Chapter 133 Crazy
In the cold and gloomy cell, the dim candlelight flickered.
When Concubine Zhen saw someone coming over, her eyes were fixed on the tall and stern figure.
When Qi Wuhan walked over, Concubine Zhen suddenly pounced on him and stretched out her hand to grab him, but she couldn't even touch his clothes.
"You are here to save me, right?" Concubine Zhen looked at him hopefully, as if she was sure that he would save her.
Qi Wuhan looked at her with eyes filled with nothing but coldness and disgust. He took out a medicine bottle from behind him.
The bottle of medicine was placed in the box with the packet of powder, and besides these two things there was also a letter.
When Prince Rui first sought cooperation with Concubine Zhen, Concubine Zhen was afraid that he would abandon her in the end, so she asked Prince Rui to write a letter to her, thinking that she would have a handle on Prince Rui and could defeat him. However, she didn't know that Prince Rui would never keep her after the success.
When Concubine Zhen saw the medicine bottle, she was shocked. Knowing that the matter had been exposed, she staggered back two steps and her face turned pale.
"This is the antidote that King Rui gave you." Qi Wuhan's voice was indifferent, without a trace of pity. "Did he tell you that this antidote can only delay your madness. After a year or two, you will still become a madman who is neither human nor ghost."
"No, it's impossible..." Concubine Zhen was unwilling to believe this fact. Prince Rui had clearly told her that as long as she took the antidote regularly, there would be no effect. When she poisoned the emperor, she was also immersed in the fragrance for a long time like the emperor, thinking that as long as she took the antidote regularly, everything would be fine.
"You lied to me, didn't you?"
Qi Wuhan did not answer her, but talked about another thing.
"When Wei Bing set a trap to kill my father, I always suspected that there was a spy in the military camp who leaked my father's whereabouts."
Wei Bingnai was the Marshal of Beimo at the time. He set an ambush in Langya Valley, which resulted in the annihilation of the entire army and no one survived.
Concubine Zhen was so frightened that she trembled all over and argued, "I don't know anything..."
"Hong Gu has confessed everything." He glanced at Concubine Zhen with a cold gaze, sharp as a knife, "So you are the spy."
"It's not me, it's not me..." Concubine Zhen shook her head, first vehemently denying it, then quibbling, "They forced me to do it. If I didn't obey, they would have killed me. I didn't mean to do it. I thought Uncle Qi could win."
"Shut up!" Qi Wuhan said coldly, "You are not worthy to mention my father's name."
Concubine Zhen rushed to the prison door again and stretched out her hand to grab him, "You still like me, right? Right? You have always liked me, right?..."
Qi Wuhan told her word by word, "I hate you to the extreme."
"I don't believe it!" Zhen Fei screamed, as if all her beliefs had collapsed at this moment. "You lied to me. You accepted everything I gave you. You obviously like me, but you lied to me..."
"I have never accepted anything from you. Don't be so self-indulgent."
Qi Wuhan's cold words once again ruthlessly shattered her fantasy. She kept repeating, "You accepted it, you obviously accepted it..." Then her voice became smaller and smaller, and then she stopped. Perhaps she had already realized that it was Hong Gu who deceived her, but she was still unwilling to admit this fact in her heart.
"You colluded with King Rui to poison His Majesty. His Majesty has already ordered you to be beheaded."
Qi Wuhan's cold voice echoed in the gloomy cell, without a trace of warmth.
"I don't believe it. I want to see His Majesty. I'm innocent. It was Prince Rui who forced me to do it. It has nothing to do with me..." Concubine Zhen tried her best to clear herself and begged, "You promised my father that you would take care of me for the rest of my life. You can't let me die. I can't die..."
"Then your life is now over."
The cold words, word by word, cut off the last of Zhen Fei's fantasy like a cold sharp blade. She still refused to accept the reality, muttering to herself, "No, His Majesty is so good to me, he won't be willing to kill me..."
Qi Wuhan's next words completely shattered her self-deception.
"Your Majesty originally took you into the palace simply to appease the army, because your last name is Zhen. If His Majesty knew your true identity, do you think you would still be alive today? His Majesty used my name to treat you well, just to prevent me from becoming too powerful. In His Majesty's eyes, you are just a pawn. Now you are useless. Does His Majesty still care whether you live or die?"
Concubine Zhen smiled sadly, her expression numb.
"By the way, I have a gift for you." Qi Wuhan gestured, and a black-armored guard came forward with a box. He opened the box, and Concubine Zhen screamed in fright, ran to the corner, curled up in a ball, and trembled.
There was a pair of bloody hands in the box.
