Chapter 40
Zhu Zijin was heartbroken by this, and his eyes were filled with disappointment and frustration when he looked at his uncle.
Upon seeing Pei Lingjun, she immediately questioned, "Uncle, did you know that Miss Wen got engaged yesterday?"
Cui Pei stood aside, pretending to be invisible and a mere background figure, thinking to himself: How could he not know? He had already seen the list of betrothal gifts prepared by the Qi family.
However, Pei Lingjun did not answer his question. He held a half-carved seal between his long fingers and carefully compared it with the black eagle head pattern on the secret letter.
"Uncle?" Taking advantage of his momentary lapse in attention, Zhu Zijin plopped down on the table, snatched the seal from his hand, and, without even bothering to see what it was engraved, began to play with it.
Pei Lingjun finally raised his head, his gaze lightly falling on him.
Instantly, as if static electricity had been drawn to his entire body, and every nerve in his body had been stung, Zhu Zijin quickly stood up straight and respectfully placed the object in his hand on the table.
He even carefully swept away a small patch of dust on the table that wasn't on the table where he had sat.
"Uncle," Zhu Zijin repeated reluctantly, "Wen Si Niangzi is engaged."
"I know." Pei Lingjun lowered his head and spat out the three words through gritted teeth. Only Zhu Zijin dared to repeat this topic to him again and again; anyone else would have been thrown out long ago.
Aren't you sad?
You have to understand, Wen Shu is his aunt whom he has unilaterally recognized. It's been so many years, and he hasn't liked any of the noble ladies or ordinary girls his mother has introduced to him!
Now that he's finally interested in a girl, Zhu Zijin thought that even if his uncle throws him out today, he'll still help his mother settle his uncle's marriage!
"Why should I be sad?!" Pei Lingjun stood up abruptly. "There are so many women in this world, am I supposed to shed a tear for every woman who gets married?!"
Zhu Zijin feared nothing but his uncle. Upon hearing this, he immediately shrank back and retorted in a low voice, "Then why did you stand up for Fourth Sister when her reputation was damaged? Why did you try every means to make the eldest daughter of the Wen family compensate you? And why did you stay by Fourth Sister's side when she was being punished to kneel? Why did you give her a specially made ointment to reduce swelling?"
Like a bolt from the blue, Pei Lingjun was speechless. "I did that to protect myself, to gain the Wen family's trust..."
The moment these words, spoken with such a lack of confidence, were uttered, even Pei Lingjun couldn't help but frown.
Zhu Zijin stood up and said, "Fine, even if you can explain all of this, how do you interpret the tender look in your eyes when you look at Fourth Sister?"
"I..."
Pei Lingjun was unusually speechless.
The valiant guard, who could remain composed even when facing the emperor in court, and the young master of the Marquis's mansion, who was adept at disguising himself and keeping his mouth shut when dealing with political enemies, were unusually unable to refute him.
What is a tender, affectionate gaze?
When did he look at Wen Shu with such affectionate eyes?
Before he could get any answers, Zhu Zijin strode out of the main room.
The surroundings quieted down, and you could even hear the gentle breeze.
Pei Lingjun leaned against the log armrest, exhausted, rubbing his temples. The vivid memories in his mind came alive again, even though he had tried to suppress them countless times.
Inside the medicine shop, the woman's bright eyes held unspoken emotions.
Inside the Wen family mansion, there were those repeated calls of "cousin" and her feelings of affection that she tried to hide but couldn't.
He saw it all, and even felt a secret sense of joy.
Fragmented scenes replayed in my mind again and again, deepening my memory, so vividly clear as if it happened just yesterday.
Some things, once they are hidden and suppressed with all their might, are more likely to slip out of control once they rebound. The string called reason has already snapped!
Pei Lingjun stared at the betrothal gift list buried at the bottom. His deliberate avoidance these past few days seemed like a joke. The feelings he himself was unwilling to face were exposed in one day, and it was as if the floodgates had been opened and everything was poured out.
He wasn't sure if he liked Wen Shu.
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