Chapter 185: with translation of chapter title

Pei Zhi stared in shock, clenched his fists, gritted his teeth and said, "Do you really want to die that badly?"

"I'm not leaving!" Shen Shuangning's eyes red, her chest heaving violently, "Why should I go with you?!"

Seeing her so obstinate, Pei Zhi felt a surge of anger, and he said in a deep voice, "Do you even know what kind of place Quanzhou is? Prince Rui is there, it's extremely dangerous—going there would be suicide! Would you really disregard your life for him?!"

"It has nothing to do with you!" Shen Shuangning shouted.

"How can it have nothing to do with me!" Pei Zhi roared.

He stepped forward, having not slept for three days, his eyes filled with red bloodshot veins, looking ferocious and twisted, yet his whole person seemed on the verge of breaking apart.

"You are my wife; how could I just stand by and watch you go to your death?"

The moment Pei Zhi's words fell, the air seemed to freeze.

Shen Shuangning pressed her back hard against the cold door, her fingertips trembling slightly from shock, she widened her eyes and stared incredulously at Pei Zhi before her: "What nonsense are you spouting?"

Pei Zhi pressed the corners of his lips flat, almost into a straight line.

He did not respond to Shen Shuangning's question, but he had already withdrawn his earlier fury, leaving only a near‑cruel calm.

Pei Zhi said firmly, "You must come with me today; you have no right to refuse—don't force me."

He is Xie Yan, through and through a madman; the only reason he has repeatedly shown patience toward Shen Shuangning is that he cannot bear to hurt her.

Pei Zhi tore off his own hair ribbon and bound her two hands.

Shen Shuangning struggled, angry and anxious, unable to hold back tears.

At that moment, Pei Zhi seemed to see something and stopped his movements.

Shen Shuangning's hands were tightly bound by his hair ribbon; sensing his pause, she followed his gaze, and her heart clenched suddenly.

Not far away, at the turn of the corridor, Su Wan stood there still wearing yesterday's lotus‑pink dress, looking at them with a shocked expression.

Pei Zhi looked at Su Wan, his brows furrowed, obviously recognizing her identity.

"Hah, the Crown Princess." He let out a cold laugh, then turned his head and gave Shen Shuangning a meaningful look.

Shen Shuangning felt as if her vital point had been seized, and she dared not move.

But Pei Zhi seemed indifferent to the Crown Princess's presence; he glanced at her then withdrew his gaze, fixing his eyes on Shen Shuangning with a half‑smile: "I didn't expect you to be so close to the Crown Princess."

He is so intelligent, able to see through human nature; after only a brief thought, he roughly guessed why the Crown Princess would appear here.

Just moments ago he had planned to knock Shen Shuangning unconscious and drag her away, but now he could use a more "gentle" method.

Shen Shuangning said nothing; since the other party had already discovered Su Wan's presence, making excuses was useless.

Moreover, for some reason she had a feeling that even if Pei Zhi discovered Su Wan's identity, he would not make a big fuss.

But before that thought could fully form, she heard Pei Zhi say lightly, "If the Crown Prince were to learn that the Crown Princess is still alive, he would surely be delighted."

Others may not know the Crown Prince's current character, but as his Junior Tutor, Pei Zhi is perfectly clear.

Since Gong Sun Yu's death, the Crown Prince has been like a sick chicken—neither human nor ghost—no trace of a heir apparent remains.

The Gong Sun family, because of outside rumors, suspected that Gong Sun Yu's death was caused by the Crown Prince together with Consort Song Liangdi, and thus forced the Crown Prince to execute Song Liangdi.

Coincidentally, Consort Song Liangdi was pregnant at that time, and the Crown Prince would not harm her no matter what, so he lost the Gong Sun family's major support.

Although there is a deviation from the previous life, this lifetime's Crown Prince still cannot compare to Prince Rui; he has once again stumbled over a woman, capable of failure but not success.

