Duke Zhongguo's Mansion
"Che'er, are you saying that you want to hand your brother over to that man for discipline? I won't agree to this!" Grandmother Pei was originally very happy to see Pei Che coming, but when she heard him talk about this, she immediately became furious.
Pei Che stood below, with a respectful attitude, but insisted on his own ideas: "Mu'er has recovered a lot in the past month, probably because of the company of me and A Miao. If we continue to leave him in that small courtyard, won't all our efforts during this period be wasted?"
Grandmother Pei's face darkened: "Are you blaming me? There are more people serving him in his courtyard than in yours, so why did you just leave him there? So many people can't take care of him?"
Pei Che looked at Grandmother Pei and said, "Che'er dare not blame Grandmother, but Grandmother should also know that the servants will pretend to obey but secretly disobey. Che'er knows that Grandmother's arrangement must be appropriate, but I can't prevent them from not being dedicated. When I went to Mu'er's place in the past, the servants in the courtyard seemed respectful, but they were lazy in private. The tea in Mu'er's room always felt cold. Seeing that Mu'er was becoming more and more lifeless under their care, how could I feel at ease to hand Mu'er over to them?"
"It's fine if you say that about other people, but Xing'er is your mother's dowry, how could she not be devoted to your brother?" Although Grandmother Pei disliked Pei Mu, she would not let others abuse him. Xing'er was specially chosen by her, and she was in charge of the whole yard. Would anyone dare to go over her and embarrass Pei Mu
"I'm not sure if she's devoted, but Mu'er isn't very close to her, not even as close as A Miao, who she's only been with for a month. Let's put it this way, if grandma doesn't agree to give Mu'er to A Miao, then I'll take him to the Imperial College." When Pei Che sent Mu'er back to the courtyard, he found that Xing'er wanted to lead him in, but Mu'er seemed to want to avoid her. After being led by her, he was a little stiff. If he hadn't seen his lively side, Pei Che would probably think that Pei Mu's behavior was normal.
Grandmother Pei's chest rose and fell rapidly: "What are you talking about? Can he still study if you take him there? Forget it! He's your brother anyway, you can put him wherever you want! I'm tired, you go back!" She stood up angrily and walked inside. Grandma Gao supported her and turned back to sigh silently at Pei Che.
Pei Che knew that he had upset his grandmother, but since it was about Mu'er, he had no choice. If his grandmother was willing to promise to take care of Mu'er a little more, he would not do this.
Pei Che originally planned to let Jiang Miao, Xiao Shitou and Pei Mu live in Jiang's house. The environment here is better, and the yard is full of his staff. If there are any who fail to serve well, they will be kicked out directly. And with Jiang Miao's personality, Pei Che is not afraid that he will not be able to control these people.
Jiang Miao refused. After the last lively engagement, the people in the outer city were very curious about the owner of the courtyard. They came to ask about it whenever they wanted. Last time, they even stopped Jiang Miao when he came out and asked him if he was a servant in the mansion.
Jiang Miao pretended to be a food deliveryman and struggled out of the crowd. Fortunately, he didn't like to wear those luxurious robes, so he wore a patched one that day, otherwise he would have to cover his face when he went out on the street. A male wife granted by the emperor is so rare!
Now is the time when everyone is most curious, and he can't help but go over and be watched by others.
Pei Che did not force him, but ordered his men to clean up Jiang Miao's residence. When they were done, Jiang Miao went in to take a look and was immediately surprised. He had never known that his residence could be transformed in this way. However, the rough shell and the finely decorated interior did not match each other.
Pei Che squatted down and talked to Pei Mu for a long time. Finally, he told him to be obedient before reluctantly stepping into the carriage to the Imperial College.
After the group left, Jiang Miao looked at Pei Mu standing in the yard with an expressionless face, and didn't know what to do for a moment. The child looked motionless, but he exuded a depressed aura, and he didn't know if it was because his brother left.
