Speaking of the literary gathering at the Zheng Mansion, all three sons of the Pei Family received invitations.
The first son, with children, is not interested in such banquets and declined.
The third son, loving lively events, will naturally attend.
Only Heir Pei, often busy with affairs and seldom at home, has not had the time to pay attention to these matters.
On this day, Pei Yuan, after paying respects to the old lady, passed by the pavilion under the moonlight and saw his second brother sitting there drinking tea, which piqued his curiosity.
"It's rare to see you home today, Second Brother."
Pei Ji'an chuckled softly, "One must occasionally live for oneself and steal half a day's leisure. Please sit, Elder Brother."
Pei Yuan lifted the hem of his robe and sat down, "I coincidentally wanted to ask you something."
"Please go ahead, Elder Brother."
"The Zheng Mansion's literary gathering is upcoming. Will you attend, Second Brother?"
"The Zheng Family of the Minister of Public Works?"
"Indeed. I heard numerous dignitaries have been invited. Third Brother said he would go, but he is unreliable. It would be best if you could attend. Although the Ministry of Public Works is looked down upon among the Six Ministries, precisely because of this, mingling with them doesn't require concerns."
In the current situation, with one Pei Family and one Xiao Family, the court has supporters for both, and quite a few neutrals. These three factions maintain a peaceful balance.
This is the image the Emperor most wishes to see. Whoever recklessly disrupts it will undoubtedly suffer.
Therefore, these three factions conduct themselves very cautiously, weigh carefully whether to attend any family's banquet for a long time, lest they be accused of forming cliques to promote personal interests.
But if it's a literary gathering at the Zheng Family of the Minister of Public Works, it essentially isn't associated with forming cliques for personal interests.
Simply because the Ministry of Public Works is not valued by the Emperor and the officials, given its place among "scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants."
Thus, attending this gathering has no impact on party struggles, making the enjoyment more at ease or even facilitating other matters.
"In that case, I will go." Pei Ji'an picked up his teacup and took a subtle sip.
Pei Yuan smiled and said, "Currently, our mother and grandmother are both concerned with you and my marriages. They are even compiling booklets. However, no booklet can match seeing someone in person. As for me, never mind, but with your disposition, you will certainly need to find someone to your liking for a harmonious marriage. The Zheng Mansion's banquet is just the right opportunity."
Pei Ji'an raised an eyebrow, "So that's what Elder Brother is planning."
"When you were at the border, the old lady would worry about you day and night, unable to eat or sleep well. Now that you're back, letting her see you settle down and start a career would be perfect."
Pei Ji'an remained indifferent, "In comparison, your marriage is even more pressing than mine. Tuantuan is young and can't miss a legitimate mother's guidance, hasn't Grandmother been nagging you about it?"
Pei Yuan felt a bit embarrassed. It was more than just nagging. Every morning and evening, she would bring it up, and his ears were almost getting calluses. Now that his second brother was back, it relieved some of his pressure.
He felt indifferent towards those feigned women, to the extent that if he were to marry such a woman, he would rather not marry at all. However, even with virtuous and graceful women, he felt nothing, and were it not for sometimes needing to vent, he probably wouldn't have any room companions at all. He rarely summoned the two in his chambers as it was.
A lack of passion and desire was just like this.
Little did Pei Yuan foresee that one day he would weight these two light things heavily.
As they spoke, Third Young Master Pei, Pei Lian, arrived as well. His newlywed wife insisted on him visiting the old lady with her, and having spoken for a while, he found an excuse to leave.
"What a coincidence, both elder brothers are here." Pei Lian, grinning playfully, entered the pavilion and sat down with a thud, reaching directly for the teapot, only to find it empty.
He turned and saw a maid approaching from not far away, and he signaled directly, "Come over here."
This maid was precisely Qu Fulan.
Yao Xing had gone to pay respects and chat with the old lady, and Qu Fulan was delivering tea when she was summoned, leaving her no choice but to walk over.
Pei Lian shook the teapot in his hand, "Fetch a pot of tea, show some perceptiveness, you..." As he spoke, he looked up and saw who it was, instantly changing his tone, "You must be Haitang, a maid by the old lady's side? I was careless not noticing earlier, my tone was harsh. Don't mind it."
The flowers by the lake bloomed vibrantly, attracting fish in the water to eat them. Heir Pei was watching absentmindedly, and upon hearing this, he turned his head to look over.
Qu Fulan smiled officially, "Third Young Master, why say that? Serving tea to the masters is our duty. Please wait a moment, I will bring the tea over."
With this, she curtseyed and withdrew.
Pei Yuan shook his head, "Third Brother, you are too reckless. After all, this is the old lady's courtyard. How can you act brazenly with a maid from the old lady's quarters? You are already married; it's high time you acted with some gravity."
Pei Lian quickly waved for pardon, "I know my fault now, don't blame me, Elder Brother. I promise I won't dare next time."
The three brothers then talked about various topics.
Reasonably, having finished their conversation and with no tea left, Heir Pei, by his habits, should have left. Yet, inexplicably, he remained seated.
Pei Lian eagerly awaited, only for Haitang to return after quite some time.
"Why did it take so long?"
"The old lady's room also awaited tea, so I delivered there first. Please forgive me."
Originally, she planned to casually send someone else to deliver the tea, but coincidentally, no one else was available, so she had to run errands for both ends.
As fate had it, while delivering tea to the old lady's quarters, she heard about Third Young Madam requesting to borrow her and Hai Yue to attend the Zheng Mansion's gathering.
The reason being that there were no notable maids in the third house, so she borrowed the old lady's maids for show. As the granddaughter-in-law asked, how could the grand lady refuse?
Third Young Master Pei quickly smiled, "Pardon me, pardon me, of course, pardon me. Haitang serves the old lady daily with great effort, and I'm the one who shouldn't have bothered you."
Qu Fulan didn't waste words with him, maintaining her official smile while serving them tea.
Normally, when they rest here, a maid would be left to serve tea exclusively, but it seems the previous one left for some affair, leaving her, unluckily, to be summoned, having to deal with such a flirtatious dandy.
It's not hard to tell if a man is flirtatious, much like one can tell the difficult nature of the Third Young Madam just by appearance without much interaction.
What bad luck she had today, running into this couple?
Thinking of Third Young Madam's words, Qu Fulan was perplexed. Why was she taken to the Zheng Mansion's gathering?
Speaking of which, she also recalled what Miss Zheng had instructed her, whether Heir Pei knew of it.
She glanced at him subtly, debating whether to mention it, but just as she did, she met Heir Pei's gaze, startling her enough to nearly pour the tea incorrectly.
Fortunately, Mr. Pei spoke up, "Third Brother, when will you change your bad habit of teasing maids? Earlier, your second brother mentioned attending the Zheng Mansion gathering; help him respond to the invitation."
"Second Brother is going too?" Third Young Master Pei doubtfully asked.
Pei Ji'an retracted his gaze, replying with a faint "hmm."
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