"Lord Chancellor has arrived!"
"All unauthorized personnel, disperse at once!"
Amidst these shouts, the crowd parted in all directions. The town was a scene of great commotion, with both the elderly and children stretching out their necks to catch a glimpse of the legendary Lord Chancellor, all wondering why someone of such high status would come to this remote little town.
Ruan Jiaojiao, however, was different. She had spotted him from afar, and was so terrified that she didn't even bother to collect her winnings from playing leaf cards. She bolted straight into the house, packed up everything of value, and planned to escape by scaling the courtyard wall.
To her horror, the moment she opened the window, she saw that wretch!
She had no choice but to hide first!
Yet, no matter how she searched left and right, she realized there wasn't even a place to hide in this dilapidated shack!
The sound of neat, orderly footsteps was growing closer and closer.
Ruan Jiaojiao dove right into the kitchen stove!
"Ruan Jiaojiao."
The man's chilling voice came from above.
Along with it came the sound of that boorish gang turning the place upside down. Ruan Jiaojiao was so frightened that she tightly clamped a hand over her mouth, terrified of making the slightest sound.
"You even dared to abandon your husband and child—are you really afraid of me now?"
The man's voice drew closer and closer.
It was practically the voice of a death-dealing ghost!
Ruan Jiaojiao trembled with fear, wishing she could bury her entire head into the cold pile of charcoal.
A cold sneer came from the man. "If you don't come out, I'll have this place set on fire."
"Brother, I was wrong!"
"I really was wrong!"
"Every single fault under heaven is my fault!"
Without even weighing the pros and cons, Ruan Jiaojiao uttered these words and scrambled out from inside the stove almost by reflex.
As for setting fire to her hiding spot, Ruan Jiaojiao had zero doubt that Pei Huaiyu was capable of doing such a thing!
Never mind, though; her greatest virtue was being able to bend and stretch with circumstances.
She stole a peek at her ex-husband.
Pei Huaiyu was dressed in dark robes that screamed luxury, looking utterly out of place in this humble shack.
Yet he simply stood there, staring quietly at the woman crawling out of the stove, his lips curling into a chilling smirk as a low, spine-chilling chuckle escaped his throat.
"My lord, I was wrong! Pei Huaiyu, I was wrong! Huaiyu, I was wrong! Husband...!" Not daring to guess what was going on inside that dark, dangerous man's mind, Ruan Jiaojiao could only play the emotional card for all she was worth.
Hoping that he might spare her pathetic life for the sake of their five-year marriage!
Pei Huaiyu's handsome face remained completely devoid of warmth. His icy black eyes suddenly narrowed as he reached out a hand toward Ruan Jiaojiao.
Pei Huaiyu's subordinates behind him flashed their gleaming blades, making Ruan Jiaojiao's neck feel icy cold. In her panic, she slammed her head hard against the floor. "Gouzi, I was wrong!"
Hearing the childhood nickname from her village days, Pei Huaiyu's outstretched hand froze mid-air.
Ruan Jiaojiao had only meant to play the emotional card, but with her entire head pressed to the floor, she couldn't see Pei Huaiyu's expression at all. Seeing that he remained unresponsive, she could only cautiously raise her head to look. Before she could even spot Pei Huaiyu, his hand reached forward again... and gently patted the dust off her head.
It was almost possible to detect a hint of tenderness.
She had thought it was a kindness.
But how could that be possible?
The man's black eyes raised slightly in a half-smile. "Ruan Jiaojiao, how could you possibly be in the wrong? Assessing the situation and adapting to circumstances is truly a normal person's instinctive reaction. This chancellor does not blame you."
"No, you must blame me! I truly was wrong. All these years, I have lived in regret. I should never have stolen the roster back then, which implicated you and the Crown Prince and threw you into prison. You almost even made it to the execution ground to be beheaded before the crowds—I deserve to die ten thousand deaths! Not only did I abandon my husband, but I also abandoned my child, leaving two-year-old An'an behind and running away!"
Pei Huaiyu let out a cold hum, but it was followed by an unmaskable sorrow in his eyes.
"Before was like this, and now is the same. Glib-tongued, twisting this chancellor around your finger, making me truly believe we were once deeply in love. Ruan Jiaojiao, have you ever possessed even a shred of a heart?!"
Yet the sword in his hand was already pressed against Ruan Jiaojiao's neck. Not daring to gamble on Pei Huaiyu's sanity, she burst into tears, snot and all, practically longing to hug his thighs.
"How could I not have a heart?! Everyone has a heart! Gouzi, we really were deeply in love! You're a high-ranking official now; killing your lawful wife in public will ruin your official career."
Ruan Jiaojiao was one step away from rolling on the floor and throwing a tantrum. She tucked the silver coins hidden in her cuffs even deeper inside, while her peripheral vision secretly measured the window she had opened, calculating the percentage of her chances of escaping from this bunch of people.
To her surprise, Pei Huaiyu asked her in a dead-serious tone, "Do you regret it?"
Ruan Jiaojiao didn't answer immediately, nor did she resort to glib talk. She simply looked at him in silence.
A dead silence hung in the air.
She was well aware of everything she had done. Everything she said was true, and every single action had been carried out with a completely sober mind.
Except for that matter of regret.
That statement was false.
She did not regret her decision.
Even if given another chance to start over, she would still choose to help Prince Li—the mortal enemy of the crown prince back then—steal the roster that decided whose hands the crown prince's position would fall into.
And when Pei Huaiyu had risked his life to escape from prison solely to find her and demand an explanation, she had picked up a short dagger and stabbed him heavily.
At that moment, she had seen the disbelief, hatred, and... sorrow in Pei Huaiyu's eyes.
Yet she had still gritted her teeth, abandoned everyone, and fled.
I'm sorry, Pei Huaiyu. I had no choice.
...
Without needing Ruan Jiaojiao to answer, just seeing her hesitation told Pei Huaiyu all he needed to know.
"What did you think you were regretting that warranted such long hesitation? Look at yourself now, living in a drafty thatched hut where there isn't even a decent piece of furniture..." Pei Huaiyu even had his men pin Ruan Jiaojiao down to prevent her from escaping.
Perhaps knowing her too well, the moment Ruan Jiaojiao cast a stealthy glance toward the window, Pei Huaiyu had already ordered someone to nail it shut.
Crushing every single possibility into dust.
As soon as Ruan Jiaojiao was restrained, the five liang of silver she had tucked away and guarded so carefully came clattering out.
Scattered and pitiful.
And even this meager five liang of silver was snatched away by his subordinate and handed to Pei Huaiyu. Looking pitiful, Ruan Jiaojiao pleaded, "Brother, that's the silver I was saving to fix the roof. I saved it for so long. Could you please return it to me first?"
Pei Huaiyu sneered. "Ruan Jiaojiao, look at yourself now, and then look at this chancellor—having become the youngest Prime Minister in the entire continent, living in luxury and eating the finest foods. This five liang of silver of yours, even if given as a tip to a maid in the Prime Minister's Estate, the maid would consider it too little."
It was meant to humiliate Ruan Jiaojiao, but to his surprise, Ruan Jiaojiao's eyes lit up instantly. "Do your maids have such good benefits? It took me so long just to save five liang of silver, and your tips alone add up to more than that?"
Utterly shameless.
That deadpan expression was identical to the one from before.
Yet Pei Huaiyu's face certainly did not look good.
His expression was visibly stern, his thin lips pressed into a tight straight line, looking as though he had no desire to converse with her any further and was boiling with rage. "Men, drag her back to the estate for me!"