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

Chapter 166 Noticing Something Strange
Xiang Ning naturally had plenty to say, while Manager Xu watched the two exchange pleasantries.

He seemed to have thought of something and stepped forward to interject at the opportune moment.

"Master, shall I take you upstairs to have a look?"

He broke the silence between the two with a smile, as Manager Xu didn't want the embroidery shop to go bankrupt before it even opened.

After all, when Pei Yanzhi brought Xiang Ning last time, he protected her very closely.

Upon hearing this, Lu Jiang's eyes flashed with interest: "You're opening a shop? That's great! What kind of business will you be in?"

However, Manager Xu's words did not deter Lu Jiang; on the contrary, they piqued his interest even more.

He looked at Xiang Ning with curiosity, his eyes full of questions.

Xiang Ning smiled and introduced, "It's an embroidery shop. I love embroidery and wanted to find a way to make a living in the capital, so I opened this shop. Young Master Lu is knowledgeable and experienced. If you have any novel embroidery designs or business strategies, I hope you will not hesitate to teach me."

She spoke humbly, genuinely hoping to get Lu Jiang's advice, after all, he had traveled all over the country and his knowledge must be extraordinary.

With Lu Jiang's experience, she will be able to learn many things that Pei Yanzhi doesn't know.

Lu Jiang looked around, pondered for a moment, and then spoke.

"In my opinion, if an embroidery workshop wants to stand out, in addition to exquisite embroidery, it must also have something unique."

"For example, some embroidery patterns that are not commonly seen in Beijing, or some things that are hard to find."

In short, if you want to stand out, you must first be different from others.

Upon hearing this, Xiang Ning nodded slightly: "Young Master Lu is absolutely right."

The two became so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't even notice when Pei Yanzhi arrived.

If he hadn't pulled Xiang Ning into his arms, she wouldn't have noticed.

"Pei Lang?"

"I was worried about you since you haven't been back for a long time, so I came to check on you."

After saying this, Pei Yanzhi looked up at Lu Jiang, but that one glance was full of warning and danger.

Lu Jiang accepted Pei Yanzhi's inexplicable hostility, but only smiled slightly.

"Lord Pei, please don't misunderstand. I just thought that Miss Xiangning is the same age as my sister, so I wanted to take extra care of her."

"Young Master is looking for his sister; has he come looking for me?"

He curled his lips into a mocking smile, and Lu Jiang's expression immediately changed: "That's not what I meant."

When did Pei Yanzhi become so sharp-tongued and sarcastic?
Pei Yanzhi scoffed coldly, his eyes icy: "Young Master, you needn't trouble yourself to take care of A Ning. This capital is a mixed bag; Young Master would be better off worrying about your own affairs."

His arms were tightly wrapped around Xiang Ning, as if he were asserting his ownership and afraid that Xiang Ning would be taken away by someone else.

When Lu Jiang said that Xiang Ning resembled his sister, Pei Yanzhi's heart tightened, and he almost gave himself away.

Seeing this, Xiang Ning felt helpless and gently patted Pei Yanzhi's arm.

“Young Master Pei, Young Master Lu was only offering advice out of kindness and had no other intentions.”

She tried to ease the tense atmosphere between the two, not wanting a misunderstanding to ruin their relationship.

Xiang Ning couldn't understand why Pei Yanzhi was being so aggressive today.

Pei Yanzhi frowned slightly, a dark glint flashing in his eyes as he looked at Xiang Ning: "A Ning."

He looked down at Xiang Ning and whispered in her ear, "I'm a little jealous."

His voice was filled with grievance and resentment, which stirred something in Xiang Ning's heart.

Seeing this, Lu Jiang sighed softly, cupped his hands and said, "I apologize for my rudeness and for disturbing you today. Farewell."

He didn't want to cause more conflict between the two of them, and he didn't want to put Xiang Ning in a difficult position.

