Chapter 48: He only saw a handsome face with impure thoughts

Zhou Ren finished speaking, already having no face to stay, was about to cover his face and leave, when Su Chen grabbed his arm.

"Young Master Zhou?"

Zhou Ren forced himself to nod.

Su Chen chuckled: "Young Master Zhou, what are you doing?"

As Xiao Jingyuan beside them raised his eyes, he saw a person standing behind Zhou Ren, whose clothing was clearly that of a palace maid.

Xiao Jingyuan raised his eyebrows.

While at the Song mansion, I had heard that Princess Jingyu had come to the Zhen Guo Gong mansion; sure enough, it's true.

But how could he not remember that the princess gets along well with the Pei family? Or did the Crown Prince remind the princess of something, which is why she didn't go to the Song mansion for the banquet?

Xiao Jingyuan didn't think of it as concerning Shen Shuangning.

Zhou Ren recounted everything that had happened in detail; he spoke not calmly, but with a hint of grievance, pouring out his bitterness to the two people before him.

"I really don't understand—blindfolded pitch-pot, who would play like that? She's a lady of the inner chambers; learning a bit of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting would be enough. Why bother researching this? What good does it do for managing a household and raising children?"

"I should have been wary earlier—her brother is the so-called prodigy Shen Xiuci, and her mind is naturally different from ordinary people's; how did I end up accepting the challenge?"

Only then did Xiao Jingyuan and Su Chen realize that the Fourth Miss he had been talking about was none other than the Fourth Miss Shen.

The two exchanged a glance.

What a coincidence?

Aristocratic families are all shrewd; among those who received invitations from both houses, they either slight neither side or offend neither side, and even if they wanted to curry favor with the Song mansion, they would try to keep things even on the surface.

Yet the Shen family had not a single person go to the Song mansion; instead, this legitimate daughter came to the Zhen Guo Gong mansion.

Others would naturally not think much of it, but Xiao Jingyuan had already felt wary of Shen Shuangning, and now he happened to learn the Song mansion's secret, so he couldn't help but think deeper.

A faint glint flashed in Xiao Jingyuan's eyes, and Su Chen also said nothing more.

Zhou Ren was completely unaware that the two had just exchanged a brief glance.

"If we played normally, I would surely win her!" he still said, unconvinced.

Hitting the pot's mouth in pitch-pot isn't much skill; hitting the pot's ear is what counts. Zhou Ren always hit the ear when playing pitch-pot—who would have thought the other side would suddenly propose blindfolding?

Too sly!

Zhou Ren was speaking ill of the Fourth Miss with gusto when he caught sight of the palace maid's grim face out of the corner of his eye, and he immediately restrained himself.

Still feeling a bit unconvinced, he looked toward Young Master Xiao and asked, "Blindfolded pitch-pot—there aren't many in the capital who can do it. Even if it were you, Young Master Xiao, you might not manage it either, right?"

Xiao Jingyuan usually doesn't associate with these young nobles; his aloof demeanor that keeps people at a distance naturally meant he wouldn't bother with him.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Zhou Ren wasn't annoyed; he shook his head and walked away.

On the road he met a peddler, who forced him to repeat that remark again, and so he went along, losing face all the way.

The two didn't take Zhou Ren to heart.

Xiao Jingyuan came today not only because of the princess consort, but also wanted to take a look at Pei Sanlang, who had recently made a stunning debut.

Su Chen was also very curious about him.

Near the pavilion, Pei Zhi stood tall, loosing six arrows in succession, each striking the pot's ear.

"Third Young Master, you're incredibly skilled!"

"Third Young Master, you've just recovered from a serious illness—did you open the Ren and Du meridians? Quickly teach us."

As the host, Pei Zhi merely smiled faintly in response to the flattery.

The Princess Jingyu seated in the place of honor turned her head to whisper to Shen Shuangning: "Fortunately, the earlier contest wasn't against the Third Young Master."

Upon hearing this, Shen Shuangning only curled the corner of her lips, without responding.

Upon hearing the voice, Pei Zhi turned his body and spoke gently, still the modest gentleman: "If we're talking about blindfolded pitch-pot skill, I'm inferior; ultimately, the Fourth Miss Shen is better."

Shen Shuangning sat beside the princess; hearing this, she lifted her gaze and met his warm, moist eyes.

Pei Zhi had a face with balanced light and dark features, his lip color pale as if holding half a magnolia petal, yet his brow bone was high, the outer corners of his eyes slightly lifted tinged with a touch of ink, and when his long lashes fell, they cast a butterfly-wing-like shadow on his eyelids.