Su Wan finally realized she had come at the wrong time; she looked helplessly at Shen Shuangning, half apologetic, half flustered.

Shen Shuangning dared not gamble on whether Pei Zhi was just threatening her; once Su Wan's identity was exposed, the fallout would not be limited to her alone.

She never imagined that Pei Zhi would come after her.

"Fine, I agree." Shen Shuangning said reluctantly, "I'll go back with you; just pretend you didn't see her—today's matter stays buried in our stomachs."

Pei Zhi also readily agreed.

Shen Shuangning tugged at her bound hands, the end of the hair ribbon still pinched in Pei Zhi's hand, and she said displeasedly, "I've already agreed to go back with you; can you loosen it?"

"No." Pei Zhi refused without mercy.

Shen Shuangning took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in her chest, and was forced to shuffle along behind his steps.

The two came before Su Wan; Pei Zhi took her hand and stopped, appearing to have recovered his refined, gentlemanly demeanor, and said kindly, "Let's say goodbye."

Shen Shuangning gave him a glare, then turned to the worried Su Wan, forcing a reassuring smile: "Don't worry, he's just here to see me back to the capital; it's nothing serious. Stay well in Suzhou, and I'll come to see you after I finish my affairs in the capital."

Su Wan looked at Shen Shuangning, then at Junior Tutor Pei, wanting to speak but hesitating.

In the end she only said, "Take care of yourself."

Shen Shuangning nodded; Pei Zhi evidently had no patience left, his hand gripping the hair ribbon tightened slightly, and he pulled her away.

Stepping outside the manor, she then saw Qing Yun and Ah Heng and the others standing properly to the side, both wearing apologetic expressions, not daring to meet her eyes.

It was obvious they knew. They knew Pei Zhi would come, knew he would take her away, and even… they had tacitly allowed him to do so.

Otherwise, with Qing Yun's skill, how could he just stand by and watch an outsider burst into the manor and forcibly take her away?

She had just been worrying about their safety, thinking Pei Zhi might have done something to them.

"Crown Princess..." Qing Yun finally couldn't help stepping forward, his voice hoarse, "We..."

"No need to explain." Shen Shuangning interrupted.

Although she knew they were worried for her and didn't want to see her go to Quanzhou to face danger, Shen Shuangning still couldn't help feeling disappointed.

Shen Shuangning glanced at no one, and alone she slipped into the carriage.

The men Pei Zhi brought had long been waiting at the alley entrance, each upright and steady‑breathing, clearly elite of the capital.

Pei Zhi himself had come on horseback, traveling all night without sleep; his subordinates were thoughtful, having bought in advance a spacious blue‑canopied carriage locally, which now sat parked in front of the Prince Yan's mansion carriage.

Pei Zhi glanced at Shen Shuangning's carriage, then turned and mounted his own. His attendants thoughtfully lowered the curtain for him, shutting out the outside clamor.

The carriage was lined with thick soft cushions, and a small brazier of calming incense burned in the corner, dispelling the chill of the night road.

Pei Zhi leaned against the soft cushions; a wave of fatigue washed over him instantly. He closed his eyes, yet Shen Shuangning's stubborn and resolute face flashed uncontrollably through his mind.

He knew Shen Shuangning had always disliked him; this time he had indeed gone too far, utterly tearing apart the last shred of peace between them.

From now on she would only grow to hate him more, perhaps even refusing to glance at him again.

But when he learned that she had actually rushed to Quanzhou for Xiao Jingyuan, he didn't want to bother with anything else; he just wanted to seize her and bring her back to his side, even if it meant bearing her resentment.

"Let's set off." Pei Zhi said softly to the outside of the carriage, his voice heavy with weariness.

"Yes." the subordinate replied.

Soon, the two horse-drawn carriages, one ahead of the other, left the old lanes of Suzhou and traveled north along the official road.

Pei Zhi soon could not resist his fatigue; his slender frame leaned to one side, shoulders slightly drawn in, he rested against the carriage wall and fell into a deep sleep.

