My elder sister forced me to become a concubine; I was reborn and remarried into the emperor's

Pei Ji always thought that Wei Nanxun had forgotten what happened that day, just as easily as he had forgotten what he had said.

But he hadn't expected her to cherish this jade pendant so much, nor had she forgotten all those things. Watching her place the jade pendant against her heart, for a moment, his heart also felt hot, and his heartbeat quickened involuntarily.

"It is so important."

Pei Ji felt a tightness in his throat, and his voice became much lower and softer.

"Yes, he saved my life." That was all.

Having spent so much time together, Pei Ji doubted every word she said. In his mind, she was a frivolous, lying, hypocritical, and empty-headed woman.

But at this moment, he believed what she said.

"Since it's so important, I'll give it to you."

He spoke so softly that Wei Nanxun, who was so close to him, couldn't hear him clearly and blinked in confusion: "What did you say? What do you mean, 'give to me'?"

"It's not important, let's eat."

No matter how much Wei Nanxun asked, he refused to say, and eventually she gave up, treating it as nothing more than an insignificant remark.

As for the earlier argument and attempts to appease each other, they both tacitly refrained from bringing it up again.

Before today, Pei Ji couldn't get up easily and ate on the couch. Now that he can walk around, he's unwilling to lie in bed like a useless person and eat.

After a while, when the food was getting cold, Zhixia finally saw a tall figure leaning on a cane, and a struggling figure hopping on one leg beside him.

"Sister, what's wrong with you?"

"You twisted the spot again. I told you not to go, but you ran faster than a rabbit. I couldn't call you back."

Zhixia stuck out her tongue. You can't blame her, can you? After the previous incident where the two of them slept together in each other's arms, how could she dare to disturb their good time?

She quickly apologized repeatedly, then asked if she was still in pain and if she had applied any medicine. Knowing that Pei Ji had applied medicine for her, she put on an air of knowing everything.

The two sisters often felt that meals were too lonely, so they would invite Grandpa and Grandma Lin to eat with them. The two old men, unaware of the intricacies of the situation, smiled and said, "We have to thank Mr. Ji for this. The dress for the eldest daughter is just the right gift."

After Pei Ji was brought back to live, everyone was struggling to decide what to call him. Calling him Young Master Ji was too formal and didn't suit his status, while calling him Shou Zhuo was too intimate.

He was a scholar and had taught students in his hometown, so Wei Nanxun came up with the name Mr. Ji, though she herself had never called him that.

“The young lady has such good taste. Wearing this outfit, Mr. Ji looks like a wealthy young master from somewhere. He doesn’t seem to suit our place at all.”

Wei Nanxun was so focused on making him happy that she didn't notice him until Grandma pointed it out, and then she started to take a closer look at Pei Ji.

It must be said that his facial features exude a heroic air. He was in a very bad situation before, but now, after dressing up a little, his whole demeanor is completely different.

It really does have that "exorbitantly expensive" feel that the old lady described.

This reminded Wei Nanxun of the jade pendant he had just seen, and he poked around in the bowl with his chopsticks. A flicker of doubt crossed his mind: was he really just a down-on-his-luck scholar?

Pei Ji, however, didn't care at all. He sat casually on the stool and gave a self-deprecating smirk: "Is there such a penniless young master?"

This made his classmates laugh and cry at the same time, and it also dispelled Wei Nanxun's doubts.

Indeed, if he were truly a formidable figure, how could he have been so severely injured and nearly become prey for a pack of wolves?

Moreover, he was completely unpretentious, wearing old clothes and sleeping in the side room. He didn't even care about sharing a table with the servants. He had none of the manners or demeanor of a noble young master. At most, he just had a face blessed by God.

Wei Nanxun bit her chopsticks, unable to stop staring at his face.

Pei Ji wanted to pretend he didn't see it, but her gaze was so direct and blatant that he had no choice but to glare at her.

He said coldly, "Why are you looking at me?"

"I was thinking, with Mr. Ji's looks and talent, how many noble ladies will be vying for his hand in the imperial examinations when he goes to the capital this autumn?"

Arrest him?

In the entire capital, besides her, which other delicate noblewoman wouldn't care about her reputation and wouldn't be afraid of his stern face?

"Could it be that His Majesty has chosen him to be the princess's husband?"

Pei Ji: ...

Uncle and niece? How could she say that?