Their gazes met.

In Pei Zhi's eyes seemed to hold clear lake light, yet when he looked over, a thin mist seemed to veil them, making their depth indistinct.

Shen Shuangning could not read him.

"Third Young Master, you overpraise me. I merely closed my eyes and relied on luck for a trivial trick; I can't compare to your true skill of hitting the pot's ear with six consecutive arrows—I was actually hoping to ask you for instruction."

As her words fell, a bamboo leaf happened to drift onto Pei Zhi's shoulder, yet he was completely unaware.

"Fourth Miss, do you want to learn?"

Shen Shuangning smiled and asked, "Third Young Master, are you willing to teach?"

The woman's smile was soft and sweet, gazing straight at him.

Pei Zhi slightly shifted his gaze, smiling, and said, "Of course."

Pei Qing immediately said, "Just the time to use that golden pot—someone, go fetch the things."

The pure-gold pitch-pot was brought before everyone, its gleam in the sunlight almost blinding.

I didn't expect Pei Qing actually to have such a thing.

"Ning elder sister, this is what you deserve." Pei Qing lifted her skirt and stepped forward, her fingertip lightly tapping the edge of the pot; a clear sound mingled with the distinctive resonance of metal spread, and she added, "I'll have someone send it to your residence later."

As she spoke, a shallow dimple appeared on her cheek, and her brows and eyes, similar to Pei Zhi's, curved like crescent moons.

Shen Shuangning thought Pei Qing quite adorable, and she laughed in agreement.

Princess Jingyu felt she too ought to show something, so she took off the jade tablet from her waist and slipped it into Shen Shuangning's hand.

"With this jade tablet, you can often come to the palace to find me."

All around, a sudden soft intake of breath sounded.

The noble ladies' eyes widened; those nearby instinctively leaned forward, their gazes fixed on that jade tablet—this was no ordinary jade pendant, but a waist tablet bearing the princess's seal, equivalent to half an imperial decree!

Emperor Xuwen doted exclusively on this sole daughter; the jade tablet's reverse bears the favor of being seen face‑to‑face before the emperor, an honor even the ladies of aristocratic families cannot obtain!

You must know that these people normally don't even have the qualification to speak with the princess; if it weren't for coming to the Duke of Zhen Guo's mansion today, they would have missed the chance to get close to her.

They painstakingly tried to win the princess's favor, while Shen Shuangning remained lukewarm toward her—yet the princess turned around and gave her the waist token?!

The young ladies were both envious and jealous, wringing their handkerchiefs tightly.

Little did they know that, while they saw it as a golden lump, to Shen Shuangning it was a hot potato; the palace was hardly a pleasant place, and she disliked it intensely.

But for the moment she couldn't afford to slight the princess's dignity, so she gave an embarrassed chuckle and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."

She felt the cool jade token in her hand, and suddenly her heart stirred.

If she remembered correctly, in her previous life Princess Jingyu had also given her waist token to Song Xizhi.

Song Xizhi then entered the palace as the princess's companion reader, stayed there for a while, and only then did her relationship with the princess become as close as sisters.

No matter who caused Princess Jingyu to become so hateful and to target her constantly, the harm from her previous life was real, and it had nearly killed her.

Shen Shuangning still couldn't bring herself to accept her wholeheartedly, without any resentment.

"I'm terribly bored in the palace and can't just come out as I please; Elder Sister Ning, would you come visit me often to play?" Princess Jingyu grabbed Shen Shuangning's sleeve, staring at her unblinking.

Shen Shuangning naturally agreed verbally.

Princess Jingyu happily said, "Then Sister Ning, go quickly ask Third Young Master Pei for advice; once you've learned it, be sure to tell me!"

Afterward, Pei Qing led the young ladies elsewhere to admire the flowers, while Pei Zhi stayed behind to "guide" Shen Shuangning in pitch‑pot.

Their spot was not hidden; anyone could see them with a glance, and since the princess had ordered Shen Shuangning to follow Pei Zhi's instruction, there would be no gossip.

At first, while people were still moving about nearby, Shen Shuangning pretended to learn a couple of moves from him, appearing as if she were truly studying seriously.

Pei Zhi also acted the part of a dutiful instructor, offering her a few pointers: "Just now I saw your wrist tremble slightly when you held the arrow; you might try sinking the force into your forearm."

His attitude was neither deliberately ingratiating nor aloof and indifferent; he consistently maintained just the right warmth and patience. Although he knew Shen Shuangning was full of questions she wanted to ask, he remained unhurried, as if unaware.

This inexplicably annoyed Shen Shuangning a bit.

