Chapter 70 The Pastries Are Poisonous "Pei Lang still doesn't know I'm alive..."
When Chun Tao and the other woman returned with the rouge that Lin Zhi had specifically requested, they saw that she looked extremely unwell as she came out of the private room. They quickly went up to support her, and when Chun Tao looked down, she also saw that she was carrying a bag of pastries.
"Miss, did you enjoy the crispy mountain?"
Thinking of the crispy mountain that she had neglected and which had long since melted into water, Lin Zhi remained silent and simply nodded.
"That's fine then. Shall I carry these cakes for you?"
But just as Chun Tao reached out her hand, Lin Zhi subtly dodged it and chuckled, "It's not heavy, no need."
"These are my husband's... favorite pastries. I wonder if he'll be home tonight..."
As Lin Zhi spoke, her eyes were still slightly red and swollen. She unconsciously gripped the things in her hands tightly and was helped into the carriage.
However, after arriving at the Pei residence, the two maids following behind her sensed something was amiss: "Why does Miss seem so down today? Was the crispy mountain not tasty?"
Chun Tao stared thoughtfully at the thing in her hand. "Perhaps Miss misses Master, but is too embarrassed to say it. You can stand guard at the door tonight. If Master returns to the manor, he must bring her to see Miss."
"Don't disappoint the young lady."
Hearing this, Xia Ying clenched her fist and nodded: "Don't worry, sister."
Using the excuse that she was sleepy, she locked the two of them out of the door. Lin Zhi sat at the table, looking at the pastries on it, lost in thought about Pei Mingli's words.
“Ah Zhi, this pastry contains a poison that weakens and kills people. It won’t take effect quickly, but it will make him feel tired. By the time the doctor finds out, it will be too late.”
"You used to think Pei Lang loved you, which is why you made excuses for him. But even that one bit of sincerity was fake. Are you going to continue deceiving yourself?"
When Pei Mingli said this, his expression was one of unfamiliar composure. Only when Lin Zhi looked at him did she truly realize that the Pei Mingli of the past would never return.
“Pei Lang doesn’t know I’m alive yet. Once he’s dead, I’ll take you away from the capital and take care of you and the child. We won’t be bothered by anything in the capital anymore.”
Lin Zhi stared at the poisoned pastries in front of her, sitting there until sunset.
As soon as Pei Lang stepped into the mansion, he saw Lin Zhi's maid rushing towards him.
"Greetings, sir. Please forgive my rudeness, but I would like to ask you to visit our concubine. She is now in her late pregnancy and is not feeling well."
Pei Lang stood there, his brows slightly furrowed. "Did Lin Zhi send you?"
"What's wrong with her?"
Xia Ying's mind went blank, but she had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Madam... my hands hurt from copying the scriptures, and I haven't had a good appetite for several days..."
Just as these words were spoken, Pei Lang strode towards Lin Zhiyuan, his face displeased: "Those scriptures have already been copied by servants and sent to the temple. Why did she have to do this?"
"I've already told her I don't want her to be tired, but she still insists on doing it this way. Who is she trying to upset?"
"She's due to give birth in less than four months, is she putting herself and her child in danger?"
Seeing Pei Lang getting angrier and angrier, Xia Ying didn't dare to say anything more, for fear of saying the wrong thing.
When Pei Lang arrived at Lin Zhi's door, he slowed down. The servants in the courtyard all consciously withdrew, leaving him alone with Lin Zhi in the room, separated by a door.
The closer he got to home, the more timid he became. Pei Lang raised his hand several times, but each time he saw Lin Zhi's pitiful appearance with red and teary eyes when she was misunderstood, so he lowered his hand again.
He had never hesitated so much on anything before, not even when cooperating with the Crown Prince. He was thoughtful and meticulous in his actions, liked to keep the initiative in his own hands, and never made a losing deal.
But now, facing Lin Zhi, he showed a rare moment of hesitation.
He took a deep breath and turned to leave, but then he heard the door creak open behind him: "Since you've arrived at the door, why don't you come in?"
