Chapter 128: When I was young, I was ignorant and just joking
It was already late when Pei Jinghong received the letter. Even though he was eager to go home, he could only wait until dawn the next morning to set off.
Ruan Yunbo comforted him, "Cousin, don't worry too much. The old man is getting old and it's inevitable that he will be in poor health. Go back and find a doctor to take a good look."
Pei Jinghong sighed, "What a pity, I can't go with everyone to pay tribute to my cousin's father tomorrow."
Ruan Yunjian patted his shoulder and said, "When your grandmother feels better, you can come to the Marquis' Mansion anytime."
Pei Jinghong nodded, glanced at Ruan Yunsheng, and sighed in his heart again.
I originally thought that I could stay in the Marquis' Mansion for a while longer this time and have plenty of time to spend with my cousin.
He didn't expect that his grandmother would suddenly become seriously ill and he would have to pass away so soon.
After everyone had dinner together, Pei Jinghong thought it over again and again and decided to go to Yuehuayuan.
"Cousin, there's something...I want to talk to you alone."
Ruan Yunsheng asked in surprise, "Cousin, do you need any help? Do you want to ask my eldest and third brothers to come over?"
Pei Jinghong smiled: "I just want to tell my cousin a little about the prince's private affairs, so..."
Ruan Yunsheng raised her eyebrows slightly. Pei Jinghong actually wanted to talk to her about Xie Yan?
She actually became interested and turned to tell Zhishu and Zhiqin, "You two can leave first."
After the maids left, Ruan Yunsheng asked, "What exactly did my cousin want to tell me?"
"Where should I begin..." Pei Jinghong's fingers unconsciously rubbed the edge of the teacup. "Cousin, you should remember that I once lived in the Marquis' Mansion for a few days when I was a child."
Ruan Yunsheng nodded, "That's true, but my memory is a little fuzzy."
Pei Jinghong laughed and sighed, "At that time, my parents and my cousin's intention was actually to let me stay in the mansion and study with my cousin, but after a few days, I came home crying. My cousin was afraid that I would get sick from crying, so she had no choice but to send someone to send me back."
Ruan Yunsheng nodded again, not understanding why Pei Jinghong suddenly talked about his childhood, and what did this have to do with Xie Yan?
Pei Jinghong continued, "But I wasn't homesick at the time. I was scared away by Xie Yan."
Ruan Yunsheng finally showed a hint of surprise: "Scared away by Xie Yan?"
Xie Yan has been a law-abiding and old-fashioned boy since he was young. How could he scare Pei Jinghong?
Pei Jinghong looked at Ruan Yunsheng, "At that time, I accidentally saw you riding Xie Yan like a horse..."
“Cough cough cough——”
Ruan Yunsheng was halfway through listening when he suddenly choked on his own saliva and started coughing violently.
Pei Jinghong quickly asked, "Are you okay, cousin? Have some water."
Ruan Yunsheng waved his hand, took a sip of tea to stop coughing, and said awkwardly, "I was ignorant when I was little, I was just joking."
Ruan Yunsheng felt a little embarrassed, but also a little relieved.
Fortunately, Pei Jinghong just accidentally saw Xie Yan being ridden like a horse by her, and did not see Xie Yan being forced by her to bark like a dog and call her "little master".
Unexpectedly, Pei Jinghong then said, "At that time, Xie Yan and I lived in the same courtyard. He told me that if I wanted to stay in the mansion, he would not only let you ride him like a horse, but also learn to bark like a dog to make you happy."
"Xie Yan lived next door to me at the time and practiced barking like a dog every night. It scared me so much that I couldn't sleep the whole night, so I cried and made a fuss about going home."
Ruan Yunsheng was completely stunned, and it took him a while to come back to his senses.
She said in disbelief, "So you're saying that Xie Yan not only barks like a dog every night, but also forces you to bark like a dog?"
How is this possible?
At that time, she forced Xie Yan to follow Da Huang and learn to bark like a dog. Xie Yan's face was full of humiliation and he was very reluctant.
I didn’t expect Xie Yan to practice every night and force Pei Jinghong to scream together?
Pei Jinghong nodded. "So, this incident left a big psychological scar on me. Even after I grew up, I was still very afraid of dogs."
When Pei Jinghong saw Da Huang before, he was so scared that he jumped onto the table.
Ruan Yunsheng murmured, "But...why did Xie Yan do this?"
She bullied Xie Yan because he was stubborn and would only react when she humiliated him, and would get so angry that his face would turn red.
But she didn't remember saying that she wanted to bully Pei Jinghong.
Moreover, she bullied Xie Yan behind her parents and teacher's back. Pei Jinghong was a guest in the house and did not provoke her, so it was impossible for her to bully him.
Pei Jinghong said, "I didn't understand it when I was little, but when I grew up, I gradually understood that Xie Yan did that to drive me away from you."
Noticing Ruan Yunsheng's puzzled look, Pei Jinghong continued, "Cousin, think carefully. You've been pampered in the mansion, and although you're spoiled, your aunt and cousins have protected you very well. How could you think of using that method to 'bully' Xie Yan for no reason?"
After he said this, Ruan Yunsheng became even more confused.
Pei Jinghong continued, "Xie Yan is now a prince, but he still managed to move into the Marquis' Mansion. He was said to have received fifty lashes of the cane, but he was able to move freely after just a few days."
"During the time I've been at the Marquis' Mansion, Da Huang has run up to me from the backyard many times. And there's also that Master Su I met earlier at Prince An's Mansion's villa. He said that accidents happen whenever he gets close to the Marquis' Mansion. Cousin, who do you think is behind all this?"
Ruan Yunsheng said, "I thought Prince Duan was responsible for Su Muyan's incident."
Pei Jinghong shook his head. "I don't know what happened before that. Although I heard that Prince Duan and you were already engaged, given Xie Yan's personality, he probably wouldn't give Prince Duan too many opportunities to get close to you."
Putting aside other things, Ruan Yunsheng deeply agreed with this point.
In the past, every time she and Xie Huaiye went out, Xie Yan would block the door and preach a lot of moral principles like an old scholar. He often said that the princess was of noble status and even her fiancé should respect her. Anyone who dared to touch her was disrespectful to her and did not take her, Princess Mingyi, seriously.
She is proud and arrogant, so naturally she will not allow anyone to disrespect her.
She thought Xie Yan did this because he was old-fashioned and did everything according to the rules without thinking about anything else.
But she just discovered a few days ago that Xie Yan had actually been staying with her as Chuwu.
She previously thought that Xie Yan did that because he wanted to keep an eye on her at all times to prevent her from doing anything rebellious.
But isn't it extremely unorthodox to pretend to be a killer and take her out to play in the middle of the night?
Pei Jinghong added, "And my cousin's friend... the fifth day of the new year."
Ruan Yunsheng asked, "What happened on the fifth day?"
Pei Jinghong said: "Although my cousin said before that she had seen Chuwu's appearance and Chuwu's voice was indeed different from Xie Yan's, I can only confirm one thing. Given Xie Yan's possessiveness of my cousin, he would not allow another man to appear by your side for so long."
"So I suspect Xie Yan is Chuwu!"
Ruan Yunsheng thought to himself: No doubt about it, the fifth day is Xie Yan.
But she didn't tell Pei Jinghong, she just looked a little puzzled: "That shouldn't be the case, right?"
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