Young widow in her boudoir

The Pei family has three branches. The eldest branch, Pei Congchen, is the Left Censor-in-Chief, and is in his thirties. He is Pei Zhiheng's eldest cousin. This young master, Pei Rang, is Pei Congchen's son.

In terms of seniority, Pei Rang should address Pei Zhiheng as uncle.

The servant's words awakened Pei Rang, who was then shocked to realize that what he had just witnessed was not an illusion, and that there was indeed such a stunning beauty in the world.

But by the time he realized what was happening, the girls and maids in the garden had already packed up their flower baskets and left, disappearing without a trace.

Pei Rang slapped his forehead in frustration. Why didn't he chase after her? If he could have said a word to her and received a smile from her, that would have been great!

He wanted to know her name. His heart had been pounding when he caught a glimpse of her just now. He wondered which girl in the Shen family she was, and whether she was engaged or not.

Pei Rang's mind had already been captivated by the girl he had glimpsed in the garden. He longed to run to the backyard of the Shen family and ask her which house or courtyard she belonged to, but he felt it would be improper and he was afraid of being too forward.

Besides, he still had to visit his uncle and couldn't afford to delay.

Pei Rang was captivated by Xie Rutang's face. At seventeen, he was experiencing the first stirrings of love for the first time. His ears gradually turned red, but he was afraid that others would discover his feelings.

He had no choice but to put the matter aside and went to Suxue Residence to find his uncle.

Pei Rang, dressed in a brocade robe, arrived at Su Xue Residence. After passing the artificial hill and stone screen, the scenery gradually opened up before his eyes. Banana and crabapple trees were planted in the crevices of Taihu stones by the lake in the courtyard, with green moss. In the exquisite and small artificial lake, there were snow-white red-crowned carp.

Pei Zhiheng was in the main hall, so Pei Rang strode in.

Pei Rang wore a piece of Hetian yellow jade at his waist. He put aside his usual casual and unrestrained manner and bowed deeply to the man standing under the plaque in the room.

"uncle."

Pei Zhiheng then put down the blue satin notebook in his hand and casually placed it on the rosewood square table next to him.

Pei Rang smiled when he saw Pei Rang's old-fashioned face. "Uncle, Father saw that you had been staying at the Shen family's house for almost half a month, so he sent me to pay my respects and ask how you were doing."

Pei Zhiheng sat in the chair, glanced at him, and said, "You still know to come see me."

This made Pei Rang feel a little guilty, so he touched his nose. But thinking of the Shen family girl he saw today, he knew that he used to come to the Shen residence every day to look for his uncle.

So he smiled and stepped forward, personally serving the teacup, "Uncle, what you're saying is true. I've been wanting to come for a while, but I haven't had the time! As you know, Uncle, Father kept me at home studying for a while, not allowing me to step out of the house. So, as soon as I heard you were at the Shen family's house, I immediately begged Father to let me go."

"Nephew, as I walked in, I noticed that your courtyard is quite elegant."

Pei Zhiheng solemnly picked up his teacup, but didn't respond to his words, only saying calmly, "Your father sent you here just for this one sentence?"

Pei Rang then stopped laughing, his handsome and affectionate face immediately turning serious, completely different from the carefree young master from a noble family he had just been.

He glanced around at the doors and windows before leaning closer and lowering his voice, saying, "My father asked me to come and tell you that the Empress Dowager's nephew has just been convicted of murder. The case file has been submitted to the Court of Judicial Review, but the Empress Dowager's intention... is to extend her influence to the Court of Judicial Review. This case may not be easy to handle."

When members of the imperial family committed crimes, the Dali Temple and the Three Judicial Offices would jointly try the cases, and the final decision would be made by the emperor.

However, if Pei Zhiheng continues to make impartial judgments this time, he will offend the Empress Dowager. If the Empress Dowager is angry, she will take her anger out on the entire Pei family, and then the Pei family's officials in various departments of the court will suffer as well.

