Chapter 25
Zhu Zijin clapped his hands suddenly and leaned forward with a grin, "Does the fourth young lady of the Wen family like you?"
Pei Lingjun opened his eyes abruptly, his gaze piercing Zhu Zijin, and he rebuked him expressionlessly, "What nonsense are you spouting?"
Zhu Zijin raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, quickly took a few steps back, and retorted in a low voice, "That's right, I could tell. Besides, when you were assassinated and seriously injured and brought to Anyang City, wasn't it Fourth Sister who saved you?"
Pei Lingjun pursed his lips tightly, quietly watching Zhu Zijin court disaster. The latter, oblivious to his own folly, continued, "Such a great favor, I think you should just repay it with your body, Uncle. That way, you can successfully gain Wen Tao's trust and complete the mission, and I'll also have an aunt. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"
"Nonsense!"
The dream vanished completely with that extremely angry rebuke.
Pei Lingjun suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes filled with dark circles. The scene from his dream did not disappear as he woke up; instead, it became even more vivid in his memory.
What's wrong with him?
Why do I keep dreaming about Wen Shu?
Could this dream be a guide in times of difficulty?
Pei Lingjun shook his head violently. Deceiving a woman's feelings to complete a mission—what kind of guidance is that?!
The dew from the night before condensed on his robe. Pei Lingjun moved his stiff body and turned his head to look into the ancestral hall. The girl who had appeared in his dream was lying on her side on several prayer cushions, fast asleep.
It was just beginning to get light outside.
Pei Lingjun frowned, his mood somber because of the inexplicable dream.
After returning to his room, Cui Peigang got up, stretched, and went to fetch water. He saw Pei Lingjun enter from outside the courtyard with a gloomy expression, and he instantly became more alert.
"My lord? When did you go out? These clothes..."
The white jade robe was still the same one from yesterday, with a few barely noticeable water stains on it, coupled with Pei Lingjun's extremely tired face.
Cui Pei looked him over and immediately had an idea.
This doesn't mean they just went out; they've clearly been gone all night!
Before Cui Pei could speak, Pei Lingjun interrupted him, glancing at him coldly, "Ji Jing, how many men have you kept on your side?"
Caught off guard by Pei Lingjun's question, Cui Pei was visibly taken aback, then quickly recovered, "Those people from the Xiaolong Guard, apart from the three of us you specifically asked to accompany you before you left, the rest all stayed in Jijing. So, all of a sudden..."
"It wasn't them. There were three people who came with me. Besides you, who came across the river with me, where are the other two?"
Cui Pei's eyes widened instantly, his expression filled with terror, and he exclaimed, "Those two didn't come with you?!"
Pei Lingjun's face darkened. Back then, near the Tongcheng Canal outside Anyang Prefecture, they were inexplicably assassinated, and the four of them lost contact outside the city.
He was the first to cross the river and enter Anyang City, hiding in Guangfu Temple, where he unexpectedly met Wen Shu. At the medicine shop, he climbed over the wall for the only time and contacted Cui Pei, who later entered the city, asking him to obtain Song Yuanzhuo's official seal and credentials.
Meanwhile, the whereabouts of the other two remain unknown.
Seeing that Pei Lingjun remained silent, Cui Pei's brow twitched, and he hissed, "Could it be that they haven't entered the city?"
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