After the crowd had drifted farther away, Shen Shuangning finally lifted her gaze to the man beside her and asked, "Last time at the Purple Dust Pavilion, Third Young Master, did you do that on purpose?"

Pei Zhi stood amid the dappled flower shadows, his moon‑white long robe lifted at the corner by the wind, and he handed her the cleaned arrow, saying, "Fourth Miss, what do you mean? I don't understand."

Shen Shuangning glanced at his hand.

Pei Zhi's complexion was fairer than a woman's, to the point where one could see the bluish‑purple veins on the back of his hand; such pallor would not occur if he rarely saw sunlight.

Shen Shuangning did not take the arrow from his hand and spoke bluntly: "You sent me an umbrella to lure me to the Purple Dust Pavilion, let me see the crown prince and Xiao Jingyuan conferring in secret, left an invitation to draw me here…… What exactly is your purpose?"

Pei Zhi smiled and said, "Fourth Miss, you're overthinking it. I merely saw you looking bedraggled in the rain, so I kindly had someone send you an umbrella; moreover, that invitation was originally meant to be delivered to your manor—I didn't want to make another trip, so I had the steward give it to you."

"As for the crown prince and Xiao Jingyuan's secret talk, how would I know? It was just a coincidence."

Still pretending!

Shen Shuangning immediately took out a painting from her sleeve.

She unfolded the spring magnolia painting before Pei Zhi, fixed her gaze on his face, and asked, "You say you didn't do it on purpose, so why is this painting in your hand?"

The steward of the Purple Dust Pavilion had already told her that this painting did not belong to the pavilion; it was Pei Zhi who had hung it up.

"So it was the Fourth Miss who took it—no wonder I couldn't find it when I went back to look."

Pei Zhi was smiling, about to reach for the painting, when Shen Shuangning snatched it away and held it behind her back.

Pei Zhi's hand froze in mid‑air.

"Third Young Master, I'm not an idiot."

"You clearly know me well and have been secretly watching me—why pretend not to be acquainted?"

Behind Shen Shuangning stood a wisteria trellis, with blossoms peeking above her head.

She looked at the warm, jade‑like young man before her, her expression stubborn, insisting on getting an answer.

When Xiao Jingyuan and Su Chen arrived, they saw Shen Shuangning standing opposite a man in white, unaware of what they were discussing.

Xiao Jingyuan furrowed his brow.

"Isn't that the Fourth Miss?" Su Chen wondered, "Does the Fourth Miss know Pei Zhi?"

Su Chen had met Pei Zhi before and recognized his face.

But Xiao Jingyuan did not.

He saw only a pale face with impure intentions.

Pei Zhi's peripheral vision seemed to catch sight of someone; his eyes flickered slightly, he stepped forward two paces, closed the distance to Shen Shuangning, and raised a hand to brush away the fallen blossoms on her head.

"I'm not pretending not to know you; I merely…………."

Shen Shuangning frowned, instinctively wary of his sudden approach; just as she was about to step back, Pei Zhi's expression changed and he suddenly reached out to pull her into his embrace.

"Careful!"

Shen Shuangning felt her waist tighten, her whole body spun half a turn, and her nose slammed hard into his soft silk chest, making her face scrunch in pain.

Once she reacted, fuming, she shoved him away hard and snapped, "What are you doing?!"

Pei Zhi staggered backward and sat down hard beneath the wisteria trellis; his usually composed brows and eyes showed a hint of pain, his face turned pallid, giving him a somewhat fragile air.

Shen Shuangning, both startled and angry, only then noticed as she retreated that he was clutching a bluish‑green long worm in his fist, which made her jump.

The snake's body coiled around his wrist, its scales gleaming like cold jade in the sunlight. The snake clung to his palm, refusing to let go, and bright red blood dripped from his palm.

Thus Shen Shuangning's anger turned entirely into worry and fear; she hurriedly asked, "Are you all right? Is this a poisonous snake? Wait a moment—I'll go fetch help."

"No need." Pei Zhi said, "This is a golden‑line snake; it's non‑venomous, just aggressive."

Upon seeing the snake, Shen Shuangning's face turned even paler than Pei Zhi's after being bitten.

She feared snakes above all; in her previous life Princess Jingyu had set a snake on her, leaving her with a psychological scar.

Pei Zhi held the snake in his hand, glanced at her, and said, "Stay back; if you're afraid, just turn away."

Upon learning the snake was non‑venomous, Shen Shuangning relaxed a little, turned her back, and signaled Ah Heng to hurry and call for help.

It was then that she finally saw Xiao Jingyuan approaching from afar.