Spoiled and mad critic of powerful ministers

Pei Zhihui eventually got into the car.

Zhao Qiyan's carriage was indeed spacious, covered with thick Persian carpets, and silver frost charcoal burned in the corner. Even so, the official road from Tongzhou to the capital was still muddy and difficult to travel on due to the melting snow. When the wheels rolled over deep potholes, the carriage would jolt violently.

Pei Zhihui was indeed physically strong. After resting at the post station for a night, his fever had subsided considerably. Apart from a few suppressed coughs, he was even more energetic than the average person.

He sat on the left, a book tucked in his hand, but his eyes kept falling on the figure huddled in the corner opposite him.

Shen Qiongju was feeling very uncomfortable at this moment.

That night, I soaked in the icy river for too long, and the chill seeped into my body. To make matters worse, it coincided with my period. It felt like a cold hand was churning inside my lower abdomen, or like someone was sawing my bones with a dull knife.

Cold sweat trickled down her temples, wetting her collar. She turned to the side, leaning against the car wall, clutching a hard pillow to her aching stomach.

"parking."

Pei Zhihui suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but it was cold.

The coachman outside reined in the horse. Shen Qiongju groggily opened her eyes, her voice weak: "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Pei Zhihui ignored her and went straight to the outside to order, "Bring a hot water bottle and fill it with the hottest water."

A moment later, piping hot hot water bottles were brought in.

Pei Zhihui took it, but instead of handing it to Shen Qiongju, he wrapped it in his own thick cloak, held it in his arms for a while, and only leaned in to warm it up when the scalding temperature became a comfortable warmth.

"Come here," he commanded without room for argument.

Shen Qiongju was in so much pain that she had no strength left, and instinctively wanted to resist this closeness: "Just give me the hot water bottle."

"Are you sure?" Pei Zhihui leaned forward, stretched out his long arm, and pulled her and the blanket together.

Inside the cramped carriage, the air suddenly felt thin.

Shen Qiongju was forced to lean against him, her nose filled with the refreshing scent of medicine. She tried to struggle in panic, but Pei Zhihui pressed down on her shoulder with one hand.

"Don't move."

Pei Zhihui slipped one hand inside her cloak and, through two thin layers of undergarments, precisely placed the hot water bottle over her icy lower abdomen.

In that instant, a continuous stream of heat wafted in.

Shen Qiongju's whole body stiffened, and even her breathing stopped.

This is going too far.

He was the younger brother-in-law, and she was the older sister-in-law. Even for an ordinary couple, such behavior on a carriage would be considered reckless, let alone for someone like them who were separated by familial obligations.

"Pei Zhihui..." Her voice trembled, whether from shame or fear, she didn't know, "Let go."

"Letting go will only keep you in pain?" Pei Zhihui didn't even lift his eyelids, slowly applying pressure with his palm to gently massage the throbbing spot. His technique was excellent, the pressure just right, and the excruciating pain actually eased somewhat.

Shen Qiongju bit her lower lip, her face drained of color: "This is against the rules. If someone sees us..."

"It's just the two of us in this car," Pei Zhihui interrupted her, his long, narrow phoenix eyes fixed on her, a dark fire surging within them that defied comprehension. "What are you afraid of, sister-in-law? Afraid I'll eat you up?"

Shen Qiongju didn't dare to look him in the eye, so she simply closed her eyes and pretended to be dead: "I'm tired, I want to sleep for a while."

Pei Zhihui looked at her trembling eyelashes, which resembled butterfly wings, and chuckled softly.

He didn't expose her disguise, nor did he stop what he was doing. He simply lowered his body even further, his thin lips almost touching her earlobe.

"Shen Qiongju".

He no longer called her sister-in-law.

"I've thought a lot about this along the way. Zhao Qiyan is right, I can't give you a proper title, I'll only make you bear the stigma."

Shen Qiongju's heart skipped a beat, and her hands, hidden in her sleeves, clenched tightly.

