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

Chapter 77 He suddenly regretted teaching her.
"Don't let her get close to me from now on."

After saying this, Pei Yanzhi closed his eyes again.

Chenghua nodded knowingly: "Master only wants Miss Xiangning to serve him."

For some reason, Chenghua felt a little sad.

Ever since Xiang Ning arrived, he's had to step aside.

"She doesn't want to serve me."

Pei Yanzhi murmured something softly, and Cheng Hua exclaimed "Ah!" but didn't quite catch what Pei Yanzhi meant.

"You go out."

Upon hearing this, Chenghua said with some concern, "Sir, you can't be left alone. Why don't I stay and take care of you?"

However, Pei Yanzhi insisted, so Chenghua had no choice but to leave.

After he left, Pei Yanzhi opened his eyes and sat up.

Actually, while he was unconscious, he vaguely heard a lot of what Xiang Ning and Fu Liu said.

Xiang Ning's words were telling Pei Yanzhi what she was thinking.

He said she was a liar.

A liar who spouts nonsense without thinking.

The next day, after a good night's rest, Xiang Ning had just arrived at the door of Pei Yanzhi's room when she saw Cheng Hua sitting on the steps guarding her.

"Chenghua, go and rest. Fuliu and I can handle things here."

Cheng Hua was shallow-sighted, but he came to his senses after hearing Xiang Ning's words.

"Miss Xiang Ning."

"Fu Liu was guarding you last night, why didn't you go in and sleep?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Hua turned to look at Fu Liu beside him. Xiang Ning followed his gaze and their eyes met.

Fu Liu was so frightened by Pei Yanzhi last night that she still hasn't recovered.

Upon seeing Xiang Ning, she forced a smile: "Sister Xiang Ning."

What happened last night?

Upon hearing Xiang Ning's concerned words, Fu Liu inexplicably felt very wronged.

She got up and walked towards Xiang Ning: "When the master woke up last night, he saw that it was me serving him and he scolded me severely."

Upon hearing this, Xiang Ning nodded; she had anticipated this situation.

"That's just my temper. I'll get used to it. Don't take it to heart."

Xiang Ning offered a word of comfort, and Fu Liu nodded to indicate that she was alright. Everyone in the Pei family knew about the young master's temperament.

She had made preparations long before she arrived.

However, since she had just arrived at Qingyi Residence, she couldn't appear too calm in front of the young master.

After all, men prefer gentle and delicate women.

Xiang Ning looked at Fu Liu, her eyes sparkling, lost in thought.

She didn't say much, pushed open the door and went inside.

Pei Yanzhi had a wound on his back that hadn't scabbed over yet. To avoid getting it stained with blood, his upper body was bare, with only his lower body covered by a brocade quilt.

When Xiang Ning came in, Pei Yanzhi was still asleep.

She wet the handkerchief, wrung it out, and sat down next to Pei Yanzhi. The moment the warm handkerchief touched Pei Yanzhi's face, he opened his eyes.

"Master, it's your servant."

Upon hearing this, Pei Yanzhi nodded in response.

“Master is seriously injured. The doctor said you will not be able to get up for some time. The First Madam was worried that there would not be enough people to take care of you in Mosong Garden, so she sent Fuliu over.”

As Xiang Ning spoke, she wiped Pei Yanzhi's face. When she took his hand, she paused.

"what happened?"

Pei Yanzhi, who had been silent with his eyes closed, asked a question, and Xiang Ning replied, "This servant knows that the First Madam sent Miss Fuliu here because she wanted her to be the master's concubine."

After speaking, Xiang Ning calmly observed Pei Yanzhi's reaction.

"So you knew."

Pei Yanzhi said calmly, "I thought you didn't know, which is why I wanted to keep her here."

"I am just a servant, how could I interfere with the decisions of the First Madam and the Old Madam?"

"If we stop Fuliu from coming in, I'm afraid the First Madam will find an excuse to sell the servants."

As Xiang Ning spoke, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Pei Yanzhi's reaction indicates that he also knows why Fu Liu came to Mosong Garden. Moreover, his outburst of anger upon waking last night stemmed from his dissatisfaction with him.

She was unhappy that she hadn't stayed by his bedside, which had given someone with ulterior motives an opportunity to take advantage of her.

Xiang Ning had no choice but to use words to elicit information and say a few more truthful things to lower Pei Yanzhi's guard.

"Her hands can't reach into my yard."

After saying that, Pei Yanzhi opened his eyes and looked at Xiang Ning: "Are you really that willing to hand me over to someone else?"

"This servant is unwilling, but the master does not belong to this servant alone."

Xiang Ning bent down and met Pei Yanzhi's eyes: "When you have a wife in the future, you will also have other concubines."

With so many women, Pei Yanzhi doesn't necessarily have to choose her.

She was just the first, nothing more.

Do I look like someone who would be attracted to beautiful women?

Pei Yanzhi grasped Xiang Ning's hand and pulled her closer: "Xiang Ning, if I want you and you're willing to stay, then there won't be anyone else by my side."

"Marrying a wife is an obligation I must fulfill as a descendant of the Pei family, arranged by my parents and matchmakers."

This was the first time he had explained his purpose in doing this to someone.

He also hoped that Xiang Ning could understand her importance in his heart.

Sometimes, Pei Yanzhi wished she were a fierce, domineering person.

This way, at least he can rest assured that she has ways to protect herself.

I used to hope she would be obedient, but now I hope she will be domineering.

“If it were someone else being jealous, I would just think she was being immature, but if it were you, I would be quite happy.”

After Pei Yanzhi finished speaking, he released Xiang Ning's hand.

These words carried such weight that Xiang Ning didn't know how to respond.

She lowered her eyes, her heart pounding wildly.

This is tantamount to Pei Yanzhi laying bare his position.

He likes her.

Help me up.

Xiang Ning hadn't come to her senses when she heard Pei Yanzhi's instruction.

"The doctor said you can't get out of bed yet..."

"It's alright, I know my body."

Pei Yanzhi insisted, so Xiang Ning had no choice but to bring him a piece of clothing to put on him and help him get up from the bed.

"There are a few folded documents on the desk, could you please fetch them for me?"

"I also need writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, as well as your calligraphy practice books."

Pei Yanzhi sat on the edge of the bed, his hands resting on the armrest.

Before long, Xiang Ning brought him what he wanted.

"Let's have breakfast first, then we can look at it."

Xiang Ning spoke up, and Pei Yanzhi reached out and took the calligraphy, placing it aside: "Go and serve the food, it won't delay you."

Helpless, Xiang Ning had no choice but to ask Cheng Hua to put the breakfast in the inner room.

Breakfast consisted of a bowl of plain porridge and some wild vegetables, all of which were easy to digest and light.

Pei Yanzhi didn't say anything and quickly finished using it.

He then had Xiang Ning sit aside and practice calligraphy while he dealt with the documents in his hands.

The two fell silent for a moment, with only the sound of the wolf-hair brush gliding across the paper and the sound of him turning the pages.

Xiang Ning can now recite a poem from memory without difficulty, which is a great improvement compared to before.

After finishing his official duties, Pei Yanzhi wrote a memorial to Mingxiang and then looked up at Xiang Ning's position.

She sat upright, like a child in school, with a serious expression.

In that instant, Pei Yanzhi wondered if she was studying so diligently so that one day she could escape from here and live a peaceful life.

Being able to read and write is the foundation for getting by.

He suddenly regretted teaching her.

Is teaching her to read and write a blessing or a curse?

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(End of this chapter)