This Lady Is Trying to Kill Me

41  Third Lady, You...

On another side, after Pei Xiangjun gave Ye Jingtang a few days off, she began to prepare various things for Ye Jingtang to 'recognize his ancestors and return to the ancestral hall'.

The Red Flower Pavilion was huge and had branches all over the world. In the beginning, it was an organization formed by many ship gangs, and the Pei family acted as the spokesperson. After it evolved into the Red Flower Pavilion, the branch that the Pei family led was called the Azure Dragon Hall.

The capital was the core of Great Wei's trade. The Red Flower Pavilion couldn't be without someone in the capital. For this reason, when the country was founded, the Pei family took the opportunity to move the Azure Dragon Hall to the capital.

However, as an aristocratic family of Jianghu, the Pei family had taken root under the feet of the emperor, so they didn't dare to show off their identity as Jianghu people. They had always been hiding in the streets and secretly managed their businesses.

At noon, in the drawing room of the Pei family's mansion, three helm masters who had come from afar were sitting at the table. They were two men and a woman.

The men were two old men named Li Sanwen and Wang Ren, and the woman was Madam Huang Zhu. They were all helm masters of the Azure Dragon Hall.

Pei Xiangjun and her sister-in-law, Madam Zhang, were sitting at the main seats and listening to Huang Zhu's complaints.

"It doesn't matter if the Zhou family came to the docks to snatch business, but even a second-rate force like the Baoyuan School wants a share of the profits. If it weren't for the overall situation, I would have personally gone to Baoyuan Mountain to reason with them…"

Helm Master Li Sanwen was the oldest and currently the most experienced 'uncle' in the Azure Dragon Hall. Even Pei Xiangjun had to address him respectfully as an elder. Holding his teacup, he shook his head and said, "Li Hunyuan's 'Yuan Clasping Force' has reached perfection, and he's also a famous Grandmaster in Yun Province. You're just a minor helm master. What can you use to reason with him?"

These words made it sound like Huang Zhu didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth, but the meaning was that he was dissatisfied that Pei Xiangjun couldn't restrain the people of Jianghu.

Huang Zhu retorted, "Our business was stolen, so why can't I say anything? You're an old man in the family. You should be the one to step in for such matters. It's fine if you don't stand up for me, but you're still sitting here mocking me…"

Thump!

Li Sanwen smacked the table.

Pei Xiangjun raised her hand to stop the two from arguing. "Stop arguing. I called you over this time to introduce someone to you. Yuanfeng left behind a foster son called Ye Jingtang. He came to the capital a few days ago and is a good person…"

"How old is Ye Jingtang this year?"

"Eighteen, a little young…"

Li Sanwen had a straightforward temper and directly said, "He hasn't even built a good foundation at the age of eighteen. What can he do? Pavilion Lord, you mobilized a large number of people to call the helm masters back. Could it be that you are preparing to retire and find a random member of the Pei family to replace you? If that's the case, you might as well let Pei Luo be the pavilion lord…"

Madam Zhang said unhappily, "Luo'er isn't from Jianghu, so we shouldn't let him know about the affairs of Jianghu. Moreover, with Luo'er's idle personality, what if you let him know that our family has so much money? He might even buy the White Horse Academy tomorrow and become a teacher…"

Pei Xiangjun knew that the helm masters didn't trust the young man, so she said, "Although Jingtang is young, he has a methodical way of dealing with people. His martial arts skills aren't high, but he can still be considered a first-rate expert. You'll know the details when you see him. You won't be disappointed."

Hearing this, the three helm masters looked solemn.

According to the rumors in the market about Jianghu, the top Grandmasters were the Eight Chiefs, and first and second-rate experts were a bit unpresentable. But this was definitely not the case.

The Red Flower Pavilion was so large, but there were only three people who were respected as Grandmasters by outsiders. To be as strong as She Long and Shang Jianli was considered a 'shame to Grandmasters'. It was imaginable how high the threshold for first-rate experts was.

Wang Ren's eyes were full of doubt, but since he hadn't met Yang Jingtang yet, he couldn't refute her. He nodded and said, "Pavilion Lord, since you think so highly of him, when all the helm masters arrive, bring him over for us to meet. If it's really as you say, it's a good thing for our Azure Dragon Hall and even the Red Flower Pavilion."

