Chapter 71 A Strong Smell of Jealousy

Upon arriving outside the manor, he tossed the reins to a guard and asked in a deep voice, "Has anything happened in the manor today?"

The guard stood solemnly and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, everything is as usual."

Pei Yanzhi nodded slightly and strode through the hanging flower gate into the garden. As soon as he entered, he saw Madam Song and looked up to see her walking towards him.

"Brother, did you just return from the military camp?" Madam Song curtsied.

Pei Yanzhi was preoccupied with the person in question, so he gave a perfunctory answer and was about to leave when he heard a voice behind him: "It's quite a coincidence, since someone moved into this Mountain and Water Residence, none of us have seen it once."

"Brother, are you hiding some treasure that you don't want us to see?"

Pei Yanzhi suddenly turned around, his eyes narrowed as he looked at her, his tone ambiguous as he said, "When has my person ever needed anyone else's opinion?"

Madam Song's face suddenly turned pale, as if she wanted to explain, but the person beside her had already lost patience and said in a deep voice, "Even the old lady hasn't asked about it, do you think you can bypass the old lady!"

After saying that, he turned and left.

Song was left frozen in place, staring at that tall, straight figure, a barely perceptible trace of infatuation flashing in her eyes.

Pei Yanzhi walked through the long corridor and soon arrived at Shanshui Residence.

Before even entering the room, he heard several soft, sweet laughs coming from inside. A smile flashed in Pei Yanzhi's eyes; it seemed she was adapting even faster than he had imagined.

Passing through the screen, one sees a beautiful woman standing to one side, with Chunzhi holding a copper basin and Lian'er with a handkerchief draped over her arm.

Lian'er glanced at Chunzhi out of the corner of her eye and gave her a look. The two exchanged a glance and hurriedly bowed, saying, "My Lord!"

Ji Shu's back froze, her hands, which were soaking in the water, paused slightly before rubbing them again. Pei Yanzhi approached without making a sound.

He asked, "What are you doing?"

Seeing that the young lady remained silent, Chunzhi quickly said, "The young lady and the maids just finished cleaning the east wing, and their hands are a little dirty."

Pei Yanzhi waved his hand to dismiss the maids and servants serving him.

If these two girls were left here, he believed she wouldn't say a word to him. He sighed inwardly: Such young women, yet they have quite the temper.

Pei Yanzhi leaned close to her back and asked in a low voice, "Have you had lunch yet?"

Ji Shu simply shook her head gently. At this moment, her back was against his chest, and Pei Yanzhi's large hand firmly gripped her waist to prevent her from escaping, while his other large hand was pressed tightly against her lower abdomen under her gauze dress.

From the outside in, the two appeared to be perfectly aligned and intimately connected.

Ji Shu took her hand out of the basin, grabbed a cloth from the side and wiped it casually. Pei Yanzhi took it and put it aside, then held her hand up to the light to examine it closely.

Her hands, freshly washed, exuded the delicate fragrance of roses. Her slender fingers and smooth, porcelain-like skin drew Pei Yanzhi's eyebrow as he looked into the washbasin. It was filled with rose petals.

His Adam's apple bobbed with unbearable urge, and he lifted her up to kiss her tenderly. Ji Shu tried to break free, but the thin, gossamer-like shawl slipped down, revealing a large expanse of her fair and translucent arms.

"Ugh... let me go."

Pei Yanzhi picked her up and placed her on the ivory mat couch. Their eyes met, and he finally saw her magnificent attire: a gorgeous dress, golden hairpins, and tinkling jade pendants. Her pale red rouge made her lips look like cherries.

He leaned down and gently stroked her lips with his somewhat rough fingertips.

Pei Yanzhi exclaimed, "Shu'er is so beautiful!"

Do you still remember when I met you at the prefectural governor's mansion?

Ji Shu lowered her eyes, trying to turn her head away from the pressure on her lips, and mumbled, "Of course I remember."

The moment he opened his mouth, a finger had already probed inside, and in his deep, stagnant state, his breath became disordered.

Then his voice rang out, and looking at her panicked face, his tone was unusually gentle.

He leaned closer and whispered, "You don't know, that day when we were in that dark cave, I had to control my feelings for you and also control my desire to possess you. At that time, I thought that if this cave led to my bedroom, I would lock you inside and have you at my disposal every day."

The last few words, barely audible, drained Ji Shu of all color from her face.

"Until you bear children..."

Beastly, filthy, disgusting!

Ji Shu wanted to yell at him to his face, her nails digging deep into his flesh. She watched as he wiped his fingers clean with her handkerchief.

The rouge on her lips had already smudged, so he stepped forward and patiently wiped it off little by little until her original fresh lip color was revealed.

She froze, not daring to move, until he spoke again: "So, what do you think I was thinking when you were with Xingjian during those days?"

In the dead of night, he would always dream of the day he and Xingjian embraced, that horrifying scene. He even took out a knife and felt that it wouldn't be so bad to hide her in the room for the rest of his life.

Looking into his increasingly deep eyes, Ji Shu knew that if she didn't stop him now, he would only become more and more insane.

Originally it was in Chongzhou, now it's his residence. If he can't leave this godforsaken place, who knows what he'll do next.

He even said something absurd like asking her to bear him children.

She swallowed hard, a dull ache still lingering in her mouth, and said softly, "I have already separated from the Crown Prince. When we were together before, we did not do anything inappropriate. Your Highness is overthinking things."

Pei Yanzhi looked at her and smiled slowly. He knew everything about their interactions and knew that, as she said, there was nothing between them.

But it was precisely because of this that he hated him even more. Just a few meetings were enough to make Pei Xingjian lose his appetite and drown his sorrows in alcohol all day long.

He developed a strong possessive desire for Ji Shu, not to mention Pei Xingjian, even a maid who was too close to him could make him want to kill her.

Pei Yanzhi stared at her lips, suppressing his surging emotions: "Yes, it's my fault. I didn't recognize my own feelings sooner, which is why things turned out this way."

After saying that, he pinched her cheeks, leaned down and kissed her, skillfully trying to untie the silk ribbon on her waistband. Ji Shu was almost scared out of her wits.

Knowing that if they didn't leave now, everyone in the entire Shanshui Residence would know what had happened inside, he didn't care about saving face, but she did.

Seeing that he was going too far, she became anxious and her face turned red. Finally, she pleaded softly, "My lord, please let me down first, okay?"

He secretly resented her: all he thinks about when he sees her is doing this filthy thing, doesn't he fear exhausting himself to death?

He'll die in a woman's bed sooner or later.

Pei Yanzhi saw her hands supporting her behind her back, revealing her porcelain-white collarbone with a hint of pink, and he couldn't hide his desire. He was about to lean down and kiss her.

Ji Shu pushed him away forcefully, and he fell onto the soft couch without warning, his expression blank, with lingering passion in his eyes.