Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Master Pei is cold on the outside but warm on the inside

The old lady's voice was like a tree root covered with a layer of dark green moss when she spoke, which made Lu Suizhu feel choked up. If it weren't for the rouge on her face, her face would have turned pale long ago. Her hands were clenched tightly in her sleeves. Her voice was relatively calm, but her words were a little difficult to speak.

"The Second Young Master is a man of great stature and elegance, and the Pei family is even more prestigious. Suizhu is marrying up."

"Tell me, how did you meet Huai Shen, and how did you persuade him to bring you into this Pei Mansion?"

Mrs. Pei was not as harsh as the old lady. She had a faint smile on her lips and spoke in a gentle voice, which made Lu Suizhu's bulging shoulders relax slightly for a moment.

"In reply to Madam, Suizhu and the Second Young Master met at Louyue Pavilion. The Second Young Master often came here for banquets with his colleagues."

At this point, Lu Suizhu lowered her head and paused for a moment before her plump lips opened again. "Suizhu and the Second Young Master are in love. The Second Young Master's willingness to take Suizhu back to the Pei Mansion is a blessing earned by Suizhu in her previous life."

To be picky, this story is nothing special. It is just the most common story in a picture book about a rich young man falling in love with a "poor" girl. After hearing this, no one looked surprised.

Nanny Yun lowered her head and whispered a few words to the old lady. The person at the top of the table changed his expression for a moment and his voice became a little hoarse.

"I heard you're a zither player, but performing in a brothel like Louyue Pavilion is always detrimental to your reputation. Now that you want to enter my Pei Mansion, you can't avoid this physical examination."

No matter how Lu Suizhu prepared, she never expected that a family like the Pei family would do such a barbaric thing, and that the old lady of the Pei family would be so mean and tyrannical.

Back then, she was separated from her family and was almost sold to a brothel by a human trafficker. She was examined once. She was still young at that time, but she still remembers the humiliation of lying naked on the cold bed, with her body being manipulated at will by a fat-faced old woman.

"She is still so young, is it necessary to test her?"

"That's the rule."

The pale and terrifying words are still ringing in my ears. The coldness and pain have seeped into my bones and are hard to forget.

The maids and nannies approached Lu Suizhu. Lu Suizhu's eyes widened in fear and she kept backing away. She stepped on the pink and white hem of her skirt and almost fell down. She shouted "No", but the door had already been closed tightly. She had no way out after retreating to this point.

Nanny Yun received the order and stepped forward with several maids. Her eyes were full of determination and undauntedness. The corners of her lips twitched as she exerted force, her eyes narrowed slightly, and her movements were brutal and powerful.

"Don't come over here, get out of here, get out of here. Is this how you, the Pei family, bully an orphan girl?"

No one in the room tried to stop her. Mrs. Pei and Mrs. Chen just watched coldly. Lu Suizhu struggled desperately. The pearl flower on her hairpin had been knocked to the ground. Tears slowly slid down her cheeks and sank deep into her snow-white neck. The chill penetrated her bones and her body trembled involuntarily.

In the end, she was outnumbered and her clothes were torn one after another, exposing large areas of her snow-white skin, with only a light yellow dress covering her. The yard was filled with the woman's shrill screams.

The pair of rough hands wandered freely on Lu Suizhu's skin, making people feel sick.

Lu Suizhu bit Nanny Yun's hand fiercely, using all her strength, and Nanny Zhao cried out in pain.

"Shut up, you little bitch."

Lu Suizhu refused to give in, and the piece of flesh on Nanny Yun's hand was about to be torn off. Others rushed to pull it away, and the scene suddenly became a mess.

At this moment, a ray of light came in, making it impossible to look away.

The maid stopped what she was doing, and the door opened from the outside. Pei Zhiji came in. His steps seemed a little hurried, and the wind he brought in swept the dust next to the incense burner to the ground.

"Grandma, there are so many people here, what's going on?"

When Pei Zhiji came, he stepped past Lu Suizhu and caught a glimpse of the woman kneeling on the ground. She was in a very miserable state, with her outer clothes all torn apart. She supported herself on the ground with her slender arms to prevent herself from falling. Her black hair was draped over her shoulders in clumps, and there were marks of being pinched and scratched on her body. The bright red blood had soaked her pink lips.

