Chapter 186 Threatening Ancestors

The second brother, Pei Qing'an, glared at Pei Yanchi with eyes wide with rage, his eyes practically bursting with fury.

"Pei Yanchi, what exactly do you want?"

"Second Uncle, why are you so angry? I just wanted to find my lost item."

Pei Yanchi tapped the dagger in his hand casually, his expression relaxed, as if he were talking about something insignificant.

Are you back to look for something you lost?

Look at the people you brought—they're from the Dali Temple, the Jinwu Guard, and even the Censorate.

You're clearly here to cause trouble.

The fifth brother grumbled a couple of times, daring not to speak his anger.

Pei Yanchi sneered upon hearing this: "I have returned by imperial decree to handle family matters."

The Imperial Guards were there to arrest people, while the Censorate was there to bear witness.

I'm afraid of this scoundrel. He's good at twisting the truth, making a scene, and even ruining my reputation when we go out.

It's best to have a backup plan.

As for taking him to the Dali Temple, wasn't that what Pei Zhuo reported to the Jingzhao Prefecture, and the Jingzhao Prefecture didn't do anything about it?

Upon hearing this, the elders of the Pei family felt a pang of sadness, thinking to themselves, "You've certainly made thorough preparations."

While everyone was speechless, the third brother suddenly spoke up again:

"You still have the nerve to mention Pei Zhuo? If it weren't for his mother, we wouldn't have been able to do this."

Speaking of which, Pei Yanchi perked up:

"Third Uncle, please tell me, what happened to the Wan family, and what does it have to do with you?"

Mentioning this made everyone in the Wan family unable to contain their anger. Pei Lao Er spoke up:

"The Wan family? Hmph! A spy from the northern border who has been running the Xingguo Duke's mansion for so many years."

Who knows what she's been doing all these years?

Has she transferred any of the private property of my Xingguo Duke's mansion to the Northern Border?

Pei Yanchi replied leisurely, "So this is your reason for coming to the Duke's mansion to rob things?"

The fourth brother craned his neck and said, "Isn't that a reason?"

Are we just supposed to stand by and watch her lead our Xingguo Duke's Mansion into the abyss?

Rather than waiting to be reprimanded and questioned by His Majesty in the end, it's better to divide up the family fortune and escape now.

Pei Yanchi cursed angrily, "A bunch of idiots."

Then, looking at Huan Zixing, he said, "Huan Shaoqing, you've seen it too. They've all confessed. Take them all away."

Huan Zixing nodded and waved behind him, saying:

"I would like to trouble the Imperial Guards to help send someone to the Dali Temple."

Cheng Jinhuai's mother was the cousin of the emperor and Princess Lanling, and the daughter of the old Han King, Princess Changping.

Cheng Jinhuai and Pei Yanchi have been good friends since childhood.

Over the years, he has done his fair share of helping Pei Yanchi to sow discord among the Wan family.

In the past two months, Pei Yanchi went to the Western Regions, and suddenly it was revealed in the capital that the Wan family were spies from the Northern Border.

Cheng Jinhuai was overjoyed and immediately gathered a group of his cronies for a drunken revelry.

It was said to be an early celebration for Pei Yanchi.

As a result, a few days later, people heard that the various branches of the Xing State Duke's mansion were fighting over the family property and that they broke into the mansion in the middle of the night to rob it.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Jinhuai cursed inwardly that the people from the Duke of Xing's mansion were worthless.

He was very excited when he heard Pei Yanchi return and send a message asking him to help capture someone.

I've been here for ages, listening to them babbling on and on; I've been itching to take action for a while now.

At this moment, he waved his hand, and all the Imperial Guards behind him stepped forward and drew their swords.

Everyone standing in the courtyard had a knife to their neck.

The second master, his hair and beard completely white, spoke in a trembling voice:

"You...you...what are you going to do?"

"We, the Duke of Xing's family, are a distinguished family of officials; how dare you be so presumptuous!"

Cheng Jinhuai sneered, "You have completely disgraced the Xingguo Duke's Mansion, and you still have the nerve to mention the words 'family of officials and nobles'?"

After saying that, he looked at the Imperial Guards and said, "Take them all away and send them to the Dali Temple prison."

The cold blade pressed against their necks, the chill emanating from the metal calming everyone down considerably.

"Yanchi... I am your second uncle, your own second uncle... How could you send me to the Dali Temple?"

