Without turning around, Pei Xiao knew it was that persistent Huijue.
He casually wiped the mud off his sickle and said gently, “Master, have you forgotten? It was you who told me to play the role of a husband convincingly, so as not to reveal any flaws.”
“I never taught you to gather herbs for your wife in the rain, nor to risk sucking snake venom for her. As a monk, I certainly wouldn’t teach you sweet talk or how to flirt with girls…”
Pei Xiao twisted the sickle in his hand, pressing it against Huijue’s neck. “Just a woman.”
The blade dug deeper, cutting Huijue’s skin. “Watch your tongue. If I catch you spouting nonsense in front of Jiang Yu again, Azure Cloud Temple will become a mass grave.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a wolf howl echoed from the mountain valley.
In the dark night, Pei Xiao’s eyes gleamed like a lone wolf towering over the forest, his murderous gaze fixed on the dilapidated courtyard behind Azure Cloud Temple. “The graveyard I mentioned includes that cold palace you’re guarding.”
Pei Xiao was referring to the place in the back mountain where guilty consorts reflected on their mistakes.
When he went mad, he was capable of reducing everything to ashes.
Huijue knew him too well.
He stared intently at the backyard, not daring to speak another word.
Meanwhile, Pei Xiao had already hurried into the night, heading for the mountainside to search for the tree-colored lingzhi mushroom.
Just after stepping out of Azure Cloud Temple’s gate, he slipped, staining his white robes with mud.
The mountain where Azure Cloud Temple stood was steep, and the midslope was particularly slippery.
Jiang Yu had already been injured on her foot. If she took a fall like this, one could imagine how much it must have hurt.
Pei Xiao couldn’t help but picture her clutching her knees, trembling like a kitten, and felt an inexplicable unease.
He had no mind to clean off the mud now. Dressed in his damp clothes, he rushed toward the mountainside.
But after just a few steps, he suddenly paused and glanced leisurely at the dense forest to his right.
Several pine trees were bent under the heavy rain, standing out in the wind and rain.
Pine branches could be gathered just fifty steps from the temple—so why would Jiang Yu go all the way to the mountainside instead?
It didn’t make sense.
Could it be… she was lying?
Did she lie to him?
How dare she lie to him?
Pei Xiao narrowed his eyes, a chill emanating from him, and turned back to the meditation room…
At that moment, Jiang Yu had tightly wrapped her wound with a cloth strip and quietly made her way to the back mountain.
The courtyard where Meng Qingyao was recuperating was called “Brocade Garden.”
Jiang Yu had assumed it was a private meditation courtyard for the princess.
But as she drew closer, she faintly heard the voices of many women, sounding hysterical.
Jiang Yu found a half-open door.
Only one lantern lit the courtyard, dim and broken.
Several disheveled women knelt before the lantern, shouting “Long live the Emperor!”—a bizarre scene.
Suddenly, a hand covered Jiang Yu’s mouth and dragged her to a secluded spot.
The two ended up in a small Buddhist shrine in the backyard.
By the faint yellow light, Jiang Yu finally recognized the person behind her. “Aunt?”
“Yu’er, Yu’er, you’ve finally come. I’ve been waiting for you for so long.” Meng Qingyao grasped her hand urgently.
Though her hair was disheveled, she seemed lucid—otherwise, she wouldn’t have been waiting for Jiang Yu at the door.
Jiang Yu pressed a finger to her lips, signaling Meng Qingyao to be quiet, then closed all the doors and windows of the small shrine.
“Is Aunt’s hysteria better?”
“Yu’er!” Meng Qingyao wiped her tears. “What hysteria? It was Pei Xiao who ordered the imperial physician to force medicine down my throat—that’s why I lost my senses!”
This confirmed Jiang Yu’s suspicions, but she still felt her heart racing with fear.
Pei Xiao could command imperial physicians and silence a princess—what immense power he wielded!Meng Qingyao thought Jiang Yu still didn’t believe her, so she raised her hand to swear, “It’s true! Fortunately, I had a loyal maid who reduced the dosage of the medicine, allowing my aunt to hold on until now!”
Meng Qingyao spoke coherently, and Jiang Yu naturally believed her.
She helped Meng Qingyao calm her breathing and asked, “What exactly did Aunt want to tell me?”
“You came to find me, which shows you’re not completely foolish!” Meng Qingyao sighed. “Yu’er, Pei Xiao is an imposter who stole another’s identity! You’ve been deceived by him for three years!”
Although Jiang Yu had already suspected this, cold sweat still broke out on her back.
The Pei family was a prominent household in the capital.
How had this person sleeping beside her managed to deceive the entire Pei family and so many watchful eyes in the capital?
Jiang Yu tightly grasped Meng Qingyao’s hand. “Aunt, you’ve seen Pei Xiao before. Can you tell if his appearance and temperament are different from before?”
This question stumped Meng Qingyao.
At capital banquets, Meng Qingyao had often encountered Pei Xiao. She had watched him grow up since childhood and knew him quite well.
But judging solely by appearance, she couldn’t detect any differences.
Meng Qingyao also couldn’t understand. “There are many strange tales in this world. Who knows if the person beside you learned some dark arts to change his appearance to look like Pei Xiao?”
Hearing this only made Jiang Yu feel more horrified.
Not only did she not know who the person beside her was, but she might never have seen his true face either?
This was too absurd!
“Yu’er, why don’t you carefully examine his skin? You’ll surely find flaws. He’s fake! Who knows what kind of monster he might be?”
“If he had nothing to hide, why would he kill my daughter? Why would he force medicine down my throat?”
The more Meng Qingyao spoke, the more agitated she became, a wild look gradually appearing in her eyes.
Jiang Yu had the illusion that Meng Qingyao wished to hand her a knife and have her stab Pei Xiao immediately.
Meng Qingyao had already been driven mad by hatred.
Jiang Yu held her shoulders and looked deeply at her. “Aunt, don’t get too excited first. Tell me, who told you this?”
“It was the courtesan Rong Niang from Qinfang Pavilion!” Meng Qingyao said firmly. “Some days ago, that courtesan fainted outside Princess Manor. I kindly had people rescue her.”
“Then she told me through tears that the current Grand Secretary is her son!”
“Pei Xiao changed his identity to become a high official. Not wanting people to know about his background, he cut ties with his mother.”
Meng Qingyao spat in disgust. “No wonder they say Pei Xiao is a beast—he won’t even acknowledge his own mother!”
Jiang Yu found this story full of holes and shook her head. “Perhaps she was just making up nonsense. How can we trust it?”
“That’s why I asked you about the wedding dress!” Meng Qingyao also grabbed Jiang Yu’s wrist. “Yu’er, can’t you tell whether the person sleeping beside you is the legitimate son of the Grand Tutor Residence or some bastard from the gutters?”