Chapter 122: Ouyang Rong’s Fury, Guidance, and a Sense of Crisis

Chapter 122: Chapter 122: Ouyang Rong’s Fury, Guidance, and a Sense of Crisis

"Brother Ouyang! What happened to you?"

Seeing Ouyang Rong again, Pei Shaoqing blurted out in shock. He almost didn’t recognize him.

Ouyang Rong was completely disheveled. His hair was a dirty, tangled mess, his face was covered in stubble, and he looked utterly wretched.

Anyone who didn’t know him would have mistaken him for a refugee.

"Not quite a man, not quite a ghost, am I?" Ouyang Rong gave a self-deprecating laugh. Then his gaze hardened, and fixing his eyes on Pei Shaoqing, he asked in a low voice, "Does your offer from last time still stand?"

Pei Shaoqing knew exactly what he was talking about.

He answered without hesitation, "Of course it does."

"Good! Brother Pei, please help me." Ouyang Rong stood, shook out his sleeves, and bowed solemnly. "If I can become the Valley Master of Medicine King Valley," he said in a deep voice, "then in the future, should Brother Pei have any request, Medicine King Valley will not refuse!"

"Brother Ouyang, can you tell me what brought on this change of heart?" Pei Shaoqing asked curiously.

Ouyang Rong sat down again. After a moment of silence, he clenched his fists. "Yesterday, my old rival from Medicine King Valley... though, of course, he was the only one who saw it that way. I never wanted to compete for anything."

He added this clarification before continuing, "In any case, during my time at Medicine King Valley, I inadvertently made an enemy of him. We couldn’t stand the sight of each other. I thought that once I was expelled, all our past grievances would vanish into thin air.

"But it turns out that was just wishful thinking on my part. That guy somehow found where I was living in seclusion. He showed up at my door with his men yesterday, destroyed my house and my medicinal herb fields, and demanded I leave Shu State forever."

He paused, his tone suddenly turning venomous. He slammed his fist on the table and said through gritted teeth, "I could have let all that go, but then he used our late master’s death to humiliate me! If I keep retreating, how can I face my master’s spirit in the afterlife?"

Retreating wouldn’t bring peace, only the enemy’s escalating aggression. That was why he had resolved to take revenge.

And he would become the Valley Master of Medicine King Valley!

For a person like Ouyang Rong, anger toward an enemy would usually flare up, and then it would be over.

So for him to truly resolve to take revenge was no simple matter.

’Pei Shaoqing was truly grateful to that "good Samaritan" for igniting Ouyang Rong’s fighting spirit on his behalf.’

"Brother Ouyang, is it possible this is the person who framed you?" Pei Shaoqing asked calmly.

Ouyang Rong nodded. "To be honest with you, Brother Pei, I suspected as much. Back at Medicine King Valley, I kept to myself and rarely socialized. I didn’t offend anyone."

"And who is he?" Pei Shaoqing asked.

Ouyang Rong answered, "Situ Jing. He’s my junior brother. He always held a grudge that our master wanted to choose me as his successor, seeing me as an obstacle in his path. He’s resented our master ever since, believing he was biased."

"He certainly has a motive, then," Pei Shaoqing said, nodding as he listened.

Ouyang Rong licked his chapped lips and said worriedly, "But it’s been so long. I’m afraid it will be difficult to find evidence. Without ironclad proof, Situ Jing will never confess."

"Evidence?" Pei Shaoqing smiled dismissively. "What’s so hard about that? We’ll just send men to arrest Situ Jing and torture him. He’ll talk."

’The decision has been made. Situ Jing is the killer. It doesn’t matter if he actually did it. Ouyang Rong believes he’s the one, so that’s that.’

"I-i-is... isn’t that a bit much?" Ouyang Rong stammered, dumbfounded.

"What’s wrong with it?" Pei Shaoqing shot back confidently. "Or do you think he isn’t the killer?"

"It has to be him!" Ouyang Rong insisted.

’He couldn’t imagine who else it could be.’

