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

Chapter 8 His eyes were dark

"Come forward."

After a long while without receiving a reply from Xiang Ning, Pei Yanzhi tapped the table with some impatience.

Two soft thuds sounded, and Xiang Ning stepped forward.

"Serving vegetables."

Upon hearing those two words, Xiang Ning bent down, and as she walked, a faint fragrance wafted from her clothes.

But the aroma is neither pungent nor unpleasant.

It even smells very pleasant.

Yes, it smells like sunshine.

Thinking of this, Pei Yanzhi looked up and asked a question as Xiang Ning placed the dish in front of him.

"You lied to me?"

"what?"

His words were somewhat inexplicable, leaving Xiang Ning even more confused. Was he lying to her? What had she lied to him about?

Pei Yanzhi reached for his chopsticks and didn't continue speaking.

The atmosphere suddenly froze, and Xiang Ning didn't know what he meant by lying to her.

Is it that phrase, "I love him"?
Or something else...

Pei Yanzhi glanced at Xiang Ning's face and saw that she looked puzzled and flustered because of his words.

My mood, which had been a bit gloomy, immediately improved a lot.

Thinking of this, Pei Yanzhi slowly uttered a sentence: "Tonight, you will keep watch."

It was clearly a statement made insincerely, yet this audacious maidservant spoke it with such deep feeling.

Since that's the case, he'd like to see how long her 'love' can last.

"The servant knows."

Xiang Ning lowered her eyes and agreed, then reached out to continue serving food to Pei Yanzhi.

After the meal was finished, the servant stepped forward to remove the plates, and Xiang Ning went out to fetch water for Pei Yanzhi to wash up.

Chenghua also quietly reminded him not to apply face powder.

"Qingzhu was punished by the master for this reason."

Upon hearing Cheng Hua's words, Xiang Ning raised her hand and smelled her clothes.

She never wears face powder; the price of a box of face powder would take her a long time to save up.

The scent on my body is that of soapberry; I even use it to wash my clothes…

"Thank you, Brother Cheng, I'll remember that."

However, Xiang Ning still smiled and thanked Cheng Hua.

Chenghua waved his hand, indicating that it was alright. As long as Xiangning behaved herself and served him diligently, good fortune was yet to come.

He also didn't want anything to happen to Qingyi Residence again.

After preparing the water for Pei Yanzhi, Xiang Ning carried the water inside.

Chenghua said that Pei Yanzhi didn't like maids to serve him closely, so after preparing the water, Xiangning was about to leave.

"where to?"

Pei Yanzhi paused in taking off his clothes and called out to her.

"This servant will go out and wait."

Xiang Ning stood at the door, just one step away from walking out. Pei Yanzhi turned around and sat on the soft couch, watching her movements.

"Change for me."

Upon hearing Pei Yanzhi's words, Xiang Ning pursed her lips.

Didn't Chenghua say that he didn't like having maids to serve him personally?

However, Xiang Ning had no right to refuse Pei Yanzhi.

She stepped forward, knelt before Pei Yanzhi, and reached out to untie his waistband.

Pei Yanzhi didn't have many accessories. Compared to the young masters in the capital who liked to wear gold and jade to show off their status, he only wore a jade disc.

I met Xiang Ning at Lan Hui Pavilion last time.

She removed the waist sash and jade disc and placed them aside, then went to untie the sash of his outer garment.

As she stood up, Xiang Ning moved closer to Pei Yanzhi, and the fragrance became even more pronounced.

It smells as if it's been thoroughly sun-dried, with a hint of grassy fragrance, which is very pleasant and reassuring.

She tilted her head, her amber eyes fixed on his neck, as if she wanted to lean in and kiss him.

Pei Yanzhi's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, his eyes darkening with an unusual glint. He moved slightly, and Xiang Ning, whose hand was still unbuttoning the other button, almost tripped and fell because of him.

"Master."

She spoke, intending to say something like "it'll be ready soon," but before she could react, Pei Yanzhi grabbed her waist.

Just like today, when she reached out and hugged him by the artificial rockery.

Their bodies were pressed so close together that there wasn't a single gap between them. Xiang Ning's hand rested on his shoulder, and her lips parted slightly.

The two had already done the most intimate things; when they breathed, it seemed as if they were each other's scent.

That night at Lanhui Pavilion was out of control and insane.

Previously, Pei Yanzhi did not think that romantic love between men and women was particularly addictive.

Only by being strict with oneself and restraining one's nature can a virtuous person of this era achieve great things.

His ambitions lay not in domestic life, and he had no particular desires for women.

If he were to marry in the future, his family would choose a virtuous and well-matched woman for him to be his wife.

Take good care of the household affairs for him so that he can focus on his work outside.

But once the first time happens, everything that you've always insisted on seems to crumble at that moment.

Desires are clamoring, and the body's reactions are more real than the repressed inner feelings.

Pei Yanzhi held Xiang Ning's lower back and untied the sash around her waist. The sachet fell to the ground with a thud.

Her hands unconsciously tightened around his clothes.

What is he going to do?
Xiang Ning met Pei Yanzhi's dark raven feathers and watched him lower his head.

Just when she thought he was about to kiss her, Pei Yanzhi pushed her to the ground.

"go out."

The two words uttered in a cold voice made Xiang Ning breathe a sigh of relief.

She hurriedly straightened her disheveled clothes and left in a rush.

As they went out, they happened to see Cheng Hua, who had come to deliver official documents to Pei Yanzhi.

Seeing Xiang Ning's disheveled clothes and flushed face, Cheng Hua was stunned for a moment.

"I, I'm going back first."

Xiang Ning nodded in acknowledgment, then walked away.

Who knows what got into Pei Yanzhi? He was the one who held her tightly in his arms, and he was also the one who pushed her away.

He's truly a person whose thoughts are hard to fathom.

But the thought of having to serve him in the future made Xiang Ning feel that she needed to go to the pharmacy to get some medicine to treat her heart ailment.

Pei Yanzhi sat in the room, closed his eyes, and slowly exhaled.

How could he, while fully conscious, still harbor such delusional thoughts?
However, thinking of Xiang Ning's reaction, Pei Yanzhi opened his eyes again.

What nonsense you're spouting about being pleased with yourself? Not a single word of it is true.

Keeping her around is just to see how long she can keep acting, as a little bit of fun in a boring life.

"Sir, Mingxiang just delivered the official document."

Cheng Hua's voice sounded from outside the door. Pei Yanzhi hummed in response and let him in.

Chenghua came in, put down the official documents, and was about to leave when he turned around and saw the sachet on the ground, and asked in confusion.

Upon hearing this, Pei Yanzhi looked down and saw a simple, elegant sachet lying quietly on the ground.

Cheng Hua stepped forward, picked up the sachet, and handed it to Pei Yanzhi.

A pleasant fragrance wafted over, and as if possessed, Pei Yanzhi reached out and took it.

The fragrance in the sachet was very similar to the one on Xiang Ning's body, but upon closer inspection, one could detect slight differences.

"Go down."

"She doesn't need to keep watch anymore."

Pei Yanzhi put the sachet away and told Chenghua to leave.

Chenghua nodded, turned around and left.

After Xiang Ning went out, she remembered that Pei Yanzhi had told her to keep watch at night, but after what he had just done, she couldn't make up her mind. She could only wait for Cheng Hua to come out so she could ask him.

"Master says the young lady doesn't need to keep watch at night anymore; she can go back and rest."

Hearing this, Xiang Ning breathed a sigh of relief and turned to leave.

Back in her room, she touched her waist and looked a little flustered. Where was her sachet?

That was the only keepsake her mother left her!
(End of this chapter)