Chapter 25: The Ribbon

Opening a crack in the window and watching him stride away with firm, composed steps, Pei Lianyi stroked the edge of the inkstone box and couldn’t help but smile.

Staring at the invitation on the table, a cold, menacing Ghost Mask abruptly surfaced before his eyes—

Remember this well: those were love letters from me to you…

Thinking of the Ghost-Faced Man’s frenzied words, Pei Lianyi gave a startled flinch, his palm unconsciously pressing down on the desk.

That strange, secretive madman had actually called such terrifying things love letters! And yet, for some reason, hearing that expression laden with gloomy bloodlust and utterly nonsensical, Pei Lianyi always felt his blood stir and his heart race.

He sat at the desk for a while, thinking it over, then picked up scissors and slowly cut open the smoky-blue pleated gauze on his chest, trimming it into the shape of a delicate ribbon.

That very evening, Huo Jingzhao, who was bored out of his mind in the Side Courtyard, received a letter.

When he opened the door, Cao Xian’s expression outside was extremely sour. After ordering a maid to bring forth the silver tray holding the envelope, the old Steward tilted his head up arrogantly and declared in a high voice: “The Family Head has commanded that you accompany him to tomorrow night’s auction gala. Any instructions he has are written inside this. Young Master Huo must carefully commit them to heart!”

With that, seeing Huo Jingzhao take the letter, Cao Xian led his entourage away without waiting for the man to ask anything further.

“Thank you, Head Steward Cao…! Please take care on your way!” Huo Jingzhao stood at the door and waved to him.

Hearing his refreshing, lively voice, Cao Xian’s brows twisted downward. He couldn’t fathom why the ever face-conscious Pei Lianyi wanted to bring this country bumpkin along?!

“Family Head, I heard that high officials from Shangjing, and even the city lords of surrounding small kingdoms, will be visiting tomorrow. If Young Master Huo…” causes some kind of blunder, what then? After all, this kid looks honest but is actually quite the rascal!

Pei Lianyi didn’t share his worries, instead smiling lightly. “He’s been cooped up in the manor lately and is suffocating. Think of it as just letting him go out to relax a bit.”

“…” And so, Cao Xian was dispatched by him to deliver the letter to the Side Courtyard.

To ensure the envelope remained flat, Pei Lianyi had even specifically instructed it be carried on a silver tray. Cao Xian thought to himself, That poor Huo brat hasn’t even officially joined the family yet, and he’s already been treated this meticulously. If the day ever comes when he’s formally married in, won’t his tail stick straight up to the sky?

Thinking of this, Cao Xian couldn’t help but stamp his foot, beginning to fret over the Master and Little Young Master’s future days of “deep water and scorching fire.”

Back in the quiet Side Courtyard, on the communal bed, the moment Huo Jingzhao opened the envelope, he caught a whiff of that orchid scent that drove him wild with excitement. Suppressing the trembling in his fingertips, he was about to continue opening it when the letter paper, tied with a smoky-blue ribbon, fell out.

Unfolding the paper, he found it neatly written with the location, number of attendees, and lunar calendar date of the auction gala. It even bore a personal seal—clearly an elegant and solemn invitation.

The pristine paper contained not a single line out of place, yet it made Huo Jingzhao’s face burn with heat, his heart and mind galloping wildly.

Pei Lianyi… Pei Lianyi!

He tore roughly at that delicate, slender ribbon, crumpling the thin fabric out of shape before burying his head in the pillow.

“Truly… a slut who knows how to seduce men.” Clutching the paper filled with that person’s handwriting and scent, the color of Huo Jingzhao’s pupils shifted, and he let out a hoarse, breathless laugh.

The auction gala was teeming with guests, all either wealthy or noble. Therefore, the banquet was deliberately set at the largest restaurant in Rongchu City, owned by the Pei family: the Golden Goblet Pavilion.

When the Golden Goblet opened its feast, tens of thousands of crimson gauze lanterns hung from the towers, with golden foil cascading in abundance. The spacious, open hall was neatly lined with small rosewood tables. Guests would first gather around the tables to eat, drink, play games, and pass the time, awaiting the start of the auction, to behold rare treasures of the world.

