"Bang!"

When the vermilion lacquered door of the Shen residence slammed shut in front of him, Chu Lingxiao felt as if the door was almost hitting his nose.

The veins on Chu Lingxiao's forehead were throbbing and he was almost going crazy.

He wanted to just walk away, but he felt unwilling to do so and couldn't hold back his anger.

The servant looked at Chu Lingxiao's hateful expression and sighed in his heart: If I had known this would happen, I would not have done it in the first place.

But the servant didn't dare to offend Chu Lingxiao, so he waited with him outside the gate of Shen's house.

Chu Lingxiao waited for half an hour. He wanted to leave several times, but finally didn't. When he was so annoyed that he wanted to kick the door open to catch the adulterer, the door in front was finally opened from the inside.

Pei Linye and Shen Zhi walked out of the house side by side, talking and laughing.

Shen Zhi was wearing a snow-blue jacket with cloud patterns and a tea-white lace skirt. Her jet-black hair was tied up in a simple bun with a silver hairpin inlaid with white jade. She looked demure and radiant. She stood next to Pei Linye, who was wearing a royal robe. They were a perfect match.

Obviously, the two of them did not do anything inappropriate, but in Chu Lingxiao's eyes, there was a kind of intimacy between them that oblivious to others.

Chu Lingxiao couldn't help but call out, "Azhi!"

There was a hidden anger suppressed in these two words. After all, he came to Shen Zhi today to make peace.

Shen Zhi had already heard from the doorman that Chu Lingxiao and others were outside the mansion, so there was no trace of surprise on her face and she ignored him.

Shen Zhi continued to talk to Pei Linye: "Cousin, thank you for making this trip. I'll have someone send you a few baskets of loquats later to congratulate you on your new home."

Pei Linye used to live temporarily in Prince Chen's Mansion. He recently took on the job of Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and moved out of Prince Chen's Mansion a few days ago.

Pei Linye smiled slightly: "Next time, bring Mu Ge'er to play with me."

"..." Chu Lingxiao originally thought that Shen Zhi would feel ashamed and embarrassed when she saw him, after all, she and Pei Linye were alone together. However, Shen Zhi didn't even look at him and continued talking to Pei Linye.

At this moment, Chu Lingxiao almost lost control, but he suppressed his anger.

The first two times he came here and lost his temper, both times ended badly. The first time he was punched by Pei Linye, and the second time he was almost caught by the yamen runners of Jingzhao Prefecture.

He came here today to make peace.

Chu Lingxiao told himself this in his heart for who knows how many times, holding back the rebuke that was about to come out of his mouth, and restraining his temper.

He showed a polite smile and said, "Azhi, I'm here to take you and Mu Ge'er back home."

As he spoke, Chu Lingxiao looked at Pei Linye meaningfully, with a hint of pride and protest in his eyes.

He and Shen Zhi have been married for more than ten years and have a pair of children. This is a bond that no one can surpass, so it would be nice to let Pei Linye see it with his own eyes.

Shen Zhi: “?”

This time, Shen Zhi finally gave Chu Lingxiao a look. Her deep eyes were filled with unreadable emotions and undercurrents.

For a moment, there seemed to be a hint of chill in the wind.

Chu Lingxiao thought Shen Zhi was moved by what he said, and quickly said, "Azhi, I've figured it out. It was my fault before, and I know I was wrong."

"We have been married for more than ten years. One night of marriage is a hundred nights of grace. Please forgive me this time."

"Azhi, even if you are angry and don't want to forgive me, you don't want to embarrass Sister Chen, right?"

"It's not a good thing for her parents to divorce. If the imperial envoy reports her in the future, how can she still have the face to rule the country?"

Chu Lingxiao's words were meant for both Shen Zhi and Pei Linye. It would be best if Pei Linye relayed these words to Shen Qianchen so that Shen Qianchen could think carefully about it.

Shen Zhi looked at Chu Lingxiao with an increasingly cold gaze, and she smiled sarcastically, saying lightly: "Then I have to find another one quickly, so that it won't be so 'ugly'."

Chu Lingxiao: “…”

Chu Lingxiao was stunned, his eyes widened, and his face instantly turned red. This woman is simply shameless! !

Pei Linye also opened his eyes wide in surprise, and there seemed to be a faint ripple in his eyes.

He clenched his fists tightly, and his eyes suddenly settled down. He seemed to have made a decision, and suddenly said to Shen Zhi: "Cousin, I will go to the Duke's Mansion to propose marriage, okay?"

