Chapter 39: A Contest Between Men
Liang Jinxian also leaned out and looked out, and happened to meet Pei Xingju's gaze.
The two men looked calm, but there were undercurrents in their eyes.
Finally, Liang Jinxian curled his lips and smiled slightly: "The Ministry of Justice's office is in the Imperial City, but they specially took a detour to the west of the city to pick you up. It seems that Pei Xingju is very kind to you."
What he said was unclear and Zhuang Wan was confused.
But since Pei Xingju was here, he naturally couldn't stay any longer. He immediately bowed to Liang Jinxian and said, "Prince Liang, I'm going back first."
She stood up, but in her haste she tripped and fell forward.
Liang Jinxian quickly supported her: "Miss Zhuang, go slowly."
Pei Xingju watched this scene coldly.
Liang Jinxian deliberately placed his hand on Zhuang Wan's shoulder, and only slowly let go after steadying her.
He glanced at Pei Xingju, his thin lips curled slightly, full of provocation.
Soon, Zhuang Wan came downstairs with a panicked look on her face. She met Pei Xingju's gaze and hurriedly got into the carriage.
Pei Xingju's deep eyes darkened even more.
Little did she know that Zhuang Wan was feeling very confused at the moment because of Liang Jinxian's words.
Liang Jinxian said that he and his original body had had physical contact before, but he didn't know whether it was true or not. However, this matter concerned the girl's innocence. Liang Jinxian wouldn't be so tasteless as to joke about it, right?
She was absent-minded, and in Pei Xingju's eyes, this look was a guilty conscience.
After getting into the carriage, Pei Xingju asked, "What are you doing in the west of the city?"
"I'm just... just wandering around."
"Oh? What did you visit?"
"I'm just wandering around and looking around. What's wrong?"
Pei Xingju saw her pretending to be calm and lowered his eyelashes to suppress his emotions.
There was silence all the way. After an unknown amount of time, the carriage arrived at Pei Mansion.
Zhuang Wan got out of the car and wanted to say goodbye to him, but saw Pei Xingju walk in without even turning his head.
.
"madness!"
In the study, Pei Xingju sat at the head with a gloomy face, while Jingzhe and Lixia knelt on the ground.
"Master, we know we are wrong and are willing to accept the punishment!"
"Punish you?" Pei Xingju rolled up his sleeves slowly and said, "You came from Xuanzhao Pavilion. Have you forgotten the rules of Xuanzhao Pavilion?"
Hearing this, Lixia hurriedly crawled down: "I dare not forget, I beg for mercy, Master."
The people in Xuanzhao Pavilion are not allowed to make any mistakes when doing things. After all, the price of making a mistake is something they cannot afford. At the very least, they will be exiled to Luzhou, and at the worst, they will lose their lives.
Lixia realized the seriousness of the situation and begged for mercy in panic. She was afraid of going to Luzhou or losing her life. Luzhou was the place where Xuanzhao Pavilion trained its assassins. Once you became one, you would never see the light of day again.
She banged her head hard on the ground. Under the thin carpet was a hard and thick bluestone slab. After a few hits, blood marks appeared on her forehead.
Pei Xingju ignored him and looked at Jingzhe who was still kneeling upright beside him: "Chuqi, do you admit your guilt?"
"I acknowledge my guilt and accept the punishment from my master."
"Not at the cost of one's life?"
Hearing this, Xue Gang, who was standing nearby, stepped forward to offer a helping hand: "They just came out of Xuanzhao Pavilion and lack experience in many things. Besides, Chuqi just said that she noticed the pattern on the dart was exactly the same as the sword that assassinated you, so she became suspicious and went after it..."
Noticing that Pei Xingju's eyes were getting colder, he shut up in disappointment.
Pei Xingju sneered: "Inexperienced? If it were Fifteen, it would be understandable that he lacked experience, but it just so happens that Seventh had worked with you a few days ago."
Xue Gang licked his lips and said nothing.
After a moment, he spoke: "That Prince Liang has always been cunning. Your assassination attempt is no secret. He must have secretly investigated it a long time ago, and it is not difficult for him to know those patterns. He deliberately used darts to lure Jingzhe away..."
Having said this, he stopped again.
He knew that Pei Xingju was not angry because Jingzhe and Lixia failed to protect Zhuang Wan, but because he was unaware of what Zhuang Wan had said to Liang Jinxian in the teahouse.
Chen Yi said that Zhuang Wan knew Pei Xingju's past. If Zhuang Wan was easily tricked by Liang Jinxian, the consequences would be disastrous.
In this case, Jingzhe and Lixia's mistakes this time were indeed fatal, and he was too embarrassed to plead for them.
The room was quiet for a while, and Xue Gang turned to Lixia and asked, "Fifteen, you're good at making poisons. I remember you have a kind of hallucination drug that can make people hallucinate and then tell the truth."
Lixia said, "Yes, it is, but this method is not suitable for everyone. It is difficult to deceive those with a strong will."
Xue Gang looked at Pei Xingju: "Do you want to try it?"
.
Later in the evening, Zhuang Wan finished her bath and sat by the window with her hair loose. The evening breeze was gentle and comfortable.
Zhuang Wan spread out the map on the table and took out a pen.
After visiting the west side of the city today, she circled the buildings she remembered on the map and marked the nearby streets.
She didn't know what kind of incense was burning in the house, but it made her feel particularly comfortable, as if she was surrounded by mist and even her body felt light.
After a while, someone called her.
"Zhuang Wan?"
Zhuang Wan looked up and saw Pei Xingju standing outside the window.
She was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "Yuzhi is here."
"What are you doing?"
"Looking at the map."
Pei Xingju took a step closer and took a look at the map on the table. She saw several circles drawn on it. Those were the places she had visited today.
He pointed to one of the circles and said, "You went to this teahouse today."
Zhuang Wan nodded.
"Who did you meet?"
"I met Liang Jinxian, the prince of the Duke of Xin's mansion."
"What did you tell him?"
Zhuang Wan tilted her head, as if recalling something, and then slowly said, "I asked him if he was the one who lured my maid away."
"What did he say?"
"Yuzhi, why are you asking so many questions? Don't you believe me?"
Pei Xing tapped his finger on the windowsill, carefully observing her expression. After confirming that she was in a dream, he continued to ask, "What did he say?"
"He said he didn't lead the maid away."
"That's all you said?"
"There was something else, but I can't tell you."
"...Why not?"
"I'm afraid you'll be angry."
"Just tell me, I won't be angry."
"So what did I say?"
"Um."
Zhuang Wan's beautiful eyebrows knitted together slightly, a look of confusion on her face. "He said I had physical contact with him, and he also said that if you treat me badly, you can just go find him."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone not far away burst into laughter.
Pei Xingju's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
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