Pei Shaoqing spread his hands. "Then what’s the problem? It’s not like I’m framing an innocent man. Besides, if he really didn’t do it, he just has to hold out and not confess. If he confesses, well, that proves he’s guilty."

’Of course, people never confess to crimes they didn’t commit just to stop the torture.’

"I don’t know anything about investigations. I’ll defer to you, Brother Pei," Ouyang Rong said after a moment’s hesitation.

’He was already convinced that Situ Jing had murdered their master and framed him. When dealing with a villain like that, using a few dirty tricks to secure a confession didn’t seem so excessive.’

But he had one more concern. "Medicine King Valley is quite prestigious in the martial arts world and has connections with many high-ranking officials and nobles. Directly arresting someone from there might not be appropriate."

"So, when the time comes, you will lure him out, and we’ll arrest him outside. We’ll get his confession, behead him, and then let Medicine King Valley know," Pei Shaoqing said.

A rush job, then: swift interrogation, swift sentencing, swift execution.

Ouyang Rong felt this showed a callous disregard for human life, but Pei Shaoqing was helping him, so he couldn’t really object. Besides, Situ Jing deserved it.

"Then, Brother Pei, when do we make our move?"

"Not anytime soon. I have to return to the capital for the Mid-Autumn Imperial Banquet," Pei Shaoqing said thoughtfully. "Let’s wait until I get back. I don’t want to get halfway through and have something unexpected happen, forcing me to leave for the capital and neglect things here. Then the whole thing would be a bust."

Clearing Ouyang Rong of suspicion would only allow him to return to Medicine King Valley; it wouldn’t make him the Valley Master. That would be a long process.

Then he added, "For the time being, don’t go back up the mountain. Find an inn in the city and stay there, to keep Situ Jing from causing you any more trouble."

’Just causing trouble would be one thing, but if Situ Jing saw that Ouyang Rong wasn’t leaving, he might just decide to kill him, and that would be a problem.’

"Understood." Ouyang Rong nodded with a grave expression.

Pei Shaoqing asked, "Do you have any silver on you?"

"I do," Ouyang Rong replied hastily.

A moment later, he took his leave from the Pei Mansion.

Pei Shaoqing never went into a battle unprepared, and he wasn’t about to rely solely on Ouyang Rong’s side of the story. He had someone summon Chen Zhongyi and ordered him to investigate Situ Jing.

After dismissing Chen Zhongyi, he returned to the inner quarters.

After a moment’s thought, he headed toward Liu Yuheng’s room.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. He raised a hand to knock and asked politely, "Is Madam in? May I come in?"

After a good while, Liu Yuheng opened the door and asked, feigning calmness, "Is there something you need, Young Master?"

As always, she was poised, radiant, and dignified.

’If only he didn’t know that pressed against her skin, underneath it all, was a piece of incredibly seductive lingerie...’

"I came to apologize for what happened earlier, Madam," Pei Shaoqing said with utmost sincerity.

Liu Yuheng, who was only pretending to be calm while panicking inside, instantly lost her composure. Her face flushed crimson as she said, "Young Master, please, let’s not speak of this again."

She clenched her fists, her palms slick with sweat.

’Honestly! Why did he have to bring it up so directly? Wouldn’t it have been better to just pretend it never happened? This is so mortifying.’

"No." Pei Shaoqing shook his head, looking at her seriously. "Some things don’t just disappear because we don’t talk about them. It would become a thorn between us, making us feel awkward around each other from now on."

Liu Yuheng pressed her lips together and said nothing.

Her silence was a tacit admission.

She felt so shy in front of him now; to avoid future awkwardness, she’d likely end up avoiding him altogether.

"You needn’t feel ashamed about wearing such underthings, Madam. Many noble ladies in the capital, even Imperial Consorts, wear them," Pei Shaoqing said with a perfectly straight face.

’He didn’t consider it a lie. Because they definitely *would* wear them in the future.’

Liu Yuheng looked up, her blushing face adorable, and asked in a low voice, "Really? They wear... such immodest garments, too?"

