Chapter 20: Xue Zhao... Dead?

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Shen Wannin’s fingers curled slightly, lightly tapping her nails, as all the jealousy within her reached a boiling point. She refused to believe that the two were innocent. Perhaps, on the day of her punishment, Shen Yuan sought revenge, wanting to humiliate her by deliberately seducing Pei Ji. What other reason could there be?

The pavilion at the heart of the lake was quite far from Qiushui Garden. Shen Yuan quickened her pace to avoid the rain, the splashing droplets soaking the hem of her skirt. She could see the hanging flower gate ahead and knew crossing it would lead her back to Qiushui Garden.

Suddenly, a force grabbed her wrist.

Startled, Shen Yuan turned around and met a gaze equally drenched in rain. Pei Ji, breathing heavily, swiftly pulled her into a corner beneath the eaves, instantly shielding them from the downpour.

“What are you doing, Commander Pei?” Shen Yuan snapped, flinging his hand away and preparing to leave.

But Pei Ji grasped her wrist again. The man’s large palm was warm, roughened by calluses that rubbed her wrist red.

“Are you really going to marry Lu Chengyuan? Do you know what he is…” The rest of his words caught in his throat, left unspoken.

It was clear Pei Ji was struggling to hold back his emotions; he did not want to lose his temper in front of Shen Yuan.

“Are you saying, Commander, that because he has a criminal past, he can’t live like a normal man? Is that really the standard you look for in a husband—that he must have no blemishes on his record?” Shen Yuan stared at him, her lips taut, her delicate brow marked by a sharp, glaring anger.

Pei Ji choked up slightly and lowered his eyes. “I spoke wrongly. I apologize.”

Shen Yuan’s expression turned colder; raindrops traced down her forehead onto her cheek.

“You should consider yourself lucky that once I am married, those past deeds will be hidden. Just as Madam Pei said, your side does not need to harbor filthy sludge, like me.”

Her gaze was detached, her eyes brightened with anger. When she looked at Pei Ji, it was as though she were seeing a stranger.

Back in Qingzhou City, Pei’s father was promoted, and the whole family moved to the capital. The Pei family wanted Pei Ji to marry a noble lady from the capital to advance their political career. To prevent news of Pei Ji’s concubine from spreading, Madam Pei ruthlessly pinned a false charge on Shen Yuan and cast her out of the Pei mansion.

At that time, Shen Yuan was called Jiang Yao.

It was Madam Pei who brought her into the Pei household, and it was also Madam Pei who drove her away.

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“Our past does not need to be hidden. If only you would say you don’t want to marry Lu Chengyuan, I could—”

“This is not Qingzhou City, nor your Pei family’s playground! Moreover, don’t you mind that I once eloped with Xue Zhao?” Shen Yuan’s words were sharp knives hidden in every sentence.

Pei Ji’s eyes trembled, reddened, and he cautiously grasped her hand, his lips moving to explain.

“He is already dead,” she said expressionlessly.

Pei Ji’s heart tightened suddenly.

“You should understand the weight of a dead man, Commander.”

Shen Yuan smiled faintly, the mockery in her tone unmistakable. “I must go. If you keep following me, I’ll have to let Wannin properly discipline her fiancé.”

“I am not her fiancé,” he stubbornly corrected, suppressing his anger.

“So it will be soon. Then you will have to answer to her when she calls me ‘Sister.’”

After the last word fell, Shen Yuan turned and left.

Pei Ji’s face darkened with a sullen expression, a trace of unwillingness flowing in his obscured eyes.

In truth, when Pei’s parents urged him to establish a family in the capital, he had already refused.

To make him give up, his mother secretly expelled Shen Yuan and accused her of eloping with another man.

At the time, Pei Ji was heartbroken.

But he soon uncovered the reason behind Shen Yuan’s expulsion.

This led to one of the few quarrels between him and his mother, with them not speaking for half a year.

Even now, a rift remained between mother and son.

As for Shen Yuan’s claim of eloping with Xue Zhao—it was entirely false!

There was one thing she said right: the weight of the dead is incomparable.

Why did Xue Zhao die?

The corridor was secluded, unlikely to attract the attention of passing servants or maids.

Pei Ji turned and retraced his steps, bypassing the lakeside pavilion and heading straight out of the Shen residence.

Inside the purple-gilded carriage, his subordinate Song Lin saw him soaked and gloomy, and asked, “Sir, is there trouble between you and the Shen brothers?”

Pei Ji shook his head, displeased. “In the Pei mansion of Qingzhou City, there is a servant named Xue Zhao. Find out where he is now.”

“Yes, sir.”

The carriage started slowly, heading toward the Pei mansion.

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Outside the curtains, the rain fell in a thick curtain.

Raindrops splashed into puddles on the ground, sending ripples outward.

Just like Pei Ji’s heart, restless and uneasy.

As soon as he stepped through the Pei mansion’s gate, the steward hurried over to report, “Madam and Master were just worried you might be caught in the rain. I didn’t expect…”

The young master had been drenched like a drowned rat?

The steward’s face was embarrassed as he quickly urged, “Young master, you should change into dry clothes first.”

“Where is madam?” Pei Ji asked.

“She is enjoying the rain with master in the pavilion behind the main hall.”

Pei Ji strode off. The steward whispered to Song Lin, who shrugged, “I don’t know either. He was like this the moment he left the Shen residence.”

Pei Ji passed through the screen wall and main hall, finally seeing Pei’s father and mother leisurely watching the rain beneath the eaves.

Seeing him, Madam Pei rose from her soft chair, smiling as she beckoned, “What did you discuss with Miss Shen? Has the wedding date been mentioned?”

No sooner had she spoken than she noticed Pei Ji’s unusual expression.

His lips were pressed tightly, his face expressionless—reminding Madam Pei of their quarrels years ago.

“Mother, do you remember Xue Zhao?”

At his voice, Madam Pei’s eyes flickered slightly. She silently straightened, staring at him without moving. “Why do you ask? Those are old matters; I barely remember.”

“Song Lin will discover the truth soon enough. But I want to hear it from you myself.”

He stepped forward, an invisible pressure gathering around him, making Madam Pei feel suffocated and unwilling to meet her son’s gaze.

“Back then, under your threats, Jiang Yao was driven out of the mansion. You constantly accused her of eloping with Xue Zhao, but why did Xue Zhao die?” Pei Ji’s eyes darkened, his presence oppressive.

Seeing Madam Pei silent, Master Pei sensed a hidden truth and hurriedly tried to smooth things over. “Xue Zhao was just a servant in our household. If he died, he died. What’s there to regret? Why do you question your mother like this? Are you being unfilial?”

Pei Ji ignored him, his gaze fixed on Madam Pei, a mocking curve on his lips.

“Mother never cared to ask what I liked or wanted, only insisting it was for my own good, to pave my way! But since leaving Qingzhou, I fought my way up in the army, rising to a second-rank official. What real help have you given me? Do you think marrying Miss Shen will make the Pei family soar to the heavens?”

“Smack!”

A sharp slap echoed clearly under the eaves.