She was abducted
It was raining heavily. Pei Songsheng stood in front of the gate of Jinan Palace, confronting Butler Zhu with a sullen face.
He was shocked by Xue Zhi's words, but he also knew that although he knew the identity of the murderer, the status of King Jin'an was precious and could not be easily touched. He persuaded Xue Zhi to go home and told him not to spread the news. This matter needed to be carefully planned.
I wanted to go back home and tell Cheng Yayin the news, but Yixing said that she took Lanyue to the Jin'an Palace to return the gifts and had not returned home yet.
Pei Songsheng was shocked for a moment. He rushed to the palace without stopping, but was stopped in front of the gate and was not even allowed to enter.
The old housekeeper appeared respectful, but a cunning glint flickered in his eyes, so he said with embarrassment, "Master Pei, I've already told you that your wife has never been to the mansion. The one who came to return the gift was one of her maids. My prince has instructed that visitors to the Pei Mansion be treated with courtesy, so the servants in the mansion treated that girl some wine. However, she couldn't hold her liquor well and passed out after just one glass. She's still drunk now."
"I was thinking of sending the young lady back after she sobered up. But since the master has come in person, just take her back yourself." Butler Zhu waved behind him, and soon, several people came out carrying Lan Yue. Her eyes were closed, her cheeks were flushed, and she looked indeed drunk.
Pei Songsheng gestured for Jian Zhu to take the person over, and looked gloomily at Butler Zhu: "I'll ask you one last time, where is my wife?"
"Oh, Master Pei, this is unreasonable. I have repeatedly said that your wife has never been to the palace. You can't abandon your wife and then embarrass us servants..."
"Besiege the mansion!"
At Pei Songsheng's command, the Pei residence's men immediately surrounded the Jin'an Palace. Butler Zhu, horrified, pointed at him and shouted angrily, "Master Pei, how dare you be so rude? This is the Jin'an Palace! Who in Shengjing dares to act so wildly in the prince's territory? When the prince returns, I will make sure to file a complaint against you!"
Pei Songsheng strode forward, grabbed Butler Zhu by the collar and dragged him out from under the umbrella. The heavy rain instantly soaked his head and face. He was lifted up and forced to stand on tiptoe.
"Prince Jin'an is not in the palace?" he asked gritting his teeth.
Steward Zhu was a man of the world, but seeing Pei Songsheng's expression, as if he was about to kill someone, his arrogance inevitably softened. "The prince has left the city. I will definitely write a letter to report this to him. Once it reaches the emperor, I'll see how you handle it."
Pei Songsheng raised his hand and threw it. Butler Zhu fell to the ground in the rain in a mess. He wiped the rain off his face and pointed at Pei Songsheng and said, "You!——"
When the rain in front of my eyes was wiped away, I could only see Pei Songsheng's back as he hurried away in the rain.
Time was running out, so Pei Songsheng hurriedly made arrangements for Jian Zhu.
Jian Zhu received the order and immediately went to the Dali Temple to inform Xue Zhi, while he took the people from Pei Mansion and rode out of the city in the direction of Ganchuan.
When he reached the city gate, he reined in his horse and asked the guard if he had seen the carriages from the Jin'an Palace. The guard said that about half an hour ago, the carriages from the palace had left the city from here.
Pei Songsheng whipped his horse whip and sped out of the city, following the wheel tracks on the muddy ground after the rain. He was extremely anxious and didn't care about the difficult road in the rain. He whipped his horse whip quickly and left his followers behind.
He could only use speed to make up for the half-hour gap. His followers were horrified by his reckless pursuit and whipped their steeds to catch up, but their horses were no match for his swiftness. Their hooves slipped in the mud, and several of them fell in just a short distance.
Pei Songsheng was completely unaware and was only thinking about catching up with Prince Jin'an's carriage as quickly as possible.
After all, his four hooves were faster than the carriage. After chasing for dozens of miles, he finally saw the carriage from the Prince of Jin'an's Palace.
He continued to pursue relentlessly. Seeing someone chasing them, the palace's carriage had sped up, but for some reason, it suddenly stopped on its own accord. Pei Songsheng didn't care about anything else and rode his horse to catch up.
Meng Yu got off the carriage, took the umbrella held by the servant, and walked towards Pei Songsheng.
"When did Xiao Wang and Lord Pei become so close? I'm leaving Shengjing, and Lord Pei personally came to see me off despite the torrential rain. I'm really touched."
Pei Songsheng reined in his horse, halting a few paces from Meng Yu. A splash of mud and water fell onto his brocade boots, staining the satin. Meng Yu frowned at the stain, but Pei Songsheng paid no mind. He dismounted and headed straight for the carriage behind Meng Yu.
Meng Yu stretched out his hand to stop him, his eyes narrowed slightly: "Master Pei, what are you going to do?"
Pei Songsheng stared at Meng Yu with his dark eyes, as if he wanted to peel off his skin and bones with his eyes. He clenched his jaw and said word by word: "Give me back my wife."
