Chapter 71 Beating Up My Cousin

Chapter 71 Beating Up My Cousin

Pei Wu's actions came out of nowhere, leaving Jiang Ru bewildered: "What are you doing?"

He was watching something he was really enjoying when he suddenly stopped. Jiang Ru looked at his tightly clenched hands and said, "I'm not watching anymore."

Jiang Ru reached out and tried to pry Pei Wu's hand away, but Pei Wu's grip was tight and showed no sign of letting go. After a long while, Pei Wu said, "Let's leave it at that for now. You'll know in a few days."

Jiang Ru frowned in confusion. He was being so mysterious, but Jiang Ru decided to ignore him. Anyway, he had said that she would know in a few days.

Three days later, after lunch, Jiang Ru went to the Song residence.

Hearing that Song Pingzhang was hosting a banquet today, and that all the attendees were young men and women from the capital, Jiang Ru was led to the backyard, where she was separated into two worlds by a screen and a side door.

Jiang Ru looked completely bewildered. There was a wall separating them, with only a side door open. The wall separated the young master and the ladies, and only through this side door could they peek out.

A screen was placed in front of the side door, making it easier for them to peek through.

When Jiang Ru arrived, two young ladies peeked out from behind the screen. Surprisingly, Song Shu was sullen this time. She neither drank tea with her friends nor joined in the fun, but just sat listlessly on one side.

Jiang Ru sat down beside her. Having already eaten lunch, Jiang Ru saw the spiced cake on the table and became interested again, so she ate a piece, and her stomach was completely full.

After finishing the spiced cake, Song Shu remained silent. Jiang Ru nudged Song Shu's sleeve and asked, "What's wrong?"

Normally, Song Shu would be very welcoming when she came over, but this time she completely ignored her. After being teased by her for a while, Song Shu said with exasperation, "Just eat it, you'll see in a bit."

Jiang Ru frowned: "Why are you all speaking in riddles?"

Song Shu snorted coldly and turned her head away.

The young ladies behind the screen chattered amongst themselves. Before long, one of them approached Jiang Ru and Song Shu, her cheeks flushed, and asked them, "Why are you still sitting here? They've already made their choices."

Jiang Ru looked up and, thinking of the sketchbook Pei Wu had given her a few days ago, decided to go and take a look, just to get to know the people there.

Behind the screen were all young men. Jiang Ru managed to recognize them all, occasionally asking her girlfriends for advice. That was enough for her to have seen them all.

Someone approached Jiang Ru without her noticing. Jiang Ru smelled a familiar fragrance and said without turning around, "Your great-grandfather still has quite a lot of people."

In the imperial court, almost everyone who wasn't backed by a powerful family was one of Song Pingzhang's men; Song Pingzhang was very skilled at winning people over.

Song Shu snorted irritably and asked, "Have you taken a fancy to anyone?"

It took Jiang Ru a moment to realize what Song Shu meant. She turned around with a look of disbelief and said in shock, "It's been so long, why haven't you given up on the idea of ​​introducing me to someone?"

She had already refused Song Shu's first introduction, but Song Shu was still persistent. Jiang Ru bluntly said, "Give up, I can't..."

However, Song Shu said, "It wasn't me."

Before Jiang Ru could even ask, she said with that world-weary face, "It was arranged by my great-grandfather."

Jiang Ru stared at Song Shu for a long time, confirming that she was telling the truth, and finally understood why Song Shu was like this. It turned out that this blind date was prepared for Song Shu.

She had always thought Song Pingzhang wasn't in a hurry, but it turned out that Song Shu was also being pressured to get married behind her back. Jiang Ru was speechless and patted Song Shu reassuringly. Suddenly, she thought of something: "I remember you have a favorite man, right? Given your status, your great-grandfather can arrange it for you, so why don't you ask him to talk to him for you?"

The granddaughter of a prime minister—no family could refuse her, right?

However, Song Shu's expression was blank: "He's dead."

Jiang Ru: "..."

This was the first time Jiang Ru had encountered such a situation. Song Shu had someone she loved, but that person was already dead. Yet Song Pingzhang was still forcing her to go on blind dates with someone she didn't like. It sounded so pitiful. Jiang Ru hugged her tightly and whispered, "Please accept my condolences."

