Chapter Eight: The Family Banquet

As Fang Xiuniang drew the soft measuring tape around the eldest daughter of the Shen family, she was struck by how impossibly slender her waist was—hardly a handful. As the tape moved upward, however, she encountered a fullness that defied the girl’s tender age. Fang Xiuniang could not help but feel her aged face flush with heat.

Sensing something amiss, Shen Zhining asked with polite concern. The beauty’s voice was as melodious as a nightingale, and the air around her was heavy with a faint, intoxicating fragrance. Having quickly finished the measurements, Fang Xiuniang made a hurried departure. As she stepped out, she glanced back at the Shen mansion gates and thought to herself, "With such a face that could topple cities and ruin states, I wonder what kind of extraordinary man it will take to tame her in the years to come."

Having lived two lifetimes, Shen Zhining understood perfectly well what had prompted Fang Xiuniang’s reaction. Only her maid, Yuzhu, remained foolishly anxious, fretting that the measurements had been too hasty and worrying about what would happen if the finished dress did not fit her mistress properly.

A light rain began to fall, pattering against the window ledges. Pei Zhi pushed the lattice window halfway open, and the banana trees outside emitted a dull thudding sound under the barrage of raindrops.

"Young Master, here is the letter from the capital."

Luoxue placed the envelope neatly on the table and turned to light the oil lamp. Pei Zhi did not respond. After a long while, just as Luoxue was beginning to doze off, Pei Zhi finally withdrew his gaze from the banana trees and sat at the desk.

There had been more letters from the capital in recent days than ever before; he had lost count of how many there were. The opening remained the same: "My grandson, Pei Zhi..." Reading further, there was nothing of urgency—merely his grandmother urging him to return home.

Pei Zhi finished reading and reached for his brush to write a reply, but after a moment of hesitation, he set it down.

"Send someone back to the capital today to tell the Old Madam that I am well, that I shall return in a few days, and that she must take good care of her health." The man’s voice was low and resonant, like a mountain spring striking stone.

"Should I provide a specific date, Young Master?" Luoxue asked tentatively; even he could no longer fathom Pei Zhi’s temperament. When they had first arrived in Yun'an County, his master had been anxious to return to the capital, but recently, he had not uttered a single word about leaving.

Pei Zhi tucked the letter away, pausing slightly at Luoxue's question. In truth, he could have left today, but he found himself wanting to linger a few days longer.

"Let us set it for the sixteenth..."

The fifteenth was the day of Shen Zhining’s coming-of-age ceremony. As her cousin, he felt he ought to offer some gift to avoid any talk of the Pei family being stingy. Besides... he recalled the day he had disciplined his cousin according to family law—the way she had crawled at his feet, tears streaming down her face like rain on pear blossoms. Even when she was on the verge of fainting from the pain, she had remained unyielding, refusing to show the slightest bit of submission.

*Forget it,* he thought, *let it serve as compensation.*

Pei Zhi sighed inwardly, his face betraying no emotion. Just as Luoxue opened the door to leave, he spoke softly: "Send word to have a ruby and gold hairpin brought from the capital. It shall be a gift for my cousin’s coming-of-age."

Luoxue was puzzled. His master was about to leave Yun'an County; why concern himself with this Miss Shen? It had been one thing to have him watch her from the garden walls these past few days, but now he wanted to give her a gift! Could it be that his master had grown weary of her and was giving her a gift now to ensure there would be no further entanglement?

As Luoxue closed the door behind him, his conviction grew. The Pei family was wealthy, and his master was the sole heir. If this cousin were to find some excuse to claim kinship later, who knew how much property she might try to extract? The more Luoxue thought about it, the more he feared the prospect of this "wicked woman" latching onto his master. He decided then and there to make the trip to the capital himself, settle the master’s errands quickly, and flee this place of trouble as fast as possible.

By evening, Master Shen had somehow learned that Pei Zhi would be leaving soon and insisted on hosting a family banquet, specifically requesting that Shen Zhining be in attendance. When Yuzhu brought the news, Shen Zhining felt as though her head might explode.

In her previous life, her father had also held a banquet when Pei Zhi was set to leave. She remembered all too clearly how Pei Zhi had sat at the table, exuding an air of arrogance and looking down on everyone. She had hoped that after his visit to the Fragrant Garden the other day, their paths would never cross again, but fate had other plans.

To her mind, this banquet was entirely unnecessary. Firstly, Pei Zhi was not a member of the Shen family. While Master Pei and her father had been old acquaintances, over a decade had passed, and their former camaraderie had long since withered; it would have been better to simply let him depart as if he were invisible. Secondly, a man like Pei Zhi prided himself on being a virtuous and incorruptible gentleman. Even if he were to rise to the highest office in the future, he would be the type to despise such social pleasantries, let alone remember any kindness shown by the Shen family.

However, Shen Zhining was still just a teenager; she could not fight against the tide. And so, whether she liked it or not, she had to attend.

The moon hung in the center of the sky, and the main hall of the Shen mansion was ablaze with light. The tables were laden with delicacies and fruits; under Master Shen’s elaborate preparations, the atmosphere was as festive as the Lunar New Year.

Shen Zhining wore a sea-mist green brocade dress with a crimson cloak draped over her shoulders, adorned with delicate lace trim. Her hair was gathered simply, held by a single jade hairpin. Without the jingling of jewelry, she possessed a quiet, aristocratic elegance.

Before she and Yuzhu had even stepped into the room, she heard her mother calling her to sit nearby. Madam Shen had not seen her daughter for several days and had missed her dearly, though whenever she sent someone to check, Yuzhu would claim that Shen Zhining was studying in the library. Seeing her daughter looking thinner than she had just days before, Madam Shen’s heart ached. She quickly signaled for a maid to bring over some osmanthus cakes from the kitchen.

"Ning'er, these osmanthus cakes are something I made myself. Try one and see if you like it."

Shen Zhining sat obediently by her mother’s side, nibbling the warm pastry while her eyes darted around. In the vast hall, aside from the busy servants, there was only she and her parents.

"Mother," Shen Zhining asked, "where is Cousin? It is getting quite late; why must the whole family wait for him? I hope nothing has happened."

She feigned concern, though in truth, she wished nothing more than for Pei Zhi to stay away. Upon hearing this, Master Shen grew uneasy and turned to Steward Wang. "Go to the young master’s quarters and see if something has happened."

He truly hoped the young heir of the Pei family wouldn’t fall ill in the Shen residence—otherwise, this banquet might turn into a funeral wake for his own family.