After the favored concubine remarried, the aloof and powerful minister forcibly took her away.

Chapter 117 He Treats You Differently

Xiang Ning hid in the shadows, listening to the footsteps gradually fade into the distance before daring to emerge from the darkness.

Cheng Hua had already mounted his horse and disappeared around the corner.

"Miss Xiang'er? Are you here to deliver clothes to Madam?"

Lord Lin's voice came from afar. Xiang Ning came back to her senses and looked at him: "Yes, I heard that Madam Lin is ill and cannot be separated from her. I came to bring her winter clothes."

Xiang Ning buried her face completely in her scarf, making it difficult to see her face clearly.

His voice was somewhat muffled, but Lord Lin chuckled upon hearing this: "Come in quickly, it's cold outside."

Upon hearing this, Xiang Ning hesitated for a moment before walking towards the Lin residence.

Lord Lin is just a minor official in the Yangzhou government. How could he possibly have any connection with Chenghua?
Xiang Ning was curious about Cheng Hua's purpose in coming to Yangzhou.

"Miss Xiang'er is here? Thank you for your trouble. Give me the clothes."

Just then, Madam Lin's maid came out to get something and greeted Xiang Ning.

Xiang Ning placed the clothes in her hands and then looked at Lord Lin.

"Lord Lin, that person I just saw at the entrance of the Lin residence looks familiar. May I ask, is he...?"

"You know him?"

Lord Lin asked a question in return, and Xiang Ning shook her head.

"It just looks somewhat familiar."

Upon hearing Xiang Ning's words, Lord Lin looked at her and said, "That's an official from the Dali Temple in the capital. He said he's arresting a fugitive."

"look."

As he spoke, Lord Lin unfolded the portrait that Chenghua had given him.

Xiang Ning watched as Lord Lin took out a piece of paper, and her heart felt like it was stuck in her throat.

Until the paper was unfolded in front of Xiang Ning, Xiang Ning looked at the person on it and, as if exhausted, took a step back.

The portrait was of a man, not her.

"If this fugitive could alarm the officials in the capital, he must be quite important."

Xiang Ning took a deep breath and said this. Lord Lin smiled and said, "Who knows? Lord Cheng just said that once we find this person, we should go find him immediately."

"Is he, sir, going to stay in Yangzhou?"

The question that slipped out startled Lord Lin. Xiang Ning realized she had asked too many questions and quickly said, "I was just a little curious."

"Lord Lin, if there's nothing else, I'll head back now."

Xiang Ning gave Lord Lin a simple, honest smile, and then left.

Lord Lin frowned, feeling for some reason that Xiang'er's reaction just now was somewhat strange.

However, Lord Lin didn't think much of it, shook his head, and went into the house.

After leaving the Lin residence, Xiang Ning headed back to the embroidery workshop.

Since Chenghua said that Lord Lin should go to him once he finds the person, it means that Chenghua intends to stay in Yangzhou.

Xiang Ning swallowed hard and pulled her scarf up a little.

Pei Yanzhi is truly a persistent ghost; is he a spirit?
"Xiang'er, you're back!"

As soon as Xiang Ning entered the embroidery workshop, she heard Shuang Lu's voice. She looked up and met Pei Mingxiu's gaze, who was sitting in the workshop's main hall.

"Third, young master?"

"You know this young man?"

Shuanglu smiled and took Xiangning's hand, leading her forward: "This young man said he wanted to make two sets of winter clothes, and he even mentioned you."

As they spoke, the two walked into the hall.

Since their parting in the snow, Xiang Ning and Pei Mingxiu have never seen each other again.

I thought Pei Mingxiu had finished his business in Yangzhou and had already returned home.

"Miss Shuanglu, could you please bring me some fabric to look at?"

Pei Mingxiu sat there, holding a cup of tea in his hand, and looked up at Shuanglu and said something.

He was handsome and spoke with great elegance. Shuanglu blushed and quickly agreed.

