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He met her gaze, his brows slightly furrowed, as though feeling a trace of pity.
“It’s been so long already. After all, you’re brothers. Endless revenge will never end the cycle. Yinzhi’s health is still poor, perhaps it’s better to just… let it go?”
As expected.
Lizhu had already calmed most of her anger watching the young man take a few hits. But the moment she heard Pei Zhaoye say that, her temper flared up again.
“How can it be let go! When he bullied you, did he ever say to let it go? And another thing, he’s not allowed to be called Yinzhi! Change the name!”
Pei Zhaoye raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“…A gentleman’s virtue endures ten thousand years; blessings shall forever continue through his descendants. How could he be worthy of the word Yin?”
It wasn’t like back then when she used to say “Pei Yinzhi is the best young gentleman in the world.”
Something stirred in Pei Zhaoye’s heart.
If she had no connection to the Pei family, then why, when they met on Yushan, had she suddenly mentioned Pei Shao by name? And why had she carried in her trunk a letter of recommendation bearing his name?
Unable to figure it out for the moment, Pei Zhaoye set the thought aside.
He took out the bamboo dispatch he had just received.
“Forget about him for now. I just got word—Jiangzhou’s harvest failed this year, but the officials are still pressing hard for taxes. In Yanshan, a group of strong young farmers with some local reputation have gathered nearby bandits, forming over a thousand men. With so many people and no food, something serious is bound to happen.”
Lizhu’s heart sank.
His guess was right.
In her previous life, that group from Yanshan would rise in early winter, when famine broke out in Jiangzhou, and start an uprising under the name Yanhui Army. They would plunder government granaries and slaughter local officials.
In less than half a year, their numbers would grow to over ten thousand, and they would ally with the Xue clan of Suiyang—becoming a dire threat to the imperial court.
But the Yanhui Army was made up entirely of peasants and bandits.
With a bit of manipulation, the Xue clan would cause them to collapse from within, turning them into nothing more than pawns for the Xue family’s rise.
Once the Xue clan gained power, the court would have no choice but to rely heavily on the Tan clan.
And everything would return to the path of her previous life.
Lizhu suddenly looked up and grasped Pei Zhaoye’s arm.
“Rebellion is a crime punishable by death. No one would risk their life unless they’re starving. Iff we can gather grain and send it to Yanshan, we might be able to stabilize the situation for now.”
Pei Zhaoye pondered for a moment and was just about to speak when a voice came from outside the door:
“Wan Commandery changed to a new strain of rice last year, and the harvest was excellent. If the Princess is in a hurry, I can send word home along with this letter and ask my second uncle to check how much grain can be spared for relief.”
The tight grip on his arm loosened.
Pei Zhaoye stared in astonishment as the young girl lifted her skirt and hurried toward Tan Xun.
“Really? Then write quickly!”
She almost forgot, setting aside the Empress’s foolishness in insisting on having her killed—
In all other matters, at least for now, the Tan clan and the royal family’s interests were aligned. If Jiangzhou fell into chaos, the Tans would not sit idly by.
After speaking, Lizhu glanced at the letter in Tan Xun’s hand and asked, “You’ve made up your mind, then?”
The young nobleman, whose face was like jade, showed a trace of desolation at her words and gave a bitter smile.
“The Tan family has committed such shameful acts that I have no face to seek marriage with the Princess again. Moreover, Prince Xiang has his dream, and the goddess is without heart—why should I force what was once our childhood friendship? I have written to my father, persuading him to abandon the marriage proposal… I only hope that the Princess will one day find her true match and happiness.”
Lizhu thought, As long as your family stops trampling over ours, I’ll definitely live happily ever after!
“The writing desk is over there, go ahead and write. Should I grind the ink for you?”
Lizhu was afraid he might change his mind.
Tan Xun knew perfectly well why Lizhu was being so solicitous, but he pretended not to, smiling gently.
“Very well, then I’ll trouble you…”
“Ow!! Brother, you stepped on my hand!”
Lizhu and Tan Xun both turned to look to the side.
Pei Shao lay limp across the bench like a dead fish, while Pei Zhaoye, face calm as water, slowly lifted his foot. Sure enough, it was pressing right down on Pei Shao’s fingers.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips. “Sorry, did that hurt? Brother didn’t mean it, don’t take it to heart.”
Pei Shao knew full well it was deliberate, but even in anger, all he could do was glare helplessly.
Pei Zhaoye turned to Lizhu.
“I just remembered, Yiling Commandery didn’t only have a good harvest this year. The past three years have all been plentiful.”
Sure enough, Lizhu’s eyes lit up again, and she hurried back to Pei Zhaoye’s side with light steps.
“Really?”
“Really.”
At his words, Lizhu’s joy deepened.
If it were just one commandery’s grain, she would still worry it wouldn’t be enough. After all, the local people had to be provided for as well.
If it’s two commanderies, then we’d have much more confidence.
“Yiling Commandery’s harvest was good, and the grain is all in the government granaries.”
Tan Xun’s smile was slightly cool as he said softly: “Thank you for informing me, Lord Pei. I will write and have my family help negotiate and arrange it together, so you need not worry.”