Li Sanwen pondered for a moment. "Pavilion Lord, did you call us all over because you're preparing to establish Ye Jingtang as the young master?"

"That's my intention."

"How can you do that? Now, the Red Flower Pavilion is facing both internal and external troubles, and the White Tiger Hall is eyeing the position of the leader. Pavilion Lord, once you establish a young master, you won't be able to convince the masses…"

Pei Xiangjun said solemnly, "I'm confident that I can make this decision. As long as you see Jingtang, you won't think that I'm being too hasty."

Seeing that Pei Xiangjun had made up her mind, Li Sanwen said in displeasure, "Alright, I want to see what kind of young man can make you so determined. If I make things difficult for the younger generation, please forgive me, Pavilion Lord."

If someone wanted their subordinates to submit, it was useless to rely on just the boss's praise. Ye Jingtang had to rely on his own ability. Pei Xiangjun didn't say much.

After chatting for a while, Wang Ren talked about their difficulties again. "The last time I went to the Zhou family, I saw a steward. I didn't even see the second uncle of the Zhou family. They're really disrespectful. The business at Clear River Wharf is declining day by day. If we don't negotiate with the Zhou family and draw a clear line…"

"The elder of the Zhou family is about to celebrate his birthday. I will pay a visit to celebrate his birthday and chat about this matter. Since the Zhou family doesn't give you face, if I come forward in person, they'll have to consider it."

The three helm masters clearly had objections to this. After all, among the prestigious forces of Jianghu, there was no precedent of a leader personally going to another force to discuss small business.

Seeing that the atmosphere was slightly depressing, Madam Huang Zhu tried to smooth things over. "Old Master Zhou is a famous swordsmith. He has forged more than a thousand weapons for people in his life. On his eightieth birthday, all the famous figures of Ze Province's Jianghu will visit to congratulate him. It's said that even the cult mistress of the Pacifying Heaven Cult will be present. It's not a loss of status for the pavilion lord to go…"

Pei Xiangjun didn't want to talk about troublesome things, so she changed the topic. "I haven't met the Moon Goddess before. I heard that she was once the number one beauty in Jianghu…"

Madam Zhang smiled. "You're at a disadvantage because you're at the helm of the Red Flower Pavilion and can't show your face. If you dress up beautifully, go to the banquet, and sit with the Moon Goddess, I'm afraid the title of the number one beauty in Jianghu will fall to our Red Flower Pavilion in the future."

"Sigh~" Pei Xiangjun shook her head. "I'm the leader of the Red Flower Pavilion. If we become famous because of my looks, I'm afraid no one will take the Red Flower Pavilion seriously…"

———

The next morning…

The sky had just cleared after the rain, and the common people stepped out of their houses one after another. Heavenly Water Bridge was crowded with people along the street, and there was an endless stream of hawkers.

Ye Jingtang had been off work for a few days and had wandered around with Luo Ning all day. He was so happy that he almost forgot about Third Lady.

Just after he woke up this morning, Yang Chao suddenly ran over and said that Third Lady had something to tell him. Only then did he remember that he still had to go to work.

Although he had only been here for a few days, what he had done was not a small matter. Almost everyone near Heavenly Water Bridge knew him. Along the way, he even heard the greetings of various shops.

"Young Master Ye."

"Hello, Young Master…"

…

After Ye Jingtang greeted them, he arrived at the Pei residence in the depths of the alley.

Third Lady was wearing a light yellow chest-high ruqun. She was standing in front of the door with her maidservant, Xiuhe, and looking up. Her appearance was gentle and demure, like a daughter of a humble family who was looking forward to her man's return.

"Third Lady, why are you waiting outside again?"

"Chirp chirp~"

Pei Xiangjun had been nagged by the helm masters for a long time yesterday, so she felt a little resentful. She hugged the bird that flew over and frowned like an aggrieved wife. "I gave you a few days off because I wanted you to treat the Pei family as family. In the end, you didn't even show your face and didn't even come back. You really treat the Pei family as outsiders. Sigh~"

"Chirp." The bird felt wronged too and showed that it was innocent.

