Wende Bridge and Tianshui Bridge, as their names imply, are both located by the riverside within the capital city. The difference is that one is upstream and the other is downstream, and the distance between them is not short.
Ye Jingtang led the horse and walked quickly. After passing through the bustling market streets and quiet alleys, it took half an hour for them to return to the Pei Family's alley from the back street of Tianshui Bridge.
Pei Xiangjun sat on the horse. Since there were pedestrians on the roadside and she was a bit away from Ye Jingtang, it was not convenient for them to chat casually. She had been secretly thinking about all sorts of things.
When the horse stopped outside the gate with a lantern bearing the character "Pei", Pei Xiangjun dismounted and tidied up her skirt:
"Jingtang, come in and have a seat. I want to talk to you about something."
"Uh..."
Ye Jingtang felt a bit hot and restless in his chest and abdomen. For no apparent reason, he kept recalling the "meat egg impact" of the Fat-headed Dragon (Dongfang Liren), Lady Luo's shyness and endurance, and San Niang's shoulder-revealing and back-turning moments...
Hearing San Niang's voice, Ye Jingtang came back to his senses and turned to look at her:
"What is it? How about we talk here?"
Pei Xiangjun was just about to enter the mansion. Hearing this, she stopped in her tracks and gave a sour look:
"Are you in a hurry to go back and accompany Miss Ning'er?"
Hmm.
Ye Jingtang didn't know why, but he really wanted to hug Lady Luo and have a chat. However, seeing San Niang's resentful expression, he suppressed his thoughts and followed her up the steps:
"It's already night. If we go in, there might be people listening. Let's just talk here."
After thinking about it, Pei Xiangjun didn't insist. She folded her hands around her waist, looked at the alley entrance in the distance, and secretly prepared her words.
Ye Jingtang stood beside San Niang, and his gaze involuntarily drifted to the full and plump curve behind her waist...
He also remembered the feel of accidentally holding it last time...
Under the illumination of the dim yellow lantern, the roundness behind her waist was like the full moon on the Mid-Autumn Festival...
Ye Jingtang, as if possessed, raised his hand...
Slap——
There was a crisp sound.
Pei Xiangjun was deep in thought. Hearing the sound of the slap behind her, she turned around in a daze:
"What's wrong?"
Ye Jingtang rubbed his face with his hand, his eyes a bit panicked. He pretended to look coldly around:
"Hmm... It's summer, and there are mosquitoes?"
"If there are mosquitoes, why are you slapping your own face? Really..."
Pei Xiangjun looked around outside the gate. Before she could find the "buzzing" sound, she suddenly noticed that Ye Jingtang beside her had turned around and was looking at the couplet beside the gate with a fixed gaze.
??
Pei Xiangjun followed his gaze and looked a bit puzzled:
"Jingtang, what are you looking at?"
I don't know either!
Ye Jingtang didn't dare to look at the beautiful woman beside him who could "charm men in three steps". He stared at the couplet as if deep in thought:
"The handwriting is vigorous and unrestrained. It's really extraordinary. It seems to be the work of a famous master..."
"It was bought for a few silver coins on the street. What famous master's work?"
"Is that so... This beam seems to be quite old..."
Looking at Ye Jingtang's distracted look, Pei Xiangjun was a bit confused and shook her head:
"Let's talk about the main thing. I told your aunt today that when you went out this time, you met a female hero from the Pingtian Sect and that you like her very much..."
"What did my aunt say?"
Ye Jingtang felt extremely hot all over. He sat down on the threshold, and as a result, his gaze was exactly on the roundness behind San Niang's waist.
?!
Ye Jingtang wanted to stand up, but he found himself in an awkward situation and couldn't stand up...
Pei Xiangjun didn't notice Ye Jingtang's strange state. She gently stroked her skirt, sat down side by side with him on the threshold, propped her elbows on her knees, held her chin, and looked at the swaying dim yellow lantern under the eaves. There was a hint of helplessness between her eyebrows:
"Your aunt said that our Pei Family has already treated you unfairly. Now that you have someone you like, we can't force you to stay. But the Pei Family can't do without you. So she asked me to quickly find someone in the building and promise her to you. Sigh... There are only a few unmarried girls in Qinglong Hall. Tell me yourself, who do you like?"
When Pei Xiangjun said this, she secretly looked at Ye Jingtang, trying to figure out his thoughts. As a result, she found that Jingtang was staring intently at her lips...
?!
Pei Xiangjun's almond-shaped eyes widened a bit. She was a bit flustered and sat up straight:
"I'm your... You'd better not have any wrong ideas."
