After the favored concubine remarried, the aloof and powerful minister forcibly took her away.

Chapter 2 Where is the adulterer?
After just one glance, Xiang Ning lowered her head again and refused to look.

The medicine that Pei Yongcheng forced down her throat was truly agonizing.

She tried to get up, but her body felt as limp as a puddle of water.

The Lanhui Pavilion was dimly lit with only a few candles lit; it was where Pei Yanzhi conducted official business.

So on the side table, there were many official documents, but they were not neatly arranged, which made the owner seem a little upset.

He walked down from top to bottom, the jade disc hanging at his waist clinking together and making a pleasant sound.

"This servant, this servant did not intrude unintentionally, please forgive me, young master."

Xiang Ning lay face down on the ground, her neatly combed maid's hair revealing half of her delicate neck.

A thin layer of sweat covered it, tinged with a blush.

Pei Yanzhi had presided over all sorts of cases at the Dali Temple, and his imposing presence naturally made people afraid to look up.

Xiangning couldn't get up because she was too weak.

"When you entered the manor, was no one taught you any manners?"

Those clean soap-corner boots came into Xiang Ning's view, and her body trembled slightly.

"Taught."

That's why Xiang Ning came to Lan Hui Pavilion.

If Pei Yongcheng really succeeds, she will be trapped in the Pei mansion for the rest of her life.

This was not what Xiang Ning wanted, but she had considered what the consequences would be if she pushed open the door of Lan Hui Pavilion.

They either become victims of Pei Yanzhi's blade, or they beg him to spare their lives.

But she really didn't want to die.

So Xiang Ning reached out and grabbed Pei Yanzhi's hem.

Just as she was about to explain, Pei Yanzhi spoke up: "Look up."

He only said two words, and upon hearing them, Xiang Ning obediently looked up at him.

Her eyes held the beauty of springtime lakes and the radiant moonlight.

Xiang Ning saw his Adam's apple bob, and a hint of desire flickered in her eyes.

Before Xiang Ning could react, Pei Yanzhi had already lifted her up from the ground, swept her up around the waist, and pressed her down onto the table beside him.

Xiang Ning is now under the control of drugs, and her exclamation sounds even more coquettish.

Pei Yanzhi lowered his eyes, his eyelashes fluttering like butterflies.

His rationality also completely collapsed under her unintentional provocation.

Tonight's family banquet is crowded and noisy, and Pei Yanzhi was caught off guard, thus falling into a trap in his own home.

He guessed that the person who drugged him would definitely come to Lanhui Pavilion.

The result of waiting patiently for the rabbit to run into the tree stump did not disappoint him.

In order to get into his bed, the person who came actually took the medicine himself.

But he had no time to think about anything anymore; the burning desire within him was like roasting him over a fire again and again.

Pei Yanzhi swept the official documents on the table to the ground, and the long, narrow table could only accommodate Xiang Ning alone.

Pei Yanzhi tore open her clothes, and the hems of their clothes piled up together, intertwining to form a beautiful flower.

Pei Yanzhi cut off all of Xiang Ning's words.

His kiss was awkward and reckless, as if he were desperately searching for a place to release his desires.

The candle flame was blown out by the wind, fell to the ground, and rolled to the doorway.

Pei Yanzhi reached out and tore off the small, barely visible garment...

That was the only remaining, final barrier between them.

Having just experienced human relations and being controlled by drugs, Xiang Ning was forced to endure Pei Yanzhi's actions for an entire night until the sky began to lighten, at which point she finally drifted off to sleep.

When he woke up again, Pei Yanzhi was sitting on a soft couch not far away, reading a book.

As her thoughts came to a head, Xiang Ning's face turned somewhat pale.

"This servant wishes to stay and serve the young master."

If she leaves the manor, Pei Yongcheng will only become more unscrupulous if he knows that she left Lanhui Pavilion alive and has lost her innocence.

With no one to protect her, she eventually ended up in Pei Yongcheng's hands.

What Xiang Ning wants now is to live peacefully and safely in the Pei family mansion.