"But so what?" Pei Zhihui's voice was soft, with a touch of obsessive madness. "I don't believe in gods or Buddhas, nor do I respect etiquette. If I want something, I'll take it back even if I have to."

Shen Qiongju's eyelashes trembled violently, but she didn't dare to open her eyes.

He actually wanted to break through this barrier.

Pei Zhihui looked at her startled rabbit-like appearance, his smile deepening: "Why are you so surprised, sister-in-law? Have you really not noticed my feelings for you at all?"

Shen Qiongju could no longer keep up the act, and her eyelashes trembled as she lifted them.

How could she not have noticed? She just couldn't believe it, and she couldn't bring herself to believe it.

In her previous life, this man hated her to the core, imprisoning her in a water dungeon, leaving her unable to live or die. How could that deep-seated hatred possibly transform into such... twisted love in this life?

She had indeed suspected before that he had also been reborn. But there was no hatred in his eyes when he looked at her, nor did he seem to want to torment her.

Since there was no rebirth, then they are officially related as uncle and sister-in-law. So why did he fall in love with his brother's "widow"?

"Zhihui is joking." Shen Qiongju forced herself to calm down, closed her eyes again, and said in a cold voice, "I am your sister-in-law and your brother's widow. Second Master still wants to take the imperial examination and restore the Pei family's reputation. Don't mention such nonsense again in the future."

Pei Zhihui remained silent.

He simply watched her tightly closed eyes, and the muscles around her eyes twitching slightly with tension.

After a long while, he looked away, his hand still resting on her lower abdomen, continuously sending out heat.

"Go to sleep."

He stopped pressuring her; the prey was already in the net, and all that was needed to close it was patience.

.

The city walls of the capital soared into the clouds, their gray-black bricks appearing particularly oppressive under the gloomy sky, like a giant beast coiled on the plains, coldly watching every ant that tried to intrude.

The convoy stopped at the city gate for inspection.

Shen Qiongju lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and looked at the familiar bustling city, somewhat stunned.

"Scared?"

Pei Zhihui's voice came from beside him. After several days of recuperation, his complexion had improved a lot, and he had returned to his aloof and noble demeanor, as if the "crossing the line" in the carriage had never happened.

Shen Qiongju lowered the curtain, sat up straight, and deliberately kept a distance from him: "I'm not afraid. Now that I'm here, I never intended to go back empty-handed."

Pei Zhihui glanced at the gap between the two, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes, but he didn't say anything.

Zhao Qiyan led the way on horseback. With the waist token of the Marquis of Yongning's mansion, the caravan traveled smoothly all the way and drove directly into a secluded villa in the west of the city.

This was Zhao Qiyan's private property, and also their last stop before entering the palace.

The night was deep, but the main hall of the villa was brightly lit.

Dozens of surviving jars of "Zui Jing Hong" wine were neatly stacked in the courtyard, emitting an enticing aroma.

Pei Zhihui sat in the main seat, holding a cup of hot tea, gently skimming off the foam. Zhao Qiyan paced anxiously around the room, fanning herself rapidly.

"I will have an audience with the Emperor at noon tomorrow." Pei Zhihui put down his teacup, the porcelain cup clinking against the table, making a crisp sound that instantly froze the atmosphere in the room.

He looked up at Zhao Qiyan: "Young Marquis, once you enter the palace tomorrow, you only need to do one thing."

"What?" Zhao Qiyan stopped in her tracks.

"Make a scene," Pei Zhihui uttered a single word.

Zhao Qiyan was taken aback: "A joke?"

"Yes. You are the young master of the Yongning Marquis's mansion, a notorious playboy in the capital." Pei Zhihui's tone was calm, yet every word was profound. "The Emperor is suspicious. If you appear too composed and shrewd, it will only arouse his suspicion. You should act like a spendthrift who will stop at nothing to gain rewards. The more unreliable you are, the less wary the Emperor will be of you."

Zhao Qiyan stroked her chin thoughtfully: "This is something Master is good at. You want me to rave about this wine to the heavens, while simultaneously feigning poverty?"