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

Pei Yuyan mustered a battalion of soldiers and, together with the commander of the Imperial Guard, headed to Pingzhen.

Commander Zhao Duo was an extremely cunning man. His father was loyal to the late emperor, and while he was still brave and martial, his loyalty was no longer necessarily so.

After all, neither the Pei family father nor son were loyal to the emperor.

The only thing that made him hesitate was the Jade Unicorn Talisman. Without it, even as the commander, he could not command the most loyal and valiant Imperial Guards in the world.

He was willing to go with Pei Yuyan on this trip for two reasons: first, to ensure that the Jade Unicorn Talisman could be obtained, and second, to be able to see which side to support immediately. If the Crown Prince succeeded, he could be the first supporter.

Upon arriving in Pingzhen, he immediately ordered the city gates to be sealed off and a house-to-house search to be conducted.

Pei Yuyan was already quite confident about today's events and wasn't worried. Seeing that he couldn't find the talisman holder for the time being, he decided to bring Wei Nanxun back first.

He also thought that his feelings for Wei Nanxun were just a passing fancy, and that his resentment was the root of his problem.

But in the past few months, he has been thinking of her constantly. He dreams of her at night, and during the day, he mistakes any woman who resembles her for her.

He had never been so intensely devoted to a woman before. He didn't care whether it was resentment or something else, and he didn't even care whether she was innocent or not. He would do anything to get her.

Fortunately, the manpower he left in the Wei family was not wasted; there was finally good news.

He could have chosen not to come today; there were still many matters to attend to in the court. But the thought of seeing her, whether she was surprised, in pain, or regretful, would bring him joy.

But he never expected that there would be a man outside Wei Nanxun's courtyard.

His first reaction was uncontrollable rage. He wanted to grab her by the neck and imprison her in a dark, sunless room. He wanted to ask her, was she so casual that she couldn't live without a man?

Or is it that anyone but him will do?

How could she demean herself like that, while also belittling him?

He was about to tear the man to pieces when he looked closer and finally saw what he looked like.

Pei Ji.

This, how is this possible?

He had a natural fear of this imperial uncle who was only a few years older than him. He was the second son of the imperial grandmother and the emperor's own brother, and could be considered a son born late in life.

Strangely, the grandparents did not love their youngest son very much, and were often indifferent to him.

He was extremely intelligent, not only possessing a photographic memory but also being exceptionally gifted in horsemanship, archery, martial arts, and military strategy.

He was taller and bigger than the other children. Before he was ten years old, he secretly went to the army camp to be recruited and later went on expeditions with the army.

His talent was soon put to use, and he repeatedly achieved military exploits. Before he was even twenty, he was able to personally lead troops to fight the enemy.

Legend has it that he was seriously wounded many times and fell among the enemy's corpses, yet he was able to crawl out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood and kill the enemy's heads.

There are even rumors that he drinks human blood and eats human flesh, and is no longer an ordinary being.

Of course, these were all rumors, and Pei Yuyan did not take them seriously.

He had only seen this uncle a handful of times, and his fear of him only began when his grandfather passed away.

On the night he kept vigil, he personally witnessed Pei Ji riding a fierce steed and storming straight into the palace gates in the darkness.

Pei Ji's silver helmet was stained with congealed blood, and he, with red eyes and a blood-dripping spear in his hand, dismounted and stepped into the mourning hall.

That was the first time Pei Yuyan had smelled such a direct and strong stench of blood; he almost vomited.

Even his father, the emperor, who was his elder brother and had already ascended to the throne, dared not obstruct him in the slightest.

What horrified him even more was that Pei Jimo silently put down a bundle he was carrying on his back, opened it, and inside was a bloody human head.

The head's eyes were filled with terror; it didn't even have time to react when it died.

Everyone inside the room covered their mouths and vomited uncontrollably, but his good uncle remained calm and placed the head before his grandfather's memorial tablet, bowing and offering incense with ease.

Later he learned that the severed head belonged to the king of a neighboring enemy country, who had wounded his grandfather on the battlefield.

He had always been regarded as the sworn enemy of the Great Yan, yet he single-handedly and unharmedly killed the man from his horse, and brought the severed head to pay homage to his deceased father.

For several years, this image became Pei Yuyan's nightmare; whenever he closed his eyes, he would see that head that could not close its eyes.

The moment he saw Pei Ji, he realized why Wen Xiang was so confident and fearless.

It turned out that the Jade Unicorn Talisman had been handed over to Pei Ji.

The reason he never thought it would be Pei Ji was because he knew his father, the emperor, who also avoided this younger brother like the plague.

When the Emperor's grandfather passed away suddenly, although the majority of voices supported his father to succeed him, there were many rumors that the Emperor's grandfather had left a will specifying that his fourth son should succeed him.

It was only through the Emperor's collusion with the palace eunuchs and obstruction of Pei Ji's return to the capital that he was able to ascend the throne.

His suspicions of Pei Ji were no less than those of his son; otherwise, he would have stripped Pei Ji of his military power and summoned him back to the capital long ago. His hesitation to act stemmed from his fear of insufficient preparation, which might inadvertently provoke Pei Ji into a rebellion.

Given Pei Ji's prestige in the army and his unparalleled military achievements, if he were to rebel, where would he and his father find a foothold?

Therefore, he could refuse to kneel before the imperial edict, nor before Heaven and his ancestors, and despite his immense resentment upon seeing this imperial uncle.

They had no choice but to kneel down.

Of all those present, besides Pei Yuyan, Wei Nanxun was the most surprised.

From the moment Pei Yuyan knelt down, her mind went completely blank.

In her past life, apart from kneeling before the emperor and empress dowager, she had never seen Pei Yuyan lower himself to such a degree. He was like her everything, and at this moment, she felt as if she didn't recognize him anymore.

What surprised her even more was that the person she was kneeling to was Ji Shouzhou.

This poor scholar she had always assumed was actually destitute, orphaned, and living with only an older brother and sister. Only now did she realize that his brother was the emperor of the Great Yan Dynasty, and his sister was a courtesan from Anyang.

Well, what a destitute and honest family.

She thought she had found a scholar from an ordinary family, someone she could marry into, and someone she could grow old with.

She thought of the box of silver, her previous expressions of affection, and her words of concern for him.

What a joke.

Even if she were ignorant and foolish, she should know that the only person who could make Pei Yuyan willingly bow down and kowtow was his own uncle, the invincible Prince Su, Pei Ji.

No wonder he disliked her room and always looked at her like she was a thief. It wasn't because he was old-fashioned and conservative, but because he thought she was the kind of woman who would climb into someone else's bed.

It was so funny.

His appearance, his overall demeanor, his refined speech, and his robust physique—what about him resembled a poor scholar?

Wei Nanxun laughed until tears welled up in her eyes. How could there be such a fool as her in the world?

She was laughing when suddenly, as if she had thought of something, the jade pendant hanging from her waist.

The character "寂" (lonely/solitary) is engraved on it.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind: Ji, the Ji of Pei Ji.