’Even Imperial Consorts and noblewomen wear them. Then maybe it wasn’t so wrong for her to wear them, either.’ Her resistance and shame plummeted.

Once the upper echelons of society endorse something outrageous, it quickly becomes acceptable to everyone else.

"Naturally." Pei Shaoqing nodded and asked with a slight smile, "They’re beautiful and comfortable, are they not?"

"Mm-hmm." Liu Yuheng couldn’t deny it.

Those were the two exact reasons she had been tempted to wear it.

Pei Shaoqing said persuasively, "They’re undergarments. No one else sees them. So there’s no need for you to feel burdened by it, Madam.

"After the Mid-Autumn Festival, when I return from the capital, I’ll bring back a few sets for Lan’Er and Qingwu. I’ll be sure to pick out a few different styles for you as well."

He focused on the clothes, deliberately avoiding any mention of the... magnificent view he had just witnessed.

"Oh, n-no, you don’t have to. I couldn’t trouble you to spend your money, Young Master," Liu Yuheng said, shaking her head in refusal.

While Pei Shaoqing’s reassurances had eased her shame about wearing such garments, the thought of a man buying them for her still made her blush.

Pei Shaoqing smiled gracefully and said with a magnanimous air, "It’s a trivial expense for me, Madam. Please, don’t refuse. Consider it a token of my filial piety on Lan’Er’s behalf. It’s settled."

With that, he gave a slight bow and turned to leave.

’It wasn’t as if he’d be lucky enough to see her wearing them. But the thought of such a prim and proper lady secretly enjoying all kinds of provocative lingerie... the contrast alone was amusing.’

"Young..." Liu Yuheng watched Pei Shaoqing’s retreating back. She wanted to say something, but held back, ultimately letting out a helpless sigh.

At the same time, she couldn’t help but feel a flicker of anticipation, wondering what beautiful new undergarments he would bring back for her.

The love of beauty is universal, and undergarments made of Ice Silk were far more beautiful than traditional items like the dudou.

A pity she was the only one who would ever get to appreciate them.

...............

That evening, Pei Shaoqing was hosting a banquet at Qunfang Garden.

The transfer orders from the Thousand Households had arrived. Ye Guoyun had left for Jin Guan City, and Wang Peng was officially starting his post today.

He was hosting the banquet both to welcome Wang Peng to the Tongzhou Hundred Households and to let the others get to know him.

"I am grateful to Lord Pei for holding me in high regard, and I am honored to have the opportunity to work alongside all of you. I am new here, so I ask for your patience and understanding if I make any mistakes."

Wang Peng stood, raised a full bowl of wine, surveyed the room, and then tilted his head back and drained it in one go.

"Excellent! Banner Leader Wang can really hold his liquor!"

"A man after my own heart! I’ll drink to Banner Leader Wang, too."

Everyone was eager to show him respect. With Pei Shaoqing sitting right there, who would dare do otherwise?

Song Youcai put down his wine cup, stared at Wang Peng, the center of everyone’s attention, and sighed. He said to Sun Youliang beside him, "Brother Sun, the Lord is gathering more and more talented people. I feel like my position is in jeopardy."

In academics, he was no match for Sun Youliang.

In martial skill, he was no match for Wang Peng.

The only reason he was considered a trusted subordinate was because he had been with Pei Shaoqing from the very beginning. This gave him a strong sense of insecurity.

"Brother Song, you’re overthinking it. Don’t worry, Lord Pei values loyalty," Sun Youliang said, pouring him a cup of wine.

Song Youcai shook his head with a bitter smile. But he had ambitions; he didn’t want to rely on his old history with Pei Shaoqing to maintain his mediocre position.

Sun Youliang clapped him on the shoulder. "Drink up."

Song Youcai raised his cup again and drained it.

THUD. He slammed the cup down on the table.

His eyes gradually filled with resolve.

’I can’t keep drifting along like this. I have to be proactive! I have to accomplish something great for Lord Pei and prove my worth!’