Chapter 4: My Heart

(Advance Chapter on Kofi) (Big reveal in this chapter, I suppose)(Next Chapter: Friday or Saturday 9:00AM PST)

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Thanks to the efficiency of the old servant, Pei Xuan learned about the situation of the owner of the small courtyard two days later, and frowned with his slender eyebrows upon hearing the news: "Born blind?.”

"Yes, she was born blind," the old servant confirmed. "Not only does the Xining family dislike their own daughter, but Mrs. Xining even treats her as a burden and regards her as an accidental disaster. What’s more, she doesn't receive the same treatment as their other daughter and honestly it is a miracle that she's still alive.”

The old servant's voice was tinged with emotion as he succinctly summarized, "This girl's life has not been easy."

Pei Xuan’s heart ached as he muttered to himself, “I see.. No wonder, no wonder she…”

From his recollection, the girl who was sitting on the stone steps, dressed in a water-red dress, smiled serenely, as if she had accepted all the storms and injustices of the world. 

She was calm and gentle, not talking much, but her voice was pleasant to header. 

What saddened him now was remembering her old yet beautiful clothes, a frail figure smaller than others her age, a face lacking color, and a shabby tile-roofed house behind her.

All of her difficulties were visible when they first met, but Pei Xuan had ignored the worrying details.

"How can the Xining couple be so heartless? How can such a wonderful girl be considered a disaster? It's ridiculous!" Pei Xuan exclaimed in frustration.

Seeing the young master’s expression, the old servant added, "The day you met that girl was her eighteenth birthday, and it was also the birthday of the third daughter of the Xining family.”

"What?" Pei Xuan exclaimed in shock, lightly caressing his forehead in disbelief. "I had no idea there were such parents in the world. The eldest daughter is left alone in a rundown house, while the younger daughter's birthday is celebrated in grand style."

He spoke his thoughts unceremoniously and the old servant looked at him with concern, "Young Master, the imperial examination is coming soon, you should calm down."

"I know," Pei Xuan replied, returning to her desk a few steps away and picking up a volume of books to begin reviewing.

Seeing that he was determined to study, the old servant didn't dare to disturb him and carefully closed the door as he left.

Half a quarter of an hour later, Pei Xuan put down the scroll and stared at the void in a daze, murmuring to herself, "It's her eighteenth birthday, and I didn't even say a congratulatory message to her."

She moved her wrist, playing with her Langhao pen with her slender knuckles, and after a moment of contemplation, she made up her mind.

"I have to find a way to thank her."

"Thank who?,” Mrs. Pei looked at her 'son'.

Pei Xuan stood by the window, looking at her with a slight smile: "The eldest daughter of the Xining family saved me. If she hadn't laid out the straw mat in advance, I would have definitely been injured.”

"Why did she spread straw mats against the wall for no reason?.”

"Maybe on a whim, who knows? Anyway, favors cannot be gained in vain, they must be returned. "

Mrs. Pei took a sip of tea and asked, "How do you want to pay it back?.”

"I’m not inappropriate, am I? If I do it publicly, it will affect the girl’s reputation.”

He is still the direct son of the Pei family, utilizing the connections formed by his parents to bypass the "verification of integrity" part of the imperial examination. Since she chose to become an official, she can only survive as a man for the rest of her life.

Mrs. Pei understood her daughter’s concerns, and in order for her to take the palace examination with peace of mind, she agreed to deliver a gift to Cui Ti.

As a show of respect, Mrs. Pei went to the Xining family’s mansion in person.

Pei Xuan's biological father was the prime minister of the current dynasty, and he was an important minister of the emperor who truly held real power. In terms of prestige and reputation, he could easily overpower the Xining family. 

Interestingly, the Cui family holds a hereditary title of 'Scholar', however, none of their descendants have ever held an official court position. It's just a mere ornamental title now. Therefore, when the prime minister's wife arrived at the Xining's mansion, it created a stir of excitement and anticipation. 

The mansion was bustling with activity as they were busy with their preparations, and Mr. Xining and his wife received her with humility and cordially welcomed Mrs. Pei.

