Yi Yanteng walked for a while after leaving the flower hall, then deliberately slowed his pace. He knew Xie Jiang had followed him out and he wouldn't deny her the chance.
But after waiting for a moment, he noticed that Xie Jiang's footsteps were not only not getting closer, but were growing further away.
Yi Yanteng turned around suspiciously to look.
Before turning, he couldn't help but have a thought: would she suddenly pop out from above or from behind a corridor pillar to surprise him?
He would definitely control his facial expression to prevent her from easily seeing through him.
Unexpectedly, he saw the three people who had run faster than rabbits earlier, popping out from somewhere, blocking Xie Jiang who was chasing after him. They whispered something to her furtively and then pulled her away towards another direction.
Xie Jiang struggled for a moment in pretense, then was pulled away by Yin Baixuan and the other two, her steps light and without any hesitation.
Yi Yanteng felt a blockage in his chest, unable to catch his breath for a long time. He stared in the direction she disappeared for a long time, his gaze so intense it was almost seeing flowers, yet she didn't return.
She left so gracefully, so eagerly! She couldn't even spare a moment to explain! He had actually been fantasizing about giving her a chance! Yi Yanteng felt utterly ridiculous!
He shouldn't have come today!
He had left a pile of work to come to the Duke of Wei's mansion just to see how heartless she truly was!
Yi Yanteng was so angry he saw stars and punched a nearby corridor pillar.
Two middle-aged men, resembling military officers, were arguing and turned from a small path overgrown with flowers and trees. Upon seeing the Regent there, they immediately stepped forward to pay their respects.
It was not easy to get an audience with the Regent on a normal day, and it was a rare opportunity to encounter him at the Duke of Wei's mansion today.
The two military officers had some matters they wanted to discuss and hear the Regent's opinion on.
Yi Yanteng instantly concealed his emotions, leaving no room for error. With a turn, he was once again the Regent who held power over the world, having no leisure time to concern himself with that heartless wretch!
~
Xie Jiang was pulled away not to seek out Zuo Rongchun. Yi Yanteng had overturned a vinegar jar in front of her; at a time like this, what necessity was there for her to add fuel to the fire?
Yin Baixuan and the other two had originally run far away, but they ran back with excitement because they heard that a female relative in the inner quarters had killed someone, and they wanted to drag her along to watch the excitement.
Xie Jiang hesitated for a moment, as the incident occurred in the inner quarters. It would be improper for a large group of youths to go to the inner quarters to watch a commotion.
However, considering the preferences of these scoundrels, Xie Jiang immediately felt that letting them go to the inner quarters wouldn't be a big problem.
Xie Jiang followed them through a shortcut to the inner quarters, "In the front courtyard, among the men, everything is calm, each one acting more dignified than the last. The women in the inner quarters are much more direct."
Zhu Zhou, young as he was, spoke with the air of someone who had seen much hardship, "Women are just about jealousy and petty squabbles."
It was heard that besides the young marquis of Marquis Yongjia, Meng Junyu, the Duke of Wei and the father and son duo from the Ministry of War, Pei, had also rushed to the inner quarters upon receiving the news.
Xie Jiang said, "I vaguely recall hearing that the Pei family from the Ministry of War is related to the Duke of Wei's mansion?"
Han Zhao covered his mouth with his hand and whispered, "The Pei family from the Ministry of War is related by marriage to the Duke of Wei's mansion. The eldest daughter of the Duke of Wei, Miss Xu, is married to the eldest son of the Minister of War, Pei Yan, Pei Zichang."
Halfway there, they saw the Minister of War, Pei Yan, hurrying from the front courtyard.
In his early forties, he was of dignified appearance.
Everyone took a shortcut, leaving Minister Pei behind. From a distance, they saw many people gathered outside a pavilion.
A young man emerged from the pavilion carrying a bloody woman. The woman's abdomen was greatly distended, clearly showing she was pregnant, and blood was uncontrollably flowing from beneath her. The man, enraged, said something to another woman before hastily departing.
