Chapter 352 Taking the Opportunity
Eunuch An was also shocked.
The Prince of Jingbei actually found the other half of the jade pendant.
The emperor's hands were shaking as he held the jade pendant.
The two halves of the jade pendant are combined into one, fitting together perfectly and cannot be forged. The words on the back were carved by the emperor himself, and it just happened to be broken in the middle, which is a great coincidence.
The emperor took out the other jade pendant he was carrying, his eyes moistened as he looked at Xie Jingyu, "Where did you find this half of the jade pendant?"
Xie Jingyu said truthfully, "I saw it on the street, and followed the clues to find it in the Ministry of Justice prison."
Eunuch An had just reported to the Emperor that Xie Jingyu had bumped into the Prince of Song while trying to save a jade pendant, and that the two had fought in the street.
But no one expected that the Prince of Jingbei would save this jade pendant from the horse's hooves of the Prince of Song despite the danger.
"How did the jade pendant end up in the Ministry of Justice's prison? Whose jade pendant is it?"
Two questions in a row.
The voice became trembling more and more.
Xie Jingyu came here to tell the emperor, so he naturally would not hide it.
"The jade pendant belongs to Pei Huaijin, the grandson of the old Imperial Censor Pei."
A wave of ecstasy surged in his heart, but the emperor was afraid that his joy was in vain, so he tried his best to suppress it. "How did the jade pendant come into his hands? Is he my son?"
Xie Jingyu said, "There are quite a few people in the prison of the Ministry of Justice. I dare not ask too much, but on the day when the Ministry of Justice tortured Pei Huaijin, Wan'er felt an inexplicable pain in his back, and there were faint traces of whip marks."
"Get to the bottom of this as soon as possible."
The emperor couldn't wait to confirm whether Pei Huaijin was his son.
Xie Jingyu said, "There's a woman in the Pei Mansion who was discovered by Nanny Gui, the Queen Mother's attendant, today. She injured a maid in the Queen Mother's palace in order to escape. If Pei Huaijin is really the prince, then she must be the maidservant who took the prince away from Princess Jin. However, it's difficult to hide these things from Old Tutor Lin and Old Censor Pei..."
This matter is of great importance. Without the emperor's permission, Xie Jingyu dared not let Old Tutor Lin know.
Even Shen Ji couldn't help but beat the emperor, let alone Old Master Lin. It wouldn't be too late to ask for instructions first.
The emperor said, "Old Master Lin will know these things sooner or later. It is important to confirm the prince's identity."
Xie Jingyu accepted the order and withdrew.
Xie Jingyu didn't take that half of the jade pendant, so it's okay to keep it with the emperor for two days.
After Xie Jingyu left, the emperor stroked the jade pendant, his mood fluctuating, happy, but also afraid. Eunuch An said, "The prince of Jingbei is cautious in his work. He would not report it to the emperor unless it is almost certain. The grandson of old Imperial Censor Pei must be the emperor's prince."
Old Censor Pei and Old Tutor Lin were classmates and close friends. Pei's talent and learning were not inferior to Old Tutor Lin, but he was too upright in character, which is why he resigned from his post and left the capital ten years ago. The prince grew up in Pei's mansion, so his knowledge and martial arts were definitely not inferior to those of the princes who grew up in the palace. After all, the princes in the palace also sought their teachings.
Even if Old Censor Pei had a very upright character, there would definitely be a difference between teaching the prince and teaching his own grandson.
What's more, it was ten years since the old censor Pei resigned from his post, and it was useless for the old tutor Lin to persuade him to return to the court. However, in order to save his grandson, he took the initiative to come back, which shows how much he loves Pei Huaijin.
Princess Jin suffered a lot, but fortunately her two children grew up in love. Needless to say, the Princess of Jingbei was raised under the care of the Emperor, so she can get a glimpse of how Pei Huaijin lived in the Pei family.
