Chapter 39

Chapter Thirty-Nine: In the Future, Jiaojiao Will Be Your Mistress! Jia Qingcheng didn't want to waste words with him. She stood straight-backed, coldly watching him. The early spring night was still quite chilly, with frost and dew heavy in the air, yet she felt not the slightest hint of cold. Perhaps it was because her heart had long since died—a sincere heart trampled beyond recognition. She couldn't even feel the chill anymore. Seeing that Jia Qingcheng remained silent, Pei Wuliang knew she must be feeling guilty. He slowly walked up to her. "I know everything you've done has been for my sake, but now your life doesn't just have me in it—there's also Jiaojiao. She is my wife. If you love me, you need to learn to love what I love." "Love what you love?" Jia Qingcheng was about to laugh at those words. Pei Wuliang, oh Pei Wuliang, what makes you so confident that I still love you now? "That's right. You love me, and I love Jiaojiao. Can't you transfer the love you have for me onto her? Besides, in the future, she will be your mistress. I'm a man—I can't be hovering around the inner quarters every day. I promised I would look after you, and I will. But you need to understand that when I'm not around, you and Jiaojiao will have to interact daily. You should go pay your respects to her morning and evening. If you make things this tense now, it won't do you any good." "Are you done?" Pei Wuliang frowned. "What?" "If you're done, I'll take my leave now!" Jia Qingcheng couldn't be bothered to listen to his nonsense. Seeing her about to leave, Pei Wuliang naturally didn't forget to remind her. "Don't forget tomorrow's Cuju match at Peace County Lord's estate. Send the flying fish robes to Jiaojiao later—don't keep her waiting!" Jia Qingcheng still said nothing. Seeing her silence, Pei Wuliang grew even more irritated. "Stop right there! Who said you could leave?" With that, he strode forward to grab her, but this time, Jia Qingcheng didn't do as he wished. She stepped directly onto the carriage. Pei Wuliang grasped at empty air... "Qingcheng, stop making a scene. I was going to say that if you behaved well, I'd take the leftover scraps from the concentric lock I'm making for Jiaojiao and have a ring forged for you. But with this attitude of yours, you can forget about wearing that ring!" A ring? Leftover scraps? Jia Qingcheng was about to laugh in anger. Did she care about his cheap trinkets? "Alright, enough. If you keep this up, I'll really get angry!" With that, Pei Wuliang turned around, putting on a show of genuine anger. He knew very well that in her past life, Jia Qingcheng's greatest fear was his anger. Whenever he got angry, she would surely be terrified. After all, she was ugly and disfigured, and she feared he would abandon her. In her past life, Jia Qingcheng had no choice. And in this life, she had even less. "Master, aren't we being a bit too harsh with the eldest young lady?" Too harsh? Pei Wuliang didn't think so. Women still needed to be disciplined, lest they become spoiled by favor and grow arrogant. Otherwise, in the future, wouldn't they end up lording it over you? In her past life, he had trained her to be quite obedient. Though her face was ugly, she managed the household and was filial to his parents—there was no faulting her there. So this life, he had it all planned out too. He'd let Jia Qingcheng handle the troublesome household matters. She was a concubine—if he entrusted her with tasks, she would surely be grateful and think he valued her. That way, she'd have some sense of purpose. "What temper does an ugly woman like her have? If she were as beautiful as a celestial being, she'd have the right to throw tantrums. But look at that hideous appearance of hers—that face so dark you can't even find her at night!" Hu Ba was about to say something when he heard the sound of carriage wheels starting to move behind them. Curious, he turned to look and saw... Oh, what's going on here? "Strange, why hasn't she come to apologize at this hour?" Pei Wuliang muttered to himself. He was just about to turn around to see why Jia Qingcheng hadn't come to apologize when he suddenly discovered... Where is she? "Where...?" Hu Ba shrugged. "She's gone, Master. The eldest young lady might really be angry this time." Impossible! Pei Wuliang refused to believe it. "Just you wait. Tomorrow, Peace County Lord is hosting the Cuju match. With her pathetic skills, when she makes a fool of herself, she'll realize she shouldn't have angered me tonight. She'll be crying then." Hu Ba: "..." "Master, so what do we do now?" "What are we standing around for? Let's go in and see if my concentric lock is done yet!" Pei Wuliang strode toward the goldsmith's shop. When the owner saw that the heartless man had arrived, he naturally didn't give him a warm reception. Still, for the sake of silver, the owner had his shop assistant attend to him. "Oh, young master has arrived. Your treasure