34. Chapter 34: Control
Pei Xiuhan's expression paused slightly. He had been leaning lazily on the desk, but now his back was straightened. The sunset glow shone through the window lattice and fell on his handsome profile. The half of his face hidden in the dark looked extremely cold.
He tapped Xiaoxiao on the head with his finger. "Kid, where are your manners?"
Xiaoxiao stuck out her tongue, looking mischievous, with the cuteness and charm that is unique to young girls.
Even though he knew the little girl was just acting like a spoiled brat, Pei Xiuhan was still unhappy, his eyes narrowed dangerously, "Do you think that if my brother doesn't get married, no one will? Is my brother that bad in your eyes?"
He slightly dragged out the last word, and his already sexy voice sounded even more pleasant. Xiaoxiao's heart began to beat uncontrollably, and she wanted to tell him loudly that no, in her eyes, he was the best and she was willing to marry him, but Xiaoxiao didn't dare.
She shrank her head timidly, but luckily she still had a little bit of rationality and whispered tentatively, "Then why hasn't brother married yet? Are you planning to remain single forever?"
Pei Xiuhan was too lazy to answer such a boring question, and just chuckled softly. If he didn't want to marry, it was naturally because he didn't want to marry. Why else could he do that?
He had an innate sense of oppression about him. If someone else saw him like this, they would definitely stay away from him unconsciously, but Xiaoxiao was not afraid of him.
Or rather, she didn't think Pei Xiuhan would hurt her, so she just glanced at him secretly, then mustered up her courage, stretched out her slender white hand, tugged at his sleeve, and asked him pitifully, "Brother, do you really not want to get married? Don't you think it would be nice to have someone to warm your bed?"
After she finished speaking, she blinked her bright eyes and looked at him expectantly. Pei Xiuhan naturally knew that several noble ladies were trying to please her. They thought that the little girl had come to act as someone's lobbyist. He immediately knocked her head as a warning, "Just take care of yourself and don't worry about others."
He meant to ask Xiaoxiao to stop helping those noble ladies and let the little girl hear about it, and not to meddle in his affairs. Xiaoxiao's courage, which she had finally mustered, instantly deflated. She could only say aggrievedly, "I don't care about other people's affairs. Brother is not someone else."
Pei Xiuhan was pleased by her words, and the coldness on his face faded a lot, "Stop acting like a spoiled child."
Xiaoxiao felt a little aggrieved and kept silent in a depressed mood. If she didn't want to get married, then forget it. It wasn't like she had a hobby of warming people's beds. If they didn't want it warm, then it wouldn't be warm.
After he left, Xiaoxiao was still a little depressed. She felt that she was not worthy of him. She finally mustered up a little courage to give it a try, but ended up in a miserable failure. The little girl was depressed. After lying on the bed, she thought she would toss and turn and couldn't sleep, but unexpectedly, she fell asleep soon.
In her dream, her heart was also filled with him.
Xiaoxiao dreamed that she went to the palace with Mu Wen and Mu Xi. After learning that Pei Xiuhan had also arrived at the palace, Xiaoxiao had been looking for him.
The palace was very big. She searched for a long time and finally found him in the imperial garden. However, she discovered that he was standing side by side with a strange noble lady. The two were very close to each other. When Xiaoxiao saw this scene, she felt sour in her heart and inexplicably uncomfortable.
However, the next moment, Brother Pei left the noble lady and walked towards her, and Xiaoxiao instantly became happy.
I felt happy all night long and forgot about the little feelings of loss I had before going to bed.
She copied for another two days and finally finished copying all the six rare books on hand. Xiaoxiao was very happy when she thought that she could go to the store to buy the dagger today.
She sorted out the six rare books and went out with Luzhu. The sun was particularly bright today, just like Xiaoxiao's mood. She had a smile on her lips all the time.
The little girl has charming facial features, and when she smiles, she is as beautiful as peach blossoms blooming on branches.
When she arrived at the bookstore, she found out that the rare copies she had copied were even more valuable than the young man's. The store owner actually asked for a high price of ten taels of silver per copy.
Xiaoxiao was very happy, but she didn't know that the shopkeeper was even happier than her. These ancient books had been lost long ago, and he had never expected that one day they would be copied by a little girl. He was well-read and naturally knew the value of these rare books. Let alone ten taels, if Xiaoxiao thought the price was too low, he would be willing to buy it even if it was twice as high.
When Xiaoxiao came out with sixty taels of silver, she felt a little uneasy. She always felt that everyone was looking at her and she didn't know if she would be targeted by a petty thief. But when she thought that Luzhu was very powerful and that no one could steal her silver, Xiaoxiao felt relieved.
She immediately took Luzhu to the shop, wanting to buy the dagger quickly, but unexpectedly, she met an acquaintance in the shop.
