"Che'er greets grandma."
Pei Che bowed and saluted. When he stepped into the gate of the Duke's Mansion, he turned back into the well-behaved and meticulous prince before, and even the expression on his face became more like a formal smile.
"Come and sit down." Grandmother Pei patted the seat next to her. After Pei Che sat down, she said, "I heard that the Imperial College asked you to come back yesterday afternoon. Why are you coming into the mansion just now?"
Pei Che was well prepared, knowing that his grandmother would definitely ask this question, so he said, "Qingming Festival is a big event to worship ancestors, and as a son of the Pei family, Mu'er should also be present, so yesterday, as soon as I left the Imperial College, I went to pick up Mu'er. I wanted to say hello and leave, but Jiang Miao was not there, and there was only a young child left at home, so I stayed there to help take care of him." In his opinion, since his grandmother already knew that the Imperial College was on holiday, how could she not know where he went
Grandmother Pei nodded, stopped asking questions, and started talking about the Qingming Festival ancestor worship.
"During the Qingming Festival in previous years, your second uncle led the entire Pei family to the ancestral tomb to worship. Generally speaking, ancestor worship is always the responsibility of the eldest branch. Grandmother hopes that you will lead them to worship this year."
Pei Che paused, then said: "Grandma, I think this matter is a little inappropriate."
"What do you mean?" Grandmother Pei stared at Pei Che with a probing look in her eyes.
“Although my grandson has been canonized as the Crown Prince, he has not yet started a family. In the eyes of those elders, what is the difference between me and a young boy? However, although my second uncle is a concubine's son, he is also a Duke. It is natural for him to lead everyone to pay homage, so that no one will criticize him.” Pei Che expressed his considerations.
Grandmother Pei nodded and said, "You are right. If you rush to take action right after you are crowned as the Crown Prince, it will inevitably be seen by outsiders as a move for quick success and instant benefits. So, as you said, let him go this year."
Pei Che agreed, and Grandmother Pei continued, "The wedding is approaching, and there are many things to do in the mansion. Remember to select two people to go shopping with Grandma Gao later."
"Chan Yi and Wen Jing in my grandson's courtyard have always behaved properly, so let them go with Grandma Gao." Pei Che said.
"Che'er," Grandmother Pei's face was a little serious, "Grandma wants to ask you again, do you really want to marry that man? If you don't want to, Grandma will ask the emperor to take back his order no matter what."
Pei Che didn't understand why she said that, so he said, "Grandma, I've made up my mind. I want to marry him."
Grandmother Pei sighed silently: "Are you sincere about what you said? Grandmother remembers that you also went to those brothels with the children of the Han family before. Aren't the ones you like girls?"
Before, Grandmother Pei thought that Pei Che had to marry a male wife. But Pei Che's behavior over the past long time made her feel that perhaps he wanted to marry a male wife.
Pei Che was a little embarrassed when his grandmother suddenly brought up the old story. He explained, "I was young and ignorant at the time, so I mistakenly went to that kind of occasion. Since then, I have never been with Han Qin and others again. As for matters between men and women, I have never thought about it before, and I will not think about it now."
After hearing this, Grandmother Pei felt even more upset, but she didn't know what to say. The matter has been settled. Unless the emperor suddenly... Otherwise, this man must be married.
Grandmother Pei said a few more words to Pei Che, and then asked him to go back and rest. After Pei Che left his grandmother's yard, he did not go back to his own yard directly, but came to Pei Mu's yard.
This morning, after Pei Che had rested well, he just proposed to bring Pei Mu back, but the child kept shaking his head in resistance and tried to hide behind Jiang Miao so that Pei Che could not find him.
Pei Che was helpless. He knew that Mu'er was not happy in the mansion. Sometimes, even he wanted to stay here. But ancestor worship was a big event. If Pei Mu didn't go, he might be criticized. In addition, Pei Mu was much better than before. Pei Che also wanted to use this incident to let everyone know that his brother was not the incarnation of a mountain spirit or a ghost as they said, and he did not suffer from amnesia.
One wanted to leave, the other wanted to stay. The two brothers were in a stalemate, each more stubborn than the other. Jiang Miao couldn't stand it anymore, so he had to squat down and persuade Pei Mu to go back with his brother. After he persuaded and promised Pei Mu that he only needed to stay at home for three days, Pei Mu was finally taken home reluctantly.
Before Pei Che went to see Grandmother Pei, Pei Mu was in a bad mood and refused to enter the yard. It was unknown whether he had entered the yard at this moment.
"My Lord, you're here!" Upon hearing the announcement at the door, Xing'er immediately changed her expression and greeted Pei Che with a smile.
She had wanted to retreat and get Pei Che to agree to take her out, but she didn't expect Pei Che to hand her over to Chan Yi and Wen Jing with just one sentence. These days were miserable. She thought that when Pei Mu came back during the Qingming Festival, she must win over this kid and make it so comfortable in her yard! But who knew that this kid would be even more uncooperative after going out, and even slapped her hand when she reached out to pull him into the house.
How could this be allowed? Xing'er's eyebrows were raised, and she wanted to get angry right away. But there were so many people in the courtyard, so it was difficult for her to do it. If this happened in Pei Mu's room, she would definitely make him pay!
Pei Che nodded, staring at the stubborn little figure in the middle of the yard, and sighed, "He still refuses to go in?"
Xing Er said aggrievedly, "Not only did the young master refuse to go in, he also kicked and beat those of us who tried to persuade him... He would never be like this in the past. I wonder if he has been taught bad habits by others outside for so long? My Lord, I think it's better for the young master to stay in the mansion. There are too many messy people outside."
