Chapter 114: 130

Chapter 130 – Intimidation

In Yu Tang’s mind, there was a significant difference between Gu Chang helping Gu Xi out of a mere exchange of benefits or familial affection.

In her previous life, Gu Chang was Gu Xi’s backer.

Gu Xi dared to treat her that way only because there was a Gu Chang who would always stand by her side to protect her no matter what happened!

Pei Yan glanced at Yu Tang and remarked, “Since you went to the Gu family to file a complaint, didn’t you inquire about the Gu family’s situation? If the Gu family’s second branch were to be without Gu Chaoyang, given their family’s internal issues, I’m afraid, they would have already lost their place in the family.”

The clear meaning of his words was that, in the Gu family, only Gu Chang had the power to act.

Of course Yu Tang knew about this, which was the reason why she dared to file a complaint.

She hurriedly replied, “I know, that’s why I think it should be Eldest Young Master Gu who took the initiative, so that the Gu family would withdraw their marriage with the Li family!”

Yu Tang originally intended to get rid of Li Duan through Gu Chang.

Now that the Gu family had backed out of the marriage with the Li family, her goal was achieved, and far exceeded her expectations.

She smiled like a blossoming flower.

Without the Gu family, Li Duan was much easier to deal with.

Pei Yan did not know what was running through Yu Tang’s mind. When he saw her smile, he felt as though his heart was on the verge of breaking. He couldn’t help but remind her, “Don’t assume that Gu Chaoyang is a nice person. Although the marriage issue was initially raised by the Gu family, no one knows what Lady Gu really thinks deep in her heart. You are just stumbling into an opportunity by accident. If you still act so recklessly like this in the future, I’m afraid it won’t be so easy to settle it.”

Yu Tang nodded repeatedly, knowing that the reason why this matter had come to a good resolution was not only because of the right time and the right people, but also because she had her previous life’s experience, which was not something she should be proud of.

Then should she be a little more wary of Gu Xi?

From what she understood about Gu Xi, she knew that Gu Xi was a tough opponent.

However, a trace of hesitation flashed across Yu Tang’s eyes.

Pei Yan saw her expression and became unhappy, thinking that Yu Tang did not believe him and her nodding her head was just giving him a perfunctory reply. He continued on bluntly saying, “If you don’t believe me, just wait and see. He will definitely find a way to secure a marriage for his sister that will be advantageous to him.”

Yu Tang believed him.

She replied, “Since a marriage involves a union between two families,  of course it has to be advantageous! It’s only natural for Eldest Young Master Gu to find a match for his sister that will help him. Besides, which family wouldn’t want their potential son-in-law or brother-in-law to be a capable person? However, since they are to be a couple, it’s important for both parties to like each other. I’m afraid that Lady Gu’s marriage won’t be so simple.”

Pei Yan scoffed.

His father was exactly like that, thinking that a couple had to be attracted to each other, which was why he allowed his eldest brother to marry Madam Yang.

And yet?

He couldn’t help but retort coldly, “There are plenty of people who are attracted to each other. So why is there still a need to talk about compatibility and families’ background? Clearly, finding a good match depends on entirely on one’s education, upbringing, ability and insight. I haven’t seen any couple who could spend the rest of their lives together harmoniously just because of mutual attraction and love.”

These words stung.

She knew very well that Pei Yan had a bad temper, and that if she wanted to appease him, she would have to take a step back and smoothen things out. However, despite thinking about it over and repeatedly resisting the urge, she finally couldn’t hold back and blurted out, “It’s good for a couple to have cordial and pleasant relations and pursue unified interests, but isn’t it more important for them to freely share their deepest thoughts, feelings and desires with each another as they are spending their lives together? If being a couple is only about matching family backgrounds and individual competencies, then what’s the point of meeting each other beforehand? Why don’t we just choose someone based solely on capability and family connections?”

This young lady, how dare she argue with him!

