A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return
chapter-1150

Chapter 1150: Hitting the Wrong Person

Pei Ziheng’s expression darkened, but he did not erupt in anger immediately.

Xia Ling did not say a word either and was, in fact, smirking internally as she listened. She wanted to see just how harsh they could get with their insults.

The elderly person had been reprimanding her for over 10 minutes and did not appear to be stopping anytime soon. Xia Ling wasn’t afraid of the scolding, but she was worried about the baby inside her if she had to stand through this for an extended period. She intuitively glanced at Pei Ziheng, a subtle call for help.

Pei Ziheng was unhappy about her insistence on having this child, but that was their private matters and no one else should have to give her dirty looks for that. He coldly stopped the elderly person. “Enough.”

He had been pretty enthusiastic while reading aloud those sins and was now unhappy that he was being interrupted. He looked coldly at Pei Ziheng and said, “There should be no racket before the ancestral tablet. Pei Ziheng, you’re the leader of the household, surely you know that rule?”

Pei Ziheng said, “But you seem to be very happy about reprimanding my woman.”

The atmosphere was filled with tension as if a predator was getting ready for an attack. The elderly person had been in all sorts of sticky situations before, but he still felt a little afraid of this young and imposing leader before him. Everybody looked at one another, some worried about how this was going to end, others anticipating a good show.

Pei Ziheng strode forward and took the writing brush from him amidst gasps from the rest, and swiftly struck Xia Ling’s name off. She was adopted by him and hence, her name was written in small font beside his. He felt a pinch in his heart when he lifted the brush, but regained his composure quickly.

Once he was done, he sneered and threw the brush away, before taking Xia Ling’s hand and walking out the hall.

Xia Ling felt her hand in his warm, coarse one. She felt so safe and secure as if he’d never let go of her. As they left the ancestral hall, the feelings of dread and coldness were left behind and everything felt a little brighter.

Behind them, they could hear Pei Zhenyuan’s thundering voice.

He’d got the elderly person to prepare a full hour of lecture to disgrace her, but it’d been just over 10 minutes when Pei Ziheng cut him off. Where was his authority?!

What disturbed him even more was that Pei Ziheng was getting out of hand; he actually dared to mess things up inside the ancestral hall! Even so, nobody could do anything about it. It was starting to seem like the whole of Imperial Entertainment was solely under Pei Ziheng. Perhaps, it wouldn’t be long before every other voice was shut out of Imperial.

This scared Pei Zhenyuan.

Pei Zhenyuan had been entrusted by the previous Chairman on his deathbed, and he’d always seen Pei Ziheng as no more than a younger generation member of the family. Even if he was capable, it was practically impossible that he’d be able to wield so much power that no one could defy him. But alas, the hard truth came as a slap to his face. Pei Zhenyuan was now harshly awoken from his dreams as he realized that this household was in for a major change.

He would not allow things to go on this way.

It wasn’t just for the sake of the whole Pei family that he had to stop Xia Ling from having the child. It was also a fight between him and Pei Ziheng. He called one of his most trusted subordinates over and gave him some instructions.

The subordinate got to it immediately.

Pei Ziheng held Xia Ling’s hand as they weaved their way through a narrow path in the forested area. This was all the Pei family’s property, its surroundings serene and built with an air of classic elegance. Their Rolls Royce was parked at the other side of a two-way road.

Pei Ziheng gently said to Xia Ling, “Hang in there for a bit more, you can rest once we get home.”

He crossed the road with her.

Out of the blue, a sports car came charging towards Xia Ling!

Xia Ling’s eyes widened in fear. She wanted to run away from it, but her feet were rooted to the ground, unable to move an inch. Her mind was a blank as she thought she was going to die right there. At that moment, someone pushed her hard on the back, and then a loud bang followed. The car screeched and made a turn.

It went for her once again!

Standing under a tree, she ran for her life towards the green area. After knocking into a few trees, the driver probably realized that it was impossible to go further in and hence, turned back.

Xia Ling was still in a fluster when she noticed that Pei Ziheng was lying motionlessly on the road. He was bleeding profusely, and the scene scared her.

Her heart pumped faster and faster as she yelled at the top of her lungs, “Ziheng!”

She staggered back towards him and squatted beside him to check his injuries. He seemed seriously injured—his face was pale as a sheet, his eyes closed as he lost all consciousness. The chauffeur in the Rolls Royce had got out of the car too and was now making a call with trembling hands. It didn’t take long before some Pei family members came rushing with a stretcher. They lifted him into the car and rushed him to the hospital.

Seeing the mass of flesh and blood that he was, the emergency doctor hurriedly arranged for an operation.

The doors to the operating room were shut, the red light turned as Xia Ling and a line of worried people waited outside.

She looked at the tightly shut doors. Never in her life had she felt such grappling fear; even when she had been worried about Xia Yu’s survival back in the orphanage, it had never been this terrifying. Ever since she knew Pei Ziheng, she’d never thought about what life could be like if she were to lose him one day. Even if they quarreled, or even broke up, he’d still be well and alive in this world; he’d be there whenever she wanted to see him…

But this time, he could be gone for good.

This farewell had never come to her mind before, she wasn’t ready for this.

Xia Ling intertwined her hands before her chest and prayed silently… until someone yelled at her.

“Slut! Vixen! You’re shameless enough to be standing here? If not for you, Ziheng wouldn’t be in such danger!”

She turned around and saw that it was coming from Pei Zhenyuan.

Although Old Master Pei Zhenyuan wasn’t very happy with the way Pei Ziheng handled some situations, he was a Pei and his biological grandnephew, after all. When he heard that the car he’d gotten to hit Xia Ling had hit Pei Ziheng instead, his mind went blank. If anything untoward happened to Pei Ziheng, how was he going to answer to his late brother and nephew?

Xia Ling had always been curt with her words, but this time, she did not bother rebutting.

She was filled with self-remorse. He was right, if not for her, Ziheng wouldn’t be in trouble now. The car was obviously headed for her. If Pei Ziheng had not pushed her out of the way to save her, he wouldn’t have been hit! It was she who should be lying in the operating room…

Although she remained silent, Chu Chen, who had been listening from the side, couldn’t take it lying down.

While he was here to see his Boss, he was also accompanying Xia Ling—

When Boss wasn’t around, his wife and child surely needed a loyal subordinate to take care of them for him.

He couldn’t care less that they were the Pei family. He took a step forward, pulled Xia Ling behind him, and said to Pei Zhenyuan, “Old Master, it’s wrong for you to put it this way.”