Chapter 57: Do You Want His Life?

Pei Jingxing sheepishly fell silent.

He was not an overbearing or arbitrary person. Whenever matters arose at home, he would always discuss them thoroughly with his brothers. It was just that he had two younger sisters below him who usually depended on him greatly, leaving all decisions to him.

Now, facing his maternal cousin, he had naturally taken charge for her.

He had simply forgotten that his cousin was not like his own younger sisters.

Having to be reminded by his eldest brother time and time again, he was truly in the wrong.

Liang Shanru had no intention of dwelling on the remorse in his eyes at that moment. She glanced hurriedly at the restrained Li Ziyang and his gang, took a deep breath, and averted her gaze. "Then I will leave it to my older cousins to handle. Such a matter should not be made public, and it is not convenient for me to deal with it personally."

The impulse to kill that she felt earlier subsided. Once that fierce urge faded, Liang Shanru quickly regained her composure.

Taking a person's life was the most gratifying solution, but she would have a hard time explaining it to her aunt.

How could a dainty, adorable niece suddenly turn into a cold-blooded woman who killed without batting an eye?

She still had a very long journey ahead of her, and for the most part, she had to rely on her aunt. In times like this, it was better to avoid trouble than to create more.

Liang Shanru glanced at the ground once more before raising her eyes to look at Pei Jingxing. "Will he be treated leniently because of the Duke of Changping?"

It was Pei Yanzhou who took over the conversation. "Does my cousin want his life?"

When she first entered the room, she had not yet had the time to shed her hostile aura.

Even the blood on Li Ziyang's neck was still wet.

He had seen all of this and knew that she had harbored the intent to kill.

His heart was filled with pity and heartache.

She used to be so full of smiles and innocence, purely believing in all the goodness in the world, yet now she had become like this.

At that exact moment, he felt that hacking Li Ziyang into a thousand pieces would not even be enough to vent his anger.

Therefore, Pei Yanzhou said again, "If that is what you want, then..."

Before he could finish, Liang Shanru hastily cut him off. "This is the first time I have encountered such a matter, and I truly have no mind of my own.

As for whether to take someone's life—"

She drew out the end of her sentence and lowered her gaze slightly. "A person like this deserves to die, but as I said, I leave everything entirely to my cousins to dispose of. Please, do not let any more trouble be stirred up on my account."

She pinched her fingertips and looked back at Pei Jingxing. "They say it is better to resolve enmities than to perpetuate them, and unpleasantness has already arisen with the Li family because of me."

Pei Jingxing replied extremely quickly this time. "Every effect has a cause. If they had not acted with malice, we would not have sought them out."

He thought for a moment, fearing that speaking this way would make her back down even further, and so he reassured her, "Cousin shouldn't think too much about it. You still have injuries on you; getting you home to tend to them is what matters most, or else Aunt will worry."

Liang Shanru nodded repeatedly, and Pei Jingxing walked outside with her.

Pei Yanzhou sighed almost imperceptibly and suddenly said, "He will not be treated leniently on account of the Chai family. No family holds that much prestige."

Hearing this, Liang Shanru paused and inevitably turned to look at him.

The earnestness in Pei Yanzhou's eyes startled her slightly, prompting her to quickly turn her head away, refusing to look any longer.

She gave a faint "oh" in acknowledgment and followed Pei Jingxing out the door.

Left behind, Pei Yanzhou cast a cold glance at Li Ziyang. "You orchestrated the abduction of my cousin today?"

Li Ziyang had never suffered such a great grievance in his entire life, but things having reached this point, he could only resign himself to fate.

He had originally intended to win her favor, seize the opportunity to humiliate Liang Shanru thoroughly, and trample the dignity of the Duke of Xinguo's estate underfoot.

Yet his strategy fell short; he had calculated everything except the fact that Liang Shanru was so formidable. Even under the influence of aphrodisiac incense, she was still able to fight back and even subdue him in return.

Fortunately, Liang Shanru already harbored deep grievances against the Liang family, and since she had just questioned him about it, spinning lies now came even more naturally to him.

Li Ziyang shook his head repeatedly, denying it. "It was the Marquis of Changlesheng! It was the Marquis of Changlesheng!"

