Chapter 169 This was the worst blow of their lives...
Pei Jinghuai arrived at Shen Lingyue's side a step too late, grabbed her hand, and began to complain.
"That guy surnamed Pei tricked me."
She then pointed to the faint red mark on her face, which was almost invisible, and said, "Look at the way he hit me that day. He was too ruthless. He was just jealous of my handsome face and was abusing his power!"
Shen Lingyue found it both funny and heartbreaking. She cooperated by cupping his face and giving him a loud kiss on the "injury," then symbolically blew on it twice, her eyelashes fluttering. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. Does it still hurt?"
Pei Jinghuai was so happy he was practically bubbling with joy, and he turned to glare at Pei Jingyi provocatively.
Hmph, so what if he's a step or two ahead? He has a wife who's all lovey-dovey with him. Does Pei Da have one? Does he? Does he? Does he?
Pei Jingyi remained silent, only glancing at Yan Yi.
Yan Yi: ...
Her ears turned red, and she gave the back of his hand, which was holding hers, a light pinch, before forcefully changing the subject: "No rest today, did you take leave to leave the city?"
Pei Jingyi knew she wasn't the type to express affection in public, so he readily agreed, "Yes. Anyway, everyone in the court knows that the two young mistresses of the Pei family have been driven away in anger."
As they walked in, talking, Pei Jingyi raised his arm to shield Yan Yi from the sun and suddenly said, "A-Tan, look, there's someone flying in the sky."
"What--"
Yan Yi subconsciously turned her head to look for it, and a warm and soft touch unexpectedly landed on her cheek.
When she realized that Pei Jingyi had stolen a kiss from her, she was both amused and exasperated. She pretended to be angry and was about to hit him, but Pei Jingyi quickly grabbed her fingertips and gently pecked them at the corner of her lips.
His dark eyes darted around, revealing a hint of youthful ambition and competitiveness as he declared, "Knowing that my wife is shy, I will ask for it myself... No need to thank me, it's what I should do."
They had their last lunch at the manor, and Shen Lingyue was a little reluctant to leave.
Although this place is not as exquisite and magnificent as the Marquis's mansion, it has the advantage of being simple and natural, with its own unique charm. Moreover, the entire dowry estate is staffed with Zhao Lan's carefully selected confidantes, and every year she sends Liu Mama to check on and give them a good talking-to. They are all clever and have a sweet tongue. In just a few days, they have almost coaxed Shen Lingyue into becoming a baby.
She hugged Yan Yi's arm and whispered with emotion, "No wonder everyone wants to be in charge. Being a direct supervisor and being a relative of a supervisor feels completely different."
Although she had everything she wanted in the Marquis's mansion, there was still a subtle difference between the two.
Yan Yi teased her, "Seeing that my pregnancy is getting bigger and bigger, why don't you hurry up and take over the affairs of the mansion, and taste what it's like to be the master of your own destiny?"
Shen Lingyue shook her head frantically, "I have to decline, I'm just temporarily managing it, temporarily managing it!"
Being in power is good, but it's too tiring for her, so she'll justify relying on Yan Yan to support her. ^_^
Yan Yi was at a loss with her, but she was used to it anyway.
The two got into the carriage, with Pei Jingyi and Pei Jinghuai leading the way on horseback.
It would take about half a day to get back to the capital from here. To accommodate Yan Yi, the carriage didn't travel very fast. It stopped suddenly halfway through the journey.
Shen Lingyue peeked out and asked, "What happened?"
Pei Jinghuai rode over and explained, "There seems to be a traffic jam ahead. It hasn't moved an inch in ages. My elder brother went ahead to check the situation."
After a while, Pei Jingyi returned through the gap in the carriage and said to the two of them, "Last night there was a heavy rain, and the road surface was soaked and softened by the floodwater. A large hole collapsed, and even a slightly wider carriage can't pass through. I heard that someone has already been sent to the city to report to the authorities. We are waiting for the Shuntian Prefecture or the Ministry of Works to send someone to repair it."
Pei Jinghuai asked in confusion, "It was fine when we came here this morning, how could it collapse so suddenly?"
"Perhaps too many large trucks were taking this road into the city this morning, and the official road was overwhelmed."
Pei Jingyi dismounted, helped Yan Yi out for some fresh air and to stretch her limbs, and comforted her, "It's still early, we can wait a bit."
Yan Yi nodded.
