Chapter 3: Bestowing a Grand Gift Upon the Heroine

At last, Xia Nianchu realized she had been played for a fool, and she snapped in fury, "You dare extort me, Cousin?"

"Yes, I am extorting you. What of it? If you've got the nerve, go to the magistrate and denounce me. Tell them you wanted me to drug the young marquis's cousin for your own chance at winning him. Go on—proclaim it to the whole world and let everyone see your true face!"

Shen Shuyi curved her lips in a smile that was almost a sneer.

Xia Nianchu quickly put on her usual frail, pitiful mask and threatened in a low voice, "Aren't you afraid I'll report you to the old matriarch and say you deliberately ruined the young marquis's marriage at Moonview Pavilion?"

"Then go ahead and tell her. I rather want to tell Grandmother that you were the one seducing the young marquis at Moonview Pavilion," Shen Shuyi said with a soft laugh, showing a row of neat, white teeth. "Tell me, Cousin, whom do you think Grandmother will believe—me, or you, an outsider?"

Though several of the Pei brothers despised her, Old Madam Pei treasured her as though she were a jewel. In that regard, even the four brothers of the Pei family could not compare with her.

Xia Nianchu felt her fists harden.

Since childhood, she had been adored by all, because she was the chosen daughter of fortune. Whatever she wanted, she always got.

Yet after moving into the marquis's residence, everyone in the Pei household had taken a liking to her except Old Madam Pei, who had remained neither warm nor cold toward her.

The various cousins of the Pei family had been kind enough to her, and every one of them was a dragon among men. Among them, the eldest young master was the most tempting of all.

First, Pei Dongzhou was strikingly handsome. Second, he was the heir of the Pingyang Marquisate. If she could marry him, she would become the heir's wife in the future, bearing the rank and honor of a first-class titled lady—what woman would not covet such glory?

Because she had to preserve her image of a kind, gentle, harmless woman, she could not drug Pei Dongzhou herself, but Shen Shuyi could.

She had thought Shen Shuyi was nothing more than a foolish, lovestruck bimbo, easy to manipulate. Who would have thought she had misjudged her so badly?

Seeing that threats would not work, Xia Nianchu switched tactics and tried to tempt her. "If Cousin helps me succeed, I will surely repay you. Your reputation could hardly sink any lower anyway, so helping me once would cost you nothing. Tell me, Cousin—what would it take for you to agree?"

Shen Shuyi was almost rolling her eyes to the heavens.

Was this really the way the heroine spoke? Because her own reputation was bad, the heroine could casually use her as a tool?

The heroine in the original story was never a good person to begin with. Back then, she had assumed the male leads became entangled with the heroine simply because none of those men were any good either.

She had no particular affection or dislike for either the male leads or the heroine.

But now that she had been transmigrated into the role of the wicked supporting villainess, and the heroine before her was truly revolting, the disgust was hard to bear.

Seeing that Shen Shuyi remained silent, Xia Nianchu assumed she was wavering and pressed on, "I know you want the young marquis too, Cousin, but you've even climbed into his bed and he still looks down on you. There is absolutely no chance you will ever win him. Why not help me this once? If I obtain him, it would be as good as helping you fulfill your dream. Would that not be a fine thing?"

Shen Shuyi thought the heroine's way of thinking was bizarre indeed. Faced with someone so shameless, even anger felt unnecessary.

"I really can't help you with something like this. But I can give you a little hint, which might work. Feel free to try it," Shen Shuyi said with a smile.

Xia Nianchu had already been tricked by her once before. "You're being this kind?"

"Then pretend I said nothing. Please excuse me, Cousin." Shen Shuyi turned to go back inside.

Hastily, Xia Nianchu followed after her. "Then do tell me."

Shen Shuyi spoke with the air of someone entirely at ease. "The young marquis will be going to Fragrant Tea Pavilion tomorrow night for tea. Perhaps you could go there and see whether you find your chance."

