CH 10

The winds of fortune shifted suddenly, and the once desolate South Courtyard of the Xining Mansion was now the center of attention and envy. Cui Ti emerged as the newfound authority figure, with visitors flocking in to offer their well wishes and compliments. It all felt like a dream, yet it was a surreal reality.

Bai Ge, Cui Ti's maid, beamed with happiness as she squeezed her mistress's cheeks. "Mistress, it's true! Did you hear what they're saying? You're going to be the wife of the No. 1 Scholar, the young man of the Pei family!.”

She was overjoyed not only for Cui Ti but also for her own future, which no longer seemed bleak and uncertain.

"Pei Xuan is a man of his word and a trustworthy person. I swear I will never scold him again!.”

The air was fresh and fragrant after the rain, and Bai Ge couldn't help but sing Pei Xuan's praises to the sky. In her opinion, it was good to see her mistress finally be treated like a normal girl.

"They’ve opened my eyes today," she said. "People used to have such high and mighty attitudes, but now they're finally saying good things."

After tirelessly repeating Pei Xuan's 'feat' of proposing a marriage, and as if she had actually seen the situation happening, she was no worse than the old woman who came outside to congratulate her.

Cui Ti listened patiently and tenderly to her, her eyebrows curved slightly, her voice soft and helpless. "Bai Ge, why aren't you tired?.”

"How amazing this is! Why should I be tired?" Bai Ge exclaimed with delight, accentuating her features as she grinned from ear to ear. Her cute demeanor shined as she stood with her hands on her hips made her even more endearing.

But then, she suddenly remembered her manners and playfully covered her mouth, teasing Cui Ti, "Oh, I'm sorry. How can I talk to the new Madam like that?.”

Cui Ti was taken aback by the title "Madam" and felt a bit irritated but then tried to remain calm, telling Bai Ge, "Be serious, don't you have anything to do? Go and do your work." 

Bai Ge chuckled in response.

With the good news spreading across the mansion, people began to bring gifts, a treatment they had never experienced before. As a result, Bai Ge had to finish the important work at hand and deal with the influx of visitors.

Then, she wandered around the courtyard, touching the blue broken bricks of the wall and even the straw mat that cushioned Pei Xuan when he fell.

She couldn't deny that she had witnessed the beautiful encounter between Cui Ti and the scholar.

As she watched Bai Ge leave, Cui Ti sat alone on the stone steps in front of the door with her knees bent. 

Soon, other maids came rushing over, eager to share the details of how Pei Xuan sealed the marriage. They whispered in her ear with excitement, repeating the story over and over again. It went in Cui Ti’s left ear and it came out in her right ear.

At that time, her mind was filled with complicated feelings.

‘I'm really going to marry this person again.’

‘Will it be the same as last time?.’

‘Or, am I destined to never have my love reciprocated?.’

As the sun shone just right, a brilliant rainbow appeared in the sky, and Cui Ti gazed up, letting out a contented sigh. She hoped to spend a long and happy life with Pei Xuan. 

He didn't love her in the last life, what about this life?.

Despite the uncertainty of Pei Xuan's feelings towards her, Cui Ti couldn't help but ponder over him.

After much deliberation, she still couldn't figure out what Pei Xuan thought.

He doesn't love her, but cherishes her like a beautiful jade and regards her as a bright moon.

He doesn’t love her, but because she flew the kite high into the sky, he came here despite the torrent of rain.

If he doesn’t love her, why are you so desperate to marry her?

No need to guess what outsiders thought because Cui Ti had already gone through this process once.

Mrs. Sun said that she was lucky and that Pei Xuan was merely confused.

There are so many noble girls in Xijing who want him, yet he comes to marry a blind woman?.

In Pei Xuan's nobility, not to mention marrying a noble daughter of a comparable family, even Princess Shang, daughter of Your Majesty, is so eager to meet him.

Yet, she was very lucky to meet Pei Xuan.

Perhaps the reason for her drowning in her past life was jealousy or envy towards her status as Pei Xuan's official wife.

Many girls have tried to get the admiration of Pei Xuan by writing a romantic poem. Cui Ti also tried doing this for Pei Xuan, but when she did so, Pei Xuan would laugh at her for thinking too much.

The time she was most jealous was the time Pei Xuan laughed the happiest.

When he wrapped his arms around her waist, Cui Ti felt a breath of fresh air near her ear. It carried no trace of sweat, unlike what Bai Ge had said of most men, nor did it smell of powder and perfume, like some men who tried to win her affection. Instead, it was like a gentle breeze of spring water enveloping her softly.

Pei Xuan may not say the sweetest words of love, but his actions spoke louder. He was well-behaved, but not to the point of appearing foolish. 

Perhaps he knew that he came across as foolish, so when he tried to comfort her, he would hold her tightly, making sure she wouldn't escape, and gently touch the tip of her ear, and say:

Don't be angry, wife.

His words are mellow and soft, without the slightest frivolity.

Every time Cui Ti was coaxed, she would enter another layer of annoyance.

Pei Xuan's reckless adolescence was too short, and he became an official when he was young, so he was more rational and mature than his peers.

Being the son of the Prime Minister and a future leader of the nation, he had developed steadily, earning admiration and envy from many for his rapid advancement. 

Obviously he was a few months younger than Cui Ti, but Cui Ti was the one being protected.

Compared to the past Pei Xuan, Cui Ti was drawn to the carefree, youthful version of him who had fallen from the wall and landed on a straw mat. 

This energetic Pei Xuan was free of responsibilities, relaxed and attractive, unlike the overly analytical and cautious husband who made Cui Ti feel anxious about every decision.

