By a twist of fate, the illegitimate son of the Marquis's family marries the county princess.

After lunch, Wen Zongji looked at Pei Rujing and asked, "Back to the manor?"

Pei Rujing shook her head: "Now that we're out of the manor, we should naturally go shopping."

Wen Zongji looked outside: "Aren't you cold?"

Pei Rujing pointed to the cloak on the screen: "With this, it's not cold."

Wen Zongji shrugged: "Alright."

He walked over, took off the cloak, and personally tied it on Pei Rujing, making Pei Rujing's small face look even smaller.

Pei Rujing's eyelashes fluttered as she looked up at him: "Wen Zongji, come with me."

Wen Zongji hooked her nose: "What did you call me?"

Pei Rujing knew that his words meant he agreed, and happily hooked her arms around his neck, stood on tiptoe, and kissed the corner of his mouth: "My husband, stay with me—"

Qinghe and the others, who accidentally witnessed this scene, immediately blushed and lowered their heads.

Granny Feng's expression changed slightly. She glanced out the window and said helplessly, "Princess, we're outside."

She's having such a hard time.

In the past, I worried that the two of them wouldn't get along, but now that they get along so well, I still need to worry.

Pei Rujing didn't seem to care: "This is the second floor, what can you see clearly from outside?"

She has always acted on her whims, doing whatever she wanted.

Wen Zongji couldn't help but marvel at his wife's remarkable adaptability.

I vividly remember that their first kiss was a complete failure, and their relationship only progressed further the night before last.

Pei Rujing was already able to kiss him in front of the maids.

Wen Zongji chuckled twice.

Pei Rujing's gaze suddenly sharpened: "What! You also think I went too far?"

Wen Zongji stared wide-eyed, looking completely wronged: "I couldn't have asked for this more than I could have!"

Pei Rujing's expression softened: "Hmph, you're smart to know what's good for you."

Wen Zongji pinched her cheek: "You're so young, yet you're quite good at changing your expression."

"That's to scare you!"

"Yes, I'm terrified."

"You just treat me like a child."

Pei Rujing pushed Wen Zongji away and left the private room first.

Wen Zongji shook his head and followed, only to see Pei Rujing suddenly stop.

Wen Zongji looked up in confusion and saw Duke Pei and the people around him not far away.

Pei Ruyan also saw Pei Rujing, and sweetly said while holding onto the Duke of Pei's arm, "Father, the steamed lamb with milk at Wangchun Tower is so delicious. I want to eat it again for my birthday next time."

Aunt Wang, who was standing to the side, glared at her: "Next year is your coming-of-age ceremony, so you should celebrate it at home."

Pei Ruyan looked annoyed: "It's all my parents' fault for spoiling me too much. In front of them, I'm just a child. I've forgotten that I'm almost of marriageable age."

Duke Pei looked somewhat awkwardly at Wen Zongji and Pei Rujing: "Zongji, are you also accompanying Jing'er to Wangchun Tower for dinner today?"

Pei Rujing stared at Pei Ruyan, her voice icy: "Qinghe, slap her!"

Before Pei Ruyan could react, Qinghe slapped her across the face.

Snapped--

"What are you doing!"

Aunt Wang pushed Qinghe away and hugged Pei Ruyan tightly.

Pei Shiyun glared fiercely at Pei Rujing: "Why did you hit your second sister for no reason, eldest sister?"

"Without any reason?" Pei Rujing sneered, "Although you are only lowly illegitimate children, you are still descendants of the Duke of Pei's mansion. Only my mother is your legal mother. How can you call a lowly concubine 'mother'? Where is my mother's face?"

Pei Shiyun's eyes flickered: "Second sister only misspoke. Eldest sister can reprimand her directly. Why make the servants do it?"

Pei Ruyan covered her face and cried, "I'm sorry, big sister, I said the wrong thing."

Aunt Wang also looked apologetic: "Your Excellency, it is my fault for not teaching the Second Miss well. Please punish me."

Duke Pei frowned deeply; his peaceful days had been ruined by Pei Rujing.

"Jing'er, Yan'er is still young, it's inevitable that she'll make a slip of the tongue. She's your sister, how can you be so heartless!"

Pei Rujing's expression grew even colder: "Qinghe, keep hitting her!"

Duke Pei's face darkened: "Didn't you hear what your father said?"

