Chapter 121 Dowry Knife

Liu Yueli's voice was choked with sobs, but she managed to maintain it. "Auntie had good intentions and just wanted to do the job. She just thought those things would be useless if they were just sitting there. She never expected that they were actually Sister Luo's..."

She took a deep breath, raised her tear-stained face, and looked at Luo Zhaohan with great sincerity and even a bit of anxiety: "Sister! All the mistakes are due to our Liu family's failure to discipline our servants, which allowed Auntie to act without restraint! I am here to apologize on behalf of the Liu family, Auntie, sister, and the Luo family!"

As he said this, he actually knelt down to salute again.

"That's enough!" Luo Zhaohan interrupted her harshly, shaking with anger. It was the same again!

He avoided the important issues, shirked the responsibility, cleared himself of all blame, and acted as if he was more wronged than Dou E!

Looking at the tears on Liu Yueli's face that were about to fall, Luo Zhaohan felt extremely glared.

"Liu Yueli!" Luo Zhaohan's voice rose, carrying the sharpness of a thoroughly enraged man. "Put away your crocodile tears! Your aunt? Who the hell is your aunt! A mere servant, is she worthy of touching my sister's dowry? Without your tacit approval, Miss Liu, how dare she? Do you think I, Luo Zhaohan, am a fool?!"

The more she spoke, the angrier she became, her chest heaving violently as she spoke without thinking, "Don't think I don't know what you're planning! Isn't it just because you think my sister is soft-hearted and easy to bully? Isn't it because you're relying on your father to curry favor with the nobles that you think our Luo family is on the decline and can't do anything to you?"

I tell you, Liu Yueli, no matter what my Luo family does, it's not your turn to be ungrateful and take advantage of us! My sister's dowry is missing a single thread, and I, Luo Zhaohan, will never let you go! I will smash the door of your Liu family and get the things back intact! "

These words were spoken quickly and urgently, each word as sharp as a knife.

The entire private room became completely silent, and one could hear a pin drop.

The ladies held their breath, some looked horrified, while others had a barely perceptible glint of excitement in their eyes.

Smash the door? That's too harsh! The daughter of General Fuyuan's mansion is indeed worthy of her reputation!

Liu Yueli was so shocked by the scolding and threats that her face turned even paler and her body swayed.

The water in her eyes instantly froze into ice, but the coldness only flashed across her eyes for a moment, so fast that it was impossible to capture.

She quickly lowered her eyelids, her long lashes casting a small shadow under her eyes, covering up all her emotions. When she raised her eyes again, she still looked like she was about to cry.

"Sister Luo..." She said in a low voice, "You...you have to be so aggressive and say things like this? I really have no words to defend myself..."

She shook her head slightly, as if she had suffered a great injustice, and her eyes swept over the noble ladies around her who were silent as a mouse, with a silent accusation - look, she is so unreasonable!

"Good! Very good!" Luo Zhaohan laughed in anger. He felt a rush of blood to his forehead and his vision went dark.

She looked at Liu Yueli's face, which seemed weak but was actually strong, and at the eyes around her that were either surprised or watching the show. She felt that if she stayed in this place for another second, she would suffocate!

The power of this white lotus was so profound that it made all her anger seem like hitting cotton, and she felt so frustrated that she wanted to vomit blood!

She swung her sleeves so violently that she knocked over an empty celadon fruit plate on the small table next to her.

"Clang!" With a crisp sound, the porcelain plate fell to the ground and shattered, with fragments flying everywhere, scaring the noble ladies nearby and making them gasp again.

Luo Zhaohan turned around and left without even looking at him.

The footsteps were heavy and quick, with a reckless anger, stepping on the broken porcelain pieces, making a harsh "crunching" sound.

The back was straight, like a sword drawn from its sheath, but it was trembling slightly, revealing the owner's inner anger and a hint of frustration.

The bright "skirt" quickly disappeared at the stairs with her angry steps.

The room was filled with silence.

The rain outside the window seemed to be heavier, hitting the eaves and making a continuous rustling sound.

The ladies looked at each other, and no one dared to speak first.

Today's play started with a bang, progressed bizarrely, and ended with a suspenseful ending.

Luo Zhaohan felt great when he vented his anger, but when he thought about it carefully, it seemed that apart from a few harsh curses and smashing a plate, he didn't get any substantial results?

As for the dowry issue, Liu Yueli cried and blamed it, and lightly fended it off, and in the end she ended up looking pitiful.

All eyes involuntarily refocused on the other person at the center of the incident.

Liu Yueli still stood there, with her head slightly lowered, looking at the tea stains splashed on the hem of her skirt.

