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Chapter 44 — The Secret Exposed

“What are your thoughts about Young Master Shang?…”

From several yards away, Yu Mingyao could clearly see the redness at the corners of Pei Shang’s eyes.

He was in great distress. Always someone who disliked being restrained, now his collar hung wide open; at some point, even the buttons on his crimson robe had been tugged loose!

Yu Mingyao only glanced at him briefly before she dared not look any further.

Standing on the cusp between youth and manhood, Pei Shang’s eyes were clear, and his entire being radiated a natural, unblemished purity. Yet that vibrant, youthful male energy that surged from him made her heart tremble in fear.

In the face of such beauty, she was just a normal woman — a woman who understood worldly matters and knew what it meant for man and woman to be intimate.

Her heart pounded faster and faster with every beat.

Under the burning gaze Pei Shang cast from a few feet away, Yu Mingyao slowly edged forward, inch by inch.

As soon as she reached him, Pei Shang grabbed her firmly.

His mind foggy, Pei Shang’s grip was rough and uncontrolled, a reflection of his unbearable torment.

Only now did Yu Mingyao realize that men and women were truly different — the disparity in strength was vast.

Perhaps in the past, he had always handled her so carefully that she never sensed that this gentle man could also transform into a beast.

His sudden force pulled her right into his arms.

Even at this moment, as she fell into his embrace, Pei Shang instinctively shielded her with his own body, ensuring she didn’t bump or hurt herself at all.

“Mingyao… I’m suffering… help me, help me…”
The young man’s voice was hoarse.

He gazed at her with such pitiful, helpless eyes.

This man… he was still a blank sheet of paper…

As she watched him nuzzling and sniffing around her neck, Yu Mingyao let out a faint, slightly bitter smile.

Did he expect her to take the initiative in this sort of situation?

His labored breaths tickled her ear.

When she first met Pei Shang, his voice had carried the clear brightness of a youth. Now, as his body matured, even his voice had deepened.

Under the drug’s effect, he was utterly honest — acting on pure instinct as he gripped her waist and swiftly pressed her beneath him.

Just as she was flustered by this sudden move, Pei Shang forcefully pinned her wrists down, and his weight fully subdued her.

Under such an assault, Yu Mingyao had long since melted into a puddle of softness. Like a delicate vine, she was fully prepared to wind herself around him and submit to him.

His unskilled kisses trailed lower and lower from her collarbone.

A soft moan escaped her throat.

That sound, by chance, fell into Pei Shang’s ears like the chime of a bell, instantly clearing his previously dazed eyes.

“Mingyao…”

The woman beneath him remained soft as cotton.

Her flushed face was beautiful — her cheeks tinted like rouge, her eyes misty and hazy, filled with a deadly allure that ensnared his soul.

The cream-colored satin jacket she wore had its buttons pulled apart to both sides, revealing a glimpse of the inner garment beneath.

“When I come to marry you, I swear I will marry you!”

Pei Shang, straining against his body that felt ready to explode, stared hard at Yu Mingyao, as if wanting to carve her image deep into his bones.

The next moment, before he completely lost control of his senses, he planted a feather-light kiss on her forehead.

Then, like a gust of wind, he stumbled out of the room in disarray, fleeing in a panicked rush.

Yu Mingyao covered her burning face and let out a long sigh.

“Hey, hey, Young Master Pei?”

From a distance, Yan Yue’s surprised voice called out.

She couldn’t hear whether Pei Shang responded. All she heard was Yan Yue’s footsteps approaching the room.

Clearing her throat, Yu Mingyao said, “Follow him closely. Don’t let him get into trouble. As for me, there’s no need to worry.”

After speaking, she realized her voice — at some point — had also gained the same hoarseness as Pei Shang’s.

So… it wasn’t just Pei Shang that this bowl of drugged tea had affected — it had scorched her as well.

*”I wish to know you, my love, and for our bond to never wither.”*¹

She bit her lip, and the warmth that had only barely stirred in her body moments ago suddenly flared like a wildfire, igniting her entirely. She parted her lips, and the suppressed moans slipped out one after another.

Her pale, jade-like hand clutched the bedsheet tightly, while her other hand quietly slid beneath her skirt…

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In the next few days, a great joke spread throughout the Pei household.

The ever-unreliable young master of the main house had, while playing around, accidentally fallen into the pond — and had soaked there for over half an hour before coming out.

It was said that when he finally emerged, a few maidservants, pretending to pass by, had snuck a few glances.

Afterward, as Pei Shang recovered, he found that no matter where he went, the gazes of the maids and old servant women around the household always felt strange, sending chills down his spine.

Of course, that was a story for later.

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Rongjing Hall

“Look at the foolish thing you’ve done!”

A sheet of written testimony was slammed down.

Pei Yuzhu knelt on a purple prayer cushion, her back straight and her expression calm — still maintaining the posture of the Pei family’s eldest granddaughter, unflinching.

