Chapter 78 "I'm going back."
Xie Jianing hurriedly entered the palace, still not fully conscious. She followed the eunuch into the main hall and saw a large number of familiar faces.
Not only Song Jie was there, but Pei Heng and Pei Shilin were also there, kneeling in the hall.
The atmosphere in the hall froze. Xie Jianing realized that it must be something bad that had summoned her to the palace, so she bowed respectfully.
Emperor Xiao Xu's tone was still relatively gentle. He asked her to get up first, "It's been a while since I've seen your mother visit the Jade Purity Temple and the Jade Maiden Temple. Is she feeling any better?"
"Your Majesty, my mother is still not well and needs to rest in bed, so it is inconvenient for her to move around," Xie Jianing replied truthfully.
Xiao Xu nodded, then looked at Song Jie, knowing there were some things he couldn't ask him.
Song Jie understood his meaning and asked on his behalf, "Miss Jianing, do you know that your aunt, Princess Kangyang, left Bianjing this morning with Xie Yushu?"
Xie Jianing looked up at Song Jie, her eyes filled with surprise.
It seems they were unaware of it.
Song Jie smiled and was about to speak when Xie Jianing said, "Of course I know. My aunt is going to the south to visit Grand Tutor Zheng. She originally wanted to take me with her, but I was worried about my mother, so I didn't go. My aunt had no choice but to take Xie Yushu with her to accompany Sister Jin Yue."
Xie Jianing looked at Song Jie and smiled, her tone full of sarcasm, "Does the Prime Minister think that my aunt didn't tell me about her trip south? Last night, my aunt discussed with me that she wanted to take this opportunity to take my mother and me to the south for a trip. I was the one who suggested that she bring Xie Yushu along. The journey is long, and someone should keep my sister Jin Yue company. With someone serving my aunt in front of and behind the scenes, I feel more at ease."
Her words were full of belittling Xie Yushu, and her eyes were full of mockery towards Song Jie.
Although she disliked Xie Yushu, she loathed Song Jie even more. Her aunt was right after all. How could Song Jie possibly love someone? He kept saying he loved Xie Yushu so much, but now he was ruining Xie Yushu's plans for his own selfish desires.
He is a despicable and wicked person.
Song Jie was clearly not expecting her to know about this, and for a moment he didn't know how to continue the questioning.
Xiao Xu frowned as well. Xie Jianing had always been at odds with Xie Yushu, so he thought she wouldn't lie for Xie Yushu's sake. Could it really be that Xie Jianing suggested Meng Jing bring Xie Yushu along?
He also became suspicious and looked at Pei Shilin with some doubt: "Pei Shilin, didn't your wife discuss with you about accompanying Princess Kangyang on her trip south?"
Pei Shilin panicked and immediately replied, "Your Majesty, I dare not deceive you. She did not reveal a single detail of this matter to me. I only discovered this morning that my second uncle had taken her out of the mansion..." He felt guilty and did not dare to look at Pei Heng, but only buried his head and said, "I asked her what she was going to do, but she did not answer me."
"Did I tell you that Xie Yushu was going to accompany Princess Kangyang to help me with an errand?" Pei Heng asked him coldly, his eyes lowered.
Pei Shilin felt so guilty that he didn't know how to answer Pei Heng. He wished he could just tell the Emperor: What do you mean by accompanying Princess Kangyang south? What do you mean by assisting with errands? That was just Pei Heng using errands as a pretext to take Xie Yushu away.
But the emperor clearly didn't want to explain the matter, so he had no choice but to pretend to be ignorant.
"Your Majesty," Pei Heng said to the Emperor again, "I instructed Princess Kangyang and Xie Yushu not to publicize the matter of going south to invite the Grand Tutor, so as not to arouse suspicion in the court, lest Your Majesty think that you want to invite the Grand Tutor back for the Fourth Prince so that you can cultivate the Fourth Prince more and entrust him with important responsibilities."
Xiao Xu looked at Pei Heng and smiled, "My dear minister, you truly know how to think of me."
