Chapter 31: Feeding Pei Erlang Empty Promises

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Qin Hanxiao truly had no such intention. She was merely showing Pei Yuantang: Look, keeping me around is useful, isn’t it?

She thought, This whole family is made up of the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled, and the only one with any fighting ability is someone who cannot use his head.

If I had not been there, they would have been bullied to death both times.

Pei Yuantang, aren’t you going to thank me?

Unfortunately, each of them was lost in their own thoughts, and neither understood the other.

After discussing the arrangements for entertaining their guests the day after tomorrow, they each returned to their rooms to rest.

Qin Hanxiao cautiously asked, “What was that business with the shop?”

She had not initially suspected Pei Yuantang, but Pei Yuanqin’s use of the word “again” had made her think twice.

Although Pei Yuantang himself could not do much, he could ask Jiang Sheng and the others for help.

Perhaps he really had been behind it.

Was he trying to reclaim the shop? Or was he taking revenge on the old residence for what had happened last time?

She certainly had not realized he possessed such a strong vengeful streak.

Qin Hanxiao could not help wondering: If he found out what I really think, what would he do to me?

From beside her pillow came Pei Yuantang’s calm voice. “That shop was earned by my father through years of traveling and doing business. After the family split, my eldest uncle’s family took over its operation. Perhaps something went wrong.”

Qin Hanxiao pressed him further. “Then why did they come looking for you? And what did they mean by ‘again’?”

This time, Pei Yuantang did not answer until after a pause. “I once tried to take the shop back, but I failed.”

Qin Hanxiao did not pursue the matter. Those past events were probably not pleasant enough to revisit again and again.

“It was never theirs to begin with. Losing it is only natural. They took advantage of you for so many years and still weren’t satisfied. Let today serve as a lesson. If they come again, just watch me make them spit out everything they’ve swallowed over the years.”

Pei Yuantang turned to look at her. In the moonlight spilling through the window, he could make out only the indistinct outline of her face.

“Today, we have you to thank.”

Just as he had done last time, he approved of everything she had done.

“Don’t you think I went too far?” Qin Hanxiao asked.

He did not think there was anything wrong with what Qin Hanxiao had done, much less that it was excessive or vicious.

People ought to be kind, but kindness had to be given to the right people.

“You were helping us.”

Qin Hanxiao smiled silently. She knew Pei Yuantang was watching her.

“We’re family. Family doesn’t need to draw such clear lines.”

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“When Qin He sold me, Second Brother helped me too, and I never treated him with such formality. I told you I wanted to live a good life with you. Don’t you believe me, Second Brother?”

Qin Hanxiao felt that words like these had to be repeated from time to time—ideally, often enough to burn themselves into Pei Yuantang’s heart.

Whenever he began to suspect her motives, she wanted these words to spring immediately to mind and dispel his doubts.

In any case, she had become so accustomed to saying them that she felt no guilt whatsoever.

Still, she thought this was not enough. She turned over to face Pei Yuantang.

“Second Brother, don’t belittle yourself. Our whole family is waiting for you to recover. You are the pillar of this household. Once you’re well, our lives will certainly grow better and better. Let those people be jealous and envious if they like.

“When we’ve saved enough money, we’ll find Third Brother a wife. Then we’ll prepare Hui a generous dowry, so that no one in her husband’s family will dare look down on her.

“And there are also Ming’an and Yingying. I’ll treat them as my own children and won’t let them suffer the slightest grievance.

“Yingying is a grown girl now. Whenever I have the time, I want to teach her to read. She doesn’t need to compose essays, but she must not remain completely ignorant. Reading is what teaches a person reason.

“As for Ming’an, he only needs to study in peace. I believe he will surely make something of himself.”

Only at the end did she mention Madam Bai. “I’ll do my best to nurse Mother back to health. Once she’s recovered, she’ll still have to help Third Brother look after his children.”

