“Yu’er, Yu’er she…”
In her daze, Meng Qingyao caught sight of those almond-shaped eyes through the door crack and stiffly raised a finger to point in Jiang Yu’s direction.
Pei Xiao still had his back turned to Jiang Yu at that moment. If he were to turn around now, it would be all over!
Jiang Yu’s eyes were icy cold, her trembling fingers pressed against her nearly bloodless lips.
But this was far from enough. A drowning person would clutch desperately at any chance of survival, even if it meant dragging others down with them.
Moreover, Pei Xiao gave Meng Qingyao no chance to catch her breath. Faint sounds of bones cracking could even be heard from within the prayer hall.
Meng Qingyao would tell Pei Xiao everything she knew now!
Jiang Yu’s heart pounded violently. Suddenly, an idea struck her. She pointed at Pei Xiao, then made a slashing gesture with her hand.
She was terrified, but she tried her best to appear calm.
Jiang Yu knew that Meng Qingyao had always encouraged her to take action against Pei Xiao, hiding her personal desire for revenge for her daughter.
Jiang Yu wanted to tell Meng Qingyao that only she could fulfill Meng Qingyao’s long-cherished wish.
Jiang Yu had to live, she must survive!
Meng Qingyao finally understood Jiang Yu’s meaning.
Indeed, if she exposed Jiang Yu, it would only mean one more dead person, while Pei Xiao would continue to roam free, evading justice!
Wouldn’t that be letting him off too easily?
Meng Qingyao’s bloodshot eyes glared furiously at Pei Xiao. “Yu, Yu’er? Where is she? I haven’t seen her…”
“Aunt refuses to admit it?” Beneath Pei Xiao’s cold voice lay the power of an impending storm, ready to erupt at any moment.
Meng Qingyao struggled to speak. “How, how can I admit to something I haven’t seen?”
The Buddhist beads tightened around her wrist, pushing Meng Qingyao to the brink of despair. “Pei Xiao, I am a princess, a princess!”
“Very well, you are a princess.” Pei Xiao showed no reverence, instead carrying a hint of mockery as he raised his voice. “Then this subject respectfully sends Her Royal Highness to her heavenly rest!”
Since Meng Qingyao refused to confess, keeping her alive was useless—she would only spread gossip everywhere.
She talked too much; she could not be allowed to live.
Pei Xiao’s hands suddenly tightened, and Meng Qingyao’s bones snapped.
A female corpse collapsed heavily at Pei Xiao’s feet, covered in blood.
Jiang Yu’s vision turned crimson, and her breath caught in her throat.
She had considered that Meng Qingyao might not escape calamity, but she never imagined it would be in such a brutal manner.
This was Southern Qi’s esteemed princess!
If it were her instead, wouldn’t her death be even more gruesome?
Before Jiang Yu could recover from her shock, her mind raced with thoughts of what she should do.
How could she sever ties with Pei Xiao?
In the prayer hall, Pei Xiao leisurely removed the Bodhi seed from Meng Qingyao’s neck and wrapped it back around his own wrist, coil by coil.
Noticing a drop of blood on the Jade Bodhi Beads, he frowned slightly and flicked it away with his fingertip. “How unlucky!”
That drop of blood happened to splatter onto the corner of the golden Buddha statue’s eye, as if the Buddha were shedding tears of blood.
The Buddha descending into the mortal realm created an eerily bizarre scene.
Jiang Yu dared not look any longer, but her legs felt weak, making it difficult even to walk.
Suddenly, a cold voice came from the prayer hall. “Come out!”
Jiang Yu froze completely.
Pei Xiao’s voice was like a knife, each word cutting to the bone. “Get out here! If I have to invite you, bear the consequences yourself!”
Jiang Yu had been careful to hide in the shadows, not even daring to breathe heavily.
How had Pei Xiao still discovered her?
Today, she had witnessed Pei Xiao commit murder. Showing herself now would be no different from death.
Jiang Yu didn’t want that!
Summoning strength from somewhere, Jiang Yu gathered her skirts and dashed frantically into the night.
She kept running,
limping as she ran…
The eastern sky brightened, dawn breaking.
