Chapter 38 Chapter 38 What is your true self?

Pei Zichen woke up when the sun was already high in the sky.

He had never slept so late before. He lay in bed with a groggy head. Vaguely remembering what happened last night, he sat up suddenly in shock.

What does he do?

He actually... actually hugged Jiang Zhaoxue, and used his spiritual power to send his emotions to Jiang Zhaoxue, wanting to "share" them with her?

He knew exactly what was going to happen, he...

Pei Zichen was so flustered that he was afraid to go out for a moment.

However, the panic lasted only a moment before he heard the laughter of Jiang Zhaoxue, Qian Sisi, Ye Tianjiao, and Li Xiuji coming from outside. Pei Zichen was stunned for a moment before hearing Jiang Zhaoxue shout, "Pei Zichen, come out when you wake up. Don't stay in there."

Pei Zichen didn't dare to stay after hearing this, knowing that Jiang Zhaoxue had heard that he had woken up. He quickly washed and changed his clothes, then pushed the door and walked out.

After going out, he saw four people sitting at a table playing mahjong.

Li Xiuji was not even as tall as the table, so he put several books under his stool to make it level with the table. But he looked well-behaved and was trying hard to think like an adult.

Jiang Zhaoxue was quite casual, sitting with her legs crossed, one hand resting on her lap while the other tapped a card on the table. When Pei Zichen came out, she didn't even look at him. She just said, "We had lunch with Young Master Ye this morning. Go eat first. Tianjiao has already sent someone to get information. You can rest for the day."

Jiang Zhaoxue had arranged everything in just a few words, looking calm, as if nothing had happened last night.

Pei Zichen listened to her words, and the panic he had felt when he woke up in the morning slowly subsided. He looked at the woman bathing in the sun, and couldn't help but smile. He said respectfully, "Yes, my lady, please play first."

As he said that, he went to eat first. As soon as he left, Ye Tianjiao came over and asked hurriedly, "Sister, what did you do to him?"

"What's wrong?" Jiang Zhaoxue was surprised.

Qian Sisi tapped her cards and said nonchalantly, "He smiled as if he had just been slept with. Did you sleep with him last night?"

"If you say one more word of nonsense, I will make you leave today without even having your pants left."

Jiang Zhaoxue glanced at her, and Qian Sisi took a breath. Thinking of her performance this morning, she hurriedly said, "I was wrong. I was slept with. I won't talk nonsense again."

Jiang Zhaoxue snorted coldly, played a card, and said to Ye Tianjiao: "You chatted with me for a while last night and I'm in a good mood."

"He must be in a good mood to be able to chat with you." Ye Tianjiao thought for a moment and said, "I'm in a good mood too!"

Jiang Zhaoxue was amused by him and urged him to play a card. She secretly glanced at Pei Zichen who was sitting in the dining room. The young man was obviously different from usual, and his aura was much gentler and brighter.

Jiang Zhaoxue lowered his eyes to hide the smile in his eyes and continued playing cards with everyone.

After fighting for a while, Pei Zichen finished eating and returned to Jiang Zhaoxue.

Seeing him come back, Jiang Zhaoxue raised her chin towards Li Xiuji and said, "Go and change this kid."

"No!" Li Xiuji immediately protested when he heard Jiang Zhaoxue wanted to replace him. "I was fighting well, wasn't I? It's not like I can't fight, why are you giving it back to me?!"

Jiang Zhaoxue paused when she heard this. She had to admit that although Li Xiuzhi was young, he was very smart and could learn to play Mahjong quickly. There was really no reason for her to replace him.

But Pei Zichen standing there, she felt a little guilty, turned around to look at Pei Zichen, and saw Pei Zichen smiled and said: "Lady, I'll just watch you fight."

"Look, my brother said so!"

Li Xiuji heard this and played his cards aggressively, looking at Jiang Zhaoxue angrily: "I won't leave!"

"Okay, okay," Jiang Zhaoxue calmed down when she saw Pei Zichen had no objection. She yawned and said, "Hit me if you want."

The group was playing mahjong lazily. Pei Zichen stood behind Jiang Zhaoxue, shielding her with his shadow to prevent the sun from being too harsh.

Jiang Zhaoxue sat in his shadow. She couldn't see anything and could only know her cards by touch, but she played very well, leaving Qian Sisi and Ye Tianjiao with no way out.

