Young widow in her boudoir

Two pale blushes spread across the woman's snow-white face, deeply reflected in Pei Zhiheng's eyes.

He frowned again, his eyes dark and gloomy.

He wondered if any man could go to her Cuiwu Courtyard.

The one who was Shen Shuming before has now become him, and she doesn't seem to care at all.

Night had fallen, obscuring the man's expression.

Xie Rutang, however, seemed preoccupied, appearing somewhat lost and embarrassed.

What does Second Master mean by this...?

Surely he won't go back on his word this time?

Xie Rutang felt a sudden heaviness in her heart and dared not look up to meet his deep gaze.

The old lady said that the second master had taken a liking to her, but she didn't think so. Pei Zhiheng was so aloof and cold, and he didn't seem to be interested in her.

Her palms were slightly sweaty, afraid that he might really go back on his word.

She would rather accept him as the donor than Shen Shuming, because if it were him, the child born would definitely be exquisite and beautiful.

After an unknown amount of time, Pei Zhiheng finally spoke slowly above her head, "I still need to review files tonight, so as not to disturb your rest. I will come to Cuiwu Courtyard again tomorrow night."

After saying that, he returned to Su Xue Residence, his figure standing tall and upright in the night.

Back in the main room of Cuiwu Courtyard, Xie Rutang's heart was still unsettled. She found that she could never truly understand this wealthy and powerful Second Master Pei, and her emotions had been constantly swayed by him ever since he started staying at the Shen family's residence.

With Pei Zhiheng, she was in a subordinate position and never had any initiative.

She could only wait for him to speak, to say when she would stay at Cuiwu Courtyard, and then she would wash herself clean, lie on the bed, and wait for him to come and visit her.

……

Second Master had only been back at Su Xue Residence for a quarter of an hour.

A maidservant then announced that the Second Master wanted to see her.

Zhu Lan, who was embroidering a pair of brocade socks for Pei Zhiheng, trembled. Her eyes were shy. Could it be that the Second Master had regretted it and wanted to promote her to be a concubine?

When she arrived at the study, she saw Pei Zhiheng already seated at the pear wood desk. Zhu Lan had dressed up specially, but dared not dress too flamboyantly, pretending to be well-behaved.

Zhu Lan curtsied deeply. "Second Master, what brings you here so late at night?"

Pei Zhiheng looked up at her, his gaze calm and unwavering, yet exuding an air of authority that seemed to see right through her. "Recently, you relayed a message to me, saying that Madam Shen of Cuiwu Courtyard casually tossed the box of Jade Skin Cream onto her desk, looking disgusted and refusing to put it away. Did you see all of this with your own eyes, word for word?"

"Secondly, did Madam Shen recently send a purple-haired brush to Suxue Residence as a return gift?"

Zhu Lan's face changed instantly, her expression flustered with guilt. She thought that Xie Rutang must have said a few words of gossip to the Second Master, but she didn't take it to heart. She was just a widow in the Shen family, and her status was far inferior to that of Ye Wanyu, the head of the household.

Zhu Lan quickly calmed down and defended herself dismissively, "Second Master, you may not know this, but I have always managed the gift register in the storeroom for you. There are many gifts and return gifts from various mansions and courtyards every day, and the items come in an endless stream. It is impossible to report every single one of them to you. We can only register them all and put them into the storeroom. This has always been the rule at Su Xue Ju."

She lowered her head slightly, her tone subtly conveying a sense of grievance.

"I wonder what Madam Shen said to the Second Master that made him reprimand me without even asking why..."

Pei Zhiheng did not immediately refute, but simply gazed at Zhu Lan for a moment.

He summoned another head maid, Hongyao, and said calmly, "Zhulan has neglected her duties, causing Madam Shen of Cuiwu Courtyard to suffer unjustly. Pass down the word that Zhulan will be fined half a year's salary, and the task of managing the storeroom will be handed over to you from now on."