Ye Jingtang wiped his face and was fidgety:
"No, no. How could I want to have something with San Niang just to prove that I won't abandon the Pei Family... I'm really sorry, San Niang."
Pei Xiangjun blinked her eyes. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "But your aunt's intention is to ask me... to keep you here. What do you think I should do?"
"For matters of lifelong marriage, San Niang should make the decision herself. I... I'm okay with anything..."
"You're okay with anything?!"
Pei Xiangjun's eyes widened round, showing the shock in her eyes.
"No, no. I mean..."
Ye Jingtang felt a bit out of control, blurting out whatever came to his mind. He suppressed his distracting thoughts and sorted out his thoughts:
"Hmm... Everyone has the love for beauty. I've helped San Niang, and San Niang has taken great care of me. There must be more than just 'chivalry' in my heart... But for these things, I still hope that San Niang can consider them from her own perspective and not just think about external reasons like Honghua Building. Imagine if there were no issues with Honghua Building and your aunt wasn't urging you, and you were just an ordinary girl. Would you be in such a hurry and be willing to yourself compromise to keep me in the Pei Family?"
"..."
These words really hit the mark.
Pei Xiangjun hadn't known Ye Jingtang for long, and she had a very good impression of him. But because Ye Jingtang didn't live in the Pei Family, they didn't have many opportunities to interact. They only spent some time together on the boat.
Ye Jingtang was incredibly outstanding, and she really wanted to stay by his side all the time. However, the original intention was to help Honghua Building and the Pei Family. She couldn't really tell if there were romantic feelings in her heart.
Seeing Ye Jingtang's candor, Pei Xiangjun blinked her eyes, and a complex look appeared in her eyes. She held her chin again and looked at the swaying lantern under the eaves:
"Jingtang, I really didn't misjudge you... I know you won't abandon me. But the more I know this, the more I feel that I owe you. It's like getting something for nothing..."
Ye Jingtang knew that San Niang was upset and wanted to console her, but now his mind was full of "impulses"!
In a situation where he couldn't sort out his thoughts at all, he could only rub his knees with his hands and look around restlessly.
Pei Xiangjun murmured to herself, with many thoughts in her heart. Seeing that Ye Jingtang was eager to leave, she felt a bit resentful:
"Are you really in such a hurry to go back and accompany Miss Ning'er?"
"I..."
Ye Jingtang really wanted to hug and kiss San Niang beside him. This "spring impulse" came too suddenly, and he gradually realized that something was wrong.
He was definitely not such a lecherous person. The problem could only be with the medicine he had just taken...
Medicine...
A look of disbelief flashed in Ye Jingtang's eyes. He turned his head:
"San Niang, did you drug me?"
"Hmm??" Pei Xiangjun's resentful expression froze.
"I know San Niang did it for Honghua Building, but how could you yourself compromise and do such a stupid thing? Sigh, now that things have come to this, I... IBah! What am I thinking about all this nonsense..."
??
Looking at Ye Jingtang's strange appearance, Pei Xiangjun's eyes were full of confusion:
"Jingtang, calm down... What kind of drug did I give you?"
Ye Jingtang touched his face: "It's the medicine just now. I feel... Hmm..."
Pei Xiangjun then noticed that Ye Jingtang's face was a bit red. She raised her hand and touched his face with the back of her finger – his cheeks were burning hot, and his breath was as hot as that of an aroused bull.
?!
Pei Xiangjun's eyes showed shock. After thinking for a moment, she understood something, and her delicate eyebrows furrowed:
"This seductive woman!"
"Hmm?"
Ye Jingtang turned his head: "What seductive woman? The drug you gave me was given by a seductive woman?"
"What do you mean the drug I gave you? Why would I drug you?"
Pei Xiangjun was very serious and took out the medicine box:
"This medicine was prescribed by that flirtatious woman from the Pingtian Sect. I saw with my own eyes that she pulled Madam Wang and got this medicine prescribed. When I said I would take it and give it to you, she had a very strange reaction and didn't want to give it to me. No wonder... So she had this kind of intention!"
Lady Luo?
Ye Jingtang quickly shook his head: "Impossible."
Pei Xiangjun gritted her teeth and said: "Before I entered the door, I heard someone say with my own ears, 'Pretend not to know anything, wait for him to come and get close, and then act reluctantly...'. I didn't understand the meaning of these words at that time, but now I do. She's deliberately leading you on. On the surface, she keeps people at a distance, and then she secretly drugs you so that you can't help but use force. In this way, you'll be in the wrong, and she can continue to put on a cold and aloof attitude, and you'll still have to coax her..."
Ye Jingtang waved his hand and said: "How could it be? Lady Luo is very pure. She's not that kind of woman."