Nanny Yun also fell to the side. When she saw Pei Zhiji, she tremblingly crawled to her feet and went to the old lady. A piece of flesh was bitten off her hand. Her eyebrows were trembling in pain and she dared not make a sound.

"What's wrong with this Nanny Yun? She looks so angry. I knew you were following the old lady's orders, but I thought you were just a butcher from some rural family, bullying men and women."

The implication of these words was obvious and not very pleasant, but Nanny Yun, a servant, did not dare to say anything. She endured the pain and retreated awkwardly behind the old lady.

"Zhiji, the old lady is taking care of household affairs. Don't get involved in women's affairs."

Fearing that this action would anger the old lady, Mrs. Pei quickly stood up and whispered to Pei Zhiji, her words full of advice.

Pei Zhiji turned a deaf ear to her, but he softened his tone a bit. He took a step forward and bowed politely to the old lady.

"Grandmother, the Crown Princess will be giving birth soon. If word of this death spreads that the Pei Mansion took human life without mercy, it will be detrimental to their reputation."

The voice was cold but not heavy, loud enough for the entire Chunhui Hall to hear.

"Oh, how can it be so serious to take human life so lightly? I just want to examine her body to see if she is innocent."

Madam Chen also stood up. When she heard Pei Zhiji mention the Crown Princess, her voice became a little anxious.

In the midst of the hustle and bustle, everyone heard the sound of a cane hitting the ground. The old lady looked extremely bad, and her voice sounded extremely tired: "What's the point of making such a fuss?" Then she gave Pei Zhiji a meaningful look and finally said, "Forget it, let's all go home today."

After saying this, she was helped by Nanny Yun to go back and rest. Seeing this, Madam Pei and Chen were also helped away by their maids.

Huichun Hall returned to silence, and you could hear a pin drop.

Lu Suizhu was still sitting in the same place, with numbness in her eyes. She raised her round eyes and looked at Pei Zhiji, with tears still in them. The bloodstains on her fair skin were particularly shocking and hard to ignore.

Pei Zhiji was tall, and he was sitting and standing at the same time. Lu Suizhu looked up and saw that he was struggling. He stretched out his hands to her neck and moved them several times. Then, his slender hands like jade bamboo threw the cloak from his shoulders to her hands.

From beginning to end, his eyes never fell on her.

When she returned, it was already dusk. The light orange glow covered the sky. The twilight was dim and not many passers-by saw her.

Qiu Zhu applied medicine to her, and Lu Suizhu couldn't help but hiss.

"This black-hearted woman is too cruel." Qiu Zhu frowned, but applied the medicine to Lu Suizhu very gently, and her face turned red with anger.

"It's okay, I bit her too." Lu Suizhu comforted her with a smile and patted Qiu Zhu's hand, as if she didn't care about the matter at all.

After Pei Zhiji came back, she folded his white cloak on the wooden cabinet beside the bed. This was the clothes he usually wore, and Lu Suizhu had seen it several times.

Seeing her staring at the cloak in a trance, Qiu Zhu began to explain.

"It was Nanny Zhao who saw that the young lady hadn't returned for so long and thought something must have happened, so she went to find Xiao Feng, who then went to find the eldest young master. At that time, the eldest young master was in the study discussing matters with others. When he heard about the incident in the front yard, he left the others behind and hurried over."

"I always thought that the eldest young master was cold and heartless, but I didn't expect that he is cold on the outside but warm on the inside." Qiu Zhu smiled and patiently applied medicine to Lu Suizhu's wound.

Cold on the outside but warm on the inside, huh?

Lu Suizhu smiled coldly and did not refute. Pei Zhiji's eyes did not show any warmth when he looked at her, but were just cold.

The night was as cold as ice, and the yard seemed to be coated with a layer of silver. It was clear as if it had just rained, and hazy as if it was trembling in the clouds.

We are about to enter deep winter, and I don’t know if it will get warmer in the future.

Lu Suizhu was so upset tonight that she couldn't fall asleep no matter what. The charcoal basin was burning hot and she was completely unaware of the cold outside. She put on her clothes and followed her heart to a small pond in the backyard.

If it were summer, the swaying fireflies against the winding water would surely be extremely beautiful, but now all that seems is cold and lonely.

Looking at the icy surface of the pool, Lu Suizhu felt sad, not knowing whether the water underneath was flowing. Her life was as desolate and helpless as the water.