While everyone was playing cards, Qian Sisi asked Jiang Zhaoxue, "What did you say when you went to see the mermaid this morning?"

"I don't know anything," Jiang Zhaoxue responded after thinking about the results of this morning's interrogation. "He said he jumped into the water during the chaos and suddenly appeared in your sack. I guess he happened to be by the water when you ran away. Lingxu Fan might have been trading for something nearby and exchanged him."

"Oh," Qian Sisi nodded and asked curiously, "Where is that person?"

"He's seriously injured. I'm sending him to the hospital." Ye Tianjiao said casually, "Those people are really not human. He has many wounds on his body."

Thinking of what they saw in Taotie Tower last night, Qian Sisi and Jiang Zhaoxue couldn't help but fall silent for a moment.

After a moment, Jiang Zhaoxue couldn't help but ask, "How could there be such a thing as Taotie Tower..."

"It's too much." Qian Sisi said in a light tone, "A Taotie Building requires a lot of supplies to support it. Think about where the supplies come from. This is the capital, so it's considered good. You can go to the border and take a look."

"Border?" Ye Tianjiao looked over curiously, "Have you been to the border?"

"Where haven't I been?" Qian Sisi chuckled. "A Jianghu killer like me has been to many places."

"Then," Pei Zichen listened, standing behind Jiang Zhaoxue, and asked curiously, "The mermaid didn't say anything. What should we do now?"

"Wait." Jiang Zhaoxue played a card and said calmly, "Song Wuya is a prince. Entering the Taotie Tower must have a result. Young Master Ye has already gone to court. When he comes back, we will know where Song Wuya is. Then we can go look for him."

The group played mahjong while waiting for Ye Wenzhi. In the afternoon, Ye Wenzhi came home for dinner. When Jiang Zhaoxue heard that Ye Wenzhi had returned, she immediately went to greet him with a smile on her face and said happily, "Hurry up, go pick up the eldest master!"

As she spoke, Qian Sisi quickly supported Jiang Zhaoxue, and the two of them trotted towards the door. Qian Sisi lowered her voice and asked, "You're still talking about this Hanlin Academy. Will they become prime ministers in the future?"

"That's right." Jiang Zhaoxue said in a low voice, "If you support him well, he will have a bright future!"

When Qian Sisi heard this, she immediately became excited. When Ye Wenzhi came in, she and Jiang Zhaoxue went to greet him in a gorgeous manner: "Master Ye~~"

Ye Wenzhi was startled by the two women rushing towards him. When he saw Jiang Zhaoxue, he finally reacted and quickly saluted, "Master Jiang."

Then he greeted Qian Sisi: "Miss Qian."

"Young Master Ye is back."

Jiang Zhaoxue tried to take Ye Wenzhi's official hat. Ye Wenzhi was amused by her and handed the hat to a servant beside him. Knowing what Jiang Zhaoxue wanted to ask, he walked in with Jiang Zhaoxue and said gently, "Master Jiang, you have been waiting for a long time."

"Not long, not long." Jiang Zhaoxue waved her hand quickly, "I'm willing to wait for you for as long as it takes."

After all, this was a great benefactor who had bestowed merit upon her for seven lifetimes, so she had to treat him better.

Ye Wenzhi pursed his lips and smiled softly when he heard this, then raised his hand and said, "Please."

The group went to the dining room. Jiang Zhaoxue was supported and sat next to Ye Wenzhi. Pei Zichen sat next to Jiang Zhaoxue and served her food.

Ye Wenzhi sat down and waited for the dishes to be served before sending the servants away. Jiang Zhaoxue tactfully set up a barrier and hurriedly asked, "Master Ye, what do you want to say to the emperor today?"

"As Jiang Xianshi expected," Ye Wenzhi said seriously, his expression becoming serious. "The Tianji Academy has identified the Third Prince as someone who was captured at the Taotie Feast last night. They suspect that the Third Prince is the owner of the Taotie Tower."

Upon hearing this, everyone except Jiang Zhaoxue and Pei Zichen was stunned.

Qian Sisi looked bewildered: "What's going on? Is Tianjiyuan blind?"

"It's not that the Tianji Academy is blind," Jiang Zhaoxue smiled. "When the two princes are fighting, the Tianji Academy will naturally choose a good tree to roost. Song Wuya has entered the game, and there are only three possible outcomes. Either he captures the prince and uses this as an excuse to overthrow him; or he is assassinated in Taotie Tower. The other is..."