The next evening, after leading a Ferghana Horse out from the stable, Huo Jingzhao waited outside Pei Manor with a perfectly proper demeanor.

Today, he had shed his usual black attire, changing into a cobalt-blue sword-riding outfit. The fine fabric was embroidered with rock patterns. Its diagonal front wrapped around his solid, broad chest and his powerful, narrow waist. Silver-gray lines flickered in and out of sight under the moonlight, much like his own eyes—deep as dark pools, mysterious and brimming with aggression.

Growing bored from waiting, Huo Jingzhao idly played with the red horsehair whip in his hand.

In his grip, that whip seemed like a slithering snake, sometimes coiling around his long arm, sometimes hooking his powerful wrist, snapping in the air with a sharp crack. It moved his lean, sinewy muscles, rakish and carefree.

“Master, the gifts for the banquet are all prepared, and also…”

Stepping out of the manor gate and seeing Huo Jingzhao toying with the tip of the whip, Pei Lianyi almost entirely forgot what the servant was saying.

“Master?”

“Mm, then prepare to set off.” Pei Lianyi jolted back to reality, his face heating up slightly.

“Father is too good to Jingzhao, even bringing him to the auction gala…!” Pei Ziying beside him was still grumbling to his father. He had originally planned to ask Huo Jingzhao out to play on the swings tonight, but unexpectedly, the man was once again monopolized by Father’s time, and even dispatched to the banquet!

Pei Lianyi looked at the man, who exuded an extra layer of masculine charisma today, and said distractedly, “He will soon be a member of Pei Manor. He needs to follow along and learn a few things.”

After speaking, feeling that burning gaze on him, he nervously pursed his lips, mindful of the shameful, improper thoughts in his heart.

“Alright～” Though a bit unwilling, hearing that Father valued his future husband so highly, Pei Ziying was still fairly delighted. He waved coyly at his father.

Seeing this, Huo Jingzhao walked over and lifted the sedan chair’s curtain for Pei Lianyi.

As the man suddenly drew near, Pei Lianyi immediately lowered his head, avoiding his gaze.

Just as he was about to step into the sedan chair and escape, Huo Jingzhao’s lowered voice reached his ear:

“Master Pei writes very beautiful letters.”

“I like them very much.”

Pei Lianyi’s mind buzzed. Suppressing the heat on his face, he glanced at the man, said nothing, and sat inside the sedan chair.

Even knowing those outside couldn’t see, he still folded his hands neatly together, straightened his waist, and gazed levelly ahead. His posture was exceedingly proper and elegant.

Observing his utterly orthodox sitting posture, Huo Jingzhao couldn’t help but clench the curtain tightly. His breath grew hot, and that familiar itch surged in his throat again.

No one would ever imagine that the seemingly so cold, conservative, and old-fashioned Master Pei, the Pearl of Rongchu so mindful of his virtue, is actually a slut who would cut up his own clothes to seduce his son-in-law…

“Set off,” Pei Lianyi commanded at that moment. On the surface, he appeared calm and unruffled, not responding to Huo Jingzhao, not even giving the man a glance. But the faint, tremulous line of his neck had long since betrayed his unease and shyness.

“Yes, Master.”

As his command sounded, the entire procession began to move. Huo Jingzhao could only silently clench his teeth, lower the curtain, mount his horse, and follow behind.

The carriages were loaded with precious items for the auction. Every stretch of road, Cao Xian shouted for the servants to be careful!

After a while of shouting, he suddenly realized that Huo Jingzhao, who had been following behind, was gone!

He scanned around with his eyes for a long time and still saw no sign of the man. Cao Xian could only report this to Pei Lianyi, slipping in a couple of complaints along the way.

“Family Head, what did I tell you? That kid is just too unruly. A banquet this important, and he can slip away on the road!”

Hearing his words, Pei Lianyi lifted the curtain and looked back. Sure enough, Huo Jingzhao was nowhere to be seen.

