Did Miss become a nun today?

Before Xie Yun Chu could say anything, Pei Chang Yu took her hand; the bruises on her wrist had already faded.

His thumb slowly rubbed against her wrist, startling her so much that she quickly pulled it away.

Pei Changyu wasn't annoyed. He reached out and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "Stay at the Marquis's residence in peace."

Having said that, he turned and left.

It took her a while to come to her senses after the person left.

I clutched my wildly beating heart; it was terrifying.

"Miss, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

Her cousin's actions today kept her awake all night. The next day, she had dark circles under her eyes, looked listless, and lay dejectedly in the house.

Two days later, Ji Lanshu arrived.

Ji Lanshu was the same age as Pei Changfeng and was a quiet and virtuous woman.

"I didn't come uninvited, will my cousin be upset?"

"How could that be? Cousin Ji, please sit down."

Ji Lanshu smiled kindly, "I originally wanted Changning to come with me, but she's not feeling well today, and Changying isn't here either, so I came by myself."

Xie Yunchu smiled and simply responded.

Although she had met Ji Lanshu, they weren't exactly close. In the past, she hadn't liked this cousin very much because of Pei Changfeng.

Looking back now, they didn't have any real conflict; she was just being narrow-minded.

The two chatted casually, but she didn't think Ji Lanshu had just come to reminisce.

"Cousin Ji, just say what's on your mind."

Ji Lanshu pursed her lips and asked after a moment, "I do have something I want to ask my cousin today. Please forgive me if I have offended you."

Upon hearing this, Xie Yun Chu understood. "Cousin wants to ask about me and my second cousin?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Don't worry, cousin. My second cousin and I have nothing."

Ji Lanshu didn't believe her, "But you weren't like this before..."

"That was before," Xie Yun Chu interrupted her.

"Cousin Ji, you don't need to worry about me. My second cousin and I are just siblings. Over the years... I have indeed done some outrageous things, but nothing that shouldn't have happened has never happened."

"My second cousin doesn't like me either, so don't worry, cousin."

Ji Lanshu was stunned, she really didn't expect to hear such words.

The last time she came, this Miss Xie looked at her with hostility.

How much has changed in just a few years?

But her smile was so genuine, it didn't seem like she was lying.

"Really, you don't like it anymore?"

"real."

Everyone in the Marquis's mansion knew the purpose of Ji Lanshu's return to the capital. They originally thought that this cousin Xie would be the most difficult to deal with, but unexpectedly she was the easiest to talk to.

However, Xie Yun Chu's reaction did not reassure her; instead, it made her somewhat uneasy.

Even a woman who likes her second cousin so much can give up so completely; something must have happened.

She didn't ask further about the reasons, as Xie Yun Chu's answer was enough.

Since her cousin Xie no longer liked it, she didn't need to feel guilty.

After everyone left, Lan Yue was unhappy and pouted without saying a word.

"What's wrong? Who upset you?"

"Nobody's here."

"Then why are you unhappy?"

"This servant is upset on behalf of Miss."

"Madam clearly stated that you were to marry the second young master in the future. Now, suddenly a cousin has arrived, and she is seen with the second young master every day. Who knows what the people in the manor will say about you."

Xie Yun Chu naturally knew that since she was injured, there had been a lot of gossip in the mansion.

It is said that she wanted to marry into a wealthy family, but her efforts were in vain.

She gave up when things got tough and finally stopped bothering Pei Changfeng.

It is said that Pei Changfeng dislikes her and is about to marry Ji Lanshu.

These words, of course, dared not reach the ears of her aunt, but they did reach her ears.

Who doesn't gossip behind their back? It's not like it'll cost her anything, so she didn't care.

She only hoped that her aunt could understand her as soon as possible, and it would be best if she could give her another letter of resignation.

Unfortunately, every time she tried to bring it up, she was scolded before she could even utter a word.

He picked up her scriptures and quickly became completely absorbed.

*

Time flies, and the half-month period has come to an end. On the night before the bandit suppression, Wei Zhao was assassinated and wounded, and has been in a coma ever since.

The Wei family is in chaos. The head of the Wei family is currently at the border, and the household is being managed by Madam Wei and the eldest son.