"Really?" Xia Nianchu was half skeptical.

Shen Shuyi lifted a shoulder. "Why not go tomorrow night and see for yourself?"

In truth, the one who loved tea was the Marquis of Pingyang. And he happened to be a man who favored fresh, tender beauties; otherwise, the marquis's residence would not have lost so many young and pretty maids to his wicked hands.

In the original story, the marquis had already taken an interest in Xia Nianchu. If she delivered herself to him and he had been drinking, he would never let such an opportunity to possess the heroine slip away.

Anyway, in the original story the heroine was adored wherever she went, causing the Pei father and sons to fight over her.

If Xia Nianchu had not come to provoke her, she would not have bothered with the heroine either.

But since Xia Nianchu insisted on making her sick, then she would just give the woman a grand gift.

After sending Xia Nianchu off, Shen Shuyi had a long "conversation" with the system.

After much coaxing and pestering, the system finally relented and changed the target of her task to the mysterious, aloof second young master of the Pei family, Pei Nanzhou.

Young Master Pei the First, Young Master Pei the Third, and Young Master Pei the Fourth all had favorability toward her hovering infinitely close to minus one hundred. These three were absolutely beyond redemption; from now on, she would avoid them whenever possible.

This time, she could not let Pei Nanzhou discover that it was her.

The third task issued by the system was to sing a complete love song to Pei Nanzhou.

If she stood outside his courtyard and sang it there, that would count as completing the task too.

She really was a little genius.

That night, at the hour of the tiger.

After confirming that Pei Nanzhou was in the southern courtyard, Shen Shuyi crept to a bamboo grove a hundred paces away from it.

The love song she chose was "Tethered Threads." Singing the full song would take four minutes. If Pei Nanzhou's curiosity was piqued and he came to investigate the bamboo grove, she would already be long gone, and the two of them would avoid coming face to face entirely. To be safe, she even covered herself with a veil.

And with the night so dark and windy, even if she did run into Pei Nanzhou, he would not recognize her.

Conveniently, she was skilled at flute playing. The system had said that after singing a love song, flute playing would count too, wouldn't it?

In any case, it was worth a try.

Everything was ready. A plaintive, lilting melody flowed from her lips, clear and distinct in the bamboo grove.

Inside the southern courtyard, Pei Nanzhou had just been preparing to rest when he heard a drifting flute tune wafting toward him. He inclined his ear to listen more carefully and found that the melody was one he had never heard before. It was rather novel.

He had not expected the marquis's residence to harbor such a master of music, and before he knew it, he was drawn in.

He was accomplished in the four arts of the zither, strategy games, calligraphy, and painting, and naturally well versed in music. If someone intended to draw his attention by such a method, then that person had succeeded.

The moonlight poured down like water.

The vast marquis's residence lay silent. Pei Nanzhou walked unhurriedly toward the bamboo grove, and as the evening wind stirred, his robes fluttered and danced.

Beneath the pale, luminous moonlight, the man was refined and elegant, as if carved from jade.

By the time he reached the vicinity of the grove, the flute music had fallen on its final note.

He saw a slender figure departing from the far side of the bamboo grove, vanishing in a flash.

When he reached the place where that figure had disappeared, it was already empty. It was as though it had all been nothing but an illusion, and no one had ever stood there playing a flute.

He stood there in a daze for a moment, about to leave, when he caught sight of a plain veil lying beneath his feet. He bent down and picked it up, and a faint, lingering scent of soap seemed to wrap softly around the tip of his nose...

Meanwhile, Shen Shuyi fled back to Mulberry Courtyard as fast as she could, only to realize belatedly that the system had not informed her that the task was complete.

"I sang the song. Why hasn't the progress been updated?"

The host must sing an entire love song for the task to count as complete.

Shen Shuyi flew into a rage and slapped the table as she sprang to her feet. "Why didn't you say that sooner?!"