The Eldest Daughter is Delicate and Pretty, How Can She Be a Malicious Supporting Character - Chapter 73

Chapter 73: Encounter in the Plum Blossom Forest

The fragrance of plum blossoms was intense, and the black-clothed man couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander. He slightly closed his eyes, about to rest in the flowers.

However, the noisy sound from afar made him frown slightly.

“Miss! These flowers are so beautiful! Why don’t we pick a few branches to take back to the mansion?” one of the maids exclaimed.

“Miss, look! There are so many colors over there!” another maid chimed in.

“Be careful, don’t trip,” Pei Lingyi said from behind, smiling indulgently as she watched her two maids playing excitedly.

But this beautiful scene was interrupted by a displeased male voice, “Miss Pei, you really have a good mood. It’s so cold today, and you still have the heart to appreciate flowers.”

The familiar voice with a hint of sarcasm made Pei Lingyi instinctively look in the direction of the speaker.

Xiao Yan leaned against the plum tree, wearing a dark blue robe with a black fur coat draped over it. The fur was shiny and luxurious, accentuating his broad shoulders and narrow waist. He looked extraordinary, but his face still had a provoking expression. His eyes, shaped like a phoenix’s, were slightly raised, and his lips were pursed, making him look infuriating.

“Ha… So it’s Heir Xiao. But the Yunhua Temple isn’t your private property, and we just happened to run into each other here. Do you need to interfere in this too?” Pei Lingyi’s footsteps were steady, but her words were sharp and biting.

Both of them knew that they didn’t get along.

Xiao Yan couldn’t help but think of the night when he had inexplicably stood up for her, only to be rebuked by her in return, when he saw her sharp tongue directed at him.

She was gentle and considerate towards everyone. Even though her second brother hadn’t intended to stand up for her that night, she still defended him, even if she herself was the one who was wronged.

But she had never shown such a gentle demeanor in front of him.

For some reason, Xiao Yan felt a surge of anger when he saw her clear and calm eyes. His tone also became colder, “Hmph, your legs are on your body, and I naturally can’t control where you want to go. But this place should be where I arrived first, don’t you think you’re being a bit too noisy, Miss Pei?”

Pei Lingyi saw that he looked tired and guessed that he had just taken a nap here. But she was impressed that he could sleep outside in the cold. He really was a bit abnormal.

The sarcastic words in her heart were naturally not spoken out loud.

She looked at the man in front of her and smiled softly, “You’re joking, Heir. When I arrived, I didn’t see you here. Besides, the plum garden is so big, and there are many pilgrims appreciating the flowers. How can you prove that you were here first?”

“Moreover, there are only the two of us here. Don’t you think your words just now were a bit ridiculous, Heir?”

Although the woman wore a veil, Xiao Yan could imagine her unpleasant expression from her tone.

“It’s really true that women and petty people are difficult to deal with,” he muttered, not wanting to say more to her.
He made a gesture to leave.

Pei Lingyi wouldn’t let him leave so easily when she saw Xiao Yan wanting to leave.

“What? Heir Xiao can’t win an argument with me, so he’s trying to escape? Or was everything you said before a lie?”

The woman’s voice was soft and melodious, like the gentle dialect of a Jiangnan girl. Even though her words were provocative, they didn’t make one feel angry.

For some reason, when he heard her words, he was reminded of their first meeting four years ago. At that time, she was just a young girl, but she had the courage to plot and frame people.

In that instant, seeing her pitiful and helpless appearance as she saved him, he was reminded of Lu Yan’er. Lu Yan’er would also act in a similar way in front of his father, framing his mother and then pretending to be magnanimous, leaving his mother speechless.
However, Pei Lingyi was different from her.

Pei Lingyi came from a noble family and was like a little fairy, even when pretending to be pitiful, she would make people feel sorry for her. Unlike Lu Yan’er, who was artificial and full of flaws, making people feel disgusted.

And Lu Yan’er would never say something like this, she would never show any weakness in front of his father. She would always appear weak and fragile, like she would collapse at any moment, like she was dying from illness.

“Xiao Yan! I still haven’t settled the score with you about that day when you tried to shoot me with an arrow on the street,” Pei Lingyi said, seeming to see that he hadn’t turned around yet.

Hearing her words, the man’s footsteps paused for a moment, and he finally turned around to face her.

She stood under the plum tree, her eyes were watery because she was angry, and her body was trembling slightly, like she was extremely wronged.

“I…” He was about to say something, but suddenly saw a silver-white arrow with a murderous intent coming from behind her.

His pupils suddenly contracted, “Be careful!”

In the nick of time, Pei Lingyi felt the man in front of her rush towards her like lightning.

Accompanied by the piercing wind, a cold fragrance filled her nostrils, and then she was enveloped in the warmth of the man’s chest.

“Bang——”

The two figures tumbled to the ground, and Pei Lingyi felt like she was being crushed by the man’s weight. He was tall and muscular, and the impact of the fall was painful, not to mention the weight of the man on top of her.

He had almost wrapped his entire body around hers, and as they fell, a flurry of plum blossoms was disturbed, tangling their hair and petals. If the situation weren’t so dire, it would have been a beautiful scene.

The arrow that had just whizzed past was now lodged firmly in a plum tree in front of them.

“Xiao Yan, you… let me go,” the woman said, still disoriented from the sudden impact.

In the heat of the moment, he hadn’t thought things through, and now she was pressed tightly against him. Her breath was grazing his neck, sending shivers down his spine.

He didn’t have time to explain to her that the arrow had clearly been aimed at him. If he hadn’t turned around, it would have pierced his lungs.

Obviously, this was a premeditated assassination, and there would be more to come.

Indeed, more black-clad figures with masked faces emerged from the plum forest, armed and looking like trained assassins.

As the girl beneath him struggled, Xiao Yan’s head throbbed with pain.
“Stop moving,” he growled, his voice husky.
“If you keep squirming, this plum forest will be our grave.”

Pei Lingyi heard the seriousness in his tone and stopped struggling. She looked around, noticing that the surroundings were now filled with dozens of masked killers wielding weapons.

Layan and Luoxu, who had been nearby just moments ago, were nowhere to be seen.