Pei Yan took a deep breath, then said, “Xiao Jing’an is a cut-sleeve.”
In his past life, when he served Xiao Jing’an during his bath, he saw his,
He was certain that he was not impotent as rumored, and later he also learned that he favored men.
It was said by his own mouth that he disliked women and uniquely preferred men.
Moreover, when he was in his bedchamber back then, he once saw a portrait of a man in red, except that the facial features of the man in the portrait had somehow been eroded by water, preventing him from seeing the man’s appearance clearly.
However, Xiao Jing’an had told him that the man in the portrait was peerless in beauty and breathtakingly stunning.
Pei Yuning was taken aback upon hearing this, but immediately furrowed his brows, “He is a cut-sleeve, what does that have to do with me.”
Pei Yan’s brows were furrowed even tighter than his, “The relationship matters a great deal.” In a flash, he added extremely earnestly, “He must be interested in you.”
“Stop talking nonsense here, I have only met him this once today, why would he be interested in me.”
Pei Yuning pulled his hand away from Pei Yan’s grasp.
Pei Yan spoke to him earnestly, “You must believe in a phrase, the appearance of every phrase has its reason.”
“Phrase?” Pei Yuning followed Pei Yan’s reminder and uttered a phrase, “Love at first sight?”
Pei Yan shook his head, “Taking advantage of his appearance to make a move.”
“Little dad was born with a peerless and breathtakingly stunning appearance.”
Pei Yuning raised his eyes, landing on Pei Yan’s handsome face.
“Put in the way you said it, he took a fancy to your appearance, you were the one who was peerless and breathtakingly stunning just now.”
“Impossible.” Pei Yan’s tone was extremely resolute, “He couldn’t be more dismissive of me, after his fingers touched me, he had to wipe them clean carefully.”
“Little dad, you must be on guard against his lustful intentions toward you, if he uses an excuse to approach you, you must stay away from him.”
Pei Yuning did not want to continue this topic, so he took out a jade pendant and handed it to Pei Yan.
Pei Yan looked at the jade pendant he handed over and said in surprise, “You found my jade pendant!”
“It wasn’t me, it was Xiao Jing’an, he just gave it to me.”
Pei Yan’s eyes narrowed instantly.
“You see, I spent such a long time with him, yet he never handed the jade pendant to me, but instead went all the way around to deliberately hand it to you, he harbors malicious intentions toward you.”
Pei Yuning was half-convinced by Pei Yan’s words.
After all, over the years, he had never lacked admirers and some lecherous people around him.
Thus, he did not argue with Pei Yan anymore.
At this moment, his face was pale, and his illness looked very severe.
Pei Yan hurriedly poured a cup of water, took out the medicine, and attended to him to take it.
Just now, he had been thrown into disarray by the muddle-headed emperor and even forgot about serious matters.
After Pei Yan attended to Pei Yuning in taking his medicine, he fetched a large cloak and draped it over him.
“Little dad, let’s go home.”
Pei Yuning was in a hurry to go home and afraid of worrying Pei Yan’s mother, so he did not argue with Pei Yan about calling him little dad.
Subsequently, Pei Yan helped Pei Yuning out of the medical clinic.
Morning light was just breaking, frost still condensed on the upturned blue tiles of the eaves, and the thin mist was like a wisp of residual dream fading to the edge of the sky.
On the street, many diners had already taken their seats in the breakfast shops.
A day’s plan starts in the morning, and everyone became busy. Pei Yan hired a carriage, carefully helped Pei Yuning board the carriage, and headed in the direction of the Pei residence.
Xiao Jing’an stood on the opposite tea house, taking all of this in.
Lang Zhen had finished handling the matter and returned to report.
After reporting, he followed Xiao Jing’an’s line of sight to look over.
“Master, how should we deal with the third prince’s person?”
The third prince’s person he referred to was naturally Pei Yuning.
Xiao Jing’an slightly narrowed his phoenix eyes and pondered for a moment, “This person is not easy to kill.”
Lang Zhen thought that Xiao Jing’an was considering Pei Yuning’s identity as the descendant of a meritorious official, and if he died, the old emperor would investigate.
“Master, rest assured, this subordinate will make him die in an accident, even if the emperor investigates, he will not find the slightest flaw.”
The carriage had already driven away into a dot, Xiao Jing’an withdrew his gaze, turned his eyes to look at Lang Zhen, and his tone carried appreciation.
“I have never doubted your ability.”
Lang Zhen’s mouth held a smile, “Being appreciated by the master is this subordinate’s greatest honor.”
Speaking of this, his eyes rose with an unclear expression, “Then why didn’t the master kill him?”
Xiao Jing’an stretched out his finger and vaguely wrote down two characters.
Lang Zhen, “Pei Yan! Is the master sparing Pei Yuning because of that Pei Yan?”
Xiao Jing’an nodded slightly.
“My initial meeting with him, up to the Beishan hunting grounds, and even tomorrow’s appointment, all originated because of Pei Yuning.”
Lang Zhen understood the hint.
“If Pei Yuning dies, I am afraid your connection with him will be cut off. This person seems quite scheming and cautious, and it might be soft and difficult to contact him in the future.”
After speaking, Lang Zhen thought slightly and asked cautiously, “Is the master quite interested in him?”
Xiao Jing’an did not answer his question directly.
“This person Pei Yan has a bizarre identity, a bizarre temperament, and bizarre actions.”
The people he sent to investigate Pei Yan’s background had returned, yet they found nothing.
This could not help but make Xiao Jing’an feel doubtful in his heart, as if this young man like a shrewd fox had simply appeared out of thin air.
Therefore, it prompted him to say such a sentence.
Lang Zhen seemed to remember something, “Pei Yan, Pei Yuning, both share the surname Pei, this subordinate feels that the two of them definitely have a connection unknown to us.”