Did Pei Heng really think he would believe these words? Or did Pei Heng think he could play dumb and fool the emperor?
This feeling completely blocked Xiao Xu's chest, making it hard for him to breathe. Xie Yushu's temporary escape from Bianjing was not a big deal, and he could tolerate it.
However, if Pei Heng was the mastermind behind this, then the situation is different.
Pei Heng, who has achieved great military exploits and was granted the title of marquis at a young age, needs to be given a warning.
He wanted Pei Heng to understand that the emperor's authority was not to be offended.
“It would be more appropriate for Princess Kangyang to invite the old tutor.” Xiao Xu looked at Pei Shilin in a gentle tone: “But Madam Pei doesn’t need to go with her. Yu Su Nu Guan has been unwell these past few days. She has always liked Madam Pei, so let’s go and invite Madam Pei back to Yuqing Temple to stay with Yu Su Nu Guan for a while.”
Pei Heng frowned and looked up at Xiao Xu, wanting to say something more, but Xiao Xu had already given the order: "Pei Shilin, you go out of the city to fetch your wife back. You can handle this matter properly, right?" He added in a kind tone, "If you can't even handle this small matter properly, you don't need to go to the Hanlin Academy."
Pei Shilin's face turned pale. He understood that the emperor was referring to his failure to handle the divorce properly, and immediately replied, "Your Majesty, I will take care of it right away."
Xiao Xu sat on the dragon throne, quietly watching Pei Heng and observing his expression. If Pei Heng complied at this moment, he would pretend that nothing had happened and would not make things difficult for Pei Heng and the Pei family.
Just as Pei Shilin was about to leave the hall, Pei Heng spoke up again: "If His Majesty wishes to have someone accompany Yu Su Nu to the temple, he may ask Lady Yong'an..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Xu suddenly flicked his sleeve and knocked the teacup on the long table to the ground.
In the silent hall, the sound of a teacup shattering was exceptionally clear, and the eunuchs in the hall all knelt down.
Startled, Xie Jianing instinctively looked up at the Emperor, only to see that his usually kind face was devoid of any smile, chillingly cold. She had never seen the Emperor so angry before.
"Does even such a trivial matter now require the approval of Marquis Yongyi?" Xiao Xu asked Pei Heng in a cold and hard voice.
"Your subject dares not," Pei Heng said, kneeling down with his eyes lowered.
At this crucial moment, Song Jie spoke up, saying, "Since General Pei dares not, why don't we let General Pei go and bring Miss Yushu back?"
Pei Heng frowned deeply.
Even Xie Jianing glanced at Song Jie with confusion. Why was he targeting Pei Heng? He should know that Pei Heng sent Xie Yushu away for Xie Yushu's own good, so why was he so vicious as to force Pei Heng to bring Xie Yushu back? Could it be because Xie Yushu and Pei Heng left the capital without telling Song Jie? Did he think Xie Yushu liked Pei Heng? His affection was truly terrifying.
The Emperor completely trusted Song Jie, this treacherous villain, and nodded, saying, "Very well, Marquis Yongyi, go and send Madam Pei to Yuqing Temple now. I need to go and see Yusu Nu Temple."
Pei Heng raised his head again, meeting his icy gaze. He immediately lowered his gaze and asked, "Are you going to disobey the imperial decree?"
Pei Heng felt a lump in his throat, realizing that today the Emperor not only wanted to bring Xie Yushu back, but also wanted him to obey. If he resisted, it would only add fuel to the fire.
But if Xie Yushu were brought back, he had no doubt that the Emperor would find various reasons to place Xie Yushu under house arrest at Yuqing Temple, just like he had placed Wan Susu under house arrest before.
He was experiencing an unprecedented internal struggle.
"Why don't you answer?" Xiao Xu asked again, his tone turning cold as he exerted pressure.
"Your subject dares not disobey the imperial decree," Pei Heng replied.
#
The sky outside the carriage was already bright, but the wind was still chilly.
Xie Yushu and her group stopped at the first post station after leaving Bianjing, as arranged with Pei Heng. They rested briefly at the post station while waiting for Pei Heng to arrive.
