Chapter 74 The Immunity Token Lin Zhi suppressed her trembling body...

The Imperial Guard leader snatched the letters, glanced at them briefly, and then ordered his men to take He Luochen and the servant away as well.

Lin Zhi endured the cramping pain in her stomach and called out to the Imperial Guards, wanting to see if the handwriting on the document was indeed Pei Lang's. However, with so many people around and so much noise, no one could hear Lin Zhi.

After everyone left, the Pei residence became deathly silent. Even the servants who were not implicated were too frightened to show their faces and hid in their rooms.

"Miss! What should we do? The master and madam have been taken away. Is someone trying to frame the master?!"

Xia Ying was extremely anxious. Although she felt wronged for her young mistress, she also knew that the Pei family was still supported by Pei Lang. If Pei Lang were gone, her young mistress would probably not have a good life.

Lin Zhi, pale-faced, gripped Chun Tao's hand tightly, and calmed down at this moment: "No, Pei Lang wouldn't do such a thing."

"Someone must have sabotaged this behind the scenes..."

The first person that came to Lin Zhi's mind was Prime Minister He. The two had long been at odds with each other in the court, but now that Prime Minister He had married his daughter to Pei Lang, why would he take such a drastic step?

Treason is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family!

Isn't he afraid that his daughter will also be implicated?

But Lin Zhi then thought of how He Xiang was currently enjoying immense favor with the Emperor and had received numerous rewards. What if the Emperor and He Xiang were colluding to set a trap for Pei Lang...?

The thought of this terrible idea made Lin Zhi's palms sweat profusely.

"Don't panic...don't panic."

These words were spoken not only to the two maids, but also to himself.

Lin Zhi gritted her teeth and returned to her room. In her extremely flustered state, she tried to sort out her thoughts. If even she was in a state of confusion, then perhaps no one could save Pei Lang.

After a sleepless night, Lin Zhi finally managed to get up at dawn. As soon as she heard the noise outside the window, she got up and opened it. Sure enough, Pei Mingli had arrived.

However, he still smelled of blood.

Since becoming pregnant, Lin Zhi's nose has become exceptionally sensitive. Smelling the blood, she disregarded her nausea and quickly examined the person carefully: "Second cousin, where are you injured?"

Pei Mingli waved his hand: "I just went to the palace last night to gather information and got a cut on my arm from the Imperial Guards. It's nothing serious."

"Azhi, the situation is not good now. Listen to your cousin, pack your things and come with me."

“Now He Luochen has been brought into the palace for questioning. Her elder sister is a Noble Consort and her father is Prime Minister He. The He family will protect her no matter what.”

“But you are different. If Pei Lang gets into trouble, you will be doomed if you don’t run away.”

Lin Zhi wasn't panicked at first, but when she heard that Pei Lang was in trouble, she became agitated and grabbed Pei Mingli's sleeve, refusing to leave: "Second cousin, tell me clearly! What exactly happened to Pei Lang?"

"Last night, the Imperial Guards took He Luochen away, claiming that Pei Lang was a traitor. How could that be!"

Pei Mingli frowned, his expression grave: "Lin Zhi, listen to me, listen to me!"

"Calm down!"

Lin Zhi was shaken a couple of times by her shoulders before she regained her composure. "...Okay, go ahead."

"Whether Pei Lang has truly betrayed the country or not is no longer important. What is important is that the Emperor no longer trusts him."

“If His Majesty trusts him, even if he really did it, His Majesty will say that he sent Pei Lang to do it.”

"But now that the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die."

Even though he had long been estranged from his elder brother, Pei Mingli's eyes still revealed a hint of reluctance: "Do you think Prime Minister He and Marquis Lu have such great power to bring Pei Lang down?"

"It's His Majesty. His Majesty has long been wary of him. Now he's just looking for a pretext, a pretext to kill him."

"Regardless of whether you find evidence to prove his innocence or not, as long as the Emperor does not recognize him, Pei Lang is a criminal!"

After being yelled at by Pei Mingli, Lin Zhi stared at him blankly, and as she stared, a tear rolled down her cheek.

Seeing Lin Zhi's tears, Pei Mingli also felt a pang of heartache.

His younger sister has suffered so much; she has suffered so much since she was a child.

I thought I was finally going to have some good days, but I never expected to have to go through something like this.

Lin Zhi turned her head away and wiped the tears from her cheeks: "Cousin, let's not beat around the bush. You came here today to take me away, right?"

"But I'm also telling you, I won't leave."

"I will not leave until Pei Lang is safe."

Seeing that Pei Mingli was about to frown and speak, Lin Zhi raised her hand to stop him and shook her head: "I'm not doing this for anything else, I just don't want him... to be seen as a corrupt official by the people, I don't want him to bear such a bad reputation."

"Even though he was aloof and arrogant, he was ultimately a loyal subject."

“From a young age, he aspired to serve the court faithfully for many years and speak out for the people. He should not suffer such an end.”

Looking into Lin Zhi's clear, bright eyes, washed clean by tears, Pei Mingli felt a slight pang in his heart: "But even if you stay, what can you do?"

"Many ministers in the court cannot persuade His Majesty. What can you do?"

Lin Zhi broke free from his grasp, her hands trembling as she pulled something out of the box and held it up to Pei Mingli to show him: "This, this can save him."

