He took a few steps toward Xie Wanqing, his gaze briefly passing Pei Yuqing before looking straight into her eyes, saying, "The Holy Emperor has summoned ; I must enter the palace to et him. Today’s matters will be discussed later."
Discuss later?
Xie Wanqing’s tightly pressed lips moved slightly, "Lu Ziyuan, you rely on your few military achievents to act arrogantly and without regard for the law. It’s truly despicable."
She said, "The humiliation you brought today, I will report to my father and brother and impeach you in the golden hall."
Even if the current Holy Emperor favors him greatly and holds him in high regard, he cannot turn a blind eye to such actions.
Upon hearing this, Lu Ziyuan remained calm, gave her a deep look, and turned to leave.
Shortly after he left, the guests who had been watching from not far away were persuaded to disperse by two old maids who appeared from nowhere.
The surroundings quieted down again. The two old maids approached and bowed deeply, politely speaking, "Miss Xie, His Highness invites you."
Xie Wanqing was stunned for a mont and had yet to respond when Pei Yuqing stepped in to help her out of the situation.
"You may leave first; go inform Mother. I’ll go over to pay my respects later."
The two old maids exchanged glances, murmured their agreent, bowed, and left.
Just now, the area around the fake mountain had been lively, but now only Xie Wanqing and Pei Yuqing remained.
"He..." Pei Yuqing’s tone was unusually hesitant. He paused and said, "My courtyard is not far from here. Would you like to rest for a while?"
"No," Xie Wanqing lowered her head, not looking at him, "I want to return to the mansion."
As long as she thought about how he personally witnessed Lu Ziyuan bullying her, and the outrageous things Lu Ziyuan had just said, Xie Wanqing’s mind turned to chaos, and she couldn’t stay in front of him for another second.
She lifted her leg to find Erqing but was stopped as she turned, her wrist being held.
Pei Yuqing said, "I can’t just let you leave like this."
She was humiliated in his domain, and he couldn’t let her go back on her own, feeling aggrieved.
Xie Wanqing halted, asking him, "My maid was targeted by Lu Ziyuan’s subordinate, and her acupoints were tapped. Do you know where he has kept her?"
"At Yinfeng Pavilion," Pei Yuqing replied, "Her acupoints have been unblocked. If you co with , I’ll send for her."
He didn’t release her hand, leading her down from the fake mountain. Xie Wanqing looked at his long fingered-hand but followed silently.
They reached a courtyard.
On the door plaque were three large characters that seed to dance like dragons and snakes.
Xuanhua Courtyard.
Pei Yuqing did not enter the house but led her to sit under the flower bed in the backyard.
Servants brought over tea sets and a censer.
Through the steaming mist, Xie Wanqing looked at him, sowhat confused, "What should I do to get rid of his entanglents?"
Lu Ziyuan’s words when he left clearly indicated he wouldn’t let things rest easily.
He would continue to pester her endlessly.
Pei Yuqing raised his arm to pour her a cup of tea, saying, "I guarantee that, for at least three months, Lu Ziyuan won’t appear in front of you."
"...What do you an?"
"There’s been so trouble in Yunzhou. The Holy Emperor summoned him into the palace just now, surely for this matter," Pei Yuqing said, looking down at her, "Pacifying Yunzhou’s chaos will take at least three to five months, and he won’t be back before then."
Xie Wanqing frowned slightly, "...How do you know this?"
She wasn’t deliberately questioning but distinctly rembered that in her dream, from Bianzhou’s bandit suppression until the marriage, Lu Ziyuan never left the Capital.
She recalled clearly because when Liu Manrou gave birth to their first son, Lu Ziyuan was then dispatched to Southern Sichuan to investigate a case.
He insisted on promoting Liu Manrou to a second-ranking concubine before leaving to ensure that his beloved concubine would be protected in his absence.
But the person in front of her had no need to deceive her, and his news seed well-inford.
This ti, Pei Yuqing did not dismiss her with ’I have my ways’ but seriously said, "This generation of Qingtian Guard is under my command. Trust , Lu Ziyuan will leave the Capital no later than tomorrow morning."
Xie Wanqing’s pupils widened, and she was left speechless.
The na of Qingtian Guard was thunderous, even girls raised in boudoirs had heard of it.
This is an organization founded during the era of the Grand Ancestor, the top intelligence network of the Great Khan Empire; it’s said no ministers could have secrets before the Qingtian Guard.
As the only legitimate son of the Eldest Princess, the only legitimate nephew of the current Holy Emperor, Pei Yuqing had won the Emperor’s trust, placing the Qingtian Guard under his command. It seed logical.
Yet, wasn’t it said that this person was not in good health, loved traveling, and had never served in the court?
To the world, he remained a disinterested Young Master, who was said to have only a short ti to live.
Was it all an act to play the fool?
No one would have thought the frail Young Master of Duke Pei Mansion, rarely seen due to poor health, could be a figure of such power in the Great Khan Empire.
She opened her mouth and asked, "Did you do sothing in secret to make the Holy Emperor decide to send him to Yunzhou to quell the disorder?"
After all, in her dreams, Lu Ziyuan did not leave the Capital during this ti.
Her shock was evident, and Pei Yuqing, watching, smiled, saying softly, "Because his entanglents caused you sleepless nights, I had to think of a way to make him disappear."
Those four words ’make him disappear,’ he said so casually, but Xie Wanqing could hear the weight and ease within them.
Indeed, it was him!
He spread rumors of Liu Manrou’s pregnancy to ensure Lu Ziyuan would readily agree to break off the engagent.
Now he designed it so that the Holy Emperor would dispatch Lu Ziyuan out of the Capital, unwilling to see her endure Lu Ziyuan’s entanglents any further.
Xie Wanqing blinked, her heart, once unsettled and anxious due to Lu Ziyuan, gradually calming down.
Under the flower bed in the backyard, the two sat facing each other, silent for a mont.
Pei Yuqing stared at her for a long ti, his smile fading slowly, speaking with a voice tinged with bitterness, "It was all my fault you suffered such a humiliation today."
"How can I bla you," Xie Wanqing wasn’t accustod to blaming others. She waved her hand, responding, "Who could have known he was that kind of person."
If she had known, she would’ve stayed in the mansion, no matter how her mother urged her to co.
Thinking this, she felt pathetic again.
Why should she fear Lu Ziyuan to the point of not stepping outside!
She gritted her teeth resentfully, "I cannot believe that, with how unruly and unreasonable he is, if the censors learn about it and file an impeachnt, the Holy Emperor would still indulge him."
No matter how illustrious his achievents, the court is never short of political enemies.
There will always be people who dislike him, waiting to seize an opportunity to strike.
Pei Yuqing laughed upon hearing this, lowering his eyes, lost in thought for a while, before saying, "With the Holy Emperor’s trust in him, he will only handle him with light restraint."
Xie Wanqing knew well that the current Holy Emperor’s favor toward Lu Ziyuan reached a level even the Princes envied.
Thinking so, she beca worried again.
Even if Lu Ziyuan leaves the Capital tomorrow, he will eventually return one day.
In three or five months, if he cos back still holding resentnt and continues to pester her, what should she do?
Should she hide away indoors every day just to avoid him?
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