allonlinenovel Chapter 224 Unexplained Confidence
Chapter 224 Unexplained Confidence
Early that morning, after having breakfast, Ms. Wei planned to go to the newspaper office.
Just as he stepped out of the inner courtyard, he ran into Duke Pei.
"Father-in-law".
Wei bowed and greeted them.
Duke Pei frowned at her: "You're already married, what kind of behavior is this, running around outside every day!"
Wei lowered her eyes and remained silent.
Duke Pei was furious. His eldest daughter-in-law had always been like this. Whenever he said something to her, she would just stay silent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, just like a mute.
However, he was the father-in-law, so he couldn't argue too much with his daughter-in-law. Over time, Duke Pei stopped wanting to see Lady Wei.
But when they met today, Duke Pei couldn't help but reprimand her, and Wei remained silent as always.
Suppressing his anger, Duke Pei asked, "Are you working at the newspaper with Jing'er now?"
Madam Wei nodded: "That's right."
"My birthday is in two weeks, has Jing'er said anything?"
A hint of surprise flashed in Madam Wei's eyes, but her tone remained unchanged: "I haven't heard my younger sister mention it."
Duke Pei's face darkened: "Then tell her today not to forget her biological father's birthday after getting married."
Having said that, Duke Pei waved his sleeve and left.
He suspected that Pei Shizhao and his wife were there to bring him bad luck. Pei Shizhao had never been under his control since childhood and never listened to him. After marrying Wei, he became even more unruly.
Despite having a wife who had not borne children for several years, Duke Pei refused to let him take a concubine. The father and son argued about this countless times, but Duke Pei could not do anything to Pei Shizhao.
Because the Eldest Princess is still around, if Duke Pei were to forcibly give a concubine to Pei Shizhao, the Eldest Princess would likely return her to Duke Pei no sooner than he delivered her to Pei Shizhao's courtyard.
Knowing this clearly, Duke Pei did not waste his efforts.
The thought that his future second daughter-in-law was also chosen by the eldest princess gave Duke Pei an even bigger headache. He no longer dared to have any hope, since it was impossible for the eldest princess to choose a daughter-in-law that he liked.
Fortunately, he has a younger son, and he will definitely choose one carefully when the time comes.
Wei glanced at Duke Pei's retreating figure with a strange expression before continuing to leave the Duke's mansion.
Once inside the carriage, the maid dared to speak: "Miss, did the county princess celebrate the Duke's birthday?"
Upon hearing what Duke Pei had just said, the maid almost thought she had lost her memory.
According to what she knew, Pei Rujing had visited the Duke's mansion only a handful of times in the past ten years, let alone celebrate the Duke's birthday.
She strongly suspected that Pei Rujing didn't even remember the Duke of Pei's birthday.
Wei couldn't help but laugh: "Never."
She had been married into the Pei family for several years, and Pei Rujing had never appeared at the Pei Duke's birthday banquet. Pei Shizhao had also told her that Pei Rujing and the Pei Duke did not get along and that she never celebrated his birthday.
"Why does the Duke say that?"
Wei speculated, "Perhaps my father-in-law wants to ease tensions with my younger sister."
The birthday celebration was just an excuse; Duke Pei probably wanted to see Pei Rujing.
"Would the county magistrate agree?"
Madam Wei smiled and said, "Perhaps Father-in-law thinks my younger sister will agree."
Having been married into the Duke's mansion for many years, she had long noticed that Duke Pei sometimes had a kind of inexplicable confidence.
For example, he inexplicably felt that he could control his two sons, but in reality, neither of Pei Shizhao's brothers listened to him.
Now, for some reason, he feels that if he takes the initiative to give Pei Rujing a way out, she will take the opportunity to do so. He hasn't considered whether Pei Rujing, given her personality, would accept this way out.
……
Floating Life Newspaper
When Wei arrived, Wen Shuxuan was already there.