Old Madam Pei sat in the grand chair at the center. Seeing Pei Yuzhu still wearing that defiant, fearless expression, her chest heaved in anger. Beside her, Madam Li hurriedly helped soothe her breathing.

“Yuzhu, it’s not that your aunt is scolding you, but why would a young lady like you involve herself in such things? This time it was just Young Master Shang. If it had been the Heir Apparent Xie instead, what could our Pei family use to compensate? Could we even afford it?”

Though she seemed to mediate, Madam Li was in fact pouring oil on the fire.

Even the usually meek and quiet Madam Dong’s face was flushed bright red, her spine bent low.

“Yuzhu just made a momentary mistake. She’s not a bad child, not truly that kind of person.”

Madam Dong tried timidly to defend Pei Yuzhu.

“It’s all in black and white now — a momentary mistake? Would you only be satisfied if it cost me my life to clear the way for your third branch?”

Pei Shang’s words hit hard and deep, instantly raising the severity of the situation.

Everyone knew the Pei family’s male line was thin — only the first and third branches had sons. If something happened to Pei Shang, the vast Pei family estate might well end up in the hands of the third branch.

“Sister-in-law, what do you think?”

Madam Dong’s pleading gaze turned to Madam Zhen, who sat silently to Old Madam Pei’s left.

By late autumn, although Pei Shang’s health was generally sound, soaking so long in the icy pond had taken a severe toll on him.

Though the scandal of being drugged with such a vile substance in his own house was kept tightly under wraps, all the key figures present knew exactly what had transpired.

As for Yu Mingyao, her presence here was natural — she was the other victim.

Even if Yu Mingyao could swallow her anger, Madam Shi Luo could not.

Madam Shi Luo’s face was frosty, her sharp gaze cutting across Pei Yuzhu like a blade.

The room fell silent, and all eyes turned to Madam Zhen, waiting to hear her verdict.

“To harm one’s own brother — that is cruelty.
To disregard family ties — that is unfilial.
To smile in friendship while plotting behind one’s back — that is treachery.”

“Such a person, lacking in humanity, righteousness, and filial piety — keeping her will only bring disaster.”

As soon as these words fell, Madam Dong, who had been kneeling beside Pei Yuzhu, instantly collapsed in despair. Tears streamed from her eyes.

“Mother-in-law, Yuzhu is still a child — barely twenty! You cannot treat her like this! Even if… even if you must, at least spare her life!”

She knocked her head on the floor with loud thuds.

Even the usually domineering Madam Li looked on with a rare expression of pity.

“Sister, what do you think?”

Old Madam Pei turned to Madam Shi Luo.

For the first time, Madam Shi Luo defied her usually respected elder sister and did not follow her lead.

“I think Madam Zhen’s words were absolutely right. This girl must be severely punished.”

In the end, though, she still stopped short of demanding Pei Yuzhu’s life as reparation.

Catching her apologetic glance, Yu Mingyao merely lowered her gaze and smiled faintly.

“Mingyao, I have wronged you in this matter. I failed to teach Yuzhu properly. Your grandmother is deeply ashamed.”

Old Madam Pei personally descended from her chair and came before Yu Mingyao, grasping her hand tightly.

The eyes that had always sparkled with vitality now looked dim.

Yu Mingyao’s lips curved slightly as she gently withdrew her hand.

“This is a private affair of your household. Our presence here is only a nuisance. Please don’t hold it against us, Old Madam.”

With those words, she deftly tossed the matter back.

Pei Shang, dissatisfied, kept shouting at the side, “They nearly ruined Mingyao’s reputation — how is that not her business?”

Yu Mingyao smiled lightly and left alongside Madam Shi Luo and Madam Zhen.

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It was only after they had walked deep into the night for quite some time that Madam Shi Luo, gazing at Yu Mingyao’s calm, unwavering face, let out a heavy sigh.

“Mingyao, what exactly are you thinking?”

She sighed helplessly, “Even your grandmother can’t understand you anymore.”

The bitterness and disappointment in the elder’s voice pricked Yu Mingyao’s heart like a needle.

She turned to look at Madam Shi Luo’s profile — faintly visible under the lantern light. The silver threads in her hair were radiant and dazzling.

Her grandmother, who had always wanted to shield her from the wind and rain, had aged.

At an age where she should be enjoying grandchildren and peaceful retirement, she was still toiling for her sake — truly unfair.

Yu Mingyao wrapped her arm around Madam Shi Luo’s warm one and leaned half her body against her.

“I just want to stay together with Grandmother and my brother — for a long, long time.”

Her gentle, affectionate words finally brought a smile to Madam Shi Luo’s face.

“There you go again with your nonsense.”

She playfully tapped Yu Mingyao’s nose.

The two strolled slowly, savoring the rare tranquility.

Just when Yu Mingyao thought this peaceful, idyllic time might last forever, Madam Shi Luo’s cautious voice broke the silence of the night.

“What about Young Master Shang? What are your thoughts about him? And… that Xie boy as well?”

At those words, Yu Mingyao halted her steps.

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