Chapter 241: Chapter 241

Li Xing’an snorted coldly, "Third Sister, are you siding with outsiders? How could you speak for them?"

"Enough, let’s get back to work." Li Yuzhu continued walking towards the Princely Heir’s new room.

But just then, the sound of a bell rang at the door.

Li Xing’an slapped his thigh and sneered, "This kid again, running back from Mu Yuanxiu’s place? Let me go take a look."

Li Xing’an strode toward the front yard and opened the door, "Aren’t you the one who... huh? Why is it you...?"

A tall, slender young man stood at the door.

About seventeen or eighteen years old, with a thin, pale face and lips tinged with a faint blue-purple.

Wearing a semi-new, semi-old pale white long gown, he looked even more like a jade person.

"So, it’s you?" Pei Shenyan recognized Li Xing’an as well, and examining the plaque over the gate inscribed "Li Mansion," he exclaimed, "Is this your home?"

Pei Shenyan had met Li Xing’an and his siblings once while renting out a shop at the market.

Standing in the doorway, Li Xing’an crossed his arms, "If it’s not my house, could it be yours?"

Pei Shenyan nodded slightly, "No wonder, both surnamed Li. You even look alike, I should have guessed."

Not understanding what he was muttering about, Li Xing’an impatiently blurted, "Hey, what are you doing here?"

Li Xing’an had suspected that this Mr. Pei was from the Capital’s Pei Family, with whom the Li Family had deep conflicts.

Therefore, he despised seeing Pei Shenyan.

Pei Shenyan cupped his hands towards Li Xing’an and said, "I’ve come to seek out an elder surnamed Li; he must be your father? I wish to learn calligraphy from him."

Worried that Li Xing’an might not let him in, Pei Shenyan added, "It was Uncle Li who invited me. On the Dragon Boat Festival day, Uncle Li was troubled by someone on the street, and I helped him. He gave me this address, inviting me over as a guest. Today, I had some time, so I came by carriage."

Li Xing’an’s eyes widened in surprise, "That day, you were the one who helped my father?"

"It was just a small favor, I only invited Uncle Li to my house to avoid those pursuing him," Pei Shenyan replied modestly.

Li Xing’an was not someone who forgot favors easily.

He said flatly, "Very well, come in." He thought he could chase him away later if needed.

Pei Shenyan happily clasped his hands in thanks, "Thank you very much."

"Third Brother, why not let the guest in? Why stand outside talking?" Li Yuzhu approached and said.

Alongside her came the Great Princess.

Pei Shenyan froze upon seeing the Great Princess, staring at her directly.

The Great Princess’s eyes widened in shock, "Why is it you? What are you doing at my home?"

Pei Shenyan was equally surprised, "This... this is your home?"

"If it’s not my home, could it be yours?" The Great Princess sneered and said to Li Xing’an, "Third Brother, kick this rogue out!"

Li Xing’an squinted slightly, "Rogue?"

Li Yuzhu came forward, "I thought it was Li Lixing, but it turned out to be the landlord. Oh, Mr. Pei, why are you here?"

"It’s Father who invited him," Li Xing’an said, somewhat frustrated.

"That’s right, it’s your father who invited me; he was going to teach me calligraphy." Pei Shenyan bowed to the Great Princess, then to Li Yuzhu and Li Xing’an.

Despite his courteous demeanor, the Great Princess was still displeased to see him.

Her face darkened further with anger, "Father never associates with good people!" Chapters first released on novel✦fire.net

Li Yuzhu pulled her aside and whispered, "Elder Sister, I don’t know if he’s a good person, but what I do know is that he rents our shop at a low price, saving our family quite a bit of money. If he charged the original price, we’d have to pay double in rent. Are you willing to part with another eight hundred coins?"

The earnings from the Second Princess’s pastry shop were shared by the whole family.

Expenses, too, were shared by the entire family.

If the rent increased, it meant the entire family had to pay more, and the Great Princess was not exempt from this.

Between money and dealing with someone unpleasant, the Great Princess chose money without hesitation.

"Fine, let him in then." After all, he’s here to see Father, not herself.

Li Yuzhu smiled warmly, "I’ll go tell Third Brother." She walked over to Li Xing’an, "Third Brother, Elder Sister agreed to let Mr. Pei come in."

The Great Princess glared, "Li Yuzhu!" Clearly, the decision was made together.

Pei Shenyan was genuinely touched, bowing deeply to the Great Princess, "Thank you, Miss Li."

Li Yuzhu chuckled, "Oh, Mr. Pei, there are three Miss Li’s in our family. You should distinguish them; she’s my Elder Sister, you should call her Miss Li."

"Oh, yes, yes, yes." Pei Shenyan quickly bowed again to the Great Princess, "Thank you, Miss Li."

