Pei Yanchao sensed the dejected look on the young girl behind him. He wondered if she was still suspicious because of what had happened the day before.
When they were about halfway there, Jiang Sihe asked him to stop and take a break.
"The road ahead is rather rough. How about I lead the way?"
Pei Yanchao lowered his eyes but didn't agree.
Yan An brought them some food and water, then left at a distance.
Pei Yanchao gave the water flask to Jiang Sihe first.
"Drink some water first..."
These words again reminded her of his gentle coaxing in her memory.
Jiang Sihe blushed and shook her head. "I'm not thirsty. You drink, Lord Pei!"
After saying that, she quickly turned around and stood behind a tree.
Jiang Sihe, stop daydreaming. He's already engaged to someone else. It's wrong of you to have such thoughts.
Pei Yanchao broke the cake and walked over to give her a piece. "Then have something to eat!"
Seeing his insistence, Jiang Sihe took a small piece and took a small bite.
The cake was rather dry. She took a bite and coughed lightly.
Pei Yanchao handed over the water flask. Jiang Sihe took it awkwardly and took a small sip.
After Jiang Sihe finished drinking and handed it back, she saw Pei Yanchao take a sip from the flask without any hesitation, even though she had drunk from it first.
This situation puzzled Jiang Sihe. Sometimes he avoided being too close to her and even spoke to her politely and distantly, while at other times, he behaved like this...
She felt like she was going crazy...
Be sober. Maybe he took care of you just like he did with Pei Xueji, treating you as a junior.
It was her own improper thoughts about him that made her over - imagine things...
After secretly warning herself, Jiang Sihe calmed down a bit.
But she just felt uncomfortable and wanted to know whether Pei Yanchao really wanted to marry He Wenyu or there was another reason...
When they started walking again, Jiang Sihe looked at Pei Yanchao in front of her and couldn't help asking.
"Lord Pei, since you knew that Lord He had colluded with the Dongyue Kingdom, why did you still engage with the He Mansion?"
Pei Yanchao's lips curved slightly.
He didn't stop walking but replied in a low voice.
"Use He Wenyu to find evidence of Lord He's collusion with the Dongyue Kingdom!"
Jiang Sihe really didn't expect Pei Yanchao to tell her so directly.
She thought that if she had known this earlier, she wouldn't have been so tangled and uncomfortable. She should have just asked him earlier.
She had been feeling sad for so long, thinking that he really had feelings for He Wenyu!
"Do you think I've schemed against Miss He?"
Jiang Sihe shook her head. Then she realized that Pei Yanchao had his back to her and couldn't see her, so she quickly said.
"No. He Wenyu schemed against you first. What you did must have actually helped her!"
Hearing this, Pei Yanchao's eyes and eyebrows were filled with smiles, but Jiang Sihe couldn't see it.
"The He Mansion committed the crime of betraying the country. It's natural for you to use some means to find out the truth as soon as possible!"
This time, Pei Yanchao's eyes were even more full of smiles. This little girl really knew how to excuse him.
After learning that Pei Yanchao's engagement with He Wenyu was just to find evidence of the He Mansion's collusion with the Dongyue Kingdom, Jiang Sihe's previously tangled mood suddenly cleared up!
"Lord Pei, there's a steep slope ahead. Be careful!"
Her tone was much lighter, and there was a hint of a smile on her face.
Yan An, who was walking a bit behind, could see a bit of the change in their emotions from the side. He couldn't help but smile secretly.
The lord said that he should let the flower bloom there and not take it for himself. But now it seems that he's saying one thing and doing another!
After walking for almost another hour, they saw a towering hill. Jiang Sihe quickly grabbed Pei Yanchao's sleeve.
"Lord, go through the area under that crooked - necked tree in front, and we'll be there."
"Behind the hill?"
Jiang Sihe nodded and pointed in that direction. "Go around it, and there will be a flat ground!"
Pei Yanchao looked over and couldn't help but marvel. This was really an excellent hidden place.
The hill in front seemed to block the way. If it weren't for Jiang Sihe, who was familiar with the road, pointing out that the path was behind the crooked - necked tree, he would never have thought of it.
They walked in according to the path Jiang Sihe pointed out. After walking through a very narrow path, they really saw a flat ground after bypassing the hill.
On the flat ground, there was a wooden house built of wood and a stone wall.
"This wooden house wasn't built by Lord Chen himself. It was built by a hunter before and then abandoned. After Lord Chen came, he should have repaired it."
Pei Yanchao nodded. "It's really well - hidden here."
This time, Jiang Sihe walked in front. She walked to the wooden door and gently knocked on it as she did in her previous life. She knew no one would answer, but she still waited for a while.
She looked back disappointedly. "He hasn't come back..."
Pei Yanchao understood her mood at the moment. "Maybe he's been back. Let's go in and have a look."
Jiang Sihe nodded and reached out to push open the wooden door. The weeds in the yard were taller than a person. Seeing this, Pei Yanchao grabbed Jiang Sihe.
"Let Yan An clear it up first, and then we'll go in."
Hearing this, Yan An behind them drew his sword from his waist and started to cut the weeds.
Looking at the sharp blade that had killed many people, Yan An couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, thinking that it was now used to cut weeds.
After clearing a path to go in, Yan An came out to report to them.
"It's been unoccupied for a long time, and there's a bit of dampness inside. Maybe you should go in later!"
"Okay."
Pei Yanchao responded. Jiang Sihe looked up at the yard and couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed. Judging from this situation, it seemed that Lord Chen had never come back...
In her previous life, she was in a difficult situation herself and never thought about what happened to him later. After receiving that letter, she left here and never came back.
Now that she was back at this old place but didn't see the old acquaintance, she felt inexplicably sad.
"Lord Chen left me a letter when he left..."
Jiang Sihe no longer hid it from Pei Yanchao and told him about the letter.
"I've also brought the letter!"
After saying that, she took out the letter from her sleeve and handed it to Pei Yanchao.
"I've studied it carefully later and didn't find any problems. It's just a letter saying goodbye..."
Pei Yanchao took the letter, glanced at Jiang Sihe, and then opened it to read. Just as Jiang Sihe said, it was indeed just a letter saying goodbye to her without any clues.
The only thing that could be confirmed was that the old man who taught Jiang Sihe was indeed Lord Chen.
"That day when you showed me Lord Chen's case file, I was already about 70 - 80% sure. Later, when I got back, I looked at the font of this letter carefully and confirmed it. I didn't give the letter to you at that time because I thought there were no clues worth showing you!"
Pei Yanchao nodded understandingly. "I'm really grateful that Miss Jiang can be so honest with me!"
Yan An couldn't help asking.
"Do you know why Lord Chen hid here, Miss Jiang?"
Jiang Sihe had also thought about this question. When she was saved by Lord Chen at that time, she just thought he was a bit strange and knew a lot of things, but she didn't think much about it.
"I remember he seemed to have an injury on his right leg. It would hurt a lot on rainy days. I always brought him some pain - relieving oil from the mountain."
Hearing this, Pei Yanchao frowned slightly.
"Lord Chen didn't have a leg injury before..."