Even
She looked at him calmly, as if he were a fool, got up, put the folded document into the box, and stood quietly in front of the table to see what he would say next.
Peng Xuan'an approached her step by step, his eyes lowered and his brows furrowed. His phoenix eyes were full of unfathomable emotions. He touched his chest very seriously, and every word he spoke was from the bottom of his heart: "Madam, I, Peng Xuan'an, will only marry you in this life, and I will only have you as my wife."
Pang Linqiu frowned, clearly displeased. He continued, "I don't need any concubines to accompany me in life; I only need you to accompany me for the rest of my life."
Peng Xuan'an stood in front of her, his deep eyes reflecting her face.
Pang Linqiu scoffed coldly, as if she had heard a joke, raising her hand to cover her cold laughter: "Ha, any man would say that." She raised her right hand, poked his firm chest with her index finger, and raised an eyebrow to mock him: "Peng Xuan'an, what are you pretending to be so affectionate and righteous in front of me? You just like my appearance."
Peng Xuan'an was momentarily dazed, inexplicably sad, but also very angry: "In your eyes, am I the kind of person who gets lustful at first sight?!"
Pang Linqiu scoffed coldly, her almond-shaped eyes filled with resentment. She raised her eyes and glared at him, "Isn't that right?"
Peng Xuan'an was even angrier now, the veins on his forehead bulging slightly. He couldn't understand why. He had clearly given his heart, so why? Why did he receive such a return?
In her heart, she was someone who appreciated physical beauty, regardless of gender; as long as someone was good-looking, she would consider herself that kind of person. Even though he was with her day and night, and they talked happily every day, she always maintained a certain distance when she was with him.
Every time they went out, he was the envy of others. While other couples enjoyed their trips hand in hand, he was the only one enjoying himself, and she kept a seemingly distant distance. He tried to reach out and hold her hand, but she avoided him as if to avoid suspicion.
Perhaps due to her height advantage, Peng Xuan'an's imposing aura completely overwhelmed her, leaving her somewhat speechless.
"Then, madam! How do you want me to prove it?" He leaned closer, wanting to get to the bottom of things.
She retreated to the corner of the desk...
He followed her and pinned her against the table, saying, "The only person I love is you, and the only person I will spend the rest of my life with is you."
She said calmly, "Peng Xuan'an, your words are indeed full of affection, but unfortunately, I can't understand the meaning behind them."
"Words cannot prove my feelings. Does Madam want me to prove them with actions?" His handsome face slowly approached hers, his nose brushing against her cheek, his warm breath falling on her face.
She was cornered in front of the desk. Peng Xuan'an supported herself on the table with both hands, forming a small, enclosed space, within which was her.
Pang Linqiu turned her face away, avoiding his nose rubbing against hers, her expression unwilling.
“Your actions shouldn’t be directed at me; they should be directed at someone else.” She lowered her eyes and thought for a moment, then looked away with a regretful tone, “Peng Xuan’an, you’ve loved the wrong person.”
He shook his head, smiled silently, and gently placed a kiss on her cheek, a soft and warm touch.
After the kiss, he felt much better; the kiss had eased much of his anger and resentment. His eyes softened, and he whispered in her ear, "I did nothing wrong."
He was certain that he hadn't loved the wrong person.
Pang Linqiu was clearly taken aback, and her eyes flickered as she looked at him.
“Since Madam has said so, I don’t recommend acting prematurely.” He smiled mischievously, his eyes fixed on her.
This is no ordinary matter.
She turned her face, frowned and glared at him, gritting her teeth and threatening, "If you dare to come, I don't mind making you a widow for three years."
He remembered her from back then, how she had tried so hard to please him, when she was so afraid of death. He couldn't believe she would actually try to kill herself; it was just talk. She must have been terrified of death approaching.
"Madam, you're just saying that to make me happy. You're just trying to scare me, but you don't actually dare to commit suicide."
After listening, she sighed softly as if she had made up her mind. Then, without the slightest hesitation, she raised her hand and pulled out the hairpin from her hair. It was a silver hairpin, sharp at one end and decorated with a beautiful ornament at the other.
She held the hairpin to her neck, her eyes vacant yet resolute. She had long since given up on life, but feared her family would suffer. She wondered, if she died in an accident, would her family no longer be blackmailed?
Can she go find her mother then?
Seeing this, Peng Xuan'an was somewhat worried and anxious, wondering if it was really going to happen. But she was still half-believing and half-doubting, and then she remembered her from before and teased her, "You're afraid of dying, you don't dare."
Pang Linqiu didn't want to say much. She gripped the hairpin tightly in her hand, which trembled inexplicably. She was afraid, actually. Afraid that this stab wouldn't kill her, afraid that this stab would be a pointless ordeal.
But his words seemed to encourage her to plunge the needle in. She gritted her teeth, suppressed her fear of death, and plunged the needle into her own neck.
The tip of the silver hairpin pierced her neck, and blood spurted from her fair skin. The hot blood flowed more and more, quickly staining her collar and flowing down like a small river. It hurt, it hurt so much. She trembled all over from the pain. She loosened her grip on the hairpin, and tears welled up in her eyes without her realizing it.