The girl was wearing a crabapple-colored dress. She was taller than Xiaoxiao and had a very arrogant look on her face. She was Princess Anhui.
She was playing with the dagger Xiaoxiao had taken a fancy to, spinning it around as she said to the shopkeeper, "Aren't things in this shop meant to be sold? It's an honor for you that this princess has taken a fancy to it. Why wouldn't you sell it to me?"
The shopkeeper wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with an apologetic smile, "It's not that I don't want to sell it to you. I've already taken the deposit for this dagger, and the young lady will be here soon to pick it up. Princess, please look elsewhere. We have many other daggers in our store."
Princess Anhui smiled coldly, her bright face looking particularly gloomy. "I won't. This princess has taken a fancy to this one. Stop talking nonsense. If you don't want to close the door, then be sensible."
As she spoke, she nodded to the maid, indicating that she should pay.
The shopkeeper didn't dare to really offend her. Seeing that she insisted, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart. It seemed that he could only let the little girl down. As soon as the thought came to his mind, he saw Xiaoxiao's figure.
I saw the little girl standing at the door, her red lips slightly pursed, her face tense, obviously she had heard what Princess Anhui said.
The shopkeeper quickly gave her a look, telling her not to be impulsive. If she offended the princess, it would be more trouble than it would take. After all, everyone in the capital knew that Princess Anhui was not a reasonable person. Anyone who provoked her would have to accept the consequences.
This little girl has been saving for a long time to buy the dagger. She must be powerless. If she goes against the princess, she will definitely be the one who is unlucky.
The shopkeeper was somewhat worried about her and winked at Xiaoxiao several times. Xiaoxiao smiled at the shopkeeper and then walked over.
If it was something else, Xiaoxiao could give it to her, but she had been eyeing this dagger for almost two months. The first time she saw it, she felt that it was very suitable for Brother Pei. She worked so hard and copied books for so long just to buy this dagger. She really couldn't give the dagger up to her.
Xiaoxiao took the initiative to put thirty taels of silver on the counter and winked at the shopkeeper, "I have saved up enough silver. Here, I'll give it to you. The dagger is mine."
After she finished speaking, she looked at Princess Anhui and said, "I'm sorry, I was the first one to see this dagger. Not only did I reserve it in advance, I also paid for it before you did. No matter how you look at it, the dagger belongs to me. Princess, please return my dagger to me."
Princess An Hui never thought that she, a commoner, would be so bold as to snatch the dagger from her!
What a great Zhang Xiaoxiao!
Princess An Hui's face was a little distorted. In fact, she didn't necessarily like the dagger that much. She just saw it and asked how much it cost. Because the shopkeeper was unwilling to sell it, she had to buy it.
Seeing that Xiaoxiao dared to snatch it from her, she suddenly thought of the humiliation she suffered last time when she was whipped, and new and old hatreds suddenly flooded her heart.
She sneered, "I won't give it to you, what can you do to me? Are you going to complain to the emperor's uncle?"
Xiaoxiao naturally had no intention of complaining. In fact, she had never complained to Pei Xiuhan before. She pursed her lips, softened her tone slightly, and negotiated with her, "What exactly do you want in exchange for giving me the dagger?"
"I advise you to give up on this idea. I would rather throw it into the river than give it to you."
Xiaoxiao pursed her lips, a hint of anger flashing across her face.
Princess Anhui asked the maid to put the silver on the counter and turned to leave. Xiaoxiao was anxious and reached out to grab her hand, her face tense, "You can't leave."
Princess Anhui fiercely shook her hand off, rubbed her wrist in disgust, and wiped it with a handkerchief. Her expression was as if Xiaoxiao was some kind of dirty thing.
In the past, she would have asked the maid to take action, but because of the lesson she received last time, she didn't dare to take action against Xiaoxiao. She only said coldly, "You'd better know your place. If you keep pestering me, I'll make you pay for it."
Xiaoxiao's chest was heaving with anger. Luzhu hadn't expected Princess Anhui to be so excessive. She pulled out the whip from her waist, sneered, and was about to ask her why she had put Xiaoxiao in such a difficult situation when she heard a deep voice coming from the second floor, "Mingjia, you're bullying me again."
His voice was cold and his tone was flat.
When Princess Anhui heard his voice, her body stiffened and her beautiful red lips pursed. She turned her head and glanced guiltily towards the second floor.
The young man was standing on the steps of the second floor. He was wearing a dark blue, straight-collared coat with a large collar and gold edges around the edges. His long hair stood up high and his face was very stern. He was indeed her cousin.
She instantly transformed from a ferocious wild cat into a successfully domesticated house cat, her tone stuttering a little, "Cousin, cousin, why are you here too?"