"Hmph!" The Great Princess rolled her eyes and turned, walking out into the courtyard.

Pei Shenyan looked up at the sky, "Huh, the noon sun is so bright, why did she go out?" He turned back to watch the Great Princess.

"It’s none of your business what I do!" The Great Princess heard him and glared at Pei Shenyan with fierce eyes.

Startled, Pei Shenyan quickly turned his head back and dared not look again.

Li Yuzhu laughed and said, "Someone promised to pick lotus flowers and bring them to her house. She couldn’t wait and went out to meet that person."

"Gifting lotus flowers? Those flowers grow in water and are hard to pick. The person bringing them must be thoughtful," Mr. Pei commented with a sigh as he entered the mansion.

"A good friend of hers has a pond, and their family has a special lotus-picking boat. It’s not too hard to pick lotus flowers," Li Yuzhu chuckled.

"Ah, such a good friend... How rare," Pei Shenyan smiled slightly.

Li Xing’an glanced at the departing Great Princess and then at Pei Shenyan, looking puzzled.

Pei Shenyan followed Li Xing’an to meet Prince Luling, while Li Yuzhu went to help at the Princely Heir’s new residence.

The Great Princess walked down the path to wait for Liu Er Niu to bring the lotus flowers.

It wasn’t long before Liu Er Niu arrived, carrying a bucket and sweating heavily.

"Miss Li, look, all freshly picked," Liu Er Niu said with a smile.

The Great Princess ran to her, laughing, "I happened to mention to your elder sister yesterday that I only needed two flowers. Why did you bring a whole bucket? If you pick the flowers, won’t there be fewer lotus seeds?"

As they got closer, she noticed that there was still some water in the bucket with the lotus stems soaking in it, which would keep them fresh for longer.

She thought to herself, Miss Liu is quite clever.

"My elder sister said, lotus seeds are wonderful, and flowers have their benefits too," Liu Er Niu explained with a laugh.

"Look at you, sweating from walking. Come, let’s go inside for a drink," the Great Princess beckoned Liu Er Niu with a smile after smelling one of the lotus flowers.

In the North Courtyard Main House, Li Xing’an led Pei Shenyan inside.

Prince Luling was very happy to see him.

However, Princess Consort Luling slightly frowned.

Pei Shenyan ordered the young servant who had followed him, "Quickly bring the items in."

In the young servant’s hands were two jugs of wine and a box of brushes.

Prince Luling, who recognized their worth, immediately sensed the wine was exquisite and the brushes were of high quality. He exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, just having you here is a delight, why did you bring these gifts?"

Pei Shenyan replied with a smile, "They’re not anything expensive. The wine is brewed by our cook, and the brushes were bought by an old servant from our family when passing through Huzhou. I found them useful and chose a set for Uncle Li."

Huzhou is famous for good brushes, and scholars took pride in obtaining them from there.

Li Xing’an was not skilled in calligraphy, but he had seen many fine writing instruments and recognized their quality.

When Pei Shenyan opened the box of brushes, Li Xing’an was amazed. What generosity! This set of brushes was worth several hundred wen.

There were six brushes, averaging about a hundred wen each.

Ordinary brushes slightly better than average wouldn’t cost more than twenty wen each.

The cheapest kind of brushes was just eight wen each.

Having money allows such extravagance!

Princess Consort Luling, sitting nearby, was also surprised, but she didn’t say anything.

Prince Luling was delighted and asked Li Xing’an to quickly prepare a banquet.

Li Xing’an agreed, yet muttered to himself about the lack of food at home.

Pei Shenyan spoke with politeness, and being good-looking, with delightful gifts, kept addressing him respectfully as Uncle Li and asking for calligraphy lessons, flattering Prince Luling immensely.

He insisted on Pei Shenyan staying, saying, "Traveling such a long way, you must stay several days before leaving."

Pei Shenyan, without false modesty, replied, "Thank you, Uncle Li, for your generous hospitality."

Li Xing’an was about to fume; do we even have a spare bed?

Just as Li Lixing left, here comes another one?

Finding a free moment, he took Prince Luling and his wife aside and said, "We don’t have an extra bed, Father, Mother!"

Princess Consort Luling assumed Pei Shenyan was merely visiting and would leave after a chat but was angered when the old man insisted he should stay!

"He comes from a wealthy family, even richer than E Ying’s family. With what can we entertain him?" Princess Consort Luling said with displeasure.

"Father, don’t forget his surname is Pei, and he looks very much like the Pei Family from the Capital. Why did you let him stay?" Li Xing’an protested.

Princess Consort Luling added, "He might indeed be from the Pei Family of the Capital."

Prince Luling waved his sleeve dismissively, "Pei Family? I asked him; he grew up here and never went to the Capital, having absolutely no connection with the Pei Family there. You’re just worrying over nothing."