She seemed both smug and terrified; the smile on her lips was both sarcastic and hurtful.
Peng Xuan'an was stunned. His pupils contracted, the bright red blood was striking, especially the blood flowing from her body. He panicked, flustered and at a loss, his hands and feet moving haphazardly, not knowing what to do.
Peng Xuan felt a surge of fear, a fear of loss, a fear of losing her. He hurriedly turned his head and shouted, "Someone! Someone! Quickly call a doctor! A doctor!" He was so anxious that the veins on his forehead bulged, and he hurriedly pulled out the hairpin.
With one hand covering her wound, Pang Linqiu's face began to turn pale; she was in a very bad state! She moved her lips, but the pain prevented her from making a sound.
My body felt inexplicably weak, especially when the wound was in a vital spot, as if every breath and movement was threatening my life.
She hasn't fainted yet, so the puncture probably wasn't too deep.
When the doctor arrived, Pang Linqiu was helped onto the bed to rest, where the doctor treated her wounds and bandaged her neck several times.
The wound was treated, and the doctor left.
Only the two of them remained in the room. Peng Xuan sat on a stool, feeling inexplicably guilty and annoyed.
She lay flat on the couch, her head resting on a soft pillow, her left hand held tightly by him, as if afraid she was really about to leave, he held on tightly for a long time.
She was tired; she had suffered for nothing.
"You...you really don't want to?" he broke the silence, asking softly.
"..."
He gripped her left hand tightly with both hands, rubbing his fingers over it a few times, his heart filled with bitterness.
"Are you feeling unwell right now? Do you want some water?" He began to change the subject, anticipating her answer.
"..." She didn't want to speak; the wound on her neck was still throbbing, feeling like it was taking half her life. All she wanted now was to think quietly and not see this annoying person.
She gave him a disapproving look, raised her right hand, and pointed to the door.
Peng Xuan'an looked in the direction she was pointing, puzzled as to which one she was referring to. "What do you want?"
"roll!"
Pang Linqiu had barely finished uttering a single word when her neck began to ache terribly. She clutched her wound, her face contorted in pain.
Peng Xuan'an tactfully left to deal with matters at the Southwest Institute.
The next day, he dismissed the concubines in the southwest courtyard, gave them some silver, and declared that there had been no contact and the girl remained innocent.
And it uses its power to suppress some negative rumors and gossip.
He then went to find Pang Linqiu, only to find her inside looking resentful. She had heard about the incident and wanted to stop it but was powerless to do so. She could only glare at him resentfully. Her injuries had improved somewhat; at least she could speak again.
"Peng Xuan'an!" she shouted angrily.
Peng Xuan'an smiled obsequiously and approached her as if nothing had happened, "What's wrong, Madam?"
"Are you sick? You dismissed all the concubines I painstakingly found?!"
"Mmm." He nodded gently, his eyes filled with affection.
Pang Linqiu sighed, supporting herself with both hands. She wanted to curse, but because of her wound, she could only swallow her anger.
She had already anticipated the rumors circulating outside.
"I heard that the Minister's wife was so jealous about taking a concubine that she tried to commit suicide, so the Minister had no choice but to dismiss these concubines."
"What a wonderful man! How can his wife be so unreasonable? Doesn't she want her husband's family to have many children?"
"Your Excellency is still a high-ranking official of the Jin Kingdom. Is it any of her business how many concubines you take?"
"Now that the Pang family has fallen from grace, how dare the daughter of a disgraced official be jealous?"
The voices of condemnation, blame, admiration, and relief all reached Pang Linqiu, who was drinking tea and watching the play. Her face darkened, and she looked very unhappy.
She'd rather bear the infamy than he would accept the praise? She wasn't willing to do that.
She returned to her residence in displeasure and immediately confronted him.
"You must have heard the voices of the people, right?" she said, rubbing her forehead in annoyance, interrogating him who was standing ramrod straight in front of her.
"Hmm, what's wrong?"
"Now that I've become a jealous woman, are you satisfied?"
Peng Xuan'an thought for a moment and remembered the third clause of the three-point agreement. "Madam, whether or not I take a concubine is my business. If you take one in my name without my consent, doesn't that violate the third clause?"
Pang Linqiu was taken aback; she had indeed interfered. She frowned and remained silent.
Peng Xuan'an was actually happy. "Madam, you've violated the third rule, so can I...?"
Pang Linqiu quickly raised her hand to stop him, interrupting him, "Stop!" Then she asked, "Haven't you violated the first rule many times?" She began to bring up old grievances, "A few nights ago, you forced me to do things without my consent, that counts as one. You also violated the first rule that day, and you also violated the third rule."
"How did I violate the first and third rules?" he asked, puzzled. He had indeed violated the second rule.
“That night I was handling official business when you came in and interrupted my train of thought. How can that not be considered interference? Third, neither party can interfere with the other for any reason, but you ignored that and repeatedly barged in. How can that not be considered interference?”
Peng Xuan'an felt as embarrassed as if he had suffered a loss in silence, and he felt that what she said made sense.
"I don't want to argue with you right now. Let's call it even, shall we?"
Peng Xuan'an was reluctant, but in the end she agreed.
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