He simply shifted all the blame onto the Marquis of Changlesheng. "He incited me to abduct the young lady of the Liang family, saying there would be numerous benefits and that it was a masterstroke serving multiple purposes.

The Marquis's estate needed to vent its anger, and my family also needed to let off steam. Besides, the Liang young lady has so much silver to her name and now has the Duke of Xinguo's estate backing her up.

The Marquis of Changlesheng said that once it succeeded, we would reap a massive profit. The women I keep outside—my parents can no longer tolerate them, and I... I am also in need of silver.

My Lord, please believe me! Although I am a person of lacking moral character, I truly do not possess the courage for something of this magnitude.

Usually, when I act like a scoundrel, my family can tolerate it, and my maternal grandfather and uncles always said that ordinary petty brawls do not matter.

Yet this time, I would be offending both the Duke of Xinguo's estate and the Duke of Weiguo's estate at once, and perhaps even the Third Prince would not let me off. How could I ever shoulder such a grave crime? Even my maternal grandfather could not protect me.

If Your Lordship thinks carefully, you should realize that this is by no means something I could have done on my own!"

Whether these words held any truth remained to be seen. Pei Yanzhou was not someone easily fooled, and he listened as if letting it go in one ear and out the other.

With a wave of his hand, his attendants pressed Li Ziyang forward and headed outside.

Li Ziyang began to clamor again, "My Lord, My Lord, where are you taking me?"

"Back to the city to confront Liang Zheng," Pei Yanzhou said, eyeing him coldly with his hands clasped behind his back as he walked. "Moreover, even if Liang Zheng instigated it, you were still the one who carried out the deed. You cannot escape either."

"No, it is not like that, My Lord, you..."

"How noisy." Pei Yanzhou grew impatient. "Shut his mouth so he doesn't disturb the peace and upset my cousin."

The attendant who had served him the longest and possessed the sharpest intuition—a quiet, taciturn man—glared briefly in Liang Shanru's direction upon hearing this, and immediately moved to gag Li Ziyang's mouth.

Hearing the muffled whimpers behind him, Pei Yanzhou quickened his pace to catch up.

Pei Jingxing was just about to help Liang Shanru into the carriage. Nongyun had naturally been rescued as well, but she had struggled fiercely upon waking, causing Li Ziyang to knock her unconscious a second time with a heavy blow. She had yet to wake up, so Pei Jingxing had left someone behind to watch over her and ordered a courier to gallop back to the city to send another carriage to fetch her.

Pei Yanzhou moved visibly faster. Before Liang Shanru's hand could touch Pei Jingxing's arm, he intercepted and replaced it with his own extended arm.

Liang Shanru hesitated for a fraction of a second before resting her hand on it. "Thank you, Cousin Yanzhou."

A complicated mix of emotions stirred in Pei Yanzhou's heart.

He had done so much, yet could not even exchange it for a pleasant expression from her; she was cold-toned day in and day out. Only now, after she had suffered such an ordeal, did she finally show him a touch of warmth.

He truly wished she had never encountered such events, but...

After letting out a heavy sigh, Pei Yanzhou boarded the carriage with her.

Pei Jingxing sat right in the middle between the two of them, looking back and forth between Pei Yanzhou and Liang Shanru.

With no one speaking inside the carriage, the silence grew awkwardly heavy. Unable to bear it any longer, he cleared his throat behind his hand and asked, "Does cousin still feel any discomfort anywhere?"

Liang Shanru shook her head. "The blood on my face is all Li Ziyang's. I stabbed him before I subdued him, and he smeared it onto my face. I have no injuries on my body, save for that aphrodisiac he used. Other than feeling weak, I don't feel any other discomfort."

Pei Yanzhou noticed the wound on her hand and handed over a handkerchief. "Press it down. Did cousin cause that injury herself to fight off the effects of the drug?"

The cut on her hand was quite deep, but because she kept her fist clenched, it was not immediately obvious. The fact that he was able to spot it prompted Liang Shanru to look over once more before she nodded. "How else could I have subdued Li Ziyang? Cousin needn't worry. Once we return to the city and a female physician examines me, you can rest completely assured."