After exchanging a few words, the two sat down to read their manuscripts. When Madam Wei finished reading her manuscript, she realized that an hour had passed. She got up and left the office, intending to find Pei Rujing, but found that Pei Rujing had not come today.
Back in her office, Madam Wei asked, "Sister Wen, didn't my younger sister come today?"
Wen Shuxuan wasn't surprised: "Today is a day off, so Third Sister-in-law must be with Third Brother."
Wei suddenly realized: "My husband has been busy with government affairs lately. Even on his days off, he goes to the government office early in the morning. I forgot that today is his day off."
Having worked together for a long time, they all knew that Pei Rujing would not come on her days off, which was obviously related to Wen Zongji.
"They've been married for a year, and Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law still have a very good relationship."
Wei smiled and said, "It's only been a year."
Wei and Pei Shizhao had a good relationship. Although Pei Shizhao was not talkative, he was considerate and respectful to Wei. The couple respected and supported each other and got along very harmoniously.
If they weren't still childless, they probably wouldn't even have any conflicts.
Wen Shuxuan remained silent upon hearing this. She had almost forgotten that the eldest son of the Pei family was a man of integrity who had not taken a concubine since his marriage, unlike Zhao Hongrong.
However, Wei remembered Zhao Hongrong's deeds and, not wanting to evoke Wen Shuxuan's painful memories, went back to her desk to read her manuscript.
Pei Rujing arrived at the newspaper office the next day.
Madam Wei entered her office and told her that Duke Pei's birthday was approaching.
Pei Rujing looked puzzled: "What does this have to do with me?"
Madam Wei was not surprised by the answer: "My father-in-law asked me to tell you this, probably hoping that my younger sister can go and celebrate his birthday."
Pei Rujing scoffed, "He has the nerve?"
With a wave of his hand, he flatly refused: "I'm not going!"
Madam Wei nodded: "I will tell my father-in-law."
Anyway, she was just a messenger.
Pei Rujing said, "Let my elder brother tell him, so he won't take his anger out on my sister-in-law."
Wei smiled and said, "I know."
She didn't want to face Duke Pei directly; she would definitely send Pei Shizhao to speak to him.
When Wen Zongji returned home after his shift that evening, Pei Rujing told him about the incident as a joke.
"Isn't he ridiculous? I was even planning to have my uncle strip my second brother of his title because of what happened to him, and he still wants me to go and celebrate his birthday? Has he lost his mind?"
Seeing Pei Rujing's disdainful look, Wen Zongji knew that Pei Rujing truly had no feelings for Duke Pei now, and said, "Since you think it's unimportant, my wife, don't think too much about it."
At the beginning of their marriage, whenever the topic of Duke Pei was mentioned, Pei Rujing would bristle like a hedgehog, as if her wounds had been touched.
Now, when the Duke of Pei is mentioned, it's as if he's just some nobody, and all the affection is gone.
Pei Rujing nodded: "Yes. Let's not talk about it, it's bad luck... The New Year is coming soon, how many days off will you have? Shall we go out of town for a trip?"
She had actually been eyeing Wen Zongji's annual leave for a long time.
Wen Zongji asked, "Where to?"
Pei Rujing said, "I'll have the nanny look into where there are fun places to go."
Wen Zongji chuckled, "So, my wife hasn't made up her mind yet?"
"It won't take much time to check."
"Alright, my wife, make the plans carefully. I'll listen to you when the time comes."
Seeing his hands-off attitude, Pei Rujing immediately became displeased: "You're the one pursuing me, shouldn't you be the one making the plans?"
Wen Zongji said frankly, "It's precisely because I'm the one pursuing you that I listen to you in everything. Wherever you say we should go, we'll go."
Pei Rujing was fooled: "That makes sense."
Granny Feng, standing to the side, rubbed her forehead.
Fortunately, Wen Zongji was of good character. If it had been someone with malicious intent, Pei Rujing would probably have been sold out and would have been counting the money for the seller.