Unconsciously turning around to look, Pei Lang couldn't help but feel dissatisfied as soon as his gaze fell on Lin Zhi. She looked a bit haggard; one would expect someone who is pregnant to gain weight.
Lin Zhi didn't gain weight; in fact, her chin seemed even sharper, and she looked so thin it was heartbreaking.
Pei Lang frowned and stepped forward: "Why aren't you eating properly again?"
Lin Zhi's soft hair fell slightly from her temples, making her look stunningly beautiful. Pei Lang raised his hand as usual, but she turned her head away to avoid him.
"I don't have much of an appetite tonight. Why don't you have some snacks with me, my husband? I brought back your favorite flavors from when I went out today."
Since Lin Zhi had invited him, Pei Lang put aside all his worries and slowly walked in to sit down.
Her slender, pale fingers seemed to be playing a musical instrument and dancing as she unwrapped the pastry's oil paper. Looking at the soft pastry spread out in front of her, Pei Lang did not rush to reach out.
"Does the child still bother you now?"
"The matter of the embroidery workshop was caused by a servant carelessly throwing away an unburnt incense stick. The servant has already been kicked out of the mansion. The craftsmen are working through the night and should be able to finish the repairs within half a month."
"Ah Zhi, do you blame me?"
Lin Zhi paused for a moment, and after hearing his words clearly, she gently shook her head: "My husband naturally has his own plans for doing things, and I have never blamed you."
Upon hearing this, Pei Lang knew that she still harbored resentment, but the time was not yet right, and saying anything would only implicate her. He swallowed twice, but still remained silent.
Pei Lang was about to reach for the cakes when he remembered something and withdrew his hand.
"I've been too busy these days and forgot to give this to you."
Lin Zhi saw him take out a top-quality jade pendant from his pocket and hand it to her. There were a few words faintly engraved on it, the engraving was strong and elegant, and it looked familiar.
"This is......"
Pei Lang's usually cold face showed a rare hint of unease: "I've heard from my colleagues in court that if a new baby is born into the family, they must personally prepare a jade pendant for peace, firstly to ensure the child's safe birth, and secondly... to protect the lady during childbirth."
"I happened to have a fine piece of jade on hand, so I decided to have it made. My skills are rather rusty, so please don't mind..."
That's what he said, but Pei Lang's eyes were clearly fixed on Lin Zhi with great anticipation, hoping she would like it.
Lin Zhi felt a tightness in her heart, as if it had been squeezed. She looked down at the jade pendant in her hand. The engraving on it was indeed a bit stiff, but not bad. Pei Lang learned everything very quickly.
The jade was warm and smooth to the touch. Lin Zhi held it in her palm and rubbed it, but it almost burned her tears.
Pei Lang, however, was thinking that she hadn't had dinner yet, so he reached out and picked up a piece of pastry, wanting to share some with her. But as soon as he picked it up, his hand was suddenly slapped, and the pastry rolled to the ground.
Pei Lang wasn't angry at first. He looked up at her as if he wanted to say something, but saw her hurriedly pick up the bag of pastries, pack them up, and throw them away.
“A-Zhi…”
Lin Zhi gritted her teeth and refused to say anything, grabbing Pei Lang's arm and pulling him up towards the door.
"Lin Zhi!"
Pei Lang was tall and strong, and subduing Lin Zhi would be no different from catching a kitten. However, she was heavily pregnant, so Pei Lang was too hesitant to make a move.
What are you doing?!
After being pushed out of the door with difficulty, the door was slammed shut in front of him. Pei Lang's face darkened, and he propped himself up on his arms and lightly pounded on the door twice with his fist: "Lin Zhi, open the door! Explain yourself! What do you want? What kind of behavior is this, kicking me out!"
He knocked a few times, but there was no response from inside. A look of disappointment flashed across Pei Lang's eyes. She still harbored resentment towards him because of those things.
Turning his head to look at the servants who had been drawn by the commotion, Pei Lang's eyes flashed with displeasure. If today's commotion reached He Luochen's ears, who knew what she would do to Lin Zhi...