Pei Zhaoye appeared to be struck by the thought: “Negotiate? Oh right, your second uncle and the Yiling Prefect are on such good terms they could even conspire to kill the Princess together. The Tan family does have plenty of connections.”
The smile at the corner of Tan Xun’s mouth stiffened somewhat.
“Master Xun,” Xuan Ying interjected at the right moment, “the writing supplies are ready.”
Pei Zhaoye looked coldly as Tan Xun brushed past him.
Coming back to himself, he found Lizhu staring at him with a thoughtful look.
Lizhu: “You… do you dislike Tan Xun very much?”
Pei Zhaoye thought to himself that one look and he wanted to kick him to death, wasn’t that obvious?
He might have driven her away, but he still cared about her.
As for Tan Xun…
Lizhu suddenly remembered what he had said before she died in her past life.
He said their divorce was all part of Pei Zhaoye’s schemes.
This life it might be possible, back then she and Pei Zhaoye had only glanced at each other through a bamboo screen; how could the divorce have anything to do with him?
Thinking this, Lizhu looked at Pei Zhaoye with a smiling tilt to her eyes.
Pei Zhaoye felt uneasy under her gaze.
“…I’m not sure about Wan Commandery’s situation, but if you want Yiling Commandery to obediently open the granaries, you’d better find a way to hold Yiling Commandery in your own hands.”
Lizhu half understood: “Isn’t having you enough?”
“I’d like to say I’m enough,” Pei Zhaoye smiled, “but some things aren’t possible. If you truly want to know how the officials behave, I do have a method.”
“What method?”
Pei Zhaoye glanced at the sky outside.
“Wait until nightfall, then go eavesdrop at the government office.”
Lizhu blinked and thought for a moment: “Just go there? They might not say what I want to hear. Better open up the Pei manor’s restrictions, let the Pei household news spread over the next two days.”
Pei Zhaoye thought it over for a moment.
“You’ll scare them half to death,” he said.
After the two discussed it briefly, they soon had a plan.
They handed the matter over to Xuan Ying and Gu Bing’an to handle. As dusk deepened, Pei Zhaoye took Lizhu with him and headed toward the government office under cover of night.
Standing beneath the outer wall, Lizhu looked up for a long while.
“It’s so high, how are we supposed to—”
Her gaze shifted from the wall to the sharp line of his jaw.
Instinctively, Lizhu threw her arms around his neck. A gust of wind brushed past her ears, the world rocked a few times and when her feet touched solid ground again, she was standing on a roof of gray tiles.
“You… how did you do that?”
A drooping willow happened to veil their figures. Supporting herself against the tree trunk, Lizhu looked at Pei Zhaoye with eyes full of awe.
“Can you fly?”
Pei Zhaoye lifted a tile and peeked inside.
The news hadn’t reached the office yet, and everything within was still calm.
He looked up at her. “Was that fun?”
Lizhu nodded honestly.
In her previous life, Pei Zhaoye had spent half his time pretending to be sick, and the other half truly ill.
Even in bed, she’d never dared to kick him too hard. When had she ever experienced something like this, nearly flying across rooftops?
“It’s wonderful,” Lizhu sighed softly.
He glanced at her. “What’s wonderful?”
“I like seeing you when you’re healthy.”
“…”
Pei Zhaoye’s mind naturally drifted in the wrong direction.
Yet her face was so earnest that his wandering thoughts suddenly felt embarrassingly crude.
Before long, he noticed that she seemed to realize it too—her pale face slowly flushing pink.
Pei Zhaoye’s throat tightened, his dark eyes fixed on her.
Come to think of it…
Lizhu tilted her head up toward the willow branches.
The sky had already gone dark.
Her heart began to pound.
…When would he bring up that matter?
Now didn’t seem like the right time. Perhaps later, when they were back for the night?
But there were people everywhere in the Pei residence… maybe it would happen on the way back?
Various images and sensations surfaced uncontrollably in her mind.
Just the thought of that unstoppable, overwhelming force he had when he was with her before made Lizhu’s legs feel weak.
No, definitely not on the road. That would be far too embarrassing.
As she was thinking this, the air around her suddenly filled with Pei Zhaoye’s distinct scent. Her vision dimmed. The moment the space between them vanished, she felt a kiss fall upon her lips.
Gentle and cool, like the autumn wind.
He lightly brushed against her lips, just once.
It was impossibly soft.
When she opened her eyes, Pei Zhaoye saw surprise reflected in them. Yet, to his astonishment, she wasn’t blushing or flustered enough to want to hide.
Because of that, he didn’t immediately pull away.
In the darkness, his eyes were deep and black, the distance between them barely an inch.
“What were you thinking about?”
His voice was low, quiet—yet for some reason, it sent a tremor through her chest.
That familiar touch and warmth stirred a faint ache deep inside Lizhu, as if after a long, long separation, the feeling of being reunited with him had finally become real.
“Nothing.”
Lizhu exhaled softly, the corners of her lips curling as she whispered: “So it’s just like this, huh.”
She had almost forgotten—this time around, he still hadn’t learned the kind of kissing that left her unable to stand afterward.
Hearing her words, Pei Zhaoye’s breath faltered.
After a long moment, his brows lifted ever so slowly, and his eyes grew even darker.
