Chapter 193 The Secret of the Three Assassination Attacks

After hearing his words, Cheng Nianying's face was still cold.

"You acted like this in front of Fu Yi, too?" Commander Jiang shook his head. "Don't be so wary of me. If I wanted to kill you, why would I reveal my appearance and identity to you?"

"You were raised in this building, and your skills were taught to you here. You shouldn't consider me an enemy."

At this time, Mother Zou, who was waiting outside the moon cave door, could no longer hold back and quietly peeked in to see.

Commander Jiang glanced at Mother Zou and said, "Let's go. I'll take you to Qingcaotang."

Cheng Nianying suppressed her suspicions and said in a firm tone, "No need."

Commander Jiang stopped in his tracks and asked, "Isn't that the person Fu Yi sent to you?"

"I didn't expect you to pretend to be the Princess of a County. Does Fu Yi know that you deceived him by pretending to be a daughter of the Qin family?"

Without waiting for Cheng Nianying to answer, he continued, "I think he should know, otherwise why would he let the Princess of the County 'die' in the capital? But since he knew you lied to him, he still chased you all the way to Heqing."

"Does he love you? Or does he hate you?"

He said this, smiled meaningfully, and turned to walk in a completely opposite direction.

Cheng Nianying walked towards the moon cave door, and no one came to stop her.

Mother Zou came forward and looked at the man's back: "Is that man a royal relative?"

Ordinary people cannot enter the imperial temple, so this is all Mother Zou can think of.

"No." Cheng Nianying had just finished speaking when he immediately thought of what the abbot had said just now: he was allowed to bring a knife in because he had the responsibility of protection.

Did he come with the royal family?

After leaving the abbot's Zen temple, Cheng Nianying asked another young monk about the location of Qingcaotang. By the time she got there, the rest of the Pei Mansion had been settled.

Because there were so many people, Qingcao Hall could not accommodate them all, so the extra people lived in Mingyue Hall.

Pei Jia stood at the door and smiled at her: "Now you can rest assured."

Not at ease.

She didn't expect that the host was waiting for her here.

But Cheng Nianying still responded obediently: "Yeah."

Seeing her like this, Pei Jia felt itchy again, and his brotherly energy came to him, wanting to buy her something. However, he was now in the temple, so he had to give up.

"You're tired from traveling these days. Take a rest." Pei Jia showed his composure rarely.

"Your injury..."

"My injury healed quickly, and the second brother said it was good. It just gave me some peace of mind." Pei Jia curled his lips.

"It's your injury..." Pei Jia was worried.

Cheng Nianying touched her neck with her backhand: "It's okay."

What's this? I've been through worse injuries.

This time, I was lucky to have a fight with Master Ruan, as the monks interrupted me.

"Okay, then you...then you take a rest."

Pei Jia concealed his complicated look, turned around and walked back to the bedroom assigned to him.

There was a shortage of housing in the Hanging Temple, so the three Peijia brothers had to live in this one bedroom.

When Pei Jia entered, the second oldest, Pei Yi, was helping the third oldest, Pei Yun, carry books out. Although they had come to the temple, they still had to study and not fall behind in their studies.

"It's rare to see such an expression on your face." The second brother said.

Pei Jia touched his face with his backhand: "What's that expression?"

"concern."

"It makes me sound like I'm heartless as ever."

"Isn't it?"

"This is outrageous! I'm the elder brother!"

"Just a few words, and your true colors are revealed again." Pei Yi handed the pen to the third brother and asked, "Did you talk to Xiao He just now?"

"Um."

"The worry is because of her."

"We've entered the Imperial Temple. Apart from the Imperial Palace, I don't think there's a safer place than this. But I think she's still... worried."

"Isn't it strange that others besides you have foresight?"

Pei Jia: "..." "But she's even more tense than before, isn't that strange?"

Pei Yi looked thoughtful. "She went to see the abbot. What did he say to her? Or did she meet someone else?"

"Aside from the monks, who else is here?"

"This is the imperial temple. Besides monks, there are naturally royal relatives here."

Pei Jia's expression darkened. "I'll stay with her tomorrow! Let's see if anyone else frightened her."

"My parents said that she is also the daughter of the Pei family, but she doesn't talk to us much and is only close to you." Pei Yi suddenly said.

Pei Jia was very proud: "Ah, so what? I was the first one to know the secret, so I am closer to her."

Pei Jia finished feeling proud and glanced at his brother: "Are you still holding a grudge against me because of this?"