Her voice was soft and gentle, and every person she mentioned was someone Pei Yuantang cared about.

Before he knew it, he began imagining the life she described. The vision was deeply alluring.

Just then, his right leg suddenly cramped, aching and swelling with pain.

Caught off guard, he let out a low groan.

Hearing that something was wrong, Qin Hanxiao asked, “What happened?”

“My right leg cramped just now.” Pei Yuantang’s voice was somewhat hoarse.

It carried a note of tension as well. He did not know whether this was a good sign or a bad one.

Qin Hanxiao sat up, lifted Pei Yuantang’s quilt, and reached down to feel his leg.

Sure enough, she felt a raised tendon. The moment she touched it, Pei Yuantang hissed in pain.

“Your leg is beginning to regain sensation. That’s a good thing. I’ll massage it for you. Bear with the pain.”

“All right.”

Pei Yuantang wanted to thank her, but then he remembered her saying that family did not need to stand on ceremony, so he swallowed the words.

After that, he could say nothing at all. He merely clenched his teeth against the pain.

Gradually, the pain eased, and the place she had massaged began to grow warm.

Pei Yuantang had no idea when he fell asleep, but that night he slept more peacefully than he had in a very long time.

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When he awoke the next morning, the outer side of the bed was already empty. There was no warmth left when he touched it, and he had no idea when Qin Hanxiao had risen.

He rubbed the leg that had cramped the night before, and could not help recalling the things Qin Hanxiao had said.

A thread of guilt rose within him over his suspicions of her the previous night.

The past was one thing, but during this past month she had treated both him and the family extremely well.

Just as she had said, she truly seemed intent on living a good life with him.

If she had really wanted to poison him, he would have died countless times by now.

At that moment, Pei Yuanxing pushed open the door with a basin of water in his hands.

“Second Brother, I’m going into town with Second Sister-in-law to buy some things in a while. Since we’re going to invite Brother Jiang and the others, should we bring the account books too?”

Pei Yuantang pointed to one of the stacks on the table. “Those are all finished. Take them.”

This time, they did not borrow the village head’s ox cart to go into town. Instead, they took Uncle Liu’s cart from the entrance to the village.

By the time they arrived, several people were already seated in it. The cart was full as soon as they climbed aboard.

“The Pei family made such a racket all night last night that I couldn’t sleep a wink. Heaven knows what madness possessed them.”

The speaker was a neighbor of the old residence. Another person answered with a mocking laugh.

“You really don’t know? Yesterday, Old Madam Jiang soiled herself right outside Madam Qian’s house. The stench was unbelievable. Madam Qian was so furious that her face turned green, and she threw an entire basin of wash water over Old Madam Jiang’s head and face. Then Old Madam Jiang soiled herself again and couldn’t hold it in.”

The speaker described the scene so vividly that it was more entertaining than a storyteller’s performance.

Someone asked Qin Hanxiao, “Second Brother’s wife, did you hear about it?”

Qin Hanxiao gave a polite smile. “We haven’t gone out since yesterday afternoon. We truly had no idea.”

The person sighed. “She must have done too many wicked things. Even Heaven couldn’t stand it anymore, so she finally got what she deserved.”

Pei Yuanxing turned aside and pressed his lips together, secretly cursing her as deserving it.

After entering town, Qin Hanxiao parted from Pei Yuanxing, agreeing to meet him later at the meat market.

For now, Qin Hanxiao went to buy wine and seasonings. Since they were hosting guests, they had to do it properly, and wine was indispensable.

She had just finished placing her order with the shopkeeper when she turned and saw one of Madam Qin’s serving women.

Madam Zhang stared fixedly at her, her old face pulled into a scowl. At a glance, it was obvious she had come looking for trouble.

Nor could Qin Hanxiao be blamed for judging her by appearances. Whenever someone from Madam Qin’s household came to find her, it was never for anything good.

“Qin Hanxiao, our madam wishes to see you.”