"You..."
Seeing that Ye Jingtang still trusted the leader's wife so much at this moment, Pei Xiangjun's eyes were full of grievance and resentment, as if she was looking at a heartless person she didn't know:
"You mean I'm lying to you? You believe her, and I'm just talking nonsense, right?"
?!
Seeing the situation was not good, Ye Jingtang gently comforted her:
"No. There must be some hidden reason for this... I'll go back and ask about it and explain it to San Niang tomorrow..."
Pei Xiangjun quickly grabbed Ye Jingtang and looked annoyed:
"You're not allowed to leave!"
Ye Jingtang wanted to stand up but found it inconvenient to stand, so he sat down again:
"I just want to go back and figure out the situation..."
"Do you still need to ask about this situation? It's obvious that she wants to drug you. You've already taken the medicine. Won't you be at her mercy when you go back? With your current state, you'll probably agree to whatever that flirtatious woman says..."
Pei Xiangjun gritted her teeth and said righteously:
"I can't let you fall into her trap!"
To be honest, Ye Jingtang really hoped that Lady Luo had deliberately drugged him. In this way, he could do "that thing" when he went back...
But seeing San Niang's aggressive appearance, if he dared to leave today, San Niang would probably hang herself at the door. So he could only raise his hand:
"Okay, I'll go back after the effect of the medicine wears off. Hmm... Does San Niang have an antidote? I can't control my thoughts now, and I'm afraid I'll offend San Niang later."
Pei Xiangjun looked around: "How could I prepare such an antidote... I see that your eyes are clear. You don't look like you've been drugged with an aphrodisiac. You should... be able to hold it back, right?"
Ye Jingtang took a deep breath, his breath hot:
"If San Niang goes into the house, I can hold it back. But if you sit here, I..."
Pei Xiangjun understood what he meant. She was too attractive...
But what if he runs away when I go into the house?
How could this flirtatious woman from the Pingtian Sect do such a thing?
Fortunately, she was clever and stopped the medicine, preventing Jingtang from falling into the trap...
But Jingtang has already taken it. Isn't he going to suffer for nothing all night...
Pei Xiangjun felt that it wasn't right to just sit like this. Her eyes rolled:
"Or... you go to the princess?"
"..."
Ye Jingtang thought it was a good idea, but he quickly suppressed his distracting thoughts and thought to himself: This medicine is really powerful. How could I have such a wrong idea...
The two of them fell silent.
Pei Xiangjun's expression was really strange. Before she could figure out how to deal with the situation, footsteps suddenly sounded at the entrance of the alley.
The two of them turned to look and saw a woman dressed in green clothes and wearing a veiled hat appear at the entrance of the alley. She was探头 (peeking) inside.
Ye Jingtang's expression lit up. Like seeing a savior, he quickly waved his hand:
"Lady Luo... Oof——"
Pei Xiangjun's face darkened. She quickly covered Ye Jingtang's mouth and tried to hide him inside the door. She also whispered:
"Are you still calling out? Don't you have any sense?"
Ye Jingtang was directly hugged by San Niang and dragged into the door. Half of his body fell into San Niang's arms.
Pei Xiangjun was in a hurry to hide from the leader's wife and didn't notice the problem with her衣襟 at first...
"Ah——!"
Pei Xiangjun was startled and trembled. She quickly let go of Ye Jingtang, hugged her衣襟 with both hands, her face turned red, and her eyes were filled with fear and shame.
Ye Jingtang's thoughts were wandering. He turned over and stood up:
"San Niang, you know this really isn't my fault... I was drugged."
"..."
Pei Xiangjun widened her almond-shaped eyes, her eyes showing a very complex look. Seeing that Ye Jingtang was about to go out, she gritted her teeth and stepped forward, directly grabbing Ye Jingtang's arm and pulling him into the door:
"You're not allowed to go with her. I'm doing this for your own good. You can't fall into her trap!"
Oh no...
Ye Jingtang's arm was clamped, and his legs didn't obey him. He said in a gentle tone:
"San Niang, calm down. If you keep this up, I'll do something stupid."
Pei Xiangjun's eyes were determined, probably meaning – It's better for you to do something stupid in Honghua Building than to fall into the evil scheme of the seductive woman from the Pingtian Sect!
Pei Xiangjun's face was red. She pulled Ye Jingtang into the house with force and also tried to close the door:
"Come in here!"
"San Niang, calm down..."
Ye Jingtang still had his reason. How dare he shut Lady Luo outside the door? He could only use his leg to block the door with a hopeless heart, waiting to be "torn apart" by the two of them...