Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Trying a Clumsy Beauty Trap?
Xiao Mao pulled the white cloth out of her mouth, put his hand on her chin, and said with a hint of joking, "This face is good-looking and she is smart. No wonder Pei Zhiji liked her."
"I don't know what your Highness is talking about."
"Aren't you afraid that I'll kill you?"
At this point, pretending to be stupid was useless. Xiao Mao had already figured out her whole background. Lu Suizhu barely sat up and leaned against the doorpost. Her bound hands were faintly blue.
"The Empress Dowager admired my zither skills. If I died in such an unclear manner, especially right after leaving the palace, the palace would certainly investigate. Lord Pei brought me directly from the Eastern Palace to Shoukang Palace. If the officials from the Dali Temple follow the clues, Your Highness the Crown Prince will also be suspected."
Watching Xiao Mao gradually approaching, Lu Suizhu was like a moth to a flame, unable to escape. Outside the door, there were a dark mass of guards, making it difficult to escape. She looked around at the closed window beside the tea table, secretly exerting force with her bound hands, ready to fight to the death.
"You think your little trick can make me accept your coercion? What a joke! You discovered my secret, but I didn't kill you all these days. You should be grateful, instead of being so shameless when you are about to die."
Xiao Mao stood up and walked to the window. On the table by the window were two white porcelain plates of the same size. On one of them was an open small box filled with one hundred taels of gold, and on the other was a white porcelain bottle of the same color.
"You can choose between the hundred taels of gold and the poisoned wine."
Lu Suizhu didn't understand, so she didn't say anything. During her silence, Xiao Mao said seriously, "If you are willing to work for me, the gold will be yours after the work is done. If you are not willing, you can drink the poisoned wine now and experience the feeling of having your intestines pierced and your stomach ruptured, leading to sudden death." Xiao Mao's voice was very soft. He held the white porcelain bottle in his hand and played with it, looking down on people.
"I am just an orphan, barely making a living by playing the zither. I really don't know what I can do for Your Highness."
Lu Suizhu leaned against the pillar behind her, the faint smile on the corner of her mouth unable to penetrate her skin. She felt very complicated, and her voice was weak and uncertain.
"After you left the palace, you rode in the same carriage with Pei Zhiji, and he even personally sent you home, right?"
Lu Suizhu's hands were on the rope, and she felt a chill in her heart. She couldn't help but feel resentful of Pei Zhiji's actions today. Facing the prince's questioning right in front of her, she nodded with a painful expression.
"I want you to get close to him and steal this year's imperial examination papers."
The way back was smooth. Lu Suizhu rubbed her sore hands, thinking of Xiao Mao's words that were as vicious as a snake and scorpion, and felt a chill in her heart. There were less than four months left before the Spring Examination. If she didn't have any useful information, she would be forced to drink the poisoned wine.
Not only that, he also threatened Qin Wuniang and Yuanyuan, who was on good terms with her in Louyue Pavilion.
She had no choice.
She never thought that although Xiao Mao and Pei Zhiji were related by marriage, they were so at odds behind the scenes. She had asked Fang Dian to inquire about Pei Zhiji before, and heard that this man had a good reputation as an official. He passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi at the age of seventeen, and when he rode in a parade, there was a grand occasion with fruits thrown into the carriage.
Young Master Pei was also well-known in the capital for a while, and the Pei family was also a veritable prestigious family.
She is just a small zither player and has nothing to do with Pei Zhiji. On the other hand, he doesn't look like the kind of person who would be seduced by beauty. What should she do?
It snowed all night last night, and the dry branches seemed to be covered with pear blossoms, which were scattered all over the garden by the wind.
When they entered the familiar place of Louyue Pavilion, Qin Wuniang came forward with a handkerchief. Seeing that it was Lu Suizhu, her face looked a little embarrassed for a moment, but then she put on a smile and took the initiative to help Lu Suizhu take off her cloak.
"Suizhu...ah, I thought you wouldn't come again?"
Lu Suizhu snorted coldly and sat down on the chair with an unhappy look on her face: "Wu Niang, how are you going to settle this debt you cheated me of?"
"Lu Suizhu, you can only play the zither, but you really think you're a pure and innocent noblewoman. If Wu Niang hadn't given you this opportunity to make money when you were in trouble, wouldn't you have been sold to Louyue Pavilion to serve men?"
Hua Wu came in gracefully wearing a crimson dress. She had a shrill voice and was the best at singing opera, and she was not shy about her piercing voice.
"Okay Hua Wu, please stop talking."
Yuanyuan poured Lu Suizhu a cup of hot tea and touched her flushed face: "Sister Suizhu, did something happen? Or were you wronged in the palace?"
"Okay, I don't have time to talk to you anyway. The general of the Pei family has favored me for a long time and will come over tonight. I won't disturb your sisterly love here." Hua Wu raised the corner of her mouth slightly, but her eyes were looking at Lu Suizhu.
General of the Pei family?
After Hua Wu left, Lu Suizhu immediately grabbed Yuan Yuan's hand and asked anxiously, "Which Pei family is Hua Wu talking about?"
"Sister, are you confused? It's the most famous Pei family in the capital. General Pei's father is the prime minister, and his brother is the young Master Pei, who passed the imperial examination at the age of seventeen and is well-known throughout the capital."
There is always a way out. The gloom on Lu Suizhu's face disappeared, and a barely perceptible smile appeared on her face.
