His deep gaze lowered, shifting to the kite held firmly in his palm.
The kite was shaped like a wide, long sparrowhawk. But compared to Huo Jingzhao’s broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted frame, it seemed as frail as a butterfly resting on a man’s arm.
This little trinket was built with bamboo bones and fine silk cloth. On its two wings was painted a pair of frolicking mandarin ducks—red beaks sharp, blue tail feathers trailing. Right now, slightly dampened by the fine, misty rain, the ducks, with necks intertwined, seemed almost ready to come alive.
“…” Unsure what feeling stirred within him, Huo Jingzhao involuntarily increased the pressure in his grip.
Seeing him still refusing to let go, Shi Chengji pointed a finger at his nose and shouted: “You Huo family brat, give back the kite right now…!”
Huo Jingzhao gave a cold snort, utterly disregarding him. Just as he was about to curl a smile and retort, “Got it by my own skill, can’t return it to you”, he saw Pei Lianyi step forward and stand beside Shi Chengji.
“Lian… Master Pei.” Looking down at his wind-tossed hair tips and swaying ribbon, Huo Jingzhao’s pupils quaked. In an instant, the blood and qi in his entire body churned and surged. He stood frozen on the roof eaves, silent.
“Lianyi, wasn’t he lying unconscious in the manor?! How could he come here to cause trouble…” Shi Chengji asked, sweat pouring down his face. Besides displeasure, his tone was tinged with an instinctive fear of a ‘mad dog suddenly let loose.’
Before he could finish shouting, the person beside him handed him a handkerchief.
“Wipe.” Pei Lianyi spoke flatly, yet his eyes remained fixed on the eaves without moving.
Huo Jingzhao showing up so recklessly had already thrown his mind into complete disarray. Added to his worry about the man’s injuries, he was even more lost on how to face him. So he showed goodwill to Shi Chengji, hoping to force Huo Jingzhao to retreat.
But his rather stiff movements, falling into the man’s eyes, transformed instead into a provocation and a deep enticement.
Huo Jingzhao could only think: This wanton creature! With such stern brows and eyes, yet a coquettish wanton deep in his bones! Standing beside another man, he can’t even tear his eyes away from me. Looks like he can’t wait for me to charge over and snatch him away! If that’s not seduction, what is it?!
“Ah? Th-thank you, Lianyi…!” Seeing the clean handkerchief before his eyes, Shi Chengji was utterly flattered and hurriedly took it as if handling some rare, priceless treasure.
Watching the two of them interact, Huo Jingzhao’s face—which had been handsome and spirited just a moment ago—instantly turned pitch-black.
Who knew how much strength it took to suppress the raging fire within him and not rip the kite to shreds? When he came to his senses, his face was grim. He lifted his right leg and kicked hard at the roof eave.
With a thunderous crash, the tiles were sent flying by his immense force, smashing onto the ground with sharp cracks. Before the crowd could even react, the young man had already summoned his inner breath, leaped down from the air, and landed right before them.
“Hey, you brat! Give back the kite, now!” Shi Chengji yelled through gritted teeth.
Huo Jingzhao nonchalantly held up the kite and said hoarsely: “If Master Pei wants it, come get it yourself.”
Pei Lianyi’s heart trembled violently. Suppressing the inner turmoil, he hesitated, then turned his head and murmured something to the attendant beside him. They then watched as the attendant walked over to Huo Jingzhao, lowered his head, and said: “Young Master, please hand it to this servant…”
Huo Jingzhao did not loosen his grip. Again, in a clear voice, he repeated: “If Master Pei wants it, he will come get it personally.”
Feeling his unprecedented dominance and stubbornness, Pei Lianyi nervously pinched his fingers. His waterfall-like black hair swayed around him, a pair of jade-like ears burning red. His heart was racing madly.
Making a desperate effort to steady his suddenly erratic breathing, he stood in place and said softly: “You’re injured. You shouldn’t have come here.”
“I’m injured? Then why is Master Pei here?” Huo Jingzhao furrowed his brows, instantly putting on a wronged expression.
The unspoken implication was clear: he was questioning why Master Pei was ignoring him.