Besides, Xie Jingyu left the imperial study and rode out of the palace directly. However, he hadn't taken a few steps when a secret guard rode over and said, "Master, there's something wrong in the Ministry of Justice prison..."
The secret guard came forward and reported a few words. Xie Jingyu frowned deeply, turned around and went back into the palace.
The emperor was distracted by the two jade pendants for a long time. Eunuch An said, "Your Majesty, it's time to eat..."
The emperor had no appetite. He was eager to know whether Pei Huaijin, who was imprisoned, was his son. He had been waiting for more than ten years, but still didn't know what he looked like.
It was unknown how long it would take to find out the truth. The emperor said, "Serve the meal."
Eunuch An asked the young eunuch to serve the meal.
The eunuch here withdrew and quickly came in and said, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Jingbei is back again."
Why are you back again?
"Let him in."
Xie Jingyu walked in, and the emperor asked, "Why are you back again?"
Xie Jingyu said, "Someone pretended to be a servant of the Pei Mansion and went to deliver food to Pei Huaijin. When I went to visit him in prison, the food was given to the jailers. Two jailers died of poisoning."
The emperor's face changed drastically.
Eunuch An was frightened to death.
But this is also expected.
Pei Huaijin was carrying the murder case of the eldest son of the Wang family. The Queen Mother had issued an imperial decree to the Ministry of Justice, asking it to execute Pei Huaijin. Knowing that the Prince of Jingbei had already requested an imperial decree to go to Lianzhou to open the coffin and conduct an autopsy, she was sure to take action.
The fact that he was so eager to poison Pei Huaijin further proved that Young Master Wang’s death was not simple.
Not long after Xie Jingyu left, the Pei family servant came to visit him in prison again with a food box.
It's really rare that three batches of food were delivered for one dinner.
The jailer said, "It was just brought here by your Pei Mansion servant."
The servant was a little confused. "That's impossible. I'm responsible for delivering this evening's meal. No one else can deliver it. Did they deliver it to the wrong person?"
This boy had been delivering meals these days. The jailer recognized him and suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.
After all, he worked in the Ministry of Justice's prison and had some experience, so he quickly went to report to the prison boss.
As soon as he entered, two of the four jailers who were eating collapsed and died with blood oozing from all seven orifices.
The jailer was terrified and quickly reported it to the Minister of Justice, who then sent someone to the Jingbei Palace to tell Xie Jingyu.
Xie Jingyu said, "The death row of the Ministry of Justice is not an iron barrel. He escaped today, but he may not be so lucky next time. Your Majesty can take this opportunity to release Pei Huaijin and return him to the Pei family. Send someone to guard the Pei family and wait for the autopsy results from the Ministry of Justice to be sent back to the capital before making any further arrangements."
It has not yet been confirmed that Pei Huaijin is the prince, but just because someone wants to poison Pei Huaijin to death in the death row of the Ministry of Justice under the name of the Pei family, the emperor will not agree.
Leaving the palace again, Xie Jingyu instructed Chen Ping, "Please ask Duke Dingguo to go to the Pei family and bring the steward of the Lin Mansion with him."
Pei Mansion.
The servant who brought food to the prison visit learned that someone was trying to poison Pei Huaijin in the name of the Pei Mansion, so he hurried back to report to Old Master Pei.
Old Master Pei was so angry that he felt dizzy and almost couldn't stand.
He knew that his grandson would have a hard time, but he didn't expect that they would dare to defy the court laws and poison his grandson in the death row of the Ministry of Justice.
Fortunately, the Prince of Jingbei went to visit his grandson in prison, and his grandson did not eat the poisonous food and escaped the disaster.
Old Master Pei couldn't stand, so the steward helped him sit down. A servant came running in and said, "Old Master, this is bad! A lot of soldiers are outside, and they have surrounded our house!"
The steward asked in confusion, "Why did they surround our Pei Mansion?"
