Chapter 33 The aunt discovered that what she had just seen... was...
Seeing her retreat warily, Lu Jue also stopped and chuckled lightly, "Miss Lin, why bother? I am no monster."
"Love between men and women should be based on mutual consent; your approach is not interesting."
Lu Jue said this, but his hands kept moving, picking up the celadon wine cup used for the sacrifice.
Lin Zhi's eyes narrowed. Inside was Pei Mingli's favorite drink, Amber Light. The two of them had once secretly drunk half a pot of it and were so drunk that they slept on the table for half a day.
But Lu Jue pretended to throw the contents of the wine cup at Pei Mingli's memorial tablet!
"Stop!"
Lin Zhi's eyes widened as she rushed forward to block the memorial tablet, pushing the wine cup aside. Unexpectedly, this played right into Lu Jue's hands. He threw aside the wine cup and grabbed Lin Zhi's outstretched hand in his palm.
He gripped Lin Zhi's delicate wrist tightly in his hand, the dull pain almost making her scream, but she forced herself to endure it.
"Let go...let go!"
The young girl's fair wrists were smooth and warm to the touch, surpassing even the finest jade in the Marquis's mansion. Lu Jue stared at the beauty with a touch of infatuation, his heart itching with desire: "Miss Lin... Ah Zhi, the Pei family is in such a state now, there aren't many good days left."
"Come with me, and the title of the Crown Prince's concubine will be yours. I don't mind your humble origins, how about it?"
Just as Lu Jue was about to lean in, Lin Zhi fumbled with her other hand and grabbed something, then angrily slammed it down on his head. "Don't touch me! Get away!"
After a muffled thud, the shackles on her wrists indeed disappeared. Seeing that she had smashed Lu Jue's forehead with the heavy candlestick in her hand, causing blood to flow, Lin Zhi hurriedly let go.
Lu Jue only staggered two steps. Lin Zhi's strength was insignificant, but the candlestick was quite heavy, making his vision blur.
"You bitch!"
Lin Zhi had only taken two steps when someone grabbed her long hair and pulled her back.
"You think you can run away? Where do you think you can run to?"
A large hand gripped her slender neck tightly, making it difficult for Lin Zhi to breathe. She scratched Lu Jue's hand until it bled, but couldn't stop him. Blood trickled down Lu Jue's forehead, tracing a gruesome line down his face.
"You think you can still maintain that aloof attitude?"
"Right now, Pei Mingli is dead, so you still have the empty shell of the Pei family mansion to rely on. But if Pei Lang dies in the future, you'll be nothing more than an ant to me, an ant!"
Lu Jue seemed to have gone mad, gripping Lin Zhi's neck tightly as he desperately vented his dissatisfaction and anger.
Lin Zhi loosened her grip on his hand inch by inch, and it slowly and weakly fell down, unable to resist any longer.
She had thought about dying countless times, and when she was sold into marriage by her uncle, she wanted to die without humiliation.
When I miss my parents, I think about dying so that I can be reunited with them;
Even when she first heard the news of Pei Mingli's death, she had a fleeting thought that she should die of shame.
But now she doesn't want to die. She had promised Pei Lang that he would stay with her, and she wanted to stay with him too.
She didn't want to die...
Whether it was heaven hearing her prayers or not, the shackles on her neck suddenly came off, and life surged into her chest.
Pei Lang stepped on Lu Jue's face, his extremely cold and dark eyes blazing with anger.
"Lu Jue, you're asking for it."
Lu Jue, whose arm had been dislocated, was in so much pain that his lips turned pale. Upon seeing Pei Lang, he stopped his madness and forced a trembling voice, saying, "Pei Lang, how dare you!"
"I am the eldest son of the Marquis's family. My father will not let you get away with what you have done today!"
Upon hearing this, Pei Langsu's cold face suddenly curved into a smile, incredibly alluring, and she rubbed her brocade boots even harder: "Is that so?"
"Since Marquis Lu won't let me go either way, why don't I send Young Marquis Lu to keep my brother company? There are some things you should discuss face to face, what do you say?"
Lu Jue was trembling all over. Only when the servants of the Marquis's mansion kowtowed and begged for mercy did Pei Lang raise his foot and kick him hard, sending him flying half a zhang away to the ground where he was spitting blood. Only then did he stop.
“I am truly grateful that you, my lord, were so saddened and distressed at my younger brother’s funeral, to the point that you tripped, fell, and vomited blood.”
"All of you, why aren't you properly escorting the young marquis back to his residence?"
Upon hearing this, the servants of the Marquis's residence immediately grabbed Lu Jue on either side and ran away.
Before Pei Lang's anger and indifference had subsided, he heard two weak, low coughs. He quickly turned around and picked up Lin Zhi, who had collapsed to the ground, saying, "A-Zhi, I'm sorry you had to suffer like this."
Lin Zhi clung to his arm, struggling to catch her breath for a while before shaking her head: "...It's alright."
Pei Lang's gaze swept over the unsightly finger marks on Lin Zhi's neck, his eyes becoming even colder, as if tempered with ice: "It's my fault. The palace eunuchs conveyed the imperial decree to Father, and I was afraid Father couldn't bear it, so I accompanied him."
"But Lu Jue managed to find an opening!"
Lin Zhi's throat was sore and she could hardly speak. She stared at the pity on his face and felt his hand wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes. She closed her eyes and hugged Pei Lang tightly, relying on him to draw in her familiar and comforting scent.
Pei Lang's broad, straight shoulders were wrapped around two slender, vine-like arms, which leaned against each other and grew together.
Once Lin Zhi's breathing gradually calmed down, Pei Lang gently pulled her away, saying, "There are too many people around here, so go back and apply the medicine first. Don't worry about anything else, I'll take care of it."
Lin Zhi nodded with some reluctance, looked at him, and turned back several times before finally leaving.
Pei Lang stood there for a moment, looked around, then frowned and hurriedly left.
Only after the two left did Lin Shaowan come to her senses, supported by Yu Shu's arm.
"Madam, are you alright?"
"This is the handkerchief that was blown away by the wind. Luckily you noticed it early, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get it back."
It's not uncommon for the lady to be so disoriented after the sudden death of her second son.
Yu Shu didn't see that Lin Shaowan's eyes held not only grief, but also astonishment.
What she just saw... was Pei Lang holding a woman?
Although she didn't see who the woman was, Pei Lang's recklessness was enough to shock her. Lin Shaowan was furious and horrified; this was in front of her son's coffin, and Pei Lang, as her elder brother, was so shameless!
She took a deep breath to calm her anger, knowing that this was not a good time to turn against Pei Lang. It was not easy to find Pei Lang's weakness, and she had to wait until she could discuss this matter with A-Zhi.
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Author's Note: Early update! I've been working hard to build up a draft list lately. Today is the last day of June, thank you all for your support over the past two months~
Daily updates starting this Thursday, so please look forward to it! Be sure to check it out! [heart emoji]
Please use any nutrient solution that's about to expire! Your likes and comments are my biggest encouragement, thank you so much!
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