Chapter 15 Chapter 15 Master Pei, you are so pitiful
"It's okay, I just accidentally burned myself when adding charcoal to the fire." Lu Suizhu put his hands behind his back and made up an excuse to cover it up.
Fortunately, Pei Zhiji didn't care: "From now on, just let the servants do these things."
His voice today seemed particularly weak and powerless. Lu Suizhu's gaze slowly moved along his face to him and she was shocked by the sight.
A wet spot was faintly visible on the dark brown clothes where the shoulder blade was, and the black spot gradually dissipated. Looking at his fingers clenched into a fist, the veins on the back of his hand bulged on the table, he looked embarrassed.
"Master Pei, are you bleeding? Don't worry, I'll go call someone now."
It happened so quickly that before she could even move her feet as she spoke, Lu Suizhu felt a pulling force on her wrist that made her unable to move at all. Inertia pulled her body backwards, and the back of her head hit the man's hard chest.
"Ah" Lu Suizhu groaned in pain and was about to attack, but when she turned around, she saw the tall figure of Pei Zhiji staggering backward after the impact.
At this time, light snow began to fall outside the house, landing silently on the ink-splashed night, and there were no plum blossoms to step on.
Burn the lamp during the day, and the dim light enters your eyes.
His breathing became heavy and difficult with the sound of cranes crying in the wind, his appearance became thin and his face was as pale as paper.
The fact that Pei Zhiji was in poor health had been engraved in her mind and could not be erased. Lu Suizhu was really afraid that he would faint from excessive blood loss.
There was no time to blame him at this moment. Lu Suizhu was afraid of irritating him, so she didn't dare to move too much. She just moved slowly, moved closer to him, and gave Pei Zhiji some support.
Looking closer, the bloodstains on his shoulder against the brown clothes looked like a poisonous peony blooming in rich and strange colors, soaking the entire piece of fabric.
There seemed to be an lingering, salty, bloody smell, like iron and rust, nearby.
Pei Zhiji's hand was still covering Lu Suizhu's lips. The man's palm was so big that it easily covered the lower half of her face. Just covering her face, those hands made people feel cold to the bone. Lu Suizhu couldn't help but want to struggle and escape.
I heard a man's dull and suppressed voice coming from behind me.
"Today, I was leaving the court and was attacked by the Imperial Concubine's men. This matter must not be made public. Do you understand?"
His voice was weak but rare in its clearness and peace, and his expression showed that he would not tolerate any arguments. Seeing Lu Suizhu nodding frantically, Pei Zhiji slowly let go.
His strength suddenly drained away, and his shaking body could no longer support itself. After this ordeal, blood gushed out. Pei Zhiji touched it with his hand.
Sure enough, the whole place was filled with bright red.
He covered his still bleeding shoulder, his knees bent, and he leaned back in the chair with each step. His pale, dry lips parted slightly, and his voice was clear enough for people to hear clearly.
"Bring me the medicine box by the window."
After a pause, he added, "Trouble you."
Lu Suizhu went to get it and didn't hear what he said afterwards. She took out gauze and gold wound medicine from the medicine box, but while thinking about it, she didn't give it to Pei Zhiji immediately.
She held the medicine box in her hands, stood upright in front of Pei Zhiji, and imitated his usual condescending and arrogant look.
He looked down at the body that was bent slightly due to pain with a faint look and movement that was quite threatening.
Pei Zhiji raised his eyebrows.
After being together for so long, Lu Suizhu already knew that this action meant to ask her to speak. The corners of her lips slightly raised, and the arc revealed was just enough to show her white teeth.
"I didn't understand what Lord Pei just said. Why would the imperial concubine send someone to assassinate you?"
"Why can't you make it public if you assassinated him? After all, you are an official appointed by the court. Even if you are a favored concubine, you can't be so arrogant and domineering and take human lives so lightly, right?"
Looking at the indignant and increasingly angry look of the woman in front of him, Pei Zhiji felt like laughing for some reason. He felt that her movements and expressions were somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember where they were.
He sighed softly, which was a really good-natured explanation.
"The Crown Prince's birth mother, the late Empress, passed away many years ago, and the throne has remained vacant ever since. Imperial Concubine Jiang is deeply favored by His Majesty, and the Sixth Prince, born to her, was even born when the Imperial Astronomical Observatory declared: 'At dawn, purple clouds in the east shroud auspicious mists, auspicious signs of the birth of a prince, and the promise of prosperity for the empire.'"
