Chapter 85 That good-for-nothing doesn't know how to please Sui Sui

The procession of the three top scholars on horseback began at the palace gate. Pei Duo rode in front, followed by Zhao Zhixue and the second-place scholar. From the palace gate, many people stood on both sides of the street, all watching the grand scene of the three top scholars riding horses in front of the palace.

Today, Kyoto is filled with the sounds of gongs and drums, and the city is bustling with noise.

Zhao Zhixue was not in the midst of this highly anticipated atmosphere. After mounting his horse, he continued to stare at Pei Duo ahead. The young man wore a scarlet court robe, his black hair half tied up and half tied back. No matter the occasion, his shoulders and back remained as tall and straight as ever.

His gaze was fixed on him with hatred.

The young man's word "get lost," spoken in full view of everyone, felt like a slap across his face.

Even now, he still can't quite believe that these words came from Pei Duo's mouth!

If he had previously harbored suspicions about Pei Duo, he felt that Pei Duo was very likely the one who harmed him.

Now, he was certain that the person who harmed him was Pei Duo!

Why did he harm him?

What good would it do him to harm me?!

Zhao Zhixue harbored resentment and thought bitterly, his fingers gripping the reins turning white.

After walking through two streets, when they reached the main street of Kyoto, the sound of gongs and drums echoed from one end of the street to the other. The windows of the private rooms on the second floor of the restaurant were all open. Jiang Ninghui put her hands on the windowsill and looked out at the slowly approaching procession in the distance.

Jiang Ninghui saw Pei Duo walking at the very front.

The young man, dressed in a dark scarlet court robe, stood out among the crowd with his handsome, jade-like face.

He held the reins in one hand, the veins on the back of his hand bulging. His Adam's apple was prominently displayed on his collar. His dark pupils stared coldly ahead. As if sensing her gaze, he lifted his eyelids and looked at her from a distance.

The young man's glance stirred a ripple in Jiang Ninghui's heart.

Her cheeks suddenly felt hot, and she subconsciously wanted to avoid those burning eyes, but then she remembered that she would be leaving soon, and that she might never see Pei Duo again.

Jiang Ninghui did not dodge again.

She smiled at him, her delicate and beautiful face becoming even more gentle and charming with that smile.

Pei Duo stared at the woman's gentle, smiling eyes with almost obsessive fascination.

The horse trotted forward, but his gaze remained fixed on the upper diagonal.

The ears of grain are beautiful.

It's gorgeous.

He was captivated by every aspect of Sui Sui, no matter which one she was.

He still remembered that good-for-nothing saying that Sui Sui was illiterate, pedantic, and dull, and no different from a wooden person in bed. But he never thought that it was not Sui Sui's fault, but that he was just a good-for-nothing who did not know how to please Sui Sui.

When Sui Sui was in his arms, she was like a lotus flower in early summer whenever he aroused her to the point of deep emotion.

Blooming moist.

Let him pick them as he pleases.

Just like last night, she straddled his waist, her snow-white neck arched with emotion, and soft sobs escaped her lips continuously.

His name was constantly being called from those alluring lips.

—Duoge'er, Duoge'er, Duoge'er.

Those sobbing murmurs, like sticky spider webs, burrowed into his ears, clinging tightly to his flesh, and coursing through his boiling, raging blood, desperately seeking a way out.

The flowers in the tassels are extremely beautiful.

The dew of early spring seeped out and dampened his sleeves.

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

All of it was rainwater falling from the ears of grain.

Jiang Ninghui felt extremely shy under Pei Duo's undisguised gaze.

She had no choice but to avoid his gaze, and a faint blush crept onto her beautiful cheeks.

Zhao Zhixue, who had been staring intently at Pei Duo, noticed that he was looking slightly upwards. So, he glanced in the direction Pei Duo was looking, and in that one glance, Zhao Zhixue's eyes widened in disbelief at what he was seeing!

That's—Jiang Ninghui?!

It really looks like her!

Shouldn't she have left Kyoto with the letter of divorce he gave her?

How did they end up in this restaurant?!

He knew best that reserving a private room in this restaurant would cost a lot of money, so how could Jiang Ninghui afford it?

Zhao Zhixue suddenly realized that Jiang Ninghui in front of him was different from before.

She wore gorgeous and bright clothes, and her hair was adorned with a bright and expensive hairpin. Having shed her coarse clothes and simple, plain hairpin, Jiang Ninghui was now stunningly beautiful. A shy smile appeared on her face, and her delicate eyebrows and eyes revealed a ripple of spring.

Zhao Zhixue stared blankly at Pei Duo, then at Jiang Ninghui, as if struck by lightning.