Jiang Zhaoxue knocked on the table and thought, "The Tianji Court was the bait that the prince deliberately gave to Song Wuya. Even if Song Wuya didn't die when he appeared in Taotie Tower, as long as the Tianji Court insisted that Song Wuya was captured, he wouldn't be able to explain it clearly. Forget about identifying him as a serious criminal in Taotie Tower now. Even if they didn't accuse him of anything, his appearance in Taotie Tower would ruin his reputation. But why would the Tianji Court help the prince?"

"The Tianji Academy believes in destiny," Pei Zichen explained. "Whoever possesses the true dragon energy will be the next monarch, and they will support him no matter what he does."

"Oh." Jiang Zhaoxue nodded, understanding. "Then it seems that the one with dragon energy is the prince?"

"Not entirely." Pei Zichen frowned slightly, "When I met the Third Prince before, he seemed to have the same..."

Jiang Zhaoxue was a little surprised by this, but after thinking about it, she said, "It doesn't matter. I'll know when I see it."

Ye Wenzhi listened to their words with a slightly gloomy expression.

Jiang Zhaoxue sensed Ye Wenzhi's mood and quickly turned around, asking considerately, "Why are you so sad, Master Ye?"

"The Crown Prince has no moral integrity," Ye Wenzhi sighed as he listened. "If the true dragon energy truly resides in the Crown Prince, I'm afraid... the fate of the Great Xia nation will be over."

"Brother, shut up!" Ye Tianjiao was shocked when he heard it, and said quickly, "How dare you say such a thing? I don't even dare to say it!"

Ye Wenzhi looked at his silly brother helplessly, thought for a moment, then turned to Jiang Zhaoxue and said, "Master Jiang, if there's a chance, I still hope you can save the Third Prince and see how he..."

Ye Wenzhi was still hoping: "Is it a real dragon?"

"Don't worry." Jiang Zhaoxue thought, "As for him, I will definitely go to see him. Now there is only one problem."

"Where is he?" Qian Sisi went straight to the point.

"The Heavenly Prison." Ye Wenzhi said worriedly, thinking, "Now this old minister is thinking of a way. Your Majesty should lock him up in the Heavenly Prison and let the Tianjiyuan guard him."

"Heavenly Prison..."

Jiang Zhaoxue pondered, tapping the table. "The Heavenly Prison is guarded by the Bi'an divine beast, and is also under the watchful eye of the Tianji Academy. Moreover, Shen Yuqing will definitely be keeping an eye on Song Wuya. It won't be easy to meet Song Wuya."

"Tianji Academy won't closely guard such nobles. They are usually kept in separate rooms, and the disciples guarding them are generally only at the Jindan stage. As long as the lady can directly enter the room and activate the Mountain and River Bell barrier, she won't be discovered."

Pei Zichen was thinking.

Jiang Zhaoxue also pondered: "The Bi'an divine beast also needs to rest. If someone can cooperate with me inside and outside and put the magic circle I gave me into the sky prison, I can find a way to make it sleep for a while. The biggest danger is actually Shen Yuqing..."

"That's right," Qian Sisi said with lingering fear as she thought of the sword energy in the forest, "Your ex-husband is too terrifying. If you get rid of him, he would know even the slightest fly."

"Then..." Ye Tianjiao thought, "How do we get rid of him?"

Jiang Zhaoxue thought for a moment, then looked up at Ye Wenzhi: "Master Ye, does anyone else have someone in the prison?"

"I can arrange it, but... what does Master Jiang want to do?"

"I will give you a magic circle drawn on paper. Your people will put the magic circle on themselves and place it in the four directions of the prison: east, south, west and north. After that, I will activate the magic circle and see if I can make Bi'an fall asleep. As long as Bi'an falls asleep and Shen Yuqing is not around, the Jindan-stage disciples of Tianji Academy will not be able to stop me."

"I understand." Ye Wenzhi listened and nodded. "It's a small matter. But my people take turns to be in charge every seven days. His next shift as supervisor will be in three days."

Three days later...

Jiang Zhaoxue listened and suddenly realized that the time after midnight three days later would be the time when her fire poison would flare up.

But if everything goes well, she can deal with Song Wuya during the day and the fire poison at night, which is not a big deal.

