Pei Jing immediately rejected, “No.”
Jiang Fei: “…”
This was truly impossible to communicate. She tried to walk around Pei Jing to leave, but her wrist was suddenly grabbed.
Jiang Fei turned her head and glared at him fiercely, “What else do you want?”
Pei Jing pursed his lips, “You haven’t told me your speculation yet.”
Unbelievable. Jiang Fei was completely defeated.
Not only was this man sick in the head, but he was also stubborn. How did she end up with such a fiancé?
They had been making such a commotion here for so long, yet there was no movement outside. It seemed he really had knocked everyone out.
If she didn’t tell him, this man probably wouldn’t let her leave.
Jiang Fei simply sat down on a chair and crossed her legs.
Pei Jing watched her movements, his lips just beginning to move when she pointed at him, “If you want to listen, then don’t speak.”
Pei Jing curled his fingers slightly, ultimately remaining silent.
Satisfied, Jiang Fei leaned back into the chair and analyzed, “You weren’t following me, yet you appeared in Liu Zhiwei’s room and were peeping at someone bathing…”
“I wasn’t peeping.”
“Don’t interrupt!” Jiang Fei asked loudly, “Do you still want to hear this or not?”
Pei Jing gritted his teeth, “I’m listening.”
“You were peeping at me bathing, but you didn’t come for me. That means you came for someone else. So I speculate that you either came for a secret rendezvous with Liu Zhiwei, or you came to harass women.”
Pei Jing: “…”
What had he taken wrong to insist on hearing her analysis? What could her empty-headed brain possibly come up with?
Jiang Fei crossed her arms, “Hmph, I guessed right, didn’t I?”
His response was a cold glare swept in her direction.
Having nearly died at his hands several times without actually dying, Jiang Fei’s courage had grown. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t care about you…”
She suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
How could she have forgotten such an important matter? Hadn’t she said she would be passionately devoted to Wei Mingzhen?
Now “Wei Mingzhen” was standing right in front of her – wasn’t this the perfect opportunity to improve the -3000+ favorability rating?
Pei Jing glanced at her sideways, “Wouldn’t care about me what?”
Jiang Fei had originally planned to say she wouldn’t care about who he was involved with, but that didn’t fit her passionate devotion persona.
Although she had been lifelong single for twenty-four years in the modern era and had never flirted with handsome men herself, she had seen others do it.
So she changed tack, blinking her eyes as she looked at “Wei Mingzhen,” “I wouldn’t care about who occupies your heart, as long as my heart can only hold you.”
Watching her blinking eyes, Pei Jing’s eyebrow twitched, “Xiao Cui, are you sick?”
Jiang Fei clasped her hands and nodded, “Probably lovesickness.”
Pei Jing: “…”
Footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door, and someone knocked, “Second Miss Jiang, are you finished dressing?”
Pei Jing’s eyes sharpened.
Jiang Fei looked at “Wei Mingzhen” and called out loudly, “Yes, coming right away.”
She tentatively took two steps toward the door, and seeing that he didn’t stop her, felt relieved.
After walking a few steps, Jiang Fei thought for a moment and turned back, saying softly, “Hey, let’s go fishing in a couple of days?”
Pei Jing looked at her suspiciously, “Fish for what?”
Jiang Fei tilted her head with a smirk, making a heart gesture at him, “Love you until death do us part.”
Pei Jing: “…”
Great, he felt thoroughly disgusted.
The door opened and closed, footsteps gradually fading into the distance, until everything grew quiet.
Pei Jing walked around the screen, staring blankly at the door for a while, then suddenly lowered his head and laughed.
…
Jiang Fei had no idea how “Wei Mingzhen” had managed to sneak into Liu Zhiwei’s room undetected—perhaps he had taken advantage of the maids’ absence.
By the time she reached the garden of the Liu residence, a banquet had already been set up beneath the wisteria trellis.
At the head of the arrangement sat Anping County Princess and the host, Liu Zhiwei. Two rows of dining tables stretched below, nearly all occupied, with only two seats remaining at the very end.
