Chapter Five

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Qi Yunmiao returned home carrying the items Lady Song had given her.

Yesterday, Nurse Fang had already taken her to Pei Ze’s courtyard, so today she could easily find her way there on her own.

However, the door had been firmly shut yesterday, and it remained so today.

Pei Ze had not yet returned home.

Qi Yunmiao could only push open the door to his study.

Yesterday, she had come to deliver persimmons, but Pei Ze was not home. A young servant in the courtyard had told her that if her brother was home, he would surely be in the study each day. She could leave the persimmons on his desk, and he would see them upon his return.

Qi Yunmiao placed the food box on the table by the window and noticed the persimmons she had brought yesterday were still there.

She stood inside and glanced around Pei Ze’s study.

The study was spacious and bright, nearly larger than her own bedroom. Three sides had windows that could be opened for ventilation. When no one was around, everything was neatly arranged and clean.

By the window were two pots of clivia and a pot of yellow chrysanthemums, filling the room with a subtle orchid fragrance, evoking a gentlemanly elegance.

In Qi Yunmiao’s courtyard, the prime minister had also prepared a small study for her. Remembering she had some lessons to attend to today, she planned to leave after a brief visit.

But as she turned, she nearly collided with a human wall.

“Brother?” Qi Yunmiao looked up to see Pei Ze, quite surprised. “You’re back?”

Pei Ze frowned slightly, staring intently at the young girl before him. “What are you doing here?”

“I—I came to bring you something to eat!” Qi Yunmiao hurriedly explained, fearing he might misunderstand her. She pointed to the food box on the table. “Today, Lady Song from the Song household made some snacks, horse milk cakes. She said you liked them since childhood, so she asked me to bring you some, along with a bowl of brown sugar crisp curd, which is delicious too!”

Her tone was sweet and her explanation clear and orderly.

Pei Ze’s expression finally softened from his earlier wariness. He pressed his lips together and said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Qi Yunmiao thought for a moment and then introduced the persimmons she had brought yesterday. “These persimmons were picked from the Song household yesterday. Lady Song asked me to bring some back, and I saved one for you. Thank you for taking me to the Song family to apprentice yesterday.”

Though petite, she had many things to say.

“Hm, thank you,” Pei Ze replied with a faint expression, repeating his earlier words.

Qi Yunmiao realized he was still quite impatient with her.

So she didn’t intend to linger and said, “Well, enjoy your meal, Brother. I’ll go do my lessons now...”

“Wait.”

Just as she was about to leave, Pei Ze called after her.

Qi Yunmiao turned back and saw him take a letter from the servant following him and hand it to her.

“Since you’re here, please deliver this letter for me...” He hesitated briefly before adding, “Deliver it to the prime minister.”

“Oh, okay.”

Qi Yunmiao took the letter and glanced at the large characters on it, which read: “To Minister Pei, personal.”

Worried Pei Ze might have other matters, she asked, “Brother, is there anything else? If not, I’ll be off.”

“No,” Pei Ze said.

“Then goodbye, Brother!”

Clutching the letter, Qi Yunmiao turned and strode out of Pei Ze’s courtyard.

Watching her lively and cheerful figure, Pei Ze stood by the desk for a long moment before his gaze settled on the bright red persimmons on the table.

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—

When Qi Yunmiao arrived at the main residence, Shen Ruozhu and Pei Xun were sitting inside, seemingly engaged in lighthearted conversation.

Seeing Qi Yunmiao approach, Shen Ruozhu looked surprised. “You’re off school but not studying? Why are you here?”

“Brother asked me to deliver this letter to the prime minister,” Qi Yunmiao said, handing over the letter.

“Oh?” Pei Xun’s curiosity piqued as he took the letter from her.

But after glancing at the handwriting, he did not rush to open it immediately.

He first asked about Qi Yunmiao’s studies, inquired what she had eaten and done at the Song household, and finally invited her to stay for dinner at the main residence. After seeing Shen Ruozhu escort the child back to her own courtyard, he opened the letter Qi Yunmiao had delivered.

Alone with the letter, Pei Xun’s expression turned serious, unlike before.

Upon opening it, he found it was from the Liu family, congratulating him on his recent marriage.

The Liu family was the maternal clan of Pei Xun’s first wife. Once prominent in the capital, they had fallen from grace after offending Prince Ning and were exiled to serve in Xiangyang.

Now that Pei Xun had just married Shen Ruozhu, the Liu family suddenly sent this letter. The congratulation was likely a pretense; they intended to remind him not to forget the Liu’s son, nor Pei Ze—that was the real message.

Pei Xun stared at the letter in silence for a long while.

Meanwhile, Qi Yunmiao, back in her small courtyard with Shen Ruozhu, wrote her lessons under her mother’s watchful eye while chatting about her day at school and family matters.

