Chapter 147 We are half-siblings

Xue Gang coughed, put one hand on the table, and asked in a mischievous and ambiguous tone, "What are you thinking about?"

Pei Xingju raised his eyelashes, and the tenderness in his eyes disappeared, replaced by a cold expression: "What's the matter?"

"You guessed right. The people of Hezhou are in a panic because of the incident in Liuli City." Xue Gang stepped back and sat back in his chair. "Now your identity can no longer be concealed. They know you came to Hezhou."

Pei Xingju had already expected this and didn't take it seriously.

"How did you get back yesterday?" Pei Xingju asked.

Xue Gang's eyes flashed with surprise.

Pei Xingju: "What's wrong?"

"You seem..." Xue Gang smiled, "You seem to be more humane."

He said, "If it were before, you wouldn't care about these things. Are you asking if anyone is injured? Don't worry, although Liang Jinxian has two masters, Xizhu and Xichang, by his side, they are not as well prepared as us. Lü Huaihe, Jingzhe and I are more than enough to deal with it."

"It was Liang Jinxian who took a blow from my sword and went back with a gloomy face. I guess Shen Zongji is having a hard time."

"Have you heard any other news?"

Xue Gang nodded. "Liang Jinxian has detained Miss Ningyan, the top performer at Zuishenglou, to threaten Shen Zongji. Shen Zongji is cunning, and Liang Jinxian is ambitious. Miss Ningyan's situation is worrying."

Upon hearing this, Pei Xingju remained silent and pondered.

After looking at him for a while, Xue Gang tutted his words: "Why, you feel sorry for the beauty?"

Pei Xingju didn't bother to pay attention to him. After a while, he opened another document and said, "I understand. You can go back and rest. I have something else for you to do tomorrow."

Hearing this, Xue Gang did not hesitate. He had fought for half the night and rushed all the way to Luyang. He was already very tired, so he left immediately.

Pei Xingju processed several more documents and suddenly felt a headache coming on. He rubbed his forehead, his gaze lingering for a moment at the doorway. Not seeing the figure, he felt inexplicably irritated.

After a moment, he asked, "What is Zhuang Wan doing?"

The guard came in hurriedly to report: "Sir, I don't know what Miss Zhuang is doing. According to Lixia, Miss Zhuang has locked herself in the room for most of the day and refused to be disturbed."

Pei Xingju breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that Zhuang Wan was still sleeping, so he didn't ask any more questions.

However, not long after, a light purple figure suddenly appeared in his peripheral vision.

He suddenly raised his eyes and found Zhuang Wan standing at the door, hesitating.

"Why don't you come in?" He suppressed the joy in his heart and was secretly surprised that he missed her so much after not seeing her for only half a day.

Zhuang Wan said, "I see you're busy, so I don't want to disturb you."

Pei Xingju smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to be such a reasonable person."

Zhuang Wan glared at him. "Was I unreasonable before? I'm the most reasonable person in the world. I only argue with others when they're wrong."

"Really?" Pei Xingju curled his lips. Noticing that she seemed to have something hidden behind her, he asked, "What is it?"

Zhuang Wan walked in, sauntered over to the table, and handed him the written business plan. "Well...about that seafood snack business I told you about earlier, I've got a new idea."

Pei Xingju sat up straight: "Tell me about it."

"Well... these days I've seen a lot of prosperity in Liuli City and the thriving business community. I'm thinking of trying to sell my products in Luyang first. Based on customer feedback, I can select high-quality products and start production. Liuli City has a lot of merchants, right? Then I can take my seafood snacks to attract investment..."

She stood at the table, talking about her plan attentively and seriously, with the bright autumn sun behind her.

Pei Xingju looked at her steadily, with a hint of admiration in his eyes.

She was no delicate young lady; she was clever, cunning, and extremely perceptive. She had endured the shattering of her family and the loss of her loved ones, yet she remained undeterred. Even in danger, she remained calm and composed. A woman like her should not be confined to the inner chambers of the boudoir.

Here, after Zhuang Wan finished explaining her plan, she cautiously asked, "What do you think? Is there anything wrong with it?"

Pei Xingju didn't actually listen carefully. He nodded and said, "This is an excellent plan. Let's do as you say."

Zhuang Wan was delighted: "If you agree, I'll go draft the contract."

"Contract?"

"Oh, it's the contract for our business cooperation."

Zhuang Wan continued, "Signing the contract is the first step towards a successful partnership. The second step... I have to find a suitable shop."

"Okay, as you say." Pei Xingju nodded with a smile, and then said, "I'll go with you when we go to find a shop."

"Eh?" Zhuang Wan was surprised. "Aren't you busy?"

But Pei Xingju said, "I'm not busy. Business is more important. When are you going?"

"Early tomorrow morning."

"Okay, let's go out early tomorrow morning."

Pei Xingju also wanted to participate in such a small matter as finding a shop. At first, Zhuang Wan wondered why he was so idle, but she soon understood why he was so idle.

Because many officials and a group of soldiers came from Luyang.

.

Pei Xingju's sudden appearance in Hezhou could no longer be concealed, so he simply revealed his identity as an imperial envoy.

This news struck like thunder across Hezhou, sending tremors through the city's officials. Some eagerly approached, while others remained on the sidelines. Regardless, Pei Xingju's sudden appearance in Luyang County, Hezhou, had startled the locals.

Pei Xingju also dispatched a garrison from somewhere and stationed them outside Luyang City. One purpose was to intimidate Hezhou and show the emperor's determination to rectify Hezhou, and the other was to protect his own safety.

Liang Jinxian would never let go of the Liuli City incident. To avoid any accidents, Pei Xingju selected a team from the garrison to patrol Lihua Lane.

The people in Lihua Lane were stunned.

Aunt Liu was stealthily talking to Zhuang Wan at the door.

"My goodness, you actually married a high-ranking official."

"......Not married yet."

"When will you marry?"

"......." Zhuang Wan slapped him in the face after saying the wrong thing: "Master Pei and I are not what you think. We are not talking about marriage."

Aunt Liu looked at him strangely. "Why are you young people so weird? You've already kissed, but you're not talking about marriage? Could it be that he already has a wife at home?"

“........”

Zhuang Wan was speechless. How on earth had the neighbors in Lihua Lane spread this rumor? How did they kiss? How could she not know when they kissed?

Aunt Liu had a look on her face that said, "Don't hide it from me," and she said, "We all know what happened to you in the carriage early that morning."

Zhuang Wan was dumbfounded: "Know what?"

"You guys..." She looked ambiguous and embarrassed, and finally raised her two index fingers: "You've all become like this, what I saw with my own eyes can't be fake?"

"That..." Actually, she just fell accidentally because her feet were numb. Do you believe it?

Knowing that they would definitely not believe it, Zhuang Wan was too lazy to explain and simply brought out the identity she had used to make jokes in Zui Xiang Lou.

"Aunt Liu, it's not what you think. It's not like that at all. Master Pei and I are actually..." She leaned over: "We are half-siblings with the same mother."

"Ah!" Aunt Liu was surprised.