The Powerful Minister I Forcefully Married Won't Warm Up; After Rebirth, I Give Up the Chase - Chapter 19

“Never to return to the capital?”

Nian Xi was stunned by this rapid succession of information. She stared at Pei Jian, her eyes revealing confusion and bewilderment.

Pei Jian felt her current look greatly resembled the Persian cat kept in his past residence.

She was still just a fifteen-year-old girl.

He felt a pang of softness and lowered his tone. “This is just the worst-case scenario. But the northern frontier is the Gu family’s responsibility. If he narrowly avoids it this time, what about the next? Can you bear that kind of risk?”

Nian Xi’s mind was in utter chaos at the moment. Amidst the thousands of thoughts, only one thing needed confirmation—

She asked, “How do you know this?”

“Whether you believe me or not, my words are true. If you are willing to follow him to the northern frontier, abandon your parents and relatives, and endure the desert winds and sands, then by all means, continue your relationship with him.”

Pei Jian looked at her deeply, then retreated a few steps.

Telling her this was certainly an impulsive act. Had he not been provoked by that scene, Pei Jian would have found a gentler way to let her know.

Even if they were no longer lovers, they had shared thirteen years of affection. He felt a responsibility to warn her.

Nian Xi didn’t understand national affairs, especially since the Duke of Zhenguo had recently won a battle. Pei Jian knew his words sounded like a crazy fantasy.

But should he just watch her sink deeper into this mess?

He knew Nian Xi’s character best—she looked gentle but was tenacious on the inside. He couldn’t let her continue to make a mistake.

Anyone else was fine, but not Gu Ci.

In the past, he had nurtured and cherished her like precious gold and jade… Pei Jian convinced himself that he simply didn’t want to see her suffer later.

Unless she truly believed that love was enough to sustain life, and was willing to follow Gu Ci to the desolate northern frontier.

Pei Jian knew that the person before him was not the wife he had spent day and night with.

The fifteen-year-old Nian Xi was completely ignorant of the past. He should not be demanding, should not crave, and should not even be here.

He needed to soberly distinguish between the past and the present.

Pei Jian closed his eyes.

At this moment, in the little garden that was supposed to be his, beneath the yet-to-bloom osmanthus tree, he suddenly desperately wanted to go back and look at his Nian Xi, his wife.

But Nian Xi, his Nian Xi… he didn’t even see her one last time.

His heart felt squeezed tight, and pain spread through his limbs and bones. All the emotions he had suppressed and deemed a waste of time instantly surged toward him, engulfing his body and soul, dragging him into the abyss.

He missed her.

But he would never see that her again.

Pei Jian stopped looking at Nian Xi, turned, and quickly walked out of the Wen residence.

After Pei Jian left, Nian Xi leaned against the tree trunk in a daze. It wasn’t until Xingyue came looking for her that she snapped out of her trance.

She looked up at the sky, pulling her lips into a cryptic smile.

Pei Jian was also reborn.

…

When Pei Jian returned to his residence, Gu Ci had been waiting for a long time.

Seeing him enter, he raised an eyebrow and said, “What time is it, Pei Shizhang? I know you are brilliant and the greatest talent in the world, but you can’t treat the imperial examination as a joke. Tomorrow is the Palace Exam—the final step to being listed among the successful candidates. Can you take it a little more seriously!”

“Hey—” Gu Ci pointed at something and exclaimed, “What is this?”

Gu Ci was sharp-eyed. As soon as Pei Jian approached, he spotted a familiar-looking box held in his hand. He snatched it open and found a pair of white jade ear drops inside.

“Has the sun risen from the west?” Gu Ci held up the wooden box with one hand, pretending to look out the window. “Why does this box look so familiar? Did you go to the Treasure Pavilion?”

“Be honest! Is this for your Cousin Xu? I heard you were coming and going with Cousin Xu in the West Market a few days ago, didn’t I?”

Pei Jian ignored him, took back the ear drops, and placed them in the cabinet.

After leaving the Wen residence, his mind was restless. He walked aimlessly and somehow ended up at the Treasure Pavilion.

Manager Yi still remembered him. “What would the young gentleman like to buy today?”

As if possessed, Pei Jian blurted out, “Ear drops!”