"Then three days from now." Jiang Zhaoxue pondered. "Three days from now, we'll start at the hour of Xu. Young Master Ye's men will take the formation inside, and the others will be responsible for luring Shen Yuqing away. I'll go into the Heavenly Prison myself and set up a formation in Song Wuya's prison to block the Bi'an. We'll work out what to do after that..."

"You put it very well," Qian Sisi thought for a moment, then said, "But how do we attract Shen Yuqing?!"

"There are two ways. First, start with Mu Jinyue."

"I'm afraid I can't get off." Qian Sisi pondered, "I stabbed Mu Jinyue last time. I guess he has to tie her to his belt and take her with him wherever he goes."

"You don't understand, Zichen," Jiang Zhaoxue looked up at Pei Zichen and said seriously, "It's time to use you. Is Mu Jinyue still on your voice transmission jade token?"

Pei Zichen was stunned for a moment, suddenly feeling a little uneasy, and replied inexplicably: "I... I forgot to delete..."

"That's good."

Jiang Zhaoxue immediately said, "When the time comes, use the sound transmission jade token to call Mu Jinyue and lure her out quietly. If she comes with Shen Yuqing, you run away. If she comes alone, kidnap her, force Shen Yuqing to come over, and then run away."

"Can you get away?"

Qian Sisi was puzzled.

"I'll give you a mirror formation. Zichen will be inside the formation, and you can play hide-and-seek with him in space. Unless he breaks the formation with one sword, he'll have to fight you for a while."

"What if he breaks it with one sword?"

Ye Tianjiao came over, also curious.

Jiang Zhaoxue sighed, "I'll set up a transfer array at the center of the magic circle I gave you. If you can take something from Mu Jinyue and place it in the center of the array at the beginning, the magic circle will be connected to Mu Jinyue. If Shen Yuqing violently destroys the magic circle, Mu Jinyue will be seriously injured."

"Great!" Qian Sisi clapped her hands. "Look at the way he takes that little disciple everywhere he goes. He definitely wouldn't dare."

"During this time, Sisi and Ye Er both wore my clothes and pretended to be me, sneaking him around in the formation to distract him and try to delay him from finding the center of the formation."

"good!"

Everyone agreed, and Qian Sisi suddenly remembered: "But what if Mu Jinyue doesn't come?"

"Don't worry." Jiang Zhaoxue gave Pei Zichen a meaningful look and said with a smile, "She will definitely come."

Pei Zichen was stunned when he heard this, not understanding what Jiang Zhaoxue said: "Madam?"

"You'll know later. Okay, it's settled then." Jiang Zhaoxue clapped her hands. "Everyone, eat and drink well these next few days. Come, let's raise our glasses and toast to Young Master Ye Da and Young Master Ye Er for taking us in!"

"cheers!"

Ye Tianjiao raised his glass happily and everyone took a sip.

After drinking, everyone had a lively meal and then went their separate ways.

Jiang Zhaoxue then took Pei Zichen and Li Xiuji back to their courtyard. Seeing Pei Zichen was silent along the way, Jiang Zhaoxue felt a little strange: "Why, aren't you happy?"

Pei Zichen subconsciously wanted to say "No" out loud, but when he saw Jiang Zhaoxue's smiling eyes, he hesitated for a moment, and finally told the truth: "I feel that Master's Wife likes Young Master Ye very much."

"Of course I like it!"

Jiang Zhaoxue spoke decisively, and Pei Zichen was speechless for a moment.

Jiang Zhaoxue recalled the moment when his body was filled with the merits of seven lifetimes, and said happily, "He gave me all the merits of seven lifetimes. There is no better, kinder person than him!"

Hearing this, Pei Zichen was stunned, and then realized: "Master's wife likes him because he gave her seven lifetimes of merit?"

"What else?"

Jiang Zhaoxue was puzzled. "What do I want from him? He likes Zhuang Yan and even slept with her. It's fine if I didn't know, but now I know everything. If he still likes her, wouldn't it make me sick just thinking about it?"

Jiang Zhaoxue turned around and said, "It's enough to suffer a loss once. I'm not sick. If I have a choice, do I have to find someone who has someone in his heart?"

"Master's wife is right." Pei Zichen followed Jiang Zhaoxue and lowered his eyes. "If Master's wife wants to like someone, she should like someone who is devoted and devoted."

"But it's too early to talk about this now." Jiang Zhaoxue said seriously, "The most important thing now is to raise you up, raise you well, and raise you into a good and upright person."

