Chapter Seven

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The National Academy in the capital city was situated directly beneath the solemn imperial palace. Exiting through the academy’s main gate and heading north, one would arrive at the heart of the capital’s official district, where the Six Ministries and the Nine Ministers all resided.

As evening fell and dusk settled in, the National Academy was bathed in the bleak autumn wind blowing down from the imperial city.

Pei Ze escorted Qi Yunmiao out of the academy.

Qi Yunmiao remained silent all the way, but her steps were light and her expression joyful. Without a word, the delight and pride radiating from her eyes and the corners of her mouth were enough for every passerby to see that this young lady had encountered some great happiness.

Pei Ze glanced at her several times along the way. Finally, upon seeing Shen Ruozhu waiting by the carriage ahead, he stopped and asked Qi Yunmiao alone, “Who taught you archery?”

“Hm?” Qi Yunmiao looked up.

Earlier on the training field, her archery had startled everyone with its brilliance. Not only had she shattered Zheng Zhuliu’s pride, but many present at the range were amazed, their attention drawn to this mere ten-year-old girl.

A little girl barely able to lift a chicken, yet skilled with a bow, and shooting with such precision.

Everyone admired her.

Qi Yunmiao lifted her chin proudly as she looked at Pei Ze’s inquiring face. “Of course, I learned it from my father!”

Pei Ze paused for a moment.

Qi Yunmiao’s father... He recalled that when he first learned his own father intended to remarry—and that the new bride was a village woman who had been married before—he had sent someone to investigate this mother and daughter. Qi Yunmiao’s father, the former husband of Shen Ruozhu, was named Qi Congnian, a hunter who had died during the previous winter.

There was nothing remarkable about his identity except for the cause of his death.

Qi Congnian did not die of illness; he was brutally murdered on the way to the capital, and his body was dumped in a disgraceful manner in front of the Dali Temple’s office.

This homicide case remained unsolved to this day.

Shen Ruozhu had repeatedly sought justice for her late husband, and the Dali Temple had promised her answers. But after a whole month of investigations, the case remained unresolved. In the end, she had no choice but to return home with her husband's remains to bury him.

Two months after the burial, she moved to the capital with Qi Yunmiao.

As the daughter of a hunter, it made sense that Qi Yunmiao was skilled with bow and arrow from a young age.

“All right,” Pei Ze said, “I will see you off here. Your mother is just ahead. Go find her yourself.”

“Okay,” Qi Yunmiao nodded. “See you next time, brother!”

Next time, hopefully, we never meet again at the National Academy.

Pei Ze’s face was calm and unreadable, but inwardly he thought this.

—

After visiting the National Academy, Qi Yunmiao’s previously listless mood during class improved somewhat.

Perhaps it was because she hadn’t handled a bow in a long time, but suddenly shooting one and scoring a perfect ten awakened her spirit like a starving horse suddenly fed or a hungry hawk catching prey. She was invigorated.

This newfound vigor sustained her, and she paid far more attention in class than before.

The day after returning from the academy, it began to rain in the capital, and the temperature dropped several degrees.

Located in the north, the capital seldom had much rain, so in the many months Qi Yunmiao had lived there, she had seen little rainfall. Thus, the sudden autumn rain was welcome to her.

Shen Ruozhu feared she might play in the water, so she repeatedly warned her and prepared layer upon layer of warm clothes, making sure each morning that Qi Yunmiao was warmly dressed before allowing her out.

That day, coming home from school in the rain, Qi Yunmiao closed her umbrella and saw her mother sitting in the hall reading an invitation.

She leaned in to look and saw it was an invitation from the Duke Dingguo’s residence.

The invitation was otherwise unremarkable, but it specifically requested that the lady, along with the prime minister Pei’s daughter, attend together.

Pei’s daughter?

Was that referring to her?

It was the first time Qi Yunmiao had ever been addressed like that.

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Although Pei Xiang had become her stepfather, neither her mother nor Pei Xun had ever forced her to call him father, so she had never truly done so.

Now the Duke Dingguo’s residence called her the prime minister’s daughter.

“Do you want to go?” Shen Ruozhu asked after Qi Yunmiao finished reading the invitation.

Qi Yunmiao was puzzled. “What’s so fun about that banquet?”

“Nothing much, just a game of pitch-pot, flower viewing, gathering around the stove to brew tea, and chatting about winter plans,” Shen Ruozhu explained.

“You can play pitch-pot?” Qi Yunmiao’s eyes suddenly sparkled.

Shen Ruozhu nodded at her daughter’s lively expression. Every time she lost interest in reading or studying, mention of something fun would immediately excite her.

“But do you know what kind of family the Dingguo residence is?” she asked softly.

“What family?” Qi Yunmiao did not know.

Shen Ruozhu answered, “The Duke Dingguo’s family name is Zheng. The duke’s sister is the imperial concubine Zheng in the palace, and his son... is called Zheng Zhuliu.”

“Ah!” Qi Yunmiao understood.

He was the very person who tried to use her at the academy to crush Pei Ze’s reputation but was unexpectedly outshone by her.

“You offended the young master last time, and this time the Zheng family specially invited you in hopes of making a fool of you,” Shen Ruozhu said.

“Ah, is the Duke Dingguo’s family really that petty?” Qi Yunmiao was quite annoyed.

“Do you think so?” Shen Ruozhu smiled. “There are very few families in the capital who dare to oppose the Zhengs. Are you really willing to offend their son?”

Qi Yunmiao was dissatisfied. “Do you think I was wrong, mother?”

