I'm already a concubine, who wants to fight with you?

Chapter 184: Imperial Street Praise
Life is like a play, it all depends on acting skills. Xie Fei knows that he still needs to practice.

A night passed and only Yuan San did not show up.

I don’t know if he was afraid of being discovered by the Marquis’ Mansion, so he didn’t dare to take the risk.

The next morning, Xie Fei paid his respects to the old lady and Ji Miaoxuan, and then went to see Xiao Shirong.

Because Mother Liu and Fu Yu were still imprisoned in the fourth room, Xiao Shirong assigned her a new maid.

Xie Fei looked at the strange little girl and declined politely: "I am used to using people, and I am not used to changing them all the time. Now that I am innocent, please let my girl and my old mother come over. During the day..."

Xiao Shirong looked at her coldly and interrupted her, saying, "We are in the Marquis' Mansion, and our every move is different from that in the Pei family. You left the old lady's people behind and brought the people from the fourth house with you. What will the old lady think?"

Without waiting for Xie Fei to explain, Xiao Shirong bluntly said, "After tonight, take your people back to the farm and don't cause trouble for me now!"

Xie Fei swallowed his words.

Okay, a higher-ranking official can crush a person to death, let alone the mistress over the concubine?
Furthermore, Xie Fei was not sure whether Xiao Shirong was going to deal with her, so it would not be a good idea to rashly involve Fu Yu.

As for Mother Liu, she was smarter and had martial arts skills, but she still had a family to take care of, so there was no reason for her to get involved with her.

Thinking of this, Xie Fei gave up for the time being.

During the day, Pei Hongluo took Xie Fei to the street to play.

It was spring, with red flowers, green willows, lush grass and chirping birds. The newly-appointed scholars were in high spirits and paraded through the streets. For a moment, the streets were deserted and the crowds of spectators thronged.

The first place winner was wearing a flowery hairpin and brocade, riding a tall horse, and was congratulated by the people along the street. After him came the runner-up and third place winners, who were also very impressive and glorious.

The common people were infected by the warm atmosphere and were overjoyed. They chased each other along the streets. Even many young women called their friends to come and watch, pointing and talking about the team of Jinshi from time to time.

Xie Fei thought it was interesting at first, but when he was squeezed in the crowd and sweated profusely, and wanted to leave but was pushed back again, he suddenly felt like he had no desire to live.

Dajing is really a prosperous city!
On the other hand, Pei Hongluo, who said yesterday that the parade was not as interesting as the mercury glass mirror, was now very excited and stood on tiptoe to squeeze to the front.

Obviously, she was the daughter of a marquis and could have watched the show from the city wall with other ladies from wealthy families, but she insisted on "having fun with the common people" and would rather be crushed here.

Xie Fei is like a small boat, "drifting with the flow" among the crowd.

In the team ahead, a horse was frightened by the sound of drums and firecrackers. Suddenly, it raised its hooves wildly and let out a long cry towards the sky.

The crowd was frightened and retreated step by step. Some thin people were knocked down in the squeeze, and the people around them fell down in groups.

Xie Fei and Pei Hongluo were also implicated. They watched the crowd retreating like a collapsing wall. The crowd behind them was even denser, and they had no way to retreat.

Just when Xie Fei was thinking that a stampede was going to happen, an arm suddenly came from behind her, tightly wrapped around her waist, and pulled her back with extremely strong force, and used its tall body to block the pressure from all directions.

Xie Fei looked up in panic and only caught a glimpse of a corner of the silver mask.

As the world spun around, she and Pei Hongluo were both carried out of the crowd. The place where they had originally stood had collapsed with a large number of people being squeezed and trampled, with screams ringing out.

After standing firm, Xie Fei quickly turned around, only to see the familiar purple figure disappearing among the crowd of onlookers.

This man is really...

She shook her head slightly.

Pei Hongluo hadn't reacted yet. He looked forward, then backward, and touched his neck, looking puzzled.

"I felt like someone grabbed the scruff of my neck and pulled me out." Everything was fine, except that it was a bit rough.

Xie Fei didn't want her to go into details, so he pulled her to a place with fewer people.

"There are too many people. It's scary. Let's go."

The two men reached a secluded path and looked back to see that they had been separated from the servants.

When they got to the lake, Pei Hongluo picked up a stone and skipped it on the water. When he did well, he cheered and jumped up to clap his hands. Xie Fei found a stone to sit on and sighed softly.

It's so crowded.

Pei Hongluo suddenly said: "Sister Xie, your face is crooked."

Xie Fei's heart skipped a beat and he touched his face subconsciously.

Thick eyebrows, plump lips, and spots on the face, nothing seems to be a problem.

By the time she realized she had fallen into a trap, Pei Hongluo was already looking at her with a smile.

Xie Fei raised his eyebrows.

This girl is really smart.

Pei Hongluo had no ill intentions. He ran over with a smile and squeezed in with her.

"Don't worry, Sister Xie, I won't tell anyone else." She looked at Xie Fei's face with envy, a hint of cunning and curiosity in her eyes, "I just really want to know how you did it."

Xie Fei said: "Last time, you did notice that there was something wrong with my face?"

Pei Hongluo said proudly: "Although I am uneducated and unskilled, and have no interest in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, needlework, and housekeeping, I really like to study mechanical tricks."

She used her skillful hands in different ways from the ladies of noble families.

While others embroider, she is a carpenter; while others keep house, she loves to invent.

Although I didn't figure out anything, I'm still interested in it.

When she found something strange on Xie Fei's face, she felt itchy in her heart, but she had no chance to be with Xie Fei, her noble concubine.

Now that she had finally caught him, she naturally would not let him go. She reached out and picked off the "spots" on Xie Fei's face, and then held it against the sunlight, analyzing how he had done it.

She mentioned several materials in a row, but Xie Fei said they were all wrong. Finally, he told her that it would be better to use herbs mixed with chemical elements to make them look realistic, natural and lasting.

Pei Hongluo was confused by what he heard.

What is a "chemical element"?
Xie Fei deliberately teased her and let her guess for herself.

The two played by the lake for a long time, went to Zuixianlou for a drink at noon, and then went shopping in the afternoon.

When it got dark, the servants came and they headed towards Hongyan Tower together.

On the way, Pei Hongluo took Xie Fei's arm and asked in a low voice, "Sister-in-law made her face like this, don't you want to be liked by Brother Yuan?"

Xie Fei said faintly: "Not entirely."

Before she got married, she was tinkering with her face, hoping to look more ordinary so as to avoid being targeted again and again.

But this decision was wise. At least after she got married, the fake Pei Yuan really didn't care about her.

Pei Hongluo has already started talking to himself.

"I understand your feelings. Even though Brother Yuan is my brother, if my future husband is like him, I might as well learn from my fourth aunt and go to a Buddhist temple to find some peace and quiet."

Xie Fei asked: "Do you have a good relationship with our master?"

"I seldom met Brother Yuan. When I was born, he must have gone to the border with my fourth uncle," Pei Hongluo recalled. "But he would come back every two years to visit my fourth aunt, or when Grandpa celebrated his birthday, he would also go home."

Xie Fei thought that considering Pei Hongluo's age, he might have more contact with the previous Pei Yuan.

He is praised as the real Pei Yuan with bright and clear eyes and high spirits.

(End of this chapter)