Ye Jingtang felt a little ashamed. He entered the residence with Pei Xiangjun and explained, "I received the Prince of Jing's token. I had nothing to do these two days, so I went to the Black Office to get close to them and build some connections. I helped them do some work."

"You're really capable. You could even catch the Wingless Owl. It looks like I have to increase your 17:59

salary. Otherwise, if you accept any cases in the future, you'll earn more there than working for the Pei family for half a year."

"Working on a case is like licking blood at the edge of a knife. It's very risky. It's not as stable and safe as working for you, Third Lady. There's no need to increase my salary. I feel like I'm eating soft food… free food…"

While chatting, the three of them turned around a corridor and went straight into the festoon gate.

Past the festoon gate was the inner courtyard. Because Young Master Pei Luo was not around, the madam, Pei Luo's concubine, the maidservants, and the others were all women.

As a man, Ye Jingtang felt that it wasn't appropriate to enter. "Third Lady, you called me over. What's the matter?"

Pei Xiangjun stroked the bird and said unhappily, "Can't I call you over without a reason?"

"…" Ye Jingtang was powerless to reply. He could only look straight ahead as he walked past the lotus pond by the koi pond and arrived at the main courtyard where the family lived.

Ye Jingtang originally thought that Third Lady was going to bring him to the tea court to sit. But as he walked, he realized that the direction was wrong.

Third Lady walked gracefully to her bedroom and even instructed, "Xiuhe, go and rest first."

Xiuhe, who was following behind, hurriedly ran away.

"…"

Ye Jingtang glanced at the empty courtyard and the beautiful back swaying in front of him. His thoughts were very normal, and he wanted to say something but hesitated. "Third Lady, you…"

"Come in."

Squeak!

The door opened, and Third Lady entered the elegant bedroom. She even turned around and glanced around to see if anyone was paying attention.

?

What is she doing? Ye Jingtang looked at the Third Lady, who looked as if she was about to have an affair, and felt strange. "Third Lady, this is your boudoir. It's not appropriate for me to come in, right?"

Pei Xiangjun looked over and saw that Ye Jingtang had misunderstood, but she didn't explain. "Come in. I'm just going to talk to you about something, but I don't want others to know."

Ye Jingtang hesitated for a moment before finally entering the bedroom.

Click.

After Ye Jingtang entered the room, Pei Xiangjun threw the bird out the door and closed the door, leaving only the man and woman alone in the boudoir.

"Chirp?!"

Ye Jingtang turned around and looked at the delicate Third Lady in surprise. "Uh…"

Pei Xiangjun went to her bed and sat down. Her posture was gentle and elegant as she patted her side. "Jingtang, come sit down."

"Third Lady, you…"

"Sit down! Don't let your imagination run wild!"

?

You're already in bed, yet you're still telling me not to let my imagination run wild?

Seeing that Third Lady was frowning slightly and a little unhappy, Ye Jingtang could only sit down at the side.

"I… F*ck!"

As soon as he sat down on the bed, he found that there was nothing below. The bed board collapsed, and he fell backward.

Thud!

In the blink of an eye, the two of them landed on the pitch-black floor. The beautiful bed above closed, and there was no longer any light.

Ye Jingtang really didn't expect this. He looked around with lingering fear. "Third Lady? What are you doing?"

"What do you think I want to do?"

"Uh…" Ye Jingtang thought about what Pei Xiangjun could do to him and explained, "Third Lady, I thought you were going to introduce me to the family business. I didn't expect you to bring me to such a place… Where is this?"

"Hmph~!"

Sizzle…

The sound of a matchstick igniting rang out, and the faint light of the fire illuminated their faces.

Pei Xiangjun moved the matchstick on an oil lamp beside the stone wall. The oil lamp lit up, and then lamp lights spread forward one after another. A door appeared at the end of the tunnel.

Pei Xiangjun restrained her gentle and weak temperament. She tidied up her clothes slightly and walked along the tunnel to the underground door.

The distracting thoughts that Ye Jingtang had just suppressed rose again at this moment. After all, the bedroom, secret passage, and basement could easily make people think of some indecent things…

"What is this place?"

Squeak!

As he spoke, the door opened, and a brightly lit hall appeared in front of him…