Jiang Fei was completely stunned, as if petrified.
Countless “whys” swirled chaotically in her mind, leaving her utterly bewildered.
He is Pei Jing???
He is Pei Jing….
He is Pei Jing!!!!
Jiang Fei’s expression at that moment was as if she had been struck by lightning eight hundred times over, her entire being shattered.
Holy crap?!
She screamed inwardly, what on earth had she done since transmigrating into this book?
She had mistaken Pei Jing for her fiancé Wei Mingzhen, not only yelling at him, teasing and flirting with him, but also spouting cheesy pickup lines without hesitation.
Great, every single bad thing she had said about Pei Jing had accurately reached his ears.
It seemed she was tired of living—what difference was there between this and dancing a striptease in front of the Grim Reaper while taunting, “Come on, take my life if you dare”?
Pei Jing glanced leisurely at Jiang Fei before withdrawing his gaze. “It seems I’ve arrived at an inopportune time.”
The Empress immediately put on a smiling face and said, “You’ve arrived just in time. His Majesty was just asking why you hadn’t arrived yet.”
“I encountered a silly cat and played with it for a while,” Pei Jing replied with a smile, ignoring the gazes of others as he took his seat.
From this position, he could just see Jiang Rufei sitting diagonally across from him in the last row, her eyes vacant as she stared blankly ahead.
That silly cat seemed truly dazed, holding a cup of wine and sitting there in a stupor, her mouth slightly agape, her eyes even beginning to lose focus.
He almost regretted revealing the truth too soon. Once a cat is frightened, it turns into a wooden block—no fun at all.
Jiang Fei struggled to regain her senses.
She wanted to confirm once more. Raising a trembling hand, she pointed at the man who had just taken his seat and asked:
“Wh-wh-who is he?”
A palace maid was startled and quickly pressed her hand down gently, whispering, “That is Zhaoning Wang. Miss, you must not point at His Highness.”
Jiang Fei then pointed at the man beside Wei Ciying. “Then who is he?”
The palace maid’s expression grew even more peculiar. Had Second Miss Jiang been frightened out of her wits by Zhaoning Wang? She didn’t even recognize her own fiancé.
“That is Third Master Wei.”
Jiang Fei’s heart sank completely.
In her mind, she replayed all the interactions she’d had with Pei Jing and Wei Mingzhen over these past days.
It was all because that day, Pei Jing had acted too normally—so normally that she never connected him to the novel’s insane male lead.
And it was also because of that tree—who said Wei Mingzhen was waiting for her under it?!
But most of all, it was because of that damned Pei Jing. When she asked if he was Wei Sanlang, he hadn’t denied it.
The music of strings and flutes began again, and the dancers resumed their performance.
A palace maid beside Pei Jing nervously stepped forward to pour wine for him.
With a slight wave of his hand, he lazily propped his chin, tapping his fingertips lightly on the table, his gaze never leaving Jiang Fei.
She remained in that dazed state, sitting there stiffly, shrinking her neck like a quail.
After sitting for a while, Jiang Fei stole a glance toward Pei Jing, only to meet his gaze directly. She quickly averted her eyes, leaning to the side to hide behind someone else’s figure.
Zhou Ruolan had been closely observing Zhaoning Wang and Jiang Rufei. Naturally, she noticed Zhaoning Wang’s prolonged gaze fixed on Jiang Rufei and how Jiang Rufei shyly avoided his eyes after their brief exchange.
There must be something going on between the two of them!
This was supposed to be Zhou Ruolan’s leverage against Jiang Rufei, but Jiang Rufei’s illicit lover happened to be Pei Jing—someone she couldn’t afford to provoke.
Yet letting Jiang Rufei off so easily was something Zhou Ruolan couldn’t stomach.
Her gaze shifted and suddenly landed on Wei Mingzhen.
His eyes were fixed on Zhaoning Wang, then followed his gaze to Jiang Rufei, before frowning slightly.
Throughout the banquet, Jiang Fei had been lost in thought, not daring to glance toward Pei Jing even once. Even the exquisite delicacies before her seemed tasteless.