Speaking of home, Qi Yunmiao said, “It’s so strange. Brother didn’t even want to call the prime minister ‘father’.”

She was referring to Pei Ze’s abrupt tone from the afternoon.

Shen Ruozhu, as expected, said, “There’s a rift between them, probably old grievances. If you don’t intend to intervene, better not get involved; but if you wish to reconcile them, you can try someday.”

“A rift?”

Qi Yunmiao blinked, clearly not understanding what a rift meant.

Shen Ruozhu was about to explain when she noticed Qi Yunmiao’s lessons were barely half done after nearly an incense stick’s time—a near-blank page. She could no longer tolerate it and, by the bright candlelight, grabbed a nearby book and gently tapped her daughter.

“Why do you put so much effort into other things but none into your studies?”

Startled, Qi Yunmiao stuck out her tongue and gripped her pen tighter, finally focusing on her lessons.

—

After enduring another day at the Song household, Qi Yunmiao finally had a day of rest.

On her day off, she slept late, lingering in bed until the sun warmed her.

She spent a leisurely day at the prime minister’s mansion, but the next day, she had to set out again for school.

After a few days of this routine, Qi Yunmiao noticed that since the day she saw Pei Ze again in the study, she had not seen him at home.

Nurse Fang said her brother was still studying and preparing for imperial exams, so he often stayed at the Imperial Academy and frequently did not return home.

The Imperial Academy.

This was the second time Qi Yunmiao had heard the name.

She understood it was an academy established by the court for the children of officials ranked fifth grade and above in the capital. Poor children had to pass provincial exams to enter.

Qi Yunmiao grew curious about what the Imperial Academy looked like.

Perhaps fate was on her side—her curiosity lasted only two days before she came home one day to find her mother preparing bedding and shoes in the hall.

She saw two thick mattresses stacked together, being loaded onto a carriage by servants, along with sheets, covers, and even sewing kits, all being transported piece by piece.

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Qi Yunmiao couldn’t help but ask, “Mother, what’s going on?”

“You’re back.” Shen Ruozhu had been busy all afternoon packing and only just noticed Qi Yunmiao standing in the hall.

“It’s getting cold. Your brother hasn’t been home for days. I don’t know if his bedding has been aired or if it’s warm enough. I’m going to the Imperial Academy to bring him some things.”

“The Imperial Academy?!” Qi Yunmiao was thrilled.

Shen Ruozhu was surprised by her daughter’s reaction.

“Well? You want to go to the Imperial Academy too?” she raised an eyebrow.

“Mm-hmm!” Qi Yunmiao didn’t hide her eagerness, running up and swinging on her mother’s arm. “Mother, take me with you! I’ve never seen what the Imperial Academy looks like.”

But Shen Ruozhu wasn’t so sure.

“What about your lessons today? If we come back late, it might be dark already.”

“I’ll finish them!” Qi Yunmiao hurriedly promised. “Mother, you supervise me! No matter how late, I’ll finish my lessons!”

“Just take me with you, Mother! Please! I really want to see it...”

After her promise, she quickly switched to a coaxing tone.

Where she learned to flip moods so quickly, no one knew.

Shen Ruozhu had no choice but to ruffle her daughter’s hair. “You never listen in class. I’m too lazy to supervise your lessons!”

Then she called her to get ready. The Imperial Academy was crowded, with students from all corners of the realm. Representing the prime minister’s household, she couldn’t be too casual, though no need for excessive dressing either.

And so, Qi Yunmiao rode a carriage to the Imperial Academy for the first time.

Along the way, she was far more excited than when she first visited the Song household, frequently lifting the curtain to look around.

After all, visiting another’s school was always more thrilling than going to one’s own.

Shen Ruozhu shook her head, and within half an hour, they arrived at the grand gates of the Imperial Academy.

The guards were official court officers. Hearing that the prime minister’s wife and daughter had come to deliver bedding, they let them in quickly.

“Jingxuan! Jingxuan!”

Pei Ze was just stepping out of the dormitory when he heard someone call him loudly.

“What is it?” he asked, stepping outside.

“Your family came to deliver bedding!” the messenger said excitedly.

Pei Ze was puzzled. Since entering the Imperial Academy, no one at home had sent him anything specifically. If he needed something, he would go home himself to fetch it, never relying on others.

But recalling his father’s recently remarried wife, Pei Ze quickly understood—perhaps the new lady wanted to display her kindness by sending him things.

Regardless, he strode toward the dormitory gate.

Yet, he stopped after only a few steps.

Because he saw a small figure rounding the corner, clutching a sewing kit, appearing right under his gaze.

Upon seeing him, her eyes gleamed slightly, and joy colored her cheeks.

She wanted to call out loudly but seemed to remember something and instead stood still, bowing politely from afar.

“Brother, Mother and I have come to bring you things!”