Chapter 9 Chapter 9 I originally had feelings for Mr. Pei
Pei Zhiji frowned and opened the note sent by Xiao Feng. He saw a line of small words written by Xu Ruogu on it: Come quickly to the villa in the suburbs of Beijing.
Acting so cautiously, could it be that he discovered the body of Master Li?
After Pei Zhiji quickly burned the note, he ordered Xiao Feng to prepare the carriage.
Lu Suizhu was still confused when she got on the carriage. This was her second time riding in the same carriage with Pei Zhiji, and her intuition told her that this would not be a good thing.
Although it was daytime, Pei Zhiji's face was not obvious in the pale sky, and Lu Suizhu could only speculate secretly in her heart.
The carriage stopped in a wilderness. The towering mountains were covered with a thin layer of snow, which made them look distant but not real when you get close. There was a bumpy path in the middle. Lu Suizhu tremblingly supported Xiao Feng as they walked forward.
Seeing a group of serious-looking officers and soldiers gathered in front of her, Lu Suizhu looked around at the unfamiliar environment and didn't understand why Pei Zhiji brought her here?
When the people inside saw Pei Zhiji, they hurried over to greet him. Xu Ruogu asked the people surrounding the corpse to make way for them to come in.
"You all stand away."
A body covered with a white cloth was on a stretcher. The melted snow had wet part of the cloth, revealing the more obvious outline of a man beneath the cloth.
The white cloth was slowly lifted, revealing a horribly swollen face. An arrow was stuck in the center of the forehead. The edges of the wound had become blurred due to soaking, and it emitted a rotten smell.
Even though he was mentally prepared, he was still dizzy by the shock of the scene before him. Lu Suizhu carefully identified the person's face.
My heart skipped a beat and I froze in place for a moment.
That face clearly belongs to the old minister who was killed by the prince!
Pei Zhiji brought her here without saying a word. Did he suspect her?
Pei Zhiji had been observing her reactions from the side, taking in all her subtle expressions. Last night, he deliberately told her that the case of Li Taifu's death had been closed, also out of testing her.
From presenting music in Shoukang Palace to entering Pei Mansion, everything seemed such an inappropriate coincidence.
"Does Miss Lu know you?"
"No, how could I know him?" Lu Suizhu denied it.
Watching the two of them going back and forth, Xu Ruogu anxiously pulled Pei Zhiji aside, away from everyone, and said carefully, "The villagers in the suburbs of Beijing reported that they found a body floating up from upstream when they were breaking the ice cave. So I brought people here. Even though it has been soaked in this icy lake for many days, it is indeed the face of Master Li."
"Have you searched my body?" Pei Zhiji asked.
"We've searched, but found nothing."
Pei Zhiji nodded. "The person behind this is clean and will definitely not leave any evidence. We don't have any concrete evidence to help Grand Tutor Li seek justice. Since the case has been closed, Lord Xu should suppress it to avoid alerting the enemy."
Xu Ruogu was busy dealing with the following matters, and Pei Zhiji was filled with doubts.
If this was really done by the Eastern Palace, what secret did Li Taifu know? He must be killed to silence him.
The sound of women playing can be heard in the distance, and there are the rumbling sounds of carts and horses, with stones being pressed down along the way. It is quite a big scene. This matter is already secretive and must not be made known to anyone. Only by hiding in the dark can the person behind it be found out.
"Ah—Miaoyin, Miaoyin fell into the water, help come quickly!"
"Look, aren't those Lord Pei and Lord Xu standing by the lake?"
Hearing the shouting of this group of women, Pei Zhiji and Xu Ruogu looked at each other and felt something was wrong.
Why did they come at this time, and they were all noble ladies from the capital?
"Hurry up and deal with it. I'll go and drag them away."
The moisture from the lake wet Pei Zhiji's hair on both sides. He walked quickly towards the crowd. Lu Suizhu was also uneasy because of what Pei Zhiji had just asked her, so she watched from a distance and followed him.
A woman was struggling on the lake, calling for help. The ice was already thin, and it was noon when the sun was high in the sky. Without the shelter of the mountains, only scattered pieces of ice remained.
Wang Miaoyin felt like she had found a life-saving straw when she saw Pei Zhiji.
"Master Pei, Master Pei, save me."
Pei Zhiji's expression froze, and he looked around and asked, "Don't you have a driver who can swim?"
"We played for a long time, so Miaoyin asked the coachmen to rest." Princess Jining pulled her handkerchief, her eyes full of self-blame. If she had not answered the teacher's quiz question: searching for plum blossoms in the snow, Wang Miaoyin would not have suffered this hardship.
"Master Pei, please save Miaoyin quickly. You are the only one here who can swim. The water in this lake is freezing and we can't afford to delay any longer."
"Master Jining, Miss Wang Yunying is unmarried, and Master Pei is also unmarried. How can we go and save them?"
Although it was winter, Xu Ruogu was sweating all over. He hurriedly ordered people to carry the body away, but he was worried about the situation here and couldn't help but interrupt.
Fortunately, the ladies' attention was focused on Wang Miaoyin who fell into the water, and they probably didn't notice the body.
"She's almost drowning, Master Pei, are you going to watch her die without helping her?"
Wang Miaoyin had no strength to struggle anymore, her body sank down, and her eyes gradually became blurred.
Pei Zhiji took off his cloak and threw it on the ground. Just as he was about to jump into the lake to save people, his hand was held down by another slender fingertips.
Slender and soft, with a thin layer of callus on it.
