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

Chapter 66 Pei Yanzhi's Tricks
Xiang Ning pressed her ear against Pei Yanzhi's chest, listening to the steady heartbeat that grew louder and louder in her ear.

The tapping continued, one strike after another, as if playing a musical piece.

Pei Yanzhi's words instantly cleared Xiang Ning's slightly reddened eyes.

She knew that Pei Yanzhi had indeed treated her very well; he had given her everything he could.

But this kindness is built upon her current facade of obedience and docility.

Once Xiang Ning reveals her true self, Pei Yanzhi will immediately withdraw.

He wanted someone who could unconditionally accept him, constantly comfort him, and love him wholeheartedly.

Xiang Ning couldn't do it; no one could do it.

Because love is based on mutual respect, not on inequality on one side.

Her flattery, her gentleness, her obedience—it was all simply because she needed him at that moment.

Since entering the Pei family, Xiang Ning's greatest wish has been to save money to redeem herself and leave the Pei family.

No one is born willing to be a slave, and no one is born with a spineless nature.

They are obsequious and kneel before everyone they meet.

Over the past three years, Xiang Ning has almost forgotten that once upon a time, she was also a child cherished and pampered by her parents.

She wanted to be a human being, to live a good life, and to fulfill her mother's last wish by finding her family.

"This servant doesn't want anything."

Xiang Ning closed her eyes and reached out to grab Pei Yanzhi's clothes.

She won't take anything from Pei Yanzhi when she leaves.

Upon hearing Xiang Ning's words, Pei Yanzhi reached out and patted her head.

Such a well-behaved and sensible child, no one would be willing to lose.

Pei Yanzhi and Xiang Ning left the banquet first. Having achieved their goal of meeting, he saw no need to stay any longer.

The two went to Wangjiang Tower for a meal before returning home.

Pei Yanzhi also made Xiang Ning understand through his own actions what it means to talk back and feel good for a moment, but you will only suffer and torment yourself.

Pei Yanzhi has recently learned a trick from somewhere, and he always likes to use his belt to tie Xiang Ning up.

The curtain hook got caught in the knotted rope, leaving her with no one to rely on but to cling to Pei Yanzhi.

He kissed her smooth back from behind, his broad hands cradling her soft belly, bringing the two of them so close they were practically touching.

Xiang Ning didn't like this, especially when the red silk blindfolded her eyes and she couldn't see anything, she would always panic.

At this time, Pei Yanzhi would wrap his arms around her waist, whisper in her ear, and coax her again and again.

"Ning'er, relax."

Pei Yanzhi had a pleasant voice, husky yet restrained, as he spoke gentle words to coax her.

The prey was lured into the trap, and suddenly a storm struck from the bright sunshine.

Before she fell into a deep sleep, Xiang Ning heard him lower his head and whisper a remark that was both unrestrained and incredibly bold.

"If you talk back again, I'll talk back to...you."

Pei Yanzhi groaned and grabbed Xiang Ning's ankle.

Xiang Ning still can't figure out where he learned such bold words.

The next morning, when Xiang Ning opened her eyes, she looked at the green gauze curtains and felt dizzy.

Bitao brought in a basin of water and saw that Xiangning had already gotten up in the bed curtains, so she hurried over.

"Sister is awake. Is there anything still bothering you?"

Hearing Bitao's question, Xiangning blushed and shook her head. As soon as she reached out, Bitao noticed the red marks on Xiangning's wrist.

"Sister, I'll go get the medicine."

A hint of heartache appeared in Bitao's eyes, while Xiangning shook her head helplessly: "It doesn't hurt."

After all, it was just Pei Yanzhi's belt, not some tantalizing toy used in brothels.

In Pei Yanzhi's words, she was always unruly, which is why he had to use a belt to restrain her.

"Master went to court early this morning. I just heard from someone that the Second Madam is going to the Wen residence later."

Hearing this, Xiang Ning nodded.

From Pei Yanzhi's words yesterday, she could tell that he was satisfied with Miss Wen.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have said that to her. Great, now that the marriage agreement is finalized between the two families, she'll have a reason to leave.

When Fang's mother brought over the contraceptive soup, Xiang Ning had already finished washing and dressing.

With a joyful expression, she watched as Xiang Ning drank the contraceptive soup in one gulp.

"Once the new wife enters the household, you won't have to suffer like this anymore."

Hearing this, Xiang Ning smiled and nodded, and Fang's mother looked at Xiang Ning with satisfaction.

With such a sense of propriety, it's no wonder the old lady values ​​her.

At this moment, in the Dali Temple, Pei Yanzhi finished processing the official documents at hand, and someone delivered a dossier to him.

"My lord, I have investigated the matter you instructed me to handle last time. There is no one named Lu Hualan here. Furthermore, according to the information Lu Jiang gathered, the people in that village have all moved away long ago."

In this way, it is the same as what Lu Jiang asked someone to inquire about. But what name can Lu Hualan change to?

What about the bracelet?

Pei Yanzhi casually flipped through the files and asked a question.

"Lord Ming was assassinated on his way to Ling'an."

Those assassins were ruthless in their attacks, their aim was to take Mingxiang's life.

"Understood, go and find Chief Clerk Cao."

The man nodded in agreement, and soon after, a man with a somewhat strange gait walked over.

If you look closely, you can see that his right eye is somewhat different from that of ordinary people.

It was a prosthetic eye, not very flexible, and looked like it was nailed to the surface.

"Court Commandant".

"sit."

Pei Yanzhi stopped Cao Sizheng from bowing and asked him to sit down.

"Have you gotten any results from the investigation I asked you to do before?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Sizheng nodded: "As you predicted, it was indeed Yuan Kaiming who gave the information to those bandits. And after that, many shops in Ling'an suddenly started selling more silver jewelry and utensils."

"At this tasting event, many of them were exhibited and were all bought by Prince Qing. There are also some scattered in various places."

After the silver was melted down, it was remade into other things, which were then sold to people in exchange for cash.

In this way, the government's money truly vanished without a trace.

However, many people don't know that there is a very small mark on the bottom of the official silver coin, which is printed with a special material.

Even if it were melted silver, it wouldn't burn. Cao Sizheng has been in the Dali Temple for over ten years and is very experienced.

So when Pei Yanzhi brought the silverware from the appreciation event, he touched it and discovered this mark.

Once the facts are aligned, further investigation becomes much easier.

Prince Qing was indeed clever; even though he knew that this matter was related to him, he had no substantial evidence.

"Case closed."

Pei Yanzhi tapped his fingers lightly on the table, and after a short while, he slowly uttered two words.

"Yes, I will take care of it now."

Cao Sizheng did not refute, but stood up and agreed.

Pei Yanzhi was not the type to give up easily, but sometimes, to lure the snake out of its hole, it was necessary to first lower the snake's guard.

After Cao Sizheng left, Pei Yanzhi looked down at the dossier in his hand.

Xinkang County has some familiar places, as if I've seen them somewhere before.

Pei Yanzhi closed the file, took a deep breath, and leaned back in his chair.
-
"Oh, I suddenly remembered, there really is a Zhao family in Ling'an."

Yao Yao sat in front of the bronze mirror and exclaimed softly. Before she could finish speaking, Han Jun pulled her into his arms from behind and asked, "What are you saying?"

"nothing……"

Yao Yao's intuition told her that Xiang Ning didn't want others to know about this, so she had to keep it a secret for her.

"It's still early, I'll sleep a little longer."

Han Jun carried the person back to the bed, and soon a lot of clothes were thrown out from under the curtains.

(End of this chapter)