Chapter 140 Damn! He was so happy (Part 2)

However, Zhuang Wan was not finished yet. After scolding Pei Xingju, she pointed at Liu Ningyan behind Pei Xingju.

"You vixen, you appear to be so kind and affectionate with me on weekdays, yet you're secretly flirting with my man." She rolled up her sleeves: "Great! I'll tear you, vixen, into pieces!"

As she said this, she was about to step forward, and Liu Ningyan kept dodging.

In the other room, Shen Zongji was frightened and quickly signaled for someone to come in and separate the two.

The maids rushed in, each grabbing a side of Zhuang Wan and saying, "Miss Ruyi, calm down! This is unacceptable!"

"Let me go! I'm going to kill them both!"

Pei Xingju: “…”

He was helpless for a moment, knowing that tonight's events were over. He simply stepped forward and picked the man up: "Stop making trouble, I'll go back with you."

After saying this, he coaxed, deceived, dragged and carried the person away.

.

Pei Xingju carried Zhuang Wan straight into the side room. The maidservant wanted to follow her in to light the lamp, but Pei Xingju raised his hand and chased her out.

The maid was stunned for a moment, then lowered her head and walked away.

Zhuang Wan was unaware of the situation and was still immersed in the play she had just performed. "Why won't you let me finish? I'm really enjoying it."

When she looked up, she saw Pei Xingju staring at her with a smile.

The lights were unlit, and the cool moonlight streamed through the threshold, casting a brilliant white shadow. At that moment, the two stood in the shadows, as if lurking there with the intention of committing some sinister act.

The atmosphere is somewhat ambiguous.

Pei Xingju's handsome eyebrows and eyes were hidden in the night, and his dark eyes seemed to be brewing a deep pool.

Zhuang Wan was stunned for a moment and turned away uncomfortably.

"What are you laughing at?" she asked.

Pei Xingju said nothing and continued to look at her.

Zhuang Wan muttered, "If I make such a scene today, it will definitely be spread everywhere tomorrow. My reputation has been damaged because of you, so you should at least pay me more, right?"

Pei Xingju couldn't help laughing and raised his eyebrows: "Are you asking for a higher price?"

"That's right! I'm asking for the price. Will you give it to me or not?"

After she finished speaking, he suddenly touched her ear.

He tucked the hair that fell from his forehead behind his ear and gently brushed his ear with his fingers.

It feels a little itchy, and it seems...it even itches my heart.

And I heard him say, "I'll give it to you. It's up to you how much you want."

When she met his gaze, Zhuang Wan's heart skipped a beat!

She quickly escaped from the shadows and walked to the table to pour tea, pretending to be calm.

Damn! I was seduced by him again like a domineering CEO.

.

Zhuang Wan had expected such a commotion tonight to lead to widespread gossip tomorrow. However, upon waking up the next day, she heard everyone discussing another piece of news.

Someone died in the City Lord's Mansion again. This time, it was not someone else, but Mr. Chen, with whom Pei Xingju had said he would drink until dawn yesterday.

Zhuang Wan had also met this Second Master Chen a few times; he lived in the courtyard next to theirs. He was said to be from Qingzhou, a cheerful and enthusiastic person. He had shared a couple of drinks with Pei Xingju at the banquet, so he was considered to be quite close to Pei Xingju.

"How did he die?" Zhuang Wan was surprised.

"It's evil."

"Haunted?"

Pei Xingju nodded. "That's what the City Lord's Mansion people said. According to the cleaning servant, when he walked into the yard early in the morning, he saw Master Chen banging his head against the pillar repeatedly, like he was crazy."

Zhuang Wan was puzzled: "But I saw him in broad daylight yesterday and he was fine."

Pei Xingju smiled and said, "Do you believe it?"

Zhuang Wan shook her head, of course not believing it: "But why did he hit his head against the pillar?"

"There's a drug called iris. Just half a spoonful can drive a person insane, bring back childhood trauma, and ultimately destroy their life's ambitions and hasten their death."

