After the Pitiful Little One Seduced the Feudal Big Daddy - Chapter 26

Thump, thump

His heart rate suddenly accelerated, hammering heavily against his chest. Xie Yunqing instinctively steadied himself against the doorframe, his five fingers tightening. He opened his mouth, his voice trembling: “…What?”

Pei Xuan didn’t catch the abnormality in Xie Yunqing’s tone; he was still examining the outer robe. After a moment, as if finally certain, he walked over holding the garment and pointed out the dark patterns to Xie Yunqing. “This kind of hidden weave is unique to our Pei clan of Hedong. Outsiders don’t know it, and they certainly can’t weave it.”

He then pointed to his own clothes. “See? Isn’t it the same?”

Xie Yunqing looked stiffly at where Pei Xuan was pointing. His grip on the doorframe tightened further, and he was speechless, only able to nod with great difficulty.

“So, why do you have my brother’s clothes here?”

As if fearing he might soil Pei Yanzhi’s garment, Pei Xuan immediately turned back to fold it properly and place it back in the bundle but because of his clumsiness, he struggled for a long time without making it look right. Consequently, he didn’t notice that Xie Yunqing hadn’t answered his question.

To cover for his busy hands, Pei Xuan continued chatting. “Actually, it’s all because of my brother that I was able to become friends with you. I’d heard your name before, but you know me—my mind usually isn’t on Academy business, so I didn’t have much of an impression. It was the second day after my brother returned from Wu Commandery; I went to see him and found him reading your policy essays. It just so happened that I’d accidentally bumped into you that same day, and that’s when I remembered who you were.”

At this point, Pei Xuan hesitated, then decided to tell the truth. “And at first, I even lied to my brother, telling him we were already friends. I thought that way, he might think I wasn’t completely useless at the Academy and was actually studying with someone like you. That way, he wouldn’t scold me.”

“But unexpectedly, my brother saw through my lie in a single glance!” Pei Xuan gave an involuntary shiver. “You have no idea how terrifying that look he gave me was!” His hands paused as he looked back with lingering fear. “So I quickly admitted my fault and promised him I would definitely make friends with you. Only then did he let me off. And you know the rest you truly are a very, very good person…”

“Ah!” Pei Xuan suddenly cried out. He dropped the robe and ran to Xie Yunqing’s side. “Yunqing, are you feeling unwell again?”

Xie Yunqing wanted to answer, wanted to shake his head, but found he couldn’t make any reaction at all. He felt completely paralyzed, standing there dazed as his fingertips dug deep into the cracks of the doorframe.

So… that’s how it was…

The “Great Personage” who hadn’t blamed him for his intrusion, who had allowed him to stay, and who had left the robe for him it was Pei Yanzhi. The reason Pei Xuan had suddenly approached him and treated him as a dear friend it was also Pei Yanzhi. From the very beginning, it had always been Pei Yanzhi helping him.

Yet he… he hadn’t realized it. Instead of showing gratitude, he had harbored fear, committed several breaches of etiquette, and even attempted to manipulate and exploit Pei Yanzhi to save his father. And Pei Yanzhi, even after discovering his scheme, had chosen to continue helping him unconditionally.

In an instant, these belated truths and regrets crashed down on him like falling boulders, one after another. They left his heart a mangled mess of agony. How could I treat Pei Yanzhi like this?

Xie Yunqing was like a jade puppet whose strings had snapped. He lost all control, leaning against the doorframe and sliding slowly toward the floor. In the chaos, Pei Xuan and Cui Ji caught him, both asking urgent questions, but he couldn’t respond. He could only ask himself: how could he ever repay such kindness? And did he even deserve it?

His spirit was stretched to the breaking point. A feeling of profound guilt expanded within him, surrounded by a swarm of strange, painful thoughts. Memory spiraled back to the day he first stumbled into that small courtyard the silhouette on the white jade screen and the one at Old Madame Pei’s house merged into one. That gentle voice allowing him to stay and every word Pei Yanzhi had spoken converged in his mind.

The guilt reached a peak, becoming a massive firecracker ready to explode and destroy everything. A thick metallic taste surged from his heart. Xie Yunqing covered his mouth and turned away the ground was suddenly stained with a spray of red.

It was nearly ten days later, after a long period of semi-consciousness, that Xie Yunqing finally regained a sliver of clarity. Perhaps due to Cui Ji’s reminder, Pei Xuan hadn’t asked why Xie Yunqing had been so emotional that day. He and Cui Ji simply took turns looking after him.

