Chapter 2 Young Master Pei (Second Young Master) x Fourth Miss Wen...
The snow that had been piled up overnight under the eaves had not yet been swept away.
Suddenly bathed in the warm light of the rising sun.
It's a bit dazzling.
Wen Lingzheng couldn't believe it.
She staggered back two steps, but Yao Guang helped her regain her balance.
At this time, Pei Lin still looked like a young man, with a clear and handsome figure and slanted eyebrows that reached his temples.
The frosty moonlight and the soft snow falling on his hair soaked his jet-black hair, and his usually flamboyant and arrogant features were now extremely indifferent.
He stood at the other end of the corridor, his memory overlapping with hers.
How long has it been since they last saw each other?
Wen Lingzheng counted on her fingers.
It is 1,313 days.
"Pei Lin?"
"what are you up to?"
Ignoring his pain, An Xiangru scrambled to his feet.
He was unaware that Pei Lin was also in the temple; otherwise, he would never have dared to spout such nonsense.
After all, even the government hasn't made a final decision on this matter yet.
An Xiangru peeked out from the crowd, watching Pei Lin warily.
Pei Lin didn't answer, which made him even more flustered.
He started hurling insults at Pei Lin without thinking, but unfortunately, Pei Lin didn't care.
Pei Lin was too lazy to say much to An Xiangru. He only used the simplest word, and the group of spoiled young men scattered like monkeys falling from a fallen tree.
"roll."
Wen Lingzheng instinctively wanted to escape as well.
She wasn't ready to see Pei Lin again.
At least not yet.
“I heard everything.”
"Thank you, but why?"
Why do you trust me so much?
The boy's hoarse, questioning voice traveled through the winding, intricate corridors and landed on Wen Lingzheng's heart.
Wen Lingzheng turned around involuntarily, while Pei Lin had already walked into the courtyard.
A gentle breeze stirred up a thin layer of snow, which drifted and lingered between the two of them.
A blurry image suddenly flashed before Wen Lingzheng's eyes.
That was the first time she remembered them meeting.
She was fourteen years old that year.
She grew up in Jiangnan and was surrounded by refined and elegant literati. She had never seen a boy as unruly and mischievous as him.
At the spring banquet, he clashed with the hostage prince of Da Yue.
A young man who has just turned twenty, dignified as a gentle breeze through the pines.
A polo match.
Dressed in black and riding a white horse, they stole the show.
He clearly didn't care much about the prize, but he just wouldn't back down.
He seemed to simply want to annoy the hostage prince of Da Yue; his intentions were obvious.
Wen Lingzheng never imagined that she would meet him at that spring banquet.
The memories that flooded in instantly were like a dragon returning to the sea of stars, turning over and over, while overflowing with excruciating pain.
Wen Lingzheng's gaze gradually became unrestrained.
She carefully traced his eyebrows and eyes, but what came to mind was his appearance on the eve of his departure for the war.
It was autumn at that time.
He stood in the courtyard, clad in silver armor.
The withered leaves in the courtyard rustled down.
He stood there from day to night, but she still refused to see him.
She didn't want to hear him explain where the woman came from, and she was even more afraid of hearing the words "taking a concubine" from his mouth.
She did try to arrange things for him when they first married, but he refused!
She wasn't made of stone; they had been married for six years, and she knew perfectly well how good he was to her.
She had already given him her heart through their daily interactions.
She couldn't accept him taking a concubine.
To her, that was his betrayal.
As memories flooded back, the blood-stained letter from home also came to mind.
Like cotton wool soaking in water, Wen Lingzheng sank uncontrollably, overwhelmed with guilt.
He never betrayed her; the girl's identity had another reason.
He wanted to explain things to her, but she stubbornly refused to listen.
He did everything he could for her, even in his last moments.
He feared she would be confined to the mansion for the rest of her life; he feared she would be bullied because she had no children; he feared she would lose her life of luxury.
He was even more afraid that she would not want to be known as his wife after her death.
He took care of everything for her.
Gold and silver treasures, land and shops—he didn't miss out on anything.
The letter he left home before his death battle was a signed divorce agreement.
Tears welled in her eyes, and Wen Lingzheng suddenly came back to her senses.
She looked at Pei Lin, clearly having a thousand words to say, yet unsure where to begin.
"Young Master Pei the Second".
The awkward yet perfectly timed greeting gave Wen Lingzheng time to lower her head and hide her tears.