"You asked Hong Gu to let the snake bite my wife. These hands are her apology to my wife. As for you, I heard that a person will not die immediately after being beheaded. The upper body can still crawl on the ground for a while. I wonder how far you can crawl by then." Qi Wuhan left the box outside the prison door and walked away with a cold expression.
After Qi Wuhan left, a jailer entered the cell...
Half an hour later, the jailer left the cell with a satisfied look on his face.
"Your Highness, I have taught her a lesson." The jailer said with a flattering look on his face. As soon as he finished speaking, a cold light flashed, and the jailer fell straight to the ground, holding his neck.
"Deal with the body." The man who had been standing in the shadows turned around, revealing Prince An's face. He gave a faint order and walked away.
The assassin carried the body away.
......
When Qi Wuhan came to the Queen's Palace to pick up Jiang Lan, he looked a little tired, but he still showed a gentle smile when facing her, hiding the darkness in his heart.
The queen had a sedan prepared for Jiang Lan, but it was not used. Qi Wuhan held her all the way, carried her to the carriage, gently put her down, and then held her in his arms again. Only by feeling her breath, her heartbeat, and the fragrance of her hair... would the darkness in his heart calm down.
Jiang Lan could feel that he was feeling heavy-hearted, and that something must have happened to him, but she didn't ask him. She just let him hold her quietly, hoping to comfort him.
"Xiao Lan'er, do you sometimes think I'm scary?" He buried his head in her neck and asked in a low voice.
"I'm not afraid of you." Jiang Lan replied playfully, "No one else dares to hit you, only I do."
Qi Wuhan chuckled softly and asked, "Do you sometimes think I'm stupid?"
Jiang Lan encouraged: "Not stupid, not stupid at all."
"Will you listen to me from now on?"
Why do I feel a bit trapped...
But sensing the fragile aura emanating from him, she would be heartless not to agree.
"Okay, I'll do as you say~"
…
As soon as the carriage stopped at the gate of the Marquis' Mansion, a figure hurried over and called out to the Second Young Lady.
Jiang Lan pulled aside the car curtain and saw Hua'er running over, but was stopped by the black-armored guards.
"Second Miss, please save me~" Huaer said anxiously.
"What's wrong with her?" Jiang Lan asked.
Hua'er anxiously replied, "My young lady wants a divorce, but they won't let her go. They even want to bury her with them. Second Miss, please save her~"
"If you need a divorce, go to your father-in-law. If you need to save someone, go to the government office."
Hua'er wanted to speak, but was met with Qi Wuhan's indifferent gaze. She lowered her head timidly and dared not say a word.
"Aren't you leaving yet?" There was a hint of coldness in his indifferent tone.
Huaer immediately took her leave.
When Qi Wuhan carried Jiang Lan into the mansion, Butler Shi came to greet them with Qing'er and Gui'er. Because Jiang Lan was covered by her clothes, the three of them did not notice that she was injured.
After he carried her into the house and gently placed her on the bed, he was giving Qing'er and Gui'er the medical instructions. Only then did they discover that Jiang Lan was injured. They were both shocked and very worried.
After Qi Wuhan finished giving the two instructions, Jiang Lan asked them to prepare some food as she was a little hungry.
After the two left, he changed her dressing himself, carefully unwrapping layer after layer of gauze, his movements very gentle, not wanting to hurt her at all.
When seeing the exposed wound, Qi Wuhan's eyes were full of guilt and heartache. Jiang Lan reached out and stroked his face, telling him not to blame himself too much.
He carefully sprinkled medicine powder on the wound. Jiang Lan clenched her teeth. He lowered his head and blew gently on it, hoping to relieve her pain. She smiled and told him that it didn't hurt anymore. He carefully wrapped the gauze, held her in his arms, and lowered his head to kiss her forehead. "Tomorrow I'll ask Ye Rushui to come over and take a look at you. He must have medicine that won't hurt."
Jiang Lan smiled.
After Qing'er and Gui'er came back with the food, Qi Wuhan carried her over and sat down. Jiang Lan asked him to eat with them because she knew he must not have eaten.
Afterwards, Ling Feng came over and reported to Qi Wuhan that Concubine Zhen had gone crazy.
"If you're crazy, then you're crazy."
It doesn't matter to him whether a person is crazy or stupid.
......
The next morning at the court session, the emperor rewarded the members according to their merits. Qi Wuhan was rewarded with a thousand acres of fertile land and ten thousand taels of gold for his meritorious service in protecting the emperor. Cui Hai and his son Cui Yan were promoted for their meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion. The Pei family was stripped of their titles and demoted to commoners. Duke Pei and the ministers who defected to King Rui were exiled, their property was confiscated, and their descendants were not allowed to enter officialdom for three generations.