Lu Suizhu had also heard a little about these palace affairs. She had once seen Concubine Jiang come to pay her respects when she was playing the piano in the Empress Dowager's Shoukang Palace. She was indeed a very beautiful woman.
"Then why did she want to kill you?" Lu Suizhu was already sitting opposite Pei Zhiji with a medicine box.
Seeing that his complexion was getting worse and worse, with no trace of blood on the corners of his lips, Lu Suizhu pursed her lips and put the medicine on the table obediently.
"Forget it, Master Pei, you should take care of your wound first. We can talk about these things tomorrow."
When she went out, Lu Suizhu gently closed the door, put her hand in the crack of the door, and repeatedly tested to make sure there was no cold wind invading.
A wisp of fragrance unique to a woman gradually dissipated, as if a filled room suddenly became empty.
Outside the house, the cold stars stood solemnly in the north wind, while inside the house, a solitary figure leaned against the wall holding a candle.
All that remains is pain, silence and hideous wounds.
The imperial concubine has tried to kill him more than once, and now that she sees that His Majesty and the Queen Mother are intent on suppressing the Pei family, she has become even more perverse and ruthless.
Pei Zhiji's body sank, and he fell heavily on the bed. The movement of slightly tilting his head made the protruding Adam's apple on his slender neck particularly prominent.
Roll gently between breaths.
His whole body was wet and sticky with sweat, and his back was filled with dense coldness, as if an ant was carrying thousands of fine needles and moving around in his limbs. The cold and pain penetrated into his bones. His hands tightly grasped the quilt, and when the pain was extreme, a hint of self-mockery appeared on his face.
This poison that had plagued him since he was a child really haunted him like a ghost.
After resting for a while, the pain finally eased a little, and Pei Zhiji finally had the strength to reach out and carefully take off his clothes.
It was too late to treat the shoulder blade wound. The flesh and blood were stuck together. He endured the pain and peeled off the clothes on his shoulder.
The head of the arrow had been broken off long ago, and now only a small piece remained buried in the bones and flesh of the body, inseparable.
Every movement was piercing to the bone. Just when he was about to pull it out cruelly, he heard the door creaking.
"Who?"
Lu Suizhu left and returned.
Seeing Pei Zhiji's naked half body, he stopped dead in his tracks, feeling a little caught in a dilemma.
The last time she saw him being so "unrestrained" was when she accidentally ran into him coming out of the shower. At that time, he was still covered with a thin layer of clothing, so he looked half real and half unreal. Moreover, the situation was tense, and fear occupied her mind more.
Today was the first time in Lu Suizhu's life that she saw a handsome man's body.
Two blushes climbed up her fair and delicate face, and her pores seemed to be scratched by sharp thorns dipped in wine, with an itchy and painful feeling that was about to burst out. She lightly covered her face with the back of her hand and quickly retracted it.
Even though he was a little nervous in his heart, he remained calm and composed, and walked towards Pei Zhiji without any guilt.
When she got closer, she was surprised to see his hideous wound, which was deeper than she had imagined.
Pei Zhiji was able to chat with her as if nothing had happened, which was quite tolerant.
"When I was returning to the courtyard, I ran into Xiao Feng who was out on business. I was a little worried about you being alone."
Lu Suizhu spoke frankly, not feeling that there was anything wrong at all, and did not notice that the man opposite him stiffened for a moment.
The woman had a slender figure and sat on the other side of the bed without collapsing at all. Lu Suizhu carefully observed the wounds on his body, and the more he looked, the deeper his frown became.
Pei Zhiji leaned on the bed with his eyes half closed, his hands on the quilt, and the wrinkles on it were repeatedly smoothed and rubbed, almost breaking and festering.
I wanted to reach out to stop her, but I simply didn't have the energy to talk to her about the strict rules between men and women in her current physical condition.
"Can you pull out this arrow yourself?"
It was late at night and quiet. This courtyard was the only one far away from the noise. Even the footsteps of the servants patrolling were almost inaudible.
As they caressed each other softly and delicately, their breathing sounds intertwined with each other, with no outlet, warming the cheeks of both people.
