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

Chapter 193 Wife Release Letter

Upon hearing this, Pei Yanzhi's face darkened, and he exuded a chilling aura.

His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, and he smiled faintly, saying, "Think carefully before you answer. If you say the wrong thing, you'll lose your life."

Upon hearing Pei Yanzhi's words, Ren Hui trembled with fear, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

“Lord Pei, I really know very little. I have only heard that Prince Qing has several secret strongholds in Tingzhou, but I have no idea about their specific locations or purposes.”

"Then why don't you lead the way?"

Pei Yanzhi withdrew his gaze and gestured for Ren Hui to lead the way.

Ren Hui stood up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. The moment he turned around, there was no trace of fear of Pei Yanzhi in his eyes.

He said he needed to go back to his study to get something, and Pei Yanzhi followed him with his men.

However, Ren Hui suddenly seemed like a different person as soon as he entered the study.

Taking advantage of Pei Yanzhi's lack of vigilance, she threw the inkstone on the table at him.

Pei Yanzhi's eyes sharpened, and he quickly dodged to the side. The inkstone whistled past his sleeve and slammed heavily against the wall behind him, shattering into pieces.

"court death?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ren Hui smiled smugly and threw the thing in his hand out the window.

A bluish-purple firework shot into the sky, and Pei Yanzhi frowned slightly.

"Take it."

The people behind him immediately stepped forward to grab Ren Hui.

Pei Yanzhi drew his longsword instantly, pointing it at Ren Hui's throat.

Ren Hui remained calm and composed, a strange smile playing on his lips.

"Pei Yanzhi, do you think I'll be so easily manipulated by you? Let me tell you the truth, you won't be leaving Tingzhou alive."

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of men in black wielding sharp blades surged out from all directions, surrounding Pei Yanzhi and his men.

Pei Yanzhi remained calm, showing no fear whatsoever.

"What makes you think you can trap me with just these people?"

With that, he moved swiftly, his longsword flashing in his hand, and several men in black fell into pools of blood in an instant.

Pei Yanzhi's men were not to be outdone, and they drew their weapons and engaged in a fierce battle with the men in black.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Ren Hui secretly retreated towards the hidden door of the study.

Pei Yanzhi caught a glimpse of Ren Hui's actions out of the corner of his eye, and he threw the longsword in his hand at Ren Hui.

The longsword was instantly pinned to the pillar, blocking Ren Hui's path.

"Want to run?"

Pei Yan stepped forward, grabbed Ren Hui by the collar, and slammed him to the ground.

Ren Hui looked at Pei Yanzhi in horror: "You...you mustn't kill me, I can tell you all of Prince Qing's secrets."

Just then, a hidden weapon flew swiftly from outside the window, heading straight for Pei Yanzhi's face.

Pei Yanzhi quickly dodged to the side, and the hidden weapon flew past his cheek; it turned out to be a poisoned weapon.

When he turned around to look again, Ren Hui was already lying on the ground, lifeless.

"Sir, what should we do now?"

The men brought by Pei Yanzhi frowned deeply as they looked at Ren Hui, who had already passed away.

Now that Ren Hui is dead, their leads have gone cold again.

Search here.

After saying this, Pei Yanzhi used his long sword to cut open Ren Hui's clothes, and then found a booklet that had been pierced in his chest.

He used his sword to lift it up, took the booklet, and left the study.

Pei Yanzhi took the booklet to the open space outside the study and examined it carefully by the light of the torch.

The booklet was soaked in blood, and the writing was somewhat blurred, but some key information could still be discerned.

Some names and strange symbols are faintly recorded on it, which seem to be some kind of code or cipher.

By this time, Pei Yanzhi's men had dealt with most of the men in black and cleaned up the battlefield.

Pei Yanzhi coldly ordered, "Search everything on these men in black and see if there are any other clues." His men obeyed and began a thorough search.

A short while later, one of the men found a token on a man in black. The token had the character "庆" engraved on it, and the back had some intricate patterns.

Pei Yanzhi compared the token and the booklet together, trying to find a connection between the two.

Suddenly, he noticed that a symbol on the booklet was extremely similar to the pattern on the token, as if it were hinting at something.

Pei Yanzhi's heart skipped a beat; he felt that these clues might point to an important stronghold of Prince Qing in Tingzhou.

Tingzhou and Shangjing are not close, but Lu Yongkang still wants to send Lu Jiamin to Tingzhou.

There must be a stronghold of Lu Yongkang here, or at least a way out.

However, he was careless and let Ren Hui send the message out.

Thinking of this, Pei Yanzhi's eyes grew even darker, and he raised his hand to signal the people behind him to come forward.

He gave the man an order, and the man obeyed and left, disappearing from the scene shortly afterward.

Pei Yanzhi put away the booklet and the token and left.

At this moment, Xiang Ning in Ling An met an unexpected person.

"Chenghua? What are you doing here?"

Xiang Ning's expression was somewhat complicated when she saw Cheng Hua.

Chenghua smiled and said, "What you said is right, Miss has indeed not forgotten us."

Upon hearing this, Xiang Ning opened her lips, but didn't know what to say.

Chenghua took the box from his hands and placed it on the table next to him.

"This is something Master asked me to give to the young lady."

Upon hearing this, Xiang Ning looked down and frowned when she saw the box.

"Don't be surprised, young lady. I've already prepared all these things."

Cheng Hua saw the question mark in Xiang Ning's eyes, took a deep breath, and opened the box.

"These were originally prepared by the master for the young lady: the keys to the money shop, as well as some land deeds and house deeds, although the young lady no longer needs them."

"And this sachet, I found it while I was packing my things."

After saying these two sentences, Chenghua said no more, and Xiangning stepped forward and picked up the sachet.

She thought it would be hard to get, but she got it just like that.

"Thank you. I only need this sachet. Please take the rest back with you."

Upon hearing this, Chenghua shook his head: "This was given to the young lady by the master. I have no right to take it away and dispose of it."

"My mission is complete. Farewell."

After saying that, Cheng Hua left. Xiang Ning looked at the box, her eyes flickering slightly.

Everything inside was prepared by Pei Yanzhi for her. According to Cheng Hua, he must have prepared these things after she said she didn't know him.

Xiang Ning closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Just as she was about to close the lid, she saw a letter on the lid.

She frowned and reached out to take it.

Pei Yanzhi's handwriting was easy to recognize; it was bold and unrestrained, completely different from his personality.

When Xiang Ning saw the words "To A Ning" on the cover, her hand paused involuntarily.

She opened the letter, and the three words that caught her eye were: a letter of divorce.

In that instant, Xiang Ning felt as if she had been struck in the heart, experiencing a slight stinging pain.

'My beloved, this letter is as if we were face to face. If you see this letter, perhaps it will be a relief for both of us.'

He wrote, "Whether you hate me, forget me, don't miss me, or don't want to see me, it doesn't matter."

I just want you to be happy.

He had never pleaded like this before, nor had he ever hoped for it.

If forgetting him would be a relief for her, if that's the price he should pay.

(End of this chapter)