"Mu'er, do you want to go see the cats?" he asked tentatively. The child seemed to like kittens very much. Seeing that Pei Mu did not show any reluctance, Jiang Miao took his hand and walked to the corner of the wall. He meowed twice, and then a kitten with a white tuft on its black head poked its head out from the corner. The kitten stared at the two of them with its amber eyes, meowed, jumped off the wall, and rubbed against Jiang Miao's legs.
Dahua had five or six kittens, and the others were hired out. This was the only one that Jiang Miao had chosen, but since the two families lived close together, the kittens would often go back to eat. Jiang Miao would sometimes send some fish and shrimp to the neighbors so that Dahua wouldn't have enough to eat.
The child became much happier after seeing the cat. He sat on a small stool, stroking the cat with one hand and pinching his jade fish with the other. This kitten named Little White Spot is very human. Every time the two children play with it, it will beg for food, as if it knows that the children will respond to its requests.
Pei Mu hadn't been playing with it for long before it started circling around his legs, meowing non-stop and butting Pei Mu's legs with its head.
Pei Mu stood up and followed him to the kitchen. After waiting for a while, he saw that Pei Mu had not handed over the dried fish to feed it, and he couldn't help but feel anxious. Pei Mu looked at Jiang Miao's back as he sat and chopped stuffing, and he felt anxious. Usually when he was with Xiao Shitou, Xiao Shitou would ask Jiang Miao for the dried fish.
Pei Mu hesitated for a while, then reached out and gently tugged at the corner of Jiang Miao's clothes. When Jiang Miao noticed it, he turned around and saw that it was Pei Mu, and asked him what was wrong.
Pei Mu pointed at the kitten. Jiang Miao looked in the direction of his finger and found that the kitten was sitting upright and there was nothing wrong with it, so he guessed, "Mu'er, what do you want to say? Is the kitten hungry and wants to eat? If so, just nod. If you nod, I will give you the dried fish." He said while nodding to demonstrate to him.
Pei Mu hesitated for a while and nodded his head up and down.
Jiang Miao smiled and touched his head: "Yes, it's like this from now on, nod if you want, shake your head if you don't want, so that others will know what you want to do."
He turned around and took down a small jar from the top of the cupboard. Inside was a small dried fish that he had smoked. The dried fish was given to him by Mrs. Yu in the courtyard. He processed it very cleanly. Not only could it be used to feed the cats, but it could also be used to add to the dishes when the food was scarce.
Pei Mu took a small dried fish, squatted down and stuffed it into the meowing kitten's mouth. The kitten immediately started eating, and a pleasant purr came out of its throat. After eating one, the kitten raised its head to beg for food again. Pei Mu was much more skilled this time, and nodded to Jiang Miao, stretching his hand forward.
Jiang Miao gave him another one, and repeated this again and again until the kitten was full and no longer wanted any more. Pei Mu reluctantly ended the cat-feeding game. His regretful little expression at this moment was very similar to Pei Che's.
On the other side, Pei Che rushed to the Imperial College to cancel his month-long vacation, and then walked straight to the teaching building. At this time, the teacher had not come yet. As soon as Pei Che entered the door, he was ridiculed by several people: "Hey, isn't this Prince Pei? I heard that you married a male wife, why don't you spend more time with him?"
"Yeah, I don't know what the difference is between a male wife and a female wife. How about Prince Pei bring him out to have a look some other day?"
These people have always been jealous of Pei Che. Before he was named the Crown Prince, they mocked his family background. After he was named the Crown Prince, these people didn't have time to be afraid, and spread the news that Pei Che married a man. After hearing this, they instantly became proud and felt that they were much better than Pei Che.
Pei Che glanced at the three people and said calmly, "If you are curious, you can also marry a man. Anyway, you all have heirs in your families. Even if you marry a dog, others may not interfere. As for this brother Wu, you keep saying that you don't want to live in the same room with people from the market, but Pei remembers that your mother is just the daughter of a merchant. Oh, I forgot, you are registered under the name of the mistress, and I am afraid that you have completely forgotten the person who gave birth to you."
Several people were stunned. Pei Che was not a person who liked verbal disputes. Usually, when they spoke a few words, Pei Che would not pay much attention. But today, when he mentioned his male wife, it was like stirring up a hornet's nest.