Glancing at his deep, warm, black eyes, the bitterness Pei Lianyi had accumulated in his chest for days surged forth. Only when beads of sweat formed in his palms did he avert his gaze and say deeply: “Go back. If Ziying finds out you came out with your injuries, he’ll definitely…”
“Enough.” Before he could finish, Huo Jingzhao threw the kite aside in a towering rage, his gaze burning intensely as he stared at him: “That’s not what I want to hear.”
No one had expected him to dare treat Master Pei’s belongings so roughly. Everyone present was dumbfounded.
Watching the kite crash to the ground, Pei Lianyi’s expression flickered with a trace of heartache. After a brief silence, he lightly brushed his sleeves, crouched down to pick up the kite, and dusted the grass stains and dirt off it.
“Master Pei…! This humble servant deserves death! I failed to react in time…” Seeing him bending down to pick up the object, the nearby attendant immediately felt as if facing a great calamity and hurriedly bowed his head in apology.
Shi Chengji was also seeing black spots. He couldn’t help but raise his voice: “Huo Jingzhao, you’ve gone too far! You, a mere live-in son-in-law, actually dare make the Master bend his back? Who, who taught you your manners…?!”
But as he spoke, facing the man’s increasingly oppressive, gloomy aura, his voice began to weaken involuntarily.
Huo Jingzhao let out a low, cold laugh. When he raised his head again, his handsome face was as gentle as ever: “My manners were only half learned. The other half, naturally, must be taught by Master Pei.”
Saying this, he softened his tone towards Pei Lianyi: “Could Master Pei come back with me? I have something I want to say to you.”
This damn brat flips his face faster than flipping a book…! It’s practically an instant change! Shi Chengji thought, both chilled and sweating.
Huo Jingzhao stood there with his hands behind his back, his brows and eyes smiling, his deep pupils brimming with immense grievance and wronged frustration. This look of remorse and self-awareness was rare and utterly captivating. If this scene were placed in the Nine Blossoms Sect, it would probably make everyone’s jaws drop.
He was too arrogant, too cunning. He knew best how to knead and manipulate Pei Lianyi’s heart, stirring up the compassion within him, crashing against his strained reason. One clear, gentle “May I?” would make Pei Lianyi compromise for him.
The young man was utterly confident in this. He thought that soon enough, Pei Lianyi would follow him away.
Thus, when he was refused, Huo Jingzhao’s brain short-circuited for a moment. Then, a furious fire instantly shot straight to the top of his head.
He heard Pei Lianyi reply in a calm tone: “If you have something to say, say it here.”
His posture was proper, his autumn-water eyes calm and unruffled. He was still the most formidable Master Pei of Rongchu City. But only Pei Lianyi himself knew he was on the verge of collapse. Thinking that Huo Jingzhao was still angry with him, still resenting him, he felt as if his heart was being twisted by a knife, his lips even starting to tremble almost imperceptibly.
“Exactly.” Shi Chengji also paused, then quickly chimed in: “What can’t be said right here, right now…”
Huo Jingzhao cast a sidelong glance at him and said coldly: “What I want to say to him, outsiders aren’t fit to hear.”
At these words, Pei Lianyi’s shoulders jolted fiercely.
This damn kid is way too arrogant! Shi Chengji was so angered his face turned green. But bound by his beloved’s face, even though he was furious enough to die, he could only swallow his resentment and endure.
Huo Jingzhao suddenly stepped closer, raised an eyebrow, and questioned: “Does Master Pei truly want me to speak in public?”
Pei Lianyi shook his head: “Your words should be taken back and spoken to Ziying. Not… to me.” The last word was spoken very softly, as if he had wrestled with his inner desires for a long time and only uttered it with his last remaining strength.
This was truly punching cotton! It left Huo Jingzhao suffocating, his eyes red. A blockage stuck in his throat, unable to go up or down. He couldn’t help but say harshly: “Pei Lianyi, don’t push me.”
Shi Chengji thought: Has this kid gone mad, to actually dare call his father-in-law by name?!
He was only focused on glaring at Huo Jingzhao’s every fault, completely oblivious to the strange, shifted atmosphere around them. The two people stared at each other through the fine rain. The chill seeped into their bones, yet the rise and fall of their chests only grew greater.
Pei Lianyi was thinking of something else entirely: The Huo Jingzhao he knew had always been gentle, cultured, and very proper. But now, not caring at all, he was calling his name—it showed just how furious he had made the man.