“I have also guessed the same, so right now we must not move Pei Yuning under any circumstances.”
Xiao Jing’an gazed into the distance with deep eyes, “When necessary, we still need to protect Pei Yuning’s safety.”
Hearing his words, Lang Zhen hesitated for a moment and asked, “Is the master only interested in him because he looks so bizarre as a person?”
“You talk too much.”
Lang Zhen hurriedly lowered his eyes to admit his mistake, “This subordinate has overstepped, please punish me, master.”
“Step down.”
Lang Zhen bowed in salute, broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead, and retreated.
Xiao Jing’an turned around and sat upright at the table, picked up the teapot, and slowly poured tea into a blue and white porcelain tea cup.
The tea cup was already full, yet he did not stop.
His dark and gloomy gaze stared at the tea spilling out of the tea cup.
“Someone who can predict the future and foresee unknown things, how could I not be interested?”
“However, even so, I am merely the one holding the pot, while he is just this tea cup.”
Before the weathered and dilapidated Pei residence, a carriage stopped.
The carriage curtain was lifted, and Pei Yan helped Pei Yuning down from the carriage.
“What happened to my son?”
Pei Mother welcomed them with worry and heartache.
Throughout the night, she had been waiting at the front gate for Pei Yuning to return.
Her loving face was full of fatigue.
How could Pei Yuning not guess that Pei Mother had been waiting here all this time.
He reddened the corners of his eyes and hurried over.
“I am useless and let mother worry.”
After saying that, he immediately added, “I am fine, just a little tired, and I will be fine after resting for a while.”
Pei Yuning did not inform Pei Mother that he had fallen ill.
Pei Yan naturally followed suit and kept it secret.
“Aunt, Ning Ge is fine.”
After he finished speaking, his heart felt a bit sour.
In the end, it was he who failed to take good care of little dad.
At this moment, Pei Yuning harbored a bit of self-blame and continued to say to Pei Mother, “I am useless, I failed to find Changyong in Dongshan.”
“Changyong has already returned.” Pei Mother placated him with a kind expression, “Dongshan is so large, how easy is it to find someone.”
As they spoke, the three of them entered the house.
There was still some time before going to the Imperial College to study.
Pei Yuning was physically weak, so he entered the bedroom to rest.
Pei Mother went to busy herself with breakfast.
Pei Yan’s tall and slender body leaned against the side of the door to Pei Yuning’s bedroom, holding the jade pendant in his hand.
Little dad being targeted by the muddle-headed emperor was truly catching people off guard.
Emperors have always been fickle throughout history.
No, they are heartless.
In his past life, he thought that he had been wronged by Prime Minister Lin, and the muddle-headed emperor would thoroughly investigate.
After all, he had spent such a long time with the muddle-headed emperor.
Furthermore, the muddle-headed emperor had treated him well over the past eight years, yet he never expected that in the end he did not say a single word and directly pronounced his guilt.
It even made him feel for a moment that it was the muddle-headed emperor who was wronging him.
Thinking of this, Pei Yan tightly closed his phoenix eyes.
He tidied up his emotions.
Therefore, in this life, he would never let this cold-blooded and ruthless muddle-headed emperor harm little dad.
Besides, little dad had someone in his heart, and that was mother.
Pei Yuning did not rest for long before having a simple breakfast and going to the Imperial College.
Pei Yan pretended to be his classmate in front of Pei Mother and could only leave with him.
After Pei Yuning came out of the front door, he had not spoken to Pei Yan the entire time.
Pei Yan knew very well that Pei Yuning’s body was still weak, and speaking a word to him was wasting physical strength.
Thus, he did not make a sound either, following by Pei Yuning’s side and carrying his knapsack for him.
He escorted him all the way to the gate of the Imperial College and watched him go in.
Afterwards, Pei Yan walked into a tea house. The tea house was named Tea Dregs, and the interior was filled with a faint fragrance of tea.
Pei Yan skillfully arrived at a private room on the second floor, called the shop assistant, and ordered a pot of clear tea.
Then, Pei Yan borrowed writing brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone from the shop assistant.
He spread out the paper, picked up the writing brush, dipped it fully in ink, and began to earnestly write the essay that he needed to hand over to Xiao Jing’an tomorrow.
The warm sunlight penetrated the carved wooden window lattice, softly shooting into the room.
The golden light sprinkled on Pei Yan’s body like fine gold sand, and this warm feeling made Pei Yan feel incomparably comfortable.
Carrying a bit of languidness, he stretched his waist, and soon placed the writing brush in his hand onto the inkstone tray.
He only spent half an hour to write an essay.
Having not slept all night yesterday, Pei Yan lay down on the table, intending to catch up on some sleep.
However, he did not sleep for long.
Worried that he would oversleep and fail to meet little dad after the Imperial College finished classes, he stood at the gate of the Imperial College early to wait for little dad to finish classes.
The setting sun intoxicated the evening glow, and the sunset gathered its remaining radiance.
Pei Yan’s legs had stood until they were numb, and the Imperial College finally reached the time to finish classes.
Just like yesterday, the students walked out of the front gate one after another.
They gathered in groups of twos and threes, talking and laughing, as if they had endless topics to discuss. There were also some people walking alone, as if they had fallen into deep thought.
Their faces radiated youth and vitality, as well as longing for the future.
It became a beautiful scenery in front of the Imperial College.
Pei Yan’s handsome face was gentle, and his mouth hung a smile imbued with mature charm as he gazed at this scene before him. In his heart, he sighed at how time flies, as if the period when he studied at the Imperial College had happened just yesterday.
Suddenly, his gaze condensed as he looked at the person walking out of the front gate, “It’s him!”