Chapter 166: You Will Lose Completely (2)_1
Pei Zongli didn’t know what Lady Fang had written in her blood letter; he watched Old Pei holding it, considering giving it back to them.
But Old Pei couldn’t return it, for after its return, the reputation of Old Pei’s House would be ruined! With Lady Fang dead, those people would definitely pity them and would believe her nonsense, turning to curse and despise the Old Pei House!
This was precisely Lady Fang’s intent. No matter how many people believed what her blood letter said, after her death, it would all be taken as truth! It would become fact! People would no longer look at Sister Peiqin and her siblings with the same disdain and contempt; they would not see them as beneath them anymore! This was the only thing she could do for her children now!
No one dared to stop Pei Qin; everyone made way, their eyes fixed as she carried Lady Fang’s body out of the village, with San Ya, Si Ya, and the not-yet-five-year-old Pei Wendong following behind.
Some people asked Pei Lizheng what exactly was written in the blood letter!
But Pei Lizheng couldn’t say, for he didn’t know if Pei Qin’s unexpectedly mature and astute mind could overcome Old Pei’s House. As for the Wang family and Chang’s house, she had only sold them some goods, which couldn’t be relied upon. Old Pei’s House still had Pei Zongli, who had come back rich and prosperous, and who had previously earned the title of Scholar.
Choosing to stay silent, if Old Pei’s House couldn’t handle this matter, he would bear the notoriety and his conscience would suffer. But to side with Lady Fang would be to make enemies out of Old Pei’s House, all of whom were from the Pei family. Sister Peiqin and her siblings would surely leave eventually, but his own family would still have to live in Back Mountain Village and face an increasingly powerful Old Pei’s House.
Once more, Old Pei faced a difficult situation and decision. He felt guilty, and so he had snatched Lady Fang’s blood letter, but by doing so, he had only confirmed his feelings of guilt. If it truly escalated to the Government Office and the matter of the three cup’s worth of wine came out, whether or not Lady Fang had resigned herself to her fate later on, people would still say Pei Houli had forced himself upon his nephew’s wife. The eldest grandson’s reputation would be ruined, and his future would be destroyed. Even if they could silence the officials with silver, they could not silence the judgment of the world.
Watching Pei Qin carry Lady Fang’s body, with the siblings growing further away, Old Pei gritted his teeth, "Follow them!" and he hurriedly ran after them.