Boom boom! Pei Linye's heart was beating wildly, as if it was about to jump out of his chest.

It has been fifteen years. He has missed it once and doesn’t want to miss it a second time!

Pei Linye stared at Shen Zhi deeply. At that moment, it seemed as if she was the only one left in his eyes, and he had completely forgotten that Chu Lingxiao was still here.

Shen Zhi was stunned at first, then pursed her lips and smiled.

There was a shimmering light in those beautifully shaped phoenix eyes, just like the rippling surface of a lake in spring.

She just smiled without saying anything, neither saying yes nor no, she just turned around quietly and walked into the house.

Pei Linye: “…”

Pei Linye was stunned, staring blankly at Shen Zhi's departing back, as if everything around him was moving away from him.

The corners of his lips curled up involuntarily, and his eyes were soft and affectionate.

The spring breeze blew up a few strands of his hair and the corners of his robe, dancing with his eyebrows and eyes...

Time seemed to slow down.

"Shen Zhi, you unfaithful bitch!"

It was not until Chu Lingxiao's crazy roar reached his ears that Pei Linye came back to his senses and turned his gaze to Chu Lingxiao's distorted and hideous face.

Chu Lingxiao was going crazy. The emotions that had been suppressed for nearly an hour finally burst out. He wanted to use the most unpleasant words to vent his anger and jealousy.

"Have you two been hooking up for a long time... Ugh!"

Chu Lingxiao's hysterical roar ended with a groan of pain as Pei Linye kicked him hard in the abdomen.

Pei Linye's kick was too fast and too powerful. Chu Lingxiao had no time to react. He staggered back two steps and almost fell. Fortunately, his servant supported him from behind.

Chu Lingxiao felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, as if his intestines were twisted together. The pain was so severe that he couldn't even straighten his waist.

Chu Lingxiao's face turned pale and blue, his face twisted, and he shouted in a strong but weak voice: "Pei Linye, do you know who I am? Your princess is my biological daughter!"

The confrontation between the two men attracted curious glances from passers-by.

"You know that too." Pei Linye sneered, looking expressionlessly at Chu Lingxiao a few steps away. His eyes were as cold as the thousand-year-old ice and snow on the top of Tianshan Mountain.

As he uttered these words, it seemed as if even the air around him froze, chilling one to the bone.

He looked like a completely different person from when Shen Zhi was here just now.

Chu Lingxiao was afraid that Pei Linye would attack him again, so he subconsciously took two steps back.

"Chu Lingxiao, do you want to experience being a prisoner again?" Pei Linye stood with his hands behind his back, his voice neither light nor heavy, his tone was flat, but it revealed an undisguised threat.

Chu Lingxiao wanted to say "you dare", but these two words seemed to be stuck in his throat and he couldn't say them.

Before he came, he had inquired about the recent changes in the capital, and heard that Pei Linye had replaced Lu Siji as the new commander of the Jinyiwei. If Pei Linye took revenge on himself and arrested him and put him in prison...

Chu Lingxiao snorted heavily, then flicked his sleeves, mounted his horse, and fled away in almost a panic.

Pei Linye looked at Chu Lingxiao's leaving back and had no intention of chasing him.

This is the Shen residence. He doesn't want to cause any trouble here and attract unnecessary criticism and disturb her peace.

Chu Lingxiao vented his anger by whipping the horse's buttocks. Even without looking back, he could feel Pei Linye's gaze behind him, and he felt like a thorn in his back.

It was not until he turned the corner that Chu Lingxiao breathed a sigh of relief.

He originally wanted to find a place to drink, but when he drove down a street, he saw that all the restaurants and teahouses on the street were closed. Only then did he realize that it was a national mourning.

Chu Lingxiao could only return to the Yongding Marquis Mansion in shame.

He was holding a grudge, so as soon as he got back, he smashed all the study items, including the four treasures of the study, teacups, fruit plates, etc.

Bang! Snap! Boom! Clang! The sounds of smashing things in the room continued one after another. The servant guarding outside the study was terrified and lost his mind. Just when he was thinking about whether to ask someone to invite Aunt Jiang, Aunt Jiang showed up uninvited.

The servant felt as if he had been pardoned. Perhaps in this mansion, only Aunt Jiang could coax Chu Lingxiao.

“Bang!”

There was another loud sound of porcelain smashing.

As soon as Aunt Jiang entered the room, what she saw was the mess on the floor. Almost everything in the study had been smashed to the ground, leaving no place to step.

An ink stick hit the side of Aunt Jiang's shoe, startling her and causing her to let out a low cry.