Jiang Yu’s mind was in chaos, unable to think clearly about what to do next. She simply ran toward the light.She couldn’t end up with her body separated from her head!
Jiang Yu charged down the hillside, the wind whistling past her ears, unsure whether the wetness on her cheeks was tears or rain.
In any case, she wasn’t ready to die yet!
She still wanted to return to Gusu! She missed her parents, her father and brothers!
She couldn’t bear to die still carrying the Pei surname and be buried beside him!
She ran so swiftly, like a butterfly about to take flight…
But just as she reached the mountainside, a signal flare lit up behind her.
It was Pei Xiao!
Immediately after, Qian Ren led a group of black-clad men up the mountain, carrying broadswords.
Although Pei Xiao’s men hadn’t entered Azure Cloud Temple, they had surrounded the temple as tightly as an iron barrel.
Where could Jiang Yu possibly escape to?
Qian Ren seemed to detect movement, narrowing his eyes as he looked in Jiang Yu’s direction.
Jiang Yu immediately ducked into a patch of meter-high grass.
The rustling sound of footsteps on grass grew closer, the surrounding air thick with killing intent…
Jiang Yu was trapped.
Suddenly, the hem of a white robe entered Jiang Yu’s field of vision, the gold-thread trimmed shoes particularly dazzling.
“Pei Xiao?”
He had arrived so quickly!
He was like a haunting ghost!
Jiang Yu pushed the approaching figure away, but in her panic, she tumbled into the mud.
“Quiet!” A steady voice calmly descended.
This voice was different from Pei Xiao’s—less sharp, more gentle.
Jiang Yu slowly looked up to see a young nobleman.
The man wore brocade robes trimmed with gold thread, a golden crown and jade belt, his fair complexion radiating an innate nobility.
The man pressed a finger to his lips, signaling her to remain silent.
Jiang Yu quickly covered her mouth.
Soon, Qian Ren headed in the opposite direction.
He had likely been diverted by the man’s people.
Only then did the man extend his hand to Jiang Yu. “Yu’er, long time no see. Have you been well?”
As he spoke, his peripheral glance unintentionally caught her disheveled dress, and he immediately averted his gaze, a flicker of pity appearing in his eyes. “Let’s get you up first.”
Jiang Yu never expected to encounter an old acquaintance under such circumstances, feeling utterly embarrassed.
She didn’t take his hand, struggling to push herself up instead, then curtsied. “This common woman pays respects to the Thirteenth Prince.”
Hearing this address, the man was momentarily stunned before smiling wryly. “Just call me Yanqing, like before.”
“This common woman wouldn’t dare!” Jiang Yu curtsied again.
This noble man before her was none other than the current Thirteenth Prince, Meng Yanqing.
Meng Yanqing was considered the emperor’s child born in his later years and was deeply doted on.
But due to his weak health, he had spent two years in Gusu during his childhood to recuperate.
The Jiang family had taken good care of him, and since Jiang Yu was the same age as Meng Yanqing, they often played together.
Later, when the Empress Dowager visited Gusu to see Meng Yanqing, noticing how close the two childhood sweethearts were, she even considered arranging a marriage between them.
However, upon learning that Jiang Yu was already betrothed in a childhood arrangement, she abandoned the idea.
After that, Meng Yanqing returned to the capital, and the two never crossed paths again.
After Jiang Yu married Pei Xiao, they occasionally met at royal banquets, but they never spoke much, maintaining only a nodding acquaintance.
The capital was like a vast dye vat with murky waters—Jiang Yu couldn’t even see clearly the person sleeping beside her, let alone an old acquaintance she hadn’t contacted for years.
Not wanting to complicate matters, Jiang Yu limped to sit under a large tree nearby.
But Meng Yanqing followed her, offering her a handkerchief. “Wipe yourself clean.”
Jiang Yu’s clothes were covered in mud.
Meng Yanqing remembered how she had been coddled by the Jiang family since childhood—when had she ever been in such a wretched state?
Now that she had married the Grand Secretary, outsiders said Pei Xiao treated her well, making others envious.
Was this considered good treatment?
Meng Yanqing’s eyes darkened.Seeing Jiang Yu not accepting the handkerchief, I awkwardly withdrew it and sat beside her. “Does he… treat you poorly?”