Chapter 3: Farewell, Bae Won-yong

  "Miss, miss..."

  In a daze, it seemed like someone was pushing her, and she hastily called out to him. Pei Yuange struggled to open her eyes, only to find that it was already midnight. The surroundings were quiet, with the silvery moonlight pouring in from the window, accompanied by the flickering candles inside the room, but only illuminating an empty space. There was only a faint scent of unfamiliar herbs lingering in the air, indicating that someone had been there before, but had already disappeared without a trace.

  Just thinking about it, I feel something is wrong with my wrist.

  He looked down and saw a small piece of paper pressed under his wrist. After reading the content on it, Pei Yuange put the paper into the lampshade and burned it to ashes. His pale face was gloomy, and in the flickering candlelight, the bright and dark shadows intersected, without any emotion, looking like a ghost, gloomy and depressed.

  "My fourth miss, later when the old master comes to see you, even if you beg him with tears in your eyes, he must still salvage this marriage. You should know that the status of the Town National Duke's family is noble and not easily attainable. Moreover, if a woman is jilted, her reputation will be ruined and no good family will want her. Fourth miss, you are also too honest and won't know how to curry favor with your in-laws, so in the end, you can only marry into a declining household. I'm saying this because I care about you, miss, and am speaking from the heart, don't take it lightly!"

  Gu Yiniang muttered to herself as she quickly styled Pei Yuansong's hair into a low bun, and intentionally left a thick fringe to cover her eyes, which were like dots of ink. She applied a thick layer of white powder to conceal her originally smooth and delicate skin, and then chose a yellow-brown embroidered jacket with floral patterns, along with a matching skirt. The only clever touches were the subtle adornments at the collar, waist, and cuffs, which made the wearer appear slightly plump.

  Pei Yuange looked at his pale and dim reflection in the mirror, smiled faintly: "Gu Yigu's craftsmanship is really good!"

  Her appearance was very similar to that of her birth mother, Ming Jin, a perfect beauty, but in the past life, Gui Yatou had a way to suppress her beauty, making her look ordinary and unremarkable. When Pei Yuanrong was elegant and refined, she became common; when Pei Yuanrong was luxurious and noble, she became dull. No matter what time it was, standing in front of Pei Yuanrong, she was always the green leaf that set off the red flower. She was young and trusted Gui Yatou very much, always thinking that her own appearance was not as good as Pei Yuanrong's by nature, never suspecting anything else.

  Until she married into the Wan family, Old Lady Wan taught her how to dress up and apply makeup. Gu Yehuo repeatedly said that she was old and had poor eyesight in the past, and she believed it, never thinking that she had ulterior motives.

  The maid outside reported: "Master and Third Miss, as well as Madame Zhang have come to visit Fourth Miss."

  Bae Won-yong... She's also here!

  Bai Yuange's originally calm expression suddenly shattered, and her whole body began to tremble uncontrollably as memories of her impending death flashed before her eyes. She clenched her fists tightly, letting her long fingernails dig into her flesh, trying to use the pain to force herself to calm down.

  Pei Zhucheng walked around the screen and came in, thinking she was ill, hurriedly stepped forward to help her onto the bed, covered her with a quilt, and only then said displeased, "When you're not feeling well, don't get out of bed easily, we're all family, no need to be polite. Changing clothes and combing your hair again, it's exhausting for you, taking care of your illness is important."

  She was wearing a short jacket with white and red swallowtail flowers, a silver-red skirt that reached her chest, and two crimson agate pendants on her temples. Her bright eyes and white teeth sparkled as she smiled sweetly, looking even more radiant against the backdrop of Pei Yuan's song. She giggled and said, "I'm sure Fourth Sister is so fond of beauty that she couldn't wait to dress up, even though she's still ill. Father arrived and heard her sitting in front of the dressing table, making herself up! She really deserves a beating."

  She spoke with a smile, seemingly just teasing Pei Yuansong, but her intention was actually quite vicious.

  Nowadays, with filial piety governing the world, when a father comes to visit, children should go to the courtyard to welcome him, showing respect. Pei Yuansong was seriously ill and did not have the strength to go far to greet him, which is understandable. But now that she has the energy to dress up beautifully, she doesn't even get up to welcome her father, and if this gets out, it would be enough to earn her a reputation for being unfilial.

  Staring at Pei Yuanyu's bright and beautiful face, Pei Yuan Ge made several efforts to control her emotions, coughing a few times before speaking in a voice that was slightly hoarse: "Third sister is joking, I've recovered a bit but I'm really weak and frail. When I heard father was coming, I thought about how my sickly appearance would worry him - wouldn't that be unfilial of me? So I struggled to get Gu Yiniang to help me dress up, but instead Third Sister blames me for it. If so, then Third Sister can hit me!" As she spoke, with great effort she stretched out her right hand towards Pei Yuanyu's face, but due to her weakness it fell halfway, further proving that what she had just said was true.