Shen Lingyue couldn't resist jumping off the carriage and pleaded with Pei Jinghuai to lend her his horse for a while.
After waiting for another half an hour, a large patch of dark clouds drifted in from the horizon, obscuring the previously clear sunlight, but the convoy in front showed no sign of moving.
Yan Yi couldn't help but look worried. If another downpour like last night were to hit, leaving them stranded on this road in the middle of nowhere, it would be a real problem.
She was about to go and discuss with Pei Jingyi whether they should return to the estate and stay another night while it was still early.
A man dressed as a steward walked over from the front of the line and gave Pei Jinghuai a neat bow. "Second Young Master Pei, I am the steward of the outer courtyard of the Marquis of Dongping's residence. I had the honor of meeting you once when you escorted my Third Young Master back to the residence."
Pei Jinghuai had a wide circle of friends, and after hearing him introduce himself, he remembered and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, that's right. What's wrong?"
"I've come to tell you that the main road ahead is still under construction and it's uncertain how long it will take to be repaired. The weather is unpredictable, and if it rains heavily, the situation will only worsen. Luckily, I know of a shortcut nearby that goes straight through that village and is faster than taking the main road to get to the city. Would you like to come with us?"
Pei Jinghuai was unsure of what to do, so he consulted Pei Jingyi.
Pei Jingyi asked the steward a few more questions, and recalling the situation, he realized that there was indeed such a road.
He raised his hand to Pei Jinghuai and said, "Do you see that small hill to the east? Go in from there, climb over two slopes, and the city gate will be right in front of you."
Just as the two were planning their route, the steward persuaded several more carriages to travel with him. The drivers shouted and turned around, squeezing out of the front of the procession, off the main road, and headed east.
A raindrop hit Pei Jinghuai's nose. He wiped his face and said to Pei Jingyi, "It's raining. Why don't we take a shortcut and get into the city sooner?"
Pei Jingyi agreed and had Shen Lingyue help Yan Yi into the carriage.
Before going in, Yan Yi reminded the driver, "It's okay if the carriage goes a little faster, I'm fine here."
Physician Wen had said that she was currently in her second trimester, a relatively safe time. Even ordinary women in common households could still do chores like weeding and collecting stones at this stage of pregnancy.
In short, it's better to move around more than to stay in bed all the time, as that's not good for childbirth.
The carriage started again. This narrow road was not as wide and straight as the official road, and the carriage was a bit bumpy. Shen Lingyue stayed close to Yan Yi, acting as her human cushion.
Pei Jingyi and Pei Jinghuai put on straw hats and raincoats and continued to lead the way.
The rain gradually intensified, and the roads became increasingly muddy. The driver carefully controlled his speed, but he still couldn't avoid being splashed with mud and had to keep wiping the rain off his face.
The carriages that had come down the main road before them gradually disappeared from sight as the rain obscured their view.
Pei Jingyi suddenly spurred his horse to a stop, turned to Pei Jinghuai, and said in a low voice, "Something's not right."
He turned around and gestured to the driver, who immediately tightened the reins and called for a stop.
Pei Jinghuai's nonchalant expression vanished as he looked around, his eyes gradually becoming wary.
Something's not right.
It's too quiet.
It was as if, apart from the incessant sound of rain, there was no other living thing in the world.
His hand instinctively went to his waist and slowly gripped the Golden Guard's sword.
In that instant, more than a dozen masked assassins dressed in black suddenly rushed out from the tall, dense weeds on both sides of the road, brandishing their knives and attacking!
Pei Jingyi leaped down, snatched the knife from the man's hand in a single move, slit his throat, and turned to shout at Pei Jinghuai, "Protect the carriage!"
Pei Jinghuai immediately turned his horse around and galloped to the rear. Just then, he saw an assassin clinging to the carriage shaft and reaching for the door. His pupils constricted, and without hesitation, he swung his knife and threw it, hitting the man squarely in the chest.
A cloud of blood mist rose into the air, and the assassin screamed as he fell to the ground. The blood mixed with the rainwater and was quickly washed away and diluted.
"Ahhh! There's an assassin!"
Inside the carriage, Shen Lingyue held Yan Yi tightly, her face pale, staring in horror at the bloodstain that had splattered onto the carriage door.
She mustered her courage and went to the doorway, peering through the crack. She met the driver's eyes, which he hadn't yet closed before he died.
!
She immediately raised her hand to cover the crack, then turned to Yan Yi and said incoherently, "The coachman, the coachman seems to have been murdered..."
