The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

Chapter 222 Pei Mingjian's Thoughts

During this time, Pei Xingzhi also seriously considered this issue.

"It's hard to change one's background. The elders still value ability. It's just that I haven't accomplished much yet, unlike Pei Du who rose through the ranks so quickly by taking an unconventional approach."

Han Yueru comforted him, "I don't want you to take the same risks as Pei Du."

Pei Xingzhi had never formally practiced martial arts, so that path was too dangerous for him.

However, because he had been delayed for a long time and had never formally participated in the imperial examinations, his current official position was arranged for him by Pei Mingjian.

"If this continues, I'm afraid things will get chaotic before I get promoted."

The one Pei Mingjian found for him wouldn't have an easy time getting promoted.

This path is not easy, especially since he is still being suppressed by Pei Du.

Han Yueru couldn't think of a good solution for the time being.

"How things are going with the clan elders depends mainly on Father's opinion, Mother. You must keep a close eye on Father's side."

For Pei Xingzhi, the biggest variable is Pei Mingjian.

Han Yueru hesitated for a moment before agreeing, and Pei Xingzhi sensed something was wrong.

"what happened?"

“Your father recently mentioned Pei Du.”

Pei Mingjian still thought of her as the gentle and considerate Han Yueru, so he unsuspectingly mentioned Pei Du's affairs to her. This had already made Han Yueru very wary, so she took advantage of her day off to mention it to Pei Xingzhi.

Although she had been worried before, this was the time that Han Yueru cared about the most.

That night, Pei Mingjian told her, "Pei Du is highly regarded by the Emperor."

Han Yueru's expression froze: "Why did you suddenly bring this up, my husband?"

Pei Mingjian rubbed his temples. "He even let Pei Du know about things involving royal secrets. No wonder my uncles keep talking about him. Although he disobeys his elders, he does have some ability."

Pei Du's ability to risk his life to gain military merits from the border in less than a year is certainly not bad.

Nowadays, everyone praises Pei Du, and Pei Mingjian sometimes feels proud of it, but he quickly suppresses that feeling.

Pei Du has already distanced himself from him, so his actions will only make him lose face in Pei Du's eyes.

Hearing this, Han Yueru felt uneasy, but she didn't want to bring up Pei Xingzhi at this time, because Pei Xingzhi was indeed quite different from Pei Du.

As her memories slowly returned, Han Yueru looked at Pei Xingzhi in front of her without saying what she had said, but Pei Xingzhi had more or less guessed what she had said.

"My son, don't worry, there will definitely be no problem with your father."

Pei Xingzhi stared intently at Han Yueru. He didn't actually know how Han Yueru and Pei Mingjian met, and Han Yueru rarely mentioned it, but Han Yueru's confidence must have its reasons.

“Those old guys would be better off dead,” Pei Xingzhi said.

Han Yueru's heart skipped a beat, but what Pei Xingzhi said wasn't entirely unreasonable.

"This matter must not be handled recklessly."

Pei Xingzhi was just saying it, but if it gets too serious, things could get complicated.

Where has Uncle Luo gone?

Han Yueru shook her head: "It's not clear yet. He will send a message when he reaches a safe place. It's always like this. This time we need to hide for a longer period of time and not cause any trouble for now."

If Luo Jiang were still alive, Han Yueru might have considered Pei Xingzhi's suggestion.

Pei Xingzhi concealed the emotions in his eyes. If Luo Jiang were to take action, he would definitely do it flawlessly.

I should have stopped dragging this out and just ended it all.

After the mother and son talked for a while, Pei Xingzhi went to the study.

Pei Mingjian returned from outside and saw Pei Xingzhi heading towards the study, so he came over and called out to him.

"You've been busy enough lately, and you finally have a day off, so why are you going to the study?"

Pei Xingzhi humbly replied, "I always feel that I haven't worked hard enough and I'm afraid of letting Father down, so I dare not slack off in the slightest."

Pei Mingjian smiled with satisfaction. Regardless of anything else, Pei Xingzhi was the kind of child he liked—obedient, sensible, and ambitious.

If Pei Du had been as obedient as Pei Xingzhi, Pei Mingjian wouldn't have let him leave the Duke's mansion back then, leading to such an embarrassing situation.

“You are a person with ambition, and Aye believes in you.”

While the father and son were enjoying a loving relationship, Jin Chui had already headed to Qingyun City.

“Luo Jiang has Hu (non-Han) ancestry. If he had ever appeared in Qingyun City, a little digging would have revealed his connection with Han Yueru.”

Shen Hanyu and Pei Du sat under the grapevines and began to review all the recent events.

Now that Yu Qi has entered the imperial court, just like in the previous life, he quickly distinguished himself.

With him there, Li Huaijiang's plan took a big step forward.

"Now that Lord Yu has taken up his post at the Dali Temple, there's no need to worry about any place where we don't know about Jiang Fengxiao's matter."

Shen Hanyu relaxed, feeling that having helpers was really nice.

Pei Du picked up the fruit plate. "There's a boat trip in a couple of days. Don't you girls' school have a holiday? Are you going?"

On the cruise ship, Shen Hanyu vaguely recalled some old memories, mainly because it had been too long.

She recalled carefully, because at that time she was already at the Guangning Marquis's residence, and the rare trip she took was to accompany Zhou Yurong and the others.

On the day of the cruise, Li Huaijiang fell into the water, and the cruise ship was burned. Shen Hanyu didn't know the specifics, nor did she know the final result, because when things got chaotic, she ran away with Zhou Yurong and the others.

I've missed out on many things in the past, and now it's time to figure them out one by one.

"what happened?"

Seeing that Shen Hanyu's expression was not right, Pei Du put down the fruit plate and asked a question.

Shen Hanyu rubbed her temples. "It's nothing. Who's hosting this cruise ship?"

"The Qin family, it is that old-fashioned Minister Qin, and it was his eldest son Qin Shiwen who hosted the event."

Qin Shiwen was a dashing and debonair young master, well-known in his wealthy family. He was often lectured by Minister Qin for his dislike of poetry and books.

Compared to Qin Shiwen, Qin Ju appeared much more well-behaved and shy.

Qin Shoujie's two sons had completely different personalities.

Thinking of Qin Ju and Ji Yuxiu's matter, Shen Hanyu scratched her face. It would be better to let the two of them talk about it themselves.

"Have all the pleasure boats used for the tour been inspected?"

“Of course.” Pei Du frowned slightly. Shen Hanyu was acting strangely. “Are you worried that something might happen to the pleasure boat?”

Shen Hanyu forced a smile: "These recent events have made me a bit paranoid."

Pei Du comforted her, "Then I will send people to pay more attention. But what you said is not without reason. The Crown Princess will go with us this time."

Many women attended the boat trip, including Crown Princess Zhao Yu.

In a flash, Shen Hanyu remembered something else. That's right, it wasn't just Li Huaijiang who fell into the water, but also Zhao Yu.

After that, she never heard from Li Huaijiang again. Instead, Zhao Yu fell seriously ill after falling into the water and nearly died. She only heard that she would never be able to have children again.