Zhu Lan looked up in shock.

She's just a widow from the Shen family, is she worth Second Master getting so angry about?

Or did she underestimate Xie Rutang?

Pei Zhiheng looked at her coldly, "If I find out again that you are secretly spreading rumors and distorting the truth, I will no longer care about our past relationship and will immediately expel you from the manor and hand you over to the Pei family steward for strict punishment."

Having served my master for many years, I have never seen a man so serious and cold.

Zhu Lan hurriedly knelt down, "Second Master, please forgive me! It was my oversight. I beg you to have mercy and give me another chance to make amends..."

He was almost in tears, completely losing his former arrogance.

Hongyao, who had just entered the room, saw all of this but dared not show her joy too obviously.

Although both were first-class maids, Zhu Lan was always arrogant, and everyone always gave her some leeway. Hong Yao had endured this for a long time in Su Xue Ju, but she never expected that Zhu Lan would be disliked by her master today.

Pei Zhiheng's eyes remained completely calm as he ordered Zhu Lan to be dragged out.

Hongyao was surprised. Her heart was beating a little faster. She could tell that the Second Master seemed to be taking care of the widow from the Shen family.

Hongyao was a shrewd maid, so she made up her mind to curry favor with Xie Rutang, the lady of the Shen family, in the mansion from now on.

……

The next day, Xie Rutang finally set off for Chengxin Painting Shop.

The surface of the scroll that Ye Wanyu had stained yesterday was cleaned up by her careful wiping and cleaning last night.

I heard this morning that Ye Wanyu was summoned to Shou'an Hall and severely reprimanded for soiling her painting.

Ye Wanyu had been in charge of the household for a year without making any mistakes, and she had managed all the affairs of the mansion in an orderly manner. This was the first time that the old lady had reprimanded her in public without showing any mercy.

The carriage slowly came to a stop, having already arrived in front of Chengxin Painting Shop.

As soon as Xie Rutang stepped off the carriage, Manager Yang greeted her warmly and led her through the back door of the painting shop.

The woman wore a white dress with a dark pattern of brocade satin, and her face was covered with a veil to avoid being seen. She had an innate sense of aloofness.

Upon arriving at the tea room in the back of the painting shop, Manager Yang personally served tea, while Xie Rutang sat in a bamboo rattan chair facing the curtain.

As Xie Rutang looked at the account book, the sunlight streaming through the window fell on her. She was without makeup, and her beauty was like a lotus emerging from the water, a fairy descending to earth.

Although she was young, Manager Yang dared not show the slightest negligence.

When Shen Yuan died, Xie Rutang cried so hard she almost fainted, and Chengxin Painting Shop became her sole business.

Seeing that Xie Rutang was nothing more than a sheltered woman inexperienced in worldly affairs, the old folks in the painting shop had no faith in her, fearing that she could only hold on for a few more days before eventually closing down.

But no one expected that Xie Rutang would pick up her brush and ink again after only a few days of crying, and single-handedly support Chengxin Painting Shop. Now her paintings are highly sought after by literati in the capital, and there is a constant stream of buyers.

Even Manager Yang couldn't help but admire Madam Shen.

She appears delicate and fragile, as if she might break in the wind, but deep down she possesses resilience and extraordinary talent.

Xie Rutang handed him the paintings he had made in the past few days, asking him to sell them for a good price under the name of Daolian Jushi, and casually inquired about the recent business situation of the painting shop.

Shopkeeper Yang beamed with delight, "Madam, the two paintings you sent over the other day were both bought by a customer at a high price—a full fifty taels of silver!"

"Ever since Young Master Shen passed away, none of the painters in the shop have been able to replicate his unique style and spirit. The shop's fortunes have declined day by day, and business has been sluggish for a long time. When Madam first sent her paintings over, sales were still lackluster. It was this customer who knew that Madam was a hidden gem and was the first to accept her paintings..."

Xie Rutang was stunned.