"I never take in men who come after me uninvited."
"I'm afraid that won't do."
Cui Jintang tilted her head back and took a step backward.
Seeing Pei Zhaolin frown at her with a puzzled look on his face, she curled her lips into a faint smile.
"I never take in men who come after me uninvited."
Pei Zhaolin paused slightly, and his well - defined fingers hung in the air for a moment.
"Never?" he repeated in a low voice, with a hint of danger in his tone.
"Does that mean there have been many men who were eager to be taken in by you in the past?"
Cui Jintang didn't answer immediately.
She looked up at Pei Zhaolin, the smile in her eyes growing deeper. "Take a guess."
In her idle time, she enjoyed seeing Pei Zhaolin get flustered for her.
The atmosphere in the courtyard became a bit delicate for a moment.
Pei Zhaolin's eyes darkened. He gently rubbed his fingertips, a strange sense of annoyance welling up inside him.
Did she mean that there had been many suitors in the past, all of whom she had turned away?
This realization brought a strange twinge of bitterness to his chest, mixed with a touch of absurd pride—
At least for now, he was still here, still able to talk to her.
"Miss Cui is truly heartless," Pei Zhaolin suddenly laughed, and there was unexpectedly a bit of rascality in his smile.
He probed, "I wonder what kind of man can catch the lady's eye?"
Cui Jintang lowered her eyelashes. Her long lashes cast a shadow on her cheek.
She slowly twirled the jade bracelet on her wrist and drawled, "What does Lord Pei think?"
These half - spoken words and the subtle flirting.
The bit of bitterness in Pei Zhaolin's heart was instantly replaced by a strange excitement.
He couldn't help but curl his lips and let out a short, proud laugh.
Just then, the beaded curtain was gently lifted.
Chu Yingfeng stood at the door. Seeing them chatting amiably, he quickly averted his eyes.
He looked away as if he had been burned and left the courtyard in a hurry, almost as if he was fleeing.
He didn't even notice when his sleeve was caught by the threshold.
A Xun, who had been waiting in front of the flower bushes, heard the sound and quickly got up and turned around.
Looking at Chu Yingfeng, who came back empty - handed, A Xun tilted his head in confusion.
—Didn't he say he had forgotten to get the scroll and went back for it?
Chu Yingfeng forced a bitter smile. "I suddenly thought that those were all the things you wrote before. They can't represent your current thoughts."
"If you want to test your writing skills, it's better to write a new one right now."
Hearing this, A Xun opened his mouth wide, unable to hide a hint of pain.
Another writing task...
—
In the courtyard.
Pei Zhaolin stared at her for a while. Suddenly, he leaned forward. His slender fingers tapped on the table, making a clear sound.
"Miss Cui."
Cui Jintang turned a page of the ledger without even raising her eyelids. "What?"
Since she had already revealed the matter of the bookstore in front of Pei Zhaolin, there was no use hiding it anymore.
When it came to silver, Cui Jintang was very serious.
With the start of the autumn semester, not only the bookstore but also all kinds of inns had seen a boom in business.
"I..."
Pei Zhaolin was about to speak when there was a sudden commotion outside.
Both of them looked up.
Fu Li, who had stumbled in from outside the door, stood in front of them in a hurry, gasping for breath.
He said urgently, "My lord, something terrible has happened! Zheng Ting, a student who was just selected into the Imperial College this autumn semester, suddenly died a violent death!"
"The Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice have both shirked responsibility for this matter. The emperor is furious and has summoned my lord to the palace!"
Pei Zhaolin's expression turned solemn. Before leaving, he told Cui Jintang, "With this incident, there may be intense emotions among the students. Close your bookstore for a few days and don't get involved."
Cui Jintang hesitated for a moment. When he got up, she grabbed the corner of his sleeve.
She felt that this matter was very strange, but she didn't have the right to say much.
After holding it in for a long time, she finally managed to say, "Be careful."
Pei Zhaolin looked back at her, gave a soft grunt, and then turned around and strode away.
After walking a few steps, Pei Zhaolin stopped and looked back at Cui Jintang, who was still sitting at the stone table.
The midday sun shone just right, gilding her outline.
She looked almost too beautiful to be real.
For some reason, a sense of panic welled up in Pei Zhaolin's heart.
—
Zheng Ting's body was placed in the courtyard of the Censorate.
The officials of the Censorate swarmed forward and went about their duties.
Even though Pei Zhaolin was not there, half an hour later, the autopsy report of Zheng Ting was placed on Pei Zhaolin's desk.
The efficiency made the officials from the neighboring Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice scratch their heads and keep their mouths shut.
Doctor Wu, in order to avoid attracting attention, had changed his name and become a coroner.
In his experience, Zheng Ting had eaten a variety of incompatible foods, which had led to food poisoning.
But Zheng Ting had always been in the Imperial College, eating and living with the other students. Why was he the only one who died of food poisoning?
When Pei Zhaolin returned to the Censorate after coming out of the palace, a bunch of people were in the courtyard, extremely anxious.
When they saw him, their eyes lit up.
They all rushed up eagerly. "My lord, have you just come back from the Imperial Study? What did the emperor say?"
"With Zheng Ting's death, the Imperial College has to select another student. But after the autumn semester ends, the students from each academy will immediately return to their own academies. At this critical moment, where can we find a suitable candidate?"
Their chattering gave Pei Zhaolin a headache.
He frowned. "What's the result of the autopsy?"
Doctor Wu managed to squeeze into the noisy crowd and quickly said, "My lord! This man died of food poisoning. All the meals in the Imperial College today have been recorded and thoroughly investigated."
An official from the Court of Judicial Review still reminded him eagerly, "My lord, this vacant student quota—"
Pei Zhaolin looked at him coldly and scolded, "If you say one more word of nonsense, I'll investigate you as well."
The Censorate was responsible for supervising all officials. Once targeted by the Censorate, one would either be severely punished or lose half their life!
The official from the Court of Judicial Review shut up, and the officials from the Ministry of Justice watched the show cheerfully.
Before they could laugh for long, Pei Zhaolin called on them.
"What about Zheng Ting's household registration information?"
The official from the Ministry of Justice couldn't laugh anymore. He lowered his head guiltily. "The official documents are still being processed. It will take another two days..."
"Fu Li," Pei Zhaolin calmly interrupted him. "Go directly to the Ministry of Justice to get it."
Fu Li leaped up. "Yes, my lord!"
The officials from the Ministry of Justice pretended to stop him for a while.
Pei Zhaolin ignored them completely.
He slowly walked closer and reached out to lift the front of the corpse's clothes.
The sudden movement was a bit large, and a red object fell out of Zheng Ting's bosom.
With a look from Pei Zhaolin, Doctor Wu covered his face with a cloth and carefully took out the red document from his bosom with tools.
When it was spread out in the sun.
Apart from the blurred parts—
"Chu Yingfeng, from a prominent family in Yihe County, a family passed down with poetry and etiquette, with virtue shining on the family. He is gentle, kind, modest, and has lofty aspirations."
This sentence was particularly clear.