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

Pei Zeyu seemed to believe it.

The following questions all revolved around the Northern Di people, and he asked them in great detail.

I asked them how many people were in their group, whether the cage was made of iron or wood, and if they could be more specific about the strange noises coming from inside the cage.

Liu Wenying told the truth, her voice still carrying a hint of lingering fear.

"There were seven or eight people, all dressed in the tight-fitting clothes of the Northern Barbarians."

The cage was made of iron and looked extremely heavy.

There was a faint thud, but it was too far away to hear clearly.

Pei Zeyu's gaze narrowed slightly as he looked towards the dark, gloomy hunting grounds in the distance.

"Tomorrow is the third checkpoint. They're operating under the cover of night, so those cages are most likely part of the checkpoint's setup."

Liu Wenying followed his gaze and glanced at him, then whispered, "Second Master is so intelligent, I'm glad I can help you."

Pei Zeyu stood there lost in thought, his aura calm and collected.

She just wanted to get away as soon as possible and didn't dare to disturb them. She quietly curtsied and prepared to leave.

But as soon as she moved her toes, a figure flashed before her eyes.

Pei Zeyu suddenly moved and precisely blocked her way.

"Second Master?"

"The matter of the Northern Barbarians is secondary; there are more important matters at hand."

He suddenly got too close, and Liu Wenying instinctively stepped back, forgetting that there was a big tree behind her.

As her back pressed against the rough, cold bark, she realized she had nowhere left to retreat.

The two were only inches apart.

His crisp, clear aura enveloped everything.

Like the wind in a bamboo forest after rain, or the snow on a winter morning.

There was also a faint warmth that belonged to him.

The aura enveloped her completely, leaving her nowhere to escape or hide.

Before she could speak again, Pei Zeyu raised his hand.

A soft, slightly cool touch came from my chin.

His fingers cradled her face; his fingertips, calloused from years of holding a pen, brushed against her skin, causing a ticklish, tingling sensation.

Pei Zeyu carefully examined her face. Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the branches and leaves, illuminating every inch of her features.

It is elegant and refined, gentle and comfortable.

However, there was an unsightly scar on the side of her face, with a shallow scab of blood clotted on her fair skin, which was particularly glaring.

"Who hurt you?"

Liu Wenying felt a tightness in her chest from his gaze, lowered her eyes, and spoke in a weak voice.

"It was my own carelessness. I couldn't see the road clearly at night, and I was knocked over by a tree branch..."

"Don't make me look it up myself."

Pei Zeyu said, slowly and deliberately, "I told you you can't lie to me."

His fingertips moved from his chin to the side of his face, touched the bloodstain, and pressed it gently.

A slight stinging sensation came from the wound, which had just begun to scab over. When he pressed it, a bead of blood oozed out, a bright red spot.

Liu Wenying let out a soft hiss.

Pei Zeyu immediately withdrew his pressure, rubbing his two fingers together to melt the blood between his fingertips.

"Still not willing to tell the truth?"

He spoke softly, his breath brushing against her forehead, the pressure feeling immense.

Liu Wenying clenched her teeth, unsure of what to say.

She couldn't talk about being attacked, or about almost killing someone.

She couldn't say anything.

But the Second Master's eyes were right in front of her, so close, so deep, as if he wanted to see right through her.

Can she really keep it a secret...?

Just as they were wavering, a voice came from the side.

"Second brother."

The voice wasn't loud, but it easily broke through the tense atmosphere.

Liu Wenying turned her head to look and saw that the newcomer was dressed in dark blue clothes, and was handsome and slender. It was the old man.

Like a drowning person grasping at a straw, Liu Wenying breathed a sigh of relief.

The relief was so obvious that her tense back softened.

In that instant, she felt an unguarded dependence and trust in her older brother.

Pei Zeyu noticed every subtle change.

Something indescribable slowly rose from the bottom of my heart.

He remembered that she used to be terrified of her older brother.

Not long ago, her elder brother tried to kick her out of the mansion. She was in tears, her face as white as paper.

Later, she also avoided her older brother, trying to see him whenever possible.

But now?

The light shining in her eyes couldn't lie.

What exactly happened during their stay in the hunting grounds? Has their relationship deteriorated to this point?

A strange sense of unease welled up in Pei Zeyu's heart, and he released Liu Wenying.

He turned to face the newcomer and called out in a deep voice, "Big Brother."

Pei Dingxuan nodded to indicate that he understood. He walked closer with steady steps, paused for a moment when he saw the bloodstain on Liu Wenying's face that was bleeding again, and then looked away.

"My grandmother has already passed away, and I don't want to disturb her. I came to see her to ask her a few questions about the daily care I need to give her."

After he finished speaking, Pei Zeyu didn't move, showing no intention of leaving.

He just stood there, seemingly not hearing a thing.

"Second brother, aren't you going back yet? Tomorrow there's the third round of the Northern Di competition. You should go back early to rest and recuperate."

"The Great Wei is full of talented people. One more or one less will not make a difference."

Pei Zeyu stood his ground, his clear eyes filled with undisguised inquiry.

"I'm curious, what is it that I can't hear, brother?"

"It's just a trivial matter, nothing confidential. Are you so insistent because you're afraid I'll drive her away?"

Pei Zeyu nodded without hesitation, "Yes."

"I misunderstood last time, you heard it too."

Pei Dingxuan's gaze softened unconsciously as he looked at Liu Wenying.

"Besides, you're right. She's very thoughtful and considerate. If she really leaves, Grandmother will definitely be sad and disappointed."

Pei Zeyu chuckled lightly, "When did you become so concerned about Grandmother's feelings, elder brother? Or... are you using Grandmother as a pretext, while you're actually worried about someone else?"

He spoke bluntly, even aggressively.

Pei Dingxuan's aura suddenly dropped, and a layer of coldness covered his usually composed brows and eyes.

Liu Wenying was forced to stand between the two men, her scalp tingling with fear.

She gave a slight curtsy, her voice soft and gentle.

"Second Master, please don't misunderstand the First Master. The First Master has always been filial and truly cares about the Old Madam."

It's late, and it's chilly here. Second Master, you should go back and rest early.

Ostensibly, they were trying to reconcile the two sides, but in reality, they were asking Pei Zeyu to leave.

How could Pei Zeyu not understand?

He glanced down at her, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"Ungrateful wretch."

After saying this, he didn't linger any longer, and left with a flick of his sleeve.

Once Pei Zeyu had completely walked away, the gentle night breeze dispelled the lingering warmth of the confrontation.

Pei Dingxuan frowned. The thin wound on her cheek, which had already scabbed over, was now oozing a bright red blood again.

Without saying a word, he took out a brand new plain-colored soft handkerchief from his sleeve.

"Don't move," he said.

Just as Liu Wenying was about to refuse, he had already pressed the handkerchief to the wound.

The handkerchief absorbed the seeping blood beads and quickly stopped the bleeding.

But Pei Dingxuan's brows did not relax, as if he were asking her a question, or as if he were talking to himself.

"Didn't it stop bleeding before? The wound isn't deep, why is it bleeding again?"

He didn't think of anything else.

His second brother has been extremely fastidious about cleanliness since childhood. He would throw away anything that others have touched, so how could he possibly touch someone else's wound?

Liu Wenying shook her head, "It's nothing, just a minor injury."

Thinking back to the harrowing experience not long ago, a bittersweet feeling of relief welled up in my heart once again.

"Compared to the previous attack in the forest that nearly killed me... this injury is really nothing."

…………