Chapter 12 Chapter 12 I don’t want any status! …

The wind through the window startled the bamboos, and sparse remaining snow fell.

It was already late when Lu Suizhu came out of the East Palace. He dragged his tired body and carefully avoided the resting place of Zhao Ma and Qiu Zhu.

The moment she opened the door, she froze in place.

The hexagonal exquisite lamp bought from the street market only had some residual light left in this brightly candlelit room.

Pei Zhiji sat here holding a book, while Zhao Ma and Qiu Zhu stood behind him.

The cold wind blowing in the dim sky beat on Lu Suizhu's heart like a drum. She had just been to the East Palace to find Xiao Mao.

Could it be that Pei Zhiji noticed something?

"You guys go down first."

Qiu Zhu and Madam Zhao echoed Pei Zhiji's words, and without hesitation, they passed by Lu Suizhu who was standing beside them, and closed the door from the outside, without noticing her desperate look for help.

The book in his hand was slowly put down. Pei Zhiji raised his slender fingers slightly, gently picked up the teapot on the table, added a cup of tea and handed it to Lu Suizhu personally.

When something is out of the ordinary, there must be something fishy going on. Lu Suizhu stood where she was and silently took a step back because of the cup of tea for unknown reasons.

As she was carefully groping for a weapon to protect herself, she heard Pei Zhiji speaking to her in a rare gentle tone.

"My engagement with Wang Miaoyin is settled."

"ha?"

After the surprise, she felt relaxed after surviving the disaster. She laughed dryly to cover up her inner embarrassment. Her pale face gradually turned rosy again. She sat naturally in the chair and drank the tea that Pei Zhiji handed to her.

"I haven't thanked you for saving someone at the Ice Lake last time. If you hadn't been there that day, I'm afraid the matter wouldn't have been resolved so quickly."

I'm afraid the tea tonight has been replaced with wine. Why is Pei Zhiji so easy to talk to?

"Master Pei, you are too kind. You are Huai Shen's elder brother, and it is my duty to help you.

Lu Suizhu was secretly complaining in her heart, and when she was wondering what was going on, she heard his next shocking words.

"You are deeply in love with Huai Shenyong. I will do my best to fight for a good status for you."

What?

She doesn't need any status at all!

How could he act on his own like this? She had to stay in Pei Mansion only for the sake of her life, but she didn't want to spend the rest of her life here.

Lu Suizhu stood up with a flustered look on her face and was about to refuse, but then she saw Pei Zhiji also stood up and prepared to go out.

In a hurry, she reached out and accidentally grabbed his sleeve. The delicate material felt a little cold when it touched her. Under Pei Zhiji's slightly frowning gaze, she withdrew her hand awkwardly.

"Don't bother, really. I'm already content to be with the Second Young Master for the rest of my life."

His words were sincere and earnest, and his eyes looked like a pool of swaying, sparkling water against the backdrop of the flickering candlelight.

After staring at each other for a long time, Pei Zhiji withdrew his gaze and immediately returned to his usual seriousness.

"You don't have to worry about this matter anymore. I have my own ideas."

His fists tightened slightly beneath his wide sleeves, and then he saw Pei Zhiji coming back: "Don't come back so late in the future. The Pei Mansion has its own rules."

After Pei Zhiji left, Lu Suizhu softened her body and sat down, her eyes feeling a little hot. Not only was she upset by Pei Zhiji's strong kindness, she also regretted that she should not have created an image of an infatuated woman who would never regret her love in front of Pei Zhiji.

The door creaked open and a cool breeze came in.

It was Aunt Zhao and Qiu Zhu who were guarding outside the door who came in.

"Young lady, please don't blame the eldest young master for his harsh words. The Pei Mansion has strict etiquette. If a female member of the family doesn't return home at 12:00 p.m., they can use the family rules. Even if a man commits a mistake while away, he will be severely punished. Now that 12:00 p.m. has passed, the old lady has sent Nanny Yun to check on us several times, but the eldest young master always blocked her way."

Nanny Zhao looked concerned and explained for Pei Zhiji in a gentle voice.

This statement did surprise Lu Suizhu.

She raised her eyes slightly and looked at the box of cakes on the table.

This is the sweet cake sold by Cui Ji Pastry Shop in the west of the city. She knew that Xiao Mao would keep her today, so she wrote a note to Fang Dian in advance and asked her to buy it.

The west of the city is very far away from Pei Mansion, and it is in two directions from Shangjing City. It takes at least two hours to go back and forth. If someone suspects her because of this, it is reasonable to use this snack to fool them.

"Madam Zhao, please help me deliver that box of snacks to Lord Pei and thank him for me."

Counting the time, she had not been to Louyue Pavilion to set up a seat and play the piano for a long time. The last time she went there was to settle accounts with Qin Wuniang. She has also been working for Xiao Mao during this period of time. She thinks he will keep his promise and not make things difficult for them.

Above the glitz and glamour, there is a gilded moon. There are not many customers here during the day compared to at night. Most of them are men who come here to discuss serious matters or have a meal.

As soon as Lu Suizhu entered the room, she heard constant noise coming from the private room on the first floor. It seemed that the guests were arguing and fighting. Qin Wuniang was so anxious outside that she kept stamping her feet but couldn't get in, so she could only shout at the top of her lungs.

"Hey, be careful not to smash my store!"

