The sky was getting dark, and the sunset glow was like a beauty's gradually fading red makeup, and the scattered bits of color slowly disappeared.
The night wind suddenly blew, making the flags on the city wall rustle.
Inside the garrison office, Pei Yanli arranged the last defense point and prepared to go home.
Suddenly, I heard a servant from the yamen coming to report.
"Sir, there's a man outside who claims to be the Censor's personal attendant, Mr. Ru Liu, who wants to see you. He says he has something important to tell you."
Pei Yanli's cold eyes flashed with a trace of doubt, and he said in a deep voice: "Let him in."
Ru Liu thought of her master's instructions, straightened her chest, and walked into the case hall of the garrison office with the letter in her hand.
At the head table, Pei Yanli, dressed in a black official robe, had a tense and cold expression on his face. His dark pupils were observing and probing him calmly, like a dormant beast staring at the creature that had intruded into his territory.
It was the first time that Ru Liu saw Pei Yanli with such a fierce aura, and she clearly sensed his vigilance and dislike for her.
That's right. After all, she is his young master's love rival, so naturally he would dislike her as well.
Ru Liu bowed slightly and said, "I greet you, Master Pei."
Pei Yanli's brows were heavily depressed.
Ever since Xiao Yunchen came to Dong'an City, his relationship with Sisi has never been the same as before.
The contribution to this was largely due to the close follower of Xiao Yunchen in front of him.
He said that given his mother's love for Sisi, how could she suddenly turn against him and try to separate him and Sisi?
It turned out that Ru Liu had secretly hired someone to fabricate the story, and even paid some women on the streets to spread rumors and gossip in front of his mother all day long.
Thinking of Li Sisi's cold attitude towards him in recent days, Pei Yanli's deep eyes became even colder.
He said in a deep voice, "I wonder what your young master wants that requires his personal attendant to come here in person?"
Ru Liu replied calmly, "My young master set off for the capital early this morning. Lord Pei should be aware of this."
Pei Yanli pursed his lips and remained silent upon hearing this. Of course he knew that such a large group was leaving his territory, and that he had even arranged many of the strongholds along the way. How could he not know?
But it was precisely because of this that Pei Yanli became even more suspicious. Ru Liu was Xiao Yunchen's personal follower, so why didn't he leave with him but instead came to find him?
Seeing that he didn't answer, Ru Liu boldly stepped forward and said, "My young master wrote a letter before leaving and asked me to hand it to Master Pei personally."
Pei Yanli frowned, took the letter from Ruliu's hand, and unfolded it to read it carefully.
"The great road is for you to follow, but you will be unable to ascend. Your lofty ambitions are in vain, and you will be bound by the robes for the rest of your life.
I advise you not to think about romantic affairs, but to guard the city and reunite with your family.
Don’t wait until the dream is over to avenge your family, for regrets will lead to a wasted life.”
Just a few words, but full of threats.
Ru Liu took out another letter of appointment, a hint of sarcasm flashing in her eyes: "Master Pei is really lucky. He has been serving as the garrison commander of Dong'an City for a few months, and now his responsibilities have been expanded."
He placed the letter of appointment on the table, a scornful smile on his lips: "Now that Xidi City has been conquered by my eldest son, your garrison office will have another city under its jurisdiction."
Upon hearing this, Pei Yanli's doubts resurfaced, and he had a bad feeling.
Then Ru Liu continued, "My son asks you, between your family's future and your ideal partner, how do you choose?"
Pei Yanli: "What do you mean?"
Ru Liu explained calmly, "Our second wife has already returned to the capital with our young master. You can choose to follow her to the capital for the sake of your beloved, or you can choose to go to Xidi City to take up your post today for the sake of your family's interests and your future."
Pei Yanli was shocked when he heard his words, his eyes were cold and frightening: "You kidnapped Sisi and took her to the capital?!"
Ru Liu frowned, her face displeased. "Master Pei, what you said is unreasonable and harsh. That is my young master's wife, the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Rites, who was married in a grand sedan chair with eight bearers and gorgeous red makeup!"
"I advise Lord Pei to choose carefully. After all, even if you pursue him to the capital, with your status and ability, can you really persuade the Minister of Rites to marry his legitimate daughter to you? Even if the Minister of Rites appreciates your deep affection, the Xiao Marquisate cannot afford to lose face. My son is kind and will not give you any difficulty, but the Xiao family will not allow such a stain to exist. If that happens, not only you and our Second Madam, but even the Minister of Rites will be implicated."
"If you are truly devoted to her, you should not have gone to the capital and ruined her reputation, causing her to be cursed by the world."
Ru Liu saw Pei Yanli's cold and tense expression gradually turn pale and powerless when she said this. The corners of her lips curled up with a triumphant smile: "What's more, our Second Madam still has feelings for our young master, and she has family in the capital who love her dearly. Lord Pei, rather than going it alone to snatch someone else's wife, you should choose a bright future and lofty ambitions."
Pei Yanli listened to his every word, as if he was slicing his heart with a knife.
Extreme pain, bitterness and powerlessness enveloped him completely. His broad hands hanging at his sides were clenched into fists, and veins bulged on the backs of his hands and forearms.
Beneath his stern brows, his narrow eyes were filled with sinister anger, and a cold voice uttered from his throat: "Get out!"
Ru Liu saw that he was full of low pressure at this moment, like a lion on the verge of anger.
He was inexplicably frightened by his aura and shrank back, saying, "Master Pei, take care of yourself." Then he turned around and left in a hurry.
The moonlight was already high on the branches, but Mr. Li was still waiting for Li Sisi to have breakfast.
Li Nian sat at the dining table in the dining hall holding Jinhe. As the night deepened, he felt more and more uneasy.
"Why hasn't Sisi come back yet? Didn't Xiao Yunchen leave the city a long time ago? The government office shouldn't be busy anymore!"
She nervously carried Jinhe to the front yard and said, "Xiaobai, go to the government office and pick up Sisi."
Xiaobai was eating dinner with Xiaohong at a small table in the front yard.
Hearing her words, he quickly put down his bowl and chopsticks: "Okay, I'll go right away."
Seeing that he still had half a bowl of rice left, Li Nian said, "Finish your meal first. There's no need to rush."
"Okay, finish eating right away." Xiaobai said, and quickly finished the rice in the bowl, stood up, and wiped his mouth randomly.
"I'll go now."
Li Nian watched him leading the horse out, his brows furrowed in worry.
"Auntie, I'm hungry. Auntie, I'm hungry." Jinhe uttered a few sweet words.
The night wind was cold. Li Nian carried Jin He to the dining room and said to her, "Yes, it's so late, Auntie must be hungry. Let's wait for her to come back and have dinner together."
It was not long after the Chinese New Year, so the daytime wasn't particularly cold, but the mornings and evenings were as chilly and biting as in deep winter.
There was a charcoal fire burning in the dining room, so Li Nian carried Jinhe back to the dining room and sat there waiting.
Xiaobai didn't let Li Nian wait for long.
Just as Yu Niang was thinking about whether to heat up the dishes on the table, she heard Xiao Bai's anxious voice shouting, "Madam, Miss Sisi is not in the government office!"
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