Only three people remained in the room, and Pei Nanqing's silence made Nanzhi think of bad things.

"Cherry, what exactly happened to Pei Nanqing?"

"Master, the message will be worth ten taels of silver."

"Hmm?" Nan Zhi's eyes flashed with a cold light.

Cherry quickly shrank back.

"Shouldn't we settle the accounts for the medicinal herbs that were burned before?"

“Um,” Cherry said, looking down, “the messages are free.”

Nanzhi glared at him and said irritably, "Speak up!"

The master has a terrible temper; the cherry blossoms are about to open.

Pei Nanqing, a native of the capital, whose ancestral home is in Beijing.

"Get to the point," Nanzhi interrupted him.

Cherry reluctantly shut her mouth and focused on the important points.

"Pei Nanqing, born of the legitimate wife, lost his mother at a young age and was raised by his father. The second concubine in the mansion, in order to secure her son's position as heir, colluded with her uncles and relatives to drive Pei Nanqing to the brink of despair. They planted assassins on Pei Nanqing's escape route to take his life."

After listening, Nan Zhi couldn't help but shake her head. "Wealthy and powerful families are always rife with troubles. It seems the ancients were right."

Moreover, it seems that Pei Nanqing has been deceived.

Having learned the cause and effect of the incident, Song Hanyan also obtained some information.

However, Pei Nanqing was only willing to talk about how he was injured, and he didn't mention anything about the Pei family.

Because Taile Village is far from the reach of the emperor, Song Hanyan had to put in a lot of effort to gather information.

Nanzhi looked at him and said, "You were chased all the way to the north, do you know that the other side also knows that you are not dead?"

Pei Nanqing lowered his eyes. "I know."

"I encountered the assassins that day, and they talked about their superiors. If I told you that I know who's behind you, what would you do?"

Pei Nanqing: "If you had told me, I would have been eternally grateful and would never have forgotten your kindness."

The Pei family has complicated relationships, and he only has the title of heir apparent, yet he has been chased here, and there is still no news of who is behind him.

Harboring the grudge of being hunted down, the hatred of being framed, and burdened with these injuries, Pei Nanqing was determined to get an explanation.

Nan Zhi looked at him and said, "Your Pei family's relationships are really messy. But I saved you, what are you going to do about it?"

Pei Nanqing clutched his chest, struggled to get off the bed, and knelt before Nanzhi.

“I can never repay your kindness, young lady. Please just call me if you ever need my help.”

Nan Zhi: "No money?"

Pei Nanqing lowered his head. "If you need money, you can sell my clothes. They're worth quite a bit."

"No jade pendants or anything?"

Pei Nanqing shook his head.

This is quite different from what's written in the novel!

In novels, when the male protagonist or a male supporting character falls on hard times and has nothing, he will give his personal jade pendant to the female protagonist. The female protagonist will later find the male protagonist with the jade pendant and will gain a huge fortune and amazing power behind him.

Why didn't this happen to me?

We lost a lot of precious medicinal herbs, including a ginseng root. We've lost a fortune!

Nanzhi frowned, feeling miserable inside.

Song Hanyan came up and patted her head. "Don't worry, the Pei family in the capital is extremely wealthy. As long as you protect him, you will get much more money in the future than the jade pendant."

"Really?" Nan Zhi's eyes sparkled.

"real."

Pei Nanqing was still kneeling on the ground when he heard the two talking like this, so he got up and sat on the bed.

"Gentlemen," he said weakly, "is it appropriate for you to covet my Pei family's assets right in front of me?"

Nanzhi turned to look at him. "You mean, your life isn't worth that much money?"

Pei Nanqing gritted her teeth and said, "It's worth it! Please tell me, young lady."

Are you sure you want to know?

Pei Nanqing nodded.

Well, Nanzhi could already imagine how heartbroken the other party would be if they knew who was behind it all.

"The person behind it all is the Pei family, specifically the second concubine."

Pei Nanqing stood up. "Impossible!"

The movement was too large, aggravating the wound on his chest, and he sat down uncontrollably.

"Look, look, you should know this yourself. If the wound reopens, I'll have to pay for medicine again."

Song Hanyan asked, "Zhizhi, what exactly happened?"

Do you know the concept of "praise to death"?

Song Hanyan frowned, seeing that the person by the bed did not react, and Nanzhi continued.

"For so many years, your second aunt has treated you like her own son, indulging you in everything. But have you ever thought that she wanted you to grow up to be a spoiled brat in the capital? Unfortunately, you were taught by the Prince of Annan from a young age and did not grow up to be what she expected, which is why she killed you."

"Impossible!" Pei Nanqing exclaimed, her eyes red. "My aunt treated me like her own child."

Nan Zhi scoffed. This guy was being used as a pawn and didn't even realize it.

"Ever since you came of age, your aunt has focused all her attention on your half-brother and ignored you completely, isn't that right?"

“That’s because my younger brother is still young and needs to be taken care of,” Pei Nanqing retorted.

"Oh?" Nanzhi continued, "But since you inherited the position of Crown Prince, has she returned to how she was before, taking care of you in every detail of your daily life, even more attentive than your own child?"

"That's right, that's right."

Nanzhi interrupted him, "That's because she wants to take this opportunity to build a good relationship with you, and then secretly poison you."

"Poison?" Song Hanyan frowned.

“I found a slow-acting poison in his body. If he continues to take it for a few more years, he will die from physical and mental exhaustion.”

Pei Nanqing collapsed instantly, recalling everything that had happened, and it was exactly as she had described.

The two got up and left, leaving Pei Nanqing alone. There were some things she could only explain clearly, and some things he needed to figure out on his own. Nanzhi could only help him this far.

"Alas, life is unpredictable; there are all kinds of people in it," Nan Zhi sighed.

I've seen vicious and irritable people, but I've never seen anyone praise someone to the point of ruin.

Indeed, it is a gentle knife that cuts people's lives one by one.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!