Meng Yu chuckled, "That's really strange. Why would I take your wife with me when I go out to travel? Master Pei doesn't think highly of his own wife, so don't make false accusations against others."
Pei Songsheng ignored him, waved away Meng Yu's hand that was blocking him, and walked towards the carriage on the muddy ground.
Several guards armed with knives immediately blocked his way. Meng Yu waved his hand and said nonchalantly, "Forget it. He won't give up unless Lord Pei takes a look himself."
The guards retreated and Pei Songsheng strode forward and opened the curtain of the carriage.
A pale figure was lying quietly inside. The wind was blowing and the rain was howling outside, but she was unaware of it. She closed her eyes tightly, as if everything in the world had left her.
Pei Songsheng was horrified and hurried to carry her out. Before his hand touched the hem of her clothes, he felt something cool and slippery, different from raindrops, dripping on the back of his neck. Like a snake, it burrowed into his skin.
Cheng Yayin's pale face was just within reach, but Pei Songsheng's thoughts suddenly became confused, like a tight city wall collapsing in an instant. Cheng Yayin was clearly within reach, but she seemed to be getting farther and farther away.
Pei Songsheng's brain seemed to be cut open and stuffed with a lot of things. His thoughts were cut into pieces. He had a splitting headache and fell to the ground. He half-knelt and covered his head, becoming more and more confused.
"This dose of Soul-Separating Powder is not easy to swallow. If it weren't for Lord Pei's concern, how could I have plotted against you so easily?" Meng Yu walked up to Pei Songsheng, slowly squatted down, and asked, "Who are you?"
Pei Songsheng felt as if he were in an endless fog. Hearing this voice in the chaos, he subconsciously said, "I am... Duan Changjue."
"Is it the Red Tassel Record this time?" Meng Yu pondered.
The darkness in Pei Songsheng's eyes gradually dissipated. He looked at the pouring rain and asked blankly, "Where is this?"
"Young General Duan, don't you remember?" Meng Yu smiled meaningfully. "Your father, General Duan, betrayed the country and defected to the enemy. Although you were kept in the dark, you are guilty as a son. Your wife will never forgive you. You know she hates evil, and your Duan family has committed such a heinous crime. She wants to leave, but you keep pursuing her. How can you be so shameless?"
Pei Songsheng's memories were brought back to him, and his eyes were instantly filled with pain. He held his head and murmured, "Yes, Yu'er will never forgive me..."
The sound of horse hooves could be heard in the distance. Meng Yu glanced back and said to Pei Songsheng, "Although you've become a traitor, you still have some subordinates who are loyal to you. Honestly, are you worthy of their loyalty?"
"I, I don't deserve it..."
"You should know clearly what to do now." Meng Yu stood up and signaled the guards of the palace to drive away temporarily.
The servants of the Pei Mansion finally caught up and saw Pei Songsheng kneeling on the ground from a distance, motionless, letting the heavy rain fall on him, as if he had lost his soul.
Several people rushed over in fear, dismounted and asked, "What happened to you, sir?"
They tried to pull him up, but were evaded. They put a straw raincoat on him, but were also thrown away. Pei Songsheng said dejectedly, "Go away! Don't follow me anymore."
Confused, they looked around, only to see the rain pouring down and the wheels rutting across the ground. They knew only that they had come to look for their wife, who appeared to have been taken away by Prince Jin'an. They had no idea why Prince Jin'an was so involved with their own wife, but seeing the master's anxious expression, they knew this was serious. Why was he telling them to go back now that they hadn't found her?
Someone asked anxiously, "Sir, where is the lady?"
This question seemed to poke a hole in his heart. Pei Songsheng's eyes showed some light, but it was filled with deep pain. He hoarsely said, "She's gone. She never wants to see me again and she will never come back!"
Several people looked at each other, confused as to what had happened. They had served in the Pei Mansion for many years, and they could see that the relationship between the Master and the Madam had been distant before. But recently, the two had become inseparable. They had thought their relationship was gradually improving, so why did the Master suddenly say that the Madam had left?
Pei Songsheng looked dejected and dejected, like an abandoned dog, to put it bluntly. The servants of the Pei residence had never seen him like this before, and considering that his wife had followed Prince Jin'an, they all had some unflattering speculations.
They couldn't ask the adults directly about this matter. Manager Jian was not there, and they had no one to consult, so they didn't know what to do.
While they were hesitating, Pei Songsheng had already stood up, staggering out into the rain. Several people were horrified and hurried to stop him. "If Madam can't find him, that's fine. We must at least bring him back."
Pei Songsheng pushed them away again and let them go.
Several people hesitated, but Pei Songsheng became angry: "I am not worthy of you following me. If you continue to follow me, you will be asking for my life in exchange!"
Everyone was frightened. Seeing Pei Songsheng's resolute look, they had no choice but to ride away. They all thought that no one would want to be seen in such a thing. Perhaps after the adult calmed down alone, he would go back.
Pei Songsheng looked at their backs as they left, then stumbled in the opposite direction and disappeared in the rustling rain.
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