Princess and the daughters of two court officials. Are you sure about this?"

Xiao Lin was really stumped—this was indeed tricky. He was adept at fighting on the battlefield and eliminating treacherous officials, but when it came to household matters, he was utterly helpless. He stammered for a long time without managing a word.

Ye Shuang couldn't be bothered dwelling on the matter either: "Enough, Marquis. Just remember not to be so quick with sweet talk next time. If you don’t raise hopes recklessly, you won’t end up disappointing others."

Xiao Lin softened his tone, pleadingly calling out to her: "Shuang'er..."

Just as he tried several times to coax Ye Shuang, he suddenly felt something—or someone—particularly annoying next to him.

Xiao Lin frowned at Pei Yu: "Who said you could sit down!"