Chapter 61 "From beginning to end, it was only about me and her..."
Pei Chengyu paused for a moment, then said, "What's it to you?"
"As far as I know, Lord Ji has already signed the divorce papers. It is none of your business what I do with her."
He was about to leave when, before he could take a step, a hand landed on his shoulder.
With just a slight exertion of his shoulder, a palm strike flew over. Pei Chengyu dodged it to the side, grabbed the other's wrist with his other hand, and pinched the other's pulse point hard with his fingertips.
Ji Jinghe winced in pain and bent his knee to strike the back of Ji Jinghe's knee. Pei Chengyu used the momentum to slide back half a step and hooked his ankle around Ji Jinghe's calf, tripping him.
The two stumbled simultaneously, then lunged forward in an instant—
Pei Chengyu grabbed Ji Jinghe by the back of the neck and pressed him down, while the other grabbed his collar and yanked it violently, his breath mixed with hostility spraying onto the other's face, their heads almost colliding.
"I'll say the same thing to you: it's none of your business what we do."
Ji Jinghe exerted all his strength and shoved him hard against the wall. "If you have any self-awareness, you'd better stay away from her. Do you think she doesn't know just because she doesn't say anything? She's just not saying anything."
"And what about you, Ji Jinghe?" Pei Chengyu gritted his teeth, his grip becoming increasingly hostile and savage.
"You think you're the most innocent one? Where were you when she was all alone and helpless? You knew she valued her family, yet you still punished her brother yourself. As a husband, you didn't even care about your wife's dignity. What kind of good person are you?!"
"Do you know why she keeps contacting me? It's all because of you!"
Ji Jinghe: "Yes."
"I don't deny that it's because of me, but what's most despicable is that you repeatedly used the guise of helping her to get close to her."
"I'm warning you one last time, don't bother her again. If I find out again, I won't mind making things a bit more interesting for the Pei family. After all, I'm not the only one in court hoping your family will be humiliated..."
"You went through so much trouble to return to the capital, but be careful you don't end up back on the frontier in less than two years."
The two sides suddenly broke off their engagement and parted on bad terms.
In the early years, none of the people who worked for the Xia family were clean; it was all about who was shrewd and knew how to leave themselves a way out.
For example, the Pei family, even if they get involved in harmful things, can still wash themselves clean and push the blame onto others.
Yu An knew very little; even upon closer examination, he only grasped the surface of the implications.
The letters left by Li Yan involved a wide range of officials. At first, she was only suspicious, but now, recalling Pei Chengyu's appearance, she realized it was true.
With no sign of Ji Jinghe returning for a long time, Ji Shu couldn't help but feel worried.
"Sister-in-law, I heard from Qingque this morning that my brother caught a cold and has a fever."
Seeing that Yu An remained unmoved, she continued, "My brother has been disappearing and coming and going lately. We almost never see him. He doesn't even care about his official duties. Apart from coming here, we don't know where he's staying."
Yu An chuckled, "Then you should try to persuade him not to come here."
“That’s not what I meant,” Ji Shu denied outright.
She leaned closer, "Sister-in-law, you really don't plan to forgive my brother..."
Yu An sighed and tapped her forehead with a willow branch. "Hurry up and learn. Don't talk about these things. If you mention them again, you won't be allowed to come anymore."
Ji Shu, with a stern face, covered her forehead and muttered, "I won't call Xu Jingshu 'sister' anymore. Can't I just be good to you? Xu Jingshu got married, and what happened a few days ago..."
Since she already knew about it, she shouldn't have reacted, but when Xu Jingshu was mentioned, she couldn't help but think of Tanzhu, whom she had seen at Cui Hu's place that day.
After seeing Ji Shu off, Yu An finished her own business and drove to Renlan Courtyard.
When she arrived by car, the servant who was sweeping fallen leaves in the courtyard was there.
"These are the umbrella and raincoat I borrowed last time, I'm returning them." Yu'an also brought some fresh flower cakes she made yesterday.
"The magistrate says that you needn't be so formal, madam." The servant took the cup from her. "Why don't you come in and have some tea before you leave?"
"Thank you for your kind offer, but it's getting late, so I'd better head back soon."
As Yu An turned around, she seemed to catch a glimpse of that familiar figure out of the corner of her eye, until the sound came—
"Yu'an."
She ignored her.
In no time, he caught up quickly.
Yu An's eyelids drooped, and she didn't look at him.
She didn't know why Ji Jinghe was here.
Could it be that every famous person or thing in the capital is inextricably linked to this Ji Ning?
The gaze above him lingered, fixed intently on her, without uttering a word, as if he knew that speaking would only annoy her.
Cui Hu stepped forward slowly and said with a smile, "You two are really lucky. One of you was just about to leave, and the other arrived."
Yu An looked at him and smiled, "If I had known he was with the magistrate, I would never have come."
Ji Jinghe: ...
Cui Hu glanced at it, paused, and then said, "You should come to my Renlan Courtyard after all. Come in and have a cup of tea before you leave. Anyway, he's leaving soon, so no one will bother you."
Yu An: "No, I'd rather..."
"I'm leaving," Ji Jinghe almost shouted.
He then explained, "It will be late later. When you go back, you can have a young servant with you here, so I'll feel more at ease."
He glanced at her again for a long time before finally leaving.
After watching Ji Jinghe mount his horse, Cui Hu stopped paying attention and stepped back to make way, saying, "Please."