After an unknown amount of time, the carriage reached a stretch of official road lined with old pagoda trees on both sides.

Just then, Pei Zhi's eyelashes twitched sharply, and he keenly sensed the approaching danger!

Almost as an instinctive reaction, he flung his eyes open and jerked his body to the right!

"Whoosh——"

A volley of arrows smeared with black lacquer came hurtling on a fierce gust, and with a solid "thunk" it slammed hard into the carriage wall where he had just been leaning!

The arrowheads actually punched through the thick planks, exposing half an inch of cold gleam, the arrow shafts still vibrating—just a hair's breadth away from piercing his temple!

Pei Zhi's eyes flashed coldly.

Immediately, a loud shout came from outside: "An ambush!!"

"Protect the Junior Tutor!"

"Protect the Crown Princess!!"

The two voices sounded at once.

Pei Zhi leapt out of the carriage like lightning, his movement astonishingly swift.

Shen Shuangning wasn't asleep; her hair ribbon had already been undone by someone, and the instant she heard of an enemy attack, her whole body tensed up, and she didn't dare to peek out.

Drawing on her prior experience, she had brought a dagger with her, which she now gripped tightly; her palms quickly grew slick with sweat.

Outside the carriage, a crisp metallic clang rang out instantly.

At that moment, a figure darted in; Shen Shuangning instinctively raised her dagger, but the opponent reacted faster and snatched her blade away the instant she moved to strike.

"It's me."

Only then did Shen Shuangning make out that the person before her was Pei Zhi, and her mind eased at once.

"Don't sit there—crouch down and cover your head." Pei Zhi said without extra words, turning to face the carriage doorway while keeping watch.

Shen Shuangning did as she was told, but no sooner had she crouched than a sharp arrow shot through the carriage window, grazing past the top of her head!

Shen Shuangning broke out in a cold sweat instantly, finally grasping Pei Zhi's intent, and she obediently took shelter under his protection.

The sounds of slaughter outside continued; during it, a masked man tried to rush in, but before he could act, Pei Zhi cut him down with a single blow—he didn't even utter a groan.

Not long after, the fighting noises gradually died down.

Pei Zhi cocked his ear for a moment, then said in a low voice to the outside: "Leave one alive!"

Qing Yun and the others were well-trained Black Armor Guard, and the men Pei Zhi brought were no mere decoration; together they quickly disposed of the invading force.

Qing Yun had specially kept a captive, but the man was a dead‑set assassin who wouldn't open his mouth, so Pei Zhi simply let him go see King Yan.

Pei Zhi glanced at the carnage strewn across the ground, realizing their trail had been exposed, and wondered how many more assassin squads lay ahead.

After a brief thought, he made a snap decision, ordered a change of route, and at the same time instructed Qing Yun to take his men and drive the Prince Yan's Manor carriage forward, to draw the enemy's attention.

Such a group, no matter which way they went, would be too conspicuous—like waving at the enemy and inviting others to come kill them.

Qing Yun hesitated for a breath, uneasy about leaving Shen Shuangning beside Pei Zhi.

"If the enemy's target is your Crown Princess, staying by her side will only get her killed faster," Pei Zhi said flatly.

Those words finally steeled Qing Yun's resolve; before departing, he threw a harsh remark at Pei Zhi: "If anything happens to the Crown Princess while she's in your hands, I'll never let you off!"

Pei Zhi gave that threat not a second thought.

After Qing Yun left, Pei Zhi detached another squad, ordering his men to take his own carriage down a different road.

Finally, mounting their horses, they took Shen Shuangning and a few others and returned to Suzhou.

A Heng had injured his leg, so he stayed at Su Wan's to recuperate, while Pei Zhi that very night took Shen Shuangning and left.

"Are we heading back to the capital?" Shen Shuangning asked uncertainly.

Pei Zhi sat on his horse, one hand holding the reins, the other reaching out to her, his expression blank as he said: "You didn't want to go to Quanzhou? I'll take you there."