When the emperor and empress finally withdrew from the hall and the emperor summoned Pei Jing away, the guests began to disperse one after another.
Jiang Fei rose unsteadily, her entire body feeling weak, her legs as if they no longer belonged to her.
Trying to stay inconspicuous, she shuffled out of the hall, desperate to leave quickly, but her legs refused to cooperate.
“Stupid legs!” Jiang Fei smacked her thighs hard. “Run, you stupid legs! What are you waiting for? Stay and die?”
A soft chuckle sounded beside her.
Jiang Fei whipped her head around to see Wei Ciying and Wei Mingzhen standing nearby—the real Wei Mingzhen!
Heaven wants me dead, Jiang Fei thought.
If Pei Jing was the person she least wanted to see again, Wei Mingzhen was a close second.
“What’s wrong with your legs, sister-in-law?” Wei Ciying asked.
Jiang Fei wished she could vanish on the spot. Her legs weakened, nearly making her collapse.
She forced a smile uglier than crying. “It’s nothing, just numbness from sitting too long…”
Wei Ciying stepped forward to support her. “The palace banquet does run long. You should’ve moved around more while sitting. I noticed you stayed still the whole time, but I was too far to remind you. Would you like to sit and rest for a while?”
“No need, no need,” Jiang Fei hastily refused. “Walking a bit will help.”
Running into Wei Mingzhen was misfortune enough—she didn’t want to linger and risk encountering Pei Jing too.
Wei Ciying helped her walk outward. “Third Brother, why don’t we escort sister-in-law?”
“No need, no need.” Jiang Fei uncomfortably withdrew her arm. “Just call me by my name—Rufei. ‘Sister-in-law’ isn’t… quite appropriate.”
Wei Mingzhen stood stiffly nearby, his expression cold as he watched her with complicated eyes.
Under his stare, Jiang Fei felt her scalp prickling, desperate to escape. “Um… I just remembered I have soup simmering at home. I should go.”
Immediately she wanted to smack her own forehead. What kind of lame excuse was that?
Where did my brains go? Come back, quick.
Wei Ciying giggled, patting Wei Mingzhen’s arm. “Stop glaring—you’ve scared sister-in-law half to death.”
Wei Mingzhen found it strange. Wasn’t she arrogantly claiming she’d manage his household affairs before? Why couldn’t she even look at him now?
Jiang Fei just wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
No—better yet, travel back to modern times, buy a standing ticket, and flee this planet overnight!
How utterly humiliating. What had she done?
When her fiancé expressed displeasure about her being with another man, she told him to mind his own business.
When her fiancé objected to her relationship with another man, she said she was “building connections.”
…Heavens, any one of those offenses in this era would be enough to get her drowned in a pig cage. The fact that Wei Mingzhen hadn’t killed her showed remarkable restraint.
Jiang Fei practically fled in panic, leaving behind a bewildered Wei Ciying and a strangely silent Wei Mingzhen.
“Third Brother, don’t you think sister-in-law is quite adorable?”
Wei Mingzhen recalled how she had pounded her own legs while cursing “damn legs,” the furrow between his brows easing slightly.
But then he remembered the words she had once spoken to him, and his expression darkened again.
“Not at all,” he said coldly.
Wei Ciying scoffed, “You’re so rigid, anyone who marries you would be unfortunate.”
The two walked to the palace gates and were about to board their carriage when someone hurried after them.
“Please wait, both of you.”
Wei Mingzhen turned around. The person calling out to them was a young lady whose face looked familiar though he didn’t know her.
Wei Ciying whispered a reminder, “She’s Zhou Fengchang’s daughter, Zhou Ruolan.”
Zhou Ruolan approached. By now, night had completely fallen, and the palace gates were filled with carriages coming and going for pickups and drop-offs, with few people paying attention to their area.
“Third Master Wei, Miss Wei.”
Wei Ciying returned the greeting, while Wei Mingzhen nodded slightly.
Zhou Ruolan hesitated before speaking, “Third Master Wei, might I have a word in private?”