In September, news came that the Dingyuan General's Mansion had been confiscated, and Yangzhou City was already covered in autumn colors.

After Pei Manning heard the news brought by her maid Lulu, she felt a chill all over her body. Even the lotus pond outside the window looked desolate and bleak.

"Miss? What should we do from now on?" Lu Lu looked at her young lady with red eyes.

When the lady was alive, she treated the young lady like a treasure. The Pei family was a wealthy family in the Jiangnan area. Although not as prominent as the powerful and famous families, it could be said to be a family with rich food and luxurious life. The young lady of their family was brought up like a lady from the Pei family since she was a child. She was a beauty famous in Jiangnan.

But now, this good reputation has become a disaster.

Pei Manning's face turned pale, and she said indifferently, "Now that the General's Mansion has fallen, my father is so impatient to marry me into the Marquis' Mansion?"

Lulu was so sad that she wanted to cry. She grew up with Pei Manning and knew the young lady's situation.

Not long after the lady passed away, the old man went on to marry the concubine's daughter of the Yangzhou prefect. If it weren't for the fact that his uncle was a general of Dingyuan, the old man would have been wary of marrying his wife. I'm afraid that this year, the young lady would have been "married" to a wealthy family just after the mourning period.

Now that my uncle has been dismissed from office and exiled, the only person he is jealous of is none other than me.

Although Pei Manning was sad, she did not wallow in grief. She patted the gourd on her chest and her eyes gradually became firm: "Where was my uncle's family exiled to?"

"I heard that Chang County in Chongzhou, Northwest China, is a bitter and cold place."

Pei Manning understood, and then lowered her voice: "My uncle was afraid that I would be wronged by my stepmother, so he left a confidant in the manor named after me. Madam Huo, who is in charge of purchasing in the kitchen, is trustworthy. You are like this..."

Lu Lu's eyes widened, as if she was meeting her lady for the first time.

After making good friends with Lu Lu, Pei Man Ning was painting alone in the warm attic. After all, she had never done such a bold thing, so it was inevitable that she felt a little uneasy.

In the evening, when she heard that Pei Man Ning refused to have dinner, Ruan led a group of maids and servants to the Han Courtyard to punish them.

"Ning'er, I know you're feeling miserable. Why did the old man want to marry you to the Marquis' Mansion? He has always loved you the most, but the founding Marquis has real power. Although the Pei family is an imperial merchant, it really means nothing in the eyes of these powerful people."

Ruan was only in her twenties and had just given birth to a son. She was graceful and beautiful, at the prime of her life. He held her hand and constantly comforted her with gentle words.

Pei Manning lowered her eyes, hiding the sarcasm in them, her face revealing only the resistance of a little girl.

Nguyen

Judging from her expression, she naturally noticed Pei Manning's silent resistance. She was not afraid of her resistance. It would be strange if she didn't resist!

It is true that the daughter born to Ning was a stunning beauty, with fair skin, bright eyes and white teeth. Her eyes seemed to contain a pool of spring water, and when she looked at people, it was like she was wearing a hook. How could any man not be moved by such a gentle and charming look?

What a pity, no matter how beautiful it is, it is just a cheap old thing.

She hid the sneer in her eyes and spoke slowly: "Although this founding marquis is older, he is a kind person. With your beauty, you have won the marquis's favor and enjoyed endless wealth and honor. But if you offend the marquis now and offend the marquis's mansion, the entire Pei mansion will not be able to afford the offense. Think about it, is this the case?"

More than just being older, this marquis is over sixty years old and likes young girls the most. He has countless wives and concubines and many children in his house, including his son who is almost forty years old.

Seeing Pei Manning remained silent, Ruan took a sip of tea and said, "Let's talk about your uncle. If you become the Marquis's wife and say a few good words to the Marquis, with his help, things may turn around. Even if the generals cannot be reinstated, it can make their wives' lives much better, right?"

Pei Manning knew that Ruan was just setting a trap for her.

She knew very well that a man of the Houye's age had much experience and knowledge, and he would never do such a thing as getting angry and rushing to the top for a beautiful woman. His Majesty personally ordered the confiscation of the family property, so who would dare to overturn the verdict?

But he still looked at Ruan with hope: "Really? Can the Marquis really save my uncle?"

Ruan, who felt that she had found Pei Manning's soft spot, remained expressionless and sighed, "Ning'er, the old man has been working tirelessly these days for General An Yuan, but...but although the Pei family is rich, they have no power. Now, we can only count on the help of the Marquis' Mansion."

After a long silence, Pei Manning's face turned pale and she said dryly, "...I will marry you."

Ruan patted her hands with satisfaction and comforted her softly, "It's good that you can think it through, but you are not allowed to make trouble and go on hunger strike again. In three days, the Marquis's Mansion will send the betrothal gifts. Don't worry, the master has ordered me to prepare a rich trousseau for you. I won't let you be looked down upon."

After persuading Pei Manning to finish her dinner, Ruan took her people away.

In the Han Courtyard, a maid whispered, "Madam, why do you have to be so polite to the young lady? Marriage is a matter of parents' orders and matchmakers' words since ancient times."

Another big maidservant said in a low voice: "Shut up! How can we servants guess what the master does?"

What else could it be?

If my mother really wants to become the wife of the Marquis, how can I let her have a rift with her family because of this? Now I have to use both soft and hard tactics to keep her in a tangle.