With a desire to lead a happy life, Cui Ti yearned to find complete happiness with him.

“Mistress, mistress?.”

The voice of Bai Ge came to Cui Ti's ears, dismissing her thoughts of the past and the present. She lifted her head and the white veil that covered her eyes glimmered in the sun.

Mrs. Xining stood a few steps away, gazing at her with a strange expression. "Your fortune has finally arrived, why don't I give you some advice?.”

Cui Ti slowly shook her head, knowing that she wanted to teach her how to seduce a man.

Mrs. Xining then replied in a deep voice: "Once you enter the Pei family, it is as deep as the sea. The Pei family took a fancy to you and liked you. After marrying him, you have to serve him well.”

"Your father and I don't ask you for much, but we just want you to not cause trouble and bring a disaster upon my family."

Bai Ge raised her eyebrows, not anticipating that this was something the Madam would say.

Cui Ti lowered her head, her reaction was flat.

"The South Courtyard is not suitable for you to live in. From now on, you will be a noble lady of the Pei family. From today onwards, you will live back in the Chenxiang Courtyard, lest outsiders make irresponsible remarks about our family and say that I am biased.”

"Understood."

Mrs. Xining is no better than Cui Dai who can speak well and please people, yet seeing Cui Ti’s shallow reaction, she got angry, but said what she wanted to say and left.

Cui Ti was frail and lived in the Chenxiang Courtyard with the best environment in the Xining Mansion for the first three years of her life. After those three years, she was "tossed" and thrown into the South Courtyard.

According to Mrs. Xining's words, she was able to move back to Chenxiang Courtyard because of Pei Xuan's help. If she hadn’t become a noble lady of the Pei family, she still wouldn’t have the qualifications to live in the largest and best courtyard.

Bai Ge wanted to retort, but since she is the mistress' biological mother, she can only hold back.

She stood there sullenly, and Cui Ti raised her eyebrows and smiled lightly: "Isn't it time that you get used to it? Clean up, then let's go to the Chenxiang Courtyard.”

Explicitly saying "go", and not "back".

Reason being is that ever since Mrs. Xining’s second daughter died, the Chengxiang courtyard no longer belonged to Cui Ti.

…

As March approaches, preparations for a grand wedding in May must be ramped up by both the Xining Mansion and the Pei Mansion.

Fortunately, Pei Xuan's 'marriage' was already in the plan, and it was not a sudden occurrence.

Mrs. Pei was occupied with preparations for her daughter and the entire city of Xijing was buzzing with excitement. Some people said that Pei Xuan was crazy, and some said that the Xining mansion used their luck of a lifetime.

The noble ladies who admired Pei Xuan secretly envied and were jealous of the blind girl, while the curious people began to wonder how the blind girl of the Cui family managed to make Pei Xuan fall in love.

"Well, Pei Xuan personally came to the door to propose marriage, and once he said it, guess what happened? Mr. Sun Zhe was so scared that he was dragged out by his own parents. What a miserable yet funny moment!!.”

"What kind of person is Sun Zhe and what kind of person is Pei Xuan? How can the light of a firefly compete with the bright beautiful moon?.”

"However, I have heard people say that our No. 1 Scholar didn't even have time to wear his boots in order to propose marriage. He galloped away on a horse and was blocked from entering the Xining Mansion. But his whip snapped the ground and the rain stained his clothes. With a fierce spirit, he expressed his intention to marry Mrs. Cui Ti.”

"Especially so when he emphasized, ‘the girl that lives in the South Courtyard', this is the outstanding demeanor of our number one scholar who dares to love and marry! Besides, who is Sun Zhe? He's just a fart and a womanizer."

Pei Xuan is well-known in Xijing, recognized for his young age and talent, as well as being the youngest number one scholar.

It doesn't matter if Pei Xuan proposed normally, because Cui Ti has jumped from being a miserable blind person to the first love of the scholar who couldn’t hold himself back. 

At this moment, Song Zizhen had a smirk on his face: "I already said the reason why he was so angry, it turned out to be the girl in the painting that day. Tsk tsk tsk, it's different once you know about it.”

Zheng Wuzhi was also there, "The number one scholar broke into the mansion with his socks on, and made a bold courtship. It's amazing, it's truly amazing!.”

The second place and third place examinees got together to tease Pei Xuan for his actions but Pei Xuan smiled and didn't care about them.

Pei Xuan’s only bad habit is her tendency to drink, whether she's happy or sad.

The mellow pear blossoms filled her throat, and her eyes were gentle.

"Aiyo, aiyo, I can't take it anymore. Jinshin, you must take back your overflowing charm!," Song Zizhen yelled teasingly.

Then, he and Zheng Wuji sang together, as Pei Xuan was calm and unaffected. Feng Yi's charming eyes slightly raised to look at Song Zizhen, and Song Zizhen calmed down.

Feng Yi stroked her sleeves indifferently, and Song Zizhen and Zheng Wuji didn't dare continue making fun of Pei Xuan anymore.

Soon after, Zheng Wuji curiously asked, "Jinshi, how did you convince your family?.”

Pei Xuan frowned, his knees hurt subconsciously, and she put down her wine glass, and said lazily: "I kneeled until he felt bad."

"Awesome!" Song Zizhen replied, "I have now also learned this trick, and I will use it to deal with my father someday."

The honest Zheng Wuji laughed at him: "What's the use of learning? You don't even have a girl you like."

"Nonsense! Why does a man have to worry about not having a wife?"

"Oh..." Zheng Wuji glanced at him and replied, "Do you not worry that you’ll die alone?.”

Pei Xuan spit out the wine, coughed twice, pounded the table and laughed cheerfully.