Looking at the cold crescent moon, Lu Suizhu took out a plain white handkerchief from her bosom. There was a small word "Chen" embroidered on the right corner. She couldn't help but shed tears, and crystal clear salt water beads rolled down. In this world, except Chen Guyan, no one else was willing to help her.

Back then, she was assassinated and nearly sold into Louyue Pavilion. In a moment of panic, she accidentally pushed the man who was about to commit a crime to the ground, but the man's back of the head hit a nail on the door eaves.

The person died on the spot.

This matter caused a lot of uproar. Coincidentally, Shen Guyan came here to investigate the case. At that time, he was just a small official in the Ministry of Justice who had just taken office, but he resolutely chose to protect her.

He even lost his official position for this.

He said: "It is difficult for women to survive in the world, so anyone who passes by should be willing to help them."

But only Shen Guyan helped her but hurt himself.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, she cried bitterly. Ever since she entered the Eastern Palace to perform and saw the scene of the prince killing someone, she had been worried every day. Now, Hua Wu was right, and the Pei Mansion was indeed a dangerous place.

Until she heard footsteps approaching from behind, she slowly calmed down, and the voice she spoke was familiar to her.

"Regret it?"

Pei Zhiji was wearing a brown cloak with his hair half draped behind him. The color was heavy, but it did not make his face look old. Instead, it showed a sense of luxury.

He was already dressed so warmly, but the area near the pond was still quite chilly. He couldn't help coughing as he approached.

Lu Suizhu thought that the cloak he had left for her today was also cold, and it did not provide any warmth when draped over her uncovered skin.

Compared to his usual meticulous appearance in official uniform, Pei Zhiji now looked very casual. Lu Suizhu lowered her head and wiped away her tears. The sound of her crying just now could not be hidden and was muffled.

"No regrets."

If she had to say regret, she only regretted that she should not have gone to such great lengths to provoke Pei Huaishen. Not only did it cause a lot of trouble, but now she was in trouble.

The moon is like a round disk, shining on the still ice water, which is gurgling and has a clear and deep feeling, quiet and bottomless.

After a long time, Lu Suizhu heard a chuckle, which sounded like a sneer and a sigh.

"There are many infatuated women in the world."

Lu Suizhu wondered why he suddenly said that, and then listened to him speak slowly.

"It's incredibly stupid."

“…….”

Lu Suizhu was speechless for a moment. After a long while, she finally spoke softly, "Master Pei probably doesn't have an engagement, right?"

Pei Zhiji raised his eyebrows, as if waiting for what to say next.

"If one day a girl loves you wholeheartedly, will adults still say that her infatuation is stupid?"

"meeting."

Feeling a breath stuck in her chest, Lu Suizhu took a deep breath and felt that the sadness just now disappeared. She gathered her clothes and folded her hands together to keep warm. She was wearing thin clothes when she came out, and only now did she feel the cold. The tip of her nose was a little red from the cold.

"Then I am different from you. If there is a man who loves me wholeheartedly, I will definitely cherish him."

"So that person is Huai Shen."

Lu Suizhu was choked again and stopped.

Pei Zhiji's face was cold and without a smile, which didn't seem like he was teasing. Lu Suizhu could only nod sullenly to get the point across, not wanting to continue the conversation with him.

Thinking about what happened during the day, Lu Suizhu looked at Pei Zhiji's profile and said solemnly, "I haven't thanked Master Pei for rescuing me today."

"It's just because Huai Shen asked me to do that. I won't get involved in this kind of trivial matter again."

After saying these words, Pei Zhiji turned around and left without saying much. He came out for a walk because he couldn't sleep at night. He coughed less these days, but he had more insomnia and dreams at night.

His tall figure gave off a frail and pale look, as if it had been crushed. Lu Suizhu called out to him from behind, "Master Pei, I've washed your clothes and will give them to you."

"No need. I don't like things that other people have worn."

Lu Suizhu frowned and subconsciously kicked the stone at her feet. The man suddenly turned around, which scared Lu Suizhu so much that she forgot to retract her foot and stood there staring at him in a daze.

Pei Zhiji glanced at the kicked-away gravel, not caring much about it, and spoke to Lu Suizhu in a low voice.

"Taifu Li fell into the water after drinking. The case has been closed."