Don’t be angry with me… Remembering the words he had spoken while the other was unconscious, Pei Lianyi closed his eyes in shame. When he opened them again, his expression had hardened with resolve:
“Huo Jingzhao, you are acting wildly out of line. Back then, I permitted you into the Pei Manor so you could assist Ziying, learn to manage the business, and share the family burdens with him. But now, besides showing no respect for your elders, what else have you learned?”
“Even if you are the live-in son-in-law I personally chose, if you continue to act so wilfully and unrestrained, I will have you dismissed from this manor.”
Please, just leave now…!
Leave this place. Go back and be with Ziying. Let me completely kill this hope in my heart.
His words left no room for mercy, astonishingly harsh. They were practically trampling on a man’s self-esteem. Even Shi Chengji was drenched in cold sweat hearing it.
Huo Jingzhao, however, was expressionless: “Is Master Pei finished? If so, come with me.”
At this moment, all he could think about was coaxing the man back so he could torment him to death—who cared what Pei Lianyi was saying?
“You—!” He’s utterly impervious to reason! Shi Chengji choked completely, silently marveling that to be a live-in son-in-law, one indeed needed a skin thicker than a city wall.
Pei Lianyi’s face flushed red then white, as beautiful as a lotus in the rain.
Up in the Sea View Pavilion, the group of nobles had long noticed the commotion below. Seeing the situation heading more and more in the wrong direction, Lord Yan led the others out.
“Who dares cause such a ruckus here?” He inquired.
“Lord Yan…!” Shi Chengji had just been fretting that no one could handle Huo Jingzhao. Seeing him arrive, he quickly cupped his fists and said: “Replying to My Lord, Family Head Pei is disciplining a junior of his household.”
“A junior?” Lord Yan fixed his eyes and exclaimed: “Yo ho! Isn’t this the esteemed son-in-law of the thirteen sky lanterns?!”
At the last auction banquet, he had been on the losing side because of Huo Jingzhao, but at least he had done Pei Lianyi the courtesy of letting it go.
Although it was only one meeting, it wasn’t hard to see how much Pei Lianyi treasured this live-in son-in-law. Moreover, the man was fiercely protective and particularly concerned with his reputation, having never lost his temper at his household members in public before.
Hearing him scold someone in public now, Lord Yan and his companions were all extremely curious.
“What’s the matter?” Observing Pei Lianyi’s unusual expression, Lord Yan, unwilling to see the pearl suffer, also got involved. He waved his folding fan and said: “Who has angered our Family Head Pei so much? Tell this lord, and I will seek justice for you.”
As soon as his words fell, before Pei Lianyi could respond, Huo Jingzhao shouted coldly: “The family affairs of the Pei Manor are not for outsiders to meddle in.”
He already had little patience to begin with. Now, watching these old fogeys approach Pei Lianyi one after another with their offers of favor, the fire coiled in his abdomen erupted. Those greedy, obsessive thoughts that couldn’t see the light of day surged along his bloodstream, nearly drowning him completely.
Huo Jingzhao’s eyelids were black as an abyss. His voice was firm and powerful, his face haughty and authoritative—every inch the appearance of the master of the house.
Lord Yan was stunned by this rare and bizarrely aggressive aura.
He was a figure of standing from Shangjing, a prestigious name at court. Few dared not offer him some face. Yet in Rongchu City, he had suffered setbacks repeatedly because of this wet-behind-the-ears boy.
His reputation bruised, Lord Yan was naturally disgruntled. He put away his smile and said to Pei Lianyi: “Family Head Pei, it seems this junior of your household is indeed stubborn and unrepentant. Since I am here today, let me vent this anger for you.”
With that, he turned and yelled at his entourage of guards: “Men! Teach him a lesson…!”
“Yes—!” At his command, the sword-bearing guards immediately surged forward.
“Ah, wait, wait…! Lord Yan, Lianyi, I fear it might not be appropriate…” Shi Chengji had been waiting for this very moment. He was inwardly overjoyed, but he still had to act the superficial mediator, so he quietly reminded them.
Lord Yan also seemed to realize he had acted a bit rashly. He confirmed once more with Pei Lianyi: “Family Head Pei, what do you say?”
