royal palace.
Pei Yanzhou knelt in the main hall and did not defend himself at all.
Even after hearing the decree that made him think about it after suppressing the bandits, he actually felt lucky that he could go back to Song Jinyin with peace of mind and coax her little by little.
But Emperor Chong'an changed the subject and brought up his marriage after scolding him.
The marriage decree was held in the father-in-law's hand but was not opened. Even if Pei Yanzhou didn't look at it, he already knew that the name of the Xu family girl was indeed written inside.
"You have always told me that if it were not the one you love, you would rather not be the concubine. Now I ask you again, will you accept this marriage or not?"
Pei Yanzhou's words of refusal stopped on his lips.
Although he had said angry words before that he would not care about Song Jinyin's life and death in the backyard, he always thought that after marrying the Crown Princess, he would give her an identity that could protect him.
But later he became increasingly worried.
He always felt that with Song Jinyin's stubbornness and unwillingness to bow her head, no identity could protect her.
Only if he marries a girl from an aristocratic family who understands the general situation, or has a family and heirs at heart, and has a calm temperament, will he not take action against his concubines.
But now he understands that no one can do it.
Whoever is in the backyard may hurt his Song Jinyin, and he cannot have the Crown Princess.
But he also understood that Emperor Chong'an didn't really want to hear what he was saying, but wanted to see him bow his head.
The emperor's face cannot be provoked, and the limit of enduring him for three days is already the limit.
If he hadn't been about to suppress the bandits and there was something about him that could be exploited, the people who came to invite him into the palace today would not have been his former subordinates, and he would have been forced into prison long ago.
But Lin Jingxiu was right. He wanted to find Song Jinyin and protect her for the rest of his life. He couldn't lose the power in his hands. Once he started to decline, the people in the Duke's palace could bite off a piece of his skin. .
Thinking of this, Pei Yanzhou lifted his robe and knelt down, but his voice of apology was neither humble nor overbearing, and he did not mention a word about marriage.
He knew that no matter whether he bowed his head or not, the imperial edict would not be delivered to him smoothly.
Sure enough, Emperor Chong'an pondered for a long time after hearing his apology, and then waved his hand and asked the father-in-law to retreat with the imperial edict.
"General Xu's Mansion has already received the news that I want to confer marriage, but I will not give you the imperial edict of marriage so easily again. I want a calm and sober minister. After you think about it, if I am satisfied, I will give it to you again." Sending the imperial edict to you will never cause you to lose face."
After a pause, Emperor Chong'an said again: "I have said that if you really want to marry a girl from the Xu family, I will not deny it, but you'd better stand up earlier. If you let General Xu wait too long, I will think you are being negligent. If I agree to this marriage, he may not agree to it."
Perhaps someone came from outside to see him, and Emperor Chong'an even smiled when he spoke.
But as soon as he stood up, Pei Yanzhou knew that the emperor was going to use him as a sharp knife to stab others. Once the stab was done, he was happy and everything was easy to talk about.
Pei Yanzhou responded in a deep voice.
In the eyes of the emperor, everyone is a chess piece, used here or there, and no one can escape the shackles.
It's just that he doesn't care about the emperor's purposes behind him. He also needs the emperor's attention so that he can let go and do what he wants to do.
Therefore, in his opinion, everything in front of him is nothing more than each getting his own way and taking advantage of each other.
When leaving, Pei Yanzhou saw the Queen who came to deliver ginseng soup.
He asked An to leave without staying too long, but when his peripheral vision glanced at the golden phoenix Bu Yao on the queen's head, he suddenly remembered the set of masks that had been thrown into the warehouse.
If he had taken the initiative to mention it at that time, or sent the things directly to her room, would that little girl also show the joy that others see when they see the jewelry?
But after all, there was no response.
Now he only hopes that those who return to the mansion to search will find his Song Jinyin.
...
When Emperor Chong'an mentioned the marriage, Xu Youyi was wandering aimlessly on the street.
On the third day after receiving the imperial edict, she felt empty in her heart and unable to implement it.
Obviously she had guessed everything before, but when the word "marriage" actually fell in her ears, she was inexplicably panicked. Even if the news was suppressed, she just felt unaccustomed to it.
