Chapter 25 Coveting Brother's Wife "Pei Lang, you're worse than a beast! You're coveting your brother's wife..."
Xie Zheng didn't expect Pei Lang to be waiting here to pick up this cousin he hated. He wanted to say something, but he only saw Lin Zhi's legs go weak and she leaned forward. Pei Lang caught her steadily and she seemed to say something before fainting.
Pei Lang scooped her up in his arms and walked up to Xie Zheng with a grim expression: "She's injured?"
Xie Zheng was taken aback. Looking down, he noticed that Lin Zhi's skirt was stained with a drop of the thief's blood. If it weren't for Pei Lang, he wouldn't have noticed it at all.
After sighing, Pei Lang recounted what had happened at the Xie family's house, but his expression seemed even more unpleasant. "I warned you to make sure your sister never appears in front of her again."
"Xie Zheng, do you think I'm just ignoring what you're saying?"
Although the two had been friends for many years, they were both young talents with high aspirations and pride. Xie Zheng was also holding a grudge after Pei Lang humiliated him like this.
Looking coldly at the petite woman sleeping unconscious in Pei Lang's arms, he couldn't help but frown: "Pei Lang, are you standing up for her now?"
"Don't forget, you're the one who hates Lin Zhi the most."
Pei Lang looked down at Lin Zhi's pale face. Remembering something, he decided not to waste words with Xie Zheng and simply said, "See you at Zuisheng Pavilion tomorrow afternoon," before carrying her back to his residence.
"......baffling!"
Xie Zheng was equally dissatisfied, snorted coldly, and turned to leave.
Pei Lang, however, did not take Lin Zhi back with him. Instead, he instructed Chun Tao to go back and get her a change of clothes before heading towards Lanxue Pavilion.
Chuntao stared at the backs of the eldest young master and her young mistress for a long time, not knowing what to do. After hesitating for a while, she went back to get clothes for her young mistress.
"Young master...this..."
Jifeng only felt that he saw a gust of wind pass in front of him, and it wasn't until the door was closed that Xingyun tugged at him and brought him back to his senses.
"Young master has his own reasons."
Seeing Xingyun shake his head mysteriously, signaling him to leave it alone, Jifeng nodded and went back to his own business.
"Lin Zhi, wake up... Lin Zhi!"
It sounded like someone was calling her. Lin Zhi frowned and tried to open her eyes, but found it incredibly difficult.
The gruesome image of the innocent coachman lying in a pool of blood kept flashing through my mind, as did the vicious-looking assassin. My heart sank in panic, and I felt like I couldn't breathe.
But then, as the cold water was splashed on her face, Lin Zhi seemed to forcibly pull her out of the absurd illusion.
"Lin Zhi?"
Lin Zhi slowly opened her eyes and saw Pei Lang put down the empty cup in his hand, and the cold water droplets dripped down her hair and onto her clothes.
"cousin......"
Seeing that her eyes were gradually clearing, Pei Lang put down his cup and breathed a sigh of relief: "You only went to the Xie family, how did you end up like this?"
Reminded by him, Lin Zhi remembered that Xie Zheng had told her about Pei Mingli. She hurriedly stood up and grabbed Pei Lang's sleeve, refusing to let go: "Cousin! Second cousin is in trouble!"
"Xie Zheng said there was a secret report from the border that my second cousin's whereabouts are unknown... Hmm!"
Before Lin Zhi could finish speaking, Pei Lang's large hand covered the lower half of her face. Lin Zhi's eyes widened; she had never seen Pei Lang so wary.
After a moment of silence in the room, Pei Lang lowered his voice and looked at her: "Has Xie Zheng gone mad? This is a confidential military report, how could he tell you?"
Upon hearing his words, Lin Zhi blinked her long eyelashes, and a few crystal tears streamed down her face, landing on Pei Lang's hand. She looked utterly pitiful.
Pei Lang frowned and released his hand, his tone somewhat awkward: "Why are you crying?"
"I'm going to see my aunt and uncle. It concerns my second cousin's life or death; perhaps they can help..."
Lin Zhi turned around to open the door, but someone grabbed her shoulders and pressed her against the door, making her unable to move.
"This is a palace secret! If someone finds out that you have spread this information, causing panic is a minor matter, but treason is a major one!"
Pei Lang's brows furrowed with worry, his gaze fixed intently on her: "Even if word gets out, it has to be someone else, not you!"
Lin Zhi stared at Pei Lang in a daze, but the strange feelings in her heart were suppressed by worry: "But my second cousin is in danger. He has taken good care of me since I was a child. If I can't help him now, who can?"
Pei Lang grabbed her wrist and pressed her against the door, increasing the pressure: "What do you think you can do? I knew about this three days ago, but what could I do?"
Lin Zhi initially thought Pei Lang was just worried about her, but after hearing his words, she belatedly realized: "...So my cousin already knew about this."
"But if you don't tell me, do you want Pei Mingli to die at the border like this?"
Unexpectedly, Lin Zhi thought of him this way, and Pei Lang's gaze grew colder and colder: "What did you say?"
Lin Zhi had suffered a lot of shock that night, and now that she knew about this, her heart felt like it was being squeezed, her breathing became rapid, and the words she spoke were sharp.
"Isn't that so? My cousin disrespects my aunt and doesn't like my second cousin either. If Pei Mingli dies at the border like this, wouldn't that just fulfill my cousin's wishes!"
All the pent-up frustrations and forgotten grievances of these past few days seem to erupt at this moment.
Lin Zhi never dared to imagine that she would say such a thing one day.
Pei Lang didn't speak, but his eyes were fixed on her trembling pupils, as if trying to see the real reason for her anger.