After Lu Jiang left, Xiang Ning turned to look at Pei Yanzhi, her face full of confusion: "Lu Jiang didn't mean that."

"But I'm so anxious and insecure, so can't A-Ning avoid contact with Lu Jiang for my sake?"

He never expected that despite all his precautions, the two of them would still meet.

This was an accident, but what about next time? What if Yi Lujiang really finds out something? What if Yi Lujiang knows that Xiang Ning is his sister? What will he do then?

Thinking of this, Pei Yanzhi wished he could hide Xiang Ning away and prevent anyone from ever seeing her.

She is his, and always will be.

Xiang Ning looked at the undisguised possessiveness in Pei Yanzhi's eyes, and felt a mix of emotions.

He never spoke so bluntly, so when Xiang Ning heard it, she didn't know how to respond for a moment.

However, Xiang Ning didn't want Pei Yanzhi to overthink things, especially at such a critical juncture.

At least she couldn't arouse Pei Yanzhi's suspicion and doubt.

After a moment of silence, she spoke softly, "Pei Lang, I understand your feelings. I promise you that in the future, when I interact with Lu Jiang, I will take your feelings into consideration and will never let you misunderstand."

Her gaze was sincere and firm as she looked directly at Pei Yanzhi, as if she wanted to convey her determination to him.

Hearing Xiang Ning's words, Pei Yanzhi's tense expression eased slightly. He sighed softly, pulled Xiang Ning into his arms, and rested his chin on the top of her head.

“Ah Ning, I am narrow-minded and intolerant of others. I lose my composure whenever I think about losing you.”

She was his only loss of control, and his only remaining depravity.

Pei Yanzhi tightened his arms, as if trying to integrate Xiang Ning into his own bones and blood.

Xiang Ning leaned against Pei Yanzhi's chest, listening to his strong heartbeat, and she raised her hand to hug Pei Yanzhi back.

"Since you're here, why don't we take a look at the embroidery workshop together?"

She tried to change the subject and free Pei Yanzhi from his feelings of gain and loss.

Pei Yanzhi released Xiang Ning and nodded slightly. He knew that Xiang Ning was just trying to coax him, but so what? At least she was still willing to coax him.

Now, he really doesn't care about Xiang Ning at all.

The two stayed in the embroidery workshop for a while before returning home.

Neither of them noticed that Lu Jiang had been sitting for a long time on the second floor of the teahouse opposite the embroidery workshop.

When Tang Yanjun arrived at the teahouse, he saw Lu Jiang sitting by the window drinking tea.

"You really made me search all over the place."

"Brother Tang, could you help me investigate Miss Xiang Ning's matter?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Yanjun paused in his act of sitting down.

"Miss Xiang Ning is... Lord Pei's concubine?"

"Yes, but if it's too much trouble, then forget it."

Lu Jiang shook his head slightly, his eyes full of struggle, his fingers unconsciously stroking the edge of the teacup.

"I always felt that she gave me a different feeling. Seeing Pei Yanzhi so nervous today has only piqued my curiosity more."

"For a moment, I even suspected that she was Asahi."

Sometimes, a person's feelings are more accurate than evidence.

He looked up at Tang Yanjun, his eyes filled with earnestness.

"Brother Tang, you have a wide network of connections. If you could help me find out a thing or two, I would be extremely grateful."

Tang Yanjun frowned slightly, looking troubled.

“Brother Lu, Lord Pei is not someone to be trifled with. We all know how much he cherishes Miss Xiang Ning. If he finds out about your rash investigation, it could cause you a lot of trouble.”

"Furthermore, since Miss Xiangning has already entered the Pei family, her status and position are already established. It is inappropriate for us to interfere in the affairs of the Pei family's inner circle."

As he spoke, he poured himself a cup of tea, trying to ease the heavy atmosphere in the air.

"However, since it was Brother Lu who asked me to do this, I will give it a try."

(End of this chapter)