She was silent, and the lines of her profile appeared a little tense under the soft light in the private room.

After a long while, she slowly raised her hand and wiped the insignificant stains very slowly with a plain white silk handkerchief.

His movements were so gentle, as if he was handling some rare treasure.

Throughout the whole process, there was no expression on her face.

There was no triumph of victory, no feigned grievance, and no shame of being publicly insulted.

There was only indifference, a calmness that was a little creepy.

After wiping off the water stains, she slowly folded the handkerchief and put it into her sleeve.

Then, she slowly raised her eyes, and her gaze swept calmly across the silent seats, across the noble ladies who were secretly looking at her, and finally, as if unintentionally, she paused for an extremely brief moment on the mica screen depicting an ink-and-wash landscape.

No one knew what she was seeing, or if she was actually seeing anything.

Only Liu Yueli herself knew that when Luo Zhaohan was cursing just now, the extremely slight hum from behind the screen was like an ice needle, piercing her ears.

She withdrew her gaze, and the corners of her lips slowly raised into a tiny arc.

"Oh."

A sneer, so soft it was almost inaudible, escaped from her lips.

…

Pei Ji held the gold-embossed invitation card until his knuckles turned white.

It’s hot, really hot.

His mind uncontrollably flashed back to the humiliating scene from last month - the door of the Wuwei General's Mansion slammed shut in front of him, almost flattening his nose.

Before this, he, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, was "invited" out of someone else's mansion by that rude man Xie Wuqi, who grabbed the collar of his official robe like a disobedient kitten!

Xie Wuqi said the word "please" with gritted teeth, and the saliva that came out of it tasted of blood.

Since that day, Pei Ji has been avoiding the territory of Wuwei General's Mansion, and he has completely lost all interest in Xie Wuqi's famous fiancée Liu Yueli.

There is no time to hide, so who would rush to seek bad luck?

But the invitation in front of him was lying clearly on the desk, and the signature was exactly those three words that made his back teeth itch: Xie Wuqi.

The venue is located in the private room "Songtao" of the "Yipinxiang" teahouse at the downtown entrance of the south city.

Hongmen Banquet!

This is definitely a weasel paying a New Year's visit to a chicken, with no good intentions!

Pei Ji was worried.

He and Xie Wuqi? Their pitiful friendship was completely ruined the moment Xie Wuqi kicked him out.

Why was this brute suddenly offering a toast? Did the sun rise from the west? Or...did Xie Wuqi finally remember to apologize to Pei Ji?

As soon as this thought came up, Pei Ji suppressed it himself.

Oh, apologize? Expect Xie Wuqi to bend his spine and apologize? Unless the water in Xijing City's moat flows backwards!

Although he cursed in his heart, Pei Ji still changed into an inconspicuous casual outfit. With a heart full of caution and doubts, he arrived at "Yipinxiang" on time.

The "Song Tao" private room was at the very end of the third floor. It was quite secluded, but the further Pei Ji walked in, the more eerie the silence seemed to him. He couldn't even see the shadow of a waiter serving tea and water.

The door of the private room was ajar. He took a deep breath and pushed it open.

A strong aroma of tea mixed with the smell of some cold, hard iron wafted towards me.

The furnishings in the private room were elegant, with rosewood tables and chairs and landscape paintings on the walls. But Pei Ji's gaze was instantly fixed on the large tea table in the center.

There were no snacks or incense burners in the center of the tea table.

There was a knife lying horizontally!

The scabbard was dark and its material could not be seen, but the dark feeling that absorbed light revealed an indescribable ferocity.

The handle was made of fine, twisted ebony, polished to a smooth, glossy sheen, evident from years of caressing and handling. The most striking thing about it was that the blade had been unsheathed for half an inch!

The exposed part of the blade was narrow and thin. Under the sunlight coming through the window, the edge of the blade was filled with cold air, so cold that it penetrated into the gaps between people's bones.

Goose-feather knife!

A powerful weapon for close combat in the army!

Pei Ji's heart sank suddenly, and the hairs on his back stood up.

This thing is more terrifying than a hundred Xie Wuqi banging their tables and glaring at others!

How could this be an invitation for tea? This was clearly a show of force, a silent warning!

He suppressed the dryness in his throat, and with difficulty moved his eyes away from the knife to look at the person sitting behind the table.

Thanks Wuqi.

This evil star was not wearing his signature general's uniform today. Instead, he had on a dark blue brocade suit, which made his shoulders and back look broad, like a ferocious beast that had temporarily retracted its claws.

One of his arms was casually resting on the back of the chair, and the fingers of his other hand were tapping the scabbard intermittently.

