"You're afraid of me?" Pei Shen repeated in disbelief, the smile on his lips turning even more menacing. "Sister-in-law, how could you be afraid of me?" As he spoke, he tightly grabbed Wen Yu's shoulders and couldn't help but shake her back and forth.
"Say you love me. Say it!" Pei Shen roared.
[Sure enough, one has to go crazy in life. Emotional stability? That comes at an extra cost.]
[Pei the puppy's just showing his possessiveness. I get it. Like I often get furious just because not all the money in the bank belongs to me!]
[It's not that Sister Yu doesn't know what to say. She's just out of ideas.]
Wen Yu looked at him in a flurry and confusion. Then, suddenly, she propped herself up and wrapped her arms tightly around Pei Shen's neck. "Ashen, I'm scared. Don't do this. I'm begging you. I'm so scared..."
The moment she hugged him, the unique fragrance of the Goddess of Luo River Poison wafted into his nostrils. Pei Shen couldn't help but turn his head and take a deep whiff.
Then he gently pushed Wen Yu away. His Adam's apple bobbed, and there was a hint of self - reproach in his eyes. "Sorry, I scared you. I'll go to the study to calm down for a while."
After saying that, Pei Shen left. His back even gave Wen Yu the impression of someone fleeing in a hurry.
[Breathing girls just have extra points. They can even soothe an enraged puppy.]
[Enough! I've never received a shred of true affection. Is it too much to ask for sky - high wealth?]
[The one above you might end up with nothing, both love and money.]
[Are you from the slaughterhouse? You're killing people and still want their hearts.]
After Pei Shen left, Wen Yu slumped to one side. She took several deep breaths before finally coming to her senses.
"You could have called me just now." Xun Ying had somehow changed the tea and poured a cup for Wen Yu.
After a sip of the warm tea went down her throat, Wen Yu felt her cold hands and feet slowly warming up. Thinking of Xun Ying's words, she shook her head with a bitter smile. "I'm not afraid of him hitting me. I'm just afraid that I almost couldn't hold back just now."
As she spoke, she spread out her right hand. There was a sharp hairpin in her palm.
Xun Ying was slightly stunned, and then admiration showed on his face. "You did a great job."
"No, it's far from enough. I need to find that ledger first, or use the Goddess of Luo River Poison to kill him silently." Wen Yu gradually calmed down, and all her rationality returned.
After all, Pei Shen was an official in the court. If he were killed without a clear reason, the court would surely get to the bottom of it. By then, no one would know who would get hold of the ledger of the Pei Mansion.
Moreover, she still didn't know to what extent Pei Shen had taken action against the Wen family. If she failed to find the ledger but instead found the "accusation" that Pei Shen had prepared in advance to expose the Wen family, the Wen family would have no chance of survival.
She had gritted her teeth and come this far. She must not lose because of a momentary outburst of emotion.
"Pei Shen's state was a bit strange just now. Help me ask His Highness if this is a sign that the Goddess of Luo River Poison is starting to take effect." Wen Yu completely sobered up and remembered Pei Shen's sudden outburst of anger.
She originally thought that by coaxing Pei Shen these days, she could gain more of his trust. But it seemed that he was still as sensitive as ever.
She was afraid that she had to add more fuel to the fire.
Xun Ying responded and then looked at Wen Yu with some confusion. "Are you really not afraid at all?"
"I've chosen this path. Even if I'm afraid, I have to go all the way. Besides, I've never been afraid of pain or suffering. Since I made the decision, I've anticipated everything. I'm just afraid that after all my efforts, it will all be in vain." Wen Yu replied calmly. The teacup in her hand had unknowingly emptied. She took a sip without realizing it and only then noticed there was no more tea.
Before she could get up to refill it, Xun Ying had already filled it up again.
After filling the tea, Xun Ying put the teapot back on the table. "You're really brave."
"Brave? Don't you think I'll do anything it takes and that I'm even scarier than Pei Shen?" Wen Yu thought of the content of those bullet screens and smiled. "After all, he seems to love me so much."
Hearing this, Xun Ying frowned instantly and then shook his head firmly. "This is not love."
Wen Yu was momentarily stunned. She asked subconsciously, "Huh?"
"This is not love. Although I've never been in love, I'm sure that I can see you're in pain. If he really wanted to be good to you and love you, he wouldn't have the heart to treat you like this." Xun Ying's tone was extremely firm. "Moreover—"
He paused. Seeing Wen Yu looking at him in confusion, he whispered in addition.
"Moreover, I don't think this is doing anything it takes. If you were in His Highness's position of honor, you could just order the execution of those who offended you."
"If you had learned martial arts like me, you could have resisted them from the very beginning."
"If you were a man like Pei Shen, you wouldn't have to endure all this because of your reputation."
"You're just an innocent woman who is not as respected as the Third Prince, not as strong as me, and can't be spared because of your gender."
"Using everything you can to take revenge on the villains is your wisdom and your tenacity."
"I don't know why you think Pei Shen's treatment of you is love, and I don't know why you think this is doing anything it takes. All I know is that in my eyes, you're just struggling hard to find a way out for yourself."
Xun Ying's voice was not loud. Due to the long - term silence of a secret guard, his voice was a bit hoarse.
Every time he said a word, he would look into Wen Yu's eyes seriously.
Although he was a secret guard, a shadow who handled all the dirty work for his master, his eyes were as clear as a transparent lake.
Wen Yu was momentarily speechless.
Xun Ying was a secret guard, a shadow. But because of the particularity of his identity, he had few opportunities to interact with the outside world.
Therefore, the secular concepts didn't seem to affect him.
No one had guided him on the right path, but he had grown into a straight tree on his own.
Growing towards the sun and not yielding to the world.
"Thank you for comforting me." Wen Yu smiled gently. This was a rare sincere smile from her.
But Xun Ying still frowned. He shook his head seriously and corrected, "It's not comfort. This is the truth from my heart."
"Will His Highness also know these words from your heart?" Wen Yu suddenly had the urge to tease him.
Knowing that he was Ji Yundan's secret guard and was born to obey Ji Yundan's orders, she still couldn't help but put him on the spot.
But Xun Ying didn't answer directly. He hesitated and then looked at Wen Yu tentatively. "If you don't want His Highness to know, I'll try not to say it, but I won't lie..."
"What if you're captured alive during a mission and you can't lie?" Wen Yu raised her eyebrows and continued to ask.
Xun Ying didn't answer immediately. Instead, he took out a small white porcelain bottle from his body. He spread out his hand and poured out what was inside.
It was something wrapped in a small ball of cotton.
"This is a deadly and incurable poison. Before a mission, we all put this in our mouths. Once we find we can't retreat, we just swallow it and will die instantly." Xun Ying explained. There was not a hint of hesitation in his tone, as if he wasn't talking about his own life and death.
Wen Yu's eyes trembled slightly, and her beautiful eyebrows frowned. "Aren't you afraid of death?"
"His Highness gave me a second life. I should work for His Highness." He dodged Wen Yu's question.
He really seemed not to be able to tell a lie.
Wen Yu was suddenly amused by his simple and innocent purity.