However, if they went along with the Empress Dowager's wishes, they would inevitably be held accountable by the Emperor in the future, so the case became a hot potato.

Pei Zhiheng remained silent for a long time before asking, "What's your father's idea?"

Pei Rang said solemnly, "Father said that since this case has been submitted to the Dali Temple, Uncle cannot avoid it. However, we cannot confront the Empress Dowager directly. Father's idea is to first find out how serious this relative of the empress has been. If it cannot be covered up, it will be good for Uncle to make plans as soon as possible."

"A few days ago, Wei Zhong, the Empress Dowager's nephew, got into a fight with someone at the Chunmanlou Restaurant in the west of the city after drinking. He accidentally killed a scholar. The victim was from a scholarly family and refused to let the matter rest. He submitted a petition to the Shuntian Prefecture. The prefect of Shuntian Prefecture dared not accept it and delayed for a few days before pushing the case to the Dali Temple."

Pei Zhiheng remained determined to handle the matter impartially, believing that right and wrong would be determined by the law. As for the Empress Dowager, he naturally had a way to deal with her.

During his years as Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, he never showed any favoritism in the cases he handled. If he were to bend the law or show favoritism, he would be unworthy of his official robes and fail the trust placed in him by the court.

Pei Zhiheng was told to go back immediately.

Pei Rang, however, seemed reluctant to leave. "Uncle, why won't you even let me stay for a cup of tea?"

Pei Zhiheng glanced at him, his tone indifferent and leaving no room for negotiation, "Since you're about to participate in the imperial examinations, you should go back to your studies and review your lessons. Don't waste your time here."

Pei Rang was speechless after hearing this.

He looked around at the furnishings in the room, which were as cold and quiet as his uncle himself, without a trace of warmth or life.

Pei Rang muttered to himself, "Men are really as cold and hard as stones. Will they ever be able to find a wife?"

Thinking of something, Pei Rang's eyes flickered slightly, and he smiled with his lips red and teeth white, "Nephew will go back to study now. In a couple of days, nephew will come to the Shen family to visit his uncle again."

……

As evening fell, the courtyard lights began to be turned on.

When it was time to eat, Pei Zhiheng realized that Xie Rutang had been back from Dao'an Temple for two days, and he hadn't gone to Cuiwu Courtyard to see her. He hadn't forgotten the taste of that spring breeze that night, but he wasn't the kind of person who would become addicted to it and lose control.

Although he and she had no marital affection, it did not prevent them from having children.

He and Xie were only together for the sake of the clan's survival; if he visited too often, it might cause her to develop inappropriate thoughts.

Counting the days, it had been six or seven days since I had been intimate with her.

These past few days, the man had completely forgotten about sex, preoccupied with his paperwork all day long, so how could he possibly be distracted by anything else?

But tonight, for some reason, he really wanted to.

Pei Zhiheng had been working hard all day, and was also dealing with the case of Wei Zhong, the Empress Dowager's nephew. At this moment, he suddenly wanted to go to Cuiwu Courtyard and have a woman undress him and gently wipe away his fatigue. He remembered that whenever he touched her, although she was stiff and awkward, she was still shy and willing to accommodate him, biting her red lips without making a sound.

His going there tonight wouldn't be considered breaking the rules he had set for her in the past.

Although Pei Zhiheng was not obsessed with beautiful women, since he had promised Madam Shen and made a contract with her, he had to abide by the spirit of the contract and have a child with her.

It wasn't even 1:15 PM yet, the time he and Xie Rutang had originally agreed upon, so he could only continue to wait idly.

Pei Zhiheng reopened the file, but for some reason, his mind became increasingly chaotic, and he could no longer concentrate on reading the words on the file.

The long night was filled only with the sound of the water dripping from the copper kettle. Pei Zhiheng held the brush between his fingers, hovering it above the Xuan paper for a long time, but he did not write a single note.

It wasn't until 1:15 PM that he went to Cuiwu Courtyard, covered in night dew.