"Be careful, that's a vase with a woven golden bottom made by Master Pansu from the Western Regions after he chanted sutras for 9981 days. It's priceless."

"The fish tail on that curtain was embroidered with an inch of gold thread, and I almost tore it!"

Lu Suizhu walked sideways through the crowd of onlookers and came to Qin Wuniang's side with difficulty. Her crescent-shaped eyebrows knitted slightly. "Wu Niang, what happened?"

“It’s not that Shen Guyan, whom you’ve been thinking about, got into a fight with someone and smashed all my vases.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Suizhu's pupils constricted, but her eye sockets widened a little. In an instant, her clothes fluttered and she rushed straight in regardless of Qin Wuniang's obstruction.

The other person was holding a knife in his hand, with a fierce face full of flesh and a black mole on his lip. Shen Guyan, dressed in white, stood on the opposite side and kept dodging. His hair was a little messy due to the movement of his body, but he did not look embarrassed at all.

The knife swung back and forth, making Lu Suizhu shudder. She had already recognized the man, and with a sense of certainty in her heart, she shouted, "Put down the knife! What grudge do you have against me?"

"Oh, here comes the mistress. My brother was killed by this woman back then, and that bastard official Shen Guyan actually protected her, causing my brother to lose his life in vain. I must teach you two a lesson today."

The man immediately came towards Lu Suizhu, but she stood still without moving an inch, speaking loudly.

"I am the Queen Mother's personal musician. Do you dare to kill me?"

The man was indeed stunned.

"You have no evidence and are just talking nonsense. I can sue you for slander and defamation. I wonder how I should be punished for this crime?"

"According to the laws of our dynasty, those who commit serious defamation without evidence will be punished with thirty strokes of the cane. Master Lu is a member of the Empress Dowager's entourage, so this matter will probably be handed over to the Imperial Palace for trial.

Shen Guyan stood aside and took over.

The burly man stood there and glared at Lu Suizhu and Shen Guyan: "You wait." Then he twisted his bloated body and ran away quickly.

Lu Suizhu quickly stepped forward and looked the man in white over: "Are you okay, Shen Guyan?"

"It's okay. You shouldn't have come here when it was so dangerous just now."

The farce ended, and the onlookers gradually left their seats and dispersed. Qin Wuniang and Yuanyuan also arrived.

"Oh my vase! I'll report it to the police and make that fat guy pay for it."

"It's all my fault. I made you suffer this unexpected disaster. If anything happens to you today, I will kill him at the cost of my own life." Lu Suizhu took a breath.

Yuanyuan watched the two of them interacting with each other, and pulled the still angry Qin Wuniang aside, leaving them some space to get along.

"Don't say these words again. You were not wrong in what happened back then, and I never covered up for anyone. You absolutely cannot take the blame for my resignation."

"Did you hear that, Lu Suizhu?"

With a muffled hum, Lu Suizhu's eyes felt a little moist for some reason. She hadn't seen Chen Guyan for a long time, and she never thought that it would be like this when they met today. She always implicated him.

"I have to go back to the store, so I won't stay any longer."

Looking at Chen Guyan's receding back, Lu Suizhu was stunned for a long time. Hua Wu and Qin Wuniang stood on her left and right.

"You're leaving so soon. I wanted to make time for you to have a good chat."

The tears that were about to burst out of Lu Suizhu were held back as Chen Guyan walked away. She sat down and gave Yuanyuan a helpless smile.

"He has no affection for me."

"He keeps helping you even though he doesn't like it. He even resigned his official position to vouch for you, and he's still helping you investigate your background."

"Yuanyuan, you are still young. Love is not the only thing between men and women. Shen Guyan's help to me does not mean that he likes me, but simply because he is a good person."

Qin Wuniang was busy instructing the waiter to clean up the mess. Yuanyuan nodded as if she understood, and then she put on her cold and sad look again.

"Sister Suizhu, you haven't been coming to Louyue Pavilion often since you entered the Pei Mansion. Hua Wu also entered the Imperial Censor's Mansion as a concubine a few days ago. It's really a bit strange to be without her noisy and noisy presence."

"I heard from Wu Niang that a group of young girls will be coming in soon. What do you think I should do in the future?"

Yuanyuan talked to herself, but Lu Suizhu felt her heart was as cold as ice.

The Louyue Pavilion is not Qin Wuniang's property. She was only hired to manage this huge industry. No one has ever seen the person behind it.

When she was almost sold here, she vaguely heard that this seemed to be the asset of a high-ranking official in the court.

The old censor is already over sixty years old. Did Hua Wu really marry into his family voluntarily? Was the new young girl also sold in?

These things are scary to think about.

After she escaped, she once thought about investigating, but her master advised her to protect herself, as the power behind this was not something a little woman like her could shake.

"Sister Suizhu?" Yuanyuan pushed her arm.

"Yuanyuan, I have saved some money over the years. If you are willing, I can redeem you and then you can do whatever you want." Lu Suizhu looked at her and felt pity for her. If she was allowed to waste her whole life here, her ending would probably not be any better than Hua Wu's.

"No, no, Sister Suizhu, I've been here since I was a child. I've gotten used to being with Wu Niang and the sisters in the building every day. Going out won't necessarily make my life better."

Lu Suizhu felt a lump in her heart, and felt uncomfortable as if there was a ball of cotton in her chest.