She was buried alive at the start, but she's determined to smash her ex-husband's head in

No father wants to see his daughter with such a dangerous person. Even though Lin Qingwei wasn't his most beloved daughter, seeing the two of them together still made Lin Zhengwen so angry that he wanted to kick Pei Zhaoan away from Lin Qingwei.

Lin Zhengwen took off Lin Qingwei's cloak and threw it back into Pei Zhaoan's arms as if it were a hot cloak.

"Now that the person has been returned, there's no need for you to trouble yourself, Your Excellency!"

As he was about to pull Lin Qingwei inside, Pei Zhaoan raised an eyebrow and deliberately said to Lin Zhengwen, "How could I not go to the trouble? You and I might become family in the future, so you don't need to be so polite."

Lin Zhengwen was so angry he was practically spitting fire as he glared at Lin Qingwei: "What does he mean? Huh?!?"

Lin Qingwei was in a headache. She gave Pei Zhaoan a look, signaling him to stop talking. Pei Zhaoan gave her an ambiguous smile. Lin Zhengwen was so angry he almost fainted. Without thinking twice, he pulled Lin Qingwei into the Lin residence and slammed the door shut.

Pei Zhaoan was not annoyed and returned to the carriage with a sense of certainty.

Xia An asked, "Shall we go back to the manor?"

"No, go to the palace."

Since he had promised to be her protector, he would naturally help her teach those who deliberately made things difficult for and bullied her a lesson.

Pei Zhaoan's smile vanished, replaced by an indescribable chilling aura in his eyes.

Inside the Lin residence, everyone except Lin Qingwei looked anxious, as if they had something to say but didn't know whether they should say it.

Lin Qingwei changed into clean clothes, and Lin Zhengwen was the first to get restless.

He asked directly, "What did Lord Pei mean by what he just said?"

"He told me to dump Qi Yanzhi and be with him." Lin Qingwei held the cup of hot tea and, without beating around the bush, directly quoted Pei Zhaoan's exact words.

Everyone present gaped in astonishment. Lin Xiuyao was now truly impressed by Lin Qingwei. If she could even win over Pei Zhaoan, what else couldn't she accomplish?

Thinking back on all the things I did in the past, I'm incredibly lucky to have survived...

Lin Zhengwen seemed to have forgotten how to speak for a moment, and it took him a while to find his voice: "You didn't agree, did you?"

Are you crazy? How can Pei Zhao'an compare to the Duke's heir?

Lin Qingwei said, "I'm considering it."

"There's nothing to consider! The marriage agreement with Prince Qi is something many people would give up for their own good, and you're just giving it up like this? Fine, give it up, but who did you choose? Pei Zhao'an?"

Lin Zhengwen paced anxiously in front of Lin Qingwei, patting the back of his hands repeatedly.

"Who is Pei Zhao'an? To put it nicely, he is the Emperor's Inner Guard and the Grand Secretary! In reality, he does all the dirty work that His Majesty can't do himself. How much blood is on his hands? He has probably killed more people than you have ever seen!"

He's nothing but a lackey! He has no status, no position, no background—how can he compare to Prince Qi in any way? Would you dare entrust your life to him?

"He must have threatened you, right? Your sister told us everything that happened at the palace gate! Don't worry, if he really threatened you, your father will risk his life to report it to His Majesty!"

He was completely thinking about Lin Qingwei. As a father, he certainly didn't want his daughter to get involved with bad people, especially since there was already a very good candidate, but his daughter was going to give up that candidate and choose a criminal instead!

Anyone would be frantic with worry if this happened to them.

Lin Qingwei looked at Lin Xiuyao, who immediately shook her head frantically and held up her finger to swear, "This time I really didn't embellish anything, I'm telling the whole truth!"

Lin Zhengwen was extremely anxious. Seeing that Lin Qingwei was still calmly drinking her tea, he walked up and snatched the teacup from her hand.

"Say something."

“He didn’t threaten me. I told him I would seriously consider it, but I didn’t agree to it immediately,” Lin Qingwei said. “Father, there’s no need to be so nervous, because no matter who your daughter marries in the end, the Lin family will be the one who benefits.”

Was Pei Zhao'an really as despicable as he claimed? But why was everyone in the capital so afraid of him? It probably wasn't just because he had killed countless people. In recent years, Emperor Xuande had become increasingly fond of Pei Zhao'an. Although his official rank was lower than Lin Zhengwen's, his real power was much greater.

Not only did they have their own personal guards, but they could also freely enter and leave the palace.

He was even more outstanding than the Crown Prince and Prince Duan, and some people even spread rumors that he was the illegitimate son of Emperor Xuande.

Whether it's true or not, Pei Zhaoan is practically all-powerful in the capital.

Lin Zhengwen was about to argue, but then he felt that Lin Qingwei was right. In any case, it made no difference to him. Whether it was the Duke's Mansion or the Grand Secretariat Mansion, they could both help him in his career.

However, that little bit of fatherly love made Lin Zhengwen still have a conscience, and he used it to consider Lin Qingwei's future life.

Lin Xiuyao and Ye Shi dared not speak and stood quietly to the side.

"Has Third Sister returned? How is she?" Lin Qingwei asked.

Speaking of this, Lin Xiuyao got really excited: "She's really unlucky! Let me tell you, her face and body were stung by bees, and she's swollen up like a pig's head! The Song family had to bring her back! She probably doesn't even have the face to show her face in public now!"

Lin Xiuyao was overjoyed!

At that moment, Uncle Lin rushed in, panting, and said, "Young Master, the Young Master is here! He says he wants to see the Eldest Miss!"

Lin Zhengwen was even more excited than Lin Qingwei: "What are you waiting for? Please come in quickly!"

"Eh!"

At this moment, Ye finally got a chance to speak. She pulled Lin Xiuyao aside and said to Lin Zhengwen, "The two children are already engaged. Perhaps they have some private things to say. We adults being there might restrain them. Why don't we leave the space to them?"

Lin Zhengwen thought about it and agreed. He still preferred Qi Yanzhi, since who wouldn't like such an obedient child? So he nodded and left the main hall first.

Lin Xiuyao left somewhat reluctantly; this was much more interesting than anything she had read in storybooks! She wanted to stay and eavesdrop!

However, Ye still managed to pull the person away with great force.

Left alone, Lin Qingwei felt inexplicably nervous. The thought of Qi Yanzhi's smile made her feel extremely guilty, and she was even too ashamed to face him.

Qi Yanzhi knew this, so he stopped in front of the screen when he reached the front hall.

He spoke through the screen, his voice sounding hoarse as if he had just been crying. He didn't go over to talk to her face to face, so as not to appear too pathetic in her eyes.

"I don't know what he said to you, but please don't leave me..."

The screen faintly revealed the figure of a lonely young man, whose voice was extremely aggrieved, like a pitiful little dog that had been abandoned.

Lin Qingwei's heart was gripped tightly by a hand, and it ached terribly.

"I will do better. I can give you anything he can give you. I will find a way to bring you anything you want. Please don't abandon me."