Wen Zongji stepped forward, blocking the Duke of Pei's view of Pei Rujing, his voice distant and indifferent: "Father-in-law, the Duke of Pei's family is a founding noble family with a distinguished ancestral reputation. Are you sure you want to cause a scene here and ruin the reputation of the Duke of Pei's family?"

Duke Pei even doubted he had heard correctly: "It was clearly that rebellious daughter who started this trouble!"

"The second young lady disrespects her stepmother; what's wrong with the county princess, as the eldest sister, teaching her manners?"

"It's nothing serious, why make such a fuss?"

Wen Zongji retorted, "It was just a slap in the face, why make such a fuss!"

Pei Ruyan looked at Wen Zongji in disbelief.

Her face was in a lot of pain; it must be red and swollen.

Doesn't he have any pity for women at all?

Duke Pei was also speechless for a moment by Wen Zongji's remark.

Wen Zongji turned to Pei Rujing: "Weren't we supposed to go shopping?"

Pei Rujing glanced at Pei Ruyan: "I'll let you off the hook for now, but if you don't follow the rules next time, we'll settle all the old scores together."

After saying that, Pei Rujing and Wen Zongji went downstairs together.

Pei Ruyan was furious. She turned to Duke Pei and pleaded, "Father, look at them..."

"Alright!" Duke Pei was annoyed by Wen Zongji's words and said impatiently, "Your elder sister is right. Don't be so tactless in the future."

Then I went downstairs.

The three women left behind, including Aunt Wang, all looked increasingly grim.

……

On the carriage

Pei Rujing sneered, "That bitch Pei Ruyan deserves a beating!"

Wen Zongji looked at her: "If I hadn't stopped you just now, were you planning to argue with Duke Pei in public, Princess?"

"He insists on protecting Pei Ruyan, but I won't give him any face."

Wen Zongji frowned: "The Great Chu governs the world with filial piety. After all, Duke Pei is the county princess's father. Does the county princess think her reputation is too good to be true for publicly contradicting her own father?"

Pei Rujing didn't care at all: "I don't care."

"There are plenty of ways to deal with Miss Pei, why does the county princess insist on inflicting heavy losses on both herself and the enemy?"

Pei Rujing: "I don't care about any of that. I only know that she said the wrong thing, and she deserves to be hit!"

Wen Zongji said calmly, "No matter what I say, the county princess just won't listen, will she?"

Pei Rujing said somewhat irritably, "Isn't this already resolved?"

"This problem is solved, but what about next time?"

"Let's talk about it next time."

"Princess!"

Pei Rujing turned her back to him, covering her ears: "I won't listen! I won't listen!"

Seeing her childlike appearance, Wen Zongji's frustration subsided slightly. He hugged her from behind, resting his chin on the top of Pei Rujing's head.

Pei Rujing paused, lowered her hands from her ears, and said with a wronged expression, "You're only a few years older than me, what right do you have to lecture me!"

Wen Zongji sighed: "I'm not lecturing the county princess, but just telling her that there are better ways to handle many things. For example, in today's matter, the county princess could have told her mother-in-law. Her mother-in-law, as the legal mother, would not only have upheld the greater good in dealing with Miss Pei, but would have also made things even more difficult for her."

"The county princess doesn't like Duke Pei. In private, it's fine no matter what. You can even make me put a sack over his head and beat him up. But you can't break off relations in public. Outsiders won't care whether Duke Pei is right or wrong. They'll only see that the county princess has no respect for her elders."

Pei Rujing's eyes suddenly brightened: "You're really willing to put a sack over his head and beat him up?"

Wen Zongji's face darkened: "That's all the county princess heard?"

Pei Rujing snapped out of her daze, wrapped her arms around Wen Zongji's neck, and said sweetly, "Okay, okay, I'll do whatever my husband says."

After saying that, she buried her face in Wen Zongji's arms and rubbed against him affectionately.

She didn't really care about Wen Zongji teaching her how to do things; she just misunderstood that Wen Zongji thought she should naturally respect Duke Pei.

That's why she was so happy when she heard that Wen Zongji was willing to put a sack over the Duke of Pei's head and beat him.

All she wanted was for Wen Zongji to stand by her side!

Wen Zongji pursed his lips, suddenly recalling the prickly Princess Anhe from his homecoming visit, and lowered his head to kiss her long hair affectionately.

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Happy New Year's Eve everyone!

Working people only got three days off, and my dear readers probably didn't get less, right?