Chu Lingxiao looked towards Aunt Jiang upon hearing the voice, his eyes red with anger.

Seeing that the person coming was Aunt Jiang, his expression eased a little, but his face was still as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Aunt Jiang walked in carrying a tray with a teapot and teacups, stepped carefully over the broken porcelain pieces on the ground, and said softly, "Ling Xiao, you just went out, did you go to look for your sister?"

"You...do you have any misunderstandings with my sister? Misunderstandings can always be resolved. My sister has a quick temper, so don't bother with her."

Aunt Jiang comforted him softly and lovingly.

Chu Lingxiao's frown relaxed a little, and he felt more and more that his Minshan was gentle and considerate, better than anyone else.

He snorted coldly and said unhappily: "Minshan, you are just good-tempered and you still talk to her!"

"Her temper is as stinky and hard as a stone in a toilet!"

"Humph, I'll just wait for her to come and beg me!"

Chu Lingxiao has always been very concerned about his reputation. He did not mention that he had not even entered the Shen residence, let alone the fact that he was kicked by Pei Linye.

Jiang Minshan put the tray on the coffee table, then walked to Chu Lingxiao, took his hand, and sat down by the window.

"Lingxiao, drink some scented tea to cool down." Jiang Minshan personally poured tea for Chu Lingxiao and handed the cup to him. Her gaze was full of tenderness.

Chu Lingxiao took the pastel-colored teacup and took a sip. The floral tea tasted fragrant, sweet, and warm, just right for drinking.

He had just lost his temper and his mouth was dry, so he drank the tea in the cup in one gulp.

Aunt Jiang looked at him quietly from the side, with the corners of her lips curved, her expression gentle and tender, but there was a sinister light flashing in her half-closed eyes.

She poured herself a cup of scented tea and recalled the past: "I still remember that year when I came to the capital to live with my aunt, and that's when I met you, my cousin."

"At that time, I came to a foreign land from afar and had to live under someone else's roof. I was actually very scared. It was you, my cousin, who told me to treat this place as my home."

"I remember that you, my cousin, gave me a jade pendant. I still keep it in my jewelry box and I'm reluctant to take it out and wear it..."

“Those years were the happiest days of my life.”

Aunt Jiang smiled slightly and told the story slowly, her eyes looking towards the peach trees outside the window, the peach blossoms on the branches were blooming beautifully.

Chu Lingxiao's thoughts were gradually brought into memories by Aunt Jiang's words.

He liked Jiang Minshan since he first met her as a teenager.

She is like a lotus in a lotus pond, growing out of the mud but not being stained, washing in the clear water but not being coquettish, pure and elegant.

Moreover, she only has him in her eyes. He is her heaven and her earth.

He really liked Jiang Minshan. Even though others said that Jiang Minshan's family background was too poor, he had thought about marrying her.

When he was young, the promises he made to her were all sincere. Unfortunately, fate played a trick on him. When his father was alive, he made a mistake and angered the late emperor, so he had to marry Shen Zhi.

Thinking of these past events, Chu Lingxiao's heart became suffocated again, and he placed the empty teacup in his hand heavily on the coffee table.

Aunt Jiang poured him a second cup of scented tea and said considerately, "Cousin, I know you can't help yourself."

"I have never blamed you. I am already satisfied to be able to stay with you like this."

"I have seen your affection for me over the years."

Aunt Jiang's half-closed eyelashes trembled twice like butterfly wings, as if touching Chu Lingxiao's heart.

Chu Lingxiao looked at her and listened to her sincere and tender words, his heart filled with love for her.

After all, he was the one who betrayed Minshan!

"Minshan, believe me, I only have you in my heart." Chu Lingxiao grasped her bare hands, gently held her in his arms, and promised solemnly, "This time I just want to coax Shen Zhi back. Now that Prince Chen is in power, it will be good for the Chu family if Shen Zhi comes back."

"Don't worry, you and I are still the same as before. Nothing will change."

His big hands clasped her slender waist, his eyes were so affectionate and focused.

Aunt Jiang leaned in his arms for a moment, then raised her head, looked into his eyes and asked softly, "What about Brother Yi?"

"..." Chu Lingxiao was silent, remembering the suggestion made by the lady yesterday.

Aunt Jiang raised her hand and grabbed the fabric on Chu Lingxiao's chest, holding it tightly, and asked again slowly: "What should Yi'er do?"

Her voice was always soft and gentle, and her pupils were dark, like a bottomless abyss.

(End of this chapter)