When faced with death, everyone can only say this one thing. Jiang Ru is tongue-tied and doesn't know how to comfort Song Shu.

Song Shu smiled slightly, "Actually, it's nothing. I've long decided to stay with him for the rest of my life. No matter who forces me, I will not marry anyone else."

Jiang Ru patted Song Shu's back, racking her brains to think of a few words to comfort her, but Song Shu turned to look at Jiang Ru: "As for you, you also need to think carefully about what you should do."

Jiang Ru was puzzled when the matter suddenly involved her: "What do I have to think about?"

Song Shu couldn't tell if she was pretending not to understand or genuinely didn't: "Don't think that today's fortune telling is just for me; you should take a good look at it too."

Jiang Ru laughed: "What's the big deal? I don't like any of them, so naturally I don't want any of them. Anyway, no one can control me."

Song Shu was silent for a moment: "What happened today was the intention of my great-grandfather and your cousin. You said no one can control you, but what about your cousin?"

Strictly speaking, Pei Wu couldn't control Jiang Ru, but upon hearing this, Jiang Ru was still stunned for a moment, and then said without thinking, "I don't believe it. I know my cousin; he would never do such a thing."

Unable to continue speaking, Song Shu looked at Jiang Ru expressionlessly, and Jiang Ru paused in her speech.

She looked at everyone in the room, puzzled. The people she had seen in the picture book Pei Wu had shown her a few days ago were indeed all here.

Combining this with what Pei Wu said a few days ago, it's probably true that he was being vague and unwilling to tell her directly. He even said she would know when she arrived. It turns out he had already planned to find her a partner.

Jiang Ru's first feeling was absurdity, followed by anger. She couldn't understand why Pei Wu had gone crazy and wanted to find her a boyfriend.

She didn't like these people at all, and she had never thought about marrying anyone. She thought Pei Wu understood her, but now she realized that Pei Wu was just an ordinary person, and he was also a corrupted old-fashioned man.

The young men in the room were all outstanding among their peers, but Jiang Ru didn't like any of them. Jiang Ru gritted her teeth in anger and told Song Shu, "I'll come to play with you another day. I'm going home now."

She wanted to go home and knock on Pei Wu's head to see if his brain was filled with mush.

Jiang Ru clenched her hands and tore the sachet in half. She had brought the sachet with her today, intending to learn from Song Shu and the others. She was only two leaves away from making the sachet, but now she didn't need to make it anymore.

Pei Wu is such a stupid pig; he doesn't deserve Jiang Ru's gift at all.

After breaking the sachet into several pieces, Jiang Ru's body temperature rose a few degrees. Her face was full of anger, and the veins on the back of her fair hands, which she had been clenching for too long, were clearly visible, which was enough to show her anger. Song Shu was afraid: "When you go back, please don't quarrel with your cousin."

Jiang Ru didn't turn around, her back view brisk and energetic: "I understand."

Yeah, right.

Jiang Ru is definitely going to give Pei Wu a good beating tonight. Pei Wu has really gone too far, actually daring to try and make things difficult for her. He's probably never been beaten before, and his brain has gone mad.

Jiang Ru left the Song residence in a huff, her face turning blue with anger. Her icy expression frightened Xia and the others, who could only watch her from afar.

The sachet in her hand had been torn into several pieces, beyond repair. Jiang Ru then started picking flowers. The poor rose in her hand was torn into pieces and lay alone on the ground, a truly pitiful sight.

Pei Wu returned in the evening. As soon as he entered the door, he heard Xia say in a low voice, "Lord Pei, the young lady has thrown a huge tantrum. You should go and see her."

Lord Pei nodded and walked through the corridor into the courtyard.

Jiang Ru sat in the pavilion for several hours, but her anger did not subside at all; her clothes were crumpled from scratching.

Before Pei Wu even got close, Jiang Ru glared at him with anger in her beautiful eyes, as if she were about to breathe fire. Pei Wu paused for a moment, then took a step and walked towards Jiang Ru.

Jiang Ru's gaze remained fixed on Pei Wu. As he drew closer, she took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. Afraid of misunderstanding him, she forced a composed tone and asked, "What is the meaning of your summons to the Song residence today?"

