After the favored concubine remarried, the aloof and powerful minister forcibly took her away.

Chapter 61 But I Just Like Pei Lang
Han Jun's reminder made Pei Yanzhi think of the half-piece of paper he had seen in Xiang Ning's room that day.

His eyes darkened, and he didn't say anything more, only humming in response.

Princess Huihe's birthday banquet was a lively affair, and the tasting event here was naturally no less impressive.

The sounds of vendors hawking their wares rose and fell inside the hall, while Xiang Ning and Yao Yao sat outside chatting idly.

As outsiders have said, the Prince Qing's mansion is indeed filled with pavilions and towers arranged in a harmonious and orderly manner.

Just looking at the scenery won't bore you.

Just then, a gust of wind blew from somewhere, lifting a corner of the veils on Xiang Ning and Yao Yao's faces.

The girl's delicate half-face was revealed, her red lips slightly pursed, her eyes like twinkling stars.

Her hair swayed in the wind, wrapping around her neck, the bright light and shadow reflecting each other, even the wind seemed to favor her.

"Young Master Li? What are you looking at?"

A sound came from not far away, and Li Yunfan came back to his senses after hearing it.

"Brother Tang, do you know that young lady? Which family does she belong to?"

Li Yunfan tugged at Tang Yanjun, who turned her head to look and then shook her head: "Judging from her clothes, she looks like a maid from some family."

The fabric wasn't particularly good, and she wasn't wearing any jewelry. Most importantly, Tang Yanjun recognized the person next to her.

Recently, he has become quite popular with the young master of the Xuanwei Marquis family.

Being with a woman from a brothel, she probably doesn't come from a respectable family.

"A maid?"

Unexpectedly, Li Yunfan's eyes lit up immediately after hearing this.

"You've taken a liking to her?"

Tang Yanjun naturally knew Li Yunfan's personality, and seeing his behavior, he shook his head helplessly.

"I've never seen such a beautiful girl before. I'll go ask her."

Li Yunfan closed his folding fan and stepped forward.

Tang Yanjun didn't want to interfere. Li Yunfan's family was in the silk business, and he was the youngest son in the family.

She has been pampered since birth.

He had already taken many concubines in his house before he even got married.

Xiang Ning raised her hand to press the veil, and was about to tell Yao Yao to go in and take a look when she saw a young man in brocade robes walking over.

She took a step back, adopting a defensive posture.

"Don't be afraid, young lady. My name is Li Yunfan, and I am from the Li Family Trading Company in the capital."

Li Yunfan is fairly good-looking. When he smiles, he looks like a scholar and doesn't seem aggressive.

But Xiang Ning knew her current status. If she had too much contact with men outside the family, and it got back to Pei Yanzhi, she would be blamed again.

So she just smiled politely and pulled Yao Yao away.

"May I ask your name, young lady? What would you like to buy at this tasting event? My family runs a business, so I have some knowledge of this."

Seeing that Xiang Ning was about to leave, Li Yunfan reached out and blocked her way.

“Young Master Li, my sister is already taken. If you continue to stop her, you will offend someone. Don’t blame me for not warning you.”

Yao Yao said with a cold laugh, "This Mr. Li also comes to brothels to drink and seduce women on weekdays."

She knew him, which is why she spoke up to remind him.

Who is Pei Yanzhi, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review? He is someone even more formidable than the young Marquis Han Jun.

Xiang Ning was the first woman he brought out, so her importance was self-evident.

Yao Yao's words were meant to save Li Yunfan's life, but unfortunately, Li Yunfan didn't understand what she meant.

"I just want to get to know the girl, I have no ill intentions."

“If you truly have no ill intentions, you shouldn’t be bothering me like this.”

After Li Yunfan finished speaking, Xiang Ning spoke up, her words were very cold, which surprised Li Yunfan.

Xiang Ning didn't give Li Yunfan a chance to think further and pulled Yao Yao inside.

Li Yunfan turned around and looked at Xiang Ning's back, chuckling, "Interesting." In the homes of the powerful and wealthy in the capital, concubines and maids could be exchanged for each other.

If what Tang Yanjun said is true, and she is just a servant girl, he will try to get her by offering benefits. He doesn't believe he can't get her back.

"Sister, don't pay any attention to that young master Li. He has countless concubines in his household because he has some money at home."

Yao Yao said disdainfully, and Xiang Ning nodded with a smile: "Of course I won't pay any attention to him."

She wanted to live a couple more days.

"Yaoyao, do you know any of the merchants here?"

As the two strolled through the tasting event, Xiang Ning asked a question.

Yao Yao shook her head: "I know some."

"Is there something you want to ask, sister?"

"Did you know that among these merchants who came this time, there are some surnamed Zhao?"

Xiang Ning's gaze swept over the people at the tasting event, and she couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

"Zhao? I don't recall that. There don't seem to be any merchants with the surname Zhao in Manling'an."

Yao Yao looked puzzled: "If you want to find out about someone, why don't you ask Lord Pei? Lord Pei is the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. He has population records. At the very least, he can ask the Ministry of Revenue for help."

"No, I just bought something from this person once before, but I haven't seen him since."

Xiang Ning was disappointed and lowered her head. She had thought that with so many merchants from Ling'an here, she could probably ask them something.

After strolling around for a while, Xiang Ning and Yao Yao went outside.

At the birthday banquet, Lu Jiamin had already found Pei Yanzhi and was now talking to him.

Pei Yanzhi looked impatient, but Lu Jiamin didn't care at all.

“Pei Lang…you…”

Before Lu Jiamin could finish speaking, she saw Pei Yanzhi get up and walk to the side.

She frowned, wanting to catch up, but Han Jun stopped her: "Princess, since Lord Pei doesn't mean it that way, you shouldn't go up, okay?"

"Let me go."

Lu Jiamin tried to pull her hand away, but found that she couldn't budge it at all.

"what are you up to?"

"Princess, I'm doing this for your own good."

Han Jun knew Pei Yanzhi's temperament well; Pei Yanzhi would absolutely not tolerate Lu Jiamin's persistent pestering.

Han Jun felt somewhat reluctant to have him say those unpleasant things to Lu Jiamin.

"But I just like Pei Lang, why doesn't he like me?"

A hint of sadness appeared in Lu Jiamin's eyes. Han Jun said, "Prince Qing, His Majesty, and the Empress Dowager are political enemies."

He offered a suggestion, and Lu Jiamin lowered her eyes.

She knew she didn't need Han Jun to remind her.

She was just a little unwilling, unwilling to accept that because of her father, she had no chance with Pei Yanzhi at all.

Han Jun looked at Lu Jiamin's appearance, sighed, and ultimately said nothing more.

Pei Yanzhi saw Xiang Ning walking towards him and was about to go over when he saw someone catch up with her.

The man was holding a pearl hairpin from the South Seas and was talking to Xiang Ning with a smile.

Xiang Ning frowned and refused repeatedly. She had made her point so clear, but Li Yunfan was still haunting her.

"Ning'er."

Just then, Pei Yanzhi's voice came from afar. Xiang Ning looked up, let go of Yao Yao's hand, and walked over.

"Master."

Pei Yanzhi remained silent, his gaze, tinged with a chill, falling upon Li Yunfan.

"A jade hairpin suits you better."

(End of this chapter)