Over there, Xie Chengxiao had already swiftly searched the bodies one by one but found nothing.
Bai Liuyue pointed at their shoes.
She said slowly,
"Take them off and check if there's sand on the soles."
"There isn't."
"Tear off a piece of that fabric for me to see."
Xie Chengxiao tore off a piece of the black cloth from their clothing and handed it over.
Bai Liuyue pinched it between her fingers, rubbing it thoughtfully.
She then stated with certainty,
"Fine, tight knit, blended with cotton yarn. This is Gaoyang cloth."
The northwest is cold, arid, and short on water; its cotton textile industry isn't developed. It mostly relies on imported foreign cloth or local woolen cloth.
But the piece in her hand was made from spun yarn—Gaoyang cloth, abundantly produced in the Jinzhong region.
Pei Yu looked at her with admiration and said,
"Sister Liuyue, you even know about this?"
It suddenly occurred to him that after the car's brakes failed earlier, it was also she who told him to step on the gas once before releasing it, including the angle to crash into the rice shop and the cushioning effect of hitting the sandbag pile.
Bai Liuyue was far from the old-fashioned, sheltered young lady from a prestigious family that people outside described.
On the contrary, she was knowledgeable and well-read, seeming to know a bit about everything.
A trace of doubt and curiosity also flickered in Xie Chengxiao's eyes.
Bai Liuyue curled the corner of her lips and handed the fabric back to him, saying,
"I've been spinning yarn and weaving cloth at home with my mother since I was little. In our Jinzhong, Gaoyang cloth is the main type. I could recognize it with my eyes closed."
Wait.
So here's the question.
These burly men in black weren't from the northwest but from Jinzhong.
So, whose thugs could they be?
Xie Chengxiao cast a suspicious glance at Pei Yu.
Pei Yu pouted with a wronged expression and wailed,
"Cousin, it really wasn't me! I'm not crazy, why would I attack you?"
"And Sister Liuyue was in the car. If it were really me, I'd never let my men shoot at her."
"I couldn't bear to."
Pei Yu even seized the opportunity to confess his feelings while speaking.
Earning him a disdainful look from Xie Chengxiao.
"I didn't say it was you. You have several illegitimate half-brothers below you. Everyone wants a turn sitting in the Young Marshal Pei's seat."
Pei Yu fell silent.
After all, his cousin had a point. His father was not like his uncle-in-law, Xie Zhenning.
Marshal Xie belonged to the type who openly married a wife and also took two concubines.
He was a scoundrel, but an open and honest one.
However, Pei Yu's father claimed to the outside world to be a man of deep passion, devoted solely to his mother. But as time passed, beauty faded and affection waned.
His father started keeping lady friends outside, never bringing them home, just renting small courtyards to keep several of them.
He always came home on time, every day.
He would spend at most half a day at those little courtyards before returning.
Even so, he still fathered quite a few illegitimate sons and daughters.
But on the surface, Marshal Pei's only child was Pei Yu.
Bai Liuyue, however, shook her head and said,
"It's not the Pei family."
"Why?" Pei Yu blinked, puzzled.
They came from Jinzhong. If they weren't here to kill him, could they be here to kill his cousin, Xie Chengxiao?
But that didn't make sense either. Anyone in Jinzhong with some influence listened to his father. Although his father's relationship with his uncle-in-law wasn't exactly great, on the surface, they were amicable and were relatives.
Compared to other warlords, their relationship was definitely much closer.
There was no need to tear up the agreement; there was no benefit at all.
Bai Liuyue curled her lips and tilted her head slightly.
"They came to kill me."
"That man in black earlier wasn't fleeing onto the car out of fear. Their target was me from the very beginning."
"Why?" Xie Chengxiao and Pei Yu asked in unison.
Bai Liuyue gave Xie Chengxiao a somewhat troubled glance.
She muttered quietly,
"Family scandals shouldn't be aired in public."
"It's fine, we're all your own people. Sister Liuyue, who wants to harm you? I'll definitely help you get even," Pei Yu said, being impatient by nature and unable to stand people keeping him in suspense.
Bai Liuyue said with a half-smile, "Oh, what if that person is your good friend?"
His good friend?
Pei Yu was taken aback. He didn't have many good friends.
In Jinzhong, apart from a few friends from military academy, his cousin could be considered one, but there weren't many others.
There was also Bai Baocheng.
Wait, Bai Baocheng?!
"Bai Baocheng," Xie Chengxiao narrowed his eyes, a flash of killing intent passing through his long, narrow eyes.
Pei Yu said incredulously,
"He's your cousin, isn't he? Why would he want to kill you?"
Bai Liuyue slowly swayed her head, counting on her fingers as she analyzed,
"There are two branches of the Bai family. My eldest uncle and my father have never gotten along. Of course, my cousin wouldn't like me either."
"If my cousin and brother-in-law announce their divorce in the newspaper, the eldest branch's influence would wane."
From this, it could be inferred that in the previous life's plot, Bai Baozhu had a change of heart, wanting to reconcile with Young Marshal Xie, while the cannon-fodder cousin died from stray bullets on the way back to Jinzhong.
What stray bullets?
Probably a trap set by someone else.
Bai Baocheng simply didn't want her to return alive.
And in the first life, Bai Baozhu was desperately in love with Xu Yanci. If she herself wasn't striving, how could the Bai family's eldest branch push from behind?
They were probably afraid that if they pushed, their own daughter would cause trouble over there and backfire.
So they simply let Bai Liuyue from the second branch marry over.
After all, to put it simply, it would still be a marital alliance between the Jinzhong Bai family and the northwest Xie family.
All those previously inexplicable points in the plot suddenly became clear and logical.
As for why the assassination attempt happened earlier this time.
Simple. Bai Baozhu failed to win over Xie Chengxiao's heart.
Pei Yu immediately spoke up to draw a clear line.
"What good friend? Bai Baocheng and I are just ordinary classmates from military academy, ordinary classmates. I'm definitely on Sister Liuyue's side."
Bai Liuyue raised her willow-leaf eyebrows slightly, the corners of her lips curling up to reveal a small dimple.
"This is all just my speculation. I have no evidence, you know."
"And, you all just believe what I say so readily? Aren't you afraid I'm framing Bai Baozhu and Bai Baocheng?"
Pei Yu answered immediately, "I definitely believe you."
A dark shadow flashed in Xie Chengxiao's eyes.
He chimed in,
"Naturally, I believe you."
"The Bai family's eldest branch's schemes are truly transparent. I won't let them have their way."
"Tomorrow, I'll go to the newspaper."
Pei Yu gleefully leaned in and said, "But didn't Uncle say to wait until the day Bai Baocheng leaves before announcing it?"
Xie Chengxiao's dark eyes were profound, a cold smile flickering across them.
"We'll do it secretly. Once it's in the paper, the old man can't do anything about it."
Alright.
This was the defiant, unruly side of Young Marshal Xie behind the scenes.
Hearing this, Pei Yu couldn't help but laugh heartily, his face full of anticipation.
"Well done. I can already imagine Uncle's livid expression."
"To be honest, cousin, when we got into mischief as kids, I was always the one who got caught and took the blame alone."
"This time, I finally get to see you scolded by Uncle in person. Just thinking about it makes me happy."
This Pei Yu, how wicked.
