Chapter 42
Chapter 42
Pei Xianjing stood before the daybed with his hands clasped behind his back, looking down.
“Brother Jing.” Xing Shuwei suppressed her panic and pushed herself upright as she called to him.
She casually tossed the folding fan aside. The half-open fan had not yet been closed.
“You’re injured, yet you still won’t settle down and rest. Weiwei, what are you scheming now?” Pei Xianjing sat on the edge of the daybed.
He had not so much as glanced at the fan, yet he knew it was the one Zhang Mingan had mentioned.
Xing Shuwei folded both hands over his thigh, then rested her head against it as though using his lap for a pillow.
Small and delicate, she looked like a cat when she lay down.
Her fingers moved almost imperceptibly through the fabric of his robe.
It took only a few strokes for Pei Xianjing’s thoughts to wander.
He raised a hand to caress her silken black hair, tucking the strands along her cheek behind her ear.
His warm fingers touched her earlobe, then seemingly by accident slid down to her jaw.
“Are you hiding something from me, Weiwei?” His voice sounded as it always did.
A storm surged through Xing Shuwei’s heart. Had he run into Zhang Mingan outside? Had that man filled his ears with nonsense?
Her lips moved. Rubbing her cheek against his thigh, she feigned ignorance. “How would I dare hide anything from Brother Jing? Is there anything about me, inside or out, that Brother Jing doesn’t know?”
Her heart pounded ceaselessly in her chest.
If he discovered that she was planning to join forces with Zhang Mingan, he would probably never let her off.
The memory of his rage earlier that day, when he had resembled an enraged beast, still left her shaken.
He showed no mercy even when dealing with court officials. Those who deserved beheading were beheaded; those who belonged in prison were imprisoned.
If he truly wanted to deal with her, it would take no more than the slightest movement of his hand.
She had to move her plans forward. She did not have much time left, Xing Shuwei resolved inwardly.
“How did you escape from those eunuchs?” Pei Xianjing asked, pressing his thumb against her lips.
“Didn’t you promise to tell me all your grievances in detail? Go on.”
Xing Shuwei had rehearsed the answer countless times in her mind, but he had now thrown her thoughts into disarray.
She lifted her eyes slightly, hoping to read something from his face, only for her gaze to collide with the dark depths of his eyes.
She blinked hard several times, unable to conceal her unease.
At last, she steeled herself and burrowed deeper into his embrace.
“Weiwei alone could never have escaped those two brutish eunuchs.”
Her timid voice carried a sob.
Brutish meant that they were strong and crude in their actions.
Pei Xianjing looked up and caught sight of the clothes draped over the rack.
The sleeves and chest had been torn to shreds.
His hand tightened, and his expression instantly turned severe.
Xing Shuwei had deliberately asked Qiutong to hang the clothes there, and she had purposely torn them further.
Seeing his expression change, Xing Shuwei continued, “Fortunately, Lord Zhang happened by and saved me. Otherwise, Weiwei would have been too ashamed to face you and could only have atoned with her life.”
Tears falling at precisely the right moment soaked a large patch of his robe.
She choked softly twice. “Brother Jing, Weiwei only wants a way to stay alive. Why must it be so difficult?
“What Weiwei understands least is why Lady Pei also wants to use Weiwei to control you.”
What Lady Pei had done today was plainly meant to hold her over the flames. There was no need to keep pretending that all was well. She might as well feed the fire and use the opportunity to escape.
“What nonsense are you saying?” Pei Xianjing scolded gently.
Xing Shuwei looked up at him. “Weiwei is only afraid that if some things aren’t said now, there may be no chance to say them one day.”
Pei Xianjing tapped a fingertip lightly against her lips. “Don’t say such ominous things.”
Xing Shuwei raised her eyes to meet his gaze and said with complete sincerity, “Everything I said is true.”
“Then you still deserve punishment.” Pei Xianjing lifted her slightly until she sat kneeling in his embrace.
His back remained ramrod straight, his eyes dark. “You ignored every word I said. I have to teach you a lesson you’ll remember.”
“Bro-” Before she could finish, Pei Xianjing kissed her.
It truly was a punishment, without a trace of gentleness.
His tongue slipped inward like a darting snake, forcing her entire body to arch backward.
He held her by the waist as though cradling a flower on the edge of a cliff, letting her tremble wildly against the support of his arm.
Xing Shuwei could not breathe. Just as her hand reached for his robe, he caught her wrist. “Your hand is injured. Don’t move it around.”
Xing Shuwei said in alarm, “You’re the one who needs to stop.”
“You stoked the fire.” Pei Xianjing had no intention of letting her go.
She drew in on herself and said coyly, “Not today. I still haven’t recovered from the fright.”
Pei Xianjing remembered what she had endured and sighed softly. “Then I’ll spare you for now.”
They lay side by side on the daybed, and Xing Shuwei obediently nestled into his arms.
She reached an arm across his waist and found the fan.
“This was a thank-you gift from Miss Zheng, but I think Lord Zhang used her to give it to me.”
She chose her words carefully.
The opened fan bore calligraphy on one side and a painting of red plum blossoms on the other.
“Mm.” Pei Xianjing glanced at it and said coldly, “That is the Empress Dowager’s calligraphy. He certainly went to great lengths for you.”
“You mean this was written by the Empress Dowager?” Xing Shuwei’s eyes filled with astonishment.
How could the Empress Dowager’s handwriting look as though it had come from the same mold as her mother’s?
If her mother truly had some connection to the Empress Dowager, how could the Pei family not know?
Xing Shuwei felt as though she had fallen into a lightless abyss.
“What is so extraordinary about the Empress Dowager’s calligraphy? Is it worth frightening yourself like this?
“If you want one, I can even obtain a piece of the Emperor’s calligraphy for you.” Pei Xianjing took the fan from her.
Xing Shuwei knew little about affairs inside the palace.
But Pei Guofei had told her that the Empress Dowager was the late Emperor’s second empress and that the current Emperor was not her biological son.
Lying quietly against Pei Xianjing’s chest, Xing Shuwei asked, “Is the Zhang clan close to the Empress Dowager because of Noble Consort Zhang?”
Pei Xianjing kept one arm around her. “It is Consort Chu who is close to the Empress Dowager.”
Xing Shuwei shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
Pei Xianjing explained patiently, “Both the Empress and Noble Consort Zhang have designs on Consort Chu’s Eleventh Prince.
“But Consort Chu has the Empress Dowager behind her. That is also why the Qizhou military defense case, despite implicating the Chu clan, has yet to receive a final ruling.”
“Now that Third Uncle and I are handling the case, the Empress wants to win over the Pei family, while the Zhang clan has set its sights on the Empress Dowager.”
Pei Xianjing’s recent days had been anything but peaceful. The Emperor’s intent was to tolerate no wrongdoing, yet both the Empress Dowager and the Empress had sought Pei Xianjing out in private numerous times.
“Does the Empress Dowager have deep ties to Qizhou?” Xing Shuwei asked as if the question were casual.
“None at all,” Pei Xianjing answered without hesitation.
Xing Shuwei blinked.
Could she have been overthinking it?
“Sleep.” Pei Xianjing patted her back lightly.
“Mm,” she murmured, and before long she fell asleep.
After the terror and shock she had suffered during the day, nightmares continued to plague her even in sleep.
She tossed and turned in Pei Xianjing’s arms, repeatedly crying, “Stay away from me.”
“Weiwei.” Lying on his side, Pei Xianjing gently shook her. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”
Tears still fell from Xing Shuwei’s eyes in her dream as she called plaintively, “Brother Jing.”