When Ji Quan brought people from the Imperial City Bureau to the Duke's Mansion to search the property, the mansion was already in chaos. The servants ran away, and the Duke's wife was frightened and fell ill. Only Pei Yu and Li were there to serve her. Pei Qian was nowhere to be seen. Jiang Yao took Hua'er and the child to return to her parents' home for refuge. Ji Quan did not make things difficult for her and asked his men to escort her all the way back to the Shangshu Mansion.
As soon as she saw her elder brother Jiang Shen, Jiang Yao burst into tears and said she wanted to divorce Pei Qian. The child also cried all the way, and Huaer couldn't comfort him no matter how hard she tried.
Jiang Shen first asked the housekeeper to take the adults and children downstairs to settle down, and other matters would be discussed later.
When Ji Quan brought his men to the residence of the Duke's wife, Pei Yu came out of the house and begged Ji Quan to show mercy, saying that his mother was bedridden and could not bear the shock.
"I am also acting under orders, please forgive me, Young Master." Ji Quan was about to lead his men into the house when Pei Yu knelt down to plead with him. Ji Quan sighed, "Young Master is truly a filial son. If the Second Young Master had half the filial piety you have, he wouldn't have been gone until now. I'm afraid he would have run away long ago, right?"
Pei Yu bowed and said, "Please give me some time, my Lord. I will be grateful. When my mother's health improves, I will hand over the full amount. If you don't trust me, please go inside and take inventory."
"Then I'll go take inventory somewhere else first. You should make the list yourself." When Ji Quan and his men were about to leave, they happened to see Qi Wuhan walk in. He stepped forward, bowed, and asked with a smile, "Why did the Marquis come here in person?"
Qi Wuhan casually replied, "I just stopped by to take a look."
"Then I won't bother you anymore." Ji Quan said and left with his men.
"Greetings, Lord Marquis." Pei Yu bowed and saluted.
"There is something that I have never been able to figure out." Qi Wuhan said.
Pei Yu said, "Please speak, my Lord."
"Why did you take the exam for someone else?" Qi Wuhan asked.
The person who went to the Imperial Court to take the imperial examination was Pei Yu, not Pei Qian.
At that time, everyone entered the venue, and the carriage of the Duke's Mansion was the last to arrive. Under Ji Quan's cover, Pei Yu replaced Pei Qian's identity and successfully entered the examination room.
This was a trap set by Prince Rui for Qi Wuhan. The purpose was to allow Pei Qian to pass the joint examination smoothly. Then, during the palace examination, Prince Rui would expose Qi Wuhan's evil deeds in front of the candidates, and secretly fan the flames, causing students all over the world to attack Qi Wuhan, forcing the emperor to punish him severely. Qi Wuhan took advantage of the situation and was demoted by the emperor to guard the imperial mausoleum, causing Prince Rui to let down his guard and really believe that the emperor no longer trusted him.
However, what Qi Wuhan couldn't understand was why Pei Yu agreed to take the exam for Pei Qian. With his talent, why didn't he take the exam himself?
Pei Yu was silent for a moment before replying, "Although my second brother's hand has healed, he can't hold a pen for long. Father and Mother have always placed high hopes on my second brother. As a child, it's my duty to share their worries."
"I have always found it strange. Logically speaking, you are the eldest son in the family. Shouldn't you be allowed to take the imperial examination first?" Qi Wuhan took two steps casually, his tone sounding nonchalant.
Pei Yu was silent for a moment, then asked, "What does the Marquis want to know?"
"I'm just curious." Qi Wuhan said.
Pei Yu said, "My Lord, I'm sure you've already guessed the reason. Why bother asking me?"
"I just feel it's a pity. With your talent, if you had entered the government, you would have been appreciated by His Majesty long ago. Today, you might still be able to stay out of trouble and not be implicated." Qi Wuhan asked again, "Don't you regret it?"
Pei Yu smiled, his tone revealing a hint of relief and loneliness, and said, "My mother raised me, and I must repay her kindness."
"Now, have I repaid the kindness of raising me?" Qi Wuhan said.
Pei Yu was silent.
"Don't forget that you still have a wife and children. Think more about them in the future." Qi Wuhan left after saying this.
Pei Yu asked from behind him, "Why are you telling me this, Lord?"
Qi Wuhan paused and said, "Just think of it as a little friendship between classmates." Then he continued walking forward.
Qi Wuhan, Gu Jincheng, Cui Yan and Pei Yu were all study companions to the prince. They had a good relationship when they were children, but as they grew older and experienced different things, they gradually drifted apart.
One kept his distance from him, one regarded him as his mortal enemy, and the other had little in common with him, and none of them could become close friends.
There is nothing to regret, we all have our own paths to follow.
But now he has a wife, and he is no longer alone on the road ahead.
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