Mountains and rivers are waiting for you to return

Chapter 54: Criticisms
Pei Nai's eyes flashed with pain, and she turned away, "I hope he will never know."

There was a sense of certainty in her words. Xiao Mingyi knew what happened in the past and roughly understood her thoughts.

"You don't have to worry about Mr. Tang's affairs anymore." Xiao Mingyi said again.

Pei Nai felt slightly pleased, as Xiao Mingyi seemed willing to help her.

"So what are you going to do next? Ju Yan is his man. If you stay in the Ju Mansion, it's like you're under his nose. Sooner or later, he'll find out. The only place in Chaoyang City that's not under his control is the palace. If you want to enter the palace, I can arrange it."

"That's not necessary. I still want to be able to come and go more freely." Pei Nai answered him.

Xiao Mingyi refilled Pei Nai's water and asked calmly, "When did you come back?"

"On the tenth anniversary of my death."

Clear water gurgles down and the fragrance of tea fills the air.

Xiao Mingyi put the teapot aside and asked, "Have you seen the monk Zhongchuan?"

"I saw him, and I learned a few palm techniques from him."

Xiao Mingyi looked over with confusion, "Did you ask about the Hun Shu piece you mentioned just now, and the matter of being reborn in someone else's body?"

Pei Nai scratched his head and smiled awkwardly, "He said something very mysterious, but he didn't make it very clear, so I didn't understand."

"Where is that piece of tree now?"

Pei Nai opened her mouth, curled her tongue inward, and looked up at him.

Xiao Mingyi took a closer look and frowned slightly, "Does it hurt?"

Pei Nai shook his head, "It doesn't hurt."

"You are always so stubborn. On my nine-year-old birthday, you made a gift for me with your own hands. Your hand was pierced by a piece of wood. When I asked you about it, you said it didn't hurt. I only knew that you made something related to wood. Before I could find where you hid it, you led your troops to the battlefield and never came back."

Pei Nai understood what he meant and looked at him with raised eyebrows. "I am really Pei Nai, don't try me. The clue is hidden under your inkstone. With your ability, it is impossible not to find it."

Xiao Mingyi chuckled helplessly, "I can't hide it from you."

He recalled something and added, "That wood carving is very delicate and small. I doubt it was made by you."

Pei Nai didn't argue with him, but was a little excited, "Does it look like you?"

Xiao Mingyi met her gaze and replied reluctantly, "There is some charm."

Pei Nai smiled and said, "I was going to make a clay figurine for you on Gossip Street before, but something went wrong and I had to put it on hold. This can be considered as making up for my regret for you."

Xiao Mingyi's lips curled up, and he didn't bother to argue with her about whose regret it was.

"I was testing you just now. It's not that I don't trust you, but this matter is too bizarre. I have to make sure whether you are the one he trained."

Pei Nai understood that the "he" was referring to Gu Jinheng.

She waved her hand, "It's okay, I'm a magnanimous person and don't care."

Xiao Mingyi didn't say anything else, only asked: "Have you had lunch?"

Pei Nai shook his head, "Never."

"I'll go out and tell them that we will have dinner in Qianming Palace today."

Perhaps because he had been emperor for too long, Xiao Mingyi's words were full of unquestionable majesty, and his tone was very different from before, as if he didn't give Pei Nai a chance to choose.

Pei Nai was slightly stunned, but still nodded.

She could imagine that the Yulin Army had probably already surrounded the Qianming Palace and imposed layers of martial law.

Xiao Mingyi also thought of this, and went out first to evacuate these people to avoid scaring her.

But it doesn't matter. She hasn't had a meal with Xiao Mingyi for a long time.

By the time she and Xiao Mingyi finished reminiscing about the past, the sun had already set, and the sky was filled with rays of light, as gorgeous as a brocade.

Sitting in the carriage that Xiao Mingyi specially arranged to take her out of the palace, Pei Nai looked a little dazed.

When she was in the palace, she asked Xiao Mingyi to send someone to say hello to Yixi.

Because Yixi could not stay in the palace for a long time, she felt that Yixi was worried about her and would definitely not go back to Prince Guangping's Mansion directly. She would most likely be waiting for her not far from the palace gate.

As expected, the people below passed the message up and told Princess Chen Zhao what Pei Nai had said outside the palace gate, so Princess Chen Zhao returned home first.

Thinking of this, Pei Nai's mouth corners involuntarily rose a little.

But she still felt a little melancholy and depressed, probably because she left Xiao Mingyi and went to Ju Mansion. At this moment, she no longer felt like returning home.

For a moment I didn’t know where home was.

The carriage soon arrived at the main gate of the Ju Mansion, and the place was no longer as lively as before.

Pei Nai felt relieved, got off the carriage and walked into the Ju Mansion.

As soon as she returned, the servants rushed to inform Madam Ju.

Mrs. Ju called her over without waiting for her to rest.

It was pretty much what Pei Nai thought. Madam Ju came to her to discuss marriage again. However, she didn't expect that these rich and powerful families were more outrageous than she thought.

Some high-ranking noble families had already sent in the gifts for the marriage proposal by taking advantage of their good relationship with Madam Ju.

Does this mean forcing them to make a decision as soon as possible?
Pei Nai was extremely helpless.

She advised Mrs. Ju to send someone to return the gift and stated that she had no intention of getting married.

Mrs. Ju also said that she was caught off guard by these people. She had never seen such a situation where the betrothal gifts were sent to the girl's family before the two parties had discussed the marriage.

It was already late today, so she planned to have someone return the items tomorrow.

Pei Nai was worried that she had forgotten about this, so he planned to remind her the next day.

But who would have thought
It was still early morning the next day when the light was dim.

Before they could send someone to return the gifts, the matchmakers knocked on the door again and rushed in, but their faces had changed drastically.

Pei Nai was delayed by some matters today and went out to practice martial arts a little late.

Just as he was about to climb over the wall to leave, he heard a noisy sound coming from the main gate of Ju's mansion.

She thought about it, put the spear back and prepared to go and take a look.

"The man will not take back the betrothal gift, but Miss Tang already had an engagement in Huizhou. Although they haven't gotten married yet, there is clearly a stain. Didn't you make fun of us by not making it clear beforehand?" A matchmaker shouted loudly, seeking justice.

Other matchmakers also responded, "Yes, I have been in this business for decades and have never seen anything like this!"

They stood in the main courtyard, with the gate open.

Countless passers-by were looking in from outside the door, wanting to get a glimpse of what was going on.

"Don't talk nonsense. We are innocent. When did we have an engagement?" Mrs. Ju was furious.

The matchmakers were concerned about their own jobs for the rest of their lives and felt that the Ju family was in the wrong in this matter.

Moreover, this time they had the support of nobles behind them, so they bluntly retorted: "Madam Ju, you have a bad memory. You may have forgotten about Miss Tang a long time ago, but she had a fiancé who passed away. She admitted it herself, so it can't be false!"

Pei Nai came out at this moment.

The matchmaker who took the lead in speaking was probably a little wary of the rumors about her after the Dengyun Heroes Conference. She shrank her neck and fell silent at the end of her voice.

"Where did you hear the words that I had a deceased fiancé?" Pei Nai asked.

(End of this chapter)