Chapter 6: Mist Rising in the Eyes

Liu Fuying still kept her head lowered, her mumbled words soft yet striking straight to the heart.

“Lately, I often think of you alone in this courtyard, and it makes me deeply uneasy.”

She expressed the unease in her heart with genuine emotion, appearing utterly sincere.

“Uneasy about what?” Pei Zhouwu’s tone remained unchanged.

But his gaze had already shifted, softening even faster than his expression.

Liu Fuying suddenly looked up, and he quickly averted his eyes as if to hide.

“If not for the Imperial Uncle saving my life, I might have died. Yet my savior is confined to this small prison-like courtyard, enduring endless misery. Naturally, I feel uneasy.”

Pei Zhouwu stared ahead, looking at the teacup he had knocked over on the stone table in the courtyard.

The tea had completely spilled out, soaking a damp patch on the ground.

But as for him—his heart, his entire being—had long been shrouded in damp, chilling gloom. Even when sunlight fell directly on him, he felt no warmth.

“And what if you are uneasy?”

His question was directed at the person opposite him, yet his tone seemed as if he were speaking to himself.

What good does unease do? What good does resentment do?

“Yes, it does no good. I have no way to openly rescue you. That’s why I said even if I can only come to keep you company and ease your suffering, it would be something.”

Sometimes, Liu Fuying admired her own ability to spin lies.

She was no less skilled than those smooth-talking men who deceived women.

“I don’t need it.”

Pei Zhouwu said this, but Liu Fuying could see his gradually softening expression. His tone was no longer as cold and rigid as before.

It showed that her lies were working.

He turned and entered the room, not stopping her from following.

Once inside, she began pulling things from her bosom—one bottle after another. One slipped from her grasp and rolled to Pei Zhouwu’s feet.

Before he could take a closer look, she had already darted to his side, crouched down, and picked it up.

Along with Liu Fuying rising, a smile appeared on her face.

“These are all medicines I brought for you. There are remedies for headaches and fevers, medicines for colds and heat-related illnesses, ointments for bruises and injuries to stop bleeding, and also… also medicine to repel mosquitoes. The mosquitoes in the mountains in summer must be terrible.”

Placed on the table, there were about six or seven bottles.

“I’ve labeled each bottle with paper so you won’t mix them up when you use them.”

She picked up another porcelain bottle, removed the lid, and poured a pill into her hand. “Look, I know it must be inconvenient for you to brew medicine here, so I brewed it for you and made it into pills. Isn’t that convenient?”

What “she brewed and made into pills”?

Those were clearly pills she had Jin Li buy from the pharmacy. None were made by her own hands.

But Pei Zhouwu seemed to truly believe it.

“You…”

“It’s nothing, not troublesome at all. If these things can help you, I’ll be very happy. And also…”

She suddenly hesitated, which made Pei Zhouwu frown.

“And what else?” he asked.

Liu Fuying spoke slowly, word by word, wanting to make things clear.

“And also, I think you must want to know about the outside world, especially about your family.”

At the mention of family, Pei Zhouwu’s frown deepened.

Indeed, this was what he cared about most.

“Especially Her Majesty the Empress and His Highness the Crown Prince—they were indeed affected. But don’t worry, I heard that a month ago, the Crown Prince returned to the Jiwendian to resume his studies, which shows the Emperor still values him.”

The Crown Prince was the son of Pei Zhouwu’s elder sister, the Empress.

The incident of Pei Zhouwu’s rebellion had indeed impacted the Empress and the Crown Prince. It was said that the Empress’s phoenix seal had been taken away, and the management of the six palaces was temporarily handled by a noble consort below her. The Crown Prince, too, had not attended the Jiwendian for several months, and rumors spread that the Emperor intended to depose him.

What she had just said about the Crown Prince returning to the Jiwendian was also true.

As long as the Crown Prince retained his position, the Empress would be safe, and the Pei family would be safe.

With that, Pei Zhouwu should feel somewhat reassured.

Looking at Pei Zhouwu again, she noticed that his eyes had grown misty at some point, and his eye rims began to redden.

Liu Fuying had indeed judged correctly—to touch the softest part of his heart, it had to be his most cherished relatives, whom he feared implicating the most.

He turned away, gazing blankly out the window, silent for a long time.

Outside the window, the bamboo trees rustled in the wind, like the silent cries in Pei Zhouwu’s heart.

Liu Fuying also remained silent, quietly keeping him company.

After a long while, Pei Zhouwu finally spoke.

“What is your name?” he asked.

“Yueying.” Regarding her name, Liu Fuying had already prepared her answer. “I am Su Yueying. My mother said that on the night I was born, she saw fireflies flying under the moonlight, so she named me Yueying.”

The surname Su was fabricated, but Yueying was not a lie.

However, this childhood name was known only to her mother, herself, and Jin Li in this world.

“And it happens to be this season too. Does Marquis Pei occasionally see fireflies flying by at night?”

Pei Zhouwu did not respond to this but instead pondered carefully.

“The Su family of Shangjing City…”

“I am not from any prominent family,” Liu Fuying hastily interrupted him before continuing, “Today is the first day of the month. I came up the mountain with our family’s elderly lady to burn incense and sneaked away.”

Facing Pei Zhouwu’s puzzled expression as he turned back, Liu Fuying went on.

“I am just a maidservant in a wealthy household, an insignificant person.”

“Is that so?” Pei Zhouwu grew somewhat distant.

She claimed to be just a maidservant, but her attire, including the fabric of her clothes, was certainly not something an ordinary maidservant could afford.

Last time, he had assumed she was withholding information due to being a stranger. But today, her words seemed more like a lie. It wasn’t that there were no maidservants as beautiful as her, but her appearance truly did not resemble that of a maidservant.

And such an oversight was something Liu Fuying was well aware of.

Since she was aware, it meant she was doing it intentionally—deliberately making Pei Zhouwu suspect she was lying.

“Yes, it’s true,” Liu Fuying nodded firmly.

Her refusal to tell the truth naturally made Pei Zhouwu more guarded.

“If that’s the case, Miss Su should return as soon as possible. If your family’s elderly lady needs someone and cannot find you, she might get angry.”

“Yes, I should return.”

Liu Fuying also pretended to change her tone, feigning embarrassment and discomfort.

“I know someone of my status is unworthy of saying I want to keep you company. I just… just wanted to come and see you because I was worried.”

“I…” Pei Zhouwu was at a loss for words.

His sudden coldness was not because he looked down on her status as a maidservant.

“I know, I know. I’ll go back now, I really should go back. It won’t be long before I have to leave the mountain.”

She buried her head low, clearly wearing a wounded expression.

“I’m leaving now.”

With that, she turned around, head still bowed.

After stepping out, she went straight around the back of the house toward the pond.

Amid the overlapping bamboo shadows, Pei Zhouwu couldn’t see her figure clearly—only a vague silhouette, faintly visible as she entered the water.

“What do you know…”

Pei Zhouwu muttered the words.