Feng Zichen walked down from the second floor. He didn't say anything, but just picked up the paperweight in his hand and shook it.
Then he said coldly, "A gentleman does not take away what others desire. Since this girl bought the dagger first, it belongs to her. Do you take advantage of your power and bully others when you are out? Does your aunt know?"
Princess Anhui was not particularly afraid of the eldest princess. She was only afraid of her cousin. She lowered her head awkwardly and snorted after a long pause, "I'm just unhappy, but I don't necessarily want to steal her things!"
After she finished speaking, she threw the dagger onto the counter, glared at Xiaoxiao secretly, and gave her a look that said, "Just wait and see what happens next time."
Xiaoxiao ignored her. After she got the dagger in her hand, she breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Feng Zichen.
Xiaoxiao has a good memory and immediately remembered that she had seen him before. Last year, she met him when she and Muwen went to Huguo Temple to pray for amulets. He was with Muwen's cousin at the time and also went to Huguo Temple.
Feng Zichen also recognized Xiaoxiao.
The girl in front of him was wearing a lilac double-breasted jacket with pomegranate pattern and a light white long skirt. She was dressed very simply and elegantly, but despite this, her face was still so beautiful that it was hard to describe.
When he saw her, Feng Zichen felt that she looked familiar again. He knew in his heart that he had never seen Xiaoxiao before. The girl was so beautiful, if he had seen her before, he would never have forgotten her. But he couldn't remember why he felt familiar with her.
Xiaoxiao bowed to him and said, "Thank you, sir."
Feng Zichen shook his head, "No need to thank me."
After he finished speaking, he placed the rosewood paperweight with a relief of Eight Horses on the counter. He waited until the servant paid the money before he left the shop.
The shopkeeper breathed a sigh of relief. He was really afraid of the little princess just now and attacked without caring about anything. When he saw her running after the young man, he took another look at the young man and planned to remember his appearance well. After all, this was the man who made the little princess willing to suffer a loss.
Xiaoxiao held the dagger and thanked the shopkeeper again.
The shopkeeper was a sincere man and quickly waved his hand. "It's okay, it's okay. Fortunately you came today, otherwise I really wouldn't be able to keep this dagger."
Xiaoxiao smiled and said, "Thank you anyway."
The shopkeeper had been keeping an eye on Princess Anhui and Xiaoxiao, so he naturally heard the young princess mention the Regent. He also had a vague suspicion about Xiaoxiao's identity, so he was very polite. "You're welcome, young lady."
Xiaoxiao felt a little sorry, so she walked around the store again. After buying the dagger, she still had thirty taels of silver, which she could use to buy a lot of things. Xiaoxiao was very happy.
She walked around for a while and then fell in love with an inkstone. The inkstone was three taels of silver more expensive than the dagger. Xiaoxiao had thirty taels left, so she couldn't help but bargain with the shopkeeper and finally bought it for thirty taels.
Before, she was absolutely reluctant to buy it. Thinking that the rare copies were provided by Brother Pei, and without him, she would not have been able to earn so much money, Xiaoxiao bought the inkstone and planned to give it to Brother Pei.
When Xiaoxiao returned to the palace, it was already noon. Pei Xiuhan had entered the palace and was not in the palace, so Xiaoxiao went back to Suyuexuan first. She asked the servant to keep an eye on him. When she learned that he was back, she immediately went to Wuya Hall with a dagger and Duanxi inkstone.
Xiaoxiao was trotting over, her figure radiating a sense of joy. Pei Xiuhan had just returned to Wuya Hall when he heard the little girl's hurried footsteps. He frowned and frowned, "Why are you running? Aren't you afraid of falling?"
Xiaoxiao stuck out her tongue and ran to him before she stopped. She handed him the dagger and inkstone and said, "Brother, take a look and see if you like it."
Pei Xiu Han didn't feel anything about the inkstone, but noticed the dagger first. The appearance of the dagger actually suited his taste. He pulled it out and took a look, and was even more surprised. The dagger was unusually sharp.
As soon as Xiaoxiao saw his expression, she knew he was very satisfied. She immediately smiled and said, "This is for you."
Pei Xiuhan's eyes moved slightly, "He went to the bookstore?"
Xiaoxiao nodded obediently.
"How much silver did it cost in total?"
Xiaoxiao told him the truth, and Pei Xiuhan couldn't help but hold his forehead. He had finally found a way to let her earn some money, but in the end, she spent all the money on him before it even warmed up.
Pei Xiuhan couldn't tell what he felt for a moment.
He reached out and rubbed her little head, with only one thought in his mind: this little girl is so silly, what will happen when she gets married? Will she be completely controlled by her husband?
That won't work.
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