After exchanging pleasantries, Mrs. Xining asked tentatively, "I don't know why the Ma'am is here?.”

Mrs. Pei replied with a slight smile, "My son was being mischievous. He ran to fly a kite after a practice test a few days ago, but the kite landed on the wall of your house. So, he climbed up the wall to retrieve the kite and unfortunately fell into the courtyard of your mansion."

Mr. Xining’s face paled when he heard this: "The Young Master is deeply blessed, and I hope he is safe and sound!.”

"He's safe." Mrs. Pei smiled sincerely: "It was a stroke of luck that someone had placed a thick and large mat by the wall, which ended up saving him."

"Who was it?" Mrs. Xining's eyes sparkled with curiosity, eager to hear the identity of her favorite daughter from the other party's mouth.

The eldest son of the Pei family is nearing eighteen, and marriage is inevitably on the horizon. Though while thinking of that, realization suddenly dawned on her, as if she understood the reason behind Mrs. Pei's visit. Could it be that her son had fallen in love with her daughter and wanted to marry her?.

At first, Mrs. Pei had heard about the harsh treatment of the eldest daughter by the Xining couple and she didn't approve of their behavior, so she deliberately did not mention that it was the girl who lived in the dilapidated house in the south courtyard in advance.

"It's a girl from this family."

On the day when Pei Xuan fell from the wall, the mansion was celebrating Cui Dai's birthday, but no one had expected that it was ‘Cui Dai’ who had saved someone.

"I want to meet that girl and thank her.”

"Of course. Ma'am, please wait a moment." Mrs. Xining quickly turned around and ordered her servants to look for Cui Dai.

At that moment, Cui Dai was idly feeding the fish by the pond, and was deceived by her mother's lies, mistakenly thinking that the prime minister's wife wanted her to be the future daughter-in-law of the Pei family. Needless to say, she was ecstatic.

Immediately, she returned to her room and dressed meticulously, her mother anxiously waiting before seeing her come out with a flushed face.

"Let's go quickly, we can't keep such distinguished guests waiting for too long."

In the main hall, Mrs. Pei was leisurely sipping her tea, and Cui Dai entered the room after she had finished her second cup.

At the age of fifteen, she was adorned in the most exquisite dress, with rubies on her earlobes, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that she looked like a jeweled and radiant girl.

However, Mrs. Pei had a personal distaste for women who dressed extravagantly, so she adjusted her seating position and smiled: "You saved my son with a straw mat?.”

Hearing her question, Cui Dai looked perplexed, then glanced at her mother, and then at her father who was more excited than her, and immediately nodded.

She could not comprehend the lady's question at all. What straw mat? How could she have such a thing?

"Dai, please answer. The madam is asking you something." Madam Xining was so anxious that she wished she could answer for her daughter. This is an opportunity to fly up and become a phoenix!

"I…"

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Seeing her hesitation, Mrs. Pei feigned surprise: "Could it be that I made a mistake? Isn't it you?"

"Ma'am, please ask more questions." Mr. Xining then urged his daughter: "Dai, think again, on your birthday, you saved the chancellor's son, and you used straw mats—Eh? Straw mats…?.”

The rest of the words stuck in his throat, and immediately the expressions of the three members of the family were the same, stunned and enraged.

If it wasn’t Cui Dai, could it be Cui Ti?.

It was the blind woman!?.

"Mistress, mistress! Someone came to our yard calling you over!.”

"Me?.”

Cui Ti, who had been dozing off on the table, groggily raised her head after being awakened, with a red mark on the left side of her cheek

Seeing this, Bai Ge hurriedly fetched a basin of water: "Miss, wash up quickly. I heard that the guest is a distinguished noble. Miss, you must not lose to the people from the North Courtyard!.”

"Distinguished guest?.”

Her hazy consciousness quickly regained clarity.

The people in the mansion were bustling with activity, washing the dishes.

"Hurry, and go to Ma'am Xining. Otherwise, the servants from the north courtyard will try to impede your path.”

Cui Ti quickly changed into her favorite water-red dress, her appearance was plain and clean, her hair was tied with a wooden hairpin, and she wore a white gauze over her eyes.