Even if he kills someone, he will only execute the fourth young master, and the entire Pei family will not be harmed.
What's more, the Prince of Jingbei helped to request an imperial decree, so the Ministry of Justice would not execute the fourth young master before the autopsy results were sent to Beijing, and the entire Pei family would not be implicated.
The servant said, "I asked, and the leader just said he was following orders."
"On whose orders?" the steward asked again.
The servant shook his head.
"Help me out."
Old Master Pei forced himself to stand up.
The steward helped him out.
When Old Master Pei went up the stairs, he saw quite a number of soldiers and officers outside the door.
The leader looked somewhat familiar, but he had been away from officialdom for too long. Even though he was back now, many people still didn't recognize him.
When Old Master Pei walked out, the commander saluted him, which made Old Master Pei confused.
This attitude...
It doesn't look like the Pei family is going to be in trouble.
Just as Old Master Pei was about to ask, the sound of horse hooves came from the other side.
He looked over, and then thought there was something wrong with his eyes, "That's..."
The steward said, "It's the Fourth Young Master!"
Xie Jingyu's face was always the most eye-catching wherever he went, but today was an exception. Pei Huaijin rode a horse alongside him, dressed in prison clothes, which was really eye-catching and completely stole his limelight.
Old Master Pei couldn't believe it, "Why are you back?"
Xie Jingyu said, "Someone used the Pei family's name to poison Pei Huaijin. The emperor learned of this and specially allowed Pei Huaijin to be returned to the Pei family and detained until the case is fully investigated."
Old Master Pei burst into tears and praised the emperor for his wisdom.
Old Master Pei has many grandchildren, but he loves Pei Huaijin the most. He was already worried about Pei Huaijin being in the death row of the Ministry of Justice, unable to eat or sleep well. He didn't expect that the emperor would make an exception and allow Pei Huaijin to return to the Pei family for custody.
Although he and the entire Pei family were under guard, they were just unable to leave the house. Old Master Pei was extremely grateful to the emperor for making an exception.
Pei Huaijin dismounted and called out, "Grandfather..."
Old Master Pei was so happy that tears came out. "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."
Old Master Pei thanked Xie Jingyu, "You asked the Prince of Jingbei to run around for Huaijin's affairs. This kindness will be remembered by my Pei family."
Xie Jingyu got off the horse and said, "Master Pei, you don't have to be polite. This is my job."
Old Master Pei, “……???”
How could it be the responsibility of the Prince of Jingbei to help his grandson clear his name?
The Prince of Jingbei does not work in the Ministry of Justice, and even if he does, it is not the right one.
Just as Old Master Pei was about to ask, another sound of horse hooves came from the other side.
Shen Cum is coming.
Old Master Pei felt strange. Xie Jingyu saluted Shen Ji. Shen Ji asked, "Why did you call me to the Pei family at this time?"
Xie Jingyu said, "Father-in-law, please go into the mansion first."
Shen Ji got off his horse, bowed to Old Master Pei, and then everyone entered the mansion.
A housekeeper came over quickly and called out from a distance, "Fourth Young Master..."
Her voice was full of joy, but when she shouted, she saw Shen Ji, and the joy on her face made her steps pause and she turned and left.
Shen Ji didn't see her, but Xie Jingyu saw her, but didn't say anything.
The steward of the Lin Mansion had already arrived and saw her, "It's you!"
The housekeeper's mother panicked and tried to run away. Although the Lin Mansion's housekeeper was surprised that she was in the Pei Mansion, he didn't arrest her. Since she was in the Pei family, he didn't worry about her running away. Chen Ping stopped the housekeeper's mother and said, "I came to the Pei Mansion today for you. Let's talk in the study."
The housekeeper's face turned pale. She didn't dare to go and subconsciously wanted to escape. Chen Ping couldn't persuade her easily, so he had to use force.
He grabbed her arm and took her to Old Master Pei's study.
——
PS: 6,000 words are finished~
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