Then there was a noise on the lake surface. When Pei Zhiji reacted, the woman standing next to him was gone. When he leaned forward, the hand he stretched out didn't even grab a corner of her clothes.
The icy lake water soaked through every limb and bone, and Lu Suizhu gritted his teeth as he moved forward through layers of broken ice.
Pei Zhiji already doubted her identity. If she wanted to continue staying in Pei Mansion, she had to do something to dispel his suspicion.
Lu Suizhu forced himself to swim forward to save the woman, but the woman was too frightened to struggle desperately. She was obviously at a loss and had no strength at all, but she held Lu Suizhu's neck tightly and refused to let go, dragging her like a burden.
They both choked on water several times while struggling before she managed to lift Wang Miaoyin ashore.
Wang Miaoyin fainted as soon as she got ashore. Her wet clothes stuck to her body, outlining her graceful curves.
After a tossing and turning in the water, Lu Suizhu looked extremely miserable, with disheveled hair. When she reached the shore, she vomited a mouthful of water. Her lips were pale and slightly purple. She supported herself on the ground with her elbows, and she was shivering from the cold.
Pei Zhiji leaned over and looked at her, a hint of doubt flashed between his brows: "Why did you do this?"
Lu Suizhu struggled to get up, but her whole body felt like it was falling apart and she couldn't straighten up.
A pair of bony hands reached out to her, trying to help her up, but before they could touch her, the person had already fainted.
When Lu Suizhu woke up, she had changed into clean clothes. She supported herself with her left hand and sat up, looking at the man standing beside the bed.
"This is my villa closest to the outskirts of Beijing. Your clothes were changed by the maid. The doctor said that a cold has entered your body. To avoid a root cause of the disease, you need to be carefully nursed back to health. Rest here for a day today and we will return to the Pei Mansion tomorrow."
Lu Suizhu nodded palely. Seeing that Pei Zhi seemed to have something else to say, she gradually tightened her grip on the thin quilt, twisting it into wrinkles in an empty space, fearing that Pei Zhiji would bring up the past again.
The oil lamp was about to burn out and made an unpleasant crackling sound. Until he heard footsteps outside the door, Lu Suizhu's ears twitched slightly and he breathed a sigh of relief. The sound was as weak as a cotton bead passing by.
"There's someone knocking on the door."
The dark courtyard lit up, and the scattered lights competed with a few lonely stars, making the courtyard a brilliant starry sky.
Wang Miaoyin stood there with pale lips. She had struggled in the lake for a long time and her body was still shaking. She supported herself with the help of the Jining County Lady and walked in front of Pei Zhiji. Her face was embarrassed but her voice was neither humble nor arrogant.
"Sir Pei, I've sent a pigeon to my father. After you and I return safely to the capital, we'll discuss the wedding date with Prime Minister Pei and Madam Pei. I know Sir Pei is very busy, so the betrothal and the name-giving ceremony can be omitted. However, we must work together and eat together during the wedding ceremony, and drink the wine together. What do you think, Sir Pei?"
Everyone present was shocked when they heard this. Lu Suizhu raised her eyebrows slightly. Did she accidentally walk into the scene where Master Pei was forced to marry?
The scene was tense for a while.
Pei Zhiji stood there, his face somewhat grim, but he refused without hesitation: "Thank you for your kindness, Miss Wang. I, Pei, am truly unworthy of you. Besides, I wasn't the one who saved you."
Her gaze instantly shifted to Lu Suizhu. She forced a stiff smile at the corner of her mouth, and seeing the most familiar sharp look in Pei Zhiji's eyes when he looked at her, she had no choice but to explain.
"When I rescued this young lady, you were almost unconscious and sinking. But when you saw that the person rescuing you was a woman, you struggled hard, as if you didn't want me to rescue you, and almost dragged me to the bottom of the lake. Could it be that Miss Wang originally had feelings for Lord Pei? Do you want to use this as a token of your love to marry him?"
When the words fell, you could hear a pin drop in the room.
The incense in the incense burner is about to burn out, but the rich peony fragrance cannot hide the mystery in this room.
The crowd gathered outside the door, their voices gradually rising. Wang Miaoyin's scalp tingled, and her body, which hadn't yet warmed up, felt like it was being ground by a wheel. "What nonsense are you talking about, girl? Falling into the water yesterday was an accident."
"Yes, yes, it was indeed an accident that we came to play by the lake in the middle of winter."
Lu Suizhuyue said perfunctorily while watching Pei Zhiji's expression. If he was wrong, he could adjust it in time. Seeing him sitting there as steady as an old dog without saying a word, she knew that she had guessed it most of the time.
Wang Miaoyin stood still, refusing to move an inch, and looked at Pei Zhiji with tears in her eyes.
"What happened yesterday was not what we wanted, but my wet body was clearly seen by Master Pei. Could it be that Master Pei is going to abandon me?"
"I will explain today's events to Minister Wang, and I will personally come to apologize tomorrow." Pei Zhiji was polite and distant, but his words left no room for maneuver, which made people feel heavy.
The sighs of the people around her were like thousands of ants drilling into Wang Miaoyin's ears, piercing her heart. Wang Miaoyin could no longer bear to see Lu Suizhuyue following Pei Zhiji. She had been following Pei Zhiji for half a month before finding such a great opportunity, but it was all ruined by this woman.
He then broke free from Jining County's hand and moved forward, but was blocked by Pei Zhiji.
“Snap—”
The palm landed right on Pei Zhiji's jaw, leaving a clear red fingerprint.
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