Now that the eldest son has fallen, Lady Wei's world has collapsed, and she has fainted several times from crying.

"Mother, let me help you back to rest. I'll look after my elder brother." Wei Lin, unusually, did not leave the manor today.

After seeing the person off, when they returned, they saw their elder brother sitting perfectly fine on the bed, showing no signs of dying.

"Brother, what exactly happened? Who is so bold as to try to assassinate you?" he asked hurriedly.

Wei Zhao didn't answer, but instead asked, "How is it outside now?"

"The news has already been sent to the palace. The matter of suppressing the bandits has not yet been decided. His Majesty sent some medicine, but there has been no other news so far."

Wei Zhao frowned. "After news of my injury spread today, who has come to inquire about it?"

Wei Lin thought for a moment, "The Ministry of War sent someone to inquire, and people from the military camp also came to visit..."

"It seems like all the people from the Six Ministries have been here before; there's nothing special about it."

"And at home?" Wei Zhao asked again.

"I followed my elder brother's instructions and did not intimidate anyone in the family. If anyone leads the way in asking questions, arrest them immediately."

Wei Lin immediately understood what his elder brother meant.

"Does your brother suspect that someone here has sent someone to assassinate you?"

Wei Zhao glanced at him, then shook his head helplessly. "If the assassins were truly sent by those people, would I have been able to return unscathed?"

The assassination wasn't the goal; evading the bandit suppression was.

"Some people in the court want to use this bandit suppression to target the General's Mansion. If news of my injury gets out, they will definitely come to confirm it."

The report stated four thousand, but in the end, less than a hundred showed up. The court wouldn't believe it, and the fact that the number was insufficient would be considered his dereliction of duty. This forced him to use nearby villagers to make up the numbers.

If they were to kill innocent people and claim credit for it, it would surely become a pretext for impeaching the Wei family, and the General's Mansion would be truly finished.

Wei Lin suddenly realized, "So that's how it is? Who exactly wants to harm the General's Mansion?"

"It's thanks to Big Brother's vigilance that we didn't fall into their trap."

Wei Zhao was also unaware of the situation. He looked at his third brother and said, "This matter is all thanks to Miss Xie."

"Xie Yun Chu? What's her relationship with him?"

"It was because of her reminder that I investigated Baiyang Mountain. If it weren't for her, I'm afraid I would have fallen into the trap long ago."

Wei Zhao chuckled, "Aren't you on good terms with the young master of the Marquis's mansion? You should see Miss Xie often, didn't she tell you?"

Wei Lin was stunned, remembering that the two of them had argued last time, so when would they have had a chance to talk?

"I'm not familiar with her."

"We're really not close, otherwise why would she have asked her cousin to deliver the letter to me instead of you?"

Wei Lin sensed something amiss in those words. "When did you become acquainted with Xie Yun Chu, brother? Was it because you helped her by distributing porridge at Qingyun Nunnery last time?"

Of course, that's not all.

Wei Zhao recalled the woman's fragrance and her soft, slender waist from that night, and his palms inexplicably began to burn again.

"Yes, be more polite to her in the future."

Wei Lin pursed his lips and remained silent, inwardly thinking that Xie Yun Chu was really capable, even his older brother spoke well of her.

Suddenly feeling uneasy, he left the mansion shortly afterward to find some amusement.

Unfortunately, Pei Changfeng was busy spending time with his cousin, and Meng Qi'an was engrossed in his studies, so only Su Yu was willing to come out with him.

Su Yu works in the Ministry of War and is on a rare day off, so today I'm spending time drinking with him.

"I never expected that the person who's usually the busiest would have time to drink with me today. That's so kind of you!"

Su Yu chuckled, "Knowing your older brother is injured and in a bad mood, how could I not come?"

Wei Lin paused, tilted his head back, and downed a glass of wine.

Su Yu patted his shoulder, "Don't worry, General Wei is very lucky and will be fine."

He nodded, knowing that nothing was wrong; his bad mood wasn't because of his older brother.

Unable to resist asking Su Yu, "What do you think of Xie Yun Chu?"