Chapter 488 Grow Up Well
Pei Ji took time out of his busy schedule to come here.
He hadn't intentionally stopped contacting the girl before. Besides the reason Sheng Sheng had guessed, Pei Ji was also afraid that his conflict with the Fourth Prince would affect her.
Within the Song Dynasty, before Pei Ji returned, the Fourth Prince and the Crown Prince were the two most fierce rivals. However, after Pei Ji joined the fray, the two gradually realized the threat he posed and joined forces to deal with him.
Those two were determined to kill him, and Pei Ji dared not gamble until he had completely dealt with them.
If those two discover that he and Shengsheng have some kind of connection, thus threatening Shengsheng's safety...
Therefore, it wasn't until today that Pei Ji finally dared to come and find Sheng Sheng.
The old emperor of Song has died, and the country is currently in a state of leaderlessness. Several parties are vying for power, and the Empress Dowager of Song is temporarily in charge of the government.
Various forces are vying for power, but this is restrained by Pei Ji's previous ruthless pursuit and extermination of the Fourth Prince and the Crown Prince.
Everyone sighed that the Ninth Prince, whom no one had ever thought highly of, had become the biggest dark horse, and they were also shocked by his ruthless methods at such a young age.
Nowadays, Pei Ji not only has the support of the old master Mo Wen in literature and the assistance of Xiao Jiuzhu in military affairs, but the old prime minister of Song has also secretly joined Pei Ji's camp.
The Empress Dowager disliked Pei Ji, believing that he came from a lowly background and was merely the son of a palace maid, and therefore could not be considered a great ruler.
The Empress Dowager was, after all, the Empress Dowager. In order to contend with Pei Ji, she did not hesitate to secretly support the Second Prince, who was considered the most outstanding among the remaining princes. Therefore, despite Pei Ji's overwhelming advantage, he was unable to quickly clean up the chaotic situation.
However, Sheng Sheng knew perfectly well that this was only because Pei Ji had held back. If Pei Ji really wanted to rise to power as quickly as possible, he had plenty of ways to do so.
Mo Wen and Xiao Jiuzhu were one thing, but even the old prime minister had quietly become his man, not to mention the other officials, big and small, who had all pledged allegiance to him.
With such a good hand, is it really that hard to beat his useless brothers?
She grumbled and questioned Pei Ji why he had shown mercy, causing her to lose contact with him for so long.
If Pei Ji had acted decisively and decisively, he might already be a young emperor.
Upon hearing this, Pei Ji's eyes lit up with a smile, and his heart warmed.
"The Empress Dowager is getting old and won't last many more years. When my mother became pregnant, my father had no intention of giving her a title, and she was targeted by those around her. It was only because the Empress Dowager considered that I was of royal blood that she made my mother a concubine."
Pei Ji paused. "It's true that she looks down on my mother and dislikes me, but it's also because of her that my mother didn't suffer any more grievances. I have no feelings for her, but... consider it as returning the favor to the Song royal family. Besides, the Empress Dowager is involved with many innocent people. Haven't you always told me to be a kind person? If we don't take it slowly, many innocent people will be dragged into this."
After explaining, the boy deliberately and gently picked up a strand of hair from the girl's temple, twirling the end around his fingertip. He moved closer to her, lowered his voice, and said, "Sheng Sheng's words sound so resentful. When you were little, you always wanted to control your brother, making sure he ate more meat and didn't eat too few vegetables. Now you're complaining that you can't control your brother anymore?"
Sheng Sheng felt that something was wrong with that sentence, but she couldn't figure out what it was.
After thinking for a long time, I finally attributed the problem to what he said.
She didn't care about him at all. When she first met Pei Ji, he was very thin, which made people feel sorry for him. Sheng Sheng was still young at the time, so of course she would care about him in the most direct way.
Sheng Sheng stared at his hand playing with her hair for a while, then pulled her hair back: "Brother Pei Ji, don't change the subject, okay? I wasn't bothering you!"
