“Junior Brother, don’t be naughty!” She frowned slightly, looking at the items in the basket, and said softly: “Do you like these little trinkets today? Can Cang Yun use them to repay your kindness of gifting handkerchiefs and dry food not long ago?”

“No!” Jia Zizhou replied without thinking, pointing at the bamboo basket in Liu Changning’s hand, complaining:

“I begged Senior Sister for so long, and you only accompanied this young master for one day. You didn’t buy me any rouge, powder, or silver hairpins from the basket. I don’t want these little trinkets… Senior Sister… can you… can you accompany me for a bit longer?”

Jia Zizhou’s voice grew softer and softer as he spoke. He looked up to meet the slightly frowning gaze of the woman in white.

“Junior Brother, be careful with your words! How could I gift you such private male items? It would be improper!”

He smiled bitterly: “Why is Senior Sister so…”

He didn’t dare to finish the last words “unaware of a man’s heart.”

Jia Zizhou had always been soft-natured since childhood. After being coldly glanced at by the person in front of him, he could no longer express his admiration.

While he hesitated, she had already turned and walked further away.

Jia Zizhou’s eyes were filled with disappointment. Liu Cang Yun had a cold personality and was as dense as a wooden board.

Not only was she like this towards him, but she was also indifferent to all men.

But… no matter how dense a woman is, her heart should have warmed up by now. Yet she still…

After the imperial examinations, to avoid him, she hid in Nanhua Temple and refused to see anyone.

If it weren’t for the fact that tomorrow was the day the results would be announced, and she had come down the mountain early and been caught by him, she definitely wouldn’t have agreed to accompany him today.

—

In a secret room at the Mingde Chang Emperor’s residence.

The stone walls were cold and emitted a faint glow. The room was pitch dark, with two torches hanging high, illuminating the secret room.

Pei Yuanshao squinted, sitting at the head of the room. His fingertips lightly tapped the table surface. The flames on the torches flickered, casting his facial expressions in shadows.

Seven feet in front of him knelt three people, bound with hemp ropes, looking disheveled.

“Brother Shao… no, Your Highness… Your Highness, please spare our lives. This commoner didn’t intend to rob and murder. The eldest niece had already left the building back then, and the old house was dilapidated, that’s why we committed such a foolish act… You’re a great person who doesn’t hold grudges against small people, please forgive this commoner’s family…”

Liu Zheng kowtowed on the ground, crying painfully, her honest face filled with fear.

Kneeling to her left was Liu Xia, who was now crying uncontrollably out of fear.

On the right, Liu Shi licked his dry lips. The mute acupoint had naturally unsealed after half an hour. He discreetly raised his eyes to look at the young man sitting at the head of the room.

He wore a dark red brocade robe, the corners of his mouth curled in an ambiguous smile. His beautiful face showed no sign of joy or anger.

Although he was just sitting on a chair, his imposing aura made Liu Shi break out in a cold sweat.

A bitter smile appeared on Liu Shi’s lips. If it weren’t for his daughter’s life hanging by a thread, how would he, as a father, dare to negotiate with the all-powerful Chang Emperor?

His wife-master at home was a bully who feared the strong, with no backbone. Whether his daughter could be saved or not depended on him alone.

Liu Shi pinched his palm hard, his narrow eyes glinting with cunning.

“What my wife-master said is only part of it. Although the fire was indeed set by this commoner’s wife and husband, after news spread in the village that the eldest niece had died in the fire, one day while washing clothes, this commoner accidentally saw a group of men in black go to the old house in the west of the village. Curious, I followed and discovered that these people were actually tampering with the burned-down old house, burying several charred white bones. Later, two groups of people came to the village one after another to investigate the eldest niece’s death. The villagers led these armed guards to investigate, and they reportedly found the eldest niece’s charred remains.”

The man at the head of the room tapped the table surface more rapidly, each sound like a hammer to the chest.

Liu Shi took a deep breath and said in a low voice: “That day, the old house was empty, which is why this commoner and his wife-master dared to set fire to it. But someone deliberately made it appear as if the eldest niece had burned to death. It seems they wanted to deceive Your Highness’s investigation…”

Liu Shi’s thick lips opened and closed.

But Pei Yuanshao was already lost in thought…

Only the Shadow Guards under the Zhennan King could have deceived the secret agents’ month-long investigation in the entire Fengfeng Dynasty.

That Jing Huan was despicable and did things without leaving a trace. She was afraid! Afraid that Liu Changning had feelings for him, afraid that he would recognize her.

How laughable, he was almost deceived by her vile methods.

It was his own fault!

He lacked confidence and trust.

The man in red sitting at the head of the room lowered his head, silent.

In the secret room, only the nervous breathing of the three people could be heard. The three members of the Liu family were like lambs waiting to be slaughtered, waiting for the final judgment of the man at the head of the room.

Liu Shi suddenly raised his head. The silent secret room seemed extremely terrifying, like a ferocious beast.

He couldn’t be afraid. He had to save Liu Dong.