Manager Yi showed him various styles—pearls, gemstones, everything imaginable. It was the first time Pei Jian realized ear ornaments had so many styles and combinations.

He immediately took a liking to this pair of white jade ear drops, which looked very much like the ones Nian Xi wore that day.

“Quick, tell me, is your marriage with Cousin Xu getting closer? Tsk, Cousin Xu has finally seen the light after the clouds parted.”

When Pei Jian was very young, his mother arranged a marriage between him and Xu Wanxin. Later, after Pei Jian’s parents passed away and the title of Duke of Zhengguo was passed to the second branch, Minister Xu used an excuse to break off the engagement with Pei Jian.

While Minister Xu was opportunistic, his daughter Xu Wanxin was a rare, sentimental fool who never concealed her feelings for Pei Jian. She had dragged out her unmarried status all these years and was now eighteen, still waiting earnestly for Pei Jian.

In Gu Ci’s view, once Pei Jian succeeded in the imperial examination and attained the highest honors, Minister Xu would have no reason to oppose the marriage.

“The wedding night and the moment of success in the examinations. Maybe you’ll get married even before I do.” Gu Ci clapped Pei Jian heavily on the shoulder.

He was in an exceptionally good mood today.

First, he and Nian Xi were in love. Now, his good brother Pei Jian would no longer be alone. Consequently, he talked more than usual and overlooked Pei Jian’s cold expression.

“I wonder if Father has received the letter? The capital is a thousand miles from the northern frontier. Accounting for the travel time, it will take at least a month to receive a reply. By the time we formally propose to the Wen family, it will be close to June. Then my marriage with Ni’er—”

“Absolutely not!”

Pei Jian suddenly roared.

This startled Gu Ci, who was calculating the days, making him forget where he had left off in his count.

“Did you take the wrong medicine? You’ve been acting strangely since you walked in.”

Pei Jian lowered his gaze, concealing the emotion in his eyes.

He knew, of course, that this was not Gu Ci’s fault, but he couldn’t help himself—

While he was spending sleepless nights running around to avert the tragedy that befell the Gu family, Gu Ci had seized the opportunity to steal everything that should have belonged to him.

Pei Jian was utterly fed up with the accidental twists of fate and with himself for being so emotionally out of control.

He suppressed the endless stream of irritation welling up in his heart, took a deep breath, and said coldly, “The ear drops are not for Xu Wanxin.”

“There’s actually someone else!”

Gu Ci nudged Pei Jian’s shoulder, teasing, “You sly dog, you hide things well. Be honest, you’ve been appearing and disappearing like a phantom lately. Were you off courting some girl?”

Gu Ci’s statement was ironic, considering that he was the one courting Nian Xi every day.

The thought of the side gate that belonged to him made Pei Jian’s tone even colder and impatient. “No.”

Even Gu Ci, despite his current distraction, sensed Pei Jian’s abnormality now. Moreover, he was an emotionally sensitive person and began to think more deeply—

His good brother must be experiencing some difficulty in his romantic life.

In the past, if someone had told Gu Ci that Pei Jian would be troubled by love, he would have been the first to scoff. Are you kidding? That’s Pei Jian!

But after experiencing Nian Xi, Gu Ci had completely grasped the magic of romantic love. Regardless of whether one was a sage or a commoner, once touched by it, no one was immune.

It was entirely logical that Pei Jian would be troubled by love. Are you kidding? That’s the kind of emotion that can drive a person to live or die!

“Who is the young lady this pair of ear drops is for?”

Pei Jian gave him a deep look but remained silent.

Gu Ci understood again.

When he first got to know Nian Xi, he, too, was constantly worried about gains and losses, his mind in turmoil.

Seeing Pei Jian’s current unpredictable mood swings and volatile temper, Gu Ci boldly speculated that Pei Jian’s romantic troubles might be more complicated than just a failed pursuit. Perhaps the young lady who was supposed to receive the ear drops already had a loved one, or was even a married woman!

Otherwise, why would he refuse to even say her name?

Observing Pei Jian’s expression, Gu Ci cautiously began, “In matters of the heart, there’s a sequence—some people meet but aren’t fated to be together, that sort of thing…”

Pei Jian quietly interjected, “I wonder if there will ever be a day when these ear drops can be given away?”

Gu Ci: …

Oh no, confirmed!