He saw the two of them exchanging glances, and he saw the charming and affectionate look on Jiang Ninghui's face, a side of her that he had never seen before when they were together. He also saw the beaded and gilded begonia hairpin that Jiang Ninghui wore in her hair.

That day, while boating on the lake with Li Fu, he met Pei Duo and the woman he loved.

The hairpin in the woman's hair in Pei Duo's arms was this very hairpin.

He felt that the woman's figure was very familiar that time, but he couldn't remember who she was. Now, after thinking about it carefully, he realized that the woman's figure and height were very similar to Jiang Ninghui!

A thought suddenly arose in his mind—was the person Pei Duo loved the one he had divorced, Jiang Ninghui?!

I recall Pei Duo saying that he also knew the person he admired.

At that time, he racked his brains but couldn't remember who that person was. It turned out that the person was right under his nose!

Following the clues, Zhao Zhixue suddenly remembered that night at the Longchang Lantern Festival, when he and his classmates encountered Pei Duo and that woman on a cruise ship.

At that time, Pei Duo protected her tightly, not letting a single piece of her clothing slip out. It was also that night, when he went back and held Jiang Ninghui in his arms, that he smelled the scent of cedar on her.

And that night, when he rushed back to his Longchang residence from Kyoto, he bumped into Pei Duo holding a woman dressed in a red wedding gown.

That woman was also Jiang Ninghui!

Zhao Zhixue gritted his teeth in hatred, his handsome face showing obvious anger!

What a despicable couple! Playing dirty tricks right under his nose!

It's truly unbelievable that Jiang Ninghui, who seems so pedantic, dull, honest, and timid, would do such a despicable and vile thing behind her husband's back! He underestimated her; she was so good at hiding her emotions that he didn't notice a single clue!

At this moment, Zhao Zhixue finally understood why Pei Duo had treated him this way.

It's all because of that vile woman, Jiang Ninghui!

Whether in Longchang or in the courtyard in the capital, these two must have been having a lot of fun while he was away!

Zhao Zhixue was filled with hatred!

Hatred consumed his reason, causing the veins on his forehead to bulge.

He stared intently at Jiang Ninghui, at the face of the woman he had spent every day with for a year!

When exactly did she and Pei Duo begin their affair?

When in Qingping Town?

Is it still at the Longchang Mansion?

Jiang Ninghui noticed Zhao Zhixue's almost bloodshot gaze. She raised her eyelashes to meet Zhao Zhixue's gloomy, questioning eyes. In fact, she had noticed Zhao Zhixue behind Pei Duo earlier, but she didn't want to see him.

She and he had been married for over a year, but in the end, she received a letter of divorce from him.

Moreover, the letter of divorce left her no room for survival.

He gave her thirty coins and told her to take them back to Hongshan Village.

He never considered whether she could return to Hongshan Village alive with those coins.

When Jiang Ninghui saw the resentment in Zhao Zhixue's eyes, she was startled and her face paled. Unable to hold back, she hurriedly turned her back, afraid that Zhao Zhixue would expose her affair with Pei Duo in front of everyone.

Today is Pei Duo's glorious day of riding through the streets; we must not let him become a laughing stock in the capital.

Even with her back turned, she could still feel those hateful eyes, as if countless sharp blades were stabbing into her.

Jiang Ninghui, pale-faced, squatted down and hid herself under the windowsill.

In this way, Zhao Zhixue could no longer see her.

As the pretty figure disappeared from the windowsill, a chilling, sinister aura emanated from the young man's dark pupils.

He turned around, his dark eyes glancing at Zhao Zhixue.

Zhao Zhixue, who was still looking out the window, caught a glimpse of Pei Duo's gaze out of the corner of his eye. His scalp tingled with fear, and a chill ran down his spine. He had never seen Pei Duo like this before, so when he suddenly saw him, he was stunned and couldn't come to his senses for a long time.

When Zhao Zhixue came to his senses, he realized that his hands were covered in cold sweat.

"You scared Sui Sui."

The young man's voice was clear and cold.

Zhao Zhixue stared in disbelief, unable to comprehend how this adulterer could have the audacity to utter such a statement!

He had an affair with Jiang Ninghui while they were still husband and wife. Shouldn't he be given an explanation?!

He reprimanded him first?!

Zhao Zhixue was trembling with anger. He glanced at the crowded street and then glared at Pei Duo, wanting to take this opportunity to expose Pei Duo's affair with Jiang Ninghui and let the officials and people of the capital see that the newly appointed top scholar was a despicable and shameless person who was having an affair with his wife behind his brother's back!