The "knock, knock, knock" sound hit Pei Ji's tense nerves.

Hearing the sound of the door being pushed open, Xie Wuqi raised his eyelids and looked over.

That look, as sharp as a poisoned needle, scraped across his face.

The corners of his mouth twitched, forming an arc that was definitely not friendly.

"Master Pei," Xie Wuqi began, his voice low and deep, like thunder rolling across the ground, a little hoarse as if he had just woken up, "What a rare guest. I thought Master Pei was a noble man, so busy that he would look down on the simple tea served by a commoner like me."

He emphasized the word "coarse tea" and glanced at the murderous knife on the table.

Pei Ji only felt a surge of evil fire hitting his forehead.

Pretend! Keep pretending! He suppressed his anger, forcing a bit of the calmness he usually showed when trying cases at the Dali Temple. He lifted his robe and sat down opposite Xie Wuqi, his back straight.

"Thank you, General, for your invitation. How could I not come?" Pei Ji's voice was steady, his emotions undetectable. "But I'm just wondering what your intention is in hosting this tea party today and displaying this sharp weapon from the army?"

His eyes fell on the half-unsheathed cold blade without any hesitation.

Xie Wuqi seemed not to hear the harshness in his words. Instead, he grinned, revealing a row of sharp white teeth, and his smile was so creepy.

He leaned forward slightly, and the hand that was knocking on the scabbard stopped. He bent his fingers and knocked twice "click, click" at a certain position near the end of the handle.

"What's your intention?" Xie Wuqi drawled out his question, his eyes becoming more playful as he stared at Pei Ji. "No big intention. I just got a new toy, and I'm happy about it. I wanted to ask you, Master Pei, who is knowledgeable and experienced, to give me your opinion and appreciation."

Pei Ji looked intently at the place where his finger was pointing, following his movements.

At the end of the hilt, in the gap of the wrapped ebony, there was actually a small piece of warm white jade embedded in it.

The white jade was meticulously carved into the shape of a lotus bud, about to bloom. The lines of the petals were incredibly soft and flowing, evidently the work of a top-notch craftsman.

And in the center of the lotus flower, a word was clearly engraved with extremely fine intaglio techniques:

Glass.

Liu Yueli's Li!

Pei Ji's pupils suddenly contracted.

This sword is obviously Xie Wuqi's favorite sword, and the name of his fiancée Liu Yueli is engraved on the handle!

And he used such an ambiguous method! What does this mean? This knife is Xie Wuqi's life!

He carved Liu Yueli's name on the hilt, which meant...

Xie Wuqi looked at the astonishment on Pei Ji's face with satisfaction. His smile deepened, and with a sense of pride, he slowly and slowly added the last sentence, word by word:

"Master Pei, please take a look," he said, his fingers gently stroking the white jade lotus. "How is the carving on this 'dowry knife' of my fiancée? Is it pleasing to your eye?"

Dowry? Liu Yueli's dowry? Xie Wuqi's dowry? A goose-feather knife that had been sharpened and drenched in blood?!

Absurd! The most ridiculous thing in the world!

Who is Liu Yueli? She's a notorious "white lotus" among the noble ladies of the capital. She needs a maid to support her even when she walks, to prevent her from falling, and faints at the sight of blood!

Her dowry should have been silks, gold, silver, jewelry, land and shops. How could it be a bloody weapon?

But the warm white jade lotus on the hilt and the extremely clear word "璃" were like the most vicious brand, nailed there firmly!

He couldn't help but believe it!

In a flash, countless fragments flashed through Pei Ji's mind.

Why had Xie Wuqi suddenly gone mad and driven him out of the General's Mansion last time? Was it because a case he was investigating had inadvertently touched upon the secret of the "dowry knife"? Or perhaps it had touched upon something shady behind Liu Yueli's back?

There is definitely something wrong with this knife!

Liu Yueli... has even more problems!

"Xie Wuqi!" Pei Ji stood up suddenly, and the chair legs made a harsh "creaking" sound as they scraped against the smooth floor.

He could no longer maintain his superficial composure. His eyes were red with anger. He pointed at the knife on the table, his voice trembling slightly with anger. "Stop playing tricks on me! What dowry knife? Do you think I'm a three-year-old child? Liu Yueli is a frail girl, how could such a thing be in her dowry? What on earth are you trying to do?!"

The smile on Xie Wuqi's face disappeared without a trace in an instant.

Those sharp eyes suddenly narrowed, and murderous intent spread like a substance, and the temperature of the entire private room seemed to drop to freezing point in an instant.

He clenched his hands on the back of the chair suddenly, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged.