The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family-Chapter 1205 - 278: Time to Repay Now_3

"I’ve started to see the General as my master, and since he’s now facing troubles from within and without, I think I’ll stay by his side a while longer," Jun Suxue explained.

Zhou Jian looked at her and smiled, "Good!"

Jun Suxue curtsied and then took her painting supplies back to the study in the back courtyard.

Mo Heng, knowing that Zhou Jian would come, was also discussing him and Jun Suxue with Pei Qin, "What do you think?"

"Are both parties satisfied?" Pei Qin was naturally pleased. She had several older unmarried men under her command and was worried about their marital prospects!

"The matter should be brought up on the agenda soon." If Jun Suxue understood the situation, he wouldn’t forcibly interfere.

Pei Qin rubbed her chin in thought, "I need to make a trip to the Manufacturing Bureau this afternoon. I’ll ask Zhou Jian about it later!"

However, after making her rounds, she came back to find Zhou Jian waiting for her in the mansion, "Yo! Just as you missed him on one side, here he comes on the other!"

As Zhou Jian was about to laugh, he saw that Mo Heng was also present and quickly straightened his face, approaching with respectful salutations, "Marquis! General! I have a matter to report!"

"We’ll talk about the Manufacturing Bureau on the way. I’m going to change my clothes," said Pei Qin as she went back to the courtyard to change.

Mo Heng also had matters to attend to in the military. After sending Pei Qin on her way to the Manufacturing Bureau, he went off to tend to his own affairs.

With him gone, Zhou Jian relaxed a bit. Us folks are far from being the Marquis’s own kin. It’s really different being under the generals!

Pei Qin then inquired about his own marriage, "As a man, you’ve got to take more initiative!"

Zhou Jian’s mouth twitched slightly, "General! Being too forward would be frivolous."

Pei Qin blinked, thinking about the ancient customs and Jun Suxue’s situation, and patted his shoulder, "Su Xue is a good girl! You’re lucky to marry her! She’s just not yet turned the corner, thinking a woman like me is superior in every way! Once you get closer to her, she’ll see your good qualities, and her feelings will naturally warm up!"

"Logical as your words are, General, can you not laugh so smugly when you praise yourself?" Zhou Jian muttered under his breath.

Pei Qin laughed heartily and then added, "But seriously, Su Xue really is wonderful! She’s beautiful and virtuous, and can do anything! If I were a man, I’d have married her already!"

"General! I’ll remember what you said. If I don’t get a wife this year, I’ll tell the Marquis!" Zhou Jian looked at her somberly.

Realizing what she’d implied, Pei Qin’s face stiffened and she glared at him, "Did I speak out loud just now? I’ve been busy working here! What did I say!?" She went off to inspect the smelting workshop, denying what she’d just admitted.

"The General is getting sneakier by the day!" Zhou Jian couldn’t help but grumble. But imagine if the Marquis hears about this, heh! Thinking of Wei Shu, who was preparing to divorce and remarry Mo Heng, he frowned again.

The news was already spreading outside, with Wei Shu approaching them with impure motives and a suspicious heart.

Then rumors flew around the streets, speculating whether Mo Heng’s relationship with Pei Qin was strong but childless, and if he had an old flame with Wei Shu, would old feelings reignite?

Those staunchly in support of Pei Qin felt frustrated, "How could General Pei let her come to her doorstep? The woman is a paragon of chastity and virtue; remaining loyal even after her husband’s death! Even if she has no children of her own, she could adopt one to carry on Eldest Young Master An’s lineage! Instead, the moment she finds her man insufficient, she seeks a divorce, eager to remarry. And who does she go after? Someone else’s man! General Pei should have turned her away and not let her through the door!"

After the death of An Zhouyuan and Wei Shu’s return to the Wei family, her entanglement with Pei Qin and Mo Heng caught the full attention of everyone in Capital Jingcheng.

Pei Qin had finished her duties at the Manufacturing Bureau and had completed the painting requested by Wei Shu at home.

Mo Heng looked it over and immediately took it to the framing shop for mounting.

