Pei Yuxuan brewed herself a cup of hot tea and suddenly said, as if something occurred to her, "By the way, sister-in-law, have you noticed that Pei Lin seems a bit strange?"

Xie Wanqing was taken aback, "What do you mean?"

"Actually, I’m not very familiar with her, but I just feel that on the way here, she seemed..." Pei Yuxuan paused, and slowly said, "a bit distracted and somewhat nervous."

Xie Wanqing replied, "It’s understandable for a girl who is about to be engaged to feel nervous coming to the Yin Yuan Temple."

She wasn’t very familiar with Pei Lin either, but since Pei Lin often came to Xuanhua Courtyard to talk to her and would call her ’aunt’, it was hard for Xie Wanqing to shut her out. To say they had deep feelings for each other would be false.

However, thinking about it, how many girls waiting for marriage could be as indifferent and unbothered as the Little Princess?

Pei Yuxuan thought for a moment and agreed that this made sense, so she didn’t bring it up again, and waited patiently for the others to come out.

Compared to Pei Yuxuan, who was precise with her timing, Pei Lin was very devoted to the Yin Yuan Temple, going through the process of burning incense, drawing lots, and divination.

When she finally came out, her expression wasn’t pleasant.

Her delicate face was tinged with a bit of paleness.

Xie Wanqing and Pei Yuxuan exchanged a glance, but neither took the initiative to ask.

The three of them got on the carriage together, arriving at the Hot Spring Villa as the sun set.

Only then did Xie Wanqing realize that what Pei Yuqing had said about there being no guest rooms was a lie.

Not only were there guest rooms, but several guest courtyards had been built, each with its hot spring pool, allowing guests to enjoy a bath.

He just didn’t want to sleep separately from her, so...

Xie Wanqing felt a bit annoyed, but mostly she was filled with longing for her husband.

They had been apart for so long that she now felt like his little lies were nothing.

He just didn’t want to be separated from her, what could be wrong with that...

The newlyweds, sweet as honey, were forced to be apart, and Xie Wanqing wasn’t truly cold-hearted; how could she not miss him?

Especially in a place where they had shared moments, the longing was urgent and fierce.

Xie Wanqing finished her herbal bath early and lay on Pei Yuqing’s bed, falling into a dream filled with thoughts of him.

However, that very night, not long after Xie Wanqing fell asleep, there was a loud knocking on the door.

An urgent voice came from outside, "Miss Xie, wake up, there’s an enemy attack."

Xie Wanqing thought she was dreaming; otherwise, how could she hear Ming Feng’s voice?

But the door was being knocked so hard by someone outside that it seemed like it might crash down any moment, forcing her to wake up.

Xie Wanqing was shocked and quickly got dressed while heading to the door.

She knew that before Lu Ziyuan left the Capital, he had left Ming Feng to protect her in secret. Since he appeared overnight, then...

"What has happened?"

Ming Feng was about to break in when he saw that she had finally opened the door. Without delay, he said succinctly, "The villa has been surrounded overnight, estimated one or two thousand people."

Xie Wanqing glanced around and asked, "Where’s Pei Er?"

Leaving the Duke Pei Mansion, she had brought over a hundred household soldiers. Such a defense in the capital was considered impenetrable, but at the moment, she couldn’t see a single soldier.

"There’s no time, come with me first." Ming Feng grabbed her wrist and said, "Pei Er went to confront the enemy once he discovered the encirclement, but the enemy is not just a gang of bandits. Since he hasn’t returned, he might not come back."

Not come back...

Pei Er was dead!

Xie Wanqing felt a chill in her heart. Pei Er’s combat power wasn’t weak, and with over a hundred household soldiers, they had been silently dealt with.

The Hot Spring Villa wasn’t large, and with such commotion, Pei Yuxuan and Pei Lin, who had been awakened, also ran over from their courtyard.

Seeing Ming Feng, the two girls were surprised.

Xie Wanqing had no time to explain to them and urgently said, "Don’t ask anything, let’s leave this place first."

She reached out to pull them along, but Ming Feng said, "Forgive me, miss, but the people outside are skilled fighters, and we are outnumbered. I can only protect you to leave."

"You want me to abandon my sister and escape alone?" Xie Wanqing was furious, "I can’t do such a thing. If anyone’s leaving, it’s you!"

Ming Feng’s expression changed as he persuaded, "The Capital Suburb Camp is less than fifty miles from here, we can breakthrough and get reinforcements!"

He could hardly assure the safe departure of one person, let alone more.

The more people, the bigger the target.

Ming Feng didn’t want to take risks; he was willing to risk his life to protect Xie Wanqing, solely due to his master’s strict orders. As for the other members of the Pei Family, they meant nothing to him.