"That's right, Yanchi, I'm your great-uncle! This is... this is utter disrespect..."

"Yanchi, we didn't take much...you...you've gone too far..."

Pei Yanchi was too lazy to waste words with them and said to the Imperial Guards:

"Take them all with you."

Upon hearing this, everyone realized that begging for mercy and speaking softly would not work.

Then they all started cursing and swearing again.

"Pei Yanchi, you little brat, I...I'm going to...report you to His Majesty..."

I'm accusing you of insubordination, a violation of human ethics.

Pei Yanchi pursed his lips and said, "I was ordered by His Majesty to return to handle family affairs. Go ahead and sue me if you want."

Let's see if His Majesty will even acknowledge you.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Jinhuai said impatiently, "Take him away, take him away."

The Imperial Guards escorted everyone out.

Pei Yanchi's uncles cursed loudly, and now they were not only cursing Pei Yanchi but also the Duke of Xing.

But they couldn't stop the Imperial Guards from escorting them.

After everyone left, Huan Zixing and Imperial Censor Zhang also bowed and took their leave.

Pei Yanchi sighed and looked at his two uncles, who were born out of wedlock, under the eaves, saying:

"Come on, let's go into the ancestral hall."

The two uncles were born out of wedlock and did not usually have much contact with the Duke of Xing's mansion.

Seeing Pei Yanchi's methods, which didn't even spare elders in their seventies and eighties, they were trembling with fear.

He quickly ran over from the side.

Pei Yanchi then instructed the servant, "Go and call Pei Zhuo and Pei Ying over."

Pei Yanchi entered the ancestral hall and lit the lamps inside, illuminating the dimly lit hall.

On their way there, Pei Zhuo and Pei Ying heard from servants that the Imperial Guards had taken away all the elders.

Pei Zhuo breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Upon arriving at the ancestral hall, they saw Pei Yanchi lighting three incense sticks and offering incense.

After placing the incense sticks in the incense burner, he knelt on the prayer mat and bowed respectfully before standing up.

He turned around and saw Pei Zhuo and Pei Ying.

"They're here."

"Um."

Pei Yanchi saw his two uncles and Pei Zhuo and Pei Ying standing on either side.

He took out the letter from his pocket concerning the handling of Pei Zhuo and Pei Ying, and handed it to his two uncles.

After reading it, the two hurriedly nodded:

"Since it's my elder brother's wish, let's do as he says."

Pei Yanchi nodded, turned to face the many memorial tablets in the ancestral hall, and recounted the events of the day at his residence.

This includes the arrangements made by the Duke of Xing for Pei Zhuo and Pei Ying.

Then he explained how he handled things that day.

Finally, with great determination, he addressed the memorial tablet:

"If any of my ancestors think that I, Pei Yanchi, have done something wrong today, please..."

Then, with the incense as a hint, I will request to leave the Pei family and relinquish the position of heir.

Anyway, I don't care about your surname Pei.

I have half royal blood, so changing my surname to Xiao isn't really a bad thing.

If there are no objections, then let's leave it at that for today.

After saying that, he picked up three incense sticks, lit them, and stuck them in the incense burner.

Then, with his hands on his hips, he stood in front of the memorial tablet, watching the incense burn without moving.

After a while, seeing that the incense had burned more than halfway and there was nothing unusual, he finally spoke:

"I presume that all of you ancestors agree with my decision, then I shall take my leave."

After saying that, he turned around and said to the four people, "Let's go."

As the group emerged from the ancestral hall, Pei Zhuo was momentarily dazed.

I've never seen anyone threaten their ancestors in their own ancestral hall.

He looked up at Pei Yanchi's back, which exuded a sense of elegance, unrestrainedness, and grandeur.

I have been forced to seek refuge at my uncle's house these days due to family matters.

But for Pei Yanchi, these very problems that troubled him were nothing more than a matter of lifting a finger.

He had only been back at his residence for two hours, and he had already gotten everything settled.

Judging from what he said in the ancestral hall, he seemed to really not want to be the heir of the Duke of Xing's mansion.

He wanted the surname Xiao; he disliked the surname Pei.

He discarded what he had always wanted.

So this is what it means to be invincible when you have no desires.

Pei Zhuo had lived for more than a decade, and it seemed that only now did he begin to understand his elder brother.