From time to time, I always think of the days the four of us spent together.
"Girl, there are a lot of guards searching ahead. It looks quite scary. Let's not go here. Let's go to another street."
"Um."
Xu Youyi raised her eyes and scanned the distance.
She wasn't afraid of the guards, she was just confused at the moment and didn't like the crowd.
But with this sweep, she saw a familiar figure, like Cang Lin beside Pei Yanzhou.
Behind him, stood a tall man wearing a silver mask and a dark green robe, standing in front of a rather noble jewelry shop.
Cang Lin held the sword tightly in his hand, and while talking to the others, he felt a bit of the coldness of Pei Yanzhou.
But Xu Youyi's eyes fell on the masked man by accident.
"Girl? There are a lot of guards on the other side, girl, it's better not to go there, be careful of getting hurt."
"It doesn't matter, if Cang Lin is here, he should be the heir apparent of the Pei family."
Xu Youyi wore a red hood, with golden branches and leaves embroidered on the bottom swaying slightly with her movements, making her look eye-catching.
But she had just taken a few steps when she heard a familiar name that she had always hated.
"I do know Miss Jin Yin, but I'm doing business. I'm afraid the whole street can't fit in this acquaintance. If I rely on this alone, I think I'm hiding Miss Jin Yin. I've led troops here several times. I’ve been searching everywhere, I’m afraid some of them are unjustifiable.”
"Moreover, Miss Jinyin is not in good health. If I really want to hide her, where can I hide her?"
Xu Youyi's steps paused slightly.
She no longer focused on the masked man, but lost her mind in their words.
The man said that Song Jinyin was in poor health and had already escaped from the Duke's Mansion in this cold weather.
The hands in Xu Youyi's sleeves were a little stiff, remembering the empty eyes she saw when he called her to buy chestnuts in the west of the city last time.
After a long time, she spoke: "Go and ask someone to find out what the Crown Prince's people are investigating, and then go to the Duke's Mansion to see if Song Jinyin...is still there."
"Yes, girl."
The maid looked worried, but did not dare to say anything.
But she had just taken a few steps when the voice sounded from behind again, calling her.
"That's all, there's no need to go."
Xu Youyi lowered her eyes and sneered, "She shouldn't have lived well in that yard. She just left so that I wouldn't have to see her later..."
It also saves her from seeing it in the future, always causing her to be dragged back and forth in hatred and self-blame.
Before turning around, Xu Youyi glanced at the two people not far away again, and when he raised his eyes, he happened to face the masked man looking over.
But even though her mood fluctuated, she still looked away immediately.
In the past, she had stopped occasionally because of similar passers-by, but it was only the similarity at first sight. From then on, she could not find any trace of her old friend.
As time went by, she rarely stopped because of the word similarity.
She understood that they were all just shadows.
After she left, Zhou Yanan never looked away. Even if there was no longer a figure at the end of the long street, the clenched hand in his sleeve never let go.
No one knew his forbearance at the moment he saw her.
He just wanted to go up and call her name again, but in the end he suppressed the urge with all his strength.
Xu Youyi deserves her bright life.
And with his current appearance, he should never appear in front of her again, and there is probably no need to let her know about those words that he has never said out loud.
Zhou Yanan came back to his senses and continued to look at the person in front of him.
But Cang Lin became suspicious at this moment.
He stopped the search here, and just like the previous two times, he calmly called the people under him back, then said goodbye and left.
He thought he must have seen it right. The woman who just made the boss in front of him confused for a moment was a girl from the Xu family.
But how could they be old acquaintances?
...
After Pei Yanzhou came out of the palace, he ran straight to the house.
Even as he approached the door of the mansion, his movements slowed down, his body stiffened slightly, and he did not dare to open the door and enter.
In fact, after not receiving any news along the way, he had a vague suspicion in his mind, but he still didn't want to believe it.
Until he saw the anxious Xuanyi and the frowning and sighing face of his grandma.
Still no Song Jinyin.
There was no sign of the person in his mind in the entire house, and not even a trace of her was found.
Pei Yanzhou stopped in front of the burned-out house. He could no longer hold back his emotions. The sweetness surged out of his throat and blood spilled out.