Pei Qin’s painting skills were extraordinary, and rumors had long circulated in Capital Jingcheng, yet not a single painting had ever been revealed, nor seen by anyone. Only relatives of the An Zhouyuan family had seen Pei Qin’s portraits.

Though the framing shop operated with discretion, avoiding leaking any information, some people who handled the painting couldn’t help but admire Pei Qin’s distinctive technique and exquisite craftsmanship.

In a drunken state, a steward at the shop overheard people discussing Wei Shu and blurted out, "You’re all talking nonsense! Ms. Wei might be divorced, but she did so in compliance with Eldest Young Master An’s wishes to let him depart this world in peace! The truth is, Ms. Wei was deeply devoted to Eldest Young Master An! She sought out General Pei for a painting that depicted her wedding with Eldest Young Master An! I saw it with my own eyes, I was the one who helped frame it!"

Some didn’t believe it and concluded that Wei Shu was attempting to steal Pei Qin’s husband under some pretense, "General Pei was poisoned while fighting to save our ten thousand civilians, rendering her infertile! Yet those with malicious intent don’t remember General Pei’s achievements and instead plot against General Pei’s spouse! That Wei Shu is the most shameless of all! Such deep cunning! She even had Madam An come forward to speak for them! Claiming that her love for Young Master An was deep, but they’re divorced and it’s all said and done, who will believe that!? Right after Young Master An’s burial, off she went! Eager to snatch away General Pei’s man!"

The steward argued with him, and fueled by alcohol, even dragged them to the shop to see the painting.

Before long, the direction of the rumors mysteriously shifted. Wei Shu was now being portrayed as a widow pining for her late husband, unregretfully loving, having taken care of him through his illness without once changing her clothes, now growing thinner and thinner with longing, only able to look at his portrait every day to soothe her yearning.

Then, some began to write poems and songs praising the deep love between An Zhouyuan and Wei Shu, unchanging even unto death.

There were also those who suggested that the An family petition for a Chastity Arch for Wei Shu.

Pei Qian thought this was an excellent idea! She immediately sought Pei Wendong and had him summon Xiao Yong, "Ask him for a favor! Grant that shameless woman a Chastity Arch so everyone can see if she still has the face to seduce men with that imperial emblem of chastity!" Ensuring she can’t seduce our brother-in-law, won’t seduce any man!

Pei Wendong shook his head, "It won’t work. Not to mention that Wei Shu is already divorced and has returned to her own family. Even if she were still with the An family, The Imperial Court cannot lightly bestow a Chastity Arch. Emperor Gaozu once decreed, after a major incident concerning a Chastity Arch, not to grant them anymore as they oppressed women."

Pei Qian’s face darkened, "We can’t give her a Chastity Arch, and she’s to come seduce our brother-in-law!?"

"Our elder sister is currently on medication. With a year or a year and a half of recuperation, she could be cured," Pei Wendong wanted to interfere, but could only write poetry, to propagate the constraints. But if Wei Shu shamelessly and the Wei family resolved, this level of restraint could no longer be applied. Only when the elder sister’s health recovered and she was pregnant with offspring would those people lose the face to entertain such thoughts.

"Our elder sister will definitely recover!" Pei Qian clenched her teeth.

The whole family was praying and hoping.

With nowhere to channel her energy, Pei Qian continued to have others promote the deep love between Wei Shu and An Zhouyuan outside.

After thinking it over for two days, Pei Wendong consulted with Chang Yonglin, "Have An Zhouyuan come back to haunt..."

The many praises for Wei Shu and An Zhouyuan’s love from outside also made the Wei family feel something was amiss. No one knew Wei Shu’s situation better than her own family.

Wei Shu received the painting, staring at it for a long while before opening it.

A burst of vibrant red startled her, and without looking closely, she shut it again.

Those rumors outside... they were from Pei Qin! She was guarding against her, targeting her!

But she wasn’t afraid! Even if Pei Qin continued taking her medicine, continued to be treated, what did it matter to someone who would soon leave this world? Once she was dead, what control would she have over Jiu Heng?