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

Chapter 134 All You Need to Care About Now
Pei Yanzhi responded in a calm voice.

The princess's disappearance was a major event, but Empress Dowager Feng was afraid of affecting Lu Ruoyao's reputation, so she dared not make a big fuss about it.

Moreover, Pei Yanzhi was the person she trusted most. Hearing that he had gone to Yangzhou to handle a case, she urged him to come back quickly.

It's as if with Pei Yanzhi around, everything can be easily solved.

After finishing his business with Cheng Hua, Pei Yanzhi returned to his room.

Xiang Ning lay on the soft couch, fully clothed, and only touched a few bites of the food on the table.

He walked over and sat down on the soft couch: "Aren't you hungry?"

Hearing Pei Yanzhi's voice, Xiang Ning was startled awake. She turned to look at Pei Yanzhi.

Just now in the room, she thought about some things and wanted to ask Pei Yanzhi, but she was afraid that Pei Yanzhi would not answer her directly.

While struggling with this dilemma, I unknowingly fell asleep.

"I'll wait for Pei Lang to come back."

Not knowing what to say, Xiang Ning could only smile and reply with this.

Pei Yanzhi hummed in agreement and told her to get out of bed and eat.

There was a charcoal fire inside, and the food was still warm even though he hadn't been out for long.

The two sat at the table in silence.

"After returning to the capital, let's go to Xiangguo Temple to see Wen Caifu first."

Pei Yanzhi was the first to break the silence. Upon hearing this, Xiang Ning paused in her chopsticks.

"Miss Wen?"

She had heard about Wen Caifu when she was in Jinzhu Town. Did she go to Xiangguo Temple because of those rumors?

Sensing Xiang Ning's thoughts, Pei Yanzhi explained, "It's because of those things, but she does care about you and sent you some things."

Madam Pei was certain of Wen Caifu's character; otherwise, she wouldn't have chosen her as Pei Yanzhi's new wife.

Unfortunately, fate played a cruel trick on us, and such an unexpected turn of events occurred. We can only sigh helplessly at how shallow our connection was.

Xiang Ning never expected that Wen Caifu would still remember her under such circumstances.

"Okay, I'll listen to Pei Lang."

Xiang Ning agreed, lowering her eyes and becoming more obedient than ever before.

Pei Yanzhi saw her like this and didn't say anything more.

After the two finished their meal, Pei Yanzhi sat to one side handling some matters, while Xiang Ning sat beside him, holding the book that Pei Yanzhi had given her.

Even children's books seemed difficult to understand to Xiang Ning.

But Pei Yanzhi would occasionally free up his hands to teach her.

The only sounds in the room were the turning of pages and the occasional voice of Pei Yanzhi.

The candlelight flickered for a while, and after an unknown amount of time, when Pei Yanzhi finished his business and turned around, he saw that Xiang Ning had already fallen asleep on the table.

Pei Yanzhi always knew that she couldn't sleep well in the carriage.

The reason she couldn't sleep well was also related to him, because she dared not let her guard down when he was beside her.

Pei Yanzhi looked at Xiang Ning sleeping soundly, and a ripple of emotion stirred in his heart.

He knew Xiang Ning's fear and wariness of him, but he also longed to change the situation.

With the princess's disappearance imminent, Empress Dowager Feng's trust was both an honor and a heavy burden for him.

But at this moment, his thoughts involuntarily drifted to the woman beside him.

He recalled Xiang Ning's obedient response just now, her lowered eyes, unsure whether it was genuine compliance or a helpless act.

In the past, Pei Yanzhi would never have cared about these things.

He stood up and picked her up. Her hands unconsciously tugged at his clothes, as if she were dependent on him.

If it's genuine, that would be good.

The next morning, when Xiang Ning woke up, Pei Yanzhi was no longer in the room. She looked at the wrinkles in her clothes, still somewhat bewildered.

"Girl, are you awake?"

Just then, Cheng Hua's voice came from outside. Xiang Ning got up, patted her clothes, and went over: "What's wrong?"

"Master wants you to come down for breakfast. We're leaving now."

Xiang Ning followed Cheng Hua downstairs, where Pei Yanzhi was sitting at the table talking to his subordinates.

Upon seeing Xiang Ning, he seemed to crack like ice, a trace of warmth seeping out, his dark eyes sparkling with starlight.

The breakfast laid out on the table was exquisite and varied, with wisps of steam rising and a rich aroma permeating the surroundings, tantalizing the senses of the nose.

Ke Xiangning didn't have much of an appetite, and after sitting down, she ate in small bites.

Pei Yanzhi frowned slightly, his voice low: "We need to hurry on our journey. It's a long road, and we won't be resting along the way."

After saying that, he added, "Eat more."

Xiang Ning nodded obediently, looked up at him, their eyes met, and then she hurriedly looked away.

After the meal, the two boarded the carriage, and with a rumble, they continued their journey towards the capital.

Inside the carriage, Pei Yanzhi's gaze seemed tangible as it swept across Xiang Ning's thoughtful face.

After a short while, the silence was finally broken, with a hint of barely perceptible teasing: "Do you have something to ask me?"

Xiang Ning's heart rippled with emotion, and she hesitated, unsure whether to ask.

After a long silence, she parted her lips slightly, her voice barely audible: "I want to know if Huang Xu will bully Shuanglu and Miao Niangzi."

Her words were full of worry and concern. She left Yangzhou in a hurry and did not even say goodbye to them.

Huang Xu wielded absolute power in Yangzhou, and she feared he would take action against them.

Pei Yanzhi held the folded document in his hand, not even raising his head, and simply uttered a sentence: "At this moment, he should not be in the mood to cause trouble for others."

With those words from him, Zhu Zhang knew what to do.

Huang Xu is now mired in trouble and can barely protect himself, so he has no energy left to provoke others.

Upon hearing this, Xiang Ning felt a great weight lifted from her shoulders, as if a huge boulder had been lifted from her heart, and her tightly furrowed brows instantly relaxed.

"Thank you, sir...Young Master Pei."

Pei Yanzhi's lips curled up slightly, forming a meaningful arc, and he abruptly said, "I thought A Ning was going to ask Pei Mingxiu."

That voice was like a sharp sword, piercing straight into Xiang Ning's heart.

Xiang Ning froze abruptly, and it took her a long time to come to her senses before she hurriedly explained, "There's nothing between me and the Third Young Master."

"It's nothing. He's willing to go to great lengths for you. If there were anything, wouldn't you be running away with him?"

After speaking, the folding book snapped shut, as if severing some invisible bond.

He crossed his legs, then turned to the side, his eyes fixed intently on Xiang Ning.

"If A Ning hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten about it."

He's a man too, how could he not understand Pei Mingxiu's thoughts?
What Pei Mingxiu thought was unimportant; he only wanted to know what Xiang Ning thought.

"I only bumped into the Third Young Master by chance before. He asked me to keep it a secret. Perhaps he felt indebted to me, which is why he wanted to save me."

After Xiang Ning finished speaking, she reached out and grabbed Pei Yanzhi's sleeve.

She was afraid that if her explanation was not thorough enough, it would provoke Pei Yanzhi to take action against Pei Mingxiu.

Just as she opened her mouth to say something, Pei Yanzhi pinched her chin and leaned forward.

“A-Ning, you care about too many people. Right now, you only need to care about me.”

"I don't care what he does, but you absolutely mustn't have any other thoughts about him, understand?"

Great! With such a strong smell of vinegar, let's have dumplings tonight.

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(End of this chapter)