Chapter 40: Play (1)
Mr. Pei was working in his study when someone knocked on his door. He frowned involuntarily because everyone in his family should know that he was not to be disturbed when he was working unless it was an emergency.
Then, he heard his wife's voice say from outside the door, "Husband, I have something to tell you regarding our daughter's engagement to the son of the Jun family."
When he heard that, the frown on Mr. Pei's face creased even further. He had a bad feeling burgeoning in his heart. He stopped working and called for his wife to come in.
In a passive and even scared tone, his wife relayed to him the news of the broken engagement.
There was nothing more than a twitch on the corner of Mr. Pei's lips when the news was revealed. On the surface, it would appear like he was not affected by the news but as the person who shared the same bed with him, Mrs. Pei knew how deep the man could hide his wrath.
She could not help but worry about the fate of her daughter.
In a steely tone, Mr. Pei ordered, "Go and call for our daughter."
That felt like a death sentence to Mrs. Pei's ears. She tried to beg for mercy on Pei Ling's behalf but she was cut off by her husband, "Do not make me repeat myself."
Mrs. Pei flinched like she was physically slapped by the warning. She cowed in her husband's presence and there was nothing she could do but to obey his order. "Yes, husband." She shuffled out of the study and Mr. Pei did not even raise his head to look at her.
Minutes later, there was another knock on the door. "Come in," Mr. Pei said. Pei Ling strode into the room while Mrs. Pei stood beyond the threshold of the door. She dared not enter the room, the woman knew her place.
Mr. Pei did not lift up his head to address Pei Ling's presence and the girl stood there unfazed like this was the most casual father and daughter meeting in the world. She kept herself entertained by studying the many decorations and accoutrements that her father had inside his study. She knew her father's intention was for her to sweat in his silence reprimand but she was not going to fall for it. Unlike her mother, she was not going to allow herself to be lorded over by her father.
Mr. Pei eventually put his work away and looked up at his daughter. He caught the look of defiance in his daughter's eyes that he took as a challenge. Mr. Pei was incensed because it was a look that he believed only befitted a son, and not a daughter.
Normally, he would have tolerated his daughter's irreverence because she was ultimately his flesh and blood, and when he was in a more permissible mood, he would admit that Pei Ling was quite a qualified heir. If only she was born a boy, then all of his problem would be solved.
But that day, he was just told that the mission he had given her was a failure. The disappointment and shame that he carried within himself and aimed towards the girl transmuted into fury.
Mr. Pei slammed his fist on the table heavily. Even Mrs. Pei who was just outside the study door jumped from the shock but Pei Ling did not even flinch. She looked straight at her father as if daring him to do something worse.
Naturally, that only riled her father up even more. He was not going to suffer challenge from other people, especially females whom he believed should be submissive and obedient.
Mr. Pei's attitude was representative of the traditional chinese views. After all, a son is an investment with a return while a daughter is an investment without a return; a son can inherit the family business but a daughter cannot. A son will marry someone into the family while a daughter will marry out of the family.
"Haven't I told you about the importance of our family forming a relationship with the Jun family? Do you not understand how big the improvement from the union between the two families would bring to my company?" Mr. Pei chuckled mirthlessly, "I should have known a womenfolk such as yourself would not have been able to understand anything related to business."
Actually Pei Ling knew everything about the business that her father talked about. She knew how her engagement to Jun Yang would persuade Mr. Jun to provide more resource to her father's company. She was more business-savvy than her father gave her credit for but Pei Ling did not say anything. She just stood there and allowed her father to rain insults down on her.
"Even if you do not understand the intricacy of the company working, the order that I have given you could not have been simpler. It is to seduce the young master of the Jun family. How can you fail at something as simple as that?
"What use do I have for you if you cannot even get me the seed of the Jun family? I knew I should have forced your mother to go for an abortion when I found out she was carrying a female baby."
That normally would be a verbal insult that shook someone to the core but Pei Ling did not seem affected by it. Her father would always come back to this statement whenever he felt dissatisfied with something she had done. Initially, she would feel the sting of his words but after several times, she got used to it.
"You better pray that the Jun family has not finalized the decision to call off the engagement. Now, leave this place before you remind me again of what an utter failure you are!" Mr. Pei said with finality.
"Of course, father." Pei Ling smiled sweetly like she had just been given a kind lecture by his father instead of a critical one. She left his study.
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