"Wu Niang, please make some arrangements. I want to stay and play the piano tonight."
The pale shadows and sparse moonlight illuminate the sleepless people. The peddlers and hawkers are no longer there, and the horses, cows and mules are fast asleep in the pens. This Suzaku Street is filled with dignitaries who have drunk themselves drunk and passed out in that ecstasy cave.
The imperial court did not prohibit officials from visiting prostitutes, so most of the people who frequented Louyue Pavilion were princes and dukes, and it became a veritable place for pretentiousness.
The second floor of Louyue Pavilion is a place for the girls to rest and also for receiving guests, but at this time you could hear a pin drop.
Lu Suizhu knelt beside Pei Huaishen, her brows slightly furrowed like the vast sea of smoke stirred by the wind, causing ripples, and her eyes were red inside.
Her jet-black hair fell on her shoulders, with a few strands falling on Pei Huaishen. He felt a slight itch on his neck, and it seemed that there was the fragrance of peony flowers.
The sound of the woman's creaking was a little uncomfortable, but he was as hard as iron and didn't dare to move at all. Taking advantage of the moment when the woman in front of him relaxed, he flicked the ring on his thumb and knocked off the broken porcelain that was against her neck.
The porcelain fragments fell to the ground and shattered the vase in the southwest corner, and the peonies fell to the ground with a loud bang.
Scattered dust all over the ground.
Due to the sudden change, Lu Suizhu was unable to react in time and her forehead hit Pei Huaishen's shoulder directly. The man's strong bones hurt her and she couldn't help but groan, but she didn't forget the serious things. She climbed up Pei Huaishen's waist with both hands, put her head on his hot chest, and her voice choked with sobs.
"General Pei, please take Suizhu back with you. I can play the piano and write. I'm sure I'm no worse than the maids in your house."
Seeing Pei Huaishen unmoved, Lu Suizhu pinched her thigh again, tears streaming down her face, as if she could never hold them back. "I truly love you, General."
Outside Louyue Pavilion, there were many boats and carriages, and inside the pavilion, the lights were as bright as day. The music of pipa, guzheng, and Huxuan dance from the Western Regions was heard continuously.
The music of stringed instruments disturbs the ears and confuses the mind.
The headache from last night's hangover has not subsided at all. When he woke up, he found himself entangled with a woman. Pei Huaishen recalled what he did yesterday and it was as if someone had hit his brain stem and sucked out his brain marrow, leaving him with no memory at all. He was so upset that he even forgot to push away the woman who was crying in his arms.
Since returning home in triumph, he has been following his brother's advice, staying in seclusion in his small room and rarely showing off. If he had not heard that the old lady and his father and mother would be returning home soon, he would not have come out alone to drink and indulge himself for fear of losing his freedom completely.
Only embers remained in the carved square incense burner, and their scent was not as strong as the handful of flower soil that had been shattered on the ground.
Lu Suizhu had been in a stalemate with him for half an hour. Even though there were many charcoal basins in the winter, it was still cold in the morning and evening, and Pei Huaishen's body had to be cooled down from the heat.
This won't work. It's not easy to find an opportunity to go to Pei Mansion. If she misses Pei Huaishen, she will never be involved with Pei Zhiji in her life. The prince will kill her without hesitation.
But now, after trying all the coaxing and even the desperate attempts, Pei Huaishen still refused to give in, and Lu Suizhu was getting anxious. She reached under the mattress, stroking it carefully, and quickly pulled out a plain white embroidered handkerchief and handed it to Pei Huaishen.
The piercing red on it was prepared by Lu Suizhu by cutting her finger last night. She was in a hurry and could only come up with such a clumsy method.
Lu Suizhu's tone was gentle and sad.
"Although I have to make a living in this brothel, I do have a skill. No one in Louyue Pavilion can match my zither playing skills. Suizhu doesn't want to belittle herself. I originally thought that after I am older and my beauty is no longer as good as before, I would use the money I saved to find a good man to accompany me and have someone to rely on for the rest of my life."
"If General Pei hadn't coaxed me last night with all sorts of dirty talk about mandarin ducks flying together and intertwined branches, how could I have been so confused? I thought General Pei was an upright man, fighting in battles and defending his country, unlike those treacherous and cunning rogues. I never thought Suizhu had misjudged him."
"Well, since the general is so unfaithful and bullies a helpless little woman like me, you might as well let me hang on the bank of the Bian River and keep company with those wandering ghosts. I won't be lonely after death, and I can also be grateful for the general's kindness in the afterlife." After being scolded, Pei Huaishen's face turned red and he was stunned for a while. The speed at which this woman changed her expression was too fast. She was shy just now, but now she has changed into such a sharp-tongued and unforgiving look.
It happened so quickly that Lu Suizhu ran out the door barefoot, her white sleeves fluttering and her skirt outlined with golden silk threads lifted up by the wind. Pei Huaishen was stunned for a moment, but he didn't even grab the skirt.
"Stop her—"
A cold knife flashed with a cold and hard light, revealing a chilling chill. Hei Qi, who had been marching for many years, was burly, with a dark complexion and a scar across his face. Just standing there, Lu Suizhu was frightened and took two steps back.
Pei Huaishen hurried forward and gave a look. Hei Qi retreated to the side, sword in hand, closing the door behind him. His arrival was unfortunate; when he arrived, Pei Huaishen was already with Lu Suizhu. There was no way to verify what had happened last night, and this was the crux of the matter.
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