Xie Jiang and the others did not rashly approach to watch up close. They found a spot in a dense cluster of flowers and trees that offered a clear view of the spectacle without obstructing their vision, and where they wouldn't be noticed.
"That's Pei Zichang."
"Who is Pei Zichang holding? I didn't hear that Miss Xu was pregnant."
"Oh! I know!"
Han Zhao slapped his thigh, remembering something, "Last night I heard my mother say."
"What?"
"Pei Zichang is holding his concubine, who is also his childhood sweetheart cousin, which is why he dotes on her and protects her like his own eyes. But this Pei Zichang is truly a scoundrel, not considering the occasion today, to dare show disrespect to Miss Xu!"
The other woman who was angered by Pei Zichang was naturally Miss Xu.
"Today is the birthday of the Old Madam Xu. Doesn't the Pei family have anyone with a normal brain? Bringing a pregnant concubine to the house, is it to upset Old Madam Xu? Or is it specifically to slap the Xu family in the face?"
"My mother said Madam Pei is a troublemaker, afraid that their family life is too peaceful, so she pushed her own niece into her son's room..."
"With so much bleeding, the fetus is likely lost."
As they were discussing, they saw Meng Junyu leaving gracefully with the County Princess Le'an.
"I knew Meng Junyu ran to the inner quarters so quickly, it must have something to do with the County Princess Le'an."
"The County Princess Le'an is not known for her good temper. It's likely that Pei Zichang's concubine was careless and offended the County Princess Le'an, and the County Princess Le'an showed no mercy."
Xie Jiang listened to everyone's discussion and basically pieced together the events, "So when they said there was a death, this is how a death happened. But it is indeed a life."
At first hearing, she thought some major incident of murder and arson had occurred, but it turned out to be just such a trivial and uninteresting dispute.
Xie Jiang slapped Yin Baixuan on the head, "It's not too late to get excited after finding out the details next time!"
With this spare time, she might as well tease Yi Yanteng for a while.
On the territory of Duke Wei's mansion, Xu Hengyan, playing a little thrilling game with Yi Yanteng, was incredibly beneficial for both body and mind.
"I heard even the Duke of Wei and Minister Pei were alerted, and with blood spilled and a life lost, I thought there was some major chaos among the women in the inner quarters. Who knew it was just a concubine's miscarriage..."
"It's just that Miss Xu handled it too decisively and efficiently. Otherwise, it would have been quite a show if the three families had clashed."
"Is Pei Zichang blind? Miss Xu is famous for her talent and beauty, why would he treasure a concubine so much..."
"Men, why would they cherish what they get easily? A concubine is inferior to a wife." Han Zhao spoke like an experienced person.
Xie Jiang stared at him with a strange look, "It's as if you're not a man?"
Han Zhao: "I..."
Was his dignity something that could be questioned?
Xie Jiang raised her hand and pressed on his face, pushing his head far away.
What was there to explain?
She didn't care if he was a man or not.
Miss Xu's orderly arrangements caused everyone inside and outside the pavilion to retreat. Miss Xu likely intended to follow and see, as the incident happened within the Duke of Wei's mansion.
Xie Jiang and the others also prepared to return to the front courtyard along the forest path.
At this moment, Minister Pei Yan finally arrived and met Miss Xu in the shade.
From a distance, they saw the father-in-law and daughter-in-law standing together, talking about something. Xie Jiang and the others didn't find anything unusual, it was simply Pei Yan inquiring about the situation from Miss Xu.
Miss Xu's maidservant thoughtfully moved aside to keep watch, and they didn't find that abnormal either.
Perhaps it was just that the words between the father-in-law and daughter-in-law were not convenient for outsiders to hear.
Until the next moment, Pei Yan actually made a move.
It was not the kind of move they could have imagined.
Xie Jiang and Ruan Ziji almost simultaneously stopped. What was initially just a casual glance while retreating, now caused all of them to stare wide-eyed in that direction.