isn't finished yet." Not finished yet? This was the birthday gift he was giving Jiaojiao. Her birthday was the day after tomorrow, so he had come in person to order this concentric lock, hoping to share a hundred years of unity with Song Jiaojiao, growing old together. "Shopkeeper, can I pick it up tomorrow? I need it the day after." The owner was busy working and glanced up at him. "Should be no problem based on the timeline. Young master, you know the rules, right? The balance must be paid before pickup, or we can't release the goods." "What, worried I'll welch on the debt?" Pei Wuliang snorted coldly. "You know the young lady who was just here?" The waiter naturally recognized her. "That's the Jia family's young lady—who in the capital doesn't know her?" "Right, she'll come to settle the bill. Just put it on her tab." What? Put it on Jia Qingcheng's tab? The owner sensed something was off. Jia Qingcheng had just told him she was marrying Prince Chu and had long since severed ties with Pei Wuliang—so why would she be expected to pay for him now? "Master Pei, words alone prove nothing. I haven't heard the Jia young lady mention any of this." "What's hers is mine—why would she need to mention it? Do I really have to spell out such a trivial matter myself? If you can't handle it, then don't bother. I have plenty of people who can." "In that case, please see yourself out, young master!" With a bang, a charred black object nearly struck Pei Wuliang on the head, sending him into a fury. "Owner, what is the meaning of this?" "That's your unfinished piece. Since you have no silver, we naturally won't continue working on it. However, the labor fee owed must still be paid. Master Pei, will you pay in cash, or...?" "What's the rush? I never said I wouldn't pay. Here's what—let me put it on credit. Put it under my name, and I'll send someone with the silver. In the meantime, finish the piece you've got here." Pei Wuliang had no choice. In the end, he could only sign his name. After he stepped outside, Hu Ba grew worried. "Young master, we already owe a great deal of silver. What if Miss Jia refuses..." "How could she refuse? I'm her future husband. If she won't spend her silver on me, who does she intend to spend it on?" ... Early the next morning, a carriage came to a stop outside the Jia residence. Song Jiaojiao waited at the gate for a long time, but Jia Qingcheng never sent over the flying-fish robe. This left her seething with anger. "What's going on? Why hasn't she come out yet?" "Miss, there's no time! The match is about to start!" "We can't wait any longer—let's go now!" Song Jiaojiao never received the flying-fish robe from Jia Qingcheng. Forced into a corner, she had to rush to a shop and hastily buy a set—ill-fitting and ugly—but she had no other choice now. Something was better than nothing. Outside the residence of Princess Ping'an, the scene was lively. The princess was the daughter of Prince Duan. From a young age, she had loved archery, horseback riding, and Cuju—activities favored by men—so every year she hosted a Cuju tournament at her estate. She invited all the noble ladies of the capital to participate, and thus Song Jiaojiao and Jia Qingcheng were among those selected. When Song Jiaojiao arrived at the princess's gate in an ill-fitting flying-fish robe, she spotted Pei Wuliang waiting there at once. Naturally, Pei Wuliang had come specially to accompany her and Jia Qingcheng. In her past life, he had also accompanied Jia Qingcheng here, but Jia Qingcheng had taken a fall and become a laughingstock—especially her face, which could only be described as grimy and disheveled. For that, he had sulked for three full days before letting it go. She had utterly disgraced the Jia family name. "Brother Wuliang, I'm not late, am I?" "Jiaojiao, how could you come dressed like that?" The flying-fish robe Song Jiaojiao wore was too large, making her look like a walking clown—short arms, short legs, utterly ridiculous. Song Jiaojiao felt equally aggrieved. "Don't even mention it. We were both fooled by sister. She never sent anyone to deliver the flying-fish robe to me. I had to buy this one haphazardly off the street. If I hadn't managed to get one, I'd be even more embarrassed showing up here." "What? Qingcheng didn't send you the flying-fish robe? That's impossible—I reminded her last night." "Young master, can't you see? The eldest young lady must be jealous of the young miss, so she refused to give her the robe." "That Jia Qingcheng—when I see her, I'll be sure to give her a piece of my mind on your behalf..." "The princess is here." Everyone went forward to pay their respects to Princess Ping'an, and Pei Wuliang and Song Jiaojiao had no choice but to hurry over as well. But to their surprise, Song Jiaojiao caught sight of Jia Qingcheng standing right beside Princess Ping'an, the two of them chatting and laughing together. "Brother Wuliang, that ugly—no, why is sister here?"