The State of Jiang...
Shen Qing rubbed the token in her hand. There was only one person in the State of Jiang who wanted her dead.
Princess Zhaohua...
"There's one more thing," Zhuxing said.
"What is it?"
"Today, there were also signs of an intrusion in Changchun Garden. They should have been looking for something, but were discovered in time by the secret guards and didn't succeed."
Shen Qing shook her head. "I'm afraid they weren't looking for something. They should have been looking for Xu Chenghui."
She had always known that Xu Yanchi was still up to no good.
"Strengthen the defenses everywhere. Xu Chenghui must not fall into Xu Yanchi's hands."
Zhuxing nodded in agreement. "This servant understands."
What on earth did Princess Zhaohua want to do?
Even if she was the real princess, she couldn't go back to inherit the throne. Why did she have to kill her?
Shen Qing thought and thought but couldn't figure it out. So she had to pick up her pen and write a letter to Shen Si, telling him to be careful outside. Since Princess Zhaohua couldn't find her, she might resort to any means to go after him.
This night was another sleepless one for many people.
Different from the tense atmosphere in Changchun Garden, the Yan Mansion was filled with a festive red atmosphere.
After Yan Peiyu left, Liu Xuan ate something, then removed the thick makeup on her face. After waiting for a while and Yan Peiyu still didn't come back, she went to take a bath by herself.
Yan Peiyu pretended to be drunk and left the banquet. Just as he was about to return to his room, Uncle Wu suddenly came over and whispered in his ear, "There are a few people who claim to be the lady's family and want to see the master."
Yan Peiyu stopped in his tracks. The Liu family?
"Where are they?"
Uncle Wu replied, "I didn't dare to let them into the main hall for fear of disturbing the guests. They're at the back door."
"I'll go and take a look."
The Liu family must have come with ill intentions. If they caused any trouble...
Yan Peiyu turned around and walked towards the back door.
The Liu family had been tied up by Shen Qing's people for a day. As soon as they saw Yan Peiyu, they immediately got excited.
"Brother-in-law, you have to help me!"
Yan Peiyu looked at the fat and bloated Liu Yu. He almost didn't recognize him. Squinting his eyes, he asked, "What do you want me to help you with?"
Before Liu Yu could answer, Liu's mother preempted him and said, "It's nothing much. Son-in-law, you're a high-ranking official now. We don't ask for much. Just arrange a small official position for Yu'er."
Liu Yu greedily squinted his eyes. "Yes, brother-in-law. We used to be classmates. If it weren't for our Liu family taking you in, you and my sister wouldn't have this relationship today. It's not too much for you to get me a small official position, right? It'd be best if it's a lucrative one. I can't be an honest official."
Yan Peiyu was almost amused by his words. "You have quite a big mouth. Do you think I'm the emperor?"
He even wanted a lucrative official position. Why didn't he just ask to be the prime minister?
Liu's mother was unhappy when she heard this. "Son-in-law, you're wrong. You're having a great future now. Arranging a small official position is just a piece of cake for you. Our Liu family has done you a favor after all. Now that we're in trouble, you're not even willing to help a little bit?"
"Brother-in-law, don't worry. As long as you help me, my sister will definitely be obedient in the future. You tell her to go east and she won't go west!"
Yan Peiyu drooped his eyelashes. In the hazy night, his expression couldn't be seen clearly. "Oh? As far as I know, Xuanxuan has already severed ties with you. Are you so confident that she'll be obedient?"
Liu's mother said proudly, "I've raised my daughter for so many years. Blood is thicker than water. How can she sever ties with us just like that? That's unfilial! I'll talk to her properly when I get back. She'll definitely listen to me, her mother..."
"Stop it!" Yan Peiyu suddenly said coldly. "Xuanxuan has already severed ties with you. From today on, she's a member of the Yan Mansion and has nothing to do with you anymore. If you have any conscience, you shouldn't bother her!"
"What do you mean by that?" Liu Yu roared. "Yan Peiyu, do you want to be ungrateful?!"
Yan Peiyu sneered. "I'm grateful for the time I spent living in the Liu family. Yes, without you, I wouldn't have met Xuanxuan. But I also gave you silver during that time. I don't owe you anything. If you want to blackmail me with this, you've got the wrong person!"
"Uncle Wu, give them a hundred taels of silver as repayment for the kindness back then. Don't let them appear in front of the lady again."
"Yes." Uncle Wu was also extremely angry. He knew they were shameless, but he didn't expect them to be this shameless. If he had known earlier, he wouldn't have let them in!
His master was still too kind-hearted to give them silver!
But to spend money to get rid of trouble, even though Uncle Wu was dissatisfied, he could only hold his nose and go to get a banknote worth a hundred taels.
Seeing Uncle Wu stuffing the banknote into Liu's mother's hand, Yan Peiyu turned around and was about to leave. Liu Yu came here for an official position. How could he be sent away with just a hundred taels of silver?
"Yan Peiyu, stop!"
"If you don't help, I'll find someone to spread the news that you and Liu Xuan had an affair when you were in the Liu family. Let's see how Liu Xuan can hold her head up then!"
Liu Yu didn't even call her sister anymore.
Yan Peiyu did stop, but he just looked back at him coldly. "You can try it."
The chill in his eyes made Liu Yu shiver. His throat seemed to be blocked, and he couldn't say a word.
"You're not worthy to be her family. Take the silver and get out!"
"Let me remind you one more time. If there are any bad rumors about Xuanxuan outside, I'll hold you accountable. If you don't want your family to be destroyed, behave yourselves!"
Uncle Wu was also extremely angry when he heard this. What kind of people were they?
How could they treat their daughter like this? They were more like enemies!
Uncle Wu told the guards to drive them away.
He really wanted to take back the silver he had just given. Such people weren't worthy of his silver!
But he was afraid of being entangled by the Liu family and causing more trouble for Yan Peiyu. So he could only tell the guards to drive them away quickly and out of sight.
No matter how dissatisfied the Liu family was, they had to leave. They were just putting on a tough front now. Yan Peiyu wasn't an easy person to deal with. If they didn't leave, they might not even get the silver.
The angrier Yan Peiyu thought about it, the more he couldn't bear to think about how Liu Xuan had lived in the ten years when he was away. If the Liu family had any intention of taking her back, she wouldn't have had such a hard time!
But the Liu family didn't!
They were already like this in front of him. He didn't even know how they had made things difficult for Xuanxuan when he wasn't around!
There was a ginkgo tree as thick as an arm in the backyard. Yan Peiyu walked under the shadow. The tree shadow blocked the candlelight and completely covered his red wedding robe, making him completely immersed in the darkness.
Yan Peiyu still couldn't hold back and punched the tree.
If he had discovered earlier and taken her away earlier...
Uncle Wu was startled. "Master, your hand..."
Yan Peiyu naturally felt the pain, but it was nothing compared to what Liu Xuan had suffered over the years.
"It's okay," Yan Peiyu called Uncle Wu closer and whispered a few words in his ear.
"Yes, I'll go and do it right away."
After Uncle Wu left, Yan Peiyu adjusted his mood for a while. He put his injured hand behind his back and then walked towards the bridal chamber.
Today was his big wedding day with Xuanxuan. He couldn't let a bunch of irrelevant people affect his mood.
When he returned to the bridal chamber, he was once again the high-spirited bridegroom.
Red silk was hanging everywhere in the main courtyard. There were no servants guarding it, and it was extremely quiet. The door was tightly closed, which made Yan Peiyu's heart burn with a little more passion.