He wanted to utterly humiliate Pei Duo! He wanted the Emperor to know about the despicable things he had done!

He wanted to make Pei Duo never be able to hold his head up in the capital for the rest of his life!

Just as Zhao Zhixue was about to speak, he suddenly saw Pei Duo point something out to him.

He frowned and looked up, and saw two people standing in the wide-open window of a private room on the second floor not far away.

The two men were being held down by the shoulders by two guards, who were looking at him expectantly, and it was unclear how long they had been watching him.

Zhao Zhixue clenched his fists, glared at Pei Duo, and gritted his teeth, saying, "What right do you have to arrest my parents! What do you want to do?!"

Pei Duo: "It's rare for the two elders to come to the capital, so I'll naturally bring them to see a good show."

A bad feeling suddenly rose in Zhao Zhixue's heart: "What do you mean by that?"

You'll find out soon enough.

The young man left a remark, turned around, and glanced once more at the empty window.

The ears of grain are still there.

He saw a barely visible red hairpin through the window.

Damn it, it scared Sui Sui again.

However, it's alright.

After today, that good-for-nothing will no longer be an eyesore to Sui Sui.

Zhao Zhixue felt extremely uneasy because of Pei Duo's words, and he frequently looked up at his parents through the window.

The two old people looked like they had suffered a lot. Not only were they disheveled and dirty, but their clothes also seemed to be stained with blood. They kept opening their mouths, but their tongues had been cut out, so they couldn't speak. Their howling was drowned out by the loud gongs and drums.

The more Zhao Zhixue looked, the more frightened he became, and his heart trembled with fear. He looked at his brother and friend, with whom he had grown up, with utter unfamiliarity.

"drive!"

Suddenly, the sound of horses being ridden echoed through the bustling street.

A group of imperial guards clad in iron armor rode their horses to block the procession parading through the streets. Immediately, the deafening sound of gongs and drums ceased, and the clamor of the crowd subsided.

The leader shouted, "Quickly bring Zhao Zhixue, who cheated on the imperial examination, to the palace for the Emperor to decide his fate!"

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Author's note: Update before 10 PM tomorrow night~

I'd like to recommend my friend's completed historical romance novel, "When Flowers Bloom and Peace Remains," by Yun Xianfengqing.

Synopsis: Shen Tangning is the legitimate daughter of a fallen marquis's family. Although she is gentle and quiet, and beautiful and charming, she has a bad reputation among the many noble ladies in the capital. When she was fifteen, her uncle arranged a marriage for her with a wealthy family in order to climb the social ladder.

However, an unexpected turn of events led to her consummating her marriage with the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo at a banquet.

Xie Zhan, the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo, is a promising young man with a handsome appearance. He and the granddaughter of the Grand Secretary have been childhood sweethearts and are waiting for her to come of age before they get married.

However, after the news spread, both parties had no choice but to cancel their previous engagements, and the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion sent people to the Marquis of Pingning's mansion to propose marriage.

From the time the marriage proposal was made to the time the wedding date was set, her fiancé Xie Zhan never appeared.

Three months later, a disheartened Shen Tangning, heavily pregnant, hastily married into the Zhenguo Duke's mansion.

On her wedding night, Shen Tangning, holding back her tears, said to her husband who was about to leave coldly after lifting her veil, "Your Highness, rest assured, after I give birth to the child, I will immediately divorce you and will not delay or entangle you any further."

Xie Zhan paused, but left with a cold expression.

-

Xie Zhan married Shen Tangning out of necessity. To him, Shen Tangning was just a stranger, a vain and promiscuous woman, his wife, and even the mother of his child.

He had no feelings for her whatsoever, and if it weren't for the child, he thought he would never have set foot in her yard.

As the baby grew older, Xie Zhan visited her courtyard more and more often, and he discovered that although she was a woman of few words, she was quiet and gentle, and never made things difficult for others.

He held no grudge against her, speaking to her gently and showing her utmost care and consideration…

After some time of cold indifference, Xie Zhan thought that since they already had a child and Shen Tangning was unwilling to divorce, if she could change her bad habits, he could consider continuing to live with her.

Until that night, the Lantern Festival, when the streets were ablaze with lights, he watched as his heavily pregnant wife released a lotus lantern by the river, her beautiful eyes gentle and devout.

After his wife left, Xie Zhan inexplicably retrieved the lotus lantern, but the name written on the lantern was not his at all—

"Brother Zhongyun, may you enjoy a long and healthy life."

Zhongyun, the courtesy name of her ex-fiancé.

Xie Zhan tore the lotus lantern in his hand to pieces.