Pei Yan got upset and his face turned cold as ice as he responded, “Are you actually advising me on how I should choose my future wife?”

Yu Tang’s back ran cold and she quickly realised her mistake, but she did not want to admit that she was wrong.

In her haste, she said pleadingly, “No, no. Aren’t we just chatting? Since we’re chatting, aren’t we just saying whatever that comes to mind? You too can say whatever you want to say.”

So, she’s not admitting that she’s at fault!

And using this dumb response to dodge the bullet.

Pei Yan was so angry that he laughed out loud. But as he lifted his eyes, he saw Yu Tang’s smile that was full of goodwill and flattery.

He was suddenly at a loss for words.

Lady Yu was just a young girl, a young girl with a mind of her own. Wasn’t he being a little too petty?

Just like what Lady Yu said, they were just having a casual conversation. If even a simple chat had to be a contest to decide who’s right or wrong, then who would want to have an informal chat with someone?

Furthermore, he wasn’t usually like this.

Even when he was serving as an official, it was not uncommon for people to disagree or argue with each other about political matters. He often dismissed it with a smile, so why was he so critical when it came to Lady Yu?

Pei Yan reflected on himself.

Yu Tang saw that Pei Yan remained silent, and there was no indication of happiness or anger on his face, so she was unsure of what to say next.

There was a sudden lull in the conversation between the two of them, and the atmosphere turned a little awkward.

Yu Tang was forced to find something to fill the silence. She thought of her other purpose for coming here and said with a smile, “Third Master, if Old Master Li is an official in the General Secretariat’s office, does that mean that he is serving in the same section as your Eldest sister -in-law’s maiden family? Is it a very powerful position?”

Her voice was gentle and soothing, with an air of caution, like a little animal testing the waters delicately.

Pei Yan listened and inexplicably felt his mood improving.

Was it because he’s more tolerant of Lady Yu after his little self-reflection earlier?

He pondered this in his mind and gave a soft “hm”. He suddenly realised that Lady Yu seemed to know a lot about his family and was curious as to the extent of her knowledge. He simply ignored her question, and asked instead  “You know about my Eldest sister-in-law having a brother serving in the General Secretariat’s office? “

Pei Yan’s tone made Yu Tang feel as though she was prying into the secrets of the Pei family.

Sure enough, one shouldn’t talk about such a sensitive topic when finding things to say.

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She regretted her words and hurriedly retracted, “It’s not that! Didn’t my family come to pay respects to Grand Elder Pei during the funeral? I heard it from the other guests who came to pay their respects.” Speaking of which, she couldn’t help but look at Pei Yan worriedly.

Previously, Pei Yan protected their family a lot, and the relationship between Pei Yan and the eldest house was not good, so she was afraid that Li Yi would partner up with the Yang family after being appointed to the General Secretariat’s Office and this would be detrimental for Pei Yan.

Pei Yan understood.

So she heard the rumours and knew about the conflict between him and the eldest house.

However, is there anyone in Lin’an City who does not know that he is at odds with the eldest family?

Probably not.

This young girl was concerned that the Li family would bring him trouble.

She was a kind-hearted person.

It was not in vain for him to help her out every now and then.

Pei Yan laughed at himself internally, but did not show it on his face. He stoically nodded towards Yu Tang but in his heart he felt a measure of relief and explained in detail, “General Secretariat’s office, the Six Cabinets Office, Imperial Historian Court of Censors and the Dali Temple Division form the Great Nine Commissioners. Tai Chang Temple Division, Tai Pu Temple Division, Guanglu Temple Division, General Affairs Division, Hanlin Academy, Honglu Temple Office, State Scholar’s Academy, Yuanma Temple Division, and Shang Baoji Division are the Small Nine Commissioners. All these are qualified to attend court and discuss governmental issues during the imperial court meetings. If you still want more information about it, you should ask your father. He should know about this too.”

