Spoiled and mad critic of powerful ministers

"Should we run?" Wen Xiujie walked into the mourning hall, turned around and closed the window, cutting off the outside world.

"A weak woman like you couldn't possibly escape the strict rules of the Pei family. I've come here specifically to rescue you."

His words were caring, yet carried an undeniable sense of oppression.

Shen Qiongju retreated step by step until her back pressed against the cold coffin, with nowhere left to go.

"What do you want to do?" She stared at him warily, her body trembling slightly.

"Don't you know perfectly well what I want to do?" Wen Xiujie moved closer to her, reaching out to touch her cheek.

Shen Qiongju abruptly turned her head to dodge.

Wen Xiujie's hand froze in mid-air, the smile on his face fading, replaced by a chilling expression. "Don't push your luck. Do you think you still have a choice? Tomorrow you'll be drowned."

Looking at Shen Qiongju's pale face, his tone suddenly softened, "I, the commander, have risked coming here tonight to give you a way out."

He withdrew his hand and slowly straightened his sleeves. "Pei Zhichao's crimes of collusion with the enemy and betrayal of the country are irrefutable. But I still lack a testimony, a testimony from someone close to him."

"As long as you obediently sign the document and testify against him, I can not only guarantee your safety, but also let you enter my Wen family mansion to enjoy wealth and honor."

Treason and collusion with the enemy...

In her previous life, she believed his lies and signed the document.

Pei Zhichao never confessed his crimes until his death. He was tortured beyond recognition and ultimately left behind not even a complete corpse.

But she traded his reputation for her own survival.

"What if I don't?" Shen Qiongju raised her head, looked directly at him, and asked, word by word.

Her reaction surprised Wen Xiujie.

He narrowed his eyes. "No?"

"You'd better think this through. The Pei family is now left with only the elderly, women, children, and a sickly scholar. If you don't comply, I'll have no choice but to send them all to jail."

He leaned down, whispered in her ear, and spoke in a low voice that only the two of them could hear.

"Especially your brother-in-law, Pei Zhihui. I've heard he writes exceptionally well and even wants to pursue the imperial examinations?"

"Tell me, if I cripple his hand for writing, what hope will he have for the rest of his life?"

That's it!

In her previous life, it was because of this sentence that Shen Qiongju compromised.

Her husband is dead, and she must protect her beloved younger brother.

Unexpectedly, this compromise pushed him into the abyss and drove Pei Zhihui to madness.

However, at this moment, amidst extreme anger and chill, Shen Qiongju caught a glimpse of the closed window behind Wen Xiujie out of the corner of her eye.

Outside the rough white window paper, there was an extremely faint, flickering, dim yellow halo.

That wasn't moonlight. Moonlight wouldn't be that warm yellow, nor would it stay at that height.

It's like... someone is standing silently outside the window carrying a small lantern.

A thought flashed into her mind like lightning—Pei Zhihui.

He just left, perhaps he didn't go far at all, or perhaps he sensed something was wrong and returned.

"Wen Xiujie," she looked at the hypocritical face before her and suddenly laughed, the laughter sounding particularly desolate in the silent mourning hall, "Give up on that idea."

Shen Qiongju raised her voice, "Even if I'm drowned and become a water ghost, I won't give false testimony for you!"

"My husband is upright and honest; you won't be allowed to smear him with even a drop of dirt!"

Wen Xiujie's face darkened completely.

He never expected that this woman, who always seemed weak and indecisive, would dare to defy him so much.

"Fine, very well." He laughed angrily. "Looks like you're going to refuse a polite offer and then drink a forfeit! I'll see just how tough you really are!"

As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed Shen Qiongju's collar.

"Get out of my way!"

Shen Qiongju resisted fiercely. The moment Wen Xiujie grabbed her arm, she lowered her head and bit his hand hard with all her might!

"what!"

Wen Xiujie cried out in pain and abruptly threw her away.

Shen Qiongju was thrown against the offering table by his tremendous force, and a sharp pain shot through her back, causing her vision to go black.

In her heart, she cried out: "That brat Pei Zhihui, come in and save her!"

Even if it's not Pei Zhihui outside, they're still members of the Pei family. Are we just going to stand by and watch her be insulted by outsiders?

"You bitch! How dare you bite me!" Wen Xiujie was furious when he saw the bloody teeth marks on the back of his hand.

He lost all patience, his iron arm gripping her shoulders. "Since you refuse to obey, I'll drag you to sign this."

"You think I can't handle you?" He picked up the rope from the ground and tightened it around her wrist.

Despair descended once again.

Shen Qiongju's wrists were bound, and she struggled with all her might, but she was no match for a grown man.

In the struggle, her mourning clothes were torn open, revealing her snow-white shoulders.

Shen Qiongju's heart turned completely cold, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

Just as Wen Xiujie's hand was about to touch her chest, an urgent call suddenly rang out from outside the door.

"Sister-in-law?"

It's Pei Zhihui!

Wen Xiujie abruptly stopped, cursed, and a look of panic flashed across his face.

He cannot be discovered here.

He glared fiercely at Shen Qiongju, glanced quickly at the window of the ancestral hall, and without hesitation, climbed out and disappeared into the night.

Almost simultaneously, the door to the ancestral hall was pushed open with a "bang".

A tall, thin boy, carrying the chill of the night wind, suddenly rushed in.

His breathing was slightly disordered, and his chest heaved.

The moment he rushed in, he saw Shen Qiongju sitting on the ground, her hair disheveled and looking extremely embarrassed.

His steps faltered instantly.

His gaze swept over her torn white mourning clothes and her slightly trembling, snow-white shoulders, then slowly moved to the window that was still swaying slightly.

The night breeze was seeping in through the window cracks, and the air suddenly seemed to freeze.

Shen Qiongju's heart was in her throat.

Now that he saw it, would he think she was really having a secret rendezvous with someone here?

However, to her surprise, Pei Zhihui didn't ask anything.

He walked over silently, took off his outer robe, and stiffly draped it over her shoulders, covering her dazzling white skin.

Then, he knelt down and, without saying a word, began to untie the ropes binding her wrists.

His fingers were cool and slightly itchy as they touched her trembling skin.

Shen Qiongju was stiff all over and dared not even breathe too heavily.

She stared intently at the boy's lowered head.

It was Pei Zhihui at sixteen, before he was consumed by hatred.

But her body trembled instinctively.

Those days and nights she spent chained in the dungeon, those times he tore her apart again and again, were branded into the depths of her soul.

Even now, he is just a thin boy.

"Sister-in-law, why are you shaking?"