Pei Yi didn't answer but asked, "Did you find out from her what the trouble was that was plaguing her?"

“…I can’t find out.”

"Even Dad can't find out." Pei Yi paused, "But it's reasonable to guess. She doesn't have much contact with us, perhaps because she is worried about the trouble."

Pei Jia walked over and hooked her arm around his shoulder: "Can you... guess?"

"Let's go together tomorrow." Pei Yu said.

*

Yin Heng rested for a night at the Hanging Temple before leaving. Cheng Nianying brought Yin Ping out to see him off.

Pei Jia also wanted to see his fellow apprentices off. They had escorted him all the way and worked so hard, how could he not see them off in person?

"It's worthy of being called the Imperial Temple. The Buddha statues in the temple are much larger than what we have seen before." The young monk sighed.

"Yes, especially the wooden sculptures, they are very lifelike."

"Brother, we're leaving. Take care. If you need anything, just write to me."

Unlike the imperial temple, these monks have more of a down-to-earth air.

Cheng Nianying turned her head and stared at them in a trance.

Yin Heng stood opposite, waiting for a long while, but Cheng Nianying didn't say anything. She seemed even less talkative than when they first met on the street.

"Don't worry." Yin Heng couldn't help but advise.

Cheng Nianying then turned back: "Yeah."

"I don't think I've thanked you properly yet. Wei Yang and his group are all thanks to you. The ink and paper you identified earlier were the key to convicting the Cen family. Once I'm gone and have a firm foothold, you'll have more places to go in the future."

Even after reading thousands of books, his words still felt dry. Yin Heng opened his mouth, then closed it again, ultimately unable to utter any more words.

"You must be patient," his father taught him as he left.

"If you can't establish yourself, how could anyone choose you over the Prince of Danshuo?"

"I'm leaving." Yin Heng turned around and mounted his horse.

The monks' figures soon disappeared into the mountains and forests.

The temple door closed again.

Cheng Nianying turned around and saw Commander Jiang standing not far away.

He walked slowly closer under Cheng Nianying's gaze.

Pei Jia stood in front of Cheng Nianying without thinking: "Your Excellency is?"

"I'm familiar with her, but I never thought we'd meet again in a Buddhist temple. I was just about to chat with her, but Master Pei wants to listen too?"

Cheng Nianying reached out and pushed Pei Jia away: "I'll talk to him for a few words and then come over."

Pei Jia said "Oh" and followed the second brother to retreat to a distance.

"Are you a child of the Pei Mansion?" Commander Jiang asked, then smiled. "No wonder you look so much like the Qin family's daughter. No one can tell you're an imposter."

"Then the Qin girl is your...cousin?"

"Why are you still not talking?"

Commander Jiang turned his head, revealing a hint of coldness in his expression without any concealment.

"Why have you been like this since you were little? Why won't you be more obedient?"

Cheng Nianying still had no expression.

He didn't use a knife or see blood, so he certainly didn't let her go. He must have other motives.

It didn't matter whether she responded or not, he would always tell her his purpose.

Commander Jiang stopped and sighed softly, appearing patient. He said, "There's someone else you should be hostile to."

"Have you never thought about who hired someone to kill the Qin family girl?"

"It's Fu Yi."

Cheng Nianying clenched her fingers.

"He planned three assassinations in total."

"One time on our wedding day, I asked you to take advantage of the opportunity and pretend to be the princess of a county.

"Once, after a palace banquet, when we captured the two Dong brothers, he deliberately arrived at the right time. With Fu Yi's intelligence, I think he was probably testing you, and then he saved the beautiful girl, trying to get you to trust him. His attitude when he interrogated the two Dong brothers was also very strange. Now that I think about it, he was trying to scare you, right?

"The last time he was at the villa outside the city, I didn't know why."

The reason… Cheng Nianying licked her dry lips. Back then… it was to scare Qin Yurong from changing back.

"Tell me, does Fu Yi love you or hate you?"

…

The two brothers, Pei Jia, were standing far away and couldn't hear what they were saying. Pei Jia was anxious and wanted to get closer.

Pei Yi grabbed him and said, "Look at his clothes and accessories. He seems to be a master in the army. If you get any closer, you will be discovered."

"I know, but I think this person might be the trigger you guessed! Xiao He is worried because of seeing him!"

"Even she's afraid of you, but you used to just give her an extra dish?" Pei Yu pursed his lips, "We need to think long-term."