"So strong?" Sounds like a modern-day psychedelic drug.

She asked again, "How do you know that Mr. Chen died from taking this medicine?"

Pei Xingju said, "The cleaning servants said that if Master Chen banged his head against the pillar and cried out for help, he would obey. I think this must be an experience he had as a child."

Zhuang Wan understood. It wasn't just beatings and scoldings; it was probably domestic violence as a child. She hadn't expected that someone as cheerful as Mr. Chen Erye had experienced something like this as a child.

Pei Xingju continued, "I just went to his room to check, and found this in the tea."

He spread his hands.

"What's this?"

"It's Iris."

Zhuang Wan was shocked. "So, someone deliberately killed him? Who was it?"

Pei Xingju remained silent, but Zhuang Wan understood the answer from his eyes.

It was Shen Zongji.

Thinking about the three people who had died in the past two days, all of whom had died under strange circumstances, she was horrified: "Why would Shen Zongji kill them? These people are not unknown people. They are wealthy businessmen from all over the country. They have large families and businesses, and some of them have connections in the court. How could Shen Zongji dare?"

"What if Shen Zongji was entrusted by someone?" Pei Xingju fiddled with the chessboard slowly.

"Entrusted by someone? How do you say that?"

"You could say they were entrusted with this, or you could say it was a joint effort," Pei Xingju said. "The three men who died were all eldest sons, and there was a fierce dispute between brothers over the inheritance. More importantly, all three of them had shipping businesses under their belts."

"I can understand brothers fighting over the family property, but what does it have to do with shipping business?" Zhuang Wan asked.

Pei Xingju slowly stopped.

This was also what he found strange. If he was right, Shen Zongji had already reached an agreement with the deceased's brothers: if the man died here, the vast estate would pass into their hands. Furthermore, if the man died in Liuli City, which was not under the jurisdiction of the government, there would be no recourse; dead was dead. Shen Zongji could still get the promised benefit: the shipping business.

Of these three, the shipping business of Master Chen's family was the most prosperous, with their merchant ships dominating almost all of the waterways in the southwest. With such lucrative shipping business, it was no surprise that Shen Zongji took a fancy to it.

However, he always felt that Shen Zongji's purpose would not be so simple.

He, or the person behind him, seems to be planning something bigger.

While Hezhou may appear calm, it's actually fraught with turmoil. Hezhou officials are deceiving citizens into offering sacrifices to the goddess Ciguang, using this as a means of enriching themselves. Who is behind this? Where is such a huge sum of money being circulated?

I originally thought that this was just a case of corruption in which people set up taxes under false pretenses, but after arriving in Hezhou, I felt that things were becoming more and more suspicious.

He pondered for a while, and suddenly heard someone crying outside.

Zhuang Wan listened carefully for a moment, then stood up and went to the window. She saw someone wandering madly through the corridors, crying as they went. This person looked familiar; it was one of the guests who had recently entered the mansion.

"What's wrong with him?" Zhuang Wan turned and asked Pei Xingju.

Pei Xingju also came to the window, glanced outside, and said, "I guess he can't bear it anymore."

People were dying here one after another, yet Shen Zongji was holding banquets and enjoying peace and prosperity, while at the same time, he was wielding a knife and committing ruthless violence. The entire mansion was like a bloody cage, and no one could escape, only waiting for the knife to fall on their necks.

Fear spread, and they suffered like lambs to be slaughtered, and it was inevitable that some of them would go crazy.

After a moment, Pei Xingju suddenly asked Zhuang Wan, "Are you afraid?"

Zhuang Wan was stunned.

She had never thought about this question. Except for being afraid of seeing dead people before, she had never been afraid of Shen Zongji.

Perhaps, subconsciously, she knew that Pei Xingju was the male protagonist, that he was invincible and unrivaled. Therefore, she was not worried.

She shook her head: "No, Shen Zongji can't beat you."

Pei Xingju was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

He pinched her cheek: "Do you trust me so much?"

“…”

Damn it! He actually felt good after just saying that.