“I reckon he’s afraid that going would disgrace you and Pei Manor!” Noticing the immediate darkening of Pei Lianyi’s expression, Cao Xian hastily added.

Pei Lianyi was already feeling nauseous and uncomfortable from the sedan ride, wanting to vomit but having nothing to bring up. Hearing these words only agitated him further. He just said flatly: “Keep moving. The banquet will start soon if we’re not careful about the hour.”

Cao Xian nodded emphatically, thinking to himself that the Family Head would definitely have to give that brat a good dressing-down when they returned.

“Quickly! Everyone, move faster…” But no sooner had he started urging them on than Huo Jingzhao’s lively shout rang out from behind:

“Master Pei—! Wait for me…!”

Everyone looked back at the sound, only to see the future Son-in-law galloping down the broad main street on horseback, waving at them.

The young man steered his horse at a gallop, letting out low, commanding shouts. His adept, composed riding skills made all the maids blush.

Before anyone could react, the man astride the horse reached them with a “Whoa!”, halting the procession.

Cao Xian’s eyes bulged. He was just about to ask where Huo Jingzhao had gone when the man shoved him aside with his hip, lifted the curtain with the clarity of a refreshing breeze, and pulled a paper packet from his chest, handing it to Pei Lianyi.

“What’s this for?” Pei Lianyi looked at him, stunned.

Huo Jingzhao flashed a toothy grin. “Just bought it. Eat it while it’s hot.”

Pei Lianyi opened the packet and found several pieces of piping-hot flaky pastry.

“You suddenly broke off from the group just to buy this?” he asked.

“Yep.” Huo Jingzhao placed both fists on the sedan door frame and said, “If you don’t eat, your stomach will hurt again later.”

Pei Lianyi clutched the paper packet, his heart feeling as though it were being roasted by steam on all sides, softening into a puddle.

To prepare for the auction, today he had to select auction items, fill out the Chamber of Commerce’s accounts, and prepare lavish gifts for those arriving from Shangjing. He had been busy for most of the day and hadn’t gone to the dinner table. His stomach was empty. Once he arrived at the banquet, he’d inevitably have to drink, which would harm his body.

He had long grown accustomed to his duties as Family Head, dutifully remembering the ancestral motto: prioritize the family business, put the heir first, and place himself last.

And all of this had been noticed by Huo Jingzhao.

Seeing him holding the pastry but not eating, aware of his fastidious, pampered nature, always finding fault with this and that, Huo Jingzhao narrowed his eyes and deliberately asked, “Your stomach doesn’t hurt anymore?”

Once the wound heals, the pain is forgotten! He snorted coldly in his heart.

Hearing this sentence, Pei Lianyi’s fingers trembled. That hoarse, desire-laced voice suddenly echoed in his ear. That wicked, abominable Ghost Mask, tinged with a hint of amusement, asked:

Your stomach doesn’t hurt anymore?

This familiar tone, intonation, and manner of speaking made Pei Lianyi tremble with shock and fear, his face instantly flooding with crimson.

His heart was filled with alarm and terror. But when he looked up and saw Huo Jingzhao’s gentle, concerned expression, Pei Lianyi thought to himself that he had been tormented too much by that Ghost-Faced madman and had gone mad himself, becoming suspicious enough to mistake Jingzhao for him.

A mere roadside stall? The Family Head wouldn’t spare a glance for such coarse food! Outside, Cao Xian heard this and rolled his eyes towards heaven.

From birth, Pei Lianyi’s daily fare had been on the standard of princes and nobles. Not to mention street-corner stalls, even dishes prepared by imperial chefs would draw his criticism and temper if not to his liking.

But in the blink of an eye, his silent, disdainful grumbling was shattered.

Listen to Pei Lianyi’s deep voice say: “Cao Xian, halt the procession. I will eat the pastry Jingzhao bought before we continue.”

“Ah? But—” Didn’t he just say we should hurry because the hour was late?! Cao Xian was truly speechless towards the heavens.

Watching Pei Lianyi take small, delicate bites of the flaky pastry, Huo Jingzhao turned his head and gave the old Steward a flamboyant wink.