Pei Ji followed that strand of hair for a while, rubbed his empty fingers with some regret, and then smiled.
"Isn't that so?"
“Yes.” Sheng Sheng thought seriously, “What I said was at most a suggestion. I only want to know about you because I care. It’s not like I’m ‘meddling’ at all.”
"Alright then." Pei Ji sighed with a hint of regret. "Uncle Xiao always says that Sheng Sheng and I are childhood sweethearts, but I see that other people's childhood sweethearts are usually inseparable and have a deep understanding of each other. Unlike us, we are separated by thousands of miles. When we finally meet, the girl keeps chasing after me to settle scores and insists on finding out the right and wrong of every single word."
Sheng Sheng: "What!"
Sheng Sheng jumped up in anger, her attention completely drawn to his last two sentences. Lifting her skirt, she stomped her foot at him, "Fine, Brother Pei Ji is not just my Brother Pei Ji anymore, he's the rising dark horse of the Song Kingdom, the Ninth Prince! Having confidence makes all the difference, you know. Now you even dare to twist the truth in front of me!"
The little girl was puffed up with anger, and her face turned red.
"I wasn't arguing with you about anything, and besides, we're separated by thousands of miles. Is it my fault? It's clearly—"
He choked on his words and didn't continue.
Oh dear, it's not her fault, but it's not Pei Ji's fault either.
She spoke as if she were blaming him.
Pei Ji was clearly not in control of his own destiny.
Sheng Sheng's head drooped, feeling a little guilty for speaking too quickly in a fit of anger.
But it was because Pei Ji turned the tables on her first that she got so angry!
Despite her unease, she spoke with conviction: "Brother Pei Ji, that's not what I meant. What I meant was that you can't do this..."
Pei Ji was so amused by her that he couldn't help but laugh. The little girl's expressions changed so much that Pei Ji felt he could spend the whole day doing nothing but watching her without getting bored.
"Alright, alright, I'm not teasing you anymore. It's not your fault, it's my fault."
Pei Ji took her hand in a conciliatory manner, pressed her down to sit beside him again, and gently patted her back to help her catch her breath.
"Even if you really want to control me, I'm willing, hmm?"
Sheng Sheng looked at him with some confusion: "That's strange. I'm always the one being managed by my older brother, and even my fifth brother always tries to protect me. How come it's me who has to manage Pei Ji?"
Those clear eyes blinked, carrying a hint of lingering grievance and a touch of confusion.
Pei Ji's heart softened at her gaze, and he tightened his grip on her hand, his fingertips gently caressing the cool back of her hand.
Pei Ji smiled and said, "Can't a younger sister discipline her older brother?"
It's not that it's impossible. Sheng Sheng smiled gently: "Sure."
Pei Ji gave a soft "hmm," looked at her for a while, then suddenly straightened his expression and said, "I'll speed things up. I'll handle everything and then come see you. Don't worry about me, although I'd be happy if you did. But I won't let myself die, okay? Until then, I'll write to you every month. Once everything is settled, I promise, I'll let you take care of me every day."
He listened intently, stunned, and said, "...Oh."
Pei Ji continued, "So it's settled then? These next few years, you grow up well and then obediently wait for me to come back, okay?"
The boy's voice was gentle and patient, as if enticing her to delve deeper, softly coaxing her.
Sheng Sheng pouted, realizing she couldn't bring herself to refuse.
She thought about it and figured that even if Pei Ji was talking about some kind of unfair contract, she would probably try to find a way to deflect it rather than immediately reject it.
Sheng Sheng inwardly berated herself for becoming so shameless, and weakly replied.
"...Oh, okay."
Pei Ji was satisfied. He pinched her cheek, and she belatedly realized that she might have been tricked by him, but she didn't know what he had tricked her into. She could only awkwardly slap his hand away.
Pei Ji didn't care and propped his head up, watching her sullen face.
Pei Ji chuckled softly, feeling immensely satisfied.
When the little girl grows up, he will be qualified enough to bring her to his side.
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