By a twist of fate, the illegitimate son of the Marquis's family marries the county princess.

Chapter 18 The Cold War

One month into their marriage, this was the first time Wen Zongji hadn't gone along with Pei Rujing's wishes.

What was initially just a petulant outburst from Pei Rujing instantly flared up: "You're defying me for your sister's sake?"

Wen Zongji looked at Pei Rujing, whose eyebrows were raised in anger, and frowned even more deeply: "It seems the county princess has misunderstood something!"

"I have always been willing to go along with the county princess because she is my wife. I am a few years older than her, and I am willing to indulge her."

"To put it bluntly, I'm willing to back down because you're my wife, not because you're a county princess."

"If the county princess desires a husband who obeys her every whim like a servant, I am probably not capable of that. I apologize for disappointing the county princess."

Having said that, Wen Zongji turned and left: "I'll be staying in the study tonight!"

Silence!

Even though Wen Zongji had clearly left the room, no one inside dared to speak, not even daring to breathe.

Pei Rujing stood there, her chest heaving with anger, her fists clenched, and she shouted angrily, "Ah—!"

Snapped--

Whether it was a teacup or a piece of porcelain, anything that came into Pei Rujing's sight was smashed to pieces.

These are all precious porcelain pieces that Pei Rujing replaced after marrying into the family; each one is extremely valuable.

It eventually turned into a pile of fragments!

Seeing that Pei Rujing had finished smashing the porcelain and was now looking at the calligraphy and paintings, Granny Feng finally stepped forward to stop her: "Princess, getting angry is bad for your health, please calm down."

Despite smashing so many things, Pei Rujing was still furious: "Granny, did you hear what he just said?! When did I ever treat him like a servant? Haven't I been good enough to him?"

"asshole!"

"asshole!!"

Granny Feng sighed, "Princess, although the Marquis's mansion has many children, there is still a barrier between them. The young master only has this one younger sister, and judging from his attitude, he cares a lot about her."

Pei Rujing's eyes were red: "Did I not want him to care? He bought Wen Shuyu a hairpin and promised to take her out of the manor to play. What did I say? He even knows I'm his wife. Why didn't he ever think of accompanying me out of the manor? Since I married into the Marquis's manor, I haven't left Yunguang Courtyard! Has he ever shown me any concern?"

Simply put, Pei Rujing's mindset is unbalanced.

In the past, without Wen Shuyu as a comparison, Pei Rujing didn't think it was anything special.

But Wen Zongji bought Wen Shuyu a hairpin and promised to take her out of the mansion to play. He cared more about his younger sister than he cared about his wife. How could Pei Rujing, such a proud person, stand it?

Granny Feng spoke up for Wen Zongji: "Isn't this mahjong set something the young master made to amuse the county princess? County princess, the young master has you in his heart. He promised to take the third young lady out of the manor after the imperial examination, and naturally he won't forget the county princess then. We've all seen how hard he's been studying these past few days, so it's understandable that he's neglected the county princess a bit."

"It's all his fault! I'm much more comfortable without him sleeping here!"

Pei Rujing wouldn't listen to any reasoning. Unable to find anything to smash, she turned around, ran to the bed, buried herself in the covers, and refused to speak anymore.

He deliberately threw Wen Zongji's bedding on the ground and stomped on it twice.

Granny Feng sighed. Pei Rujing was in a fit of anger and wouldn't listen to anyone. She had already said what she needed to say, and all that was left was for Pei Rujing to figure things out on her own.

"Qinghe, keep an eye on the servants in Yunguang Courtyard, and don't let them talk nonsense outside."

"Yes, Granny."

Now that Yunguang Courtyard is completely under the control of Granny Feng, there is no need to worry about the news of Wen Zongji and Pei Rujing arguing and sleeping in separate rooms getting out.

On the other side, Wen Zongji instructed Changdong: "Changdong, go to Yucui Pavilion first thing tomorrow morning and tell the Second Miss that the County Princess is not feeling well and does not need anyone to accompany her to play mahjong for the time being."

Pei Rujing isn't so easily appeased; if Wen Shuyu comes tomorrow, she'll likely run straight into a trap.

Changdong asked worriedly, "Young Master, you've angered the County Princess. Will she be so angry that she goes back to the Princess's residence?"

That would make things much worse.

Wen Zongji remained calm: "We'll meet force with force, and we'll deal with water with earth! I can't control the county magistrate's decision."

Then he waved for Changdong to leave.

Wen Zongji then continued reading the collection of policy essays that Wen Chuanhong had previously given him.

He was an orphan in his previous life and had struggled in society for many years, so he was no longer swayed by emotions.

……

As the night passed, Wen Zongji got up early as usual and stretched his stiff neck.

The bed in the study was small and had never been used before, so Wen Zongji slept very uncomfortable.

Hearing the commotion inside, Changdong pushed open the door and came in, carrying the clothes Wen Zongji was to wear that day: "Young Master, these were just delivered by Miss Qinghe."

Wen Zongji nodded lightly, and after getting dressed, he went to the courtyard to practice his health-preserving boxing as usual.

After a month of boxing, his breathing became noticeably calmer and more sustained.

As expected of the boxing technique recommended by Pei Shirong, it really works.

After finishing his health-preserving boxing, Wen Zongji returned to his study to wash up, with Changdong serving him.

Changdong whispered, "Young master, I heard that the county princess was furious last night and smashed everything she could in the room. The servants swept up a pile of broken pieces."

Wen Zongji was not surprised; Pei Rujing had a bad temper and would throw things at the slightest disagreement.

Luckily, her dowry was generous; otherwise, she might not have had enough money to smash things.

Changdong added, "I specifically asked the grooms at the Marquis's residence, and they did not receive any order from the county magistrate to leave the residence."

As soon as he finished speaking, An Feng walked in carrying the medicinal meal: "Young Master, this is today's medicinal meal."

Changdong's eyes lit up: "Has the county princess calmed down?"

An Feng shook his head: "I heard that Granny Feng instructed the small kitchen to make it."

Wen Zongji glanced at the medicinal food, said nothing, and took it to drink.

He's long past the age of throwing away medicinal cuisine for the sake of saving face or on a whim.

Besides, it's normal for couples to argue, and he didn't intend to have a long-term cold war with Pei Rujing.

What he said last night was merely to let Pei Rujing know his attitude, and at the same time to temper her temperament.

He's a mature man, not one of those young people who break up after a fight.