Chapter 369 - 233: High-Stakes Bet
Ran Yan had already roughly guessed that she didn’t know Pei Jing, and it was very unlikely that Ran Meiyu would know him either.
That day, Pei Jing saw Ran Yun and Ran Meiyu outside the warm pavilion; from behind, both figures were graceful. He thus devised a plan to trick them into turning around, intending to catch a glimpse of their beauty. Ran Yun was not deceived, but Ran Meiyu was inadvertently seen.
The Cheng family was a powerful and prestigious household. The fact that Cheng Qing’er’s matchmaking banquet invitations were distributed even to lesser families was solely because Pei Jing personally managed the event. He planned to present another beauty to the Crown Prince, using this opportunity to select a wife of modest status yet with some refinement.
His planted maid informed him that the seventeenth miss of the Ran family was the most beautiful. When Su Fu accidentally entered the plum garden, and everyone came out to see what the fuss was about, he saw Ran Yan’s features. Although beautiful, her expressionless face left little desire in the beholder.
However, on the journey back to the city, from afar, he saw many women engaged in a snowball fight. Where there were women, they’d go, and as a result, he saw Ran Yan’s smile, which made all else seem dim in comparison.
At that moment, even he couldn’t help but be moved, hence he couldn’t restrain himself and intended to send someone to abduct her from her home. Just then, he received a message from Li Ke, saying that Xiao Song’s Secret Guards were near the Ran residence and to find a way to lure them away.
Pei Jing was unaware that Li Ke also intended to target Ran Yan, so he felt it was killing two birds with one stone and set a time, eagerly planning the abduction.
As a result, Li Ke took the girl away, leaving him to regret the missed opportunity for quite some time.
Without Ran Yan, and having accidentally discovered Ran Meiyu who, although her beauty was commonplace, did indeed stir one’s heart, he found her suitable as a replacement. Having learned in secret that Ran Meiyu was of lower status, he seized the opportunity to abduct her while she was using the facilities.