Chapter 213 A Crazy Thought, with One Condition

Because he couldn't see at night, Pei Yuan's ability to locate objects by sound had become extraordinary.

However, he still couldn't escape Shen Chu's earth-shattering spray.

He sprayed a mouthful of hangover soup all over his chest.

The bright red flying fish robe was soaked through.

"Chen Chu!"

Pei Yuanqing gritted his teeth and said with a stern face, "How old are you? You still vomit after taking medicine?"

"Cough...cough cough!"

Shen Chu let out a violent dry cough, coughing so hard she almost vomited.

He's feeling guilty.

What did she say when she was drunk?

As Chen Chu pondered this, she apologized.

"I didn't mean to. My throat suddenly felt itchy and I wanted to cough, so I spat out a mouthful."

"Why doesn't Your Highness go and change your clothes?"

Pei Yuan raised his hand to touch the damp collar, then pulled off his outer robe with a stern face and casually tossed it onto the bedside table.

Shen Chu quickly took an outer robe from the clothes rack next to her and handed it over.

Pei Yuan casually put it on, his brows furrowing slightly.

"So attentive? Shen Chu, what are you feeling guilty about?"

Shen Chu's eyes widened, and she gave a dry laugh.

“I’m not guilty. What did Your Highness ask just now? Oh, the child, right?”

Sigh, I was just saying it offhand. How can you take what I said while I was drunk seriously?

I've been like this since I was a child. When I'm drunk, I either swear or recite poetry; I never say a word of truth.

Pei Yuan frowned slightly. "Really?"

"Of course it's true! What else would Your Highness have thought? Surely it's not like I, a man, could have a child?"

Pei Yuan pursed his thin lips.

He could say that in that instant, a crazy idea really popped into his head.

He thought how wonderful it would be if Shen Chu were a woman and pregnant with his child.

They're really obsessed; they dare to have such crazy ideas.

Pei Yuan rubbed his forehead and chuckled, "Your habit is truly unmatched."

Sigh.

Shen Chu sighed inwardly, realizing that this was all thanks to having a good master.

In order to make her look like a man and prevent her from being exposed by drinking, her master trained her to have a high alcohol tolerance from a young age.

But alcohol tolerance is something you can't improve just by training.

Two and a half ounces is the limit of her life.

Left with no other option, her master had to switch to training her to act crazy when drunk.

She was trained to either swear or recite poetry when she drank alcohol.

The master's original words were: "If others tell you to go west, then go east; if others tell you to chase the dog, then kill the chicken."

In short, you can't say a single truth.

If she uttered even a single truth, her master would punish her severely the next day after she sobered up.

Over the years, she has developed a good habit of talking nonsense when drunk.

How did she get drunk in front of Pei Yuan and blurt out about the child?

Has Master's training failed?

She pondered for a moment before asking Pei Yuan, "Besides saying this, I haven't done anything else to Your Highness, have I?"

What do you think?

Shen Chu felt a chill run down his spine, but unfortunately, he had no recollection of what happened after he got drunk.

"Did I insult His Highness?"

I didn't scold him, I just touched his face and pinched his ear.

Pei Yuan rubbed his fingers together, recalling the warmth from Shen Chu's soft hands kneading him, and suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

Since it's clear that there's no future for him and Shen Chu, what's the point of saying all this?

It only pushes Shen Chu further away from him.

He mumbled, "No."

That's good.

Chen Chu breathed a sigh of relief, picked up the hangover soup, and drank it all in one gulp.

Pei Yuan suddenly stood up. "I'm returning to the capital tonight. I've already spoken to Jinbao and the Imperial Household Department. You can stay in this room."

After saying that, he turned and left.

"Your Highness, your outer robe." Shen Chu called out, holding up his bright red flying fish robe.

"No, I don't want it."

Shen Chu stroked the flying fish robe.

There was still a trace of warmth and a faint scent of pine on it.

It's Pei Yuan's scent.

She gently rubbed it; the fabric was soft, made of the finest Shu brocade.