Now that she's with Pei Yanzhi, Pei Yongcheng is wary of Pei Yanzhi and won't lay a hand on her.

The only person she could cling to was Pei Yanzhi.

Pei Yanzhi didn't reply after she said that. The pages of the book turned, and time slowly passed. Xiang Ning's back ached from kneeling on the ground, but she dared not move an inch.

"Go down."

After waiting for so long, Xiang Ning was bewildered by this single sentence, unsure whether Pei Yanzhi had agreed or not.

"Slave..."

“I don’t keep idle people in my courtyard, but I don’t lack servants either.”

Xiang Ning lowered her head and heard him put the book aside, his voice tinged with sarcasm.

Last night, Xiang Ning discovered that Pei Yanzhi had also been drugged, otherwise he wouldn't have been so enthusiastic towards her.

But who would dare to plot against Pei Yanzhi within the Pei residence, unless they were suicidal?

Her appearance was so coincidental that Pei Yanzhi must have assumed she was a maid who had climbed into his bed.

"I'll do anything to stay by the young master's side."

She would be willing to be a maidservant even if it meant sharing a room with someone else.

After a few moments of internal struggle, Xiang Ning finally agreed.

This time, she clearly heard him chuckle softly.

"Go and clean up."

Hearing this, Xiang Ning finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After thanking Pei Yan again, Xiang Ning went down from the second floor of Lan Hui Pavilion.

The pain in her body reminded her of the two people who had almost gone crazy and out of control last night.

Fortunately, it didn't fall into Pei Yongcheng's hands.

She also survived.

My mother always said that as long as you are alive, there is always hope.

When Xiang Ning returned to the courtyard where the servants lived, she quickly wiped herself down.

The somewhat blurry bronze mirror reflected the bruises and welts on her body; it was the first time Pei Yanzhi had ever done something like this.

He was ruthless, causing her to faint several times from the pain, and she kept crying and begging for mercy.

She pulled her clothes tighter and stopped looking.

This mark probably won't go away for a while. I'll buy some medicine to apply it when I get my monthly allowance.

Xiang Ning didn't value her innocence that much; otherwise, she would have already used this matter to ask Pei Yanzhi to make her his concubine.

She simply didn't want to give herself to Pei Yongcheng.

But Pei Yanzhi was different; he never made any demands regarding matters of love and intimacy.

She was very virtuous and clean-living. Once she went to his courtyard, Xiang Ning was under his protection, and Pei Yongcheng dared not reach in again.

Xiang Ning's thinking was simple: this incident was just an accident.

Given Pei Yanzhi's personality, since he considered her someone with ulterior motives, he naturally wouldn't care about her.

She continued to save her money, and when she had saved enough, she begged him to return her indenture, considering that she had served him.

Then, she'll take the money and go somewhere no one knows her, living a carefree and unrestrained life.

Xiang Ning longed for freedom and a life free from the whims of others, rather than being a slave or a concubine.

Life is so rushed, it's better to just do what you want.

Thinking of this, Xiang Ning smiled slightly, but before she could get up, she heard a sound coming from the doorway.

“Mama Liao, this Xiang Ning didn’t come home all night. I just saw those marks on her body. You must punish this shameless maid.”

Fang'er, holding onto Liao Mama who was standing next to the First Madam, looked at Xiang Ning with a smug expression.

The two entered the mansion together, but she could only be a lowly cleaning maid.

As soon as Xiang Ning entered the mansion, she was able to serve the First Madam and was even chased by the Fourth Young Master.

Now she's finally got something on her hands. That shameless slut, she's determined to kick her out this time.

"Aunt Liao, about what happened last night..."

"Take her down and give her a good beating. Her lack of self-control is a disgrace to the Pei family."

Xiang Ning had barely uttered her words when Fang'er stopped her with a handkerchief.

She said arrogantly, "Xiang Ning, if you tell me about that adulterer now, you might get a beating less."

"Hurry up and tell me, where is the adulterer?"

(End of this chapter)