Yu An had intended to leave, but seeing Cui Hu's expression, she hesitated for a moment and then followed him inside.
Ji Jinghe called him "senior brother," and in this world, only those who studied under Xu Yun could address Ji Jinghe in this way.
After the servant replaced the teacup that Ji Jinghe had used on the table with a new one, Cui Hu finally spoke: "This is early autumn tea that was just produced in Jiangnan. Please have a taste, my lady."
Yu An reached out and touched the cup, but found it too hot, so she didn't lift it. "You've kept me here, sir. Is there anything you wish to say?"
Cui Hu smiled and said, "It's nothing much, I'm just curious about your relationship with Yin Chu."
"You don't know about our relationship?" he asked.
He leaned casually to the side, propping his head up with one hand. "Yin Chu and I both studied under Xu Yun, but I retired a few years ago."
"So the sandalwood beads you wear were made with him?"
Cui Hu frowned, his expression instantly darkening.
Yuan:......
For a moment, no sound could be heard inside the house; the atmosphere was extremely oppressive, with only the sound of children sweeping dry leaves outside the courtyard.
He heard the person next to him let out a faint sigh, "That was written by me and Xu Jingshu, and has nothing to do with Yin Chu."
"If you saw it on Yin Chu, that was when he handed it to me on behalf of Xu Jingshu."
So, does that mean he and Xu Jingshu were in love?
She listened quietly, and the probing and thoughtful look in her eyes betrayed her.
Cui Hu scoffed: "Did you ever suspect the relationship between Yin Chu and Xu Jingshu back then?"
A hint of embarrassment flashed across her face, but what's done is done, and there's nothing wrong with admitting it.
Yu An retorted, "If this were happening to the magistrate, you might have second thoughts too."
"So, you mean you asked me to brave the heavy rain to go up the mountain to pick bamboo shoots because of Xu Jingshu and Ji Jinghe's relationship?"
Perhaps he believed Ji Jinghe's words and thought that her father was the murderer who killed Xu Yun, which is why he made things difficult for her.
Cui Hu paused for a moment, a hint of mockery in his eyes, which he made no attempt to conceal: "Yes."
Yu An laughed in anger and turned to look outside the courtyard.
People really can't understand what they did before, and less than two years have passed.
"If you want to complain, complain; if you want to curse, curse. I don't mind." He replied frankly, as if it were perfectly natural.
There is inevitability in everything, and inevitability also contains unspeakable chance. Part of it can be considered as her own doing.
"Sometimes I really want to try what it feels like to frame someone with just some random piece of evidence."
"We are used to hating evil as if it were our enemy. If we knew that the enemy who killed our teacher was right in front of us, and the evidence was conclusive, there would be almost no room for consideration. Anyone would feel the same way."
“You are not in the court, so you don’t know how dangerous it is. When Ji Jinghe was exposed for making deals with your father behind the scenes, he was almost trampled to death.”
"He brought it on himself."
My gaze slowly shifted, and the deepening twilight fell upon her. Her figure, though slender, exuded an extraordinary determination. She was unadorned, so clean that it evoked pity.
No wonder even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman...
Cui Hu got up and poured himself another cup of tea, a bitter smile appearing on his lips.
The two didn't say much. After taking a couple of sips of hot tea, Yu An prepared to leave.
"I heard from Yin Chu that the Xu family has bullied you quite a bit. I'd like to apologize on her behalf."
Yu An didn't expect him to bring her out and say such things.
"From beginning to end, it was only between me and her, and had nothing to do with Yin Chu. Yin Chu cared about her only because of the teacher and me, not for his own sake."
Yu An was immediately aware of who the "she" he was referring to was, and that's when she was stunned.
"If there's anything I can do to help in the future, please don't hesitate to ask. Consider it a token of my apology."
The bamboo grove rustled in the wind, and the withered leaves were swept up by the wind, bringing a cool sensation as they passed underfoot.
The early autumn nights are still chilly.
"They're gone."
Yu'an sat in the carriage, leisurely driving alone. Cui Hu originally wanted to provide her with a young servant, as Ji Jinghe had suggested, but Yu'an refused.
The carriages and horses moved slowly by. Yu An looked up at the half-revealed moon and felt a desolate silence all around her. Her heart had never been so still.
Dressed in plain clothes, her hands had become a little rough, but she felt extremely grounded.
Life was tougher than before, but she didn't feel there was anything wrong with it.
Baozhu made a bowl of vegetarian wontons and waited a long time before Yu'an returned.
"Are you still waiting for me?"
Baozhu: "It's always worrying to see a girl going out so late, all alone."
The two chatted and ate a bowl of wontons, and another August passed.
As the hundred-day period drew to a close, Yu'an didn't feel anything, but she heard Baozhu counting down the days until there were only a dozen or so left.
I don't know about anything else, but Baozhu is looking forward to it every day. "The girl's hands have become rough, how can I not look forward to it? It's cold and the mountain road is hard to walk on..." Baozhu grinded the inkstone, "Oh right, this is a letter that Qingque delivered this morning."
Having not seen Ji Jinghe for half a month, I suddenly received a letter, but I guessed he couldn't say anything.
"You take a look for me, just in case he says something useful."
Baozhu reluctantly opened it, and sure enough, it was indeed a matter of utmost importance.
"The old man said he found other murderers... including the Yan family."
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