Chapter 58: Mistakes have hidden thoughts
Pei Qian laughed again in an unpleasant tone.
Zhou Linjin narrowed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.
"Your sister actually spoke to her before she set herself on fire," he said calmly.
Pei Qian suddenly raised his head and stared at Zhou Linjin.
Zhou Linjin sighed inwardly. Although he was reluctant to involve Chen Lianxiu in this matter again, she had already been involved. Fortunately, he was there to protect her.
"I know you must want to know, so..."
"Zhou Linjin!" Pei Qian interrupted him, growling, "My sister is dead. You have no witnesses, so don't even think about getting any information out of me!"
Zhou Linjin was interrupted, but he didn't seem angry. He just asked, "Why do you think your sister wanted to commit suicide?"
Pei Qian was stunned.
Zhou Linjin said, "She hated you for offering her to King Hui, but she didn't want to give you up. That's why she chose to tell Shen Lianxiu the truth and then commit suicide."
"You're talking nonsense! She said this to... to our Pei family..."
"She didn't want you to get further into trouble, so she set the fire to create an opportunity for Chen Lianxiu, allowing her to escape sooner and stop you." Zhou Linjin's fingers tapped twice on the table beside him, as if knocking on Pei Qian's heart. "I can't say whether she wants the Pei family to die, but I'm sure she wants you to live."
Pei Qian opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Zhou Linjin continued, "She told Shen Lianxiu that you, like him, were helpless. It's just that she refused to give in, and you had no choice but to follow the path chosen by your family. Can't you see how much she wants to save you?"
"What on earth do you want to say?!"
"Hu Jun and Pei Ruoyan, their deaths are more or less related to you. One was your good friend, and the other was your sister. Have you ever thought about how you would face them in the underworld in the future?"
With every word Zhou Linjin spoke, Pei Qian's face turned a little paler.
He gritted his teeth: "Give up, I won't tell..."
"If you don't tell me, will King Hui let you and the Pei family go?" Zhou Linjin took another sip of tea to moisten his throat before saying, "If you leave me, do you think King Hui will still believe you?"
Pei Qian slowly lowered his head.
"I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself and earn merit. As long as you tell me everything you know, I'll keep you alive. And that Pei family, they even sacrificed their own daughter, ruining her life. Ask yourself, how much do you still hold on to them? Is it worth it?"
After Zhou Linjin finished speaking, there was a moment of deathly silence all around, with only Pei Qian's heavy breathing being heard from the other side.
He saw two tears falling from Pei Qian's drooping face, and then Pei Qian suddenly burst into laughter.
Days of torture had left Pei Qian without the energy to even laugh. Zhou Linjin didn't scold him. He had seen too many such scenes and knew that they sometimes needed to vent.
As long as you vent, things will basically be done.
Sure enough, after Pei Qian laughed until he was out of breath, he paused for a moment, finally raised his head, looked at Zhou Linjin and said, "Master Zhou, I thought I could hold on to these, but I didn't expect I'd still be no match for your mouth."
Zhou Linjin raised his eyebrows.
"But before I say that, Lord Zhou, please allow me to tell you something that may not please you."
"explain."
"My sister was initially offered to King Hui. It was indeed the Pei family's initiative to curry favor with King Hui. However, after King Hui saw my sister, he was very fond of her. In the past few years, he even often came to Chenzhou for my sister. Do you know why?"
Zhou Linjin had no interest in these romantic affairs, especially those of King Hui. He had even less desire to pry into them. But since it had come to this point, why not let Pei Qian talk about it and he would just listen quietly.
Pei Qian looked at Zhou Linjin with a strange look in his eyes. "Although King Hui was a playboy and had many concubines and maids, he actually had a woman he particularly loved. About four or five years ago, something happened, and she and King Hui separated. My sister also looks somewhat like her, which is why she was particularly favored by King Hui. My sister has always known about this, but she doesn't know who this woman is, and doesn't care. But I know that she is Shen Lianxiu's biological sister, Shen Wuyu."
Zhou Linjin had originally been listening absentmindedly, waiting only for Pei Qian's next important words, so when he heard the last three words "Chen Wuyu", he did not react immediately.
He even thought about who Shen Wuyu was, and then thought about Pei Qian's words. She was Shen Lianxiu's biological sister...
Zhou Linjin's eyes suddenly turned cold, and then with a crisp "clang" sound, he knocked over the cup beside him.
"What did you say?" Zhou Linjin took a breath.
"I heard that you originally wanted to marry Chen Wuyu, right?" Pei Qian looked at him playfully, as if seeking revenge for the torture he had endured for so many days. "It was King Hui who wanted revenge and deliberately cheated on you."
His thoughts were suddenly drawn back to Shouzhou a long time ago. Zhou Linjin remembered that at that time, he was poisoned after returning to Beijing because of investigating the disaster relief funds. After that, Shen Wuyu disappeared inexplicably, which led to Shen Lianxiu's replacement marriage.
Zhou Linjin's hands clenched suddenly. Ever since he sent Shen Wuyu back to the Shen family, he deliberately stopped thinking about why Shen Wuyu disappeared. He only believed in one thing in his heart: even if Shen Lianxiu was really a vicious woman, he would accept it.