Just as they were about to retort, they saw the Master appear at the door, so they had to swallow their anger. Pei Che bowed to the Master and sat back in his seat.
When Han Qin and the others came, they saw Pei Che at a glance. They saluted hurriedly and then sat down around Pei Che. Han Qin sat on his left, spread out a book to cover his face, turned his head to look at Pei Che, and asked softly: "A Che, why didn't you say a word when you came back today?"
Pei Che lowered his head and wrote a sentence, then handed it to Han Qin from under the table, then took out the book from underneath and read aloud. Han Qin secretly unfolded the note, which read: Talk to you later, the teacher is watching you.
Han Qin was startled and looked up suddenly, seeing his teacher frowning at him. He was so scared that he immediately started reading along. The other two people saw this and didn't ask any more questions.
After finally finishing the morning class, several people surrounded Pei Che as soon as they went out: "Ah Che, have you heard about that incident? It was reported from the Ministry of Rites that the man you are going to marry is extremely vulgar and rude. We have met Jiang Miao, so we will not be deceived, but many people believe it. There have been rumors recently and they can't be suppressed. By the way, they also said that you are controlled by him and dare not say a word."
Although Han Qin and the others beat up the most radical scholar, it was not so easy to stop the rumors. Seeing that Pei Che was about to lose his reputation, Han Qin and the others were worried about him.
Pei Che was very touched to have these good friends who always thought of him. He said, "We are brothers, so there is no need to thank you. But you don't have to help me suppress those rumors. Let them spread as outrageously as possible. I can't explain the reasons in detail now. When the time is right, I will tell you everything." Before everything is settled, it is best not to let too many people know about this.
The other three looked at each other, all a little puzzled, but since Pei Che said so, they must have been referring to something important.
He Chen was the oldest among the group. He said, "Since Ah Che has something to hide, we won't make it difficult for you. It's fine if someone just makes a few sarcastic remarks, but some people try to fish in troubled waters and slander you. Just let us know and we will not let them off."
"Yeah." Pei Che agreed with a smile, and then walked towards the dining hall with a few people. After dinner, a few people returned to their residence. There were two people living in one room here, and this was the case for everyone. Pei Che had been in a relationship at the time, so he was divided into a room with others.
When he returned to his residence, he found that the owner of the bed opposite was packing up his things. He had taken away the bed, leaving only a bare piece of wood. This person was still living in the room when he came before.
Pei Che had a lukewarm relationship with him before, and they were just nodding acquaintances. Seeing this, he asked a question, but the man immediately looked at Pei Che warily: "What do you want to do?" As he said this, he took a step back.
Pei Che was a little puzzled: "I am just saying hello to Brother Wang, I have no other intentions."
"Who knows what dirty things you're thinking about? If I'd known you were a homosexual, I shouldn't have lived in the same room with you! I don't know if you've done anything shameful behind my back all these years!" The man glared, as if Pei Che had tarnished his innocence.
Pei Che suppressed his smile and said, "Don't worry, brother. Even if I am hungry and have no choice, I have never thought of taking advantage of you."
"Hmph, no matter whether you have it or not, I can't stay in this room. It's disgusting to be in the same room with someone like you! How can someone like you who looks great on the outside but is rotten on the inside have the nerve to come back?" The man surnamed Wang blushed immediately after hearing what he said, and the words he said were even more hurtful, as if he could restore his dignity in this way.
"That's just right. I've been wanting to say something to you, Brother Wang, for a long time. After you move out, remember not to sleep with others." Pei Che said with a sneer.
"Why?" Wang thought, could there be another gay man here who is eyeing him
"Brother Wang, your appearance is unsightly. I am often frightened when I get up at night. Fortunately, I am born brave. If someone else gets scared and becomes ill, wouldn't it be Brother Wang's fault?" Pei Che threw down these words and walked past him inside.
Wang was furious and wanted to go forward to seek justice, but then he remembered Pei Che's best riding and archery skills and his group of friends. In the end, he just said "I don't know what it means" and left in a hurry with his things.
(End of this chapter)