Shen Tingyu's lips tightened. He glanced at her one last time, then turned and left.
A short while later, Zhiqiu, who had been guarded by Shen Er for more than four hours, came inside.
The moment she entered, she saw her mistress's clothes in disarray and her hair slightly undone. With a dramatic wail, she threw herself to the floor and howled, "My Lady, what happened to you? Who did this? Who bullied you?"
The caterwauling made Cui Lingyao's temples throb.
She took a deep breath and said patiently, "Stop crying. Get up and fix my hair."
"…My Lady?"
Zhiqiu's voice faltered. She shot her mistress a look, wiggling her eyebrows as if to ask, 'This isn't what we planned.'
Before coming to the banquet today, Pei Shuyao had instructed her to make a scene the moment the wine was drunk. The bigger the commotion, the better—ideally, it would attract all the other guests.
That way, the young master would have no choice but to take responsibility for her.
But the moment she had stepped outside, the young master's attendant, Shen Er, had placed her under guard for more than four hours.
Having finally been allowed to see her mistress again, her only thought was to proceed with the plan they had arranged beforehand.
Seeing the little maid open her mouth to wail again, Cui Lingyao felt her head was about to split.
She rubbed her temples. "Hurry and get up. Fix my hair. It's time for us to go home."
Her tone was light, yet it carried an authority that brooked no argument.
She didn't sound like a coddled young lady from the inner chambers, but more like…
Like…
Zhiqiu froze for a moment. 'The heat must be getting to me,' she thought. 'Why else would I think my lady sounds like the Duchess?'
She didn't dare to question it again. Scrambling to her feet, she began to redo Cui Lingyao's hair.
Outside, Shen Tingyu and his companions had heard everything that transpired within.
It didn't take much to guess what the mistress and maid had been planning.
Liu Qingping gave a cynical laugh and lowered his voice. "So that was their plan. It's a good thing you kept that maid under watch."
"If you ask me, being too handsome isn't always a good thing,"
Zhou Yunyi also sighed softly. "You get swarmed by lovesick women. It's absolutely exhausting."
The affections of a beautiful woman are the most difficult to refuse.
Never mind outsiders; even the maids in his own residence were constantly scheming to climb into his bed.
And when he went out, it was impossible to be on constant guard.
One moment of carelessness, and he could fall prey to some young lady's scheme.
Then, for the sake of his reputation, he'd have to just hold his nose and take responsibility.
It would be one thing if she only wanted to be a concubine, but if she were after the position of his legal wife, his entire life would be forfeit.
Now that would be truly infuriating.
Shen Tingyu's lips thinned as he said in a low voice, "After this ordeal, she seems to have seen the error of her ways. You are not to speak of her like that again."
It was hardly befitting of gentlemen to mock a young woman behind her back like this.
If Pei Shuyao's conduct over the past three years hadn't been so improper, he would never have grown to resent his own cousin this much.
But when Liu Qingping and Zhou Yunyi heard him defending Pei Shuyao, they found it utterly bizarre.
As his friends of many years, they knew perfectly well how much Shen Tingyu detested this cousin of his.
Liu Qingping advised, "I know you have a good heart, but her being drugged today was not your doing. It has nothing to do with you. Don't take the blame for it."
"I'm not trying to take the blame…"
Shen Tingyu gently shook his head.
No matter how kind and magnanimous he was, he was no pushover; he wouldn't bear the blame for faults that weren't his.
"I just feel," he began, his brow furrowed as he searched for the right words, "that… her life hasn't exactly been easy."
She lost her father at a young age, and around ten, she followed her mother on a long, arduous journey to her maternal grandmother's home.
Even though the entire household treated the mother and daughter with courtesy, a life of dependence is never easy.
Worse, her mother is gravely ill, growing weaker by the day. She could pass on at any time, never living to see her daughter married.
When Pei Shuyao marries, she will be an orphan—no father, no mother, no brother, and no clan to protect her.
Once she joins her husband's family, she will have to endure any and all hardships on her own.
Before, she had been desperate to become his concubine.
Was that also her way of trying to secure a lifelong source of support?
If she became his concubine, his grandfather would be her own grandfather, and his father her uncle.
With those connections, her life would be no worse than it was now, as an unmarried maiden in her own chambers.
Thinking of it that way, Shen Tingyu could almost understand her various crude attempts at seduction.
Liu Qingping and Zhou Yunyi exchanged a look.
They saw the same astonishment mirrored in each other's eyes.
"When she was drugged, you wouldn't even deign to look at her. How long has it been, and now suddenly you feel her life isn't easy?"
Zhou Yunyi found it incomprehensible. "Don't tell me you've suddenly developed a soft spot for the fairer sex."
"Don't be absurd," Shen Tingyu corrected him sternly. "I have no such feelings for her."
Zhou Yunyi: "…"
Liu Qingping: "…"
The two of them forced a dry laugh. "We certainly hope so."
Otherwise, those three years of aversion and countless rejections would be a real slap in the face—though to whom, it was hard to say.
As they were speaking, a soft CREAK sounded from behind them.
The door to the room opened, and the young woman, now properly composed, stepped out.
The men turned to look, and all of them froze in astonishment.
She wore the same clothes and had the same face. Her figure, her features, even her hairstyle were unchanged.
And yet, her entire presence was completely different.
Just by standing there quietly, her eyes demurely lowered, she was captivating.
If before she had been like an exquisite trinket, something to be casually toyed with, its value assessed in a single glance…
…then now, she was utterly transformed.
She was like a cup of fine, settled tea that had to be savored slowly, its sweet aftertaste lingering long on the palate.
And once consumed, its effects were unknown.
Perhaps it could prolong one's life.
Perhaps it could refresh the mind and sharpen the senses.
Or perhaps it would leave you addicted, forever unable to forget its taste.
Impossible to leave, impossible to quit.
The three men's gazes lingered on her for a long time.
There was no malice in their stares.
But they still made Cui Lingyao frown.
She pressed her lips together and asked Shen Tingyu, "Did Cousin Han Yue's attendants say where she is?"
Having had some water inside, her voice, which had been dry and hoarse just moments before, was now fully recovered.
It was clear and melodic.
…Quite lovely, actually.
For the first time, Shen Tingyu discovered that his cousin's voice wasn't actually so irritating.
Not wanting to analyze the complex mix of his feelings, he turned his head and ordered the attendant behind him, "You, take her there."
"Yes, sir."
Shen Er bowed to accept the order, then said to Cui Lingyao, "This way, Young Lady."
"Thank you."
With that, Cui Lingyao gave the three men a slight nod, gathered her skirts, and descended the steps.
Her posture was poised and her expression serene, showing no trace of embarrassment at having been seen in such a state. It was as if that disheveled girl, exposed to everyone under the effects of the seductive powder, was not her at all.
Shen Tingyu couldn't help but follow her with his eyes.
The next instant, his body went rigid and his pupils trembled violently as he stared, transfixed, at the young woman's slender back.
As she gathered her skirts to descend the steps, her slender shoulders and neck remained perfectly straight, her chin tilted slightly forward. The dangling hairpins on her head barely swayed. Every one of her movements was light, graceful, and gentle.
There was not a single movement that wasn't elegant and proper.
One could tell at a glance that she was a young lady from a great and noble house, one with an impeccable upbringing.
Judging by her walk alone, her deportment was even better than that of his own legitimate sister.
He suspected that even the old palace matrons who specialized in teaching court etiquette could not find a single fault in her.
'Was she… always like this?'
'Is she… truly his cousin anymore?'