6. When we meet each other without raising eyebrows, we will be suspicious

Pei Nianzhen didn't expect that he had carefully sneaked a peek at this person, but He Qi still caught his gaze.

In the panic of being named, he thought to himself for a while: He knew that after the internal strength of a martial arts practitioner reaches the deep state, the five senses are quite sharp. Could it be that He Qi's current martial arts advancement is so deepup?

Although it was a bit sudden, fortunately, the former prince had been in the court for many years, and the camouflage and pretentious skills in his expression and demeanor had almost become a physical instinct.He relaxed his breath, looked at the man with a seemingly sincere and honest look, and quickly covered up his guilty conscience:

"Sorry, but I think this lord looks familiar, so I can't help but look at it for a while, but I don't want to bother you anymore."

Pei Nianzhen knew that the more he pretended not to know each other at this time, the more suspicious he would be. It would be better to just say that he seemed to have known each other, and he would not think about certain aspects.

He Qi frowned slightly, and scanned his face back and forth twice with sharp eyes.

Pei Nianzhen's heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and he only hoped that Pei Nianyu's shadow guard's disguise technique would not be seen through.

Sure enough, He Qi looked at him for a while, and found that he had no impression of this person, so he said lightly:

"He has never made friends with outsiders. I am afraid that Mr. He has made a mistake."

Pei Nianzhen secretly breathed a sigh of relief, who would have heard He Qi's slightly indifferent voice continue to ask in the next sentence:

"It seems that the shopkeeper knows the identity of the real owner of this shop?"

Pei Nianzhen's heart skipped a beat—how did he guess it?

He Qi stared at him motionlessly, and said:

"I've never worn official clothes, but just now the shopkeeper directly called me my lord, presumably it's based on our status as a prince, right?"

Pei Nianzhen had never expected that He Qi would be so keen, and discovered so much based on a casual sentence from him.He didn't know how Pei Nianyu explained it to his shop assistants, so he couldn't help looking at Pei Nianyu.

The good old Pei Nianyu came out in time to make a rescue:

"He does know. This Mr. Yang is a teacher I met in the fief of Cloud Province in the Northland when I was the fourth prince, so it's normal that you don't know him. Mr. Yang is very knowledgeable. At that time, we didn't know each other because of our status., We had a good conversation."

"Recently, something happened in his hometown, so he had to come to Capital City to join me."

Pei Nianzhen nodded quickly and said yes: "Thanks to the help of the prince, now Yang has nowhere to go, so he works in this shop to pay off his debts, doing his best."

Although He Qi was a little surprised that he was in the mansion every day, why didn't he encounter such a thing about "a friend from afar coming to join the prince".However, he still trusts his master unconditionally. Seeing what the master said, he didn't think about it.It's not surprising that my master has helped too many people.

After exchanging pleasantries with He Yanjun for a while, He Qi disappeared and went to check on the shadow guards on duty nearby.

On the other hand, Pei Nianzhen continued to stay in the store to discuss with He Yanjun how to expand the business scale.

He Yanjun was short of resources because the dim sum shop business was too hot, while Pei Nianyu needed to promote new cooking methods to earn more food value to support Pei Niancheng's infrastructure construction.

However, Pei Nianyu obviously doesn't have any business acumen and is not a material for doing business, and He Yanjun doesn't have any desire to make a lot of money.The two of them got away from the topic eighty thousand miles away after discussing, and began to discuss what new snacks would be good for the next holiday special.

"The sale on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival is really annoying. The ice crystal rice dumplings are too difficult to make, and the output is too low. The next festival is... Qixi Festival?"

Pei Nianyu clapped his hands excitedly: "There are too many tricks you can do on Qixi Festival, such as peanuts and Qiaoguo gift boxes..."

Pei Nianzhen, who was reading the ledger silently, said, "..."

He really didn't understand the fun of "making some new snacks on Qixi Festival" to make this brother who is neither far nor close to show such a cheerful look.

During the many years of growing up together in the palace, he had never seen Pei Nianyu like this.The fourth younger brother in his impression is always gentle, polite and good-tempered, but he also faintly rejects others thousands of miles away, as if nothing can affect his mood.

