Chapter 26 Disappointment
The following day, Ji Shu kept her appointment.
In the prefect's residence.
"Please have some tea, my lady will be here soon," the maid said, placing the tea beside Ji Shu.
Seeing Ji Shu's gaze fall on the window, with a touch of weary red at the corners of her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings, and her lips like ripe cherries, she exuded a languid charm that was both pitiful and endearing.
Her crimson robe flowed down like water, casually lightly touching a section of her fair, snow-white wrist.
When Yinzi first saw her, she was momentarily stunned and thought to herself: No wonder the prince is so fond of her; even she, a woman, was dazzled at first sight.
Such stunning beauty, if a young lady saw her... it would surely stir up more trouble.
Chunzhi, standing to the side, said with dissatisfaction, "What's wrong with your young lady? Since you invited my young lady to the manor, then my young lady is a guest. Why is the host not showing up when the guest has arrived?"
The maid stood by, smiling silently.
Chunzhi was so angry that she had nowhere to vent her frustration, and her cheeks puffed out slightly.
Just then, voices came from the corridor outside, mixed with a male voice that Ji Shu recognized.
Ji Shu slowly stepped forward and saw Pei Xingjian walking forward through the half-open door, followed closely by a young woman.
Wei Heng quickly stepped forward and grabbed Pei Xingjian's sleeve. "Brother Xingjian, don't ignore me. I know I was wrong yesterday. Talk to me."
Pei Xingjian took two steps back without making a sound, and pulled back the sleeve she was holding. He hadn't seen Shu'er yesterday, and he was determined to see her today no matter what.
To her surprise, as soon as she stepped out of the room, she saw Wei Heng waiting at the door. Seeing that her face was flushed from the sun, she knew that she had been waiting for a long time.
A feeling of pity welled up in her heart. "Heng'er, I do have important business to attend to today."
Wei Heng pressed on angrily, "Uncle's back. What business do you have with me? Are you going to see Madam Ji again?"
Pei Xingjian knew in his heart that he owed Wei Heng a lot, but seeing her speak of the woman in his heart like this, he was displeased. However, seeing her sunburned face, he softened his tone and said, "Today we are going to the drill ground to review the troops."
He turned to leave, but Wei Heng wasn't about to let him get away so easily. He was going to put on this show for Ji Shu himself.
Wei Heng stepped forward and hugged Pei Xingjian tightly, her eyes red and her voice choked with sobs, "Brother Xingjian, I know you don't like me, and I've thought it through that you want to break off the engagement..."
Upon hearing the words "annulment of the engagement," Pei Xingjian stopped in his tracks. From the angle of Ji Shu and her servant behind him, they could see them pulling and tugging at each other, and even embracing.
Chunzhi spat under her breath, "Pah! He really is a fickle and heartless man. He can't resist a woman, can he? I thought this Prince Pei was different, but now it seems he's nothing special."
Chunzhi grabbed Ji Shu's hand and tried to lead her out: "Young lady, let's go, we can't stay here any longer!"
Yinzi, who was inside the house, naturally did not stop them, but a hint of mockery flashed in her eyes.
So easily fooled!
Pei Xingjian quickly pushed Wei Heng aside. As soon as he did, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw a woman followed by a maid disappear through the corridor.
I vaguely felt that it was somewhat familiar, and even thought that it resembled Shu'er.
But how could that be? Why would Shu'er come to the prefect's mansion? If she wanted to come, I would definitely know.
But even with the thought that something might happen, he quickly ran after him. Just as he reached the fork in the corridor, Lu Changfeng walked over from the front.
"My lord, Mr. Gongsun has something important to discuss with you."
Pei Xingjian stared eagerly ahead. He was in a hurry to find someone, so why would he go to see any strategist? "Okay, I understand. I'll be there soon."
Lu Changfeng added, "My lord, this concerns military intelligence from the front lines. Mr. Gongsun is already waiting in the council hall."
Gongsun Li was the lord's top strategist, and both he and his lord had to give her some respect. Pei Xingjian looked at the figure that had long since disappeared ahead.
Realizing he was overthinking things, he thought it was impossible for Shu'er to come to the prefect's residence. "Alright, let's go."
Wei Heng returned inside, picked up a handkerchief, and gently wiped her cheeks. She asked, "How is it? Do you believe me now?"
Yinzi nodded, "Most likely, and stormed off."
Wei Heng smiled sweetly, her previous whimpering and earnestness completely gone. "It's good that you believe me. I thought our love was stronger than gold, but it seems it's nothing special."
...
Ji Shu remained silent and walked straight ahead.
Seeing that her young lady was silent and her expression was unclear, Chunzhi assumed that she was upset about what had just happened and asked worriedly, "Young lady, are you alright?"
Ji Shu forced a smile. "I'm fine. Why did this Madam Wei invite me here, yet refuse to show up? And why is she putting on this melodramatic love show at this time? Isn't that too much of a coincidence?"
Chunzhi muttered to herself, "Young lady, do you mean to say that Madam Wei did it on purpose?"
"Could that woman just now be the prince's fiancée? Did she deliberately let you bump into her? Wouldn't it be playing into her hands if we left now?"
After saying that, he took the girl's hand and went back, saying as he did so, "Girl, I'm sorry, it's all my fault for being too hasty."
Ji Shu released her hand, shook her head, and seemed to have a smile in her eyes. "I don't care how she acts. I just think that Prince Pei is too indecisive and I can't stand it anymore."
“But young lady, I clearly saw the young master push Lady Wei away.”
“Before he pushed you away, could you see the pity and reluctance in his eyes?” A hint of mockery flashed in Ji Shu’s eyes.
“Since he feels indebted, he is easily softened. That Wei family lady took advantage of this. Today she can endure it out of pity, but tomorrow she can change things out of guilt.”
"Never mind, what do other people have to do with us?"
Even so, a vague sense of melancholy lingered in my heart.
After leaving the garden and walking down the corridor, Ji Shu touched the missing handkerchief on her sleeve and asked in a low voice, "Chunzhi, did I lose my handkerchief?"
Chunzhi quickly touched her sleeve as well, and sure enough, there was nothing there.
He immediately thought, "It probably fell on the road. Miss, you wait here while I go look for it."
"I'll go with you."
In this era, a handkerchief won't cause any loss, but if it falls into the hands of someone with ulterior motives, it will ultimately harm one's reputation.
She and Chunzhi searched along the corridor for a long time, but still couldn't find it. Their hearts sank. Could it be in that room?
"This search won't work. Go look in the room we just stayed in. Let's split up and search. If we still can't find it, then we'll give up."
Chunzhi nodded and left.
Ji Shu searched along the corridor for a while, and just as she turned the corner of the corridor, she unexpectedly bumped into someone.
"Who are you?" The man held the tip of his fan against her chin, and when he saw her face clearly, the astonishment in his eyes was undisguised.
He feigned surprise and asked, "Madam Ji?"
Ji Shu took a half step back, removed his fan, rubbed her chin, and coldly replied, "Hmm."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com