“Past events are all like fleeting clouds. You hold a high position and great power, surely you’re not one to quibble with a humble commoner like me. If today you could rescue my daughter Liu Dong from the Court of Judicial Review and release my family of four, this commoner has something else to give you.”

Pei Yuanshao glanced at him sideways, his expression unchanging.

As the pressure intensified, Liu Shi’s legs trembled uncontrollably. Suppressing the fear in his heart, he bit his lower lip and said loudly: “The day the eldest niece left Xiqiao Village, she left behind a handwritten letter. It’s pressed under the books in your bedroom…”

The chair at the head was suddenly pulled back, making a sharp scraping sound. Pei Yuanshao stood up, his ink-black eyes shooting a chilling light.

He quickly walked to Liu Shi, kicking him in the chest. His toe pinned him firmly to the ground as his sharp lips parted, his voice cold to the bone: “What status do you have to negotiate with this prince? Hand over the letter!”

Liu Shi’s limbs were bound, and the pain in his chest made it almost impossible for him to breathe. He coughed violently, blood and spittle flying from his mouth.

“Your Highness… if Your Highness promises to save… save Liu Dong… this commoner will present the letter,” he said with his last ounce of strength, his voice barely a whisper.

Pei Yuanshao crouched down, his gaze level with Liu Shi’s, unmoved: “Whether you hand it over or not doesn’t matter, it’s just a letter after all. But you… your family’s lives… hah! And that Liu Dong, beheading seems too lenient for her. How about having her executed by lingchi instead?”

His voice was low and deep, the corners of his mouth curled in an ambiguous smile. He seemed nonchalant, but the deathly black depths of his eyes held a bone-chilling coldness.

Every hair on Liu Shi’s body stood on end, cold sweat soaking through his clothes.

He opened his mouth, but his throat was too dry to make a sound. He turned his head to see his young son’s wet eyes, which made half of the stubbornness in his heart crumble.

Prostrate on the ground, he suddenly felt that this prosperous Jinling City was not a paradise, but a nightmare.

Liu Zheng knelt forward, kowtowing forcefully, each time harder than the last, begging: “Emperor’s Consort, spare our lives, spare our lives. That handwritten letter is under the wooden bed where this commoner currently rents in Copper Bend Alley on West Street.”

Pei Yuanshao gave Hong Lian behind him a meaningful look. She understood immediately and quickly rushed out of the secret room.

“Send these three to the underground water prison in the mansion!”

He didn’t even look at the three begging people. At this moment, the beating of his heart had long since lost its rhythm with the words “handwritten letter.”

When he walked out of the secret room, the sky was gloomy, looking like it was about to rain again.

Pei Yuanshao ordered someone to bring out a rocking chair. He sat under the old locust tree in Xihuan Court. This old locust tree was identical to the one in Xiqiao Village three years ago.

When Pei Yuanshao was in a restless mood, he liked to sit under the tree. The fresh scent of grass and wood at the tip of his nose made it seem as if she was there too.

When Hong Lian presented that handwritten letter, Pei Yuanshao closed his eyes for a moment.

With trembling hands, he opened the envelope.

On the yellowed paper, there were only two lines, without a signature or a closing.

One glance was enough to know it was written for him.

“I’m leaving this place. If fate allows us to meet again, and you recognize me, shall we get to know each other anew? Remember, my name is Liu Changning, courtesy name Cang Yun.”

Tears rolled uncontrollably down the corners of Pei Yuanshao’s eyes. He looked up at the sky.

The sky was obscured by dark clouds, heavy with rain, on the verge of falling but not quite.

That person’s gentle treatment was real. She said her name was Cang Yun.

She said that since she had taken his body, she would marry him.

But he was unwilling to believe it!

It wasn’t that he hadn’t noticed, but that he was unwilling to believe, lacking confidence.

Afraid! Afraid that the identity of the Chang Emperor’s Consort would ruin Liu Changning, the top scholar from a humble family.

If Pei Ziyuan, who held great power and influence over the court, were to marry Liu Cang Yun from the humble and upright lineage.

He would surely ruin her.

But he loved her…

She said she would marry him.

Who could resist such temptation?

Pei Yuanshao clenched his fists. His past and present lives were both bitter.

Power and glory compared to her seemed like passing clouds.

For the sake of the country, the nation, and the world, he had given her up once.

Once was the limit! This time he didn’t want to let go.

Even if she had another man in her heart, he had to win her back. If he didn’t fight for her, he would have nothing…

She said she would marry him!

Pei Yuanshao raised his hand to wipe the tears from his face. He straightened his clothes and got into the carriage.

The blue-canopied black carriage sped all the way, driving straight to stop at the entrance of the Imperial Study.

He lifted the carriage curtain, looking at the majestic palace before him.

The words of the Yongtai Emperor echoed in his mind.

“You were born the eldest, you should assist the young emperor…”

He was born the eldest, but the fifth sister was already of age…

How could the art of imperial power tolerate him! He originally had no attachments, no desire for life or death.

Being the one to stick his neck out, to return this world to a prosperous dynasty, was fine.

But now, he wanted her! He wanted that night of ecstasy…

The country, the Pei family dynasty, shouldn’t be his burden alone!