After a while.

Xiao Chengci slowly said, "What a lackey! He can't even brew tea properly."

Pei Minxue remained kneeling on the ground, and he dared not get up until Xiao Chengci spoke.

Pei Minxue was Xiao Chengci's study companion, so he understood perfectly well that Xiao Chengci's words were an insult to him.

Pei Minxue straightened his knees and asked, "Minxue doesn't understand. Where exactly did the Pei family offend Your Highness?"

Pei Minxue believed that his family had always held His Highness the Crown Prince in the highest esteem.

As for him, he has always been by His Highness's side, and he has always completed the tasks His Highness entrusted to him perfectly.

And this is how His Highness the Crown Prince treated us? It's utterly disheartening.

Xiao Chengci's eyes were icy cold; clearly, he couldn't tell Pei Minxue the reason.

Could it be that he was going to tell Pei Minxue that the reason he did all this was because he, the Crown Prince of the Celestial Empire, had been fooled by Pei Zhi?

No matter what, Xiao Chengci could not bring himself to say those words.

"Shang Huai is my mother's nephew. I believe that the second daughter of the Pei family is unskilled and not good enough for my cousin."

Pei Minxue cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "Minxue has learned a great deal."

After Pei Minxue finished speaking, he took off the token he was carrying.

"Minxue is feeling unwell and is probably unable to serve Your Highness in the future. This token is hereby returned to Your Highness."

Pei Minxue is the only son of the Duke's mansion, and he can help His Highness the Crown Prince with his affairs.

But he won't be a lackey.

What's more, His Highness the Crown Prince directly insulted his own sister.

If he remains unmoved, then he doesn't deserve to be called "brother" by Pei Zhi.

Pei Minxue lowered his head, holding the token in both hands.

Xiao Chengci scoffed, "What do you think my territory is? You think you can come and go as you please?"

Xiao Chengci stood up, took the token, and then kicked Pei Minxue in the chest.

Pei Minxue was kicked to the ground, but quickly got up and knelt down in front of Xiao Chengci.

"Please forgive me, Your Highness, I am guilty."

Upon seeing Pei Minxue's appearance, Xiao Chengci couldn't help but think of Pei Zhi.

“You are indeed guilty, but the one who deserves to die is your sister.”

Pei Minxue retorted, "Your Highness, I do not understand what you are saying. My sister is beautiful and intelligent, well-educated and reasonable, and she abides by the rules."

Although Pei Zhi had just been found, Pei Minxue was very satisfied with his younger sister, Pei Zhi.

Not only is she good-looking, but she also doesn't wallow in self-pity because of her past experiences.

She didn't blame her parents or Pei Yin either.

Quiet and obedient, Pei Minxue liked this younger sister very much.

Xiao Chengci seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world.

"Follow the rules?"

"Why do you think the Empress Dowager suddenly bestowed a marriage upon Shang Huai and Pei Zhi? They already had a private relationship."

Pei Minxue was stunned. He hadn't expected that Pei Zhi had previously had private dealings with Shang Huai.

However, this is not a big deal.

The question is, how did His Highness the Crown Prince find out?

Pei Minxue said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Even if there is some interaction in private, my sister is pure and virtuous, and her relationship with General Shang will certainly remain within the bounds of propriety."

"Pure and immaculate?" Xiao Chengci almost didn't recognize the word.

Pei Minxue used the phrase "pure as ice and immaculate as jade" to describe Pei Zhi?

"I'm truly curious, if Pei Zhi were here, and heard you, her older brother, describe her like this, would she dare to accept it?"

Pei Minxue was truly puzzled. "Forgive my bluntness, but why does Your Highness dislike my sister so much? What did she do to offend Your Highness?"

Pei Minxue couldn't understand it at all; his sister was a virgin.

They should have no interaction whatsoever with His Highness the Crown Prince.

Why does His Highness the Crown Prince look down on his sister?

Could it be because his sister was betrothed to the Crown Prince's cousin?

When did His Highness the Crown Prince become so protective of Shang Huai?

Xiao Chengci slowly squatted down in front of Pei Minxue, "Because your sister toyed with me."

Xiao Chengci stared into Pei Minxue's eyes and said, word by word, "You toyed with me, and then turned around and agreed to marry someone else."

"Impossible." Pei Minxue denied it without even thinking.

How could Pei Zhi have any dealings with His Highness the Crown Prince?

She even toyed with His Highness the Crown Prince? Absolutely impossible, his sister isn't that kind of person.

How could someone as obedient and docile as Pei Zhi do such a rebellious thing?

"Fine, you don't believe me?" Xiao Chengci stood up: "Come on, I'll take you to confront her."

Just then, Xiao Chengci was also furious and wanted to strangle Pei Zhi.

Since Pei Minxue didn't believe him, Xiao Chengci also wanted to know why Pei Zhi had treated him this way.

Pei Minxue hesitated upon seeing this, and he also remembered that His Highness the Crown Prince had mentioned Pei Zhi to him before.

"Back then, when Your Highness mentioned my sister to me, was it then that you...?"

"Yes," Xiao Chengci readily admitted.

“Your dear sister told me that she doesn’t want to be my concubine and is willing to stay by my side without any official title.”

Xiao Chengci's eyes reddened with anger. "I thought she was aloof and didn't care about her status, but she turned around and agreed to marry Shang Huai."

Xiao Chengci genuinely believed that Pei Zhi liked him.

She liked him, and considering his status as the crown prince, she was willing to follow him anonymously.

In the end, it turned out that he had been delusional and had been completely fooled.

Pei Minxue collapsed to the ground, utterly unable to believe that the Crown Prince was referring to his obedient younger sister.

But His Highness the Crown Prince had no reason to falsely accuse Pei Zhi.

"Your Highness, are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else? It's possible that someone Your Highness knows looks too much like my sister."

Xiao Chengci chuckled in exasperation, "You think I'm already old and blind?"

"Your Majesty, I dare not, I only..." Pei Minxue was truly unable to connect the woman the Crown Prince spoke of with Pei Zhi.

Xiao Chengci took out a jade pendant from his pocket and threw it in front of Pei Minxue.

Xiao Chengci said coldly, "You recognize me, don't you? I remember you had one too."

This jade pendant was obtained by Xiao Chengci from Pei Zhi.

Xiao Chengci was the crown prince and possessed countless treasures, but he found this jade pendant quite pleasing to the eye and took it without thinking.

The jade pendant is engraved with the character "芝".

Every child in this generation of the Pei family has a jade pendant, and Pei Yin's pendant is engraved with the character "Yin".

With the Pei family's seal on it, Pei Minxue had no way to refute it.

Pei Minxue clutched the jade pendant, lowered his head, and felt utterly ashamed to face His Highness the Crown Prince.

"Your Highness, is there perhaps a misunderstanding? Perhaps my sister only considers Your Highness a friend? A confidante?"

Pei Minxue tried to argue that relationships between men and women aren't necessarily all romantic.

Xiao Chengci sat down and said sarcastically, "I didn't know you had such eloquence. You should be an envoy; otherwise, it would be a waste."

Pei Minxue sat up straight. "My sister didn't grow up in the capital, so she doesn't understand the boundaries between men and women. Perhaps Your Highness has misunderstood. Who knows?"

"She's slept with me, and you're saying she doesn't understand?" These words stunned Pei Minxue.