“…” Pei Lianyi’s heart ached so much it was about to tear apart. He moved his lips and found himself completely unable to speak. His hand, holding the kite, trembled like a withered leaf. Ultimately, he turned his body sideways, unable to bear watching any longer.
Receiving his tacit approval, Lord Yan immediately shouted: “Attack!”
The guards surged forward one by one. Huo Jingzhao only evaded them with agile movements, showing no intention of fighting back.
After “fighting” for a long time, swaying and dodging, the group of guards couldn’t even touch the hem of the man’s robe.
At this moment, Huo Jingzhao stared intensely at Pei Lianyi. He asked in a deep voice: “Does Master Pei really want me to fight?”
His voice was hoarse as he said: “Turn around.”
Pei Lianyi’s expression shifted slightly. Though his mind screamed No!, his body moved uncontrollably to face him.
Huo Jingzhao unhurriedly raised his hand and, facing him, began unwinding the bandages to reveal the wound torn open by the shattered teacup.
Seeing his bloodied hand, Pei Lianyi’s face instantly drained to a snow-like white.
How could he bear it? That Jingzhao, who was so warm and bright as the wind in his eyes, who clumsily cooked for him in the kitchen, who waited anxiously for him late at night outside the Ancestral Hall, who would tell him to eat well, rest well, take good care of himself. That Jingzhao, who wrapped around his waist and nuzzled him. That Jingzhao, who told him not to be afraid—how could he bear it?!
How could he possibly bear it…? Just thinking about him made his nose sting with bitterness.
“Don’t…” Pei Lianyi whispered.
“Everyone, stop.”
“Lianyi?”
“Family Head Pei…”
Just as Shi Chengji and the others were eagerly anticipating the spectacle, Pei Lianyi suddenly called a halt in a trembling voice: “All of you, stop. Don’t touch him.”
Knowing the weight of Master Pei’s golden words, the guards quickly retreated behind without even waiting for Lord Yan to speak.
“Family Head Pei, what is the meaning of this?” Lord Yan said, displeased.
Pei Lianyi’s heart ached so much he could die. Yet on the surface, he revealed nothing. He said as usual: “Today, My Lord and all of you have kindly extended an invitation. I am deeply grateful. But lately, family affairs have been troublesome, and I’ve been busy managing the business, so I’ve momentarily neglected disciplining the younger generation. To the point that they’ve caused a scene before you all, spoiling your elegant mood. It is truly discourteous. Another day, once I’ve straightened out the household matters, I will certainly host a banquet at the Golden Goblet Pavilion and personally apologize to each of you.”
His words were perfectly seamless. At this point, not a single noble present could object.
Who told them Family Head Pei was the famously orthodox beauty?! And this beauty was usually cold and hard in his ways. No one would, and no one dared, make things difficult for him.
And besides, this was indeed someone else’s family matter, not for outsiders to interfere in.
“Very well.” So Lord Yan nodded and said: “Family Head Pei, take good care of yourself. We’ll talk again another day.”
With that, he glanced at Huo Jingzhao, snorted angrily, flicked his sleeve, and led the others away.
Watching them disperse, the rain growing denser, thinking of spending time alone with his beloved, Shi Chengji immediately proposed: “Lianyi, let’s go upstairs. Don’t catch a cold.”
“Master Pei, come back with me.” Although his scheme had worked, hearing Pei Lianyi apologize to those old bastards only made Huo Jingzhao feel worse instead.
Pei Lianyi was utterly exhausted, and his leg was aching. He only wanted to find a dry, warm place to rest as quickly as possible. Leaving him a “You go back and recover from your injuries,” he prepared to return to the Sea View Pavilion.
“Fine—!” Huo Jingzhao suddenly shouted the word “fine”. His eyes were cold as he declared sharply: “Since Master Pei wants to sever ties completely, unwilling to listen to what I have to say, unwilling even to see me, then this useless trinket doesn’t need to be kept any longer…!”
They watched as he took out the Pearl Necklace, swung his arm, and directly hurled it into the sea.
The small, exquisite pearl fell into the seawater. Before anyone could even see the arc it traced through the air, it had already vanished, sinking coldly into the water without a trace.
Pei Lianyi felt as if he, too, had been thrown into the sea by the man. His entire body was freezing cold, a stabbing ache spreading everywhere. His whole heart was in unspeakable pain.