Perhaps we can keep it to make a little dress for the baby after birth, as a gift from the father.

-----

The night grew deeper.

The back door of the Wutong Palace, where Empress Feng resided, creaked open.

A person wearing a hood and a cloak slipped in silently, head down, and entered the Wutong Palace.

Empress Feng paced anxiously in the palace.

Hearing footsteps, he suddenly turned around.

He took off his hood, and it turned out to be Chief Minister Feng.

Empress Feng was slightly surprised, "Elder brother, why did you come in person?"

Chief Minister Feng gestured for his attendants to leave, and said with a stern face, "Did you go to His Majesty today to apologize in plain clothes?"

"Yes," Empress Feng nodded. "My elder brother already knows about this?"

Prime Minister Feng frowned and said in a low voice, "You're being foolish. Didn't I tell you to wait for my news? Why did you go to Suyi to apologize on your own?"

A look of grievance appeared on Empress Feng's face.

"Am I... wrong to plead guilty in plain clothes? My elder brother doesn't know that Chen Chu's memorial has already been submitted."

If I had arrived a moment later, His Majesty might have agreed to allow Shen Chu to reinvestigate the case of the Marquis of Ning'an's residence.

If this gets exposed, we're finished.

"Moreover, when I apologized in plain clothes, His Majesty was extremely gentle and immediately promised me that this matter would not affect me and the Crown Prince, nor would it affect you."

His Majesty has now rejected Shen Chu's memorial and forbade him from investigating the case of the Marquis of Ning'an's residence.

That leaves only the case of smuggled salt. We also have people in the Three Judicial Offices, so we'll just go through the motions.

"Just say that my younger brother was deceived by a wicked servant and did something foolish. We can just find someone to take the blame."

Chief Minister Feng closed his eyes briefly. "The problem is that you arrived too just in time. Even if you hadn't gone to apologize, His Majesty wouldn't have allowed Shen Chu to investigate the case of the Marquis of Ning'an's residence."

Empress Feng looked hesitant. "How is this possible?"

Chief Minister Feng sighed, "The case of the Marquis of Ning'an's residence was handled by His Majesty's personal decree back then, and he will not easily overturn this case."

Have you forgotten His Majesty's character? He is suspicious, has a strong desire for control, and dislikes interference in politics by the harem.

The fact that you went to Suyi to apologize immediately after Shen Chu submitted his memorial shows that you received the news very quickly.

Even if His Majesty doesn't say it, he always feels uneasy. If someone with ulterior motives were to manipulate and exploit this situation, His Majesty would amplify this unease infinitely.

Empress Feng panicked immediately.

"So what should we do now?"

After hesitating for a moment, Chief Minister Feng gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, from now on, do not interfere in this matter anymore. Just listen to my arrangements."

Jiang Hongzhi is in the hands of the Flying Eagle Guards and cannot be killed easily, so the only option is to start with Shen Chu.

"Before His Majesty becomes suspicious, as long as we deal with Shen Chu, no one will be watching this matter anymore."

Empress Feng hesitated, "After all, Shen Chu is now a fifth-rank censor. It's not good to deal with him directly, is it?"

What if things go wrong and affect our family too?

A sinister smile appeared on Feng's face.

"Don't worry, I've already come up with a foolproof plan to ensure that we don't get Chen Chu's blood on our hands."

In short, we absolutely must not let Shen Chu investigate what happened back then.

At this moment, Shen Chu had just been brought into the Hall of Diligent Governance by Cai Chong.

She was both surprised and suspicious when the emperor suddenly summoned her in the middle of the night.

After hearing Emperor Longqing's instructions, she was completely excited.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty has granted me permission to investigate the case of the Marquis of Ning'an's residence?"

She was just drunk, why would His Majesty suddenly change his mind?

The Longqing Emperor nodded.

"That's right, I grant you permission to investigate the case of the Marquis of Ning'an's residence, but I have one condition."

If you agree, I will allow you to investigate.

Shen Chu asked, "What are the conditions? Your Majesty, please speak."