Spoiled and mad critic of powerful ministers

He walked quickly to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), reached out to check his grandfather's breath and forehead temperature, and frowned.

"Second...Second Brother?" Pei Zhiyan stammered from the side, somewhat excited, as if he had finally found his pillar of support.

Pei Zhihui did not respond, but called the panting doctor behind him to come forward and take his pulse.

This doctor was clearly highly skilled. After a few needle pricks, Pei Shoulian coughed up a pool of blood, but his breathing became noticeably smoother and more stable afterward.

He took out a pill and carefully dissolved it in the medicine bowl. "It's fortunate that you used ginseng to keep his pulse going, so my life-saving medicine can come in handy. However, how much life he has left depends on his own fate."

After his grandfather's condition stabilized, Pei Zhihui spoke with the Pei family members. They all complained to him, and inevitably the conversation touched on the matter of Shen Qiongju stealing the blueprints.

However, he merely nodded indifferently, seemingly unconcerned about the matter. He didn't look at Shen Qiongju or speak to her the entire time.

This made Shen Qiongju even more uneasy than direct verbal abuse.

She would rather he curse her and hate her than have no idea what his attitude was like, as if a blade was hanging over her neck but never came down.

Are you planning to settle accounts with her when you get back?

After dealing with his clansmen, his gaze fell on Pei Junlan.

"Aunt," his voice was low and hoarse, carrying the weariness of a long journey, "Magistrate Shen is already waiting at the county office. We must set off immediately. Grandfather... we cannot delay any longer."

When Pei Zhihui arrived, he brought a carriage with him. He put Pei Shoulian and Xiao Zhichun in the carriage, while the others continued their journey through the wind and snow.

Pei Shoulian was properly settled in a carriage with thick bedding, and the group resumed their journey. Thanks to the manpower and carriages brought by Pei Zhihui, their speed was much faster.

She looked at the disheveled figure in a blue robe by the carriage ahead. The wind and snow lashed at him, but he stood straight, like a bamboo stalk that would rather break than bend.

.

Evening, at the Wuxian County Government Office.

Officer Li led the Pei family through the courtroom, but instead of heading to the prison at the back, they bypassed the screen wall and entered a clean and tidy backyard.

The rooms in the courtyard had been cleaned, and red lanterns hung under the eaves to ward off the cold. Although they were not very bright, they still warmed people's hearts.

"This..." Pei Junlan was stunned.

Liu's eyes widened as well; this was clearly a resettlement arrangement, not a trial.

Officer Li's face remained expressionless as he smiled and instructed, "Magistrate Shen has instructed that the Pei family patriarch is elderly and frail and needs to rest. You will all stay here for the time being and are not allowed to go out unnecessarily. Food and medicine will be delivered on time."

After saying this, he led his men out, leaving two yamen runners to guard the courtyard gate.

The Pei family members looked at each other, speechless for a long time.

"Second brother, we..." Pei Zhiyan supported his grandfather on his back, his voice filled with uncertainty.

"You'll stay here for now. This case isn't over yet, so you can't go home for the time being," Pei Zhihui said to the others as he helped Pei Shoulian onto the bed.

Everyone then seemed to wake up from a dream and busied themselves in the room.

Before long, the rest of the Pei family also settled into their respective rooms. Although they were under house arrest, compared to the hell on earth that was Dabao Village, this place was paradise.

Shen Qiongju lived alone in a small side room. A servant brought hot water, and she quickly and happily washed her hair and took a bath.

While drying her hair, she looked with a sigh at the recurring chilblains on her hands. Her once fair hands, which had become red, swollen, and rough before her exile, were now even more noticeable after being exposed to the heat, creating a stark contrast with her fair neck.

This body has suffered greatly and needs to rest for a while.

She lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

Pei Zhihui didn't say a word to her the whole way, which was completely different from the gentle and considerate brother-in-law he had been before. He was obviously deliberately treating her coldly and didn't regard her as his sister-in-law.

However, what reassured Shen Qiongju was that he currently had no intention of killing her, nor did he harbor the same insane hatred he had in her previous life, which had driven him to the point of wanting to torture her to death. He still treated her as a member of the Pei family and did not leave her in Dabao Village.

This means that she still has a chance to change his hatred, although she also wonders why Pei Zhihui's hatred for her is not as intense as in the previous life.

Perhaps Pei Zhihui was still young and soft-hearted; or perhaps it was because she hadn't become Wen Xiujie's concubine in this life, and hadn't insulted his elder brother.

The sounds of firecrackers and children's laughter rang out outside.

Shen Qiongju's melancholy mood suddenly eased. She put on her clothes and prepared to go for a walk.

Although she couldn't leave the courtyard, she strolled around a cassia tree in the courtyard, looking at the moonlight tonight.

Suddenly, a slender figure appeared in her line of sight as he walked from the corridor.

It was Pei Zhihui.

He wore a thin blue long gown, and his figure appeared even thinner than when they parted in Dabao Village. The moonlight illuminated his pale profile, making it look like fine, cold jade.

The cold wind blew up his coat, but he stood straight as if he didn't feel the cold.

Shen Qiongju walked towards him as if possessed.

Hearing the commotion, Pei Zhihui looked at him.

Eyes facing each other.

His eyes were colder than the winter wind. They held undisguised hatred, and something thick and unyielding.

She forced a smile, trying to appear concerned, "Zhihui...you're here."

He didn't speak, he just looked at her.

Shen Qiongju wore a slightly worn plain white jacket, which was loosely draped over her body without being cinched at the waist.

Her long, dark blue hair, freshly washed, was draped over her shoulders and back, the ends cascading down to almost her knees.

Shen Qiongju felt a chill run down her spine under his gaze, and her confidence faltered. "I heard you fell off a cliff. Were you... were you badly injured? Are you feeling better now?"

In Pei Zhihui's eyes, her question was clumsy and cautious, as if she were testing a wild beast that might suddenly attack at any moment.

Pei Zhihui finally spoke, his voice hoarse and laced with sarcasm: "My sister-in-law is quite concerned about me."

"I..." Shen Qiongju was interrupted before she could speak.

"You probably thought I had died at the bottom of the cliff. Aren't you surprised that I came back alive?"

"Since you stole the blueprints and caused your brother's death," he interrupted her, taking a step closer, each step feeling like a crushing blow to Shen Qiongju's heart, "how dare you still have the nerve to follow the Pei family?"

He stopped in front of her, his tall figure completely enveloping her.

"What does your sister-in-law think the Pei family is? An inn that shelters you?"

The cold words pierced my ears.

Shen Qiongju felt a chill run through her body as memories of being tortured by him in the water dungeon of her past life rushed into her mind. She subconsciously took a step back, her back bracing against the tree trunk behind her.

"I didn't," she tried to explain, her voice trembling slightly. "I thought that getting the blueprints would save your brother."

"Heh." Pei Zhihui let out a very soft, cold laugh, a laugh full of sarcasm.

He raised his hand, and Shen Qiongju closed her eyes in fright.

Her eyelashes cast two small shadows under her eyes, trembling slightly. Her face, unadorned, was as clean as the first snow, and because it was so cold, a light pink layer had formed on the tip of her nose.

The expected pain did not come.

Pei Zhihui's eyes darkened slightly as he used his cool fingertips to brush away a withered leaf from her shoulder.

"Don't let me see you like this again." His voice was low and carried a dangerous warning. "I'm not your brother, I don't fall for that."

After saying that, he withdrew his hand, turned and left without looking at her again.