“Two years.” Shen Miao said, “In two years, I will definitely return to the capital. At that time, Mr. Pei, you must become Prince Ding’s trusted aide, the kind he relies on the most.”
Pei Lang smiled, but there was a hint of anger in his smile. “Shen Miao, don’t you think too highly of me? I’m just a poor scholar. I have nothing. Even if I’m lucky enough to become Prince Ding’s aide, how can I get him to rely on me the most?”
“Sir, there’s no need to belittle yourself. You’re a talent, and he has an eye for talent.” Shen Miao smiled. “Even if you’re not a talent, sir, you have to make yourself a talent.” She lowered her voice and looked at Pei Lang provocatively. “If you can’t do it, guess what’ll happen if I tell Miss Liu Ying who you are? Do you think Miss Liu Ying will be so touched that she will cry?”
“You!” Pei Lang was furious. Shen Miao was clearly threatening him. If she told Liu Ying that he was the one who helped her, she might return to the Treasure Fragrance Chamber to become a prostitute again in a fit of anger.
Pei Lang said, “I’ve never seen a woman as vicious and cunning as you.” The young girl treated him neither as her teacher nor as her senior. Pei Lang even had the illusion that Shen Miao was always one step ahead of him. She provoked and threatened him, and there seemed to be some inexplicable resentment in her voice, making Pei Lang look puzzled. Who would have thought that a gentle and delicate girl like her was actually more cold-hearted than anyone?
“Sir, you must be joking. It’s a difficult world. I’m just trying my best to survive,” Shen Miao said with a humble smile, as if she was a student who was receiving a lecture from her teacher. She quietly took out something from her sleeve, reached into Pei Lang’s sleeve, and handed it to him.
Pei Lang was stunned. Her soft fingertips rested on his palm for a second before they fluttered away like butterflies. For some reason, Pei Lang actually had the urge to want them to linger a bit longer. However, immediately, he brought his wandering mind back to the present moment. He held the letter in his sleeve and looked at Shen Miao in confusion.
“The address is written on the letter. If you have time, you can naturally go and take a look at Miss Liu Ying. In addition, there are some other things I wrote. In the next two years, I hope you can do as I say,” Shen Miao said.
Pei Lang froze. Instead of being angry, he smiled helplessly, “Shen Miao, you want me to be your puppet?”
“A scholar has the pride of a scholar. SIr, you are knowledgeable and I truly admire you. If it were any other scholar, I would not have to use such a method.” Shen Miao looked up and saw Pei Lang’s angry expression. She smiled and said, “But do you have a choice?”
“It’s fine if you don’t want to do it. Even if I’m thousands of miles away, I still have a way to tell Miss Liu Ying a story.” She smiled gently, but her tone was sharp.
Pei Lang felt inexplicably angry and aggrieved. In front of Shen Miao, he had no dignity as a teacher at all. Every time he felt like losing his temper, Shen Miao always had a way to make him choke back his anger. Pei Lang even wondered if he owed Shen Miao something in his previous life so Shen Miao was here to collect the debts.
He suppressed the humiliation in his heart and said, “Will I be able to meet your requirements as long as I follow what you wrote in the letter?”
“I believe in your ability.” Shen Miao lowered her eyes. On the letter was what Fu Xiuyi would do in the next few years. On the surface, Fu Xiuyi did not look ambitious, but in private, he had been recruiting knowledgeable people. As for how he would recruit knowledgeable people, no one knew better than Shen Miao. Pei Lang was not an ordinary person to begin with. As long as he revealed some of his “talent”, he would naturally be chosen by Fu Xiuyi.
