Chapter 50
Chapter 50
With Zhang Mingan and Shen Yanqi only a short distance away, how could Pei Xianjing demand she do such a thing and leave her any dignity?
Xing Shuwei’s face flushed crimson, her entire body resisting.
From the corner of her eye, she could still see the two shocked faces outside the window.
Xing Shuwei felt their gazes were filled with contempt.
Zhang Mingan’s most of all.
Her eyes reddened with panic, as though tears would burst forth like a broken dam at any moment.
“They’re outsiders. How can you do this in front of outsiders?
“You can’t bully me like this.” Xing Shuwei kept drawing her head back.
Pei Xianjing lowered his head again until the lashes of their exquisitely handsome faces nearly brushed.
She had been in the Duke’s estate for four years. Even when she begged him repeatedly in bed, she had never accused him of bullying her.
“Weiwei, when you behave like this, others will think you’re flirting with me.” Pei Xianjing spoke with brutal explicitness.
A murderous aura filled his eyes. Like Yama, king of hell, he commanded in a tone that brooked no refusal, “I said, kiss me.”
Instinct told Xing Shuwei that if she did not obey, the consequences would be more than she could bear.
She closed her eyes, kept her lips shut, and kissed him.
But Pei Xianjing was not satisfied with that alone. Like a warrior smashing through every pass and slaying every general, he charged forward, determined to force open the barrier of her teeth.
In the end, she could not hold back her tears. They rolled from lashes like butterfly wings and struck the thin sleeve of Pei Xianjing’s inner robe.
The tears soaked through the thin fabric, spreading a patch of icy cold across his skin.
She was actually crying?
Kissing her in front of Zhang Mingan aggrieved her this deeply?
This time, Pei Xianjing was utterly enraged.
He pressed Xing Shuwei against him, kissing her without pause.
Xing Shuwei could only endure, just as she had every time before.
She did not like this. She did not want it…
But what did her feelings matter?
What mattered was what Pei Xianjing wanted to do. She could only comply.
A gust blew through outside and swung the window shut…
* * *
In the courtyard.
The shock in Shen Yanqi’s eyes gradually gave way to fury.
“He…” His throat obstructed, Shen Yanqi could not force out another word.
“That’s the kind of woman she is. Why else do you think I said she wasn’t a suitable match for you?
“What you and the Shen family need is a woman with an innocent background and an unblemished reputation. She has neither.”
Zhang Mingan’s words were light, but they landed heavily on Shen Yanqi’s heart.
He did not refute Zhang Mingan.
For no apparent reason, Zhang Mingan felt stifled inside. He turned and sat in a chair with his back to the window.
Creak. The sound of the door opening reached his ears with perfect clarity.
He glanced sideways and saw Xing Shuwei run straight out of Qiansheng Pavilion with her head bowed, without even greeting them.
Zhang Mingan’s heart tightened. He picked up the wine pot and poured himself a cup.
Shen Yanqi turned and saw him tilt back his head and drain it in one swallow.
“He isn’t here yet. We are guests, and what you’re doing is improper.” The “he” Shen Yanqi mentioned naturally referred to Pei Xianjing.
Zhang Mingan gave an ugly smile. “He only cares about enjoying himself. Is leaving us here unattended his idea of hospitality?”
Shen Yanqi did not sit.
Zhang Mingan glanced up at him and jeered, “You truly were born for the Embroidered Uniform Guard. You can endure anything.”
Shen Yanqi was also deeply uncomfortable, but he still warned him, “This concerns Miss Xing’s reputation. Watch your mouth and don’t spread it around.”
Zhang Mingan snorted coldly. “If they don’t care themselves, why should I?”
No sooner had he spoken than Pei Xianjing arrived beside the table.
He said coldly, “Because you will serve in the Ministry of War and depend on me for your livelihood.
“And because Shen Yanqi has been granted the right to attend the Emperor.”
At those words, both Zhang Mingan’s and Shen Yanqi’s expressions shifted.
Without even looking at Zhang Mingan, Pei Xianjing sat in the host’s seat.
Then he extended a hand toward Shen Yanqi in a gesture of invitation.
Shen Yanqi sat down as well.
Zhang Mingan refilled Pei Xianjing’s wine. “Now that Lord Pei has spoken, naturally my lips are sealed.
“I will be relying on your support in the future, Lord Pei. Whether I can raise the Marquis’s estate to even greater heights depends on whether you choose to value me.”
Pei Xianjing’s straight brows drew faintly together, his cold gaze sliding across the other man’s face.
Zhang Mingan nudged Shen Yanqi beside him with an elbow. “What are you standing there for?
“From now on, Eldest Young Master Pei will be the like-minded guide who leads us forward. Hurry and toast him.”
Shen Yanqi woodenly lifted his wine cup and said to Pei Xianjing, “A toast to Lord Pei.”
Pei Xianjing did not so much as touch his own cup. He said gravely, “Your appointment documents will arrive in a few days.”
His eyes suddenly turned cold and sharp as blades as he swept them over the two men. “From now on, we’re all in the same boat.
“You went to such trouble to arrange all this, and I have fulfilled your wishes.
“If anything arises in the future, come to me.
“Weiwei spends all her time in the inner residence and prefers quiet. She is not usually willing to receive guests.”
Shen Yanqi was momentarily at a loss for words and could only nod.
Zhang Mingan smiled. “Whatever Eldest Young Master Pei says goes.”
Returning to his usual dissolute manner, he abruptly rose. “Then we will await the good news.
“You are a busy man, Eldest Young Master. Yanqi and I won’t disturb you any longer. Farewell.”
Pei Xianjing remained as still as a mountain. “Chengde, see the guests out.”
Chengde answered and stepped forward to escort the two men away.
* * *
At Qianchen Pavilion, Xing Shuwei lay sprawled over the table by the window, staring blankly at the bamboo grove outside.
“Miss, Lord Zhang is a scoundrel himself. Surely he won’t despise you over this.
“Don’t torment yourself too much, Miss. If you truly can’t tell what he’s thinking, find another opportunity to ask him clearly,” Qiutong advised after seeing her like this.
Xing Shuwei’s heart was ashes. “Which one of them is any good?”
“Qiutong, don’t you think I’m a fool? I destroyed my own retreat and nearly harmed you as well.
“I knew Zhang Mingan was selfish and would use another to do his killing, yet I overestimated myself and vainly tried to use him to escape my predicament. And what came of it?”
Xing Shuwei suddenly felt as though all her efforts had come to nothing.
She lay flat against the tabletop, without the strength to rise.
The weather broke. Bean-sized raindrops fell from the dark clouds with a loud patter, like pearls spilling everywhere.
In less than eight minutes, the temperature plummeted.
Qiutong tried to cover Xing Shuwei with a blanket, but she refused.
“Miss.” Qiutong’s eyes reddened. “It isn’t your fault. Don’t torment yourself like this.
“We’re only ordinary people. How could we possibly fight against the sons of the powerful?
“You’ve already done more than enough, Miss. If it were this servant, I wouldn’t even be able to protect myself.
“But you protected both this servant and the Young Master.”
Her comforting words did nothing to ease Xing Shuwei’s heart.
Xing Shuwei raised her face. Wind drove the rain at a slant, spraying it through the window and soaking her face.
The icy sensation was exactly like her present state of mind.
“Qiutong, you don’t understand. After this, our road will be even harder…”
Not a single step had been easy since her parents died.
At this moment, that feeling was stronger than ever.