Chapter 15 The father who embezzled military funds!
Chapter 15
Ye Pei was right. Officials cannot skip court without a valid reason. Even if they report being sick, the palace will immediately send someone to check on them and find out what illness the official has and whether he really needs to ask for leave.
Upon seeing the Ye family's situation and taking their pulse, the person who arrived determined that Ye Pei would be unable to attend court today.
Today was a special day. Two imperial physicians came and went, carefully taking my pulse and prescribing several doses of medicine before leaving in a hurry.
Ye Xiren propped herself up and sat up, her voice weak: "How is it?"
Xuechan hurriedly brought over the prepared medicine and carefully fed it to her, "Second Miss, drink your medicine first. Madam and the eldest young master are both fine now, they've been detoxified, they just need to rest. You and Master were the most seriously poisoned, especially Master who is still asleep. The imperial physician said he won't wake up until at least tonight, he needs to drink two doses of medicine..."
Seeing Ye Xiren frown, she explained again:
"The imperial physician said it's just datura seeds, a small dosage, enough to detoxify, and won't harm the master's body. He's asleep now, and the physician said it's best not to wake him, as it will aid his recovery..."
Ye Xiren sneered.
She knew exactly how potent the poison was.
"Tell Uncle Jiang that since Father has already asked for leave and can't attend court, let him rest well. Don't wake him up; let him sleep until tomorrow," Ye Xiren murmured.
Wasn't the evidence supposed to arrive on March 4th?
Then we'll wake him up tomorrow.
Ye Xiren drank the medicine, feeling dizzy, and lay back down. She tugged at Xue Chan's sleeve and instructed, "Have someone go out and inquire about the progress of today's peace talks... If they can't find out outside, go find Uncle Jiang and my brother. They know Father's old friends and might be able to find out some information..."
After saying that, Ye Xiren disappeared into darkness.
Ye Pei is a very cautious person, and she has been away from home frequently these past two days. Since she had no chance to let Ye Pei get infected, she could only put it in the breakfast that Ye Pei was going to eat today. Except for her grandmother, who had a separate kitchen, the whole family ate that breakfast and got infected together.
She had to control her dosage, and she took the medicine with Ye Pei in the morning because the poisoning was more severe.
But compared to being dragged to the execution ground and beheaded, this crime is nothing as long as I can live.
"I wonder who is so despicable as to dare to poison the Minister's residence..." Xuechan's voice gradually faded away.
The "immoral" person is sleeping soundly, and because he is alive, he sleeps peacefully.
If one cannot attend court, how can one take the blame?
It was evening.
"Miss, Miss! Master is awake and he's angry right now. He wants you to come over!" Xuechan gently shook Ye Xiren to wake her up.
Ye Xiren woke up groggily.
She had a good dream. She dreamt that Ye Pei didn't wake up until the next day. The peace talks had ended, Northern Yan and Daliang had signed a treaty, Northern Yan had returned to the grasslands, and the northern lands had been returned to Daliang.
Those who were displaced found homes. In the alleys of Wenlinfang, there were no more homeless people. Grain prices dropped, and everyone could eat their fill. There was no need to sell children or exchange children for food. There was no need for war or conscription. No one died on the battlefield. The world was at peace, and there was no more war.
Ye Xiren's eyes gradually cleared. She glanced at the sky and saw that it was completely dark outside. Ye Pei had indeed slept until night.
Has the calamity passed?
"Get dressed," she said calmly.
After changing her clothes, eating some pastries, and rinsing her mouth, Ye Xi slowly made her way to the main courtyard. The room was in a mess, with Liao's anxious voice faintly audible, and Ye Changming's constant attempts to comfort her.
"Father, it's too late for you to go now. Take your medicine and rest to recover. The imperial physician said you won't be completely detoxified until tomorrow. There's nothing you can do if you go to the palace now. Go tomorrow," Ye Changming advised.
"Tomorrow? Tomorrow won't be enough!"
Ye Pei's voice was weak, filled with anxiety and anger. He suppressed his rage as he asked, "Changming, have you found out anything? What's the situation right now? How are the peace talks going?"
He slept at home all day and knew nothing about what was happening outside.
Ye Changming shook his head, his brows furrowed. "It's still unclear. No news has come out. My uncles and aunts are all in the palace, and the palace gates are not open."
It's already this late, and the palace gates still haven't opened?!
"Oh no!" Ye Pei's expression changed drastically, and he said urgently, "Quickly send me to the palace."
Ye Xiren walked in at that moment.
This was the first time Ye Pei had ever lost his temper with her. The teacup shattered at her feet, and his hoarse voice roared in fury, "Ye Xiren! Do you know what you've done?!"
He guessed as soon as he woke up that his daughter had poisoned him.
Ye Xiren stopped and looked up at him, her mind perfectly clear: "I know I'm saving the Ye family, saving my grandmother, saving my mother and brother, and saving myself."
Knowing that Ye Pei was going to send them to their deaths, what was wrong with her stopping him?
Ye Pei stared intently at her, his breathing rapid. After a moment, he flicked his sleeve and ordered, "Prepare the carriage!" He wanted to leave immediately and go to the palace.
The servant agreed and hurriedly left.
Mrs. Liao sighed deeply, her face full of worry: "What on earth is going on? Why has our family been plagued by so many misfortunes lately? God help us, please let things get better soon..."
Ye Pei had already stepped out of the main courtyard.
Just then, someone stumbled in from outside. Jiang Sui, pale-faced, carried another guard covered in blood as he ran over, startling everyone inside.
