Chu Linglong had sustained severe injuries when Chu Xian attacked, and although his wounds had recovered, he had been weakened greatly. He needed this medicine from Shi Mo, which was part of the reason why he continued to stay with the latter.
It was already nighttime, and Su Xi-er had undergone eight hours of treatment by now. Pei Qianhao helped remove her clothing before she washed up in a wooden tub, bringing back a set of fresh clothes and carrying her back to her room afterwards.
Su Xi-er looked at him, her lips parting slightly.
Pei Qianhao hugged her. “You can’t talk now. Don’t force yourself.”
A tiny voice entered his ear. “A-… Jing.”
She can speak now! Pei Qianhao stared at her. “The treatment worked.”
Su Xi-er lay her head on his warm chest. “Chao Mu… how is she?” Her voice was still hoarse.
“Chu Xian was able to get ice and preserve her body. It’ll be difficult to get him to bury her body when he can’t let go.” Pei Qianhao rested his chin on her head as he patted her back. “Xi-er, he’s doing this because he loves her so much. We shouldn’t force Chu Xian on this; let him be.”
Su Xi-er nodded after a while, raising her arms to hug Pei Qianhao and cherish the fact that she had been able to meet someone she loved in this life. She wanted to cherish every single moment of it.
They suddenly heard a knock at the door, and Du Ling walked in shortly after. He had been speaking with Chu Xian for most of the day.
Du Ling had a grave expression as he walked up to Pei Qianhao. “What does Shi Mo have against you?” The main reason he disliked those from the Central Plains was because of their scheming personalities, with Shi Mo being a prime example. In Du Ling’s opinion, a man should stand and fight instead of hiding in the shadows.
Pei Qianhao let go of Su Xi-er and tucked her tightly under the blanket. Before he could leave, a tiny hand grabbed him. Su Xi-er spoke in a soft voice, “Talk in here. I want to know too.”
Du Ling looked at Pei Qianhao with some unhappiness. “I would have waited outside if I wanted to keep this from her. There are some things she should know.”
Su Xi-er was puzzled at this. What exactly is A-Jing keeping from her?
Pei Qianhao looked at Su Xi-er and said, “I’m not sure about that guy. I’ve briefly met him once when I was a young boy in the Pei family. We were a prominent merchant family in the Jiangnan area. If I’m right, Shi Mo is the son of one of my father’s good friends, and was taken in by my father.”
Du Ling then said, “That’s just cherishing a snake in one’s bosom. Shi Mo is ungrateful, and he can’t be forgiven.”
At this, Su Xi-er turned to Pei Qianhao. He is Pei Zheng’s adopted son; both the man himself and Pei Yaran had repeated this countless times.
But the Jiangnan Pei family and the capital’s Pei family had vastly different reasons for adopting another son. One of them was adopted because he was a good friend’s child, while the other was adopted to be nothing more than a pawn because of a lack of male heirs.
Su Xi-er’s eyelids twitched when she thought about this. Pei Qianhao said he was born with a lowly status, so how did he know about the merchant background of the Pei family? Did he already investigate it? Was this what he was keeping from me?
Pei Qianhao could tell that her mind was racing. “Xi-er, I’ll tell you everything later.”
“Chu Xian is already looking into destroying Shi Mo’s power base in Dongling.” Du Ling then nodded at Su Xi-er and said, “You have a cold constitution. There’s a warm jade bed in the Western Region. I’ll take you there when we’ve settled everything so that you can recover.”
Su Xi-er felt the warmth emanate from the jade pendant on her neck, unconsciously grasping it in her hands when she heard the words ‘warm jade’.