"you?"
Pei Lin was somewhat at a loss.
Growing up amidst the power struggles of his childhood, beneath Pei Lin's flamboyant and arrogant exterior lies a keen insight into the ways of the world.
Therefore, he could see through her disguise at a glance.
Therefore, he could see her sadness at a glance.
But why?
He clearly didn't know her.
"You know me?"
Pei Lin frowned slightly.
"I don't know him."
Wen Lingzheng shook her head, concealing the myriad emotions within.
Pei Lin silently observed her.
Her skin was so fair that it rivaled even the snow under the eaves.
She looked very thin; if she were in the North, a gust of wind could probably blow her over.
Fortunately, she had a pair of extremely bright eyes, like stars in the northern night.
Now, his image is reflected in these eyes.
Startled for a moment, Pei Lin silently snatched the hand warmer from the attendant behind him and handed it over.
"Whose daughter are you?"
Staring blankly at the hand warmer Pei Lin handed her, Wen Lingzheng hesitated for a long time.
"My surname is Wen, and I am the fourth child in my family."
The snow had just cleared, and the mountain path was muddy.
However, the families who had been trapped in the mountains for so long were unwilling to wait any longer.
The incident at Yuqing Temple that day had already become common knowledge among everyone in the temple.
Wen Tongwen was so angry at Wen Lingzheng that he gasped for breath several times and couldn't eat for several days, fearing that others would mistakenly think that he was talking nonsense at home and that his young daughter was repeating what he said.
But it's too late now, and there's no going back.
With a sigh, Wen Tongwen was the first to lead his family down the mountain as the sky gradually cleared.
After that incident, Wen Tongwen was furious with Wen Lingzheng.
She was confined and never saw Pei Lin again. Even when she came down the mountain, Wen Tongwen abandoned her in the most dilapidated carriage.
Wen Lingzheng had always been in poor health, and the bumpy journey from Lin'an to Shengjing caused her to fall seriously ill several times.
Having just recovered from a serious illness, Wen Tongwen's actions clearly showed that he was furious.
Amidst her sisters' mocking laughter, Wen Lingzheng lifted the curtain and entered the carriage.
She didn't care about the carriage's dilapidated appearance, nor did she have the energy to fight for such meaningless things.
The Marquis of Dingbei's mansion is still in dire straits. Even though Wen Lingzheng knows that Pei Lin will soon be able to support the family, she also knows that the shadow of death still lingers over him.
The battle that Pei Lin fought to avenge his father and brothers was not easy.
Even though she was confined to her chambers back then, she had heard the story of how he traveled thousands of miles to lure the enemy in with his own body as bait.
She had personally witnessed the countless wounds on his body, several of which were fatal, all inflicted by this battle.
Wen Lingzheng unconsciously rubbed her fingertips, thinking about what would happen during this time in her previous life.
"Huh?"
"This carriage feels even smoother than our old one!"
Yuheng's surprised exclamation disturbed Wen Lingzheng's thoughts.
She paused for a moment before realizing what was happening.
The cart wheels rolled steadily over the muddy ground where the snow had just melted.
Wen Lingzheng lifted the side curtain, ignoring the cold air rushing towards her, and looked ahead.
The muddy terrain was difficult to traverse, even for the carriage leading the way, carrying the lord of the Wen family, Wen Tongwen. But then…
She glanced back.
As the clouds and mist gradually gathered, the distant mountains became blurred, with only a few scattered houses still showing faint shadows.
Wen Lingzheng withdrew her hand.
A breeze seeped in as the curtains fluttered.
She knew this was his way of thanking her.
Seeing Wen Lingzheng's lips curve into a smile, Yao Guang and Yu Heng felt puzzled and sighed inwardly.
Is riding in a dilapidated horse-drawn carriage some kind of good thing?
The girl's thoughts are becoming increasingly difficult to fathom.
While some are happy, others are sad.
As the people from various prefectures who had been trapped on the mountain departed, the Yuqing Temple, which had been bustling for a while, returned to tranquility once more.
It wasn't until a startled scream jolted the birds in the forest that the Yuqing Temple returned to its usual hustle and bustle.
"Young master! Young master!"
"There are thieves in Yuqing Temple!"
In a secluded courtyard behind Yuqing Temple, an anxious figure paced back and forth.
He only hurriedly went forward when another figure entered from outside the courtyard.