In this small snack shop, far away from the hustle and bustle of the Nine Layers Palace, everything is very strange to him now.

He couldn't help but close the ledger and asked:

"Good thing peanuts... what is it?"

He Yanjun explained to him with an expression of "you really are a bumpkin who has never seen it before":

“It’s a dessert made of glutinous rice flour made of persimmon and peanut skins, with sweet and salty fillings on the inside. It sounds like a good thing. It’s not difficult to make, but it’s just for auspiciousness and novelty during the festival.”

"At that time, I will naturally try to make a few batches in advance, and I will also ask shopkeeper Yang to comment on the taste."

Pei Nianzhen was slightly taken aback, unable to tell what it was like in his heart:

"Ah... that's it. That girl's kindness was disrespectful."

He shrank his head back into the counter.

How long has it been since he had eaten delicious snacks... During the many years of confinement, everything about his small courtyard seemed to have been forgotten by the world.It was rare for the yamen in charge of material supply to keep them fed and clothed. Those who had met Feng Shituo dared to pay more attention to the sworn enemy of the Holy Majesty when Pei Niancheng was in power.

Pei Nianzhen's heart, which hadn't experienced waves for a long time, was filled with a little expectation, even for such a trivial thing.

—————

Pei Nianyu and He Yanjun discussed for a while without any result, so they went back.After the dim sum shop reopened in the afternoon, He Yanjun saw that he could do math fairly quickly, so he simply asked him to start the account transactions, and check out the customers who came to buy one by one.

So Pei Nianzhen spent another afternoon dizzy and calculating.

After sunset, Pei Nianzhen suddenly raised his head when he heard the voice of He Yanjun ordering the waiter in the store to go home, only to realize that it was getting late before he knew it.

"It's closed. Mr. Yang can go to the Wangfu restaurant next door for a meal, or he can go back to his residence. I will go back to the Wangfu."

Pei Nianzhen shook off the numbers in his head, and suddenly woke up: "I...can I go with you to the palace for dinner?"

He Yanjun was dumbfounded, thinking that this person really didn't see anyone else, and the meal that the prince's family got together every night was usually cooked by the prince himself.The only people who can eat this meal are the prince and princess, He Qi, He Yanjun, and the occasional Pei Niancheng and Li Han.

To put it bluntly, they are all at the "family" level of the prince.

What is the origin of this Mr. Yang... Forget it, maybe he and the prince are old friends.

In fact, Pei Nianzhen just wanted to take another look at someone.

At noon, He Qi went to the dim sum shop and everyone was there at that time, so it was not easy for him to ask He Qi's current identity.Earlier, when Pei Nianyu abducted him to go out, he only said that the dim sum shop was the property of the third concubine of the He family, but he never mentioned He Qi to him.

Taking a quick glance today, he only felt that He Qi's martial arts were unfathomable, but his temperament was very different from that of the past, how could he not worry about it.

However, when he really went to the palace with He Yanjun and saw Lou Yefeng and He Qi who had helped him change his appearance earlier, he immediately felt deeply at a loss.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry to bother you. I haven't seen the prince for many years. I wanted to catch up with the past, but I never wanted to be an uninvited guest..."

Pei Nianyu put down his chopsticks, raised his eyebrows and said:

"...Here, it's all here, you go and move a stool to sit on."

Pei Nianzhen felt that the words "everyone is here" are not good words at all.

During a dinner, there were only a few people talking and laughing at Yan Yan at the dinner table, and he was naturally more on pins and needles, while his mind was still on a certain gray-clothed warrior.It is a table of delicacies from mountains and seas, how can I eat it.

Pei Nianzhen looked down at the dishes on his plate and thought, it seems that He Qi is doing well.I……

He finished the meal in a daze, and when the brothers and sisters of the He family dispersed, seeing that there were only Pei Lou and the other, he finally couldn't help asking:

"He...I mean He Qi, he is now...?"

"It's my shadow guard commander."

Pei Nianzhen's breathing was stagnant, and his complexion suddenly changed:

"He, his family is an official, and you ask him to be your shadow guard? You have humiliated him too much!"

Not surprised, Pei Nianyu looked at him playfully:

"I saved his life. Now I let him work for me. What's wrong? The son of the Ministry of Revenue's minister. That was how many years ago. When I saved him, he was just a criminal.After that, it is a blessing not to be reduced to an official slave."

