Chapter 3

“Yes, master. She said she doesn’t like savory pastries, but thanks you for your kindness.”

His frown eased.

With a faint smile, Pei Yan told the servant to take the pastries and share them out.

The little girl was sulking, refusing his gifts.

Yet she had deliberately told him that her tastes matched his, inviting him to feel close to her.

Playing hard to get—just the sort of trick a woman of Li Shenbi’s background would use.

Perhaps to encourage his sisters to study, the main courtyard continued sending cakes to the schoolroom for more than half a month.

By the time the Pei daughters couldn’t bear to hear the name Lizhi Haolangjun again, the examination was upon us.

As usual, the matriarch and Lady Pei sent to the temple for brushes blessed in the name of Kuixing, the deity of scholarly success.

Only after the blessing and prayers for good fortune in the examination were they distributed to the courtyards.

A quarter-hour into the Hour of the Rabbit, drums announced the start of the examination.

I was about to write my first answer when a strange uneasiness rose in my chest.

Turning to reach for my water flask, I caught sight of the spare paper and brushes at the bottom of my examination basket.

I had secretly bought them myself.

The examination lasted three days and was exhausting.

Our tutor took pity on us and gave us ten days off. Pei Ying invited her sisters to go into town.

Though plenty of maids and servants accompanied us, Pei Shan insisted on making me carry her purchases.

When Pei Ying objected, she raised her voice.

“She eats our food and lives in our house. Is carrying a few things for me such a hardship?”

“A girl with a filthy reputation like hers ought to make herself useful. How else will she ever find a husband?”

Her shouting drew stares throughout Treasure Pavilion.

Miss Ning, the vice minister’s daughter, happened to be there too. She came over and linked arms with Pei Shan.

Their familiar insults no longer stirred me.

But when Miss Ning insulted my brother, anger made me lift my head.

“…Some common soldier. For all we know, he died in a ditch long ago, with nobody to collect his body.”

“Miss Ning, do you consider a soldier dying for his country, with no one to recover his body, something to laugh about?”

“My brother may not have won honors, but if he has died, he died for his country. Wherever he lies, his flesh and blood will have become part of Great Xia’s soil!”

The bustling crowd went silent.

I set down the boxes in my arms and left at once.

By the time the wind had dried the tears on my face, I realized I was standing outside a workshop.

Before I could speak, the proprietor came forward eagerly.

“You’re here! Our craftsmen have made one from your last design!”

“We meant to wait and show it to you, but a distinguished gentleman happened to see it and took it away on the spot!”

I had tried all sorts of ways to save silver.

One was to study my mother’s notes and learn to make intricate mechanical devices.

Unfortunately, the notes were incomplete, and I wasn’t clever enough.

After three years of studying and experimenting, I had finally managed to design this little mechanical horse.

The proprietor invited me into a private room.

An assistant brought his most expensive tea.

As he described in detail how lavishly the gentleman had paid, it all felt a little unreal.

Until a thick stack of silver notes was pushed in front of me.

It was far more than my agreed share of the profit.

“If you come up with any other ingenious designs, please remember our workshop.”

The proprietor smiled and bowed with his hands clasped.

I remembered my first visit, when his assistant had nearly taken me for a fraud.

Only after repeated pleading had the proprietor agreed to look at my drawings.

His calculating appraisal then was nothing like his warmth and respect now.

So, here in the capital, my efforts did not always lead to something bad.

With my silver notes, I went to the city’s finest fabric shop and chose a bolt of deep blue cloth.

I had just paid when Pei Shan entered.

Seeing me smiling, she gave a cold snort and opened her mouth to sneer.

“Idiot. My eldest brother doesn’t like that color.”

“That dark green over there is what he usually wears. If you have the money, buy it all!”

The shopkeeper kindly asked whether I wanted to exchange the cloth.

I shook my head.

“Thank you. But my own brother likes blue. There’s no need.”

Pei Shan flushed with anger and was about to cause more trouble, but her sisters stopped her.