(thanks ML for explaining it to me too~ p_q and making my life easier XD)

Yu Tang was secretly amazed.

She knew about the power of the Great and Small Nine Commissioners, but she did not know that State Scholar’s Academy was also one of the Small Nine Commissioners.

Then the Yang family should be considered as being quite formidable.

The son was part of the Great Nine Commissioners, the father was in the Small Nine Commissioners, and there was still another son working in the Tai Chang Temple.

I wonder just how many uncles the Pei family’s eldest young master has? And were they all so powerful?

Why did Pei Yan not agree to marry a lady from his Eldest brother-in-law’s maiden family? Was it because he didn’t get along with his Eldest brother or that he simply didn’t want to get involved with the Yang family?

Then the Li Family, who was the Minister of Rites and the Senior Scholar of Wen Yuan Ge, should be even more impressive.

Even she feared that Li Yi would turn against Pei Yan when he joined General Secretariat’s office, so Pei Yan surely had more to think about than she did.

He should have a countermeasure in place, right?

Yu Tang nodded her head, thinking that she shouldn’t worry about Pei Yan, yet she couldn’t stop thinking that there was always a possibility for an omission. What if something happened to Pei Yan because of this?

Her mind raced and she couldn’t help but get lost in thought.

Many women were intelligent in various other fields, but when it comes to governmental matters, they become confused and take a long time to understand.

Pei Yan figured Yu Tang might be the same, with no idea of what he said. He was hesitating whether to explain it to her clearer when his retainer Pei Qi walked in quickly, bowing to him and lowered his head to report, “Third Master, the Sixth Master of the Gu family in Hangzhou sent over a letter, saying that he is returning to the capital and will come to bid farewell to you tomorrow.”

Why did Gu Chang arrange to visit Pei Yan to say his personal farewells before returning to the capital? Since when were they on such good terms with each other? Pei Yan even said that Gu Chang was not as nice and friendly as others may think.

Yu Tang looked towards Pei Yan, her eyes wide and full of curiosity.

Pei Yan, however, frowned.

He made it very clear that he would cease serving as an official in the imperial court and would no longer be involved in those feuds with those cronies. Yet, Gu Chang acted oblivious to this. Shen Shanyan was unwilling to accompany Gu Chang to visit him any further, so Gu Chang came on his own. After returning to Huai’an, Gu Chang repeatedly wrote to him and sent him various things. This time, when he was about to head back to the capital after his business was done, he even wanted to come and say goodbye to him in person.

Just what was Gu Chang up to?

Pei Yan silently held the invitation in his hands for quite some time.

Yu Tang didn’t want to disturb him, so her attention shifted to her surroundings.

She noticed that the person who came to give Pei Yan the message and the one who brought her a chair were not the same person.

The man who brought her the chair was a man in his thirties, of medium build, somewhat thin, silent, respectful and obedient, giving the impression that he was more of a person who “spoke less and worked more”.

The man in front of her was in his early twenties, with a slender and tall build and a valiant, heroic appearance. He did not have the usual meekness of an ordinary servant, but instead had the strength and vigour of man in his prime.

Yu Tang secretly tutted.

Chief Steward Pei was also unlike a typical servant.

And so was Zhao Zhen, Pei Yan’s carriage driver.

I wonder how Pei Yan came to have such an entourage.

As Yu Tang pondered, she saw Pei Yan hand the invitation back to the retainer in front of her and said, “Refuse.”

Isn’t that a bit too direct?!

Yu Tang and Pei Qi’s eyes widened in surprise at the same time.

Pei Qi felt that their Third Master’s temper was getting from bad to worse and he suggested, “Why don’t we just reply that you’re not at home?”

It was better than rejecting it outright.

No matter what, Gu Chang was not a person to be trifled with.

There was no conflict between them, so why should they make enemies with him?

However, Pei Yan said curtly, “Just do as I said.”

Pei Qi retreated with a grimace.

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