But just as she was about to help Meng Jing down from the carriage, a fast horse came running up and called out to her from afar, "Miss Yushu, don't go into the post station!"
She turned around and saw Pei Heng's deputy general, Zhao Mingzhao, dressed in civilian clothes, riding up at a hurry. He reined in his horse beside their carriage and said to her before the horse had come to a complete stop, "Don't go into the post station. Get in the carriage now and take the side road."
"Why?" Xie Yushu asked in surprise.
Meng Jinyue, who was inside the carriage, also lifted the curtain and peeked out with his mother, Meng Jing.
Seeing that only Zhao Mingzhao had arrived, Meng Jing frowned and asked, "Where is General Pei? Has something happened?"
"Something must have happened." Zhao Mingzhao didn't know exactly what had happened, but he relayed the message Pei Heng had given him to Xie Yushu: "The general ordered me to come find you quickly and tell you to take the back road and travel south by boat. Under no circumstances should you take the main road, enter the post station, or look back."
Xie Yushu immediately understood and asked, "Does His Majesty want to arrest me and take me back to Bianjing?"
Zhao Mingzhao looked around and then whispered, "I'm afraid so. This morning, the general was stopped at the city gate by Prime Minister Song and taken into the palace. After that, Pei Shilin and Miss Jianing were also summoned to the palace. I don't know what the emperor asked. I just received a message from the general's spies, telling you not to wait for him and to take the side road quickly."
He harnessed Xie Yushu and the others to their horses again and said, "Don't worry, there's a general in Bianjing. You and the princess can go south with peace of mind. I've already sent someone to book a boat at the ferry, and I'll take you there now."
"Is it that urgent?" Meng Jinyue asked in surprise, "His Majesty wouldn't send the Imperial Guards to arrest Yushu, would he?"
Zhao Mingzhao paused for a moment, then lowered his voice and said without hiding anything, "I heard that His Majesty sent a general to invite Miss Yushu back to the capital."
This simple sentence made Meng Jing's heart sink. She realized that the Emperor not only wanted to find Xie Yushu, but also probably wanted to warn Pei Heng.
The jade book must not be taken back at this moment, because the Emperor will definitely detain her as a warning to Pei Heng.
She immediately took Xie Yushu's hand and said, "Let's leave the post station entrance first."
Xie Yushu held her hand tightly and did not get into the carriage, asking Zhao Mingzhao, "If Pei Heng cannot catch me, will His Majesty blame him?"
Zhao Mingzhao looked at her and smiled casually, saying, "No, the general just won a battle and made meritorious contributions. He didn't disobey the imperial order. He just didn't know which way you and Princess Kangyang took and couldn't catch up."
"Is that so?" Xie Yushu frowned and scrutinized him.
Before he could speak again, a figure swooped down from the tree.
"Miss Yushu should return to Bianjing," the figure said from a few steps away.
Zhao Mingzhao immediately shielded Xie Yushu, then turned around and saw Cang Shu, Song Jie's attendant, standing a few steps away. He had followed them without anyone noticing. Zhao Mingzhao was alarmed, gripped his sword, and asked coldly, "Did Prime Minister Song order you to follow me? What did you hear?"
Cangshu did not answer him, but looked at Xie Yushu and said, "Miss Yushu, His Majesty has given an order that if General Pei fails to bring you back, the entire Pei family will be held accountable." He added, "If you come back with me now, the Prime Minister will protect you."
"Asking for punishment?" Meng Jing, supporting Xie Yushu's shoulder, looked coldly at Cang Shu: "What crime have I committed by taking my niece on a trip? How dare the servants of the Prime Minister's mansion be so insolent, Deputy General Zhao?"
She gave Zhao Mingzhao a wink, signaling him that he'd better kill the attendant.
Xie Yushu suddenly stopped Zhao Mingzhao, who was about to make a move, and said, "I'm going back."
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Author's Note: Xie Jianing: Xie Yushu is certainly annoying, but what good are you, Song Jie, trying to sow discord between me and my aunt?
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