What's going on?!
"Master! Something has happened!" Jiang Sui shouted loudly.
"What happened?" Ye Pei looked at the guard, recognizing him, and was startled. "Yun Shun? What's wrong with you? Where's Zheng Wenjue?"
The visitor was a close follower of Zheng Wenjue, the Prefect of Nandu. Judging from his appearance, it was clear that they had encountered trouble and the situation was not good.
Ye Xiren's brow twitched.
Yun Shun, his face streaked with tears and his body bruised, collapsed to the ground, his voice choked with sobs:
"Lord Ye! Our master is gone!"
"In today's peace talks, Chizhan Lanze is willing to return the Northern Capital and retreat to the Sixteen Prefectures, but Northern Yan has two unchangeable demands: first, kill General Yan, who has a grudge against them; second, Liang will pay annual tribute to Northern Yan."
"After a long tug-of-war between the court and the central government, they finally agreed to their demands. Prime Minister Jiang led his men to negotiate with Chi Zhanlan Ce for several hours, finalized the details, and the two sides signed a peace agreement."
Upon hearing this, Ye Pei's pupils contracted, his body swayed, and he appeared about to collapse.
General Yan is dead!
"And then what?" he asked anxiously.
If the peace talks had gone smoothly, Yunshun would not be in its current state, and Zheng Wenjue, the Prefect of Nandu, would not be dead.
"At noon, General Yan was beheaded. His Majesty ordered that the body be properly collected. Just now, Minister Bai of the Court of Judicial Review discovered that General Yan's head was missing from the coffin. He immediately reported this to His Majesty, and a riot broke out in the palace. The Northern Yan delegation, together with the Imperial City Guard, launched a riot, intending to surround and kill His Majesty and high-ranking officials!"
Yun Shun burst into tears:
"Those Northern Yan people wanted to block the news, fearing that the lord would summon the people of Nandu Prefecture, so they killed the lord first! Before he died, the lord handed me the token, instructing us to lead a team to close the city gates and chase after General Yan, but we were chased by Lu Qian and the Northern Yan people and failed to catch up!"
Lu Qian led his men to hunt them down alongside the Northern Yan people. Before Yun Shun and his group even reached the city gate, they had already been slaughtered until only Yun Shun remained. If he hadn't encountered Jiang Sui, he wouldn't have survived.
But the city gates haven't been sealed yet, and the Northern Yan people who were transporting the heads away haven't caught up with them!
Ye Pei's vision went black.
"Father!" Ye Xiren and Ye Changming stepped forward at the same time.
Ye Pei was helped to lie on the bed. Liao hurriedly sent people to fetch medicine and water, and the entire Ye household was thrown into chaos.
Ye Xiren stood there, stunned.
She looked at the chaos inside the room, then at Yun Shun, who was barely clinging to life, and finally shifted her gaze to the door. From the half-open door, she could hear screams, footsteps, and the cries of someone outside...
Southern Metropolis Daily is in chaos.
"General Yan...is he dead?"
Ye Changming, leaning on his cane, looked at Jiang Sui in disbelief:
"The Northern Yan people have revolted, intending to ambush and kill the Emperor and high-ranking officials? This is the Southern Capital, how many of them could they possibly have? Does that Chi Zhanlan Ce have a death wish?!"
How is that possible?
Chi Zhanlan Ce is the Crown Prince of Northern Yan and the chief strategist of the entire Northern Yan. It was because he personally came to the Southern Capital that the court believed in the sincerity of Northern Yan's peace talks. Even though they were the pro-war faction, they did not dare to easily take action against the Northern Yan delegation. How could it suddenly turn out like this?
General Yan...
How could he have been killed?!
Holding the token, Yun Shun was very anxious. "Lord Ye, please think of a solution!"
"Quickly, organize men immediately. Yun Shun, go and inform the Nandu Prefecture to send another detachment to the city gate and seal off Nandu immediately. Do not allow them to send General Yan's head out!"
As he spoke, his body swayed precariously, and his vision blurred.
Ye Changming helped him up, his eyes flashing with a sharp look, and then continued to give orders: "Fatty Jin, take Yun Shun and the token and quickly seal off the city gate. Uncle Jiang and Thin Silver, find Lord Xu at the city gate and ask him to send men to chase after them! Those Northern Yan people can't have gone far, but they definitely have someone to meet them. We must catch up with them before they meet and take their heads!"
This is the Southern Capital. The Imperial Guards will soon have the situation under control and capture all the Northern Yan people. But the problem is that the Northern Yan people need to buy this time. Once they send out General Yan's head, their objective will be achieved.
Once General Yan's head reaches the Huai'an Canal, that area will be filled with the Yan family army...
With the imperial court executing General Yan, one can imagine what will happen to the Huai'an Canal!
"yes!"
Jiang and the others agreed and turned to leave.
"Tonight, no one is leaving." Lu Qian's chilling voice rang out from afar.
He walked in from outside, covered in blood, the knife he was holding still dripping blood, and his face splattered with blood that hadn't been wiped off, a chilling sight.
There was another person beside him, whom others might not recognize, but Ye Xiren had seen before.
The day the carriages collided, the driver of Chizhanlan Ce was Mole, a man from Northern Yan.
"Lord Ye, we meet again."
Lu Qian gripped the knife, narrowed his eyes, looked at Ye Xiren, and smiled slightly: "Second Miss Ye, it's been a long time."
A note from the author:
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QAQ Please don't scold Xixi...
She needs to understand the situation first!
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