“You weren’t,” Shen Ruozhu said earnestly.

She had already told Qi Yunmiao about the incident at the academy on their way home.

If they wanted to use her to mock Pei Ze, why couldn’t she turn the tables and mock them instead?

Shen Ruozhu disliked trouble but was never afraid of it.

She told Qi Yunmiao, “So, your mother will not attend the Zheng family’s banquet, and you don’t have to go either.”

Qi Yunmiao smiled.

She rested her head on her mother’s lap and told her about the things she had learned at the Song family, as well as what she had seen and heard.

The Song family was kind, and the classmates at the academy were all very nice. Almost no one looked down on her for coming from the countryside; everyone treated her as a good friend.

Whenever there were gatherings among the children, or after class when they ate and played, they liked to include her.

Only Song Qingyu’s second older brother, Song Xiao, seemed a bit disdainful, often looking for chances to mock her.

But it didn’t matter; Qi Yunmiao didn’t play with him, so he had few opportunities to tease her.

“By the way...”

Holding the Zheng family’s invitation, Shen Ruozhu suddenly remembered that it was thanks to Pei Xun’s influence that the Song family agreed to let Qi Yunmiao study there. On her first day at the Song family’s academy, Shen Ruozhu was not present. Now, having been at the Song residence for over half a month, it was time to personally visit and thank them.

“Madam Song is very good at making pastries—mare’s milk cakes, jujube paste cakes, wisteria cakes, rose dew... she often makes different snacks for us!” Qi Yunmiao told her mother.

Shen Ruozhu understood.

Finally, on a day when there were no classes at the Song family’s academy and the sky was clear, Shen Ruozhu took Qi Yunmiao and a full lunchbox of snacks she had made and went to the Song residence.

Madam Song’s surname was Wen, full name Wen Tingyao.

Hearing that the prime minister’s new wife would visit, Wen Tingyao and Song Qingyu had already been waiting early in their hall for Shen Ruozhu and Qi Yunmiao.

After the two mother-daughter pairs exchanged polite greetings, Qi Yunmiao went off to play with Song Qingyu, leaving the two mothers alone in the flower hall to talk.

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Wen Tingyao examined Shen Ruozhu carefully.

This was not her first time seeing Shen Ruozhu, but every time she did, she was captivated by her beauty.

To be fair, having grown up in the capital city with a father who was the Marquis of Cai, Wen Tingyao had seen many beauties.

Even she herself had been praised for her looks since childhood.

But searching the entire capital, Wen Tingyao was confident no one could compare to Shen Ruozhu’s breathtaking beauty.

Her beauty was not the simple, delicate kind of an ordinary young girl. The moment she appeared, she struck at the very soul, making it impossible to look away. Her gentle southern charm combined perfectly with the mature allure unique to a woman, adding infinite fascination.

No wonder the prime minister, who had lived a celibate life for so many years, suddenly lost control and insisted on marrying.

Every time Wen Tingyao saw Shen Ruozhu, she thought that if she were a man, she would want to bring this lady into her home and make her the jewel of her life.

Since the two had no prior private conversations and Wen Tingyao was close to Lady Liu of the former prime minister’s residence, the hall grew somewhat awkward after the children left.

After exchanging a few polite words, Shen Ruozhu quickly got to her point.

She was here to thank the Song family for accepting Qi Yunmiao to study.

For this, she brought many gifts: a whole measure of pearls from the East Sea, talismans for safety, wolf hair brushes, brush racks, and other stationery for the Song children. Most importantly, she brought handmade pastries.

“I grew up in Qiantang, and our pastries differ quite a bit from those here in the capital. So I made some myself, hoping sister would enjoy them and not mind,” she said softly, calling Wen Tingyao “sister.”

Wen Tingyao’s gaze fell on the pastries Shen Ruozhu had prepared.

She loved pastries herself and often prepared them for the children. Most children studying at the Song residence had tasted the pastries she arranged.

The Jiangnan pastries Shen Ruozhu brought looked quite different from what Wen Tingyao usually ate. She picked out several that piqued her interest to try.

Soft and glutinous rice cakes, green dumplings made with mugwort juice and red bean paste, Ding Sheng cakes, water chestnut cakes... after tasting, Wen Tingyao found them all delicious and wanted more.

“Did you make all these yourself?” she finally asked.

“Yes,” Shen Ruozhu replied. “If you like them, I can write down the recipes for you.”

She liked them.

Wen Tingyao was delighted and looked at Shen Ruozhu with surprise. Though she had wanted to maintain some reserve, after tasting more of the pastries, she insisted that Shen Ruozhu write down the recipes, promising to keep them secret.

“There’s no harm in sharing; these are well-known in Qiantang,” Shen Ruozhu said.

Wen Tingyao looked at her again. “Well-known in Qiantang, but rare in the capital. It might come in handy to keep them to yourself.”

“That’s true. Thank you for your advice, sister.”

Shen Ruozhu smiled warmly and wrote down all the pastry recipes she had brought from the prime minister’s residence.

With pastries as a topic, the two women gradually relaxed and their conversation became less stiff.

Shen Ruozhu stayed in the Song family’s hall for about an hour. Near noon, she finally decided to take Qi Yunmiao home.

Pei Xun happened to have a day off, and she had promised to return to eat lunch with him.

She asked the Song family’s housekeeper to bring Qi Yunmiao back.

However, the housekeeper returned in a flustered state, saying, “Madam, something’s wrong! Miss Qi is fighting with the second young master in the backyard!”