Her charm exuded elegance and serenity, which made people feel pity when they met her.

Seeing her come in, Mrs. Pei's eyes softened, and upon closer inspection, she noticed that the girl's jewelry was minimal.

She saw it, and Mrs. Xining naturally saw it too, and secretly despised this careless woman who had only made a minimal effort to change and dress up.

All the female relatives present had different thoughts, but Uncle Xining didn't realize that his eldest daughter was dressed poorly. He seemed to be used to the humble and small Cui Ti, but he was not used to his daughter walking calmly.

"Come and meet the guest, this is the wife of the prime minister.”

Cui Ti immediately felt taken aback.

The wife of the prime minister should be…Pei Xuan's mother.

"Hello, Ms.” She greeted her softly.

"Stand up.” Mrs. Pei helped her up, looked at the woman in front of her quietly, her attitude was more than a little bit better than when she was facing Cui Dai.

Then she asked: "Did you save my son? Oh, if you don’t remember, it was the gentleman who fell down from the wall stupidly.”

Bai Ge, who was just a couple of steps away, felt bewildered. She realized that the "stupid goose" was actually the son of the prime minister!

Cui Ti, who was being addressed, raised her eyebrows slightly and humbly replied, "It happened by chance, I dare not take credit for it." 

Mrs. Pei, however, insisted, "Still, you saved him." She took Cui Ti's hand and thanked her.

The three members of the Xining family were standing on the side, with Cui Dai feeling envious and resentful that her blind sister had robbed her of the opportunity to advance in the social ladder.

Mrs Pei was her mother-in-law in her previous life and fulfilled Cui Ti's inner desire and fantasy of the role of a mother. She was tolerant of her blindness and would sometimes take her to the garden to listen to an opera when she is feeling down.

As the two locked eyes, Cui Ti did not flatter or ingratiate himself. He simply met Mrs. Pei's gaze with respect. 

Mr. Xining hadn’t said anything, before his wife hurriedly spoke, “My Ti and Dai are both good girls.”

Mrs. Pei was annoyed at Ms. Xining for being so outrageously biased, and even more annoyed that she wanted to use her power to promote Cui Dai, so she didn't treat her politely, and ordered the maid to send the thank you gift to the broken tile house in the south courtyard before leaving.

She made it clear that the gift was intended for Cui Ti, and no one else was allowed to touch it.

Hearing this, Cui Dai became upset and attempted to break the things that Cui Ti had been given, but was severely reprimanded by Mrs. Xining.

In the south courtyard, which was in a state of disrepair, Bai Ge was straining to carry the gifts into the house. They were boxes filled with thank you gifts, food, clothing, and other useful items. 

"Mistress, I didn't expect that the 'stupid goose' had such a big background. You know, I even made fun of him that day. Do you think he will hold that resentment against me?.’”

"He won't."

But Bai Ge remained worried, "For the sake of him being the prime minister's son, the next time I see him, I won't make fun of him. Okay?"

At this moment, Cui Ti fell into a daze.

"Mistress, did you hear me?.”

"Huh?" Cui Ti came back to her senses, "You don't need to do that. He is different from other nobles. Have you ever heard the saying, 'spring wind crush the reeds'? It means that Pei Xuan will never bully those who are weaker than him. He is upright, restrained, and approachable."

"That's strange," Bai Ge said, becoming more confused. "Mistress, it sounds like you've known him for a long time, but didn't you just meet him?.”

Cui Ti hummed contentedly as she ran her fingers over the soft, new quilt. 

This was from Mrs. Pei, but she would not rashly give someone an expensive quilt, so it must have been a present prepared by Pei Xuan.

It was to return the favor of the straw mat Pei Xuan had soiled.

From the moment he fell safely, many things began to change. In her previous life, Mrs. Pei never came to give gifts and Pei Xuan never obliquely paid back the favor for the straw mat. 

At this moment, Cui Ti hugged the soft and warm quilt and all she could think about was how much she was looking forward to Pei Xuan’s imperial examination.

She was determined to have no regrets.

 

 

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