Jiang Fei made her way to the last table without a second thought. She didn’t mind the seating—being at the back meant she could eat and drink freely without drawing attention.
“County Princess, Miss, Second Miss Jiang has arrived,” a maid announced.
A crowd of eyes turned simultaneously toward Jiang Fei.
Just as she was about to sit down, noticing so many gazes fixed on her, she had no choice but to straighten up from her half-crouch and offer a dignified smile to the assembly.
Although her nature was occasionally a bit silly, she could certainly pretend to be proper when needed.
Anping County Princess smiled and beckoned to her. “Why sit all the way back there? I saved a seat for you right here.”
Only then did Jiang Fei notice an empty dining table to the right of Anping County Princess.
She walked over and expressed her thanks. “Thank you, County Princess.”
After taking her seat, Jiang Fei scanned the room.
Some returned her smile, others pretended not to see her, and a few wore expressions of disdain or envy.
Anping County Princess raised her wine cup. “Today, it is you who saved me. I should be the one thanking you.”
Jiang Fei picked up her own cup and hesitated.
Can pregnant women drink alcohol? Or does Anping County Princess not even know she’s pregnant yet?
“I’ll finish this cup first,” she began, “but I noticed your complexion doesn’t look well—perhaps you’re still shaken from the earlier scare. Drinking may harm your health. Earlier, I saw some mulberry bushes by the pond heavy with ripe fruit. Why not have the maids pick some to make juice? It nourishes the liver and kidneys, and even helps maintain dark hair and a radiant complexion.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Zhiwei immediately instructed a maid to see to it.
Anping County Princess set down her wine cup. She had been feeling unwell these past few days, often without an appetite, but the mention of mulberry juice suddenly sparked her interest.
“I heard your name is Rufei?”
Jiang Fei nodded. “All the sisters in my family share the ‘Ru’ generation name.”
Anping County Princess had heard some less-than-flattering rumors about Jiang Rufei, but meeting her in person today was nothing like the gossip had suggested.
This young woman knew how to carry herself with grace and understood propriety. Unlike others who sought to claim credit for the smallest deeds, she seemed genuinely concerned.
It appeared the rumors couldn’t be entirely trusted.
“Rufei, Rufei—gentle-hearted and wise,” Anping County Princess remarked with a smile.
Jiang Fei felt a little embarrassed by the praise and responded with a modest smile. As she glanced up, her eyes met the resentful glare of Zhou Ruolan across from her.
Zhou Ruolan would never openly contradict Anping County Princess.
She masked her expression, raised her cup, and smiled. “Fortunately, Second Miss Jiang was there to rescue the County Princess. It’s a good thing Second Miss Jiang waited there all morning—her efforts weren’t in vain.”
Her words drew peculiar looks from everyone present.
The implication was clear: as if Jiang Fei had been lying in wait for the County Princess to fall into the water just so she could rescue her and claim credit.
Anping County Princess frowned.
Just as she was about to speak up for Jiang Rufei, Zhou Ruolan continued, “What a coincidence, out of so many people, Second Miss Jiang just happened to be following behind the County Princess. Earlier, when I brought a few sisters to greet Second Miss Jiang, I overheard her asking a maid which one was the County Princess. Zhishuang, isn’t that right?”
The expressions of those gathered shifted noticeably.
This time, Anping County Princess did not speak, her gaze resting indifferently on the desk.
Her mother was a Grand Princess, and there were many who sought to curry favor with her, including those who schemed to claim credit. Anping County Princess did not wish to harbor ill intentions toward Jiang Rufei, nor did she want to blindly trust others.
Lin Zhishuang had initially wanted to stay out of it, but since Zhou Ruolan had called on her, she could no longer pretend to be unaware.
So she nodded and replied truthfully, “It seems there was such a matter.”
Not wanting to offend Jiang Rufei either, she added, “But merely inquiring about the County Princess doesn’t necessarily prove anything.”
Zhou Ruolan was most annoyed by Lin Zhishuang’s constant fence-sitting and said bluntly, “It wasn’t just the two of us who heard it. If you don’t believe it, we can summon that maid to ask whether she really did inquire about the County Princess.”