  So weak yet still thinking of his father, unwilling to let him worry, not only is it not unfilial, but it's actually a great filial act.

  Moreover, her words were all following Pei Yuanrong's lead, and she pouted her mouth, with a hint of coquetry in her eyes, looking like a spoiled daughter who was throwing a tantrum, silently shattering Pei Yuanrong's attempt to enter the palace.

  Pae Won-yong was taken aback, how did Pae Won-song suddenly become so eloquent and clever with his words? With a sly smile and a playful rebuke, not only did he avoid falling into her verbal trap, but also effortlessly won over their father. Looking at the admiring gaze of Pae Ju-seong, she felt extremely resentful in her heart - that was the smile her father reserved for her and her older sister, how dare this lowly Pae Won-song possess it?

  "Look at you, so clever and capable, who would dare to hit you?" Zhang Yun saw that things were not going well, and without making a sound, she pinched Pei Yuanrong's arm, signaling her not to reveal their plan, lest they be discovered by Pei Zhucheng. On the surface, she smiled and said, "You child, your thoughts are too heavy, Master cares about you the most, taking care of your body is more important than anything else. You're still weak from illness, getting up and working so hard, if you catch a cold and make your condition worse, won't that cause Master even more distress?"

  This mother and daughter, their words are full of traps, determined to give her a reputation for being unfilial.

  Everyone was laughing and chatting, Pei Yuange didn't like to use big principles, but instead seemed artificial and pretentious. So she leaned on her small size, took advantage of her youth, snuggled into Pei Zhucheng's arms, and coquettishly said: "Father, listen, Auntie is so good at talking, I can't argue with her, Father, please help me!"

  Pei Zhucheng had always been fond of his daughter, but he was often away at war and rarely returned to the manor. Pei Yuange would often defy him, making him feel embarrassed. Unexpectedly, this time when she was seriously ill, she became affectionate towards him, finally understanding things as she grew older. Pei Zhucheng's heart was filled with joy, and he smiled as he stroked her head, saying: "Alright, alright, father will take charge for you, it's all your aunt's fault for bullying you everywhere, tomorrow we'll join forces to bully her back, okay?"

  Pei Yuansong smiled and said: "Forget it, if I can make Father smile, even if Auntie teases me, I'll take it!"

  As soon as she said this, it became her tolerating humiliation and pleasing her father.

  Zhang Yun and Bae Won-yong did not expect that their repeated designs would ultimately benefit Bae Won-song, making them so angry they were about to pass out. Even Zhang Yun could hardly maintain the smile on her face. Under the "careful guidance" of Gui Yaoyao and Bai Wei Baiji, Bae Won-song had always kept a distance from Bae's other sons, so how did he suddenly change his ways? Who was behind this? It was really despicable!

  Pei Yuanyong covered his mouth and smiled, as if he was just joking: "Father naturally loves the fourth sister the most. Look, I heard that the fourth sister's engagement was broken off, and she rushed back from thousands of miles away to support her!" But after all, he was young, and the sharp edges in his words couldn't be hidden.

  Pei Zhucheng's thick eyebrows slightly furrowed, Yuan Ge's illness was originally caused by the broken engagement. At this time, he was still ill, how could he bring up this matter again? However, thinking of Pei Yuanyong's youth, he didn't scold him outright. But as a military general, he was accustomed to being straightforward and efficient. Since it was mentioned, he might as well settle the matter once and for all, so as not to drag it out in the future: "Song Er, this marriage, I'm afraid it's off."

  Finally getting to the point!

  Zhang Yun became pleased again, and in recent days, she had instructed Gui Yatou and others to instill the importance of reviving the marriage into Pei Yuange's ears, even exaggerating the consequences to be extremely severe, using intimidation and temptation to force Pei Yuange to cry out for reconciliation.

  With Pei Zhucity's temperament, the Marquis of Town's mansion cancelled the engagement with Pei Yuange that had been arranged since childhood. No matter what the reason was, Pei Zhucity would never let Pei Yuange marry him again to avoid suffering. However, Pei Yuange didn't understand the kindness behind this and only thought about the Marquis of Town's family background and the miserable situation after being jilted. She naturally preferred to marry into that family. Moreover, what Pei Yuanrong said earlier was a trap, saying that Pei Zhucity had come to support Pei Yuange. If Pei Yuange was persuaded by Gu Yiniang and others to cry and demand that Pei Zhucity take her back, Pei Zhucity would not go back, but she would also be disappointed in Pei Yuange, and their affection for each other would gradually fade.

  Are you trying to drive a wedge between us?

  Looking at Zhang Yun's smiling eyes, Pei Yuange smiled faintly in her heart. In her past life, she indeed didn't understand things and quarreled with her father over this matter. But she was no longer the same as before. This time, Zhang Yun would probably be disappointed...