Every time the arrow was pulled out an inch, Lu Suizhu's head was covered with a layer of cold sweat. Even though there was no physical contact, she knew that the man opposite her was no less sticky than her. Pei Zhiji's body trembled but he clenched his teeth and did not make a sound.
When getting medicine at the clinic, Lu Suizhu had seen others remove arrows. He knew that one should not do it too quickly, otherwise there would be a risk of hemorrhage.
But for Pei Zhiji now, this was a kind of torture. He didn't speak for a long time. Just when Lu Suizhu thought he had fainted from the pain, she heard him whispering at the corner of his lips. His eyes were a little dazed but he was staring at Lu Suizhu's eyes.
He spoke each word with an emphasis, his voice slow and soft.
"Because the Pei family is the largest family and is related to the Crown Prince by marriage, the Imperial Concubine is determined to have the Sixth Prince ascend the throne. He is afraid that I will use all the Pei family's strength to help the Crown Prince."
It was hard to describe the shock he felt at that moment; Lu Suizhu's hands froze for a moment.
Xiao Mao wanted to cut off ties with the Pei Mansion because it was a noble family, and was willing to let himself poison him. However, Concubine Jiang only saw the relationship between the Pei Mansion and Xiao Mao, and was willing to eliminate Pei Zhiji, the most outstanding eldest son of the noble family, to pave the way for the Sixth Prince.
Seeing Pei Zhiji's usually aloof and unapproachable appearance, after hearing these words, Lu Suizhu actually felt a little pity for him.
Today, Pei Zhiji did not tie his hair up high as usual. Instead, he let it half down behind his ears, with a strand of black hair falling in front of his shoulders. He looked a bit like the ancients who said that Xie Ting was as beautiful as Lan Yu and a gentleman was like an eucalyptus tree.
Lu Suizhu's throat rolled slightly, and after thinking for a long time, she could only ask one question.
"Noble Concubine Jiang is so bold, can't this be told to His Majesty?"
The arrow was pulled out an inch with force, and Pei Zhiji's breathing suddenly became rapid. After a while, he spoke again.
"If I submit a memorial impeaching Imperial Concubine Jiang, then everyone will confirm that she is in league with the Crown Prince. The balance that the Emperor has painstakingly cultivated through his political tactics will be disrupted. How can Your Majesty allow the Eastern Palace to collude with the aristocratic families?"
After the last sentence was finished, the arrow was finally pulled out. Pei Zhiji's forehead was covered with cold sweat. Lu Suizhu breathed a sigh of relief and quickly found some medicine to apply.
Pei Zhiji finally couldn't hold on any longer after exerting too much energy just now. He lowered his head when Lu Suizhu was applying medicine to him, fearing that he would bump into something. Lu Suizhu leaned forward half an inch, and his chin fell squarely on her shoulder.
I can’t describe the feeling, but my heart seemed to skip a beat.
Lu Suizhu sighed softly.
"Master Pei, you are so pitiful."
The sound seemed to be stagnant and suppressed, coming from the chest cavity. It would be difficult to hear if it were not so close.
"…Pathetic? That's sheer nonsense. Both my paternal and maternal families are prominent and prestigious. I passed the imperial examination at the age of seventeen and entered the imperial court. I've worked tirelessly and achieved remarkable results. In the future, as the eldest son, I will inherit the position of head of the Pei family, bringing glory to our Pei family and leaving my name in history.
"Why is there any pity?"
Lu Suizhu couldn't help but smile. This man was already losing his mind, but he was still so stubborn. Who did he take it from?
Pulling the quilt up for him, Lu Suizhu whispered to him, "Yes, yes, Lord Pei is the emperor's pride, outstanding, not pitiful at all."
After looking at his face for a long time, Lu Suizhu found that the man had a straight nose, high brow bones but not too protruding, and eyes of appropriate size. Although he looked thin, he was tall, and his skeleton fully supported his shoulders and slender waist.
I looked up and saw that it was already late. I guessed that Zhao Ma and Qiu Zhu should be asleep. If I go back now, I won’t be discovered.
As she was leaving, she heard Pei Zhiji's soft murmurs, and Lu Suizhu turned over to listen.
But his arm was grabbed, and Lu Suizhu had no choice but to use his other hand to touch his forehead.
As expected, his physical condition was too poor and he was getting a fever.
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