Lin Zhi felt a little guilty and wanted to push him away to leave the place, but no matter what she did, she couldn't get rid of the extreme difference in their size and strength.
She was both angry and ashamed.
She was annoyed that she was the only one who remembered that night, and even so, she couldn't help but be moved by Pei Lang.
Finally exhausted and with no strength left, Lin Zhi, her eyes red and glaring angrily through gritted teeth, cried out, "Pei Lang, you...you beast!"
Seeing that she was holding back tears, Pei Lang let go of her. But before Lin Zhi could breathe a sigh of relief, she was suddenly lifted up and kicked by Pei Lang while her vision blurred.
"Let me go! Let me go!"
Pei Lang, you beast!
"Since my cousin has already accused me, wouldn't I be letting her down if I didn't admit it?"
Lin Zhi was thrown onto a soft couch next to a table, feeling a little dizzy from the impact. She shook her head and saw Pei Lang striding out of the inner room. His strong legs blocked the edge of the couch, cutting off her only escape route.
Through her teary eyes, Lin Zhi saw the bamboo ruler he was holding and unconsciously moved back, but was pulled back to face him by his slender ankle.
"Reach out your hand."
Seeing Lin Zhi grit her teeth and put her hands behind her back, Pei Lang leaned closer and said, "Dodge once, and get three more hits."
"Azhi, you will pay the price for what you said."
Without saying a word, he grabbed Lin Zhi's wrist, opened his palm, and slapped the ruler onto her palm with a crisp sound. The ruler turned pink as soon as it hit her.
"Ah!" Lin Zhi's tears flowed uncontrollably, but she dared not dodge, for fear that she would really be hit again.
“I, Pei Lang, would never resort to such despicable means to take someone’s life. If I couldn’t tolerate Pei Mingli, he wouldn’t be alive today.”
"I'll do anything you want, except this one."
"In your eyes, he's more important than me, more important than your life? Is that right?"
After only five or six slaps, Lin Zhi's eyes were red and swollen, and tears streamed down her cheeks as she cried so hard she could hardly breathe.
Her palms curled up involuntarily. The burning, swollen sensation was unpleasant, but it reminded Lin Zhi of the punishment her mother had given her when she was young: pain mixed with disappointment and heartache.
Seeing that her clothes were soaked with tears, Pei Lang put down the ruler in his hand, took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears, and stood up straight, cupping her face in his hands: "Do you still remember that assassin?"
Lin Zhi, who was in a daze from crying, was stunned by the question. She tried to recall, but found that she really couldn't remember the horrific and bloody scene she had seen that evening.
Seeing that she was still thinking about it, Pei Lang frowned and pinched her face, shaking it lightly twice: "Don't think about it anymore."
"Once you've cried it out, it'll be over."
"Come in."
Lin Zhi stared blankly as Chun Tao brought in her new clothes. Pei Lang pulled her up, left, and closed the door.
After her tear-stained clothes were changed and she was dressed properly, Pei Lang stood in front of her again, frowning as he examined her red and wet eyes: "Does it really hurt that much?"
"You're not lying to me, are you?"
Lin Zhi bit her lip, looking like she was about to cry again, so Pei Lang denied it repeatedly: "No, no, okay, stop crying."
"Don't worry, I've been looking for an opportunity to take care of Pei Mingli's matter, so don't fret about it."
"Don't mention this to Father and Mother yet. Things could go wrong in the rush. The best news is that we haven't heard from Pei Mingli."
Staring at Pei Lang's thin lips as they opened and closed, even though she felt relieved, Lin Zhi still couldn't breathe: it turned out that everything Pei Lang had said and done was to dispel the impression that she had seen that filthy scene.
She had read in a book that if someone encounters such a shock but cannot cry, their condition might worsen and they might even become mentally disabled.
Feeling the tingling sensation in her palm, Lin Zhi felt a warmth flowing through her chest. Never before had anyone cared about her or valued her so much.
"Cousin... A-Zhi shouldn't have said those things. I spoke without thinking..."
Pei Lang reached out and grabbed her wrist, pressing his palm against hers and frowning: "It's swollen after all. Go back and have the maid find some ice to warm it up with a handkerchief."
A warm, calloused hand covered hers, a gesture that was clearly meant to be intimate, yet Lin Zhi's ears couldn't help but turn bright red.
She felt that this made her blush even more than that kiss that ended almost immediately.
"It's getting late, let's go back."
Lin Zhi was calmly escorted to the outside of the courtyard. She was still feeling a little dizzy as she walked on the road: What exactly did Pei Lang mean tonight?
The next day, Fang Shiyun, who had just received an invitation from a friend, came to the banquet in high spirits. There had been quite a few interesting things happening in the capital recently, and he had a lot to say to his two friends.
But as soon as they pushed open the door to the private room of Zuisheng Pavilion, they saw two equally tall, long-legged, and handsome people wrestling together mercilessly!
Fang Shiyun slammed the door shut, shutting out the waiter who was right behind him. He stared in shock at Xie Zheng, who was at a disadvantage, and Pei Lang, who was going all out: "You two have lost your minds!"
Xie Zheng was pinned to the ground, his eye sockets swollen and blood seeping from his nostrils. Pei Lang appeared unharmed at first glance, but there was a small cut on the corner of his mouth.
Xie Zheng's chest heaved rapidly in protest, and he gritted his teeth, cursing under his breath:
"Pei Lang, you're worse than an animal! May you be struck by lightning for coveting your brother's wife!"
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Author's note: I revised it several times before I was satisfied, so I'm posting it early to make up for it [heart emoji]
Please save this! Don't let the nutrient solution expire!
Thank you everyone for following along! [Rabbit head with upright ears]
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