Two years ago, at the same location.

The groom was still him, but the bride was not Fang Ziyu.

Instead, it was Shen Yunjiao who had been following him obsessively, asking him for a marriage certificate.

The marriage certificate arrived, and he hastily married Shen Yunjiao.

Because he disliked Shen Yunjiao, and had just become the top scholar in the imperial examination, he was only a minor seventh-rank official.

The wedding was held in a very hasty manner.

On their wedding night, with red candles flickering, he used a jade ruyi to lift Shen Yunjiao's veil, looking at her flushed cheeks and eyes full of expectation and shyness.

He coldly replied to her, "Don't have any illusions. I only married you because I was coerced by your father and brother."

The memories came flooding back unexpectedly, causing Pei Zhixuan's forehead to twitch and his face to darken.

Xiao Huaijin also took in the expression on his face. He played with the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand and said lightly, "Your Highness is blessed to be able to marry such a kind-hearted princess. It is truly a match made in heaven."

Pei Zhixuan snapped out of his daze and quickly lowered his head: "It is a rare blessing for the Duke's mansion to have His Highness the Crown Prince officiate at the wedding."

Xiao Huaijin's jade-like face now wore a meaningful smile: "Then the young master and the princess must be together for a long time, and never let my good intentions go to waste."

Pei Zhixuan was taken aback, but then heard Xiao Huaijin say lazily, "Let's get married."

——

Compared to the bustling main hall, the Pei family ancestral hall was quiet and somewhat desolate.

Shen Yunjiao sat listlessly on the futon.

She had just instructed Lin Mama and Fu Xia not to disturb the Shen family.

Do not plead with anyone in the Pei family on her behalf.

It's not so scary that someone is locked up in the ancestral hall; in her past life, she often stayed up late alone in the office.

I'm a little bored and a little hungry.

Shen Yunjiao rubbed her rumbling stomach. If she had known she would be locked up here without food or water, she should have eaten more breakfast this morning.

"Cuckoo, cuckoo." Two bird calls came from the skylight on the west side of the ancestral hall.

Shen Yunjiao felt that the bird's call sounded a bit strange. It didn't sound like a normal bird's call. Instead, it sounded like someone was whispering and pouting as they imitated it.

"Who?" Shen Yunjiao asked boldly.

The window, which was level with the eaves, was suddenly opened a crack, and a heavy package quickly fell to the ground.

Shen Yunjiao stood up, hesitated for a few seconds, and then gritted her teeth and walked to the package.

A note was tucked into the knot of the package, which read: "Miss Shen, inside is food, non-poisonous. Signed: Subordinate of Young Master Chen."

Shen Yunjiao: ...

The signature is really quite funny.

She opened the package and found it contained a full set of food and drinks.

There was also a small box of sweets and pastries that Shen Yunjiao loved to eat.

Shen Yunjiao instantly felt that her role as a human antidote was worthwhile!

Just as she was about to eat, a servant's voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Greetings, young master."

Pei Zhixuan?

What is he doing here on their wedding night?!

Shen Yunjiao quickly retied the package and threw it into a dark corner where the candlelight couldn't reach, then sat down on the futon.

Pei Zhixuan opened the door and saw Shen Yunjiao's thin and lonely figure.

His gaze was deep, and he stood there for a long time without saying a word.

Shen Yunjiao turned around and sat down leisurely, facing her tall and handsome husband.

Pei Zhixuan, dressed in his wedding attire today, exuded a noble and outstanding air.

We just went to the wrong place.

Shen Yunjiao opened her mouth, "Pei Zhixuan, are you drunk?"

The other party completely ignored her question and instead stepped into the ancestral hall.

Under the bright lights, Pei Zhixuan lowered his eyes to look at the woman who should have been kneeling as punishment, but was now sitting lazily on the ground.

He asked softly:

“I just asked the other servants in the manor, why didn’t you tell me that Madam Fang hit your maid first?”

Shen Yunjiao stood up and met Pei Zhixuan's gaze. Seeing his cold expression, she gave a slight sarcastic remark, "Why should I tell you? Would you help me fight back?"

"That's Ziyu's mother, how could I possibly hit her?"

Pei Zhixuan frowned as he answered.

He seemed quite surprised that Shen Yunjiao, as the matriarch, would say such impolite things.

He had ordered all the servants in the manor to keep their mouths shut after what happened today. If word got out, where would the reputation of the Duke of Dingguo's manor be?

And she, Shen Yunjiao, will be criticized by the world for her arrogant personality and disdain for others.

“The one who was beaten was a servant. You used to beat and scold them all the time. Now you’re protecting Fu Xia like this. You’re just using this as an excuse to vent your anger, aren’t you? I know you’ve been unhappy because of this marriage.”

Shen Yunjiao clenched her fists tightly. Pei Zhixuan spoke casually because he also looked down on these servants.

But she was different. "Fu Xia is my person, so of course I have to protect her. I have no complaints about you, so please stop being so presumptuous!"

The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat stiff.

When Pei Zhixuan is in a bad mood, his back will straighten up and his chest will rise and fall slightly with his heavy breathing.

This is what Shen Yunjiao observed from her meetings with him over the past few days.

Pei Zhixuan saw her a moderate number of times, but he would get angry every time they met.

Just like now.

"Unrequited love?" Pei Zhixuan's head was spinning; these four words exploded in his ears like a thunderbolt.

Was he just imagining things?

No, it's clearly Shen Yunjiao!

Pei Zhixuan reached out and grabbed Shen Yunjiao's delicate wrist, his angry eyes fixed on her fair face, trying to glimpse a trace of sincerity in her indifferent expression.

"You're the one who's deluding yourself, Shen Yunjiao. You're so cunning. All that diving and acupuncture to save people was just a carefully orchestrated scheme to make me fall in love with you, wasn't it?"

Shen Yunjiao: ? ? ?

You shameless scoundrel, your skin is thicker than a gourd after autumn.

"I'll make things clear right here today."

“Shen Yunjiao, I have married Ziyu and I will protect her to the end. The reason I cannot harm you today is because you have the Prime Minister’s mansion to protect you.”

"If the Prime Minister's power declines one day, what do you think I'll do?"

No need to guess, I already knew.

Shen Yunjiao did not say this aloud.

Just thinking about the original owner's tragic past—being sold to a brothel and forced to serve customers, and then being resold to a wealthy man as a concubine and humiliated—made me feel incredibly sad.

Shen Yunjiao felt a chill run down her spine just thinking about it.

When she read the novel, she thought this description was very cruel, but she never expected that she might suffer the same tragic fate.

Seeing that she had suddenly fallen silent, Pei Zhixuan pulled her closer and said coldly, "What are you afraid of? The Prime Minister is currently at the height of his power. I was just using an analogy."

"Who said I'm afraid?" Shen Yunjiao twisted her wrist forcefully to break free from Pei Zhixuan's hand. "The one who's afraid has always been you, Prince. You hate that I'm the daughter of the Prime Minister. Even if I do something wrong in the Pei family, you don't dare to punish me severely. But you're unwilling to divorce me because you're afraid of losing the protection of the Shen family."

"So, Your Highness, you can hardly be considered a gentleman."