"It's convenient for slaughtering."

Anan's voice suddenly rang in Jiang Zhaoxue's mind, and Jiang Zhaoxue cursed fiercely, "Shut up and don't spoil the fun!"

"Master's Wife," Pei Zichen smiled when he heard this, "Then Master's Wife, will you always stay with me until I meet someone I like?"

"Accompany!" Jiang Zhaoxue said decisively, "Now let's go buy something for you."

"What are you buying?"

"A hair crown." Jiang Zhaoxue thought as she pulled Li Xiuji and Pei Zichen out. "I've been busy getting you a crown when you came of age. I've been busy all day, so I'll take advantage of the free time these two days and order one for you. Let's finish this job."

Jiang Zhaoxue turned around and looked at him with a smile: "I will crown you."

Hearing this, Pei Zichen stared at the woman in front of him in a daze.

His heart was filled with emotion. Seeing Jiang Zhaoxue putting on the magic weapon for disguise, he couldn't help but reach out and gently hold her.

Jiang Zhaoxue turned around to look at him, and Pei Zichen realized what he had done.

He lowered his eyes and pretended to be calm: "Master's wife, I will take you away."

"What else?" Jiang Zhaoxue was surprised. Whenever they went out, he always held her and Li Xiuji's hand, so that she could see things more easily and it could also better disguise themselves as a family of three.

Pei Zichen smiled softly after hearing her words.

He walked along the road with Jiang Zhaoxue and Li Xiuji, his heart filled with the sun. He watched Jiang Zhaoxue choose a hair crown for him, thinking about the time to come, and whispered, "Master's Wife, where are we going with the Lingxu Fan?"

"We'll go wherever the light-tracing mirror tells us to go."

"What if there's nowhere to go?"

"Then go wherever you want to go."

The two of them casually discussed where to go, and Pei Zichen was quite happy.

When Pei Zichen came back from getting his hair crown fixed, and turned off the lights and went to bed at night, Yuan Luogong finally couldn't help but ask, "Hey, kid, you're already asleep?"

"What else?"

"You absorbed my power!" Yuan Luogong said anxiously, "You absorbed it but didn't refine it? Aren't you going to practice?"

"It's just an emergency, why practice?"

"You..." Yuan Luogong's eyes widened, "Are you kidding me?!"

Pei Zichen remained silent, Yuan Luogong was bewildered: "No, don't you want power?"

"I don't want my master's wife to be afraid of me."

"But you can't win against your master like this!" Yuan Luogong said excitedly, "What can a useless person like you do?"

Pei Zichen paused, then said, "Why should I compete with Master?"

"What if Jiang Zhaoxue runs away with Shen Yuqing?"

"Master's wife said," Pei Zichen said in a gentle tone, especially soft when thinking about the future, "she will always be with me."

"That's because your master wanted to kill you, so she had to take you and run away. What if your master didn't want to kill you? When you go back, do you think you'll still have the good life of riding cranes, drinking, and holding hands like you do now? You probably won't even see her!"

Just like in the past when he was in Lingjian Xian Pavilion, he had to report to each level when he went to Yunfu Mountain, and finally stood outside her hall, kneeling respectfully to pass on Shen Yuqing's message.

The ordinary time in the past suddenly became extremely terrifying after hearing Yuan Luogong's words.

He didn't want to think too much, so he just closed his eyes, turned over and said, "I am a person abandoned by heaven. How can the Book of Destiny change it just like that? Master will not let me go until my fate is changed. You don't need to say more. Thank you for helping me save Master's Wife, but I don't know how to practice your skills."

"Why?" Yuan Luogong couldn't understand.

Pei Zichen responded calmly: "Your technique can easily lead people to indulge their desires, killing indiscriminately, and becoming obsessed with lust. Practicing this technique can easily harm others."

"But if you can stick to your heart..."

"Why should the safety of others become the stone that tempers my character?" Pei Zichen asked firmly.

Yuan Luogong was speechless for a moment. After a moment, he burst into laughter: "Okay, okay, you are indeed the one I want! With your personality, you are the perfect match!"

Pei Zichen remained silent, and Yuan Luogong didn't force him. He simply smiled and said, "Don't worry, you're not as innocent as you think. You'll need my help in the future. Pei Zichen," Yuan Luogong leaned close to his ear and whispered, "you know better than anyone what kind of person you are."

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