Pei Che looked at her strangely: "Mu'er never hit anyone when he was over there, why did he do this when he came back? What did you do to him?"
Xing'er was shocked. When she mentioned the young master's situation before, the prince never doubted it. How come everything changed after she went out
"Master, I just wanted to take the young master in. They all saw it. They didn't do anything to the young master." Xing'er lowered her head and shed tears, looking very sad after being suspected.
"Forget it, I'm not doubting you. Since Mu'er doesn't want to go in, then let's not go in. I'll take him to my yard to rest." Pei Che was a little annoyed by her voice. He took a step forward and squatted down, whispered a few words to Pei Mu, then stood up and walked out with Pei Mu in his hand.
It was not until their figures were about to walk out of the courtyard gate that Xing'er reacted. She ran to the door in two steps and blocked their way.
"My Lord, the old lady has instructed that the young master should stay in his own yard to rest. You cannot take him away!"
"Grandma is just worried that Mu'er will be bullied when he goes out, not that she is keeping him under house arrest." Pei Che looked at her unhappily, "Xing'er, you've overstepped the boundaries!"
His tone was a little harsh. Xing'er quickly moved away and didn't dare to block him. In fact, it wasn't just Xing'er. Other people in the yard couldn't help but feel a little scared when they heard it.
When the news came that Pei Che was coming with Pei Mu, they immediately began to prepare. At this moment, tea, snacks and other things had been arranged.
When Pei Mu arrived at his brother's yard, he was no longer so resistant, but he still looked a little gloomy and unhappy. When Pei Che asked him about food and drink, he shook his head and refused.
Pei Che was a little at a loss. He recalled Pei Mu's life at Jiang Miao's place. It was a pity that he didn't bring the cat named "Little White Dot" back. Mu'er should be happier with it.
But it didn't matter if there was no cat. Pei Che immediately remembered what Pei Mu had to do every day when he was at Jiang Miao's house, so he asked, "Mu'er, do you want to go to your brother's study to practice calligraphy?"
After hearing the word "study", Pei Mu was silent for a while, and finally nodded in agreement.
Pei Che's study was naturally much larger than Jiang Miao's, and the furnishings inside were also of great significance, not to mention the bookshelf that was almost as tall as the wall. If the books on it were taken out, they would definitely drive book lovers crazy.
After Pei Che carried Pei Mu onto the stool, he realized that the desk was too high for a child. He couldn't reach it when he sat on it. However, the stool at Jiang Miao's place was specially made, and it was just right for two children to sit on.
Pei Che had no choice but to order someone to bring a small table so that Pei Mu could start practicing calligraphy. Without any reference, Pei Mu wrote a lot of words on the paper. From the speed and fluency of his writing, it can be seen that he really memorized these words.
Suddenly, Pei Che had an idea. He suppressed his excitement and asked softly, "Mu'er, you can write, so can you talk to your brother with words? If you can, can you write well?"
Pei Mu was stunned for a moment, looked up at him, and then lowered his head again. Just when Pei Che was a little disappointed, an ugly word "good" appeared on the paper.
Pei Che was extremely excited and wanted to hug Pei Mu, but he was afraid that he would scare him.
"Mu'er, why don't you want to enter the yard today?" Pei Che really wanted to know why Pei Mu refused to enter the yard when he came back this time.
Pei Mu frowned and wrote the word "don't want to" heavily.
"You don't want to go in? Is it because being in there will remind you of bad things, or is it because of the people inside?" Pei Che asked, his tone a little anxious. Pei Mu thought about it for a while before he figured out his problem.
"Not good", he wrote these two words on the paper. Pei Che was about to ask what was not good when he saw him write a few more words - "Hello, Brother Miao".
Pei Che thought about it and felt that since A Miao was mentioned later, the person mentioned earlier must be a person. Mu'er felt that the people in there were not good. Was it because A Miao had been too nice to him during this period, or was it because the people in that yard had never been nice to him
During the long time when Mu'er did not respond to the outside world, Pei Che was worried that he would be bullied. Servants always flatter the weak, so every time Pei Che was alone with Pei Mu, he would check if he was injured. Fortunately, every time he checked, he found nothing.
Thinking of this, Pei Che observed Pei Mu carefully, and then found that his left wrist was red, as if someone had pinched it hard.
"Mu'er, who did this?" Pei Che stared at his wrist, his eyes cold.
Pei Mu tilted his head and thought for a while, then wrote the word "儿" on the paper and drew a circle in front of the word.
"Yuan'er? Quan'er?" Pei Che guessed, but he remembered that there didn't seem to be anyone with these names in Mu'er's yard.
Pei Mu was a little anxious. He thought about it and added another line on the circle, as if he was drawing.
Pei Che looked at the painting and suddenly an idea flashed in his mind. He said, "Is it Xing'er?"
Pei Mu nodded repeatedly. He didn't know how to write the word "杏" yet, so he followed what Brother Miao taught Xiao Shitou and just drew a circle if he didn't know how to write it.
"Has she ever squeezed your hand before?" Pei Che asked in a deep voice.
Pei Mu nodded, then pointed at his face, then his butt and legs, indicating that these places had been pinched by Xing'er on Pei Che.
"What else did she do?"
Pei Mu lowered his head and wrote the two words "no food".
"Doesn't she feed you?" Pei Che's eyes were slightly red, his heart was almost filled with pain and guilt. He claimed to care about his brother, but he didn't notice that Mu'er suffered so much injustice where he couldn't see!
Pei Mu didn't notice his thoughts. He first shook his head, then nodded.
"Mu'er, you practice calligraphy here first. Brother will be out for a while and will be back soon." Pei Che forced a smile and disappeared without a trace as soon as he left.
(End of this chapter)