On the afternoon of the tenth day, Pei Yanzhi’s attendant found him and said the Chancellor had returned and was waiting for him at that small courtyard in the Academy. This meant Pei Yanzhi already knew what had happened and likely guessed his thoughts.

With an unknown resolve, Xie Yunqing took the robe Pei Yanzhi had left him and headed to the courtyard. No one led the way, and the path was empty. When the familiar walls and gallery came into view, Xie Yunqing’s heart was suspended in mid-air.

His heart seemed to stop when he saw the tall, elegant figure standing beneath a tree in the courtyard, with the rolling mountains behind him. In that moment, a thought occurred to him: Pei Yanzhi was more upright than a jade tree and steadier than the green hills. The mountains had stretched there for eons, silent yet possessing a power that calmed the soul; and there the man stood, as if all the world’s troubles would settle into peace before him.

Xie Yunqing took a small step forward. Pei Yanzhi walked toward him with large strides, stopping right in front of him. His deep eyes looked down quietly. He said nothing.

Xie Yunqing followed him to a nearby pavilion. On the stone table sat a chessboard. Pei Yanzhi took the white side and signaled for Xie Yunqing to take the black.

“Play a game with me.”

Xie Yunqing had no autonomy left; he simply followed the man’s words. He picked up a black piece and, using what remained of his instinct, placed it on the board. The sound of stones clicking continued. As the bright daylight turned to dusk and the final glow of the sun remained on the horizon, a crisp clack sounded.

Pei Yanzhi placed the final stone. He lifted his eyes and looked at Xie Yunqing calmly.

“You won.”

Like the sudden tolling of a temple bell, Xie Yunqing snapped completely awake. He looked at Pei Yanzhi in a panic. “I… I…”

But Pei Yanzhi had already lowered his eyes. His long, elegant fingers were gathering the black and white jade stones back into their boxes.

“You may make a wish, as a reward for the winner.”

His voice was soft and gentle, like a warm breeze at the end of the day. Xie Yunqing suddenly understood the man’s meaning he felt the encouragement and the permission. As if under a spell, he lifted his head and spoke softly, like a prayer to a deity:

“I wish for my father to be safe and sound.”

Exactly then, the final white stone dropped into the box with a crisp sound, as if the deity were nodding in approval. Then, he heard Pei Yanzhi say:

“The wish is granted. Your father is already fine.”

Fine… Father is already fine…

He should have been happy. He should have felt relief. Yet in this moment, Xie Yunqing’s heart was still heavy with grief, weighed down by mountains he couldn’t move. His lips trembled, his voice raspy: “How… how can I ever repay you?”

The last of the sunset vanished. Night arrived. A chill crept into the pavilion and over Xie Yunqing’s body. During his days of semi-consciousness, he had thought of how to repay Pei Yanzhi. Though he had nothing though he couldn’t even refuse the kindness of Pei Xuan and Cui Ji he still wanted to do what he could.

He even thought: If only what Ruan Ci said were true. No one in the world could dislike his face or… his body. If Pei Yanzhi wanted it, he was willing truly, wholeheartedly willing to repay him with his body. It was perhaps the only thing of value he had to give.

He saw Pei Yanzhi stand up and approach him. Then the man leaned down, appearing as if he were about to touch the youth’s face. It was tender, and ambiguous. It was as if the heavens had heard his heart’s desire and made Pei Yanzhi willing to accept his body.

Xie Yunqing closed his eyes. After a moment’s hesitation, his hand moved toward his own belt.

Suddenly, a wave of warmth enveloped him. Xie Yunqing opened his eyes in panic. He found that Pei Yanzhi had picked up the robe lying beside him and gently draped it over his shoulders.

“The night is late, and it is too cold here.”

Pei Yanzhi extended his hand toward Xie Yunqing, just as he had in the pavilion at the foot of the hill. “Rise.”

Xie Yunqing stared blankly. Pei Yanzhi’s silhouette was a shadow deeper than the mountains behind him, enveloping him completely. Without waiting for a reaction, Pei Yanzhi took Xie Yunqing’s wrist and half-supported, half-led him up. Then, a thumb gently brushed Xie Yunqing’s eye.

“Why are you crying again?”

Tears blurred his vision, but his other senses became acute the heat radiating from the man, and the gentle, murmuring voice.

“You can repay me, and you have the ability to do so,” Pei Yanzhi said. “And I do require your repayment.”

Was it an illusion? He thought he heard a hint of a smile and encouragement in the man’s voice.

“Fulfill the ambition in your heart.”

Pei Yanzhi pulled the robe tighter around him.

“That is the best repayment you can give me.”