Zhao Pei climbed onto the carriage in a somewhat dejected manner, and the driver asked, "Princess, are you heading home?"
She nodded, thought for a moment, and said quickly, "No, let's go to Cuiyuxuan first." The driver nodded and turned the car around.
Ziye lowered the bamboo curtain to block out the noise outside. Zhao Pei asked in a low voice: "Ziye, can Uncle Yuan be trusted? Are you sure he won't sell out our whereabouts?" Zhao Pei was still a little worried after all.
She smiled and shook her head: "Miss, put your heart back, Uncle Yuan is ours."
Zhao Pei looked at this quiet and demure woman with a smug smile on her lips. "Zi Ye is really good." As she praised her, she thought of the girl who huddled in the corner of the mutton shop at that time. She was completely different from the quiet and sensible woman now. In fact, she had changed as well.
"Miss, Miss Qinglan told me before she left that she said more this time than she did in a year."
The woman lying by the car window said nothing. The changing light and shadows reflected on her face, and she slowly raised her lips. Qinglan, you spent so much time talking and it was useful after all. I already know what I should do and say.
—————
It was past noon when Zhao Pei returned to the palace, and she was hungry. She asked Ziye to prepare lunch and returned to Yulanxuan alone.
Ruhua sat on the beauty chair on the corridor, humming a little tune and embroidering leisurely. Zhaopei shook her head and sighed that this was what a woman trapped in love was like.
She walked quietly behind Ruhua and suddenly said coquettishly, "Okay, Ruhua. Why are you slacking off here instead of taking care of the young lady?"
Ruhua was startled, her hands were in a mess and she almost got pricked by the embroidery needle. She turned around and said with a hint of complaint: "The young lady just went to bed, you should keep your voice down." She looked Zhaopei up and down and murmured: "The young lady is the same, leaving the young lady here alone and going out to play. The young lady has been crying all morning today."
Zhao Pei heard Zhen'er crying and didn't tease Ruhua that she was complaining because she didn't bring her along. She quickly said, "I'll go check it out."
Ruhua was mumbling something behind him, but Zhaopei ignored her and pushed open the door. The moment she stepped into the room, she almost fell down while holding onto the door frame. The man in black sat quietly beside Hanzhen's small couch, and one of his hands gently patted Hanzhen's quilt as if to coax her to sleep.
Although he seemed clumsy, he was full of warmth. That kind of gaze was like the warmest beam of light in spring, shining on Hanzhen's tender face without reservation. It was extremely inconsistent with his cold face.
Zhao Pei rubbed her eyes to make sure she was not dazzled. She swore that Xiao Yi had never looked at her with such tenderness and sincerity.
However, at that moment, she felt an indescribable warmth in her heart. She would rather believe that Xiao Yi was just her husband and Han Zhen's father, nothing more.
She was willing to sink into such warmth and ignore everything else.
Zhao Pei slowly walked to his side and smiled at Han Zhen who was sleeping soundly.
"Her eyes are very similar to yours." Xiao Yi spoke first, looking up at the woman beside him and smiling faintly, "She will definitely be as beautiful as her mother when she grows up."
Zhao Pei replied without hesitation: "That's for sure." After a while, she added: "This is the first time you said I was beautiful."
Xiao Yi did not respond. He gently stood up and turned to look at her. His voice was suddenly no longer gentle, but as cold as before: "Where did you go just now?" Zhao Pei glared at him sideways, secretly cursing this man in her heart for changing his face like turning the pages of a book.
"I went to Cuiyuxuan." She smiled. Seeing Xiao Yi squinting his eyes as if he was trying to distinguish the truth from the false, Zhao Pei remained calm and said, "If you don't believe me, go ask Uncle Yuan. I also bought a jade pendant. You gave it to me before, but I never gave it to you." As she spoke, she stretched out her hand and showed him the warm white jade that still had her body temperature and was in her palm for a long time.
Xiao Yi took it, his eyelids drooped slightly and he said lightly: "Thank you." He turned back and looked at Han Zhen who was sleeping soundly, "It's just that you left Zhen Er here alone... If that's the case, I'll let Yuan Ming help you take care of her."
When Zhao Pei heard this, she immediately glared at him and said with her hands on her hips, "How dare you!" Her voice seemed a little loud, disturbing Zhen'er. She pouted and turned over, but fortunately she didn't wake up from crying. Zhao Pei had to lower her voice but her anger did not diminish: "Zhen'er is my child, why should I let other women take care of her!" She murmured guiltily, but she left in a hurry because of something, otherwise she would definitely take Han Zhen with her.
There was a glimmer of strangeness in Xiao Yi's eyes, and he said sarcastically: "Aren't you on good terms with Yuan Ming's sister? If you are busy, it's not too much to let her take care of you. What's another woman?"
She saw that he was speaking easily, and although she knew that Xiao Yi was just talking for the sake of quick success, she was still furious. Because of Han Zhen, she didn't dare to speak loudly, and she scolded in a low voice: "Xiao Yi, I've already done you a great favor by allowing you to marry another woman into the mansion, what else do you want?"
The anger was revealed in her words. Zhao Pei knew in her heart that she didn't care about Xiao Yi's ridicule, but she just took this opportunity to yell at him a few times, which also made her feel... relieved.
His lips slowly rose up and he chuckled, "Is Pepe angry?"
"So what if I'm angry? Why can't I be angry?"
"Finally I can't pretend anymore." Xiao Yi chuckled and shook his head, but the smile seeped out from his eyes. Zhao Pei was stunned, and then she realized that she had forgotten herself. On the way, she suddenly realized why Xiao Yi had been cold and angry recently, so she thought about following his thoughts. But she didn't expect that she would follow his thoughts more and more, and in the end she was really angry, like a jealous woman.
"Which woman would be happy to see her husband marry someone else? I just kept silent because I was thinking about the harmony of the family. Xiao Yi, don't really think I don't care. I tell you, I am very petty. If you dare to marry someone else again, I will never forgive you!" Zhao Pei gritted her teeth and spat out these words, but she was unsure in her heart, how much of it was true and how much was false. Or maybe it was all true.
The smile on his lips deepened, and he still chuckled and shook his head: "Pepe, you look like a jealous woman."
"It's me!" Zhao Pei said immediately.
"Okay." He was in a very good mood at the moment, and his voice softened. "Jealous woman, don't disturb Zhen'er's sleep. Considering your protest and dissatisfaction with me. As compensation, tonight... I will take you to a good place." (To be continued)