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Following Changnian inside, Xie Zhi saw Pei Du seated at a large huanghuali desk in the main hall, holding a jade brush and bent over his writing.
Piled high upon the desk were official documents, along with brush racks, ink-wash bowls, and other scholarly tools.
“Master, the Old Madam sent refreshments for you,” Changnian announced.
Without lifting his head, Pei Du replied faintly, “Leave it.” His hand never paused.
Changnian glanced at Xie Zhi before bowing himself out.
Left alone, Xie Zhi dared to lift her eyes slightly toward the man at the head.
Half a year had passed, and he was the same as ever—exceedingly handsome, yet his sharp brows and eyes carried an austere chill.
Cold, aloof, untouchable.
At the sight of that face, memories from half a year ago flooded her mind, and her fingers clenched tighter around the food box.
At that moment, Pei Du finally sensed another’s presence in the room. He lifted his gaze—and met the panic flashing across Xie Zhi’s eyes.
…
The truth was, Xie Zhi had always feared him. Ever since she was brought into the Pei manor half a year ago, the household had assumed Pei Du harbored intentions toward her.
A man who had never shown interest in women, suddenly returning from Yangzhou with an injured girl at his side—how could people not speculate?
Even the Old Madam believed so.
Pei Du had her sent to the Old Madam’s quarters, then within a few days left again on imperial orders to investigate a case in Yingzhou. He had been gone for half a year since.
Xie Zhi herself had shown nothing outwardly, but the Old Madam had instead comforted her:
“You mustn’t take it to heart. He has yet to marry, so it’s not proper for him to take anyone into his rooms. By placing you with me, he means to let me give you to him properly in the future—that way it will be respectable and aboveboard.”
Xie Zhi had tried to explain several times, but others only took her silence and faint blush as maidenly shyness.
Her words carried no weight. She could not argue, and so she muddled along, living in Chunhui Garden.
But in her heart, she knew things were not as they imagined.
Pei Du disliked her—deeply.
Their first meeting had been in the prison, during her family’s trial.
Her relatives, stripped of their usual vanity, sat pale and broken, waiting for judgment.
When their sentence was declared—that they would be demoted into slave status—wails and screams erupted, harsh enough to pierce Xie Zhi’s eardrums.
She had looked up to see Pei Du seated above, his eyes cold and unfeeling, overlooking the scene like an emotionless deity.
Her beauty soon drew the attention of a brothel madam, who wanted to purchase her.
Though she was still young, raised behind the walls of the inner residence, she knew well enough that such a place was nothing but a living hell.
When her mother was gravely ill, a five-year-old Xie Zhi had once begged her father to let her see her mother one last time. No matter how she cried, he refused.
Her father had ignored her, rushing away instead—to welcome home a new courtesan.
From then on, she lost her mother forever.
And the brothel became the thing she loathed most in this world.
How could she resign herself to spending her remaining years in that abyss?
She had endured neglect and cruelty in the Xie household for over a decade—why should she now pay for the sins her father Xie Jinhai had committed?
It was unjust.
And so, when she was about to be taken away, she clung to her last shred of hope and fell to her knees before Pei Du:
“My lord, please… take me with you?”
But Pei Du had only cast her a look of disdain, as though she were filth. He ordered her dragged aside and left without so much as a backward glance.
Xie Zhi paid dearly for that desperate plea. Dragged back to the brothel, she was beaten bloody by the madam.
Within two days, refusing to receive clients, she seized the chance under cover of night to escape. But the guards soon noticed and pursued her through the streets.
With no way out, she stumbled into an unattended carriage at the roadside.
She heard the pursuers pass by outside and was just beginning to feel relief—when someone lifted the curtain and entered.
Curled in the corner, disheveled and terrified, she looked up—and froze at the sight of Pei Du. Tears welled uncontrollably in her eyes.
The memory of his rejection only days earlier was still raw. She was certain—he would never save her.
Her first instinct was to flee. She scrambled up, nearly tumbling as she rushed to climb out.
“Don’t be angry, my lord—I’ll leave myself!”
But just as she tried to slip away, he seized her wrist.
“Are you sure?”
…
“Greetings, my lord.” Her voice was quiet, restrained, as she offered a curtsey.
Pei Du set down his brush and said, “Bring it here.”
Xie Zhi stepped forward with care, taking out the two refreshments from the food box and placing them on the desk.
“My lord, the lychee syrup must be consumed quickly, else it will turn sour.”
He stirred it once with the spoon, but did not drink. Instead, he lifted his eyes to her.
Her hair was still damp, a faint fragrance clinging to her skin—she had clearly just bathed.
For some reason, irritation and aversion stirred in Pei Du’s chest.
“I recall telling you when I brought you into this manor—you were to know your place and cause no trouble.”
The spoon struck the bowl’s rim with a sharp note as he set it down.
At his words, the back of her head went taut. She did not even know how she had angered him again. After forcing the words past her throat, she said softly:
“Yes, my lord.”
“When you were first sent to the Old Madam’s, you were assigned as a third-class maidservant, were you not?”
“Yes.”
“Third-class maids have the heaviest duties—up before dawn to sweep and launder, not finished until nightfall. They are not permitted to leave the courtyard without leave. So explain—why were you at the academy today, quarreling with Yuyang?”
Truly worthy of a minister of justice—his scrutiny was razor-sharp. Barely back in the manor, and he already knew everything that had transpired.
Xie Zhi’s face paled, and she dropped to her knees.
“In reply to my lord: when I was first sent to the Old Madam, she took pity on me. She did not assign me to heavy labor, and instead allowed me to serve tea at the academy in the mornings, which was also a chance to listen in on lessons.”
“Why? If you dare use ‘the Old Madam’s kindness’ as your excuse again, don’t blame me for being merciless.”
Her forehead nearly touched the floor. “Because… the Old Madam believes I am my lord’s…”
Her voice grew smaller and smaller, until suddenly she looked up with wide, luminous eyes, as though desperate.
“My lord, I explained before—but no one believes me. You were in such a hurry to leave then…”
It was the same as always.
Pei Du detested this kind of scheming woman, one who clung to another’s power to secure her own gain.
“I told you already—the only reason I saved you was because that day was my late mother’s death anniversary. I will explain everything to Grandmother myself. But you—best understand clearly what you should and should not do. Do not make me regret my decision.”
With that, he strode coldly out of the study.
Xie Zhi remained kneeling, desolate and trembling, not daring to move.
Just as she tried to rise, a furious female voice rang out from the courtyard:
“Brother! Is that wretch Lichun with you? Do you know she disobeyed her punishment and sneaked off? She has no respect at all!”