Thinking of this, Pei Lang knocked on the door a few more times with lighter movements, but there was still a deathly silence inside, and Lin Zhi did not make a sound.
With his large hand gripping the door, Pei Lang could use brute force to push it open, but he could see Lin Zhi blocking the doorway. Even if he pushed the door open, he would hurt her!
After a moment of silence, he turned and left.
Xia Ying and Chun Tao looked at Pei Lang as he strode away. Xia Ying was about to knock on Lin Zhi's door when Chun Tao grabbed her arm and shook her head with a frown.
Lin Zhi heard the footsteps fading away outside the door, and collapsed to the ground in tears. She thought she would hate him, but she didn't expect that she still couldn't bring herself to do it.
Lin Zhi had considered what Pei Mingli said. Once might be a coincidence, but what if it happened again and again?
She used to be able to deceive herself that Pei Lang had his reasons for harming her aunt and for hiding things from her. But when the truth was exposed and laid bare before her, she realized that she was wrong, terribly wrong.
She had woven herself a beautiful dream from which she did not wish to wake up. If He Luochen and Pei Mingli had not awakened her from this dream, she would probably have continued to dream it for the rest of her life.
Gently stroking her slightly heaving belly, Lin Zhi raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her face: "My child, it's all my fault..."
"We don't want the wealth and status of the Pei family anymore. Once you're born, your mother will take you away from here..."
Lin Zhi didn't have much control over her life, and she couldn't face such a difficult situation that could defeat her. Rather than watching Pei Lang being affectionate with someone else, she would rather run far away.
Anyway, Pei Lang wasn't truly sincere towards her. Now that she's gone, he won't bother to go to great lengths to hide it from her, saving him some effort.
Since Lin Zhi drove Pei Lang away last time, the news spread throughout the entire mansion in less than half a day. The servants in Lin Zhi's courtyard were afraid that she would be angry if they heard about it, so they dared not mention it. However, the other servants all said that Lin Zhi was spoiled and arrogant because she was pregnant.
Upon hearing this, He Luochen was so pleased that he drank half a pot of wine, almost aggravating the wound on his shoulder.
"I was worried that my injury and inability to serve the emperor might allow that vixen Lin Zhi to seduce Pei Lang and win him back."
"But I never expected that Lin Zhi herself would be so useless, even she would help me, tsk tsk..."
He Luochen smiled and downed the wine in one gulp: "By the way, my elder sister is a few months pregnant now. Has the palace said when I can go to the palace to see her?"
Ziyu filled her wine cup: "The Prime Minister instructed that Madam need not worry about the Imperial Concubine. The Imperial Concubine is now deeply favored by the Emperor, even overshadowing the Empress."
"Who knows, she might even be promoted after giving birth to a prince."
“With the Imperial Concubine and the young prince backing her up, Madam can do whatever she wants with Lin Zhi. Who knows, she might even be able to take over her child and raise him.”
Upon hearing this, He Luochen's face only flashed a smile for a moment before turning disgusted: "Who wants to raise her child? In the future, my child with Pei Lang will be the rightful young master of this mansion."
"Does Lin Zhi's illegitimate son even deserve to be called a son?"
"If they behave themselves, I am not intolerant of them. I can just keep them in the house to feed two more mouths."
"But if Lin Zhi still harbors delusions, then don't blame me for being ruthless."
Ziyu quickly flattered, "What you say is absolutely right, Madam. I misspoke. That concubine used to seduce you with her gentleness and beauty, but she may not be so gentle now."
"But this is, after all, the master's eldest son. Even if he is an illegitimate son, I am worried that the master will take care of Lin Zhi a little more because of this child."
"Madam has been familiar with the power struggles in the palace since childhood. Haven't you seen enough cases of a mother gaining status through her son?"
Thinking of Lin Zhi's actions, He Luochen was indeed still shaken. "She and Pei Lang were childhood sweethearts. If she had a child, even if Lin Zhi died, she would still be a thorn in Pei Lang's heart..."
Her brows furrowed, but her eyes grew brighter: "Lin Zhi has become far too arrogant. Perhaps I should give her another hand..."
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