"Xi'er!"
Pei Yuan rushed forward to help Qiao Zixi up, but he was stunned when he saw the look in Qiao Zixi's eyes.
His gaze was malevolent, like that of a venomous snake.
This is completely opposite to Xi'er's previous charming and innocent appearance.
When Qiao Zixi saw Pei Yuan looking at her, she quickly put away her vicious gaze and showed a wronged expression.
When Su Muxi slapped her, the veil she had been wearing fell off, revealing her delicate and lovely face. With that aggrieved expression, most men would feel sorry for her.
Not to mention Pei Yuan.
"Young Master Pei, my knees hurt so much, and my face hurts so much too~~"
Qiao Zixi was on the verge of tears, which made Pei Yuan disregard everything else. He bent down, reached out, and picked Qiao Zixi up in his arms, preparing to put her on the carriage.
Seeing this, Su Muxi said coldly, "Qiao Zixi, I wasn't joking before. If you dare to provoke me again, I will make sure your smooth face is completely ruined! Similarly, if I see you doing evil outside, I will definitely not forgive you!"
Pei Yuan was surprised that Su Muxi said such arrogant words. Instead of condemning her, the surrounding people cheered.
"If you ask me, she's been treated too leniently this time! Her limbs should be broken!"
"That's right! Not only should we break her limbs, but we should also disfigure her face!"
…
Pei Yuan thought these people had gone mad. It was clearly Su Muxi who hit someone first, yet they were speaking so viciously about Xi'er.
What kind of spell did Su Muxi cast on these people?!
"Su Muxi, you are truly arrogant beyond measure! Your face is ugly, and your heart is so vicious! You just wait, today I will personally take you to court and see if the Prefect of the Capital will handle this matter impartially!"
Pei Yuan spoke sternly, but Su Muxi showed no fear whatsoever.
Instead, he looked at Qiao Zixi with a half-smile and said, "Does assaulting someone in the street mean you have to go to court? Then Miss Qiao, come along!"
Qiao Zixi's eyes darted away as she tugged at Pei Yuan's sleeve. "Young Master Pei, let's just forget about it. My brother's wedding is just around the corner, and our marriage has only just been arranged. It's best not to cause any more trouble."
Seeing that Pei Yuan was still frowning and showed no intention of letting it go, Qiao Zixi pouted, her voice suddenly choked with emotion.
"Young Master Pei, Xi'er's knees are hurting terribly. Could you please take me home first?"
Seeing Qiao Zixi's pitiful state, Pei Yuan didn't think of anything else and quickly said gently, "Alright, I'll take you back to your residence right away."
He then turned his head to look at Su Muxi, his expression immediately turning cold and sinister. "Su Muxi, don't be so arrogant. Xi'er is kind-hearted and willing to let this matter go, but I will not let you off the hook. You just wait, I will repay you tenfold for everything you did to Xi'er today!"
Su Muxi chuckled and said, "Alright, just as Young Master Pei said before, this is the capital, under the emperor's nose, where the law applies. I'd like to see how Young Master Pei expects me to wait!"
"Also, Miss Qiao, did you ask for my opinion before you decided to drop this matter?"
"Since I didn't break Miss Qiao's limbs, the money that the Marquis of Anyang's mansion owes me still needs to be repaid! I'll give you two days. If you don't repay it, Young Master Pei won't need to go to the government office to file a complaint; I'll be the one to file one first!"
As she spoke, Su Muxi unflinchingly pulled off the purse at her waist, took out a few taels of silver, and tossed it at Pei Yuan's feet in a gesture of charity.
"Here are a few taels of silver; consider it my payment for Miss Qiao's medical expenses."
"Although I am much more generous than Miss Qiao, Miss Qiao doesn't need to be too grateful. After all, Miss Qiao is indeed of a higher status than a beggar!"
Qiao Zixi was so angry that her face turned pale, but she didn't dare to argue with Su Muxi. She looked up at Pei Yuan and saw that he was staring blankly at the purse in Su Muxi's hand.
"Young Master Pei?"
Qiao Zixi asked in confusion, but then heard Pei Yuan coldly question Su Muxi: "Why did you steal Xi'er's purse!"
Su Muxi sneered: "Ha! When did my purse become Qiao Zixi's? Besides, Miss Qiao is of noble status, so why would she embroider a pattern like copper coin grass on her purse? You question me without any evidence, yet you act as if it's perfectly reasonable. It seems that Young Master Pei and Miss Qiao are truly a match made in heaven!"
After saying that, Su Muxi ignored the two of them and got into the carriage with Bai Zhi's help.
Pei Yuan stared blankly at the carriage that Su Muxi had left, while Qiao Zixi cried out in pain again.
"Young Master Pei, Xi'er's knees hurt so much~~"
Pei Yuan looked down at Qiao Zixi in his arms, his expression somewhat complicated. After a long pause, he finally said, "Alright, I'll take you back to your residence."
Xie Xuan, who had been overlooked, also noticed something was wrong.
A purse embroidered with pennywort is also called a "xi'er".
Could it be that Su Muxi was actually the one who saved Pei Yuan back then?
Thinking of this, Xie Xuan's feelings suddenly became complicated.
If Pei Yuan had truly mistaken someone for someone else, then ordering Pei Yuan to immediately go to the Marquis of Anyang's residence to propose marriage would be putting Pei Yuan in a difficult position...
But if Pei Yuan doesn't propose marriage, wouldn't he be marrying that pretentious woman, Qiao Zixi?
Although Qiao Zixi was beautiful, Xie Xuan, who had seen countless women, saw through her true colors at a glance. If he weren't forced to marry, he would have preferred to marry Su Muxi, that ugly woman.
Seeing the crowd disperse, Xie Xuan hurriedly grabbed an old man, "Uncle, I arrived late and don't know what happened up ahead. Could you tell me why that Miss Su broke Miss Qiao's limbs?"
As he spoke, he casually slipped a piece of silver into the other person's hand.
Xie Xuan had seen Su Muxi from afar before, and in his opinion, Su Muxi was intelligent.
A wise person wouldn't cause trouble for no reason, nor would they so arrogantly block Qiao Zixi's carriage in the street.
So while he and Pei Yuan were going downstairs, Su Muxi and Qiao Zixi must have said something, otherwise the onlookers wouldn't all have sided with Su Muxi.
The old man calmly put away the silver, then said righteously, "That young lady from the Marquis of Anyang's mansion is truly wicked. Yesterday, a beggar accidentally bumped into her, and her purse fell off. Yet she insisted that the beggar intended to steal her purse."
The beggar was mute and couldn't speak. He gestured for a long time and even knelt down and kowtowed to her until his forehead bled. He looked so pitiful!
But Miss Qiao didn't stop there. She ordered her men to break the beggar's limbs and throw him at the entrance of the charity hall. In the end, she only left a few copper coins as medical expenses, saying that beggars' lives were cheap and that a few copper coins were already too much. Her arrogant attitude was utterly despicable!
I was there at the time, and if it weren't for the power of the Marquis of Anyang's family, I would have liked to go up and give her a few slaps!
Xie Xuan usually had an indifferent attitude, but after hearing what the old man said, he couldn't help but show an angry expression on his face.
Yesterday, Qiao Zixi not only sent someone to deliver fake medicine to Shancitang to slander them, but also did something so vicious.
no!
Pei Yuan was one of his few good friends. Regardless of whether Qiao Zixi was the woman who saved Pei Yuan back then, he was determined to make Pei Yuan annul the engagement!
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