Thrown out of the house, the wet nurse enters the noble household and becomes a person of high statu

Dark as ink.

The lone lamp cast an elongated shadow on the kneeling figure on the ground.

Pei Yaojun remained kneeling in the center of the courtyard, like a stubborn pine tree, showing no sign of yielding.

Ah Cai was so anxious he was pacing around in circles.

"Third Master, please heed the Duke's advice. What harm would it do to go to the Li residence and apologize? At least you can save your career!"

"The stone floor is cold, and kneeling for too long is bad for your health. How can your knees withstand it?"

Pei Yaojun uttered two words from his tightly pursed lips: "No need."

He has done nothing wrong, so he will never back down.

Even if he had to kneel until the end of time, even if he really lost his position as a political observer, he would never bow down to that Li Shilang who was trying to steal credit.

The night wind suddenly picked up, whipping up fallen leaves in the courtyard and rustling across the bluestone slabs.

A muffled rumble of thunder rolled across the distant horizon, and dark clouds pressed in, swallowing up the last glimmer of starlight.

It is going to rain.

Ah Cai was even more anxious, "Third Master, get up quickly, it's going to rain! You'll get sick if you get wet!"

Pei Yaojun remained motionless.

The rain came swiftly, starting suddenly and turning into a downpour in no time, accompanied by thunder that exploded across the night sky.

The cold rain streamed down Pei Yaojun's hair and collar, quickly soaking him completely.

Ah Cai knew he couldn't persuade his stubborn master no matter what, so he gritted his teeth, turned around, and ran out of the courtyard to fetch reinforcements.

Just as he rushed to the gate, he was greeted by a figure.

Liu Wenying held up an oil-paper umbrella in the rain.

Her light blue skirt was splattered with mud, indicating that she had walked quickly all the way.

"Nanny Liu, you've finally arrived!"

Ah Cai was overjoyed, as if he had grasped a lifeline.

Liu Wenying raised the edge of the umbrella slightly, her gaze passing over him.

The rain blurred the view, and the figure kneeling in the rain stood stubbornly straight, like a sharpened knife piercing into her eyes.

Liu Wenying's eyes stung a little. "I came to check...would I be disturbing you?"

When she heard from Ah Jin at Mingxi Hall that Third Master had an accident, her heart sank.

After hesitating for a whole night, I finally slipped over during my rest time.

"No! Absolutely not! Nanny Liu has come at the perfect time. Quickly, persuade Third Master; he'll collapse if he kneels any longer!"

The rain fell like a woven curtain, pouring down in torrents, splashing up countless droplets on the ground, the sound of the rushing water drowning out all other noises.

Pei Yaojun knelt in the rain, no longer feeling the pain in his knees.

My knees were numb and tingling, like two cold, hard stones that didn't belong to me.

Rain poured down from above, flowing over my eyelids and down my cheeks.

His head was bowed and his vision was blurred; the closest thing to him was the stone slab that had been washed clean by the rain.

And a small clump of moss stubbornly peeking out from the cracks in the stone slabs.

The rain overhead... suddenly lessened.

No, it's not that the rain has lessened.

The rain was blocked.

He raised his head blankly.

An oil-paper umbrella was quietly held above his head.

The umbrella surface is a plain apricot yellow with worn edges, and the ribs are made of bamboo, slender yet resilient.

The person holding the umbrella stood beside him.

She tilted the umbrella slightly forward, creating a small, rain-free canopy for him.

But she was slightly damp from the rain, and the loose strands of hair at her temples clung to her cheeks, like an orchid about to be broken in the rain.

Pei Yaojun stared at her blankly.

The rain continued to fall loudly, but the world under the umbrella suddenly fell silent.

He could only hear his own heart pounding like a drum, and the sobs he couldn't suppress rising in his throat.

I'm about to lose control, really.

His knees, which had been kneeling for most of the day, were no longer his own. His dignity had been crushed, his future was bleak, and even his father no longer believed him.

"Liu..." He opened his mouth, but found his throat was tight and blocked.

Liu Wenying bent down to look him in the eye.

Rain dripped from her hair, hitting the back of his hand and making him shiver from the cold.

"Third Master, let's go back. You'll get sick if you get caught in the rain, and someone will worry about you."

The softest corner of my heart was touched.

Pei Yaojun did something he hadn't expected.

He wrapped his arms around her slender waist and buried his face deep into her soft, warm belly.

It's like searching for a harbor, or drawing on the last bit of warmth.

Liu Wenying froze.

The umbrella swayed slightly in her hand, and rainwater swept in at an angle, wetting half of her shoulder.

But she didn't move, nor did she push him away.

Rainwater should be cold, but the dampness on my lower abdomen was warm.

He was crying.

Let's hug for a little while.

Liu Wenying raised her other hand and gently placed it on his wet head.

Gently and slowly stroking it, again and again.

It's like comforting a wounded, whimpering puppy.

It's still raining.

The world under the umbrella seemed to be isolated from it.

There were only two figures closely embracing each other, one kneeling and one standing.

The night was deep, and the road ahead was uncertain.

He just wanted to rest in her arms for a while.

Pei Yaojun buried his face in her lower abdomen, and the trembling on his shoulders gradually subsided.

It took him a long time to suppress his surging emotions.

Rain dripped down his chin, and he raised his hand to wipe it away, trying to wipe away the tears as well.

"Third Master, the Duke doesn't really want to punish you. Would you please lower your head a little?"

"I will not back down."

Bowing his head would mean he admits his mistake, but he has no mistake to admit.

"Minister Li deceived me first and then stole the credit. I just want justice."

If the world cannot even tolerate the word "fairness," then I'd rather not take this official position!

"Third Master..."

Liu Wenying wanted to persuade him further, but before she could speak, he coldly interrupted her: "A-Cai."

Ah Cai rushed over with an umbrella.

"Take her back."

Ah Cai was taken aback.

"Take her away! Don't you understand?"

Ah Cai was startled by his shout and had no choice but to grab Liu Wenying's arm.

"Nanny Liu, why don't you come back with me first? Let's discuss this further..."

Liu Wenying staggered as he pulled her along.

Looking back at Pei Yaojun, he was still kneeling in the rain, the dim light of the lantern falling on his soaked back, lonely and stubborn.

As soon as she stepped out of the courtyard gate, Liu Wenying broke free from A Cai's hand.

"Don't you want to try to persuade him again? That's heavy rain; even a person made of iron couldn't withstand it."

Ah Cai, his eyes red and choked with sobs, said, "How could I not want to? I've been kneeling since evening, and I haven't even had dinner yet."

"I've tried to persuade him countless times, but Third Master's mind is made up, and not even ten oxen could pull him back."

They all knew Third Master's temperament; once he made up his mind, no one could change it.

"Nanny Liu, it's already very kind of you to come see Third Master in the rain at night. Third Master and I will remember that..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Wenying felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

Some principles cannot be shaken by a few words of comfort.

He knelt for a long time, trying to prove himself to the Duke of Yu.

Thunder rumbled and the rain poured down like a waterfall.

Inside the main room of Hechun Hall, Madam Pei tossed and turned on the bed.

Outside the window, the rain poured down, and the wind whipped the shadows of the trees into a frenzy, as if trying to tear the heavens and the earth apart.

I threw back the covers again, ready to get out of bed.

"Lie down."

The voice of the Duke of Yu came from beside him.

"I'll go check on Jun'er. How can his body withstand such heavy rain? He's still just a child."

…………