After Shuanglu left, only Xiangning and Pei Mingxiu remained, and the sound of embroiderers weaving cloth could be heard in the distance.

She heard him ask, "Are you settling in well in Yangzhou?"

Having been in Yangzhou for quite some time, Pei Mingxiu had always known that Xiang Ning was here. However, considering her wariness, he refrained from disturbing her.

I came here today because I learned that Chenghua had come to Yangzhou.

He had just seen Chenghua that morning.

Chenghua said he came to Yangzhou to find a fugitive, but whether he was secretly looking for Xiangning, no one knew.

"Chenghua has come to Yangzhou."

Xiang Ning pursed her lips and remained silent, so Pei Mingxiu spoke up.

"I know, I've seen it."

Only then did she react in another way, and she spoke to Pei Mingxiu.

"You saw Chenghua?"

Pei Mingxiu was somewhat surprised, a hint of confusion in his eyes. If Xiang Ning saw Cheng Hua, could she still return safely?

Xiang Ning saw the confusion in Pei Mingxiu's eyes and said, "I hid and didn't run into him. What brings you here, Third Young Master?"

She was unwilling to get too close to the Pei family, but Pei Mingxiu really meant no harm.

Xiang Ning had no idea what he wanted by pestering her so many times.
"I came here to talk to you about Chenghua, but I didn't expect you to have already met him."

Pei Mingxiu placed the teacup in his hand on the table beside him and said this.

"Thank you for your kindness, Third Young Master."

"If you don't want your identity to be exposed, you'd better call me by my name from now on, or you can call me Pei Lang."

Hearing Xiang Ning repeatedly refer to him as "Third Young Master," Pei Mingxiu suppressed the dark glint in his eyes.

She was very wary and suspicious of him.

However, Pei Mingxiu thought that her attitude was directed at everyone in the Pei family.

She didn't want to have any further entanglement with the Pei family.

Xiang Ning was taken aback, then understood what Pei Mingxiu meant.

No one knows Pei Mingxiu's identity. If she calls him the Third Young Master, wouldn't that be an admission of guilt?

"Thank you for reminding me, Third...Young Master Pei."

Xiang Ning would never call him Pei Lang; that's a term of endearment used between lovers.

She and Pei Mingxiu have no relation whatsoever.

Pei Mingxiu smiled, and seeing Shuanglu come out out of the corner of his eye, he didn't say anything more.

"Take a look at these fabrics, which ones do you like?"

Shuanglu placed the pieces of cloth in her hand next to Pei Mingxiu. He looked at them and picked out two pieces.

"That's all. I've heard that Miss Xiang'er is very skilled. Thank you for your help."

After speaking, Ping An stepped forward to tell Xiang Ning his measurements, paid the deposit, and told her the style of clothes he wanted. Pei Mingxiu then left.

Shuanglu held a long ruler in her hands, watching Pei Mingxiu's figure gradually disappear into the snow.

Then she turned around and looked around at Xiang Ning: "Could it be that this Young Master Pei has feelings for you?"

Upon hearing this, Xiang Ning's eyes widened considerably.

"What did you say?"

Xiang Ning gently nudged Shuang Lu, truly terrified by her bold words.

"My intuition must be right. If he wasn't interested in you, why would he personally come to ask you to make clothes?"

"And the way he looks at you is unusual."

Shuanglu shook the long ruler in her hand and clicked her tongue twice.

You can tell a man's character just by looking into his eyes.

The way that young master Pei looked at Xiang'er was somewhat different; it seemed to be a kind of possessiveness.

Xiang Ning shook her head helplessly and flicked Shuang Lu's forehead: "Yes, yes, you, Miss Shuang Lu, have seen countless people, so you must know that I can't make all of Pei Langjun's clothes by myself."

"I'll have to trouble you to help me."

"They're looking for you, not me!"

The sounds of their playful banter mingled together, and Wang Niangzi and the others in the distance joined in the laughter.

(End of this chapter)