Looking at the pardon in front of him with some surprise, Pei Mingli couldn't help but frown: "This is... how did you get it?"

After hearing how she got the gold medal, Pei Mingli still disagreed with her idea: "Lin Zhi, aren't you being too naive?"

"The wrath of the emperor will cause millions of corpses and rivers of blood to flow for thousands of miles! If this succeeds, you will have disrupted the emperor's plans, and there is no guarantee that he will not target you in the future."

"If it doesn't work, you won't even have a chance to escape; you'll be going to your death!"

Seeing her second cousin's extremely solemn and serious expression, Lin Zhi smiled bitterly: "Cousin Mingli, perhaps you think I am indecisive, but I really am... unable to let go. Perhaps I want to find a more decisive way."

"If Pei Lang dies like this, I will never be able to let him go in this lifetime."

"I'm exhausted. I don't want this person to affect my emotions anymore. I just want to cut off all ties with him peacefully and completely."

"To be honest, I do still have feelings for him, but these feelings are too heavy, so heavy that I can't breathe, so heavy that I feel like I can't live."

"Rather than that, I want to return this love to him myself."

Tears welled in Lin Zhi's eyes as she looked at Pei Mingli through her blurry vision: "Even if it's just to repay him for saving me several times back then, we'll be even from now on."

Pei Mingli stared at Lin Zhi for a long time, but in the end he gave in.

“Ah Zhi, I’ve always thought you were a good person who valued loyalty and righteousness, but now I feel like you might also be a bit bad.”

"...Fine, since you're my only sister. If I can't even fulfill your wish, I don't deserve to be your brother."

"There's only one thing: if Pei Lang can really be saved, I will take you and the child far away and never stay in the capital again."

Lin Zhi stroked the cold patterns on the gold medal in her hand and nodded.

The torrential rain and deafening thunder made He Luochen tremble in the palace. She nervously tugged at her elder sister's palace dress and asked, "Sister, is Pei Lang... really beyond saving?"

He Luoyun clicked her tongue impatiently: "Didn't you personally hand over the 'evidence' of his crimes? What are you doing now?"

"He Luochen, you'd better not forget your own surname. Has getting married made you lose your mind?"

However, He Luochen's face was still somewhat pale: "No...no, I just think Pei Lang's crime doesn't deserve this. If Father wants to step down and rise to power, he just needs to make Pei Lang step down voluntarily."

"Now that he's the son-in-law of the He family, he might agree."

He Luoyun reached out and gave her a sharp rap on the forehead without holding back.

"You really are stupid. Pei Lang isn't a loyal dog. He's a wolf, a wolf with a huge appetite and ambition!"

"He would never willingly submit to his father's authority. You're not naive enough to think he'd back down for you, are you?"

"It's hard to give up money and power. If a man can do this for a woman, then the woman should be careful. Such a man is either deeply in love or he will drag her into hell for eternity."

"In short, we're going all in now. Losing Pei Lang isn't a big deal. As long as Father achieves his goal, you and I, sisters, will be more than just simple noble ladies in the future..."

As if thinking of something, He Luoyun's smile grew wider and wider, but she was interrupted.

"Your Majesty..."

Before the palace maid could finish speaking, a teacup flew towards her head. The palace maid stood still, not daring to dodge, knowing that if she dodged, she would probably be punished even more severely.

He took the hit squarely, and blood slowly seeped from his forehead, blurring his vision.

He Luoyun casually wiped her fingers with a handkerchief and said slowly, "Speak, what is it?"

"Your Majesty, the eunuch from His Majesty's side has arrived, along with the imperial physician, saying they wish to check Your Majesty's pulse to confirm your pregnancy..."

He Luoyun abruptly sat up straight on the soft couch, taking a deep breath and trying her best to remain calm: "The imperial physician Feng, who is supposed to protect my pregnancy, is not on duty today. Let's reschedule..."

"Your Majesty, please don't be anxious!"

The high-pitched voice of the eunuch broke the silence of the hall. He Luoyun saw Xiao Ting's trusted confidant bowing respectfully to her.

"His Majesty is very fond of the Imperial Concubine and specially sent this servant to invite her."

He Luoyun's smile froze, twitching uncontrollably twice before she was about to say it wasn't necessary, but then she saw the sinister and intimidating royal guards following behind the eunuch.

"Your Majesty, please..."

The carriage from the Pei residence rumbled to the palace gate. Chun Tao held an umbrella for Lin Zhi as she got off the carriage, frowning as she looked at the rain-soaked sky, feeling a tightness in her chest.

“Miss, how about we come back tomorrow? The rain is too heavy today, and if you kneel down to beg today, I'm afraid it will hurt your health.”

Lin Zhi, though draped in a light cloak, shook her head with a firm look in her eyes: "The situation is not good now. The more we hesitate, the more danger Pei Lang will face."

"I will not return until I see His Majesty today."

After showing her waist token, Lin Zhi walked to the outside of the Golden Hall, lifted her skirt, and knelt down properly.

Even with an umbrella overhead, the icy rainwater instantly soaked past my knees.

Lin Zhi suppressed her trembling body, held the gold medal in both hands and presented it to the heavens, speaking each word with resounding force.

"Your Majesty, I, your humble servant Lin Zhi, present this imperial gold plaque and request an audience with you!"