So... that's how it is!
So the person behind the problem with the disaster relief funds was King Hui. After returning to the capital, King Hui wanted to poison him but failed, so he tricked Shen Wuyu away. After that, no one knew what happened between the two of them, but Shen Wuyu came back. As for Shen Lianxiu, she was completely innocent in this matter.
Zhou Linjin felt the energy and blood in his internal organs continuously surge upwards. His vision went dark for a moment. After a moment's rest, he slowly suppressed the energy and said to Pei Qian, "I understand. You can continue."
Pei Qian sighed deeply and then started talking again.
There was no doubt that Hu Jun was indeed his good friend. Hu Jun had been recuperating in Chenzhou for many years, so he naturally had some understanding of the Pei family. He also vaguely knew that the Pei family was very close to King Hui. Before Hu Jun returned to the capital, he hinted to Pei Qian, reminding Pei Qian not to get too close to King Hui. King Hui acted too much, and the emperor might have to suppress him to avoid implicating the Pei family.
Hu Jun had good intentions, and Pei Qian was the only one who should have known this, but Pei Qian told King Hui about it. His original intention was to please King Hui and seek more benefits for the Pei family, but he didn't know that the capital was full of uncertainties and King Hui was a sinister and vicious person. Knowing that Hu Jun was the son of Hu Qingshan and that Hu Qingshan was secretly leading the investigation against him, he immediately wanted to kill Hu Jun, not only to warn Hu Qingshan, but also to dampen his arrogance.
"I was the one who killed Hu Jun. If I hadn't used this as an excuse to curry favor with King Hui, he wouldn't have died." Pei Qian's expression darkened. "I'm sorry for him, and sorry for my sister. Lord Zhou, you don't have to save me. Someone like me deserved death long ago."
Zhou Linjin didn't respond.
Pei Qian continued, "I know a few people who share a similar status to the Pei family. Now that things have come to this, I can tell you their names. I only hope this will alleviate some of the sins I've committed."
At the end of midnight, Zhou Linjin walked out of the government prison.
There are no stars or moon in the sky tonight, only thick darkness sticking above our heads, making it hard to breathe.
The hot summer night breeze blew on Zhou Linjin's face. Zhou Linjin stood at the door of the prison and let out a long sigh.
Pei Qian's matter had finally come to an end, but returning to the capital would surely be like being in a thick fog, making travel even more difficult.
What Pei Qian said today was completely beyond his expectations.
Zhou Linjin felt as if there was a huge rock blocking his heart, and as if countless insects and ants were gnawing at his flesh and blood.
In the silence, he had to face his own heart.
Before Pei Qian told the truth today, he didn't seem to have any doubts about Shen Wuyu's words. He subconsciously thought that Shen Lianxiu might really do that, and he just wanted to forgive her unilaterally.
He even felt that he was tolerating her, understanding her, and protecting her. If he asked himself, even if he was unwilling to believe his own filthiness, he had already discovered that after meeting Shen Lianxiu again, he had some obscure and unspeakable thoughts.
——I am willing to love your viciousness and never mention what you have done again. Why don’t you come back to me?
It's totally wrong.
Why had he never believed her unconditionally?
Zhou Linjin went back and took a quick cold shower. He didn't know how he got on the horse or how he got on the road. When he slowly woke up from his stupor, he had already arrived at Baixi Village.
It was still dark, and Zhou Linjin stood at the door of Shen Lianxiu's house, staring inside.
I don’t know how long it took, but after the roosters crowed a few times, the sky began to turn pale. The people in the village got up early, and some of them had already come out.
After a while, when it was a little brighter, Bi Cha came out of the yard, stretching lazily.
He was caught off guard to see Zhou Linjin. He froze in the middle of a yawn and immediately trotted over.
"My dear, why are you here?" Bi Cha quickly opened the gate for him.
In the past few days, Zhou Linjin has been rushing to Baixi Village early in the morning, but he never returns early as early as today. It is not even bright yet. Does he have to rush back and forth all night?
Zhou Linjin glanced at him and asked, "Did you sleep in there last night?"
"Oh, yes," Bi Cha scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed. "My wife asked me to come in and sleep. She said she was uncomfortable sleeping in the carriage, and there happened to be an empty room at home."
Zhou Linjin glanced at Bi Cha with dissatisfaction, and without saying a word, he went into the yard. But when he saw that the door was closed, and Chen Lianxiu and An An were still sleeping, he didn't know what to do for a moment, so he could only stand there.
As for Shen Lianxiu, who was sleeping inside, she actually woke up when Bi Cha and Zhou Linjin were talking.
Chen Lianxiu turned over and faced inside, and An An slept on the inside.
In the morning light, An An's face had a faint halo, which illuminated the fine hairs on her face clearly, like a pink and tender peach. Chen Lianxiu couldn't help but reach out and pinch her gently. An An frowned, but didn't wake up. Chen Lianxiu leaned over and kissed her again, then leaned on the bed and looked at her for a while before getting up quietly.
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