Yan Yi's heart pounded like a drum, her nails digging deep into her palms as she forced herself to calm down. She said to Shen Lingyue and to herself, "Don't be afraid, they will protect us."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Pei Jinghuai shouted from outside the car, "I'm here! Are you all alright?"
Shen Lingyue was so excited she almost cried, and quickly replied, "It's nothing!"
"Okay, you and your sister-in-law stay in the car and don't move. I'll be right here, don't be afraid!"
Pei Jinghuai drew his sword and, without time for further pleasantries, engaged in a fierce battle with the assassins who were closing in on the carriage.
On the other side, after Pei Jingyi quickly dealt with several masked men who were close to him, he realized that their target seemed to be the carriage, and Pei Jinghuai was under even more pressure.
He was still more than ten feet away from the carriage when Pei Jingyi remounted his horse and hurried back as fast as he could.
"Huaizhou, I'm here to help you!"
Pei Jinghuai fought against seven or eight opponents by himself, and he was already injured. His raincoat was cut in half, and there was a gash on his back from which blood was faintly seeping out.
Nevertheless, he remained standing guard beside the carriage, refusing to budge an inch.
These people seemed to have anticipated his weakness. While some of them feigned an attack to entangle Pei Jinghuai, others secretly went around to the other side of the carriage and ruthlessly slashed down with their knives, making a loud clanging sound.
Shen Lingyue and Yan Yi covered their mouths tightly, too scared to make a sound, afraid that Pei Jinghuai outside would hear and be distracted.
Then they heard Pei Jinghuai exclaim in surprise, "Don't be afraid, your big brother is here!"
With Pei Jingyi joining them, the pressure on him eased considerably. The two leaned on each other back to back, and soon several more assassins fell unwillingly.
As the shouts of battle outside subsided, Shen Lingyue breathed a sigh of relief and forced a smile of relief at Yan Yi, "We're saved..."
Before the words were finished, a horse neighed in pain, and the carriage suddenly began to shake violently out of control. The next second, it shot out like an arrow!
—An assassin pretended to be defeated, clutching his chest and collapsing, then slid a short knife from his sleeve and stabbed it viciously into the horse's rump.
The injured horse went berserk, dragging the carriage along as if it were running for its life. It veered off the road and tumbled down the hillside.
Pei Jingyi and Pei Jinghuai turned around and saw this scene; their eyes widened in horror.
"Yan Yi!"
"Ah Yue!"
Without a second thought, the two jumped off the carriage, tumbling and scrambling, their faces covered in rain and mud, scraped and cut by sharp branches. They stumbled and fell, hitting countless stones, but could never catch up with the tumbling carriage.
boom!
The overburdened carriage shafts finally broke apart, the injured horses fled in disarray, leaving only the riddled carriage lying askew on the ground, quiet and utterly silent inside.
Pei Jinghuai's knees buckled, and he uncontrollably knelt on the ground, his face pale and his lips trembling violently. He no longer had the courage to take a step forward.
They... tumbled down a hillside several meters high... and were trapped in the cramped carriage...
Pei Jinghuai dared not think any further, and pounded his head with his fists, forcing himself to stop.
Until someone grabbed his shoulder from behind and forcibly pulled him out of the mud.
Pei Jinghuai turned his head and met his elder brother's pale face, which looked like a male ghost. When he opened his mouth, his voice was hoarse and barely audible.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and save them!"
Pei Jinghuai was in a daze, following Pei Jingyi like a walking corpse. The two of them worked together to pry open the deformed and stuck car door.
"Big brother..."
Pei Jinghuai suddenly grabbed Pei Jingyi's hand, stopping him from opening the door, his eyes pleading.
Pei Jingyi's face was tense, and he brushed him aside without saying a word.
With a creak, he opened the car door as wide as he could, but was stunned by what he saw inside and remained motionless for a long time.
Pei Jinghuai waited for a while and then, sensing something was wrong, mustered up the courage to look into the car.
"...Where are they?"
The items in the carriage were overturned and scattered everywhere, with teapots and bowls broken all over the place.
But Shen Lingyue and Yan Yi, two perfectly healthy people, just vanished into thin air.
Not even a trace of blood was left.
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Author's Note: (Head covered in pot) Ahhh, it's okay, none of our three babies' skin is damaged at all!!! It's just that I might have to really slash the two brothers a bit… (whispering) A little bit of slashing is good for the soul, right? [Please][Please]
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