Their thumbs brushed lightly, parting as quickly as they touched.
The atmosphere wasn't ambiguous or romantic at all.
Yet his heart pounded relentlessly like a beating drum.
Jiang Yunshen knew this was a massive gamble. To think that someone as cautious as him had actually lost his head and gone through with it.
He pulled his thoughts back to the present.
The champagne glasses clinked, parting as quickly as they touched.
Cheers and applause erupted from the crowd around them.
President Jiang hadn't attended in person; he had only sent a secretary.
Secretary Shen stepped forward to offer his congratulations:
"Second Young Master, Second Miss Bai, the President has said that after the engagement, you should make a trip north so he can meet his future daughter-in-law."
Jiang Yunshen smiled faintly and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Secretary Shen. When the time comes, I will bring Xiaoyue to see my father."
Bai Liuyue pretended to be innocent and shy.
She nodded and whispered, "Okay."
After Secretary Shen left, more people came up to congratulate them.
It wasn't until a loud clattering sound came from the entrance of the banquet hall that Bai Liuyue and Jiang Yunshen hurried over to see what was happening.
It turned out to be Pei Yu kicking a chair.
He had been locked up in the mansion by Marshal Pei recently and had only just been let out.
As soon as he heard about Bai Liuyue's engagement to Jiang Yunshen, he rushed over, intending to snatch her away.
But he was too late.
The engagement ceremony was already over.
Furious, he could only kick the chair to vent his anger.
Catching a glimpse of the graceful woman in the red qipao standing not far away, Pei Yu suddenly grabbed his leg and started wailing "Ouch, ouch," putting on a dramatic act to get her attention.
He flopped straight down onto the floor.
He cried out:
"How are these chairs made? They're so hard! My leg is completely bruised from bumping into it."
The nearby servants looked at each other in bewildered silence: "..."
They had never seen someone fake an injury quite like this.
Pei Yu kept groaning, "It hurts so much! My leg! I'm done for, I can't stand up."
As he spoke, he looked pitifully at Bai Liuyue, pointed at himself, and said aggrievedly:
"Sister Liuyue, can you come help me up? I can't get up."
"Alright." Bai Liuyue was just about to step forward.
Jiang Yunshen, who was beside her, moved faster. In a few quick strides, he stood before Pei Yu and offered his hand.
But Pei Yu just stubbornly turned his head away.
"My leg hurts so much. It will only get better if Sister Liuyue helps me."
"Anyone else is useless."
It was truly a sight too embarrassing to watch.
To put on such a scene at someone else's engagement banquet.
A faint smile played on Bai Liuyue's lips as she asked, "Is it really that serious?"
"Yes, yes, it's very serious," Pei Yu nodded repeatedly.
"Since it's so serious, I'm afraid my helping you up won't do much good. We'd better send you to the hospital." Bai Liuyue glanced at Jiang Yunshen and said, "Yunshen, let's go make a phone call."
"Alright," Jiang Yunshen said, immediately turning to leave.
The supposedly injured Pei Yu, who had been lying on the ground, instantly sprang up with the vigor of a leaping carp.
Bai Liuyue couldn't help but tease, "Well... how did it suddenly get better?"
"It's because of the fragrant sachet Sister Liuyue gave me. It cured me instantly." Pei Yu didn't forget to show off the sachet hanging at his waist. He would say the same thing to everyone he met.
'Hey, how did you know this sachet was given to me by Sister Liuyue?'
'Hey, you think this sachet looks nice too, right? Sister Liuyue sewed it herself and gave it to me. It's filled with medicinal herbs and spices.'
But if someone asked, 'Are you the only one with this sachet?'
Pei Yu would instantly fall silent.
So what if others had it too?
It was just Gu Qinghuai, Xie Chengxiao, and even Xie Manyu who had one!
It was still a sachet given to him by Sister Liuyue.
Jiang Yunshen pointed to the one at his own waist and said, "Yes, this one is for calming the nerves. It doesn't have the effect of treating leg injuries yet."
Pei Yu's eyes lit up.
As if discovering something, he rushed forward and stared at the sachet, examining it from all angles.
He slapped his thigh.
"Aha! And you claim you aren't Gu Qinghuai."
"There are only four of these sachets in total. If you aren't Gu Qinghuai, how could you have one!"
He then turned his head to look at Bai Liuyue and said:
"Sister Liuyue, he's a fraud with an ulterior motive. When he was Gu Qinghuai, he secretly pined for you, and now look, he's changed his identity and deliberately schemed to get close to you again."
"Who knows what tricks he has up his sleeve. You have to be careful!"
Jiang Yunshen curled his lips into a smile.
"Young Marshal Pei seems to have a big problem with that Doctor Gu Qinghuai."
"But if you're talking about this sachet? Xiaoyue just gave it to me at the engagement banquet. Is there a problem?"
"What?! Sister Liuyue actually gave you two." Pei Yu was greatly devastated.
Jiang Yunshen looked speechless.
Shouldn't the main point be that today was his and Bai Liuyue's engagement banquet?
Bai Liuyue looked at Pei Yu.
"You didn't come here today just to beg for a sachet, did you?"
"Of course not!"
Pei Yu slapped his forehead, finally remembering his real purpose, and said:
"Isn't my cousin almost getting beaten to death in the Northwest? I originally wanted to go help him, but my father wouldn't let me get involved."
"So I secretly sent a few trusted soldiers over, and I received some news."
"What news?" Bai Liuyue asked.
Pei Yu cast a wary glance at Jiang Yunshen, waved his hand, and said, "This matter can't be heard by outsiders."
Bai Liuyue smiled.
"Yunshen is my fiancé. He doesn't count as an outsider."
The corners of Jiang Yunshen's lips couldn't help but curve upwards slightly.
That's right, he was already one of her own.
Pei Yu felt as if an arrow had pierced his chest, blood pouring out in buckets.
With a bitter expression, he said:
"This matter probably has something to do with your cousin, Bai Baozhu."
"With her?" Bai Liuyue hadn't expected this.
"Yeah, I heard that after she married Marshal Zhang of the Fengtian clique, she started adding fuel to the fire in his ear. Besides, she stayed in the Northwest for a while before, so she knows the situation there very well."
"Do you remember the gift she gave at the Second Concubine's birthday banquet last time?"
"The Second Concubine had her guard down around her."
"The reason my uncle was shot and killed in the alley was because the Second Concubine was kidnapped, and he got shot trying to save her."
The gears of fate were set into motion from there.
Bai Baozhu harbored resentment towards Xie Chengxiao. Since they couldn't be husband and wife in the end, she wanted to use her new husband's power to kill him?
"A-and..." Pei Yu swallowed hard, saying nervously, "It seems your grandfather, Bai Wenshan, was also involved in this."
Bai Liuyue helplessly held her forehead and rubbed her temples.
How troublesome.
Her old fox of a grandfather.
That meant Bai Baozhu was the mastermind behind Marshal Xie's death, with Marshal Zhang of the Fengtian clique and Bai Wenshan both participating. As for the Presidential Palace...
Pei Yu pointed at Jiang Yunshen again.
"You made a move too, didn't you?"
After all, the Presidential Palace was one of the ultimate beneficiaries.
Jiang Yunshen shook his head and said:
"It might have been my father, or it might have been Jiang Yushen."
"It wasn't me."
Pei Yu couldn't help but scoff, snorting coldly, "I don't believe that! This time you snatched back such a huge piece of territory for the Presidential Palace."
Bai Liuyue's gaze fell on Jiang Yunshen.
"I believe you."