"Xingyun, what's wrong with you so early in the morning?!"
The newcomer was somewhat annoyed and glared at the people in the courtyard.
"Xingzhou! Our villa has been robbed! Come quickly!"
Xingyun didn't care about his thoughts and dragged him straight into the courtyard.
The dismantled wooden planks were piled up all over the ground.
A perfectly good carriage, but it's missing the most important things: the horse and the four wheels.
Xingyun searched for a long time before finally finding a satisfactory piece among the discarded wooden planks.
On the wooden board, the brightly lit character "Pei" was quite eye-catching.
Xingyun pointed to the character and gestured for his brother to look: "Yesterday you were the one guarding the courtyard for the young master, how come you didn't even stop our carriage from being dismantled!"
Xingzhou shrugged helplessly: "It's not that I didn't see it, it's that I couldn't stop it."
Xingyun was furious. Just as he was figuring out how to protect his foolish younger brother, Xingzhou spoke up again.
"It is the young master who wants to dismantle it."
"It was dismantled by the young master himself."
Xingyun stood there, stunned, almost wondering if there was something wrong with his ears.
The young master just instructed him to prepare for the journey down the mountain yesterday, so why did he dismantle the carriage so quickly? How are they going to get down the mountain?
Xingyun was somewhat shocked.
Xingzhou guessed what he was going to ask next, so he pointed to his legs.
The meaning is self-evident.
Xingyun squatted on the ground, threw the wooden board back, and looked utterly dejected.
From the winding mountain road to the flat official road, the scenery beyond the curtain begins to change.
The midday sun was quite intense; even through a curtain, it was still dazzlingly white.
Shengjing City remains as prosperous as Wen Lingzheng remembers it.
Even without lifting the curtain, she could hear the hawkers' cries coming from the roadside.
The impact of the defeat at the beginning of the year seemed to gradually fade with the princess's departure beyond the Great Yue border and the retreat of the Da Yue army.
The lives of ordinary people remain unchanged.
The Wen family ancestors had also served as officials in Shengjing.
Unfortunately, due to bad luck and the chaos of the court, the Wen family ancestor retired and led his family back to their hometown.
Later, Emperor Taizu unified the Central Plains and established the Zhou Dynasty, but the Wen family was no longer what it used to be.
It wasn't until Wen Lingzheng's father, Wen Tongwen, passed the imperial examination that the Wen family could barely be considered to have returned to officialdom.
The hawking sounds from the street gradually faded away, and the carriage came to a steady stop in front of the house.
The Wen family residence is located in Yinanqiao Lane in Shengjing City.
Wen Lingzheng lifted the curtain and, with Yaoguang's help, stepped down from the carriage.
A large crowd gathered in front of the Wen residence.
Wen Lingzheng's grandfather was a scholar who had two wives and concubines.
Wen Tongwen had three brothers and one sister.
The eldest brother, Wen Tongwen, was an official; the second brother, Wen Tongwu, was a merchant; the third brother, Wen Tongfu, was Wen Tongwen's younger brother from the same mother. He was neither good at literature nor martial arts, but he lived a carefree life thanks to the protection of his two older brothers.
My eldest aunt, Wen Jinghao, married into the Lin family in Luzhou in her early years and didn't come back often.
Earlier, Old Madam Wen had already taken her second and third wives to Beijing to make all the necessary arrangements.
At the gate of the mansion, people exchanged greetings. Wen Tongwen, along with his wives, concubines, and children, was surrounded by people in the center of the crowd, but Wen Lingzheng was not among them.
She was pushed to the very edge of the crowd, as if she had been forgotten.
Yuheng wanted to stand up for Wen Lingzheng, but was stopped.
Having gone through a near-death experience, she no longer cared about such hypocrisy.
Before long, Old Mrs. Wen also arrived at the gate of the house.
She was a dignified and composed old woman. Her skirt remained perfectly in place as she walked, and even the hairpins that held her hair in place made no sound.
Despite her anxiety, her movements remained dignified and elegant: "My son has finally arrived!"
"Was your journey safe and sound?"
"Why do you look thinner?"
"But the maid didn't serve you well enough?"
Old Mrs. Wen's gaze swept over Xiang Shi, the second wife standing beside Wen Tongwen, and a hint of displeasure appeared in her eyes.
Madam Xiang didn't care about Old Madam Wen's opinion of her, but her own daughter was not happy about it.