Even though he already knew, he still asked the question knowingly. Pei Wu's expression remained unchanged: "You know."

Jiang Ru looked up and glared at him: "Are you really telling me to choose a husband?"

Pei Wu gave a very soft "hmm".

Jiang Ru laughed angrily: "What do you mean? You think I'm annoying? You feel bad that I'm eating your food and you want to marry me off?"

That sounded really unpleasant, and Pei Wu frowned: "That's not what I meant."

Moreover, Jiang Ru didn't eat his food; she earned a lot of money on her own, sometimes even more than his salary.

"Then what do you mean?" It was clear that Jiang Ru was trying hard to suppress her anger; her hands, which were resting on her knees, were trembling. She was furious.

Pei Wu squatted down, not caring that his robes were sweeping on the ground. Then, he looked up at Jiang Ru in this position.

His chest ached, but his feelings were nothing compared to Jiang Ru's. He also had to make things clear to her: "You've reached the age to get married. It's not good for you to keep following me. Today I showed you some outstanding talents. Have you taken a fancy to any of them?"

Jiang Ru couldn't reason with him at all. She looked down at Pei Wu, knowing he was impervious to reason, and said patiently, "I've already made up my mind. I won't marry anyone else. Don't even dream about it."

Upon hearing this, Pei Wu's fingers twitched slightly, and he looked at Jiang Ru as if she were an ignorant child: "Don't talk nonsense, there's no such logic."

Jiang Ru truly didn't understand: "Why did you insist on marrying me off?"

Pei Wu explained earnestly, "You are of marriageable age now, and besides, it might not be good for you to stay with me in the future. I might offend a lot of people and drag you down with me."

Pei Wu was surprisingly self-aware, but had he considered that this kind of situation couldn't be resolved simply by marrying her off? Even after what happened, she was still found by the authorities, wasn't she? Did Pei Wu even understand this?

Jiang Ru's eyes reddened, and her chest heaved violently: "Won't marrying me off prevent me from being implicated?"

Pei Wu didn't speak, but it was clear that this was what he was thinking.

At that moment, Jiang Ru felt a sense of absurdity. She felt as if she were seeing a completely unfamiliar Pei Wu. She stared at him for a long time, with only one thought in mind.

There's no other way, let's beat him up and make him behave.

Jiang Ru looked at Pei Wu quietly for a long time, so long that Pei Wu thought she had figured it out. He also breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Jiang Ru's important life events were arranged properly, Jiang Ru would live a happy life in the future.

However, he did not expect Jiang Ru to suddenly attack him. She suddenly reached out and shoved Pei Wu hard.

Pei Wu was already off guard, and with Jiang Ru using too much force, and Pei Wu being in a squatting position, he was easily pushed to the ground by Jiang Ru.

Pei Wu was caught off guard and pushed down. He looked at Jiang Ru with a bewildered, surprised and confused expression.

The people who were hiding in the corner and watching also gasped in surprise. Xiao Fang and Xiao Zhu, who were anxious, tried to step forward to break up the fight, but were dragged back by the other two.

Just as Pei Wu was about to use his hands to support himself and sit up, Jiang Ru pushed him to the ground again. Then, Jiang Ru nimbly sat on his waist, her skirt tangled up. Jiang Ru didn't care that the ground was dirty, and just let her skirt hang on the ground.

Today she was wearing a light purple ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), which matched Pei Wu's purple official robes perfectly. The skirt and robe overlapped and swayed gently with Jiang Ru's movements.

Pei Wu's eyes widened, unsure whether to panic or what to do. He stammered, "You...you get up."

The person on top of him was warm, and their weight was all on Pei Wu's waist. Pei Wu dared not have any wild thoughts, let alone resist, for fear that he would reach out and touch a place he shouldn't touch. This left him completely subdued.

Jiang Ru clenched her fist, aimed at Pei Wu's face, and threw a punch.

Pei Wu turned his face slightly to the side, revealing a face as handsome as jade, even with his brows furrowed, he still looked exceptionally dashing.

Just as Jiang Ru's hand was about to hit his face, she slightly turned it to the side and then punched Pei Wu in the chest.

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Author's note: What to do when kids misbehave? Just give them a good spanking! [sunglasses]