Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 509 Extra Chapter: Pei Yu (Part 1)

"Little Jade, come here."

Wearing new clothes, Madam Feng beamed with joy and waved to Pei Yu.

Pei Yu lost her mother when she was two years old and was raised by Pei Qinghe and Feng Shi. She ate and lived with Pei Lang and grew up together, and their relationship was closer than that of siblings.

Pei Wan is both literate and martial, calm and thoughtful, while Pei Yu is bold, meticulous, and exceptionally intelligent; both are rising stars of the Pei family.

"What does Grandmother want with me?" Pei Yu came over with a grin: "Is it because you saw that Cousin Pei Wan got married that you want to urge me to find a husband for myself?"

Mrs. Feng was amused: "You're twenty this year, you're at the age where you should be settling down, shouldn't I be urging you to get married?"

Pei Yu blinked and smiled, "Since there's no childhood sweetheart waiting for me, I have to keep my eyes open and pick one out."

Madam Feng pressed further, "What kind of person do you like? I'll keep an eye out for someone for you."

Pei Yu considered it seriously for a while: "He should be eight feet tall, skilled in both literature and martial arts, and handsome, perhaps a little better looking than General Meng Liu. He should be witty and humorous, and know how to make people happy. Oh, and it would be best if he were extremely wealthy, even richer than Uncle Shi..."

Madam Feng was both amused and exasperated: "This is getting more and more outrageous. Where in the world is there such a perfect young man? You're just making up stories to appease your grandmother, aren't you!"

Pei Yu made up a lie with a straight face: "Someone as outstanding as me is simply not worthy of my attention."

Mrs. Feng was so amused that she bent over laughing.

Turning to Pei Qinghe, he spoke of Pei Yu, sighing repeatedly, "Little Yu'er has been mature and sensible since she was little. When we told her that her mother had passed away, she never asked any questions. A few years ago, when you led troops to fight the Bohai Army, you met Xu Shi in An County. You kept this from Little Yu'er. But I always felt that she knew all along. Her mother was heartless and ungrateful. We didn't want her to worry about her mother and be sad. She didn't want us to worry either, so she pretended not to know anything."

Pei Qinghe remained silent for a moment, then sighed, "There's nothing I can do about it. I can give her anything, except her biological parents."

Her biological father died early, and her biological mother abandoned her and ran away, and there has been no news of her for many years.

Pei Yu always has a smile on her face, but who knows what she's really thinking?
……

Pei Yu didn't think about anything.

She was the youngest and most promising prefect of Pengcheng during the Republic of China era, governing hundreds of thousands of people. Her daily affairs were numerous and complex, requiring her attention to everything, big and small. She only slept three hours a day, and when she was busy, she wished she had three heads and six arms. She had no time for idle thoughts.

This trip back to Yan County included attending the Crown Prince's enthronement ceremony, followed by Pei Wan's wedding, and then a reunion with family and relatives. With the time spent on the journey, two months had passed in the blink of an eye.

She went to bid farewell to the emperor, and Pei Qinghe smiled and said, "It's freezing cold, and the New Year is just around the corner. Why don't you stay until after the New Year and then return to Pengcheng? That way, it won't delay next year's spring planting."

Pei Yu immediately replied, "No need. Pengcheng can't do without me, I'll go back soon."

Who would have thought that Pei Yu would be the most career-minded among the younger generation, and the first to come and say goodbye.

Looking at Pei Yu's young, beautiful, and vibrant face, Pei Qinghe's eyes flashed with a smile, and she nodded in approval.

Madam Feng was busy preparing a pile of packages for Pei Yu.

Pei Yu hugged Madam Feng warmly: "Thank you, Grandmother. I will write to you every month from now on."

Pei Lang was reluctant to part with Pei Yu and saw her off for ten miles outside the city: "Sister Yu'er, when will you come back again?"

Pei Yu raised an eyebrow and smiled: "When birds grow up, they should leave the nest and fly high. Pei Lang, you're eighteen years old now, it's time for you to start working."

Back in the day, when Pei Qinghe was short of manpower after conquering new territory, he kept sending his men out. Pei Yu, when he was the prefect, wasn't even sixteen yet!
Pei Lang suddenly felt a little shy and said in a low voice, "My mother has arranged a marriage for me, and she wants me to get married before I can find a job outside the capital." Pei Yu laughed and patted Pei Lang on the shoulder, teasing him for a few moments until Pei Lang blushed deeply, before laughing and riding away.

A cool breeze swept over Pei Yu, dispelling the lingering melancholy in her heart.

The young men and women of the Pei clan have all lost their fathers, and many of their mothers died of illness or on the battlefield. Many of these young people, like her, were raised within the clan. As long as Pei Family Village exists, as long as Pei Qinghe exists, their home will always exist.

After rushing all the way, I finally made it back to Pengcheng before the New Year.

In recent years, the city walls of Pengcheng have been raised by three feet, and the city gates have been renovated and rebuilt. The city is now bustling with people, a scene of prosperity and tranquility.

The young Prefect Pei rode his horse through the bustling streets, and the people cheered from time to time: "Prefect Pei is finally back!"

"That's wonderful! I was worried that Prefect Pei wouldn't come back, or that he'd been transferred elsewhere. It's good that he's back! We couldn't bear to part with such a good prefect!"

Pei Yu's lips curled up, and her mood became increasingly pleasant.

This good mood vanished upon returning to the prefectural government office and encountering two uninvited guests.

"who are you?"

Pei Yu suppressed his smile and asked with a frown.

The woman standing before her was about forty years old, beautiful, dressed in fine silks and satins. However, there was a hint of sorrow in her brow, and her gaze seemed to wander and evade.

Beside the woman was a boy of about thirteen or fourteen, with delicate features. Although they should have been strangers, there was an eerie sense of familiarity about them at first glance.

Who are they?

The woman stared at her intently, then suddenly burst into tears and wept bitterly.

The young man was somewhat at a loss. He reached out to support the weeping woman, then mustered his courage to look at Pei Yu: "Mother said that you are my elder sister, my own flesh and blood."

Pei Yu's smile vanished instantly, her gaze turning icy cold, like a sharp blade piercing towards him.

“My mother passed away when I was two years old. How could I have a younger brother?”

"How dare you come here to lie and cheat? Are you tired of living?"

The prefect's imposing presence and intense, almost tangible, murderous aura terrified the young man, turning his handsome face pale and his legs weak. His throat felt blocked, and he couldn't utter a single word.

The weeping woman raised her tearful eyes and cried, "Little Yu'er, open your eyes and look! I am your mother! Back then, I couldn't bear the hardships of exile, so I pretended to die of illness and secretly left. Later, I was fortunate enough to meet Magistrate Zeng, and I gave myself to him. I was fortunate enough to find refuge in the Zeng family's inner quarters and gave birth to your younger brother..."

Pei Yu coldly interrupted the woman's sobbing: "I have no biological mother, let alone a younger brother."

The woman wiped away her tears with her sleeve, but the more she wiped, the more tears flowed, seemingly endlessly: "Little Jade, I'm so sorry. I've been gone for eighteen years, never going back to see you. But I've always kept you in my heart."

"When Qinghe allowed me to leave, she said she would raise you, and she did indeed raise you very well. You are now the youngest prefect in the Republic of China, and your reputation is widespread. Even I, a woman confined to the inner quarters, have heard of your name."

"Actually, ten years ago, when Qinghe led his troops to fight the Bohai Army, he saw me in An County..."

(End of this chapter)