Chapter 17 Resistance

Upon seeing this, Yinzi's heart skipped a beat.

Wei Heng sat in the carriage, her tone perfectly calm, as if she were chatting casually, and said, "This letter is so detailed and convincing, I actually believed it. What do you suggest we do about it?"

Yinzi paused slightly, then respectfully placed her hand in front of her. She secretly exhaled before saying, "The young master can only be yours. You and the young master grew up together... What woman could compare to you?"

"Moreover, you are the most important and beloved young lady in the Wei family. Even when you go out, the eldest young master will escort you."

She lowered her eyes, not daring to look her master in the eye, her voice carrying a barely perceptible tension.

"Yes, Yinzi, you're right. If Brother Xingjian really takes a liking to that woman, I won't stop him. But if that's true, then that woman..." The rest of the voice trailed off.

It was barely audible.

Only the maid Yinzi's hands trembled more and more violently. Only she knew what these words meant, and a cold chill ran down her spine.

From childhood to adulthood, whenever there was another woman who was prettier or more favored than her, Wei Heng would always make that person fall from a high place to a low place.

Yinzi remembered that when Wei Heng was thirteen years old, a young lady from the Gu family came to visit the Wei residence, and it was only because others praised her a few times that she was chosen.

Wei Heng then lured her to the back of the mountain, pushed her down, disfiguring her face and breaking her leg.

From then on, the Gu family girl became a cripple.

Afterwards, the Gu family's daughter insisted that Wei Heng had pushed her, but no one believed her at the time, not even her personal maid. She couldn't believe that her daughter was so vicious.

What's even more chilling is her mindset: if a young woman falls to her death from a height, it will ultimately be the Wei family's fault.

But the living Gu family girl suffers from disfigurement and disability, her wings have been broken, and she endures the pointing and whispering gazes every day.

How could she go out or discuss marriage?

Later, the Gu family could no longer stay in Yanzhou, so they returned to their hometown in Jizhou.

Wei Heng, however, remained in everyone's eyes the innocent and carefree jewel of a noble family.

Only Yinzi, who grew up with him, knew that Wei Heng was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere at the Chongzhou Prefectural Governor's Office was somber.

The master of the mansion was in a bad mood, and even Lu Changfeng had to serve him with great care.

At this moment, Pei Xingjian and Lu Changfeng were waiting at the entrance of the prefectural governor's mansion. Lu Changfeng saw the ground trembling slightly and said in a low voice, "My lord, you've arrived."

Pei Xingjian was extremely annoyed. His gaze swept over everyone, with a hint of resistance: "Okay, I understand."

A steady, powerful "clattering" sound came from afar, drawing the attention of everyone on the street.

A young man sat on a fine horse ahead, followed by a carriage with an ebony body that slowly approached. The carriage driver had a solemn expression, clearly indicating that he had undergone rigorous training.

Upon seeing a familiar face, Pei Xingjian forced a smile and walked up to him, saying, "Brother Ziming, it's been a long time."

Wei Ziming dismounted and stepped forward to tighten the reins on Pei Xingjian. "Brother Xingjian, it has been three months since we parted in Yang County."

"Is Uncle at home?" Wei Ziming looked around.

"The Huaidong rebellion was quelled by Father seven days ago. The good news came this morning, so he should be back soon."

Wei Ziming thought about it and realized it made sense. In Yanzhou, his uncle was like a god. If anyone dared to provoke him, that person would already be dead.

Just then, a noise came from inside the carriage, and Wei Ziming remembered, "Oh dear, I forgot, Brother Xingjian, Sister Heng is still in the carriage." After saying that, he walked to the front of the carriage and whispered, "Sister, we've arrived."

Yinzi lifted the curtain, glanced outside, and gave Pei Xing a simple bow, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness."

Pei Xingjian nodded slightly, and then Yinzi helped Wei Heng out, saying sweetly, "I thought you had lost track of time while chatting, brother."

He bowed towards Pei Xingjian and said, "Brother Xingjian, it's been a long time."

Pei Xingjian sighed inwardly, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Hengmei."

He then stepped aside to let them in, saying, "You must be tired after traveling for so long. Please come inside."

Wei Heng pursed her lips, looking at the handsome man in front of her, who was as tall and dashing as ever, but his eyes did not seem to show any joy at her arrival.

Thinking of the letter in the car, my heart sank to the bottom.

...

The banquet was held in the main hall, with Pei Xingjian seated at the head of the table and the Wei siblings seated on either side.

Fine wine and delicacies were placed on the table, the food still steaming. To make sure the room was well-lit, several lamps were lit in the four corners of the main hall.

Before even picking up his chopsticks, Pei Xingjian raised his cup and said, "Ziming, Hengmei, you've come from afar, so I'd like to toast you." He then downed his drink in one gulp.

Wei Ziming laughed loudly, "Xingjian, you'll be my brother-in-law soon, why are you being so polite with us?"

Wei Heng blushed slightly. Everyone knew it was just polite talk, but she liked hearing it anyway.

Pei Xingjian's hand holding the wine cup froze in mid-air. He glanced at Wei Heng, who was looking down shyly, and felt a surge of pent-up frustration churning in his chest, with nowhere to vent it.

He even considered saying directly at the banquet, "I'm not going to get married. You can find whoever you want. I'm not doing this anymore."

Before his father passed away, he instructed his son not to act impulsively and to remember his surname.

Thinking of this, he placed the wine cup he was clutching tightly on the table and remained silent for a moment.

The atmosphere at the dinner table became somewhat awkward for a moment. In previous years, if Wei Ziming said something like that, Pei Xingjian would usually join in with a few jokes.

It's not uncommon for him to call Wei Heng "brother," but what's wrong with him today?

He glanced at Wei Heng out of the corner of his eye and saw that Hengmei's eyes were downcast and she looked very preoccupied, and his heart sank.

Could it be that something happened that made Hengmei insist on coming all the way from Yang County to Chongzhou, or is there some kind of conflict between the two of them?

Most likely, the engaged couple had a minor argument after not seeing each other for several months. Thinking of this, his furrowed brows finally relaxed.

He then added, "Haha, let's keep eating, let's keep eating."

Back in the room, just as he was about to speak, he saw Wei Heng sweep everything off the table and onto the floor. A series of ear-piercing shattering sounds followed – the sound of porcelain crashing heavily to the ground.

Seeing this, Wei Ziming, who was following behind, frowned and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you so angry?"

Wei Heng's eyes were slightly red as she said sharply, "Brother, didn't you notice? Brother Xingjian's expression is off today; he didn't even respond to you."

The atmosphere today was indeed noticeably different. Although Pei Xingjian was still very polite to the Wei siblings, he was much more distant.

His words were mostly polite and distant, quite different from his usual cheerful and talkative manner.