………

Two months passed quickly, and the two governments had completed the handover ceremony.

During this time, Ruan had people keeping an eye on Hanyuan's every move. Pei Manning seemed to have really accepted her fate and lived a simple life every day.

That night, after Ruan helped Pei Zheng lie down, she said softly, "Master, the eldest lady has been well behaved recently. The maids and the grandmothers have no contact with outsiders, but I am always worried."

During the past two months, Pei Manning had been quite leisurely, allowing the farm to send in a lot of things. Every day, she would study some food and pastries in the small kitchen, and she was unusually quiet.

"In another month, the Marquis's Mansion will send people to Yangzhou to welcome the bride." Pei Zheng looked at the ceiling of the tent, not knowing what he was thinking.

Pei Zheng is now only in his thirties, with a handsome face and deep scheming. He was an unknown poor scholar from the countryside, but he married the daughter of a general's mansion. Although he failed in the imperial examinations many times, he became one of the imperial merchants through business.

He has come to where he is now, how could he do such slanderous things as "selling daughters for glory"? All he needs to do is to use a little trick to let the founding marquis hear of the good name of Pei Manning of Yangzhou, so that he will take the initiative to send someone to propose marriage.

Although the Hou Mansion has power, it has huge expenses and a deficit, so it needs a large amount of money to fill the hole. The Pei Mansion is a wealthy family in Jiangnan, but its foundation is weak, so it needs to rely on power. Both sides take what they need.

Late at night, the couple talked and rested.

The night wind blew, and at three o'clock in the morning, there was a hurried and chaotic sound of running, knocking on the gong, shouting, and screaming in a courtyard of Pei Mansion...

"Someone! Someone come quickly, there's a fire!"

"Quick! Quick, there's a fire in the kitchen."

"Oh no, the ancestral hall is on fire..."

All the masters and servants in the mansion were frightened.

Pei Manning, wearing her maid's clothes and lowering her head, found Pei Zheng's study in the cover of night, found the mechanism, and walked down the stairs to the basement.

The things in the Pei Mansion's warehouse are just the visible assets. Most of the Pei family's assets are hidden in the basement.

The huge basement was filled with boxes of gold bars, silver ingots, rare treasures, fine arts, porcelain, treasures, ancient books, calligraphy and paintings... Pei Manning put her hand on the box, and in an instant, the box disappeared from where it was.

Then, she touched the boxes one by one, and only stopped when all the boxes disappeared from their original places.

Seeing the empty basement, Pei Manning already

One can imagine how furious her father would be.

But it is still far from enough!

Thinking of how her mother was secretly given an infertility drug when she gave birth to her, and how she could only watch her father taking concubines one after another because she had no son, and thinking of everything Grandma Cui said before her death, Pei Manning wanted to destroy the entire Pei Mansion.

Unfortunately, he had already climbed up to the position of governor of Yangzhou at that time. If he could not hit the target in one blow, she would not be alarmed.

The night was pitch black, but flames shot up to the sky from Pei's residence. The air was dry in late autumn, and when the breeze blew, the flames quickly licked the densely packed house and gradually turned into a raging fire.

The Pei residence was in chaos. Many people from nearby large houses came to help put out the fire. Pei Manning stood in front of the corner gate and took a last look at the house.

"Miss!" Yangzhou City did not have a curfew. When they arrived at the small house they had agreed on, Lu Lu immediately came to greet them. "Why did you come so late? You must have worried about me!"

Pei Manning: "Lulu, listen to me. When you and Mrs. Huo get the new identity documents, go to the village arranged by Uncle Shen. On the way, pretend to be refugees, and sew banknotes between your clothes. From now on, you will call each other mother and daughter, and never return to Yangzhou."

"What about you, miss? Don't you want to join us?"

Pei Manning shook her head: "I am going to Chongzhou in the northwest, and I will take you with me to fight against the burden."

An Dun was so upset that she had to follow Lu Lu to serve her. Pei Man Ning disguised herself and turned into a gloomy boy with a pale face, tangled hair covering his face and a foul smell.

With a ragged cotton quilt hanging from his body, he looked as dirty as a beggar. Pei Manning paid the money, put the documents and the travel permit in his pocket, and followed the caravans traveling north and south, setting out on the road to the bitter cold land of the northwest.

There, are her only remaining relatives.

As for her father, how he would be blamed by the Marquis after losing all his wealth and life was no longer her concern.

However, Pei Manning never expected that she would encounter such a thing.

On the fourth day of the caravan's journey, they had already reached the border of Yangzhou. During the rest time, two tall and thin men huddled together and talked without telling anyone else.

"That boy is skinny, but his appearance is not bad. If he is tidied up, he will definitely be a handsome young man. If he is sold to Langfang, he will be worth at least this amount."

Another person hesitated, "I heard that his father joined the army in the northwest, what if..."

"What if? That kid is always wearing rags, his father must not be a high-ranking official. Besides, from Yangzhou to Chongzhou, there are bandits everywhere, so what's strange about some accidents? Don't worry, I'll take care of the daggers."

"Okay, take him to the woods tonight, and we'll check the goods first... hehehe."

"Damn it, he's eavesdropping there!"

Pei Manning's face turned pale, and he turned and ran, holding the bamboo tube filled with water.