"It was clearly Fourth Sister who caused trouble and added to Father's worries."
"Why is Grandmother looking at my mother?"
A note from the author:
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Guagua's upcoming novel, "On My First Day in Another World, I Called the First Emperor 'Dad'," and her friend NoahsArk's upcoming novel, "Dreaming of Me in the Long Night," are both available now.
—Synopsis of "Dreaming of Me in the Long Night"—
"Unmasking Literature, Extreme Puzzle, Suspenseful Detective Cases"
Bright and proud × upright and cunning
On the Lantern Festival, rumors spread throughout the capital that the Emperor and Empress were hosting a banquet at the Jin Garden tonight to bestow a marriage upon their daughter, Pei Zhaolan, the second young master of the Duke of Shen's mansion, who had recently risen to fame.
The young master is gentle and kind, and handsome beyond compare. After solving many strange cases, he was appointed as the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, with a promising future ahead of him.
It should have been a wonderful thing, but Princess Changning, who had lived in the deep palace for a long time, was known for her willful and capricious nature. Her maids and servants were all tormented by her, and there were even rumors that she was ugly and plain-looking.
Therefore, even before the imperial edict was drafted, the Duke's mansion had already urgently closed its doors to visitors, announcing that the Second Young Master Pei had gone to Jiangnan a few days ago because of the Red-Eyed Fox Demon case that had caused a great stir in the city. The old case was complicated, and he probably wouldn't be able to return to the capital for a long time.
The entire court was in an uproar for a moment—
Is this a deliberate attempt to refuse marriage?
That night, the Duke of Shen attended the banquet and spoke very tactfully. The fox demon case had troubled the local prefect for many years, and now the situation was escalating again, causing widespread anxiety. As the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Pei Er had an inescapable responsibility. This matter concerned the people's livelihood, and no one could criticize him.
In that case, considering that the princess was still young, the emperor promised that if the second young master Pei was willing, he would be able to return to the capital on time within two years.
*
Ming Tang was frail from childhood. Fortunately, he found a wandering doctor who worked hard to save him. Later, he was forced to live on the snow pool of Tianshan Mountain to recuperate. He became a doctor after a long illness.
The year she finally recovered from her illness and descended the mountain, the long-dormant case of the fox demon resurfaced. The truth remained elusive for a long time, and public resentment was boiling over. She then changed her route to Jiangnan.
In just over a month since the beginning of the year, dozens of people in Lin'an Prefecture have already lost their lives because of this fox demon case. Among them are officials who were ordered to supervise the case. Strangely, the way these people died really did look like the shriveled, black wood that had been drained of its life force, just like in the rumors. The coroners from all over the country who were called in could not find out the cause of death.
That night, Mingtang sneaked into the morgue of the yamen. Just as he inserted the silver needle he had brought with him into the philtrum of a corpse, someone behind him grabbed his wrist and pressed him against the door.
His voice was cold and indifferent: "Don't move. Is the fox demon case related to you?"
Mingtang looked up at him. He was wearing a moon-white long robe, and the jade pendant at his waist had a cloud and landscape relief. Others might not recognize it, but she knew that it was clearly the one the emperor had awarded to the Duke of Shen for saving the emperor years ago. It was unique in the world, of excellent quality, and definitely not a fake.
—What a small world!
She stopped in front of him with a smile in her eyes. "That's a question I should be asking. Books say that fox spirits are handsome and like to wear all white. I think you look a bit like them. Could it be..."
Upon hearing this, Pei Zhaolan shook off her hand and frowned.
...Was he being teased by a young girl?
*
When the two-year term expired, Pei Er and a traveling doctor, who had been investigating difficult and unusual cases in various places, failed to return to the capital as promised.
The Emperor and Empress have chosen another husband for the princess. Rumor has it that they have already decided on the newly appointed top scholar, Shen Jinzhi. Everything is ready, and all that is needed is for Changning to give her the nod.
The matter over there is still undecided, but after Pei Er extricated himself from the engagement, he wrote a letter back to the Pei family, asking someone to inquire about a woman named Ming Tang, a woman from the capital, who was extremely beautiful and had excellent medical skills, but knew nothing else about her.
When the Duke of Shen learned of this, he spoke with his wife, "Mingtang, Mingtang? Isn't that Princess Changning's maiden name?"
- Under the clear blue sky, may the truth be found in every case.
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