Pei Ji's face immediately darkened. He picked up a piece of fried spring roll and stuffed it into her mouth without even looking at it.

"Eat without talking or sleeping without talking."

Wei Nanxun finally managed to swallow the spring roll in his mouth before belatedly realizing that his chopsticks had entered her mouth...

-

In the following days, once Pei Ji had gotten out of bed, he refused to lie still.

Wei Nanxun was afraid that he was too eager for quick success and would not be able to rest properly, which would lead to a long-term illness, so she went to ask a doctor to come and see him.

The doctor took his pulse and examined the wound, expressing amazement at the extent of his recovery.

It was speculated that his constitution was different from that of ordinary people or that Wei Nanxun took good care of him. In any case, the doctor felt that there was no major problem and that he could get down and walk around, which would actually be more conducive to his recovery.

With the expert's approval, he stopped lying on the couch and even abandoned his cane after a few days. His favorite thing to do every day was to take walks in the yard and read books.

That day, Wei Nanxun went out again. She didn't want to cause trouble, but Manager Qiu from the restaurant said that Su Shan was very popular and wanted to talk to her about future cooperation.

Since it involved business and money, she naturally had to go.

The deal went smoothly, and the crispy dessert was an instant hit. Manager Qiu shared the profits with her over the past few days. They had initially agreed to a five-day trial sale, but now that it was selling well, they naturally planned to buy the recipe completely.

Wei Nanxun was overjoyed to receive the cash.

Although she has always had very little money, Manager Qiu's attitude today proves that her judgment was correct and her cooperation method was also correct. As long as Su Shan is popular, she will continue to have a steady stream of gold and silver coming in.

In her excitement, she bought a lot of things, including pastries, new clothes for Zhixia, and a set of writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones for Peiji.

The two sisters returned home happily, laden with their purchases, only to be stopped at their doorstep.

"Miss Guan, please wait."

Before him stood the young master of the Wen family, whom he had met at the restaurant before. Wei Nanxun subconsciously took a half step back.

She had stayed home for the past few days, thinking the matter was over, but who would have thought the other party would actually come knocking on her door: "Were you following me?"

"Miss, you misunderstand. I was not following you. We just happened to meet at the street corner and happened to be going the same way."

Did we travel the same way to her house?

Wei Nanxun had never seen such a straightforward and shameless person before, and his face fell: "Since we are just traveling together, please make way, young master, I'm going home."

“Miss Guan, I’m not trying to stop you. It’s just that I was so moved when I first met you that I wrote three poems after I went back. Now that I’m so lucky to meet you again, I would like to invite you to stroll on the lake and share our feelings.”

Wei Nanxun was trembling with anger. What did he take her for?

Those actors who sing for a living, or prostitutes in brothels, writing love poems and strolling together on the lake upon their first meeting—if they had treated her as a girl from a respectable family, they would never have been so frivolous.

But she really didn't want to provoke the Wen family, so she wanted to get rid of them without making a big scene.

“Young Master Wen, I don’t know how people in the capital view matters between men and women. Even though I am just a lowly merchant’s daughter, I know the importance of arranged marriages. If you are truly in love with me, please ask your elders to send a matchmaker to propose marriage. Although I, Guan Yue, am of low status, I will never stoop to the level of a concubine.”

After saying that, he walked straight past him and slammed the door shut in front of him.

After returning to her room, she drank several cups of cold tea to suppress her anger. In the capital, she was an unfavored concubine's daughter, which was one thing, but now that she was free in Pingzhen, there were still people who dared to mess with her.

"Sister, don't be angry. You spoke so harshly just now, I think this Wen fellow should know better than to leave."

“My words only apply to gentlemen. If that man surnamed Wen is a rogue who insists on forcibly taking a woman, there’s nothing we can do about him.”

"What should we do then? Report it to the authorities?"

Wei Nanxun bit her lower lip and shook her head. The Wen family's status was such that the local officials of Pingzhen would definitely not dare to offend them. If officials protected each other, she would be the one who would suffer.

"Let's wait and see if they've left..."

Before she could finish speaking, her grandfather rushed in anxiously.

"Miss, something terrible has happened! Mr. Ji heard that someone was making things difficult for you, so he went out to teach them a lesson."

Wei Nanxun suddenly stood up: "He's just a weak scholar, who's going to lecture whom?!"