Pei Nianzhen suddenly felt the blood surge in his head, humming intermittently.

He knew that what the fourth brother said was of course correct. After He Qi became a criminal minister, he almost lost his life. Wasn't it because of——

He sighed deeply.

"You have also seen that no matter what his status is now, at least he is doing well now. He is loyal to me, and I have never treated him badly. Since you have hidden your name and don't want him to know your identity, why bother to meddle in your own business.”

"But what happened back then..."

Pei Nianyu strained his ears to listen.

"...Forget it, I...you are right."

Pei Nianzhen shook his head and went back to his residence.

Although the day was exhausting, Pei Nianzhen was lying on his bed with his eyes closed, but he couldn't sleep.

What dangled in front of my eyes were all the laughing words of that young man today.He is gentle and caring in front of his sister, and neither humble nor overbearing in front of his master.

What Pei Nianyu said was right, He Qi...had a new life, a new family and new concerns.

Only towards him, he was completely indifferent like treating a stranger.

But what if he told He Qi his identity?What happened back then ruined his family, and the days of learning to be a shadow guard must have been extremely painful. I'm afraid he already hated himself, the former prince, to death.If he knew his identity, it would not be impossible for him to draw out his sword and stab through his heart.

Although the outcome of what happened back then was not what he expected, and the cause of his father's and brother's death may not be what he imagined, but... the matter has come to this point, and the past is gone. If he explained it, the other party might not believe it, so why bother?.

It's better to just let it go.

There are too many people who have been responsible for me in this life, successively, my mother clan, and my subordinates who once followed me...but they are completely innocent but are ultimately burdened by my seizing the heir, and only He Qi is the only one.

It's okay to be able to appear in his life for a moment like this, knowing that he is still alive.

Pei Nianzhen felt a little bitter in his heart, and before his consciousness slipped into sleep, it seemed that the time of a teenager appeared in front of him.

——The wooden swords intersected, and the slender young man in Chinese clothes lost his internal strength and dropped the hilt of his sword.

On the opposite side, a child whose eyebrows and eyes have not yet grown up threw the wooden sword on the ground, and laughed with his hands on his hips: "My brother also said that you are very powerful, how come you can't even beat me, a seven-year-old child."

The young man scratched his head with a wry smile. When he was practicing martial arts in the palace, no one would dare to knock off his sword. Who would have thought that he would not be as good as a child with long hair until he came out of the palace.

"I... my family doesn't like me practicing martial arts, and the martial arts master I hired is useless. When I come to your house in the future, you can secretly teach me a few powerful moves, okay?"

The child on the opposite side suddenly laughed: "Teaching can be taught, so quickly call me Master!"

Pei Nianzhen teased him: "Little Master..."

"Don't call me little master! Isn't this the same as the monks in the temple..."

...

…………

Before Pei Nianzhen completely fell asleep, he finally thought of - he also had the honor to be He Qi's "family" for a period of time.

It's just that he didn't cherish it himself.

———————

In the palace, He Qi asked Lou Yefeng out late at night to discuss matters.

"That Mr. Yang...I think it's a bit strange, old building, have you checked his details?"

Lou Yefeng thought, of course I know who he is:

"I checked, and I think there is nothing wrong with it."

He Qi was worried:

"Although I was not with the master during the years when the master went to Cloud Province, you can't relax your vigilance in this old building. The northern land is close to the barbarians outside the country. Even though the master said that they were his old friends, who knows how many years have passed?past……"

"Don't forget that the place where the third prince was exiled was adjacent to Cloud Province. Who knows if he has managed any forces after his exile..."

"This man suddenly said that there was a change in the family, that it was suspicious to come to join the prince, and his behavior was very strange. I was afraid that the master has always been kind, and there would be problems if he put such an unknown person by his side."

Lou Yefeng said seriously:

"He Qi, you are in charge now, not me. I don't have the right to dispatch and command. If you have doubts, you can investigate by yourself, and you